"The cruise ship has eight floors. Our current position is on the sixth floor. If we go down two floors, we can exit through the hallway from the deck, and then swim up four or five meters to the sea surface…"
Natsuki wiped the water from his face, described the escape route, and continued:
"I found a lifeboat, and I've already untied it and let it float to the surface… Who wants to go out first?"
"…"
The girls exchanged glances, and no one spoke.
After a few seconds, Haruno said as if nothing had happened:
"Um, Natsuki-kun seemed to have said just now that there's only one underwater breathing mask, right?"
Natsuki nodded:
"That's right, only this one I have."
This thing is really only useful in special environments; normally, it's just clutter, so there's no need to hoard it.
Chika hesitated: "If there's only one underwater breathing mask, how are we supposed to swim out? We might not be able to hold our breath for that long…"
According to Natsuki, they would need to hold their breath underwater for at least several minutes to escape the sunken ship and return to the surface. Everyone was just ordinary high school students on a school trip.
Although they all knew how to swim, trying to hold their breath in the sea for several minutes seemed incredibly dangerous. If they accidentally choked on water, there would truly be no way up or down.
Natsuki quickly understood the girls' concerns and immediately said:
"I didn't make it clear just now, so I'll say it again. The breathing mask is for you to use. I don't need it. I'll accompany you all the way out, and after I've sent one of you to the surface, I'll come back for the next one."
With Natsuki's current physical condition, holding his breath underwater for half an hour is no problem.
If he truly encounters an irresistible force, he can also reset time and start over. In short, he is full of confidence and not flustered in the slightest.
Chika looked over worriedly: "Natsuki-kun, wouldn't it be too dangerous without a breathing mask?"
"It's indeed very dangerous." Natsuki nodded, his voice suddenly deepening. "One wrong move and it could be a one-way trip, so… Chika, if you give me a kiss, I'll die without regrets."
"Eh eh eh?!" Chika's pretty face quickly flushed, then she frantically shook her head, "No no no!"
We're just ordinary classmates, how could I suddenly kiss you?!
Only couples can do that kind of thing!
Natsuki sighed, his voice mournful: "I, you know, have never known what it feels like to be kissed by a girl, not once in my life."
Chika: "…Don't make such a pitiful face!"
"It's about time to act." Natsuki quickly put away his pitiful expression and became serious. "It's a bit troublesome to let you choose, so I'll designate… Kaguya, you come out with me first."
As Natsuki spoke, he handed the underwater breathing mask to Kaguya.
Hayasaka, as a personal maid, stepped forward without hesitation, smiling: "I just tried the mask and have a little experience, so why don't I go first?"
Natsuki silently looked at Hayasaka.
Now you know how to protect your master?
When you were secretly eating earlier, you kept saying you had to hide it from Miss and make sure Miss never found out!
"No need, I'll go first." Kaguya gently shook her head, took the breathing mask from Natsuki's hand, and said calmly, "After all… if Amamiya-kun had ill intentions, all of us combined wouldn't be able to resist."
Of course, this was only a small part of the reason.
The more important reason was that Kaguya, for some unknown reason, felt an inexplicable trust in the boy before her, stemming from her heart.
Seeing that Kaguya had made up her mind, Hayasaka silently stepped back half a pace, no longer obstructing her.
"Hoo…"
Kaguya gently exhaled and put on the underwater breathing mask. She felt as if the mask was alive; the moment she put it on, it automatically conformed and wrapped around her face, without feeling stuffy or uncomfortable.
"Then I'll send Kaguya up first." Natsuki looked at the other girls. "Wait for me, I'll be back within five minutes."
"…"
Splash!
Natsuki and Kaguya both leaped into the water.
The cold seawater quickly immersed her entire body, causing Kaguya to shiver slightly. She cautiously tried to breathe freely, and soon felt wisps of air being filtered and decomposed into the mask. Although not much, it was perfectly sufficient for breathing.
After confirming that the underwater breathing mask was truly effective, Kaguya quickly relaxed, following behind Natsuki as they swam towards the unknown ahead.
The entire cruise ship was capsized in the sea. For some unknown reason, air remained at the bottom, but the top was completely submerged in the seawater.
The cold, murky seawater filled all the rooms in the cabin. Kaguya felt the entire corridor was dim and eerie, with countless floating objects, and even some marine creatures appeared.
After swimming for a moment.
Natsuki suddenly stopped.
"Wh-what's wrong?"
Kaguya quickly stopped as well, instinctively grabbing Natsuki's sleeve.
After her memory was blocked, Kaguya was now just an ordinary girl. She hadn't been on a school trip, hadn't traveled far, and had never experienced any great storms. Even though she kept telling herself to calm down, she was still very flustered.
Natsuki wasn't wearing a breathing mask, so he naturally couldn't speak underwater. He blew out two small bubbles, then extended a finger, pointing towards the corner.
Kaguya's eyes widened. Because she had drunk the Witch Potion earlier, her visibility was quite good at the moment. She soon saw a large black tail swimming past a half-open doorway.
"It's normal for there to be creatures in a shipwreck. Don't panic, let's keep going."
Natsuki blinked and led the way forward.
Kaguya bit her lip, heightened her vigilance, and quickly followed.
And then… nothing happened.
Natsuki swam in front, passing safely through that doorway.
Kaguya nervously followed behind, also swimming past safely, and then quietly let out a sigh of relief.
"Phew… Hmm!!!"
However, the next second, Kaguya suddenly felt some cold, slimy object wrap around her waist, dragging her backward.
Being in the water, with nowhere to brace herself, Kaguya was immediately pulled back a significant distance, and she instinctively cried out:
"President!"
Natsuki heard the sound and quickly turned his head, seeing a slender, eel-like creature wrapped around Kaguya's body, trying to drag Kaguya into the room. A flash of anger immediately crossed his eyes, and he unhesitatingly turned and swam back. With a sudden burst of power, he was like a swordfish in the sea, reaching Miss's side within two breaths and grabbing the strange fish's body.
Punching in the sea, due to the resistance of the water, actually has little destructive power. For example, ordinary pistol bullets shot into water can only penetrate about one meter before losing all their power.
So Natsuki didn't use his fist, but instead directly grabbed the sea eel, ensuring he could exert 100% of his strength.
With one grab, the sea eel immediately struggled in pain, directly flinging Kaguya away and tumbling into the room with Natsuki.
"President?"
Kaguya, still shaken, breathed a sigh of relief, watching wide-eyed as Natsuki was dragged into the room by the sea creature. She quickly went forward, wanting to help, but found the door jammed by debris. She could only suppress her anxiety and began clearing the debris.
"Strange… why did I call him President just now?"
The puzzling thought flashed through her mind, and Kaguya bit her lip, quickly clearing the debris.
At the same time.
Inside the room.
In pain, the strange fish had used a rolling maneuver to break free from Natsuki's grip. It dared not attack and directly hid in the corner.
Natsuki, however, had no intention of letting it go.
Firstly, it dared to attack Kaguya just now, an unforgivable sin.
Secondly, this passage would be used many more times, so this strange fish had to be dealt with to prevent further sneak attacks.
So, one person and one fish began chasing each other in the room.
However, the room was full of floating debris, and being in the seawater, Natsuki couldn't catch it for a while.
It wasn't until he spotted an opportunity that Natsuki decisively used the Accio to pull the eel-like monster in front of him. Then, with a sudden burst of strength, he directly crushed all the bones of the sea eel.
"…Natsuki-kun?"
At this moment, Kaguya finally cleared all the debris blocking the doorway and swam in.
"Solved."
Natsuki turned his head, gave Miss a thumbs-up, discarded the now motionless sea eel, swam back to Miss's side, and gestured with his finger:
"Let's continue."
"…"
Kaguya silently followed behind, continuing to swim outwards.
This time, they didn't encounter any more danger. Led by Natsuki, the two quickly reached the sliding door on the hallway. Once through this door, they would be able to reach the deck.
"It's already been several minutes?"
Kaguya silently calculated the time in her heart, unable to resist glancing at Natsuki.
Clearing the debris earlier had taken at least over a minute. For an ordinary person to hold their breath for so long and fight such a large giant fish, would he really be okay?
"What's wrong?"
Noticing Kaguya's gaze, Natsuki turned to look at her.
"You..."
Kaguya bit her lip, took a deep breath, and quickly made a decision.
Although there was only one breathing mask, two people could take turns using it.
She had used it for so long; it should be his turn now.
No sooner said than done.
Kaguya quickly took off the breathing mask, immediately feeling the cold seawater moisten her cheeks. Enduring the discomfort, she tried to hand the mask to Natsuki.
However, she saw Natsuki's face first show surprise, then the surprise turned into delight, and he even smiled, despite being in the sea.
"Come here, you."
Natsuki suddenly reached out and wrapped an arm around Kaguya's soft, slender waist. Under Kaguya-san's bewildered gaze, he directly lowered his head and kissed her.
"Mmm...!"
Kaguya felt her mind go blank, and her entire body froze.
He, he, he, he, he... she was actually kissed by a boy?!
How dare he!
After a brief moment of dizziness, Kaguya quickly reacted.
This guy... he must have misunderstood, right?
It must be!
She just wanted to give him the breathing mask, not to give him mouth-to-mouth like in the movies!
Kaguya slightly recovered and was about to struggle and push him away. Who knew that the next moment, something directly invaded her mouth, accurately grasping her tongue tip.
(Eh, eh, eh? What is it?)
After her memory was blocked and she turned back into Kaguya, Kaguya was back to square one. Her reserve of physiological knowledge went directly to zero. She was now a truly 'sterile' young lady, knowing what CPR was but not knowing what kissing would do.
Her head was dizzy and muddled. After several seconds of being stunned, Kaguya finally realized.
(C-could it be a tongue...)
Kaguya felt as if her whole body was on fire. She wanted to struggle, she wanted to dodge, but her body was soft and weak, completely disobedient. She could only meekly hide her tongue tip backward, but she couldn't escape at all.
Natsuki seemed exceptionally skilled, always able to quickly grasp her, leaving her nowhere to hide.
Fortunately, they were in the sea, so he couldn't take advantage of Kaguya for too long. Otherwise, Natsuki truly wouldn't want to stop. Such a naive and shy young lady, if he missed this opportunity, he wouldn't get another.
"Thanks for the treat."
Natsuki put the breathing mask back on Kaguya, then picked up the dizzy Kaguya, who hadn't yet fully recovered, pushed open the bulkhead door, swam out of the ship's cabin, and finally arrived on the deck.
"...Look behind you."
Natsuki gently squeezed Kaguya, signaling Kaguya to look back.
Kaguya had calmed down a little by now. She instinctively turned her head and couldn't help but widen her beautiful eyes. She saw a giant ship, face down, quietly submerged in the seawater. Beneath it was the boundless and deep sea. The entire scene was silent, yet it held an indescribably extreme shock.
Although she had believed Natsuki's words before, she had never witnessed it with her own eyes, so she couldn't completely believe it after all.
"We're going up."
Natsuki held Kaguya and quickly swam towards the surface of the sea.
A moment later.
Splash!
Water splashed.
Natsuki and Kaguya broke through the surface of the sea.
Outside, it was still a pitch-black night. Only the surrounding outlines could be vaguely seen, but after surfacing, the oppressive and fearful feeling from the deep sea quickly dissipated.
Natsuki looked around and quickly spotted the lifeboat. The sea surface was exceptionally calm, with hardly any ripples, so the lifeboat was just a dozen meters away and had not been swept away by the waves.
"Mission accomplished."
He swam to the lifeboat with Kaguya and placed Kaguya onto the lifeboat.
Kaguya took a deep breath, bit her lip, and glared at him with an annoyed look, saying:
"You just now..."
Natsuki quickly said:
"Thanks to Kaguya-san's mouth-to-mouth just now, otherwise I definitely wouldn't have made it here."
Liar!
Big liar!
You were holding a person just now and could still swim so fast, not showing any signs of exhaustion!
She had taken first aid classes. CPR doesn't involve extending, extending...
Seeing Kaguya try to keep her pretty face taut, looking incredibly annoyed yet biting her lip and not speaking, Natsuki couldn't help but smile and extend his right hand to Kaguya-san.
"What are you doing?!"
Kaguya cautiously leaned back, maintaining her distance.
The last time was enough. If he tried to do that again, she would absolutely not tolerate him!
Natsuki said innocently:
"Of course, I want you to give me the breathing mask. I have to dive down again soon. What did you think I wanted to do?"
Kaguya: "..."
Kaguya bit her lip, quickly took off the breathing mask, and threw it over.
Natsuki took the mask, then took out a towel he had gotten from a Blind Box, handed it to Kaguya, and gently instructed her:
"Remember, just stay in the lifeboat. Don't go anywhere. Wait for me to come back."
"..."
Kaguya turned her pretty face away, indicating she didn't want to talk.
"I'm leaving."
Natsuki put on the breathing mask and re-entered the sea.
The sea surface instantly quieted down.
Kaguya couldn't help but turn her head and look at where Natsuki had dived, feeling a strange panic in her heart.
Just now, she had found Natsuki quite detestable and didn't want to talk to him, but after Natsuki left, she was the only one left on the entire sea surface, and feelings of panic and loneliness inevitably surged up quickly.
Kaguya secretly extended a finger and lightly touched her lips. The scalding temperature from earlier seemed to still linger there.
How strange.
She actually didn't feel any dislike...
No!
She couldn't let her mind wander. She had to distract herself!
But the more she tried to stop, the more her brain couldn't stop. Her mind was filled with the scene from earlier. Kaguya haphazardly wiped her body, and her originally pale pretty face quickly turned red.
(Ahhh! She's too strange!)
A moment later.
Splash.
Natsuki returned to the ship's cabin.
As soon as he surfaced, he heard the girls' cheers.
"He's back, he's back!"
"Natsuki-kun is back."
"I told you, Natsuki-kun definitely wouldn't abandon us!"
"..."
Those who escaped into the sea were in great danger, but those who stayed in the ship's cabin waiting were actually just as tormented.
Especially when the agreed-upon time had passed and Natsuki still hadn't returned, everyone was a little nervous and uneasy.
Now that Natsuki reappeared, the girls all breathed a sigh of relief and immediately felt at ease.
"I'm back," Natsuki said as he stepped into the ship's cabin. "Something happened on the way. Sorry for the wait."
Hayasaka was quite worried about Kaguya's safety and couldn't help but say:
"What happened on the way? How is Kaguya-san now?"
"Don't worry, Kaguya is fine. She's already in the lifeboat now." Natsuki wiped the seawater from his face, then described the giant strange fish he encountered on the way, and then said, "You're going up next, right?"
"Then I'll leave it to Natsuki-kun."
Hayasaka agreed without hesitation.
Natsuki handed the breathing mask to Hayasaka, and after Hayasaka put it on, the two submerged into the seawater.
The journey was safe.
This time, they didn't encounter any danger.
Led by Natsuki, the two successfully left the cruise ship.
After passing through the deck bulkhead door and completely leaving the cruise ship, Hayasaka turned her head and saw the giant cruise ship quietly submerged in the sea, her face also showing a shocked expression.
"We can swim up now."
Natsuki held Hayasaka and swam up to the surface of the sea.
This time, the distance was well-controlled. The spot where they surfaced was only a few meters from the lifeboat.
"Hayasaka?"
Kaguya's eyes lit up, and she couldn't help but call out.
Seeing Kaguya sitting in the lifeboat, wrapped in a towel, Hayasaka's eyes also lit up, and she quickly felt relieved.
"You two look out for each other."
Natsuki placed Hayasaka onto the lifeboat, put on his breathing mask, and re-submerged into the sea.
The sea quickly quieted down.
"I didn't expect Natsuki-kun to be telling the truth about everything. When I saw that sunken cruise ship in the sea just now, it was incredibly shocking."
Hayasaka knelt beside Kaguya, and while helping Kaguya dry her hair, she lowered her voice and said, "...But about Natsuki-kun saying our memories were blocked, I still can't fully trust him."
"Many things, even if seen with your own eyes, may not be true, let alone just someone else's one-sided words... Kaguya?"
"Hm?" Kaguya, who had been spacing out, came back to her senses and softly said, "Nothing, you continue."
Hayasaka frowned slightly, thinking of a possibility, and bit her lip, saying:
"Kaguya... did that man do something strange to you?"
"N-no..."
Kaguya guiltily averted her gaze, unwilling to meet Hayasaka's eyes.
Your reaction clearly indicates that he did!
Damn it!
How dare he lay a hand on Kaguya? I'll never forgive him!
Hayasaka silently clenched her fists, her gaze quickly firming.
No matter what, she wouldn't let Kaguya be taken advantage of again!
What happened next goes without saying.
Natsuki transformed into a 'porter,' using a breathing mask to carry the girls out of the cabin one by one.
His senpai, Yukino, Haruno, Juju, his daughter, and the unlucky passers-by were all rescued to the surface by Natsuki, and it was relatively safe during this time, with no further attacks.
The once crowded and stuffy space now only had two people left: one was Chika, and the other was Shoko.
Splash.
Natsuki emerged from the water.
"I'm back." Natsuki, soaking wet, walked into the cabin. "Now there are only two of you left. Who wants to go up first?"
Chika looked at Shoko and lightly coughed twice, saying:
"Um, Natsuki-kun, why don't you rescue Shoko-chan first?"
After her memories were blocked, this Shoko was unfamiliar with Juju. She used to be a super good girl, never having traveled far since childhood, and due to her communication disorder, she always kept her head down and didn't interact with others, truly embodying what it meant to be pitiful, weak, and helpless.
Natsuki looked at Shoko upon hearing this and said:
"Then Shoko, you go up first?"
The the timid girl quickly shook her head, wanting to say she would stay, but unfortunately, she opened her mouth for a long time and couldn't utter a single syllable.
"Oh, just say it." Chika pushed Shoko toward Natsuki. "If I leave first, Shoko-chan will be left alone in the cabin, and it would feel very scary. Shoko-chan might even cry from fright, right?"
This secretary Chika's nature was to be joyful and eager to help; she simply couldn't ignore others in distress.
Natsuki retorted:
"Remove 'might'; she'll definitely cry from fright."
Komi: "…"
This the the timid girl wanted to retort, saying she wouldn't cry from fright, but she completely lacked the courage to speak in front of a stranger.
"Then let's take Shoko to the surface first." Natsuki didn't dwell on it. He put the breathing mask on Shoko, then picked her up. "It's faster to swim while carrying her."
Suddenly being embraced by a boy, the the timid girl's pretty face instantly flushed red. She dared not look up, nor did she dare to make a sound.
Natsuki looked at Chika and said softly:
"Wait for me to come back."
"Mm-hmm, Natsuki-kun, please take Shoko-chan up first."
Chika nodded, waving her hand to signal Natsuki to leave quickly.
It was only after Natsuki left that Chika realized she had underestimated the terror of loneliness…