I Became a Time-stopping Narrow-eyed Character

Chapter 7

"Oh, is it your grandfather's keepsake?"

When I asked with interest in my voice, Kenichi seemed to gain some courage and carefully continued speaking.

"Yeah, for people our age, it's actually rare to be close to grandparents, right? But my parents passed away when I was young, so my grandfather took care of me all along."

"......Oh, I see."

"I don't have many memories of my mom and dad, but I have so many memories with my grandfather. I think I felt very close to him and treasured him deeply."

"......."

Kenichi held the cross necklace and reminisced.

I kept quiet, refraining from making unnecessary remarks, and waited for him to continue.

This felt fundamentally heavier than hearing it as game text.

"......Ha, but when my grandfather suddenly passed away two years ago, it felt like the sky was falling. Of course, we gave him a proper send-off... but for those left behind, there's always some lingering regret. His necklace, which he always wore, kept catching my eye."

As Kenichi said that, he suddenly looked startled, then smiled bitterly and spoke.

"Of course, I got his permission while he was alive. My grandfather would always say, 'This should be passed down to my grandson,' every time his memory started to fade. So, I wear it well to remember him."

"......I see. Somehow, the necklace gives off a classic beauty."

"Oh, really? Thanks."

Watching Kenichi smile brightly at the compliment, I felt a pang of guilt.

'I guess I have to scrap Plan B.'

Smiling broadly, I nodded and chased away the lingering regret in my heart.

Even after hearing this story firsthand, wouldn't it be too cruel to go through with the 'protagonist's weapon theft plan'?

After hearing Kenichi's story to the end, I added a comment as per my original plan.

"Yes, it's so beautiful that you should be careful."

"Huh? About what?"

"I went to an antique market recently, and vintage yet beautiful accessories were incredibly popular. These days, there are so many greedy people around. As the owner of such a unique necklace, you should be cautious. Like, don't leave it on a café table and go to the restroom."

"Oh, I wouldn't. Look, I even wear it securely during gym class."

Watching Kenichi wave his hand as if such a thing was impossible, I simply smiled.

"Yes, always keep it close to you."

Unless you want to die a horrible death, that is.

Knowing the cruel fate that awaited him, I swallowed my words and casually patted Kenichi's back as I spoke naturally.

"Come on, let's get back to the classroom before class starts."

D-Day.

The beginning of the episode was today.

The promised day had arrived.

***

"See you tomorrow, Shiki!"

The streets gradually tinged with the hues of sunset.

Waving vigorously at his friend where their paths home split, Kenichi called out.

Ichimaru Shiki, as always, wore a sly smile and waved back slowly.

Very slowly.

'What?'

Kenichi blinked, wondering if he had seen something wrong.

For some reason, Shiki seemed strangely off today. The distance felt oddly vast.

A half-beat delay in communication.

But that impression lasted only a moment, and Kenichi soon parted ways with him and walked home with his childhood friend.

"My mom suggested we have a barbecue party today..."

His childhood friend, Hotaru Ichinose, chattered in her usual lively voice.

Normally, Kenichi would have joined in the conversation, but today he seemed distracted, wearing a blank expression.

Hotaru tilted her head and asked.

"......Kenichi, are you listening?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I guess I'm not feeling well today. I keep zoning out."

"Wow, even the ever-energetic Kenichi has days like this. It happens. So, what did you hear so far?"

"Uh, your mom suggested a barbecue party and... stargazing? Something like that."

"What, so you were listening after all."

Smiling mischievously, Hotaru pointed her finger toward the sky, bathed in the light of the setting sun.

Following her gaze upward, Kenichi saw a round moon glowing in the red sky.

It seemed unusually large and burned redder than usual.

"......Wait, wasn't the full moon two weeks ago?"

"I saw on TV that it's a super blue blood moon returning after 50 years! They said it's a rare phenomenon where three lunar eclipses overlap. It's bigger, redder, and the second full moon of the month, or something like that."

"......."

"Anyway! Learning about it in Earth Science class sucks the fun out of it, but isn't this kind of thing cool? ......Hey, Kenichi, are you listening?"

"......Yeah, I'm listening."

In the center of the increasingly darkening sky, the full moon burned red.

Facing the eye of the fully bloomed sky, Kenichi felt his heart race uneasily.

As a sense of impending doom gnawed at him, Hotaru's voice broke through.

"Oh, by the way, Kenichi, did you finish your homework?"

"......What homework?"

"You know, the one our homeroom teacher assigned last week with that super serious face, saying, 'Complete all of this.'"

"Ah."

Coming to an abrupt halt, Kenichi recalled their math teacher and homeroom teacher, Yamamoto Baki.

And the nickname unanimously agreed upon by not just Class A but the entire grade: 'The Murderous Tank.'

And his grotesquely developed forearms.

And the math textbook, abandoned in his school locker. All of it flashed through Kenichi's mind as he asked in a trembling voice.

"......When is it due?"

"Tomorrow, right? How much haven't you done?"

"......None."

"......."

Hotaru Ichinose looked at her childhood friend with an exasperated expression.

Retracing the path they'd walked, Kenichi hesitated for a moment but soon made a decision.

"You go on ahead. I'll catch up soon."

Thinking he could make it in time if he ran hard, Kenichi moved his legs quickly.

Tap, tap, tap.

With each hurried step, the cross hanging around his neck swayed wildly.

***

Episode 1, The Promised Day.

The episode begins with a rare lunar eclipse phenomenon returning after decades.

The premise is simple.

The seal of an ancient bloodline, maintained for ages, is broken by the magic of a strengthened full moon.

This awakening bloodline causes upheaval in Tokyo's spiritual veins, especially around Karakura High.

The surge of spiritual energy makes all of Tokyo more attuned to mysticism.

The visual novel 'Apocalypse Love Comedy' begins in such a crisis.

Honestly, what kind of visual novel has you fighting monsters instead of dating girlfriends?

"I guess it's my fault for playing that game."

If I had known it was the worst game in the world, I should have quit earlier... but it's too late for regrets now. I've become a veteran among 'Apocalypse Love Comedy' players, and I'm even inside the game.

Still, instead of being the protagonist with a crappy weapon, I became a mysterious overpowered character. Plus, I've spent the past six months crafting a plan.

'Why not train not just the protagonist but also the heroines? Wouldn't that make things much easier?'

There were so many restrictions when it was just a game, but now the position feels much freer.

Focusing on just one main heroine to progress through the game.

Sudden death due to some inexplicable variable.

If I could manage all that while progressing through the episodes, having four people to participate in battles would make a one-coin clear achievable.

'I'm a bit scared of what kind of monsters will appear in the mid-to-late stages, though...'

At least the perfect start in the early stages seems possible.

I might have been a little overconfident, thinking I could secure everything I wanted.

Before the awakening of the protagonist, Kitagawa Kenichi, I took care of the monsters that appeared in the city and, on my way back to school, saw a familiar face.

"Oh my, look who it is."

With a sly smile, I looked at the girl with reddish hair, glowing even more under the sunset, who was blocking my way.

And also, at her crimson pupils staring back at me.

"Isn't it my precious partner?"

The Ancient Weapon, Sawamura Sento, stared at me with an expressionless face before finally speaking.

"Ichimaru Shiki."

Suddenly calling out my name, she began to recite someone's life story.

"Born in 1999 to affluent parents. Attended an elementary school in Tokyo but disappeared suddenly after the death of both parents. No records until last autumn."

"Oh my, have you been investigating me all this time?"

"Well, I didn't expect someone to dig into my past, but I got curious about you all of a sudden."

Her voice carried an intense magical power.

It wasn't something she intended, but rather due to the crimson full moon hanging in the sky.

However, affected by it, Sento glared at me with a gaze burning more fiercely than usual.

"I think you've realized by now, but I have a knack for sensing things."

"Oh, is that so?"

"I can feel things like people's gazes or emotions directed at me. Even though I'm shy, when I sense those things, I have no choice but to hide. I conceal myself and put on a mask over it."

The Ancient Weapon, Sawamura Sento.

Sento gazed at me with a faint smile.

In her blazing crimson pupils, the reflection of a man wearing a sly grin and a mask appeared.

"A kindred spirit, a perfect kindred spirit. Is that why you looked at me like that? As if you were looking at a child, even though we're classmates, as if you already knew everything about me from the first meeting?"

"Hmm."

"Honestly, while people have called me insincere, it's the first time someone has looked at me as if they completely saw through me."

Before I knew it, time passed, and the model student who became the class president smiled brightly at her classmate.

"You're the first person to look at me and clearly think of me as a 'monster.'"

Sawamura Sento, due to her innate constitution, was destined to achieve anything but also to lose everything.

A collective of wishes, said to be born once every few centuries since ancient times, Sawamura Sento.

Whatever she wished for would come true, but inevitably, the recoil would follow.

Fate would exact its toll.

From herself and her precious connections.

'I might have made a slight mistake.'

I wasn't looking at her with any strange gaze, but I didn't expect her to read my thoughts entirely.

"You know something, don't you?"

Sento still asked me with a smiling face.

"About my constitution."

However, her blazing crimson pupils were filled with resentment toward the world.

A conflagration that could easily spread if left unchecked.

Sento showed no intention of stepping aside until she got an answer from me.

"This is troubling."

I fiddled with the dagger hidden in my sleeve.

***

"Ah, found it."

The protagonist, Kitagawa Kenichi, rummaging through his locker, found his math textbook.

The sky had already turned dark, making it hard to see, but this was definitely the math textbook.

'What's this? Did my night vision improve a bit?'

Well, maybe, he thought as he casually dismissed it and got up from his seat, looking at the reddish full moon outside the window.

It was larger and felt closer than the moon he usually saw.

Almost as if it were within reach.

Kenichi was instantly captivated by the moon's magic and locked eyes with it.

For some reason, his eyes felt like they were burning, and his entire body felt as if his blood was boiling.

He wanted to keep staring at that 'eye' in the sky.

"Ah, no, I have to hurry—"

But then, remembering his promise with his childhood friend Hotaru, Kitagawa Kenichi turned his head.

And he 'saw' it.

"......Huh?"

Beyond the classroom door, he locked eyes with an oni—a red demon who was peeking in.

'What's this, a dream?'

While Kenichi was lost in confusion,

—Humm?

The oni, a giant with red skin, tilted its head once and raised the iron club in its hand.

At that sight, Kenichi widened his eyes.

He immediately threw himself to the side.

Boom—!

The iron club came crashing down.