Ch.42Three Together (4)

Rustila felt water filling her lungs.

She was sinking.

Suddenly realizing she might drown, she snapped to her senses and began swimming.

Then she noticed something strange. Her body felt too light. Rustila’s gaze, which had been directed toward the surface, turned downward. Two young people were slowly sinking toward the bottom.

It was Eidel and Zernya.

Rustila desperately flailed her arms toward them. Dramatically, she managed to grab hold of their clothes.

Assessing their condition, she saw that Zernya was unconscious, and Eidel was bleeding from his head. His eyes were rolled back—the situation was critical.

“Puha…!”

Using every last bit of strength, she dragged them out of the lake. The early spring chill made her entire body feel frozen.

[“Neither of them shows signs of cardiac arrest. That’s fortunate amid the misfortune.”]

Rustila looked up at the sky. The clouds were thick, suggesting rain would fall soon. Looking around, she spotted a large cave and dragged the two inside.

[“There are no carnivores inside. Let’s go in.”]

Nodding at Vega’s voice, she entered the cave. As soon as she got inside, her legs gave out. Rustila collapsed with a thud, breathing heavily.

It was cold.

The atmosphere of artificial planets is generally cool. Despite terraforming, temperatures rarely rise above 20 degrees year-round. Especially during periods classified as winter, like now, nighttime temperatures frequently dropped below freezing.

The school uniform had waterproof features, so it wasn’t soaked, but her body was the problem.

“Ugh.”

Her teeth chattered. The cold moisture repeatedly evaporated in the dry cave air, stealing heat from her body. If she didn’t dry off quickly, she would die of hypothermia.

Rustila grabbed Eidel and Zernya’s hands. Zernya was still warm, but Eidel’s hands were ice-cold.

Like a corpse.

“No way.”

She hurriedly removed Eidel’s clothes. Not having the courage to unbutton his shirt, the last line of defense, she placed her ear against his chest in that state.

She could hear his heartbeat, albeit faintly.

But it wasn’t a normal pulse.

‘Just hang on. I’ll get firewood right away.’

Rustila gathered an armful of fallen leaves and dry branches and returned to the cave. She arranged stones in a circle, piled the fuel inside, and prepared a campfire.

“Fire…”

Now she needed to light it.

‘How do I light it? I dropped my Plasma Sword and don’t have it anymore.’

She had neither the time nor experience to attempt primitive methods like a hand drill.

Rustila’s wandering eyes turned to Eidel’s left hand.

‘Calipers…’

A classical measuring tool said to have been used in ancient times.

It was the instrument he had used during the practical evaluation, and earlier when he defeated the monster. Even as he lost consciousness, Eidel had maintained a tight grip on the calipers.

It seemed to be more than a simple measuring tool. Perhaps it was given by a god. Maybe it could be used as a substitute for a Plasma Sword.

[“Don’t touch it.”]

The background voice, Vega, spoke to her.

[“If it belongs to a god, merely touching it could kill you.”]

But Eidel touched it just fine?

[“That’s because it must have accepted that boy as its owner. If anyone else touches it, they might suffer a penalty.”]

Despite Vega’s warning, Rustila shook her head.

‘He saved me first.’

If Eidel hadn’t come, she would have died.

‘Besides…’

Even if touching the calipers killed her, it would be fortunate if the other two could survive. There’s nothing more abundant than saving two lives with one.

Just as Rustila reached for the calipers with this judgment in mind—

The calipers slipped out of Eidel’s hand, spun through the air, and plunged into the campfire.

Crack! Sparks flew.

Startled, Rustila fell backward onto her bottom.

Embers were rising.

“……”

[“…That god.”]

Vega let out a chuckle.

***

With unexpected help, she succeeded in lighting the fire. All that remained was to dry off, leave the mountains, and return to the academy.

But things didn’t go as planned.

It started raining.

Quite a downpour.

“…Haah.”

The chill of the cold rain. Her breath was visible.

Once the fire grew strong enough, Rustila hurried to remove Eidel and Zernya’s clothes.

She needed to start with Eidel, whose condition was more serious.

But it wasn’t easy. Removing just the top would be one thing, but taking off everything including the bottom was the most difficult task for a virgin girl.

Doing a thousand push-ups would be easier.

Still, she had to do it. It was a medical necessity. With that excuse that wasn’t really an excuse, she unbuttoned his shirt and removed his belt. Rustila’s vision spun.

‘I-I can’t go any further…’

She decided to just wipe off the moisture from his arms, legs, and upper body, leaving the rest to the fire.

“What are you doing?”

“Eek…!”

Just as she was about to touch Zernya’s scarf, the girl’s purple eyes shot her a fierce glare.

“Touch it and you die.”

Zernya swatted away Rustila’s hand. Then she coughed, spitting out water.

After checking her soaked condition, Zernya nonchalantly removed her jacket and sat close to the campfire.

“Aren’t you going to take off your scarf?”

Rustila asked carefully.

“It’s waterproof and keeps me warm, so don’t worry about it.”

Zernya replied curtly. Her complexion wasn’t good after fainting and waking up.

“Damn, my head hurts.”

“It’s because of the cold water. You’ll feel better soon.”

“That’s not it. I had a headache before falling into the water. What the hell happened…”

Zernya sighed, holding her forehead.

Rustila blushed as she folded her jacket and skirt. She wasn’t completely naked, but embarrassment was embarrassment.

“Ugh…”

Similarly, Zernya, who was removing her stockings, turned her head to look at Rustila. She twisted her lips and said:

“Don’t be so dramatic.”

“…You’re so calm, even in this situation.”

“I was trained for this since childhood.”

As she spoke, Zernya kneaded Eidel’s forearm. Her cheeks, illuminated by the campfire, didn’t look normal either.

Then Zernya checked Eidel’s pulse.

“This is dangerous.”

“What?”

“His pulse is weak. Almost undetectable. Is his heart beating?”

“Y-yes. It was beating.”

“So we don’t need CPR yet. Hypothermia is our primary concern.”

Muttering that there was no other way, Zernya embraced Eidel’s left side with both arms.

In that moment, Rustila’s mind exploded.

“Y-y-you…”

“It’s a medical procedure. Medical.”

Zernya was gritting her teeth. The situation was clearly uncomfortable for her too. Skin-to-skin contact with a boy she’d barely met!

“I thought you disliked Eidel?”

“Disliking someone doesn’t mean I want them dead.”

“……”

“I’m going to be a doctor when I grow up. I’ll take control of the Northern Trauma Center. If I let someone die right in front of me without doing anything, it would tarnish my career. I might even fail the character test. And since he’s a direct Rheinland descendant, we might be held responsible if he dies. Yes, that’s it. I’m definitely going to survive this. Yes, indeed…”

Zernya rambled incoherently. She suddenly talked about her future aspirations and then randomly added reasons why she had to save Eidel.

“…A-anyway. I decline becoming valedictorian because he died. First place only shines when there’s a second place. Without him, there might not be anyone worthy of acknowledging as second place. Yes, that’s right. That’s the correct theory.”

Zernya’s lips were trembling slightly. Watching her, Rustila found herself unconsciously agreeing.

Yes, this is all to save a person.

Rustila reflected on her dream. To become an excellent examiner. If possible, to surpass S-rank and become EX-rank or even the highest rank, Omega (Ω), protecting the lives and assets of federation citizens.

She had pledged to become such an examiner. It was a thought she’d had since long ago. So she couldn’t let a classmate die here.

Suppressing the wave of embarrassment, she embraced Eidel’s right side. Rustila’s cheeks burned.

Tap tap tap.

In the blazing campfire, the two girls wiggled their toes to pass the time. The space gradually felt warmer.

Night had fallen.

And the rain was getting heavier.

***

Consciousness returned gradually, like a wooden plank drifting on the ocean. But that didn’t mean waking up to reality.

“Where is this…”

It was a dark space. A gloomy place where even sunlight refused to touch, where gloominess and coolness became the wind.

As I drifted through this place, suddenly a light turned on before me.

Under the white light were tentacles, undulating like velvet.

Following those tentacles upward, I could see several dark blue skeins rolling around.

After scanning the skeins on the floor, I slowly raised my head. Simultaneously, a woman’s voice was heard.

“Hitting your own head before falling into water.”

She grinned.

“You’re much more interesting than you look.”

It wasn’t difficult to know who the voice belonged to.

Cartesia.

She appeared before me, borrowing the form of an avatar.