"Claire, what's going on!?" Raven called out in panic.
Claire froze and pointed toward the stream ahead.
"I-It's… a body!" she cried.
Raven was startled. He stopped beside her and stared carefully at the body.
Among the rocks in the stream, a young woman lay unconscious. She was incredibly beautiful, her long red hair drifting with the current.
She wore a red crop top that revealed her flat, pale stomach.
Her face was deathly pale, as if she had lost a great deal of blood.
"This…" Raven narrowed his eyes warily.
"She's dead, Raven!" Claire cut in, quickly stepping back and hiding behind him.
Raven paused for a moment, then decided to check for himself.
He crouched in front of the woman and placed his index finger beneath her nose.
There was no sign of breathing.
Still, Raven didn't give up. He pressed his palm against her chest.
Fortunately, her chest wasn't as large as Claire's, allowing him to immediately feel the faint beating of her heart.
"She's still alive!" Raven's eyes widened.
Without hesitation, he lifted her into his arms and carried her to the riverbank.
Claire stared in confusion. She wanted to ask what he was doing, but Raven was already focused on saving the woman.
Raven cupped his hands together, then placed them on the woman's chest.
"R-Raven, you…" Claire exclaimed in shock.
But Raven ignored her. He pressed down on the woman's chest repeatedly, yet there was no response.
Not wanting to waste time, Raven pinched the woman's nose and pressed his lips against hers.
The sight struck Claire like a thunderbolt. Her mind went blank, and her body stiffened.
Raven didn't notice. He continued pressing on the woman's chest, occasionally giving her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
Fortunately, after three minutes, color slowly returned to the woman's face.
"Cough!"
She choked and spat water from her mouth. Raven immediately stopped and let out a long sigh.
"Cough! Cough!"
She kept coughing, expelling the water lodged in her airways.
Her eyes slowly opened, and she muttered weakly, "Am I… still alive?"
"Yes, you're still alive," a voice answered from beside her.
The woman struggled to turn her head and saw Raven's handsome face.
She was dazed for a moment. Then she snapped back to her senses and tried to sit up, but a wave of excruciating pain stopped her.
"Argh…"
A groan escaped her lips.
Raven rubbed his temples and warned, "Don't move too much. But if you want to die, go ahead. I won't stop you."
The woman gritted her teeth. She didn't know Raven, so it was only natural for her to be wary of him.
Unfortunately, her body was extremely weak. Forget attacking Raven—she was already struggling just to sit up.
In the end, she gave up and lay back down.
"Who… are you? Why did you… save me?" she asked softly, though wariness lingered in her voice.
"Me?" Raven pointed at himself with his thumb and gave a cynical smile. "Didn't your family teach you manners? If you want to know someone's name, at least introduce yourself first."
"You…" The woman growled angrily.
She hadn't expected Raven to be so rude.
"What? Want to get mad?" Raven smirked and slowly crouched in front of her. "Go ahead. Get mad if you want. I'll leave you here and see how long you survive on your own."
His harsh words startled Claire, who stood behind him.
Raven was usually kind to her. This was the first time she had seen him act so cold toward someone else.
The woman clenched her fists in annoyance. But Raven was right—she had been rude.
Suppressing her anger, she said in a stiff tone, "My name is Rose. What about you?"
Raven nodded in satisfaction. "My name is Raven. And she's my partner, Claire. By the way, where's your gratitude? We saved you, you know."
Rose: "…"
The urge to slap Raven burned inside her. But she was far too weak to do anything.
"Thank… you," she said, her voice tense with irritation.
Raven didn't care. He didn't know this woman, so there was no reason to be nice to her.
What's more, she wasn't a system target. He didn't want to waste energy sucking up to her.
Just then, a system notification appeared before his eyes. Raven froze, a sense of foreboding rising in his chest.
"Don't tell me…"
His heart pounded as he glanced at Rose in horror.
When he opened the message, the system's voice—one he hadn't heard in a long time—rang out.
"[Ding! A target with an S rating has been found! Please, Host, conquer her!]"
Raven: "…"
'Damn it… damn it!' he cursed inwardly. 'How could this woman be your target, System!?'
If he had known, he wouldn't have been so rude to Rose earlier.
But it was too late. His image in Rose's eyes was already ruined, leaving him no choice but to take a different approach instead of the gentle method.
Grrrkk!
Suddenly, a gurgling sound rang out clearly.
Claire and Raven froze, their gazes unconsciously shifting toward Rose at the same time.
Rose's face flushed. She quickly turned her head away, avoiding their eyes.
Raven stood and said, "Watch her for me. I'm going to gather some firewood. Also, we haven't eaten lunch yet."
"Alright." Claire didn't refuse.
After that, Raven walked off to search for firewood.
Alone with Rose, Claire hesitated. But since Raven had told her to watch over her, she pushed her uncertainty aside and asked, "Can you get up?"
Rose's embarrassment slowly faded. She turned to Claire, stared at her for a few seconds, then shook her head.
"I can't. Could you… help me?" she asked softly.
She didn't even know Claire, so asking for help was clearly humiliating.
Claire smiled and nodded. "Of course."