She smiles softly.
“I figured there must be something you can’t tell me… Even someone as dense as I am could vaguely guess. My womanly instinct may be low, but I’m not an idiot.”
With that, she gently rests my head on her soft thigh.
While feeding me white porridge, she places an icy cold towel on my burning forehead.
As my body cools down, I feel a bit of relief from the headache.
So, she had an inkling.
This is the second time I’ve heard something like this after Olivia.
[Partner. I don’t know your situation well either, but you can’t hide it perfectly forever. The girls around you probably all know, right? Don’t you know womanly instinct?]
The Black Prince chimes in.
Womanly instinct.
I never thought I’d fall victim to that damn sixth sense functioning like a superpower in this light novel world.
[Of course, I know too.]
The Black Prince adds as an afterthought.
That’s not particularly surprising.
If the Black Prince, who’s been glued to me for 24 hours, didn’t know, that’d be a bigger problem.
“So… I’m fine.”
Rin lowers her head.
She bites her lip.
“I’m used to waiting, so it’s okay. You don’t have to worry. But remember this one thing.”
Rin gently grasps my hand with both of hers and raises it to her chest.
My hand gets caught between her ample cleavage.
Why is she acting like this?
I’m really losing it.
With an unusually serious expression, Rin looks at me and says, “I will always be on your side.”
A faint smile appears on her face.
I was left speechless by her motherly like expression and smile.
“…Yeah.”
“Whew. That’s all I needed to hear.”
She pats my head.
My boiling emotions slowly calm down.
“Kim Deok-Sung, I have a favor to ask.”
She asks timidly, shuffling her feet.
“What is it?”
“Is it alright if I call you by your name…?”
In Korea, this might not be a big deal, but in Japan, calling someone by their first name, known as yobisute, means we’re getting pretty friendly.
Rin blinks her eyes and glances at me.
Seeing her like this, I suddenly remember during the early semester combat mock training against interdimensional species.
When I called her by her name on purpose just to provoke her, her expression twisted, but now she’s shy and fidgety, and it makes me chuckle.
When she hated it, it was one thing, and now she’s asking for yobisute.
“You… you call me Rin. So… I’d like to…”
“Don’t you call me Rin? So… I guess… I too…”
With no reply, Rin becomes flustered and her face turns red.
She trails off.
“Do as you please. I’m not Japanese, I’m Korean, so I don’t care about things like Yobiste.”
I don’t understand what significance there is to calling names.
Anyway, she’s not the type to stop just because I told her not to.
“Really? Thank you, Deok-Sung.”
Grab!
She grabs my hand and smiles.
Seeing Rin’s face looking so happy,
I had nothing to say.
[Oh, partner. Ain’t that sweet? I’m really loving how you’re gradually adopting that gentlemanly demeanor.]
I wasn’t particularly interested in that kind of demeanor, you know?
Rin chuckles and feeds me porridge.
One spoon, two spoons.
Just when the white porridge in the pot and the kimchi in the pack ran out.
Rin puts a pill in my mouth.
“Here, this is emergency comprehensive cold medicine. Take it, Deok-Sung.”
You even brought that?
I never thought you were so well-prepared.
Did she do that in the original story?
I can’t seem to recall.
I swallow the bottled water and cold medicine Rin handed over.
“I’m so sleepy…”
Whether it’s from the cold medicine or because I’m full and experiencing food coma, I’m starting to feel drowsy.
“Sleepy? Then go ahead and take a nap.”
She gently ruffles my hair.
A short nap wouldn’t be a bad idea.
As my eyes slowly close, I drift off just like that.
*
Deserted Island.
Base Camp.
As the torrential rain that had been pouring down steadily began to ease.
“Ughhh, my tongue feels like it’s dying! Contractor! Is the food in a country called Korea all like this? I beg you to save me! Is this all that can satisfy the hunger of this Scarlet Saintess?”
Beatrice flails her arms and tears up.
It’s spicy.
Too spicy.
Tears stream down one of Beatrice’s eyes.
Her lips swell a bright red.
“Oh dear, Trixie. To get closer to Kim Deok-Sung, you have to endure this level of spiciness. And that’s all the emergency rations the girl has.”
Evangeline beams with a bright smile.
“Ughhh… If it’s to get closer… w-what nonsense are you talking! Forget what I just said! Contractor!”
“I understand.”
Evangeline chuckles as she watches Beatrice flailing her hands.
With a poised elegance befitting a princess of the British royal family, she picks up the spicy stir-fried noodles.
“Haah♥”
The thrilling spiciness of the noodles strikes her taste buds.
It’s spicy.
It hurts so much.
But as she keeps eating, somehow she starts to feel that sharp pain in her tongue as a strange pleasure.
While the Saintess was sniffling and Evangeline was elegantly munching on the noodles.
Bam! Rumble rumble!
Lightning strikes as thunder rolls in the sky.
“Ahhh! That startled me! Contractor! Is it really okay not to go rescue that man?”
Beatrice, surprised by the lightning, covers her head with her hands and asks tearfully.
Seeing her so clearly afraid of the lightning makes Evangeline cover her mouth and giggle, though her smile soon stiffens.
She has a point.
The weather is clearly unsettling.
Shinozaki Rin said she would contact her in the event of an emergency, but there might not even be time for that.
I don’t know.
Just as Evangelin’s thoughts reached this point, she tapped her Hunter Watch.
“Hold on, I need to check if there’s any communication from Shinozaki Ichiro.”
As soon as the hologram of the Hunter Watch lit up.
[Communication Status Poor]
[Please Retry Connection.]
A significant hologram message appeared in Evangelin’s view.
No contact.
A sense of foreboding sent shivers down her spine.
Creak.
Evangelin stood up.
“W-where are you going, Contractor…?”
“I need to find Kim Deok-Sung and Shinozaki Ichiro.”
It might be too late.
They could be in trouble.
Forcing away the ominous thoughts, Evangelin dashed into the rain-soaked jungle.
“D-Don’t leave me, H-h-honorably alone! I-I’ll go with you!”
Behind her trailed Beatrice, dragging out her words.
Thunder roared from above, as if sending off the two girls.
*
Soft snores.
Rin laughed as she watched Kim Deok-Sung, wrapped in a blanket and hugging his thighs, slip into slumber.
Her snow-white fingers tickled his cheek.
A smile deepened on her lips.
‘He said it was delicious.’
Recent memories flashed in Rin’s mind.
It was the rice porridge recipe they had practiced countless times during Shinozaki-style culinary class.
She had succeeded a few times in practice, but whether it would work in reality remained uncertain.
But he said it was delicious.
And that wasn’t all.
‘I-I also… you know… with him…’
Deok-Sung.
Rin called him by his name in her mind again, her cheeks turning pink.
Her heart within her ample bosom thumped painfully.
‘I was the first… to “you know” with him…’
Rin’s heart rate skyrocketed.
From Olivia, who currently led, to her rival, Nishizawa Eri, her upperclassman, Hoshino Kasumi, Student Council President Aris, and Makoto—none of them had “you know” with him yet.
I was the first.
At the moment she realized that, Rin’s face flushed bright red.
‘The first…’
Throughout her life until now.
She had always been second, or lower.
In her family, she had been overshadowed by her siblings, in childhood, she lost every time to Yuji, and in school, she was only second in her class to Olivia.
For her, the meaning of being first was huge.
Rin lowered her head.
Her ponytail trembled.
Her reddened cheeks shook slightly.
‘I-I became your first.’
A single tear dropped from her eye.
Rin’s fingers tickled Kim Deok-Sung’s cheek.
He had said not to put much meaning into the “you know” since he was Korean, but Rin couldn’t accept that.
Above all, he must know what it means.
Especially the first time “you know.”
He probably only said that because he was worried she might feel burdened.
“You really are kind, Deok-Sung.”
Rin smiled.
Carefully, she brought her lips to his forehead.
Peck.
After finishing the forehead kiss, Kim Deok-Sung still didn’t wake up.
Watching him sleep soundly like a child, utterly unaware of the world, made Rin’s heart ache.
‘Maybe… if it’s now…’
Perhaps it wouldn’t be wrong to kiss his lips?
“Isn’t it okay to kiss?”
Desire slithers up inside Rin’s heart.
Her luscious pink lips slowly, sweetly sighing, drift toward Kim Deok-Sung’s lips.
Just before Rin and Kim Deok-Sung’s lips touch—
‘But still… this is cowardly…’
This goes against the way of the warrior.
Next time he’s sane, let’s kiss fairly.
Just as Rin resolves this and lifts her head—
“Kim Deok-Sung! Shinozaki-sama! A girl has arrived! Are you there?”
Evangeline’s shout echoes through the cave.
Twitch.
Kim Deok-Sung, suddenly waking with his eyelids wide open, twitches his eyebrows at Evangeline’s voice.
“What, sleeping… uhp!”
“Gasp!”
His lips accidentally collide with Rin’s.
Rin’s eyes tremble as she unexpectedly kisses.
Her heart races like it’s about to explode.
“Wow wow wow wow…”
“Eek!”
Evangeline standing at the cave entrance covers her mouth, while Beatrice hiccups.
Whoosh.
Outside the cave, the pouring rain cools the tense atmosphere.
Tsundere Cool Guy
He slept.
For the first time in a while, without dreaming anything and had a comfortable sleep.
“Kim Deok-Sung! Shinozaki-sama! A girl has arrived! Are you there?”
If it weren’t for someone’s voice echoing through the cave like a train’s whistle, he could have slept a bit longer.
So damn loud.
He wanted to sleep more, but his already roused mind refuses slumber.
Twitch.
As he struggles to lift his heavy eyelids and is about to speak with a hint of annoyance—
“What, sleeping… uhp!”
“Gasp!”
Something soft touches his lips.
His mind goes blank.
What is this?
His blurred vision gradually clears.
In front of his eyes is a ponytailed beautiful girl with trembling navy-blue eyes.
It’s Rin.
So, did I just kiss Rin?
He just woke up and lifted his head, and it’s a kiss?
His thoughts become chaotic.
Damn this light novel world. There should be limits to how absurd it is!
First Aris, and now Rin.
How ridiculous.
“Wow wow wow wow…”
“Eek!”
He hears Evangeline’s comments from the side along with the voice of a saintess.
This won’t do.
If he doesn’t pull away quickly…
Just as that thought crosses his mind—
[Partner. Are you really going to ruin a lady’s first kiss like this?]
The Black Prince’s voice echoes in his head.
Rin’s blushing face comes into view.
Her red cheeks, trembling navy-blue eyes.
He never paid much attention, but as a heroine, she’s beautifully stunning—like really stunning!
Even the large chest swaying below.
“I-I didn’t see anything!”
“M-Me neither!”
Evangeline, standing next to him, hastily covers her face with both hands.
While spreading all ten fingers, she peeks through, glancing this way.
Beatrice, hiding behind Evangeline, pokes her head out and glances in a peek-a-boo manner.
What a show this is, really.
Amid such a dilemma of a situation, with their lips touching for about three minutes—
“…I-I’m sorry.”
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