My father’s dream will turn to bubbles.
The fact that I must inevitably betray my father’s expectations makes Rin’s heart ache slightly.
But I can’t give up here.
‘I will become Kim Rin, not Shinozaki Rin.’
No matter what, I will be by his side.
Rin steeled herself as she hugged the map Ichiro handed her tightly against her ample chest.
Swoosh…
Snap!
The clear sound of the shishiodoshi in the Japanese-style garden outside the meeting room echoed in the father and daughter’s ears.
Thank you, Observing Officer.
The temporary accommodation where the cadets stay during summer school is a beach hotel.
It was a romantic hotel overlooking the wave-lapping beach, just like something out of a drama.
Of course, we have to leave for a field trip tomorrow, but this luxurious hotel is something that, in the original world, I wouldn’t have dared to even think about.
‘After all, a vacation is best spent at a hotel stay.’
Ironically, what was merely a fantasy back in my previous life is now a reality here.
[Partner. Why don’t you stop hiding in places like this and go out and live a bit more actively?]
Active? What are you talking about?
I’ve been a homebody since before the reincarnation.
How dangerous is it outside?
I don’t wholeheartedly agree with the Black Prince’s words, but since I’m at a beach hotel for the first time, I can’t just stay in my room.
Creak.
I step out of the hotel room.
[Oh, Partner. I see you’ve finally decided to listen to the advice of the mighty Black Prince. Yes. If you listen to your elders, you might just find rice cakes in your sleep.]
Rice cakes in my sleep?
‘Why do you know a Korean proverb? Did you really see it on the internet?’
[Of course! Partner. Before going to France, I felt the need to know about your motherland after meeting that girl named Han Seo-Jin and the President of South Korea.]
Is it because of Han Seo-Jin?
Well, national pride has been going a bit wild lately.
You can’t even tell the difference between national pride YouTube and major news articles anymore.
From just reading articles, you wouldn’t know if this place is North Korea or South Korea.
From the Black Prince’s perspective, it’s indeed something worth paying attention to.
If this is the butterfly effect, then it’s definitely the butterfly effect.
I walk down the hotel corridor silently without responding.
[But Partner, where are you going?]
The Black Prince asks me.
There’s no need to hide my destination.
‘The outdoor swimming pool at the hotel. There shouldn’t be too many people around this time.’
Swimming in the outdoor pool of the beach-view hotel at midnight.
A cliché often seen when enjoying luxury in Korean dramas, not in light novels.
Having come to a resort beach hotel, I wanted to check it out once.
And indeed, I prefer pools to valleys and valleys to the sea.
Thinking that, as I arrive at the hotel’s outdoor pool, I change into the swimsuit and beach hoodie I had prepared beforehand and step out to the pool.
Arriving at the pool, I quickly changed into the swimsuit and beach hoodie I had prepared and stepped out into the water.
The night sky was a deep blue, sparkling with stars.
The blue pool shimmered with clear water.
In the distance, the waves rolled onto the beach.
For this moment, the ridiculous world of light novels felt like a distant memory, replaced with a fantastical view.
‘This is it.’
[Your partner seems to have a strange romanticism. If you’re going to swim at night, why did you bother with the beach earlier?]
‘Shut up. There’s a clear difference between the beach and the pool, you know?’
Just as I was about to dive into the pool, whistling in defiance of the Black Prince’s remarks, I heard a gasp from afar.
“Eeeek!”
I turned my head.
There stood Beatrice, the masked beauty, pointing fingers at me.
I quickly glanced around.
No one else was there.
A one-on-one situation.
Not intended, but a good opportunity.
Lucky me.
“What’s with you acting like you’ve seen something terrible?”
I took a step closer.
“Don’t come any closer! I-I said don’t come!”
She waved her hands in fear.
“Trixie Smith, or should I say Beatrice.”
“Eek!”
Taking another step forward, I noticed her start to hiccup.
“I don’t expect much from you. Let’s just temporarily team up against a common enemy. Wasn’t that your reason for approaching me?”
One more step.
She took another step back.
Cold sweat dripped from Beatrice’s face.
If she takes one more step back, she’ll fall into the pool.
“Or were all those ‘I’m a lesser saintess’ theatrics just your fashionably late teenage rebellion? You spoke so confidently.”
Of course, I knew.
Her edgy saintess act was just a defense mechanism to hide her delicate inner self.
Just like those students at her age, trying to escape her isolated situation in the cult by getting caught up in a compelling narrative.
So yes, it was fancy teenage rebellion.
That’s why, confronted with true fear, she was showing such a reaction in front of me.
Just like the moments she displayed with Messiah and the protagonist in the original work.
This was exactly the moment I had aimed for.
“D-Don’t say it… Didn’t I tell you not to? How dare you treat a saint’s command so lightly! You… you lower being!”
“What? Lower? Being?”
One step closer.
Just a little more provocation.
“Eek! I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!!”
Despite her facade of being the ultimate drama queen, her true nature as a third-rate coward began to show.
“Y-You’re terrible… Aaaah!”
As she stumbled back, she let out a shriek and fell into the pool.
Splash!
The holy maiden fell into the cool waters with a big splash.
Splash! Splash!
She flailed around in the water.
“Help me! Help me!!”
The frantic voice of the saintess echoed.
Why isn’t she swimming?
Is she a complete clutz?
The settings didn’t mention such trivial details, so I had no clue.
*Swoosh…*
The saintess sank below the surface.
Wait, is she actually a total klutz?
[Partner, I think the saintess can’t swim. Are you just going to leave her? A gentleman shouldn’t ignore a lady’s crisis…?]
Before the Black Prince finished his nagging, I dove right in.
As I sank to the bottom of the pool, I finally spotted the unconscious saintess.
I swam over, grabbed her, and pulled her back to the surface.
“Phew.”
After spitting out the chemically scented water of the pool, I lay the saintess flat at the bottom.
After spitting out the water, I lay the saint straight on the bottom of the pool.
A beautiful girl with a chubby chest that doesn’t quite match her petite 165cm frame and striking rose eye patch, her rich blonde hair framing her face, comes into view. She’s lying there with her eyes closed.
[Partner, I think we need to perform mouth-to-mouth. She’s not in good condition.]
The Black Prince says.
What? Mouth-to-mouth?
Is it not enough that an extraordinary being in this world is left holding a beer bottle, and now this?
It’s just like a light novel world, with yet another nonsensical service scene happening after the shower booth scene.
If this were a light novel, it would have turned into a kiss scene disguised as mouth-to-mouth with the heroine.
The heroine waking up mid-kiss, screaming and blushing, while the protagonist awkwardly explains it was unavoidable would be a given.
Ah, yes, this is indeed a light novel world.
A nonsensical and ridiculous world, indeed.
But I am not a light novel protagonist.
I am a proud, strong friend, a reserve sergeant of the Republic of Korea Army.
It’s time to show the saint the serious CPR I learned by enduring endless scolding and humiliation from my squad leader due to missing the next rank, not some half-hearted imitation of mouth-to-mouth like a light novel protagonist.
“Are you okay? Are you okay? Can you hear me?”
Tap, tap, tap.
I instinctively tap the saint’s shoulder several times.
No response from the saint.
I bring my fingers to her nose to check for breathing.
No breath.
I quickly pull out the AED from one side of the pool and open the box.
I remove the saint’s swim top.
A pair of ample hills are exposed under the moonlight.
[Whoa, Partner. I’ll keep my eyes closed… It’s improper for a lady…]
I place one AED pad under the right collarbone and the other near the left armpit, activating it.
Immediately, I begin chest compressions.
“One, two, three, four, five, six…”
Counting in Korean, I push down with all my weight, determined to break ribs if necessary, as I press hard enough for her chest to sink.
In this sacred CPR, the soft touch of bare skin is a luxury.
[Please clear the area around the patient.]
The AED voice chimes in.
After removing my hands from her chest, I hit the flashing red defibrillation button.
[Defibrillation initiated.]
Listening to the guidance, I immediately dive back into chest compressions.
One, two, three, four, five, six…
Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty.
After completing thirty compressions, I tilt Beatrice’s head back, lift her chin to clear the airway, and immediately press my lips to hers, blowing air into her mouth twice.
[Partner… What’s this? Why are you so good at this?]
Good at it, huh?
After being chewed out by the enraged company commander for potentially obstructing promotion due to soldiers missing rank, and under special orders from the furious platoon leader and quartermaster to skip personal time for a month while only practicing first aid, it’s no surprise that I’m decent at this.
My body just remembers it.
Ignoring the Black Prince’s embarrassing compliment, I mechanically repeat thirty chest compressions and two breaths.
After finishing over ten sets of thirty chest compressions and securing the airway again, I was about to blow air into her mouth again when—
Bam!
The saint’s eyes snap open.
Her unique red irises lock onto mine.
“Ugh! Ughh!”
She flails around like a fish out of water.
I pull my lips away.
“Cough! Cough! Cough!”
The saintess spits out water.
Beatrice’s face turns bright red.
“U-uhhhhhh…”
She dumbly looks at her upper body, then hastily covers her bare chest with her arms.
“Kyaaaaaaaaaa! Pervert! Disgusting!”
The saintess screams at me, her face flushed.
Pervert, disgusting?
What an extremely light novel heroine-like reaction!
It’s so cliché it’s ridiculous.
This world definitely needs a good Samaritan law.
“H-Hey! What the heck are you doing?! A-A kiss wasn’t enough, now you’re touching my—uuuuuhhhhh….”
The saintess bows her head.
“If I hadn’t done that, you would have died.”
She sounds like someone clueless about CPR.
Even when I save her, she causes a scene.
“…I can never get married now… A kiss isn’t enough, and now my body is in the hands of a stranger…”
The saintess mutters something weird and looks at me.
“You… should take responsibility!”
With one hand pointing at her swaying chest and the other pointing at me, the saintess demands responsibility.
What am I supposed to take responsibility for?
“What? I’m your lifesaver, you know? It was a necessary action. Don’t you know CPR? Why are people so ignorant?”
“Th-that’s…”
The saintess is at a loss for words.
“Here I am saving a drowning person and now you’re demanding something from me. Even when I save you, it’s a problem. Or do you feel entitled to complain even to inferior beings?”
Beatrice flinches at being called inferior.
“I-I’m sorry… And…”
She avoids my gaze, her face still red as she mutters softly.
“Th-thank you for saving me…”
“Forget it, just put on a swimsuit.”
It’s not like I asked for an apology.
Is getting an apology this difficult?
“Ah… Alright…”
“Don’t drag your words. It’s annoying.”
Her tone is really getting on my nerves.
I’d rather have her in a middle schooler mode than this.
“Y-yes…”
I told you not to.
Well, expecting her to listen to me was my mistake.
This world is just that messed up.
Swish, swish.
“I’m done getting dressed…”
I hear the saintess’s voice from behind.
When I turn around, there’s the saintess blushing in her swimsuit, glancing at me.
In the pool, it’s just her and me left.
Nice.
“So, have you thought about my proposal from earlier?”
“Th-th-that is…”
Beatrice fidgets with her fingers.
She’s stammering now instead of dragging her words.
What a joke!
“If you don’t want to, I can reveal everything right now…”
Just as I was about to put the pressure on her.
“…I-I’ll cooperate!”
The answer I wanted pops out from the saintess’s lips.
Awesome.
That damn CPR really paid off.
Thank you, mentor.
Like cake, just as easy.
“I’m glad you’ll cooperate. Let’s meet again next time.”
The guy in front of me, Kim Deok-Sung, throws that line and leaves his seat.
Only Beatrice remains in the pool.
Thud.
Beatrice slumps down, her legs giving out.
“Uuuuuu…”
A groan escapes her lips.
Her face turns red again.
