I Became a Time-stopping Narrow-eyed Character

Chapter 22

The boy who came out of the house, too large for one person to live in, smiled toward the gravestone in one corner of the yard and spoke.

"I'll be back."

Though no one was there to hear him, making it feel a bit awkward, it was something he had grown accustomed to over the years.

There were too many people to greet—his grandfather, father, mother—so he omitted the rest.

Kenichi, who had been silently bowing with a faint smile for a while, soon got on his bicycle and started pedaling.

Creak, creak.

It was a morning when the lingering chill of early spring had somewhat faded, and a refreshing spring breeze was blowing.

Was it because of the gentle wind, or was it because of his body swaying each time he pedaled?

Jingle, jingle, the cross hanging around his neck swayed.

The temperature, the breeze, and even the strain on his body—all of it somehow felt just right.

Even the swaying necklace added a sense of rhythm, making him feel excited.

Although he hadn't ridden it much recently, he liked it so much that he thought he might ride it for a while.

Of course, by tomorrow, his feelings might change again, but for now, that was how he felt.

"Ah, this is nice."

Since his mind had been too cluttered with thoughts since morning, he had embarked on a brief escape.

Indeed, it was bound to feel good.

Kenichi, letting the wind blow directly at him, absentmindedly recalled the events of last night.

A former friend, or perhaps a damn nemesis, or maybe even the true mastermind of the world.

Ichimaru Shiki, as usual, had said with a sneering expression yesterday too.

"As I mentioned earlier, humanity is currently facing an apocalyptic crisis. Each for their own reasons, humanity is heading toward the apocalypse, and in our case, Japan will reach it due to the unsealing of Tokyo's spiritual veins."

Being able to see monsters.

Being able to summon an unusual sword using a necklace.

It was an absurd statement, different from achieving mysterious results with magic and sorcery, yet no one present could refute it.

That was because Ichimaru Shiki had personally split the night sky and shown them the Red Moon just moments before.

Even Eris, who had dismissed it as nonsense, listened with a dazed expression.

The possibility of it being a simple trick was slim.

Even Kenichi, who was insensitive to magic, could clearly feel the ominous aura emanating from it, so it was impossible for the other two, who were particularly sensitive, not to notice.

Though he had already suspected it, seeing the other two's considerably serious expressions made Kenichi realize anew.

"The three pillars of eastern Japan, especially in the core Tokyo area, are the sacred mountain where the shrine of fire is located, the spiritual veins where the mystical power of the eastern land converges, and the dragon veins that suppress all calamities. These three places are crucial."

The story he was hearing was real.

"The sacred mountain, where the gods reside, is like a natural fortress. The dragon veins are similar in that they house an untouchable presence. However, the spiritual veins, which have been protected by humanity's guardians for centuries, are different. They needed to be resealed every few decades or centuries, but they were completely destroyed just last week."

If that were true, then this story must also be true.

"Therefore, you all must contribute to the reconstruction of Tokyo's seal. Well, I'm not asking you to help me, but rather for the sake of another classmate here. Isn't that right, Kenichi? ......Or perhaps this way of putting it is better."

Ichimaru Shiki said with his usual sneering expression.

"Are you ready, Hero of Tokyo?"

With a terribly awful title and tone, the two who turned to look back in surprise, and the overwhelming atmosphere that was hard to bear, last night was truly a predicament.

......And now, back to the present.

His feelings about his situation hadn't changed much from last night.

Pedaling vigorously, facing the wind head-on, Kenichi muttered.

"Hero, my foot."

On the day he awakened the Demon Sword, he had been overly excited and acted recklessly, but over the past few days, Kenichi had learned a thing or two about his limits, whether he wanted to or not.

'Haha, maybe this time, Kenichi might actually be useful?'

He had come to realize that this world was overflowing with terrifying monsters that he couldn't even fathom confronting.

But unfortunately, it seemed there was no time to feel discouraged.

That very monster had given him a separate warning before he went home last night.

"Kenichi, think of it as Japan, or the world, being in your hands. If that feels too grand, imagine your precious people dying."

It wasn't exactly encouraging—it was more like a threat—but thanks to it, he was somewhat prepared.

Creak,

After pedaling hard, Kenichi finally arrived at school and parked his bicycle in the storage area behind the building before heading to First-year Class A.

He thought he had arrived relatively early, but as always, the diligent ones had gotten to the classroom before him.

For example, his earnest and hardworking childhood friend.

"Kenichi!"

His childhood friend, Hotaru Ichinose, who had arrived at the classroom ahead of him as usual, greeted him with a smile completely different from that damn squinty-eyed guy.

Kitagawa Kenichi paused at the classroom threshold for a moment and looked at her.

When her friend didn't enter and just stared at her, Hotaru tilted her head in confusion.

"Huh? Why aren't you coming in? Are you feeling unwell?"

He didn't understand what the apocalypse was, what the fate of a hero meant, or what inheriting a bloodline entailed, but one thing was certain.

He wanted to protect this clueless girl.

Yes, he wanted to protect the last remaining connection in his life at all costs.

Feeling embarrassed as usual, Kenichi stepped into the classroom.

"No, it's nothing."

Kenichi smiled and sat next to his childhood friend. He hoped, once again, that he could continue to sit next to her like this without any trouble.

Afterward, as he prepared for homeroom, some time passed.

By the time Kenichi noticed something unusual, it seemed others had noticed it too.

"I couldn't accept it no matter how much I thought about it, so I came here...."

Eris Betelgeuse, who seemed to have spent the night deep in thought, approached with faint shadows under her eyes.

It wasn't so much that she had come to see Kenichi, whose destiny as a hero had been revealed last night, but rather to see the shady Ichimaru Shiki, who sat right behind him.

Eris muttered with a furrowed brow.

"Why on earth isn't he here?"

The person in question was absent.

The one who had made the bombshell statement last night had disappeared like any other con artist.

Kenichi subtly turned his body and glanced at the empty seat behind him, feeling uneasy.

......Could it all have been a lie?

Kenichi earnestly hoped.

Even if it was a lie, he wouldn't blame him. He just wished nothing would happen.

Unlike an ordinary financial criminal, he sincerely wished he was just a con artist—that was the big difference.

'So why isn't that guy here?'

Anyway, Kenichi didn't know why Shiki hadn't come to school either, so with a faint hope, he looked at the seat next to him.

Ichimaru Shiki's seatmate, Sawamura Sento.

As more and more gazes turned toward her, she, who was also Class A's class president, responded calmly.

"He's on sick leave."

"......What?"

"He came early today, but left saying he was sick."

"......."

As Kitagawa Kenichi slowly processed the incomprehensible words, Eris Betelgeuse, her doll-like face twisted in frustration, muttered.

"What a load of crap."

Kenichi couldn't agree aloud, but he nodded vigorously, wondering if the crazy guy was really shivering with a cold.

Not even in a million years, absolutely not.

***

Meanwhile, in the mountain ranges of Shizuoka Prefecture.

Phew, it's been a while since I went hiking, and it's exhausting.

"I muttered as I wiped my clean forehead."

If you go a bit out of Tokyo, you'll find a small city called Shizuoka to the left.

It wasn't particularly famous for any specific specialty or a commercially thriving city, but it was a place that had a significant influence on Tokyo.

Shizuoka Prefecture housed part of Japan's most renowned mountain, Mount Fuji.

Also, it was the domain of the guardian of the dragon veins.

Since moving around in a school uniform from early morning would obviously stand out, I wore hiking clothes like any other hiker and climbed the mountain, swinging my trekking pole.

Although it was quite early in the episode's progression, meeting early wasn't a bad thing.

Oops, my hand slipped!

""

Touching the stele of the barrier and digging into its inner side was, well, purely coincidental.

I stepped precisely and touched the stele.

Thinking that my realistic acting would make the opponent believe it, I moved deeper into the cave.

When I first entered, the cave inside the barrier looked ordinary, but the deeper I went, the more it started to emit an emerald hue.

It was a phenomenon caused by the high-level magical power imbued by the domain's master, which altered the original terrain.

"Knock, knock, is the homeowner here?"

I asked as if I were a traveler who had accidentally entered, and the cave's owner suddenly raised its massive body.

Rumble...

Its body was so enormous that just standing up made it feel like an earthquake had struck the cave.

Soon, emerald-colored scales filled my entire field of vision, and the vertical pupils of the enormous reptile gazed intently at me.

─Are you courting death, you insolent brat?

The master of the Dragon Veins, the dragon, welcomed me.