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Looking at the frozen waves in the distance and the seagulls hanging motionless in midair, Blake reacted immediately.
This was… time stop?
What was going on?
Why had Mahiru suddenly activated it?
Yamada Elf was the playful troublemaker type who snuck out invisible almost every day for "research," but Mahiru Shiina was gentle and reserved. She never used her powers recklessly.
So what happened?
"Mr. Blake, look over there… does someone look like they're drowning?"
The worried voice of the girl reached his ears.
Blake: "…"
Sorry.
He literally couldn't move. Couldn't see a thing either.
Mahiru quickly realized the problem. Forgetting all about her usual shyness and restraint, she hurriedly spread her arms and lightly hugged him.
A moment later, Blake caught the faint scent of her perfume drifting into his nose. Then his eyes could blink again, and his mouth could move.
"I can talk now… Did you stop time because someone fell into the sea?"
"Yes." Mahiru's face reddened as she quickly stepped half a pace back and pointed into the distance. "Over there. I think there are two people. Mr. Blake, look."
"My head still can't move." Blake's tone became serious. "Mahiru, turn my head for me first."
"O-okay."
Mahiru immediately stood on tiptoe and cupped his cheeks with both hands.
Their eyes met.
The girl's fair, jade-like face instantly turned bright red, and her gaze started darting around shyly.
(This posture… is way too embarrassing…)
(It feels just like the setup before a girl kisses a boy in a TV drama…)
(Calm down, don't think weird things!)
(Saving people comes first!)
Mahiru took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the chaotic thoughts in her head, then gently turned Blake's head.
"Please be careful. Don't twist my head off."
"...I'm not that strong!"
Blake focused his gaze on the ocean. Sure enough, he could vaguely make out two figures suspended within the frozen seawater.
"There really are people in the sea." His expression turned grim. "One adult woman and one little girl."
"While we were fishing earlier, I saw a mother walking on the beach with her daughter carrying a surfboard." Mahiru bit her lower lip anxiously. "It's probably them. The waves got rough near evening, so something must've happened."
Blake spoke softly.
"What are you planning to do, Mahiru?"
"I want to find a lifeguard…" Mahiru looked around, frowning slightly. "But I don't see one."
Blake quietly stated the obvious truth.
"Not every beach has lifeguards."
"…"
After a brief silence, Mahiru inhaled deeply. Her eyes quickly became firm with resolve.
"Then I'll save them."
If you're powerless, you protect yourself.
If you have the ability, you help others.
The victims were right in front of her, and she had the power to save them. Anyone with a conscience would find it impossible to just stand there and watch.
"The ocean isn't like land," Blake warned seriously. "If you feel like you can't handle it, don't force yourself."
Time stop couldn't change the nature of matter. The sea was still liquid water, not solid ground. Mahiru would still get exhausted swimming through it, and dragging someone back to shore would take an absurd amount of strength.
"I know."
Mahiru took a breath and jogged toward the beach.
"Mr. Blake, wait for me to come back."
"…"
Blake desperately wanted to go help her, but aside from talking, he couldn't move at all. All he could do was silently watch her figure disappear into the distance.
Mahiru quickly reached the beach, kicked off her shoes, and decisively swam into the sea.
Swimming lessons were mandatory in elementary school across Japan, so almost everyone knew how to swim. Mahiru was no exception, and she was actually quite good at it. Before long, she reached the drowning mother and daughter.
Looking around, the surfboard was nowhere to be seen. The waves must have carried it off somewhere.
Under Blake's silent gaze, Mahiru quickly picked up the elementary school girl, whose body was limp like a puppet's, and swam toward shore with all her strength.
A short while later—
The Angel successfully carried the little girl onto land.
"Hah… hah…"
Even from afar, Blake could see Mahiru bent over with her hands on her knees, gasping heavily. Her stamina had clearly taken a huge hit.
After resting briefly, Mahiru dove back into the sea again.
But the moment she tried lifting the soaked woman, her heart sank.
"She's so heavy…"
Everyone knew soaked clothes became ridiculously heavy. On top of that, the drowning woman was somewhat plump to begin with. Combined together, the weight had clearly surpassed Mahiru's physical limits.
Looking at the woman's pained expression, Mahiru bit her lip hard and desperately searched for a solution.
Should she inch toward shore little by little like a sloth?
But the distance was too far. It would take forever.
And there was another issue.
Elf had already tested invisibility before. Its limit was twelve hours. But Mahiru had no idea what the limit for time stop was. If it suddenly ended while she was still in the middle of the rescue…
That would be way too dangerous.
So the "sloth plan" could only be a last resort.
"There has to be another way…"
Mahiru bit her lip thoughtfully, then suddenly her eyes lit up.
"I've got it!"
"If it's Mr. Blake, he could definitely carry her back easily, right?"
"…"
Watching the Angel return to shore alone, Blake looked confused.
Weren't there supposed to be two drowning people?
Why had she come back by herself?
Under his gaze, Mahiru quickly returned to the seawall. Her clothes were completely soaked, several damp strands of hair sticking to her cheeks, giving her a slightly messy but strangely beautiful appearance.
"Mr. Blake, I can't carry the woman." Mahiru lightly bit her lip and got straight to the point. "So I can only ask you to help."
Blake sounded puzzled.
"I can only move my mouth. Everything else is frozen. How am I supposed to help?"
"I-I have an idea… I want to test something…"
Mahiru shyly looked away. Before she could even finish speaking, her pale face had already turned crimson.
"What idea?" Blake asked curiously.
"Don't ask so many questions…" Mahiru pressed a hand to her chest and took a deep breath before whispering, "Close your eyes first!"
"Hm?"
"H-hurry up and close them! Don't open them until I say so!"
"…"
Blake silently closed his eyes, already vaguely guessing what the Angel intended to do.
Back when they captured the cat abuser, they had already confirmed that physical closeness allowed them to share magic power. If the contact was intimate enough, it could even let him move freely within stopped time.
But for the sake of saving complete strangers…
Could Mahiru really go that far?
"It wouldn't work with anyone else… but if it's Mr. Blake…"
Mahiru's long eyelashes trembled softly.
Blushing furiously, she stood on tiptoe and shyly yet firmly pressed her soft lips against Blake's cheek.
"I won't regret it."
"....."