I Became a Time-stopping Narrow-eyed Character

Chapter 10

That person and I are of the same kind.

From the moment our eyes first met, I realized it, but seeing him act as if nothing had happened somehow feels repulsive.

Meanwhile, as if it didn't matter what I thought, the man with narrow eyes smiled and said.

"Now, shall we have a deep conversation?"

Sawamura Sento thought.

The man in front of her was truly shameless and absurd.

Just like herself, who had worn a mask and acted her whole life.

Then, she recalled a memory.

***

"Hey, Mom."

Sawamura Sento.

She realized she was different from others around the time she entered elementary school.

She had superior looks and innate intelligence given by her parents, but it wasn't the usual kind of story.

"Is this how you do it?"

"Hmm, let me see."

Sento's parents, to put it nicely, were open-minded, and to put it bluntly, were materialistic people.

Her father was a loan shark, and her mother enjoyed gambling entertainment like horse racing and lottery.

Not at an ordinary level, but to the extent of squandering part of their given fortune.

To the point where they easily encouraged even their only daughter to get involved.

"It's better to space out the numbers rather than cluster them together for a higher probability."

From a young age, specifically around the time she grasped the concept of numbers in elementary school, Sawamura Sento became familiar with lottery numbers.

Before that, her mother, who was addicted to gambling, didn't seem to think of teaching a child who didn't even know arithmetic about money-wasting entertainment.

But perhaps her mother thought Sento had grown enough.

Or maybe it was just a good day for her mother, or she had enough cash in her pocket.

Sento's mom invested 200 yen in her daughter for a lottery ticket for the first time in a while.

A mini lotto where you pick five numbers from '1' to '31.'

The prize money was a modest 10 million yen (about 100 million won), a small amount.

She probably didn't expect much.

Since Sento often watched her with interest while she was glued to the TV horse races or filling out numbers, it felt like throwing her a toy.

"If you win, you can have it all."

"Really?!"

A moment of generosity.

Or perhaps a whim.

Sento's mom handed over the lottery ticket to her and immediately focused on another task.

The prize amount was low, and the investment was only 200 yen.

She even forgot she had given it.

"Mom, I won."

On Tuesday, the mini lotto draw day.

Sawamura Sento, who had been watching the broadcast alone, casually walked over and said.

Sento's mother was momentarily puzzled by what her daughter was saying, but she took a look at the lottery ticket her daughter brought.

[ 1, 7, 15, 22, 31 ]

After checking the numbers on the ticket, she turned her gaze to the TV.

The mini lotto draw broadcast.

The host repeated the numbers once again.

[ Ah, all the numbers are spaced out! This week's winning numbers for Lotto 5, Draw 417, are 1! 7! 15! 22! 31! Congratulations to all the winners! ]

"......Huh?"

The five numbers her daughter had chosen last week were exactly the winning numbers.

Sento saw her mother's eyes trembling violently as they were fixed on the ticket.

Being bright from a young age, she immediately knew what her mother was going to say.

"Oh, well done, my daughter! But... this is too much money for you to manage, so I'll keep it safe for you until you become an adult, okay?"

"Okay."

Eight-year-old Sento readily agreed.

After all, it was just a gamble she didn't expect much from, and her mother would never give her that much money.

Since she never expected it, there was no disappointment either.

She only hoped, as a daughter, that her mother's joy would last longer than usual, and she dreamed a small dream.

The next day, the neighbor, Yoshimitsu, whom she was close to, had an accident and was hit by a car, but of course, she thought it was unrelated.

It was a sad event, but she was happier with the change in her mother, who treated her better than usual because of the unexpected money.

"Ahem."

Not long after, Sento's mother brought a new ticket in front of Sento, who was doing her school homework.

"Here, my daughter. Want to try this too?"

Sento's mother believed in 'luck.'

She thought everyone had their own given luck, and her daughter was particularly lucky.

So this time, instead of the mini lotto, she tried a slightly bigger gamble.

A lottery called 'Lotto 7,' where you pick seven numbers from '1' to '37.'

The first prize was 600 million yen (about 6 billion won), and if it rolled over, it could go up to 1 billion yen.

The entry cost was only 300 yen per ticket.

Sento's mom went all out and brought back 100 tickets from nearby stores.

"Daughter, this time, you pick seven numbers."

Even though she didn't expect to win again just because she won the first time, an ordinary parent wouldn't have encouraged gambling in the first place.

Sento reluctantly filled out the 100 lottery tickets with different numbers, and the results were remarkable.

[ This week's Lotto 7 numbers are...... ]

"......Oh!"

Seeing the exact matching numbers, Sento's mother exclaimed.

Since it was a rollover draw, the prize money was a whopping 1 billion yen (about 10 billion won).

Even for her, a gambling addict, and her husband, a loan shark, it was a massive fortune.

Watching the TV with trembling pupils, she soon turned her gaze to her daughter next to her.

She hugged Sento tightly and said.

"Oh, my daughter. You're amazing, amazing! So, is there anything you want? I'll buy it all for you!"

"Really?"

"Of course, I'll buy it all!"

After catching her breath for a while, she spoke after a brief moment of thought.

"......But let's play our number game again next week, okay?"

She whispered into Sento's ear.

‧

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A silent space.

Sawamura Sento opened her eyes alone.

She stared at the familiar ceiling for a while before finally sitting up in bed.

She prepared to go to school as usual.

Although she had enough wealth to live her whole life without doing anything, she didn't want to.

She had long since completed her early education on how things return when there is no cost.

While drinking water, she suddenly looked around the house.

A house too spacious for a mere student to live in alone, with a deserted living room and kitchen.

She bought the house even though it had no signs of use because she felt it would be a waste not to spend the money forever.

Well, there probably wouldn't be any signs of use in the future either.

"......Still, at least they used to cook meals."

Now, there's no one left.

The price of ten million yen was a car accident, so it was natural for one billion yen (approximately one hundred billion won) to be something greater.

At first, she tried blaming the world, but as time passed and she realized the cause was herself, she gave up.

She knew that the world was what assigned her such a fate, but who could she possibly hold accountable?

Unable to find an answer, she lived in vain, wearing a mask, and only after entering high school did she finally find a clue.

Sawamura Sento pondered deeply over what she had heard yesterday from a man who looked like a villain.

......Monsters, sorcery, magic, heroes, and so on.

It wasn't even a typical movie, but rather the kind of stories you'd find in folklore or comics.

In other words, it was an absurd topic, but since her very existence was already strange, it wasn't something she couldn't believe.

Yes, she had to believe it.

"Surely, he didn't run away."

What she heard yesterday was only a brief explanation, and since it was too late, she had no choice but to agree to postpone it until tomorrow.

He suddenly looked tired, and for her, the only person she could trust was that sly man.

Sawamura Sento, feeling uneasy, packed her bag and stepped outside.

"Oh my, what a coincidence!"

She immediately ran into the man with squinted eyes.

Ichimaru Shiki, dressed neatly in a school uniform, waved with a sly grin.

Sawamura Sento, erasing all her previous worries, frowned as she faced him.

"Is your house nearby? Oh my, then I must visit your house later, just to take a look around!"

"Who said you could?"

"Haha, of course, we'll decide that gradually. Isn't it just a matter of us becoming closer?"

"......."

He was unbearably shameless.

It was also obvious that he had done some background investigation.......

Sawamura Sento didn't bother to respond and walked her way with a blank expression.

"Oh, since our paths are the same, let's walk together."

"Please, just be quiet."

Afterward, on her way to school, Sawamura Sento experienced the danger of her mask almost breaking several times.

***

Karakura High, First-year Class A.

Having arrived at the classroom with Sawamura Sento, I found the classroom, which had been completely destroyed yesterday, back to normal.

The traces left by the wandering spirit had returned to their original state upon its death, as expected.

'Well, the matter of souls is another story.'

When monsters die, they don't leave behind property damage charges, so it was a good thing for both sides.

Anyway, as I was about to sit in the back seat with a cheerful Sento, the expression on the face of Hotaru Ichinose, who was sitting in the front seat, seemed unusual.

─Gooooo!

It was the kind of face that would suit a sound effect like that.

Always cheerful, Hotaru Ichinose looked particularly fierce today.

Moreover, she seemed to be waiting for someone.

"......Ah."

It seemed that my decision to knock her out and send her home after hearing her answer yesterday had been a mistake.

......Well, children grow through fighting, after all.

High school students are essentially children, aren't they?

"Shikiiiiii!!!"

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

Today's protagonist, Kenichi, soon came running breathlessly into the classroom.

Gasping for breath, he scanned the classroom with wide eyes.

Before long, his gaze landed on me, as usual.

"......What? Was it just a dream after all?"

It seemed he had mistaken it for a dream, but unfortunately, this was a cruel reality.

Creak, Hotaru, wearing a fierce expression, stood up from her seat and glared at him sharply.

It was a truly murderous intent.

─Aaaaaaah!!

What happened next was so brutal that I turned my head and spoke to Sento, who was sitting beside me.

"Let's just leave that fool Kenichi alone today and go somewhere after school, just the two of us."

"......Where?"

Sawamura Sento looked at me with a face that seemed to say, 'After all this time, you're bringing this up?'

Could it be that we had already grown close? For some reason, it felt like I could hear her inner thoughts.

Feeling delighted by the deepened bond between us, I also felt the duty to provide information.

So, I smiled brightly and said.

"To my house, of course!"

At last, Sento's expression turned completely bizarre.