“Glub! Glub, gah!!”

As soon as the Water Walking support magic ended, my body sank into the lake.

Having never learned how to swim in my past life or this one, I started sinking quietly to the bottom of the lake.

‘Ahhhh! Damn it! Damn it!!’

I desperately flailed my limbs, trying to stay afloat, but it was like waving my hands and feet in the air — futile. The chilling sensation of my body sinking lower sent shivers up my spine.

Just moments ago, I had already given up on life once.

But having felt the relief of surviving, I clung to life even more desperately now.

‘Save… me….’

But despite my desperate wish, the light from above grew fainter.

I had used all my mana on that last Mana Blast, leaving me with no way to reach the surface.

As my consciousness began to fade, reaching out to the surface became more and more meaningless.

Then, a shadow blocked my view, and a familiar hand grabbed my wrist.

That was the last thing I remembered before blacking out underwater.

On the Knowledge Island, Somewhere on the Lakeside Path

-Splash!

“Huff, cough, cough, hack…”

A man emerged from the depths of the lake, coughing and sputtering as he gasped for air.

His wet hair covered his eyes and part of his face, and his soaked clothes clung to him like a drenched rat.

On his shoulders, a woman in a red dress with black hair was draped, being carried by him.

After laying the woman on the ground, the man, still wet and exhausted, called out her name urgently.

“Lilith! Wake up! Lilith!!”

“….”

Shaking her shoulders and slapping her cheeks, but Lilith remained unresponsive.

Ethan's mind filled with despair as he repeatedly called her name.

Shortly after the pair emerged from the water, a group of people began approaching them.

“Here! Over here!”

“We found them!!”

“Lord Ethan! Lady Lilith! Are you both alright?!”

The Saintess of Aurelia Church, the Hero, and the Third Princess of the Empire approached Ethan and Lilith urgently.

Seeing the saintess's face, Ethan’s expression momentarily softened.

‘Thank goodness….’

Though he didn't know how they found them, Ethan had no time to ponder that.

As soon as the saintess and the hero reached the unconscious Lilith, Ethan desperately pleaded with the saintess.

“Are you alright?! Both of you, the Kraken’s wounds….”

“Saintess!”

“Yes, yes!”

“Lilith isn’t waking up! Please, do something to save her!”

“Alright! I’ll heal her right away!”

Although she was a ‘false saintess’ created by the church, she was still chosen because she was the most capable priestess of her age.

Unless the person’s heart had stopped, she could save almost anyone with her divine power.

…However, even her abilities couldn’t restart a stopped heart.

“Oh, oh…?”

“What is it, Saintess? Please, save Lilith….”

“I can’t….”

“What?”

“Her, her heart…. It’s not beating….”

At Serista’s despairing words, Ethan felt like his own heart had stopped.

Why did such things keep happening to him?

Just when he thought he could finally overcome the despair of losing his mother in childhood…

Why did Lilith now have to leave him too?

Ethan felt despair for the first time, facing a tragic fate that seemed to target only him.

“Wait a minute! Did you say Lady Lilith’s heart isn’t beating?!”

“Yes…! Normally, as long as the heart is beating, I can heal, but my divine power isn’t working….”

“It hasn’t been long; with CPR, we might still…”

If he hadn’t asked Lilith out on a date today…

If they hadn’t taken a walk near the lakeside…

If he hadn’t created a romantic mood and confessed, making her flustered…

She might still be alive now.

Ethan’s mind was consumed with guilt and despair, feeling like his brain was being stirred with a fork.

…Then, he noticed a man reaching out towards Lilith’s body.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?”

“…What?”

“Are you trying to defile her body in front of me?”

“What are you talking about! It’s CPR! We can still save her!”

“…CPR?”

Yes, the hero.

Thinking back, it wasn’t just the saintess with divine powers here.

The hero, too, had divine blessings from the goddess Aurelia.

It wasn’t strange for him to have powers to revive the dead.

“How do you plan to save her? Is it some power of the hero?”

“It’s not the hero’s power; it’s CPR… Oh, damn. People here don’t know what CPR is….”

“…It’s not the hero’s power?”

“You press on her chest to manually restart her heart. If we can get it beating again, the saintess’s healing will work.”

“…….”

So, he was trying to save her by pressing on her chest?

The explanation sounded plausible, but Ethan still couldn’t trust another man touching Lilith’s chest.

Facing the hero’s gaze, he made a decision.

“Hurry! The longer we wait, the more dangerous it gets….”

“…I’ll do it.”

“What?”

“If it’s just pressing on her chest as you described, I’ll do it.”

Suspicion, possessiveness, jealousy.

In a short time, the hero saw many emotions in Ethan’s eyes.

Deciding it was easier to teach Ethan than to convince him, the hero instructed him on CPR.

“…Place your hands like this, flat against her chest.”

“…Got it.”

“Then use your body weight to compress her chest. Keep going, firmly.”

“…….”

-Press, press, press.

“Harder! We can fix broken ribs, but a stopped heart is beyond help!”

“Huff, huff, huff!!”

-Press! Press! Press!

Ethan’s body moved up and down as he pressed on Lilith’s chest.

Despite being exhausted from rescuing her, he continued CPR as instructed.

He desperately wanted to save Lilith.

If he collapsed, the hero might take over, which he couldn’t allow.

Even in this situation, Ethan didn’t want to let another man touch Lilith.

“…Lady Agnes, please use heating magic to keep their bodies warm.”

“…I’ve already started.”

For about five minutes, Ethan desperately pressed on Lilith’s chest.

Then, a hopeful voice came from Serista.

“J-Just now! Her heart beat for a moment!”

“…What?”

“Is it true?”

“Really…”

“Ethan! Don’t stop! It’s not over yet!”

“S-Sorry!”

Despite the hero’s stern tone, Ethan’s heart filled with hope.

Seeing a chance to save Lilith, he continued CPR even more fervently.

Although her heart beat sporadically, it wasn’t enough for Serista’s healing to work.

Ethan overheard the hero muttering about the next step.

“…We might need to do artificial respiration.”

“Huff, artificial respiration…? What’s that…?”

“Just pressing on her chest might not be enough. We need to blow air directly into her lungs to get her circulation going.”

“Blow air into her lungs… Who here can use wind magic…”

“It’s not magic. You have to do it yourself. I’ll explain once, so listen if you want to save her.”

“…Understood.”

Having seen hope with CPR, Ethan trusted the hero more and had no other option.

He listened intently to the hero’s instructions on artificial respiration.

“First, tilt her head back and open her mouth wide.”

“Alright, then what?”

“Pinch her nose shut. Only let air through her mouth.”

“…Okay, then what?”

“Cover her mouth completely with yours and blow air into her lungs.”

“Cover her mouth with mine… What?”

Ethan, thinking the hero was joking, looked at him in shock, but the hero’s expression was deadly serious.

Annoyed by Ethan’s hesitation, the hero explained again.

“Don’t think lightly of this. It’s a life-saving technique.”

“…Really?”

“If you can’t do it, let me. I’m more likely to save her than you.”

“…No, I’ll do it.”

Not wanting to let the hero kiss Lilith, Ethan quietly apologized to Lilith and pressed his lips to hers.

Following the hero’s instructions, he covered her mouth completely and awaited the next step.

‘Sorry, Lilith.’

“Inhale through your nose, then blow into her mouth. Think of inflating a paper bag. Don’t worry about sucking the air back, just keep breathing into her.”

“Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale….”

“Good, keep going, don’t stop….”

He wanted to save her.

He couldn’t let her die here.

He didn’t need an answer to his confession.

Please, just stay alive and with him….

“Inhale, exhale. Inhale….”

“Cough, cough, gag?!”

“…Gasp?!”

Lilith’s body jerked, coughing while their lips were still touching.

Startled, Ethan pulled away quickly.

Lilith, after coughing up water, slowly opened her eyes and looked around.

“Cough, hack, cough…. Where…?”

The last thing she remembered was the dark depths of the lake, but now she saw the blue sky and many faces around her.

Hearing Serista’s words, Lilith finally realized she had been revived.

“She’s alive! Her heart is beating!”

“She’s alive! It’s a miracle!”

“Lilith, how are you feeling? Are you cold or…?”

Amid the commotion, Lilith couldn’t easily grasp what had happened while she was unconscious.

Realizing she had died and been brought back, Lilith muttered to herself in a daze.

“…I survived.”