I Became a Time-stopping Narrow-eyed Character

Chapter 17

Time passed since Kenichi's fainting and kidnapping on Friday, and it was now Monday.

Kenichi, who was said to have been gravely ill, arrived at school in a fully recovered state.

In fact, he looked much healthier than before.

His childhood friend, Hotaru, approached him with a mixture of joy and surprise and asked.

"Kenichi! Are you okay? I was so worried because I couldn't reach you all weekend. But it's such a relief to see you looking so healthy-"

"Ken."

"......Kenichi?"

"Ah, sorry. My mind must have been a bit scrambled for a moment. Thank you, Hotaru. Thanks to you, I was able to come back alive."

Kenichi, who seemed to have become tougher in many ways, had a wistful expression as if recalling the past weekend.

Just how sick must he have been for this to happen?

Hotaru, whose past anger had vanished, simply pitied him for his struggles.

"......Kenichi."

Watching them from behind, Ichimaru Shiki nodded with a satisfied expression.

What a relief.

He felt inwardly reassured.

"Haha, I really thought he'd become a complete idiot. It scared me to death, you know?"

Fortunately, after letting him get some fresh air, sleep, and food, he somewhat regained his senses.

"Ken."

"......Kenichi?!"

Although he still seemed a bit out of it, perhaps this much could be considered endearing.

Well, if not, then it couldn't be helped.

Shiki, who had decided to bear sacrifices for the greater good, muttered with a heavy heart.

"Now then, what kind of training should we do today?"

"......Are you even human?"

Sawamura Sento, who had spent the weekend at the Shihei Family mansion hearing the updates, shook her head with a frown.

She thought she herself was rather cold-hearted, but standing next to someone like Shiki, who seemed to transcend even the concept of ruthlessness, she realized.

So, I do have some humanity left in me.

Looking at the back of Kitagawa Kenichi's head in front of her with pity, Sento came to this realization.

Of course, she directed a thoroughly disdainful expression and glare at the person sitting next to her.

"Haha, if you keep glancing at me like that, I might get embarrassed. Could it be that you have feelings for me-"

"One day, I will definitely kill you."

And so, into this very peaceful classroom, a golden-haired young lady entered.

Eris Betelgeuse.

Currently the school's most popular girl and the most beautiful girl in the city.

Although it was a secret to most, she was also a mage blessed by the stars and a descendant of a great mage. Without hesitation, she strode into Class A's classroom.

"Oh my, Lady Eris! Have you been well?"

"Lady Eris, what a fine car..."

The loyal followers in the classroom greeted her, but Eris didn't stop walking for even a moment and headed straight for her intended destination.

That was the seat where Ichimaru Shiki was.

With all eyes on the sudden encounter, Eris Betelgeuse looked down at the man smirking with a cold expression.

"Oh my, what brings you here?"

The man with slitted eyes shrugged nonchalantly.

Eris's expression hardened further, and glaring at Shiki with a sharp look as if she was about to stab him, she finally delivered her verdict.

"Ichimaru Shiki."

Eris Betelgeuse spoke.

"Come to the back of the school alone at lunch."

Her moist lips uttered words that made hearts race.

Hearing those words right next to her, Sawamura Sento's eyes widened, and so did the eyes of Hotaru, Kenichi, and everyone else in the classroom.

Just in time, Sawako, who was coming into the classroom after watering the flowers, dropped her vase with a shocked expression.

Crash─!

Even amidst the sharp sound piercing the air, silence lingered for a while.

Along with the water from the broken vase, a heavy stillness settled over the room.

It was truly the calm before the storm.

"Haha, sounds good."

With all eyes on him, the smirking man spoke with a somehow delighted expression.

"See you in a bit, just the two of us."

Ichimaru Shiki smiled with his eyes.

***

Lunchtime came quickly.

Creak─!

Eris Betelgeuse and Ichimaru Shiki.

The two players headed to the battlefield, and those left behind stared blankly at their retreating figures.

Someone murmured.

"Should we follow and watch?"

"Don't even think about it. Can't you see Eris's faction sitting there eating lunch in a daze? If you follow and interrupt, you'll hear insults for the rest of your life."

Someone else stopped them, and so the entire classroom, instead of satisfying their curiosity, began stuffing their mouths with the lunches they had brought from home.

Of course, the curiosity remained.

The Priestess of Fire, Hotaru Ichinose, was no exception in her interest in the outcome behind the teacher's office.

Sitting together with Sawamura Sento, who had joined as a lunch companion starting today, Hotaru cheerfully spoke.

"Is this finally the first couple in our class? Hmm, it's later than I expected. Ichimaru and Eris might surprisingly suit each other......"

"Poor thing."

"......Huh?"

Excited about a romantic topic after a long time, Hotaru looked puzzled at Sawamura Sento, who suddenly interrupted from the front.

Without a hint of excitement, Sento gazed at the back of the teacher's office with a pitiful expression.

Certain of the outcome, Sento muttered quietly.

"Why would someone invite trouble upon themselves?"

"......Huh? Wait, what? Was Ichimaru that much of a fortress?"

"Hotaru, there's no way Shiki would ever be in a couple."

"......Huh?"

This time, the voice came from right next to her.

Turning her head blankly, Hotaru saw her long-time childhood friend Kitagawa Kenichi, who seemed to be recalling a memory with eyes full of melancholy.

"There's no way a monster like him would have something like a girlfriend."

But what came out was a wistful voice completely devoid of romance.

"I guess that's true."

"......No, it has to be."

Sawamura Sento and Kenichi's gazes met, and they felt a mutual understanding.

Their inner camaraderie grew significantly.

Momentarily left out of their connection, Hotaru alternated her gaze between them with a blank face and muttered.

"......But people can date."

"No."

"That's absolutely not happening."

She was immediately refuted.

***

At the same time, behind the school.

The two stood side by side on a deserted path, facing each other.

The man with slitted eyes smiled and spoke.

"This is quite thrilling! It's my first time being confessed to like this!"

"What nonsense are you spouting?"

Eris Betelgeuse spat out, her expression even more twisted than in the classroom.

"There's no way I'd confess to someone like you."

"Oh, that's a bit of a disappointing story."

Ichimaru Shiki shrugged his shoulders.

Despite hearing a remark that trampled on his dignity head-on, his grinning face didn't waver even for a moment.

He still looked at the mage below his shoulder with a grinning expression.

"Then, what is your business?"

"I saw it on Friday."

The Star Mage, Eris, replied with a hardened expression.

"No matter how I think about it, it's strange that a perfectly healthy male student, Kitagawa Kenichi, suddenly collapsed. So, after school, I searched the classroom, the hallway, and the entire school."

"Hmm, and then?"

"I felt magic in the playground. It was very faint, but it was a trace of sorcery. I immediately used the magic to scan the Residual Image of the Land. Do you know what I saw there?"

Eris Betelgeuse spoke while glaring at the suspicious man in front of her.

"Ichimaru Shiki, I saw you beating up your classmate, Kitagawa Kenichi."

"Saying it like that makes it sound like bullying. It was nothing more than a sparring session with swords, you know."

"......Shameless to the core. A sparring session? No matter how you look at it, it was a skilled individual tormenting a novice! And you even tampered with his memory secretly, didn't you? That kid doesn't remember anything and is just hanging around. Today, I noticed that even his body has become strange."

"Hmm, well, it's certainly trial and error. Something went a bit wrong with what I did, didn't it?"

"......Trial and error?"

Ichimaru Shiki nodded casually, and Eris, who had just heard the clear confession of the culprit, contorted her face even further.

"The lineage of mages spanning thousands of years is not entirely filled with purity and righteousness, but still, I won't tolerate the injustice right in front of me. Ichimaru Shiki, quickly restore Kitagawa Kenichi to his original state and sincerely apologize to him."

"Huh? Setting aside the apology, restoring him to his original state? Do you know how much effort we've put in? If Kenichi hears that, he'll have a fit!"

"......If you repent for your wrongdoing even now, you won't reach the worst conclusion. But if you continue to act so brazenly, I won't stand by."

"Heh, you won't stand by, huh."

The sly man with slitted eyes asked back with a still grinning face.

"So, what will happen then?"

The mage Eris Betelgeuse replied with a now expressionless face.

"We'll fight."

Soon, a storm arose.