"Huh? Where did our little Seele go?"
Elias furrowed his brows, realizing his precious little sweetheart had vanished.
Compared to the other lively girls at home, Seele was quiet and obedient—so much so that she sometimes seemed to disappear into the background.
She was the type who silently supported others, never calling attention to herself.
If Elias weren't particularly observant—and familiar with her character—he might have overlooked her too.
"Seele? Seele! Where are you..."
Elias scanned the surroundings anxiously. Seele wouldn't have disappeared without saying anything—unless something had happened. He couldn't believe she would ever play a prank like this.
Just then—
"Papa, help! Seele—she's in the ocean! She's drowning!"
Liliya, Rozaliya's twin sister, came running frantically, pointing a trembling finger toward the sea. Her little face had gone completely pale.
"What?!"
"Seele!"
Elias and Bronya's faces changed drastically.
"Someone's drowning? Wh—where?!"
Even the beach's lifeguards were shocked, rushing to prepare their jet skis—but before they could even move, two figures had already bolted forward like the wind.
Elias and Bronya were sprinting toward the waterline.
"Bronya, go back. Let me handle it."
"Papa Elias, but—"
"Now!"
"..."
That single word made Bronya halt. She watched in worry as Elias leapt high into the air and dove into the ocean.
"Holy crap!"
"That fast?!"
"Is he even human?!"
The crowd stared wide-eyed.
And they realized they were shocked too soon—Elias swam faster than the jet skis, even without any swim gear.
His form cut through the water like a humanoid shark.
In barely ten seconds, Elias reached the area where Seele had gone under. He dove deep and quickly spotted his girl, sinking further and further.
He grabbed her and swam up toward the surface.
"Bronya, now!"
"On it—estimated submersion time: 30 to 50 seconds. Pulse and heartbeat weak, almost stopped. Stomach filled with seawater. Immediate emergency treatment required!"
"Elias, perform chest compressions and CPR now!" Raven shouted urgently.
"Right! You're right—dammit, Seele, don't you dare die on me!"
Elias took a deep breath. All his first-aid knowledge surged to the front of his mind. He locked his left hand over his right and began pressing firmly on Seele's chest.
Then he tilted her head back, lifted her chin, and pinched her nose shut before breathing into her mouth.
Luckily, his swift actions paid off. As Bronya had predicted, Seele was still within the golden window for rescue.
"Cough! Cough cough cough!"
"Seele!"
"Papa Elias... Big Sis Bronya... What happened to me... Eh? Papa, why are you crying?"
After coughing out a large amount of seawater, Seele finally regained consciousness. Weak and dazed, she leaned against Elias' chest, her eyes filled with confusion as she looked at the two of them.
"Thank goodness… You're alright, Seele. You really scared me this time."
Elias felt his whole body go weak with relief. He hugged the girl tightly, as if afraid to ever let her go again.
After taking Seele to the resort's clinic and getting a full check-up, Elias had even used the Herrscher of Death's residual power several times to confirm that she was truly okay before finally relaxing.
As her memories gradually returned, Seele lowered her head in guilt and self-blame.
"I'm sorry… I'm really sorry. I caused so much trouble for Papa and made everyone worry."
Just remembering the expression Elias had shown earlier made Seele feel crushed by guilt. She had never seen her beloved Papa look like that before.
Fear, panic, helplessness—as if he were the one drowning instead of her.
She had never seen him that shaken.
And it was her fault.
"It's okay. I just didn't expect… Seele, you actually can't swim."
"I-I was planning to practice today using the float board we bought yesterday… but a wave knocked it out of my hands. If Liliya hadn't seen me and gotten Papa, I probably would've…"
Seele hugged herself, still shaken.
"Don't say that. It's all okay now. Ahh~ you really scared me this time… Seele, my precious Seele… If something happened to you, I might've just wanted to die myself."
"Eh?! Papa, no! I'm sorry! I won't do anything like that again—please, you can't say things like that."
Elias gently pulled her into his embrace and stroked the back of her head.
For this trembling little lamb, he became her shelter and softly whispered in her ear:
"It's okay now, Seele. You can cry."
"Eh?"
"There's no one else here. In front of me, you don't have to hold back your tears. If you're scared, cry. I'm right here with you, and everything is going to be fine."
He lightly patted her back.
Elias knew Seele Vollerei well.
She was timid and quiet. Whether happy or sad, she was the kind of girl who cried easily. And yet from the moment she'd been rescued until now—not a single tear had fallen.
She was obviously forcing herself to stay strong so he wouldn't worry.
"Uuu… uuuahh… Papa Elias! I was so scared… I almost died… I almost never got to see you again… uuu… I'm sorry, I'm sorry for making you worry so much…"
With those words, Seele finally broke down. Her tears streamed out, and she curled up in Elias' arms, sobbing like a hurt little animal, trembling and refusing to let go.
She cried for a long time.
Eventually, exhausted and emotionally drained, Seele drifted off to sleep in Elias' embrace. When she awoke again, the sky was already tinged with the colors of sunset.
Noticing that she was in the same position as before she'd fallen asleep...
Seele realized she must've been held like that the whole time.
Her heart swelled with emotion, and a faint blush bloomed on her cheeks.
The other girls from the House of the Hearth had already told Seele everything. How Papa Elias had fearlessly rushed into the ocean to save her, and how he performed CPR and mouth-to-mouth until she came back to consciousness.
"Sorry about that, Seele. Things were hectic at the time."
"No, no! Papa shouldn't apologize to me. I was the one who caused trouble."
"Err, fair enough. Still… I didn't expect you couldn't swim. I always thought you were good at it."
Elias scratched his head, reflecting on his own mistaken assumption.
He had been misled by the bias planted in his previous life, having just finished Chapter 39 of the main story titled Daughter of the Sea before his transmigration. The name Seele immediately brought to mind the Sea of Quantum, and all of that led him to believe she must be a great swimmer.
But as it turned out, she was a total landlubber.
Thankfully, nothing irreversible had happened. Elias remembered clearly how his heart had nearly stopped when he heard she was drowning. The bond he had with her now wasn't the same as when he first transmigrated and saw them as mere characters.
The months they had spent together had made them true family.
"Now that I think about it… I probably didn't even need to perform CPR or chest compressions. That was a total oversight—I completely forgot I had better tools on hand. Ahh, I panicked..."
Only now did Elias realize.
He could've used his Herrscher of Wind fragment power to force air into Seele's lungs, expelling the seawater far more efficiently than CPR.
But in the moment, it hadn't occurred to him at all.
This entire time since the temporal shift, Elias had barely used his Herrscher of Wind abilities.
The other powers were far more practical:
Void: used often for combat and quick travel—though only within line of sight, it was still incredibly useful. It had even helped him rescue Raven from the Birdcage.
Fire: used frequently to warm the House of the Hearth before they had proper heating installed.
Death: in constant use—he utilized it to strengthen his cells and heal the girls when they got sick.
Thunder: well… let's just say Elias hadn't paid an electricity bill in months, thanks to this one. He didn't even need a charger anymore.
But Wind?
Totally useless. The fragment couldn't even manipulate ideal fluid—just gusts of wind, like a glorified fan.
"Now that I think about it… Seele's lips were so soft during the CPR. A little salty from the seawater, but… huh. Is she hitting puberty? All those nutrient-rich meals really paid off."
Elias made a mental note of the unexpected sensation but quickly shifted focus to what truly mattered—Seele's emotional state.
Coming to the sea only to have such a traumatic event happen? It was nothing short of a disaster. He just hoped this didn't leave her with thalassophobia.
A Daughter of the Sea developing a fear of the ocean? Yikes.
Thankfully, Seele was tougher than he thought.
"A-Alright, it did scare me a little… that helpless, sinking feeling was terrifying… but… it's not like there weren't good memories too. Papa Elias, I still want to learn how to swim. Is that okay?"
"Of course it is. This time, I'll teach you personally—step by step. I'll make sure you learn it well."
"Mhm! Thank you, Papa Elias!"
In truth, despite the initial fear of the sea, Seele felt mostly happy.
After all, she had been saved by him again. And although it had been during an emergency, she couldn't help but be delighted that her most beloved Papa Elias had kissed her—mouth-to-mouth CPR!
Forget fearing the ocean—Seele even felt like she wanted to bow to the sea that had caused her to nearly drown, just to thank it.
And now, Elias was going to personally teach her how to swim? Seele felt like this had become a perfect vacation.
...Meanwhile, Elias had a bit of a headache.
"Papa! Liliya's drowning! She needs CPR!"
"Rozaliya is drowning too! She needs CPR too!"
"Tch, so childish… then I, Bronya, also…"
One after another, "drowning incidents" began breaking out among the House of the Hearth girls. By the time Elias rushed over in a panic, he was greeted with the sight of his daughters lying facedown on the shallow shore like beached sea cucumbers. He twitched with speechless disbelief.
What in the world… you all trying to protect this beach or something?
Careful, you might just turn into dust. (laughs)
"Rozaliya, Liliya—if you're not up in three seconds, no desserts for a week. Bronya—if you're not up in three seconds, your game time's getting cut to fifteen minutes."
"We're up! Sorry, Papa!!" x3
The three troublemakers instantly sprang to their feet, dropping their act.
They all knew very well—while their Papa was usually gentle, kind, and forgiving, that didn't mean he never got angry. And when Elias did get mad… the consequences were terrifying.
To Bronya and the rest, even the apocalypse seemed less scary than Elias being upset.
Like that one time when Sin Mal had bullied the other girls in the House of the Hearth—despite Elias determining that she wasn't inherently a bad kid, her warped personality had caused her to act out in unacceptable ways.
Elias had punished her in front of everyone—with thirty hard swats.
No mercy.
Sin Mal had to sleep on her stomach for a whole week after that.
"Ugh~ I feel like this vacation has made me more tired than relaxed… It's probably not just my imagination. Let's hope there are no more messes."
"From now on, if anyone wants to swim in the ocean, they must wear a floatie! Bronya, that includes you!"
Faced with Papa Elias' serious expression,
the girls had no option but to obediently comply.
And they all understood too.
He wasn't scolding them because he was angry. It was because he was scared—afraid of losing them.
Just thinking about the way Elias looked when Seele had gone under made their hearts ache.
He loved them deeply.
And if that was true, then they must love themselves enough too—not be reckless, not cause him any more sorrow.
...
After that, the vacation went smoothly.
No more incidents, no more drama. Everything was perfect right up to the very last day.
On the plane home, Elias scrolled through the photos he'd taken on the trip, a soft smile on his face.
Bronya built a human-sized sandcastle on the beach, Liliya buried Rozaliya in the sand leaving only her head visible, and Sin Mal caught an impressively large fish, drawing envious stares from nearby anglers.
In the end, even Seele learned how to swim and dive. The girl showed great talent—by the second day, she was already able to dive into deeper waters, of course, with Elias accompanying her the entire time.
"So cute~"
Looking at the photo of the adorable girl dancing among the coral and fish like a mermaid, Elias smiled with pride and fondness.
But there was one downside.
Raven's obsession with the island villa only grew stronger.
"This trip was amazing. Being by the sea is so nice—you can fish, dive, surf, and the scenery is beautiful 24/7. A seaside villa really is the right dream. I'll work even harder to save up after we get back."
"...I give up. Oh heavens, I really did try to talk her out of the villa idea, but she just won't listen. And now her obsession is even stronger... Is this the choice of Steins;Gate or something?"
Elias glanced at Natasha beside him and sighed deeply. He felt like he'd done everything he could.
He had even gone so far as to break character and spoil the future, saying, "Raven, I'm from the future. Take my advice: forget the seaside villa. That thing is doomed to be blown sky-high eventually. You don't want to end up pacing, rolling on the ground, and crying your heart out."
But she didn't listen—not even a little.
Elias shook his head in resignation.
"Hopeless. Seriously, is this normal? I think it was easier to change Sirin and Cecilia's fates than to shake your determination to chase a damn beach house."
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