As far as Steve's aware, anyone who's royalty and who's actually nice is a rare thing. Maybe he's biased because of how awful the queens here are, which is his main point of reference, but still. There's a reason that people broke away from the monarchy to settle in the Americas in the first place.

The mention of a robot with a soul causes Steve to raise an eyebrow, even as their server swoops in to bring Alphys her food. He happens to know someone who might fit that description.

When Alphys starts beating herself up, Steve quickly shakes his head, dropping his fist onto the table between them -- not with force, but to make a point all the same. "Hey, you still have experience with it, though. We're in a similar spot here, being trapped in this place. I'm sure the work you've done will be really helpful to our cause now."

As futile as it all might seem at times, Steve knows that they can't give up. Alphys will be a great contribution, if she decides that she wants to participate.