Survival (2)

『Lillith has reached Level 13!』

『Lillith has reached Level 14!』

『Lillith has reached Level 15!』

『Lillith has reached Level 16!』

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Two days had passed since the day I sank beneath the lake and somehow returned to life.

Incidentally, the date we had that day was naturally canceled midway. In truth, it wasn’t a situation to think about continuing a date when we were on the verge of holding a funeral.

The last scene I saw two days ago still flickered before my eyes.

That chaotic situation where many people gathered and called out my name.

‘Lillith! Lillith…!!’

‘I’m glad you’re safe, Lillith-yang. Still, you should rest for now, so let’s hurry to the church for treatment….’

‘Wow, I’ll treat you until you’re completely stable! Th-the Hero-nim didn’t tell me to do that!’

‘…Are you really okay?’

Of course, it wasn’t incomprehensible that everyone reacted that way, given that I had truly almost died and then survived.

Especially in Prince Ethan’s case, he hugged me tightly and wouldn’t let go, which was enough to tell how worried he had been.

Fortunately, as long as one’s life was still clinging on, it could be treated with Divine Power in this game world of 『Luminor Academy』.

For stability, I was currently continuing my treatment in a private room at the Aurelia Church.

-Creak.

“How are you feeling today, Lillith-yang?”

“I’m good. Thanks to Saintess-nim’s devoted care, I feel much better.”

“I’m glad to hear you’re much better…. For a moment, I really thought something terrible had happened to you….”

Today, too, Celista carefully opened the church’s hospital room door and entered from the morning.

She was the face I had seen most often over the past two days. It seemed she had been put in charge of my treatment after I nearly died and then returned to life.

Listening to her foolishly make a mistake or two, I could roughly infer that it was the Hero-nim who had entrusted Celista with my treatment.

‘Entrusting even Celista to save Lillith… is it for the sake of the攻略 (strategy)?’

Though it’s awkward for me to say it myself, Lillith’s performance in the game was quite useful.

And while there was a way to clear the game without including Lillith in the party, the standard strategy was to include Lillith in the party and utilize her as a supporter and sub-tank.

Looking at the recent movements of the Hero Gyeotmwa Josyegigot over the past few months, it seemed he was aiming for the standard strategy.

If he truly aimed for a stable clear, he would naturally want to take Lillith to the final battle.

‘That’s not a good sign.’

I’ve said it many times, but I had no intention of joining the protagonist’s party and participating in the journey to defeat the Demon King.

It was a natural human instinct not to want to step into dangerous places.

Moreover, thinking about the event where the Hero takes Lillith as a companion made me even more uncomfortable.

Beheading Prince Ethan, Lillith’s master, and taking her as a trophy-that was a sight I absolutely never wanted to see.

Of course, with Prince Ethan having changed so much and it being clear that Gyeotmwa Josyegigot is a transmigrator, the story probably wouldn’t get that twisted.

Still, it seemed better to return to my daily life quickly rather than owe Celista any more favors.

If I missed any more classes here, it would be difficult to catch up, and most importantly, I had to participate in Student Council duties.

“I think I can return to the Academy as early as tomorrow, Saintess-nim.”

“B-but it might still be better to rest a little longer…. I’m not kidding, your heart really stopped. If it weren’t for what the Hero-nim called C…PR? It would have been really dangerous…. There don’t seem to be any side effects yet, but….”

“…You mean CPR, right?”

“Yes, yes…. Oh, you remember it well…?”

It wasn’t that I remembered it well; it was just knowledge from my past life. I had roughly gathered from the circumstances that the Hero had used CPR to revive me.

The story of my heart being made to beat again after it had stopped was certainly terrifying to me in many ways.

I had been startled when I had to rely on the church after the Hookfang incident, but this time, it meant I had suffered an injury that even the church couldn’t heal, so how much worse must it have been?

If it hadn’t been for Gyeotmwa whatchamacallit, who happened to be nearby, there was a high chance I wouldn’t be in this world anymore.

…Though I certainly hadn’t expected to receive CPR from that Hero.

‘No other man had touched me besides Prince Ethan.’

Even though I was unconscious, the thought of another man touching my chest, not Prince Ethan, made me feel strange.

Of course, Prince Ethan wouldn’t have known how to perform CPR, so it must have been an unavoidable choice. There’s no way Prince Ethan would have learned CPR from the Hero in that situation.

Originally, he didn’t directly touch my chest but merely compressed the area between my breasts, and if I only thought of it as a medical procedure, it wasn’t an area to be concerned about.

Still, I couldn’t help but feel conscious of being touched by another man right in front of Prince Ethan’s eyes.

‘And it seems I didn’t wake up immediately, so he even gave me artificial respiration.’

I had a faint memory of someone else’s lips pressing against mine at the very end, so it must have been true.

I couldn’t tell who it was due to the backlight that momentarily hit my eyes, but since Prince Ethan wouldn’t know how to perform artificial respiration, the identity of the person was obvious.

Even though it was to save a dying person, Prince Ethan must have unwillingly witnessed the chest of the person he liked being touched by another, and their lips meeting.

It wasn’t my fault, but I felt strangely sorry.

Because if I were Prince Ethan, I would have felt quite uneasy.

‘It might have been better if Prince Ethan was the one.’

My chest was already being touched regularly anyway, so whether his hand touched it or not, I wouldn’t have cared.

A kiss… no, artificial respiration, if it had to be, I suppose it would have been better if it was someone I was familiar with.

There was also the apology for not being able to properly answer his confession.

More than anything, if I ever had to kiss someone, it would have been better if Prince Ethan was the one….

‘Ah, no. What on earth am I thinking right now?’

“Oh? Is the room a little warm?”

“Ah, no…. It’s not that….”

“……?”

My face suddenly flushed with heat at the embarrassing thought that popped into my head.

For the past few days, whenever I thought about Prince Ethan, it was always like this. I’d become unnecessarily conscious of something trivial.

Actually, I had already expected to receive a confession at some point before.

My perception of Prince Ethan hadn’t particularly changed because of it.

Like how he showed signs of becoming a Sword Expert at the last moment when I almost died, blocking the Kraken’s final attack.

Or how he dragged me to shore somehow, even as we fell to the bottom of the lake together.

I just couldn’t help but become conscious of him naturally when thinking about those things.

No, honestly, even if it were man to man, one couldn’t help but feel a flutter in their heart.

What kind of person in the world wouldn’t feel gratitude towards someone who saved their life twice? If such a person existed, they’d be a shameless scoundrel without a conscience.

And well, they call it the Suspension Bridge Effect, don’t they? A person’s heart naturally beats faster when in danger, and they tend to feel love for someone nearby at that moment.

The way my heart flutters when I think of Prince Ethan, who saved my life, must be a type of phenomenon combining the Suspension Bridge Effect and a conditioned reflex.

…Of course, Suspension Bridge Effect or not, I certainly felt gratitude towards Prince Ethan. I owed him an unspeakable debt for this incident.

If he were to ask for something in return for saving my life… honestly, I didn’t feel confident at all that I could refuse.

Touching my chest is, well, natural, and even if he suggested going on that date again, I’d have no choice but to agree.

Not only that, if he asked me to date him as a reward for saving my life… I might find it hard to refuse.

No, to be precise, even if he asked for something more than that, I might seriously consider it once….

-Knock, knock.

“Lillith, how are you feeling?”

“P-P-Prince Ethan?!”

At Prince Ethan’s voice from outside the hospital room, a shrill sound escaped my mouth in sudden panic.

I immediately demanded an explanation from Celista, who was checking my condition beside me.

“W-what happened…? I-I thought visits weren’t allowed yet….”

“Ah, I apologize. I forgot to tell you. When I examined you yesterday, your condition seemed stable, so I informed Prince Ethan-nim and Princess Seraphine-nim about your status, Lillith-yang. I told them it would be alright for them to visit one person at a time….”

“Why are you only telling me this now?!”

“Ah, I-I’m so sorry…! I-I was going to tell you after finishing the check-up, but I forgot….”

Oh, what should I do? What kind of face should I make when I meet Prince Ethan now?

First, wash my face…. No, no. First, I need to fix my hair….

“Lillith, can I come in?”

“J-just a moment, Prince Ethan!”

As soon as I regained my composure, I wiped away the sleep from my eyes and roughly tidied my hair with my fingers.

I used Clean Magic to quickly tidy up the clothes I was wearing and the bed, and then, and then what else….

“H-Head Dress!”

“Yes?!”

“C-could you please just hand me the Head Dress over there?”

“This one…?”

“Yes! That one!”

I received only the Head Dress from the Maid Uniform hanging on a hanger in the hospital room from Celista, and then put it on my roughly tidied hair.

…It looks decent enough now.

“Y-you can come in, Prince Ethan.”

-Creak.

After checking the reflection of ‘Exclusive Maid Lillith’ in the mirror, I called out to Prince Ethan, who was waiting outside the door.

As soon as I finished speaking, Prince Ethan immediately slid open the hospital room door and stepped inside.

The moment I saw Prince Ethan’s face for the first time in almost three days, my heart suddenly began to pound wildly.

“Lillith, how’s your body?”

-Thump.

“…Lillith?”

“Ah, yes…. My, my body, you ask…?”

-Thump, thump.

“…Perhaps, your condition is still not good? Even with Saintess-nim taking care of you….”

“Ah, no, it’s just….”

-Thump, thump, thump.

Suspension Bridge, Suspension Bridge….

It’s because of the Suspension Bridge Effect….