Chapter 488: Kiss Kiss Kiss Kiss Kiss

Was this my final stop?

Without fear, without resentment, without pain—so there was no struggling either.

Brave let his body keep sinking downward.

The water pressure increased. Thick, salty liquid flooded his nose and throat, burning sharply.

Water covered his eyes, seeping into the gaps and irritating his tear ducts—that’s when the urge to cry finally hit.

Yesterday, here, he witnessed Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye’s wedding.

Today, here, he would die and sink into the seafloor.

The vast ocean stretched bleak and gloomy, like dark ink dissolving into clear water—spreading slowly from deep to pale. He was like a speck of stardust adrift in infinite space, terribly alone.

He curled tightly, pressing a weakening hand over his chest.

Not from pain—no, his heart felt close to shattering from an unknown weight.

Breath failed. Oxygen dwindled. Thickening blood lumps clogged his veins. Dizziness clouded his mind. Soon, his heart would surely stop for good.

And he himself? He’d disappear.

No—maybe…

He’d never truly existed at all.

Nobody had ever needed him. Nobody would even remember him.

Suddenly, Brave cried. Finally cried. The first time—also the last—there in the deep darkness where no one saw, he cried like a big child who’d messed up completely.

At least before dying, there was no need to fake smiles for anyone. So tears were fine.

The last bubbles of oxygen squeezed past his lips, pulsing like tiny jellyfish, shimmering bright before warping away.

Before blacking out, he even hallucinated—a figure charging toward him desperately.

They say people see what they long for most while dying.

So this was his deepest longing?

Being rescued.

“Sorry… Goodbye…”

He couldn’t utter words this deep. So his guilt and reluctance were swallowed by the water too.

…

Down he sank. Deeper, ever deeper!

As he fell, the light vanished. Sea turned black as ink.

Saltwater flooded his wounds, scalding and stinging—yet those burns fought back unconsciousness.

Finding someone determined to die in endless ocean? Truly like fishing for a needle in the sea.

Luckily… Himekoji found him.

Because the usually dead-silent System chose now to be exceptionally chatty and helpful:

Just as Himekoji grabbed Brave—

Himekoji vaguely heard the System’s words, but his body was beyond exhausted. With the last shard of his strength, he used Zweite Schwarzes Rex to bind himself and Brave together.

Rikka… I’m counting on you…

The moment his signal sent, Himekoji passed out in death’s-shadowed depths.

…

“You’ll save Brave and Himekoji, right?”

Yukinoshita knew exactly how much suffering Brave brought Rikka. Still, she had to ask.

She stressed the name “Himekoji” firmly, eyes locked on Rikka.

Only Rikka could wield that umbrella. So only Rikka could save Himekoji now.

“Yeah.”

Rikka didn’t avoid Yukinoshita’s stare. She nodded hard.

“I hate Brave!”

She stated it plainly.

“But I like Akito!”

She admitted out loud just as plainly.

If Brave and Akito’s lives were tied together—then she had no choice but to save them!

She hadn’t forgiven Brave! How could she want to rescue him?!

She’s exactly that kind of person—grudge-holding, petty, narrow-minded!

If she hates someone? It stays forever.

But if she likes someone? That’s forever too.

“The one I want to save… is only Akito!”

Love must surely be more valuable than hate.

Rikka gripped her umbrella tight. Zweite Schwarzes Rex became a rope, dragging Brave and Himekoji upward.

“Is that so?”

Yukinoshita gazed at Rikka, smiling small—relieved, resigned, knowing.

Oh…

So you feel the same way too.

…

When Zweite Schwarzes Rex pulled two drenched guys onto shore, Yukinoshita was startled—those two were clinging tightly together!

Instantly annoyed, she stomped closer to pull them apart.

Since when did two grown men—one completely naked—cuddle in broad daylight?!

Yukinoshita yanked hard.

“Huh?!”

They hugged tighter than she expected—she couldn’t budge them?

【Synchronization broken!】

Yukinoshita pulled back helplessly, putting hands on hips in annoyance. Strangely though, just then without her doing anything, Himekoji and Brave abruptly separated…

Both remained unconscious.

Almost instinctively, Yukinoshita knelt beside Himekoji. Her earlier insistence on separating them included making it easier to help them.

How could she possibly perform CPR and rescue breaths if those two clung together like that?

“Rikka, I’ll leave Brave to you.”

“Huh? What?”

Before Rikka understood, Yukinoshita began administering flawless CPR to Himekoji with textbook precision.

After several chest compressions, Yukinoshita took a deep breath. She lifted Himekoji’s chin with one hand, pinched Himekoji’s nose with the other, and leaned down towards him.

Just as their lips were about to touch—

“W-wait!”

Rikka urgently stopped her.

“Senpai, please help Brave! Let me handle Akito!”

“Now isn’t the time for this! Saving lives matters most!”

“Y-yes! Saving lives matters, so let me save Akito!”

“It doesn’t matter who does it!”

“Then Senpai can save Brave too, right?”

“Personal feelings can wait! This is urgent—it’s life and death!”

Yukinoshita took the moral high ground with a seemingly reasonable attitude.

But Rikka wouldn’t listen to this nonsense. The two girls froze in a standoff.

Himekoji was beside himself waiting!

“Can’t you take turns?!”

The words slipped out before he remembered he was supposed to be playing dead.

Silence instantly fell.

Yukinoshita and Rikka stopped mid-argument. Their startled, angry gazes turned toward Himekoji lying on the ground—completely forgetting he was pretending.

Seeing them frozen and making no move, Himekoji grew impatient—

“What are you looking at? Hurry up! Do you have any idea? I might die without rescue breaths!”

“You can die right now!”

Yukinoshita and Rikka shared a rare moment of perfect agreement.

Blushing furiously, they both raised their hands.

Slap!

A strike from the left, one from the right.

The pain made Himekoji immediately spit out a fish—he must’ve swallowed it earlier in the sea.

He grinned without anger, still lying there, quietly watching the two flustered faces so close to his.

He smiled in satisfaction.

…

“Oh right! Brave isn’t pretending to be dead! Someone needs to save him!”

Himekoji almost forgot, too distracted by the flirting!

But who would save Brave?

This was a problem.

Yukinoshita or Rikka giving Brave rescue breaths—Himekoji couldn’t accept either option!

So… who should do it?

As Himekoji agonized, he noticed something strange. Yukinoshita and Rikka, as if coordinated, both turned their eyes directly toward him simultaneously.

Himekoji instantly panicked—

“Huh? Me? I can’t! I shouldn’t! I don’t want to!”

“Akito, you were the one who said we need to save Brave, right?”

“Pervert-kun, quit hesitating! It’s basic sense! If someone doesn’t give him rescue breaths soon, Brave might really die!”

“I… I…”

Himekoji’s face twisted in misery, feeling practically pressured into something awful. But the next moment, a miracle appeared!

“Akio!”

It was Tobe’s voice!

Himekoji urgently looked toward the sound.

He saw his eyes—yes, the perfect guy for the job!

Perfect timing, Tobe! Handle Brave! You’re always so close to Hayama—you’ll be thrilled!

Behind Tobe stood Yuigahama Yui, Hanjo Ayame, and Hiratsuka-sensei.

Huh? Wait!

Yuigahama and Hanjo Ayame being here made sense—they came together originally to search for Rikka after she disappeared.

Hiratsuka-sensei drove and picked them up earlier.

But why was Tobe here?

Never mind that!

This minor character probably just existed for kissing scenes anyway.

Specifically, kissing scenes with Brave.

Himekoji instantly dismissed such trivial thoughts, feeling only regret for what he’d missed—

The rescue breaths with Yukinoshita and Rikka… the kiss scenes meant for him.

…