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Tl: Sam

…

Having safely found Rin, I held her in my arms.
Thank goodness, I wondered what I would do if I lost her. I managed to find her thanks to the oxygen tank and swords Rin had discarded along the way.

「Rin-chan’s here!」
「Phew, I was so worried」
「That’s really good」
「By the way, isn’t that a Crystal Fish there?」
「You’re right! He defeated it!」
「Seriously, Rin-chan is too amazing」
「So the monster disaster has stopped!? Thank you, Rin-chan!」
「Savior」
「Let’s create a Rin-chan cult here」

The fish floating nearby was indeed a Crystal Fish.
It had been pierced through the gills, dead. Even without seeing the scene, I could tell it was a magnificent strike. To be able to deliver such a blow in that extreme state is truly remarkable. As her instructor, I’m proud.

“Bluu-bluu-bluu, Rin, you did well. Bluu-bluu, you’re amazing.”

Rin looked at me and smiled in relief.
However, just as she seemed to mouth “Sensei,” she slowly closed her eyes and became still.

“Bluu-bluu, this is bad…”

Her body was limp. She seemed to have lost consciousness.
She moved that much without an oxygen tank; she probably has no oxygen left in her body.
This is dangerous. I quickly made her bite onto the small oxygen tank I picked up, but there was no sign of her regaining consciousness. In this state, I don’t even know if she’s breathing. I need to get her out of the water quickly.

「Isn’t this bad?」
「Let’s get out of the water quickly!」
「She’s going to die!」
「Shachiken, do something!」
「Rin-chan!」

One might think it’s best to surface as quickly as possible and get out, but that’s also dangerous.
Not only diving quickly, but also surfacing quickly is a dangerous act that can cause decompression sickness. If she were conscious, I could nullify these effects by covering her body with magic energy, but Rin has lost consciousness now.
It’s probably better not to surface rapidly.

“Bluu-bluu, in that case…”

I looked around and approached a nearby wall.
Then I kicked the wall, creating a hole large enough for a person to enter.

「Whoa!」
「What’s he doing?」
「Tanaka! I believe in you!」
「I was surprised…」

Then I entered the hole, and kicked a few more times to expand the hole upwards. This time, I expanded the upward-spreading space horizontally, extending the hole.

「Seriously, what is he doing?」
「Is he making a cave?」
「Even if he does that, there’s no air, so he can’t breathe」
「Shachiken, seriously, what’s wrong?」

I laid Rin down in the horizontal hole I created.
Then I focused my consciousness on my lungs. Like this… alright.

“Puh… bluu-haah!”

I forcefully exhaled into the horizontal hole I created.
Then, in an instant, the horizontal hole filled with air, becoming a space like on land.

“Phew, good thing I took a lot of air before diving.”

「Huh?」
「Eh?」
「Hmm?」
「What’s going on?」
「No way that’s possible」
「It is possible, damn it!」
「Shachiken’s lungs, how huge are they lol?」
「Laws of physics aren’t broken, are they?」

Human exhalation is high in carbon dioxide, but I properly sorted the air in my lungs to match the ratio of oxygen and carbon dioxide to surface air, so she should be able to breathe normally.
I’ve never done anything like this before, but I’m glad it worked out.

“Ngh, kehoh…”

With the water gone, Rin coughed up a little water.
I rushed to her side and put my ear to her mouth, but her breathing had stopped.
This is bad. I quickly inhaled from the oxygen tank to fill my lungs with fresh air, then pressed my lips to Rin’s and sent air into her.
When I became an explorer, I learned how to treat injuries and perform CPR. Recalling those lessons, I gave Rin mouth-to-mouth respiration.

“Wake up, Rin…!”

And after a few more breaths of mouth-to-mouth, Rin slowly opened her eyes.

“Rin! Are you alright!?”
“Sen… sei…”

Rin looked at me with slightly hazy eyes, then touched my cheek with her right hand.

“It’s a little disappointing that the first kiss Sensei gave me was artificial respiration…”
“You, at a time like this, what are you…?”

I gave a wry smile at Rin’s usual out-of-place remark.
She really is…

「Phew… thank goodness」
「Rin-chan!」
「I was really worried this time」
「It’s good, but what now?」
「Indeed. Isn’t the dungeon collapsing quite a bit already?」
「The path we came through is probably blocked… Are we really stuck?」

Rin, having regained consciousness, looked around and vaguely understood the situation, her face clouding over.

“I’m sorry, Sensei… Because of me, Sensei is also stuck in the dungeon…”
“What are you talking about? Thanks to you, the monster disaster was stopped. You did well.”
“Sensei…!”

Rin buried her head in my chest, as if to hide the tears welling in her eyes.
I gently stroked her back.

「They’re flirting lol」
「Rin-chan did her best」
「It’s a really good scene, but… can’t they escape?」
「Shachiken probably lives even if he gets buried alive, but Rin-chan wouldn’t」
「Tanaka would indeed be fine even if crushed」
「I want to see more of Tanaka’s exploits…」

“It’s sad to die in a place like this… but if I’m with Sensei, I won’t be lonely.”

Rin lifted her face from my chest and said bravely.
…Hmm? Is she misunderstanding something?

“What are you talking about, Rin? There’s no way I’d let you die in a place like this. Let’s quickly get out of this cramped place and go home to our house.”
“…Huh?”

「Huh?」
「Hmm?」
「Seriously?」
「Come back, Shachiken!」
「Can they go back?」
「No, it’s impossible now, isn’t it?」
「Still, if it’s Shachiken, he’ll do it!」

It seems Rin and the viewers thought we couldn’t go back.
Indeed, if you’re buried alive in a deep cave at the bottom of the sea, you’d normally think there’s no escape.
Well, normally, it would be a pain to escape from here with other people. But now, I can use that.
I put my hand on my necktie and took it off.
The current time is 6:30 PM. It’s past closing time.

“Overtime Mode activated… Don’t worry, I’ll finish this in one go.”

My policy is not to prolong overtime.
Let’s quickly go home from work.

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