It Became a Time-Stop Slit-Eye

16. “Ken.”

“Aagh!”

Ichimaru Shiki is right in front of the door.

Kenichi fell backwards, screaming as if he had seen a ghost.

Holding a bowl of hot steam, Shiki said with a sad expression on his face.

“Kenichi, if you’re scared that much, you’re sad, right? I’ve been making porridge like this for you? Come on, hurry up and open your mouth!”

“…… Why the hell are you doing this!”

Of course, Kenichi, who was in the position of being kidnapped, was not happy at all, just scared.

I woke up after going through a crisis of death in a mess, and it was a place I had never known before.

‘…… What do you want from me?’

If his attitude had been the same throughout, his future actions would have gone as expected.

However, as always, Ichimaru Shiki, who was only fooling around, was an unpredictable person whether he would take good care of himself or beat him up.

…… He thought he knew just the other day, but now he couldn’t tell which part was real.

His former best friend and current kidnapper, Shiki, still smiled as he spoke.

“hahahaha, I told you. Kenichi has an obligation to protect the world from now on?”

“No, I have never heard of such an obligation…… !”

“Oh, that’s right. The day before yesterday, you also awakened the lineage that will have to fight against monsters for the rest of your life, right?”

“… ….”

Destined to protect the world.

A bloodline that has to fight monsters.

To Kenichi, who lived as an ordinary person for the past 17 years, it was all nonsense.

To be precise, it would be unrealistic for a guy I thought to be a friend to suddenly kidnap and say things like this.

An unfamiliar sensation that I have never experienced before.

But there are things I’ve seen so far, and I couldn’t just ignore them.

‘…… Especially Shiki, this guy is dangerous.’

Kenichi was honestly afraid of Shiki.

I didn’t recognize it last time because I wasn’t in a hurry, but I saw it today.

When Shiki drew his sword, everyone in the class… , No, people all over the world stopped as they were.

Absolutely unbelievable ‘power’.

It was an unbelievable sight that a single human being had caused.

Not only that, but his physical ability also felt something beyond human.

At first glance, it looked like a black screen, but the skills hidden inside were really like the final boss.

‘Even though they are still laughing all the way through the clash of knives… ….’

It was truly bizarre to see him ruthlessly pushing himself with an expression disguised as kindness.

More than awkward, to the point of being afraid.

I’d rather be chasing and being chased by red goblins in a school at night than to fight this guy a hundred times better.

Toouk,

Kenichi, who couldn’t crawl backwards and bumped his back against the wall, hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“…… Talk, let’s talk Shiki…… We are close friends.”

“hahahaha, we are talking right now. Oh, are you talking about body language?”

“… ….”

Kitagawa Kenichi finally realized.

Everything I thought the conversation with Shiki was going well in the past was all he guessed.

At that time, the topic we talked about always fit well.

It seemed that the listener himself would lose his mind as he continued the conversation in such a reckless manner.

“…… Ugh.”

Looking at Kenichi clinging closer to the wall, Shiki shook his head slowly.

I only treated you as a courtesy, but it seemed that my sincerity was not conveyed well.

I can’t help it.

“Hmm, if the conversation doesn’t go this far, it’s difficult for both of us to communicate, so let’s change the way we communicate.”

After saying that, Ichimaru Shiki smiled sinisterly and passed the porridge bowl to Shibi and Docomo right next to him, then held out his hand to him who was clinging to the wall.

“Kenichi, how about a walk for a change of pace?”

“…… What?”

Kenichi Kitagawa, the main character of ‘End of Love’, looked at Shiki’s outstretched hand with a puzzled expression.

“…… Okay.”

I didn’t dare to refuse, so I accepted.

***

“…… Wow.”

Kenichi, who had been trembling all along, not recognizing my good heart, soon became brighter as if he felt better soon after he came out.

Look around the mansion of the Shihei family, where the darkness of the night and the moonlight coexist, and exclaim with exclamation.

The same is true when facing a member of a family-shaman in traditional attire.

‘Is it something I would like this much?’

It felt like seeing an orange puppy out for a walk after being stuck at home for a while.

You seem to have a simpler personality than I thought.

Kenichi’s eyes widened whenever he saw something like a pond with golden koi swimming in it and a neatly planted green bonsai as he played in the yard that was evenly paved with gravel.

“Wow! I’ve only seen mansions like this in comics.”

Is it really because of the manga?

If I had known you would like it this much, I would have shown you a long time ago rather than making porridge.

My taste is bitter when I think of the abalone porridge with all my sincerity left unattended.

I worked really hard on it…….

‘I’ll get my revenge later through training.’

It would be embarrassing if the guy ran away, so I watched from behind and looked around the mansion, then told Kenichi.

“Okay then, let’s move on to the next place.”

“…… Where is it?”

As soon as I spoke to Kenichi, tension permeated Kenichi’s entire body.

Are you worried about being beaten again?

I had no choice but to revise the original plan because it would be difficult if the main character who was supposed to defeat the monster later suffered from depression.

“Hmm, I guess I have to beat tomorrow, not today.”

“…… What?”

“Ha ha, nothing!”

“… ….”

Kitagawa Kenichi had a confused expression on his face, but he strode after me, as if he mustered up the courage to hear the news that he wouldn’t fit in, at least today.

“Good night, Shiki-sama.”

“Shiki-sama, if you can’t sleep, please give me a chance to personally serve you… “

“Shiki-sama, the moon is so beautiful today.”

“Shiki-sama, I got valuable tea leaves, but when I’m bored, I go to my room… “

“Shiki-sama…… “

I ran into the people of the Shihei family several times along the way, and each time they smiled broadly and treated me kindly even though I was just a guest.

Very nice people.

However, Kenichi stared at the back of Shibi, who was gradually moving away from him, wondering if he had a suspicious disease or nymphomaniac.

“Shiki, what the hell are you doing?”

A voice that is afraid of me but full of curiosity.

Feeling the possibility of progress in the relationship, I spoke with a smile for a friendly response.

“Huh, are you curious? Kenichi can’t imagine how much I’ve done to survive here.”

“…… What happened?”

“Haa, I went through so many battlefields. How hard was it when you first got used to it?”

“…… Battlefield?”

“Magdonald, Todderia, Papa Touch.”

“…… ?”

“Isn’t it an exaggeration to say that you have conquered all the fast food restaurants in Tokyo? Kenichi won’t know how many rounds I took to make ends meet!”

“… ….”

Hearing my life story, Kenichi frowned for a moment, but as soon as his eyes met mine, he quickly returned to a kind expression.

“…… That, yes I can’t help it if I don’t want to tell you, but it’s night now, and what happened to school?”

“Hmm, it’s because it’s nighttime because Kenichi has been sleeping well up until now, and the school has taken sick leave! I played Kenichi, who had a very bad cold, and was taken to the ambulance.”

“…… Sick leave? An ambulance?”

Kenichi made a strange expression. He frowned and said as if he didn’t know.

“No, this is not a hospital…… If I had been taken away, Hotaru would have visited the hospital, right?”

“hahahaha! That’s about it, they recruited a large hospital in Tokyo and asked them to tell them that Kenichi is seriously ill and is not allowed to visit them! It’s that simple, right?”

“… ….”

After hearing about his abduction process, Kenichi put on a very tired expression and didn’t say anything anymore, just following me in silence.

The walk got a bit boring, but he was almost there, so the boredom didn’t last long.

I arrived at a building resembling a warehouse and raised Kenichi’s anticipation before opening the door.

“Dugudugu, aren’t you excited about what will come out?”

“…… Oh, look forward to it.”

“Whoops, I’m glad you did!”

“… ….”

“Okay then I’ll open it!”

After confirming the expectation of the only customer, I opened the door in a fit of anger, and the warehouse door opened easily, revealing the inside.

“…… This is it.”

Kenichi, whose reaction had become insipid for a moment, also stared into the building in a state of fascination.

What is hidden behind it is a pitch-black space.

But it wasn’t just pitch black.

There were things shining like the morning stars all over the space, so it was like the universe.

Even that width is close to infinite.

The impressionable protagonist, Kenichi, couldn’t take his eyes off the place for a moment to see if he liked it.

“How do you like the new training ground?”

“Oh, the atmosphere is pretty…… Huh? What, a training ground?!”

Kenichi was taken aback, turned his head away, and made a face asking if he had decided not to hit him earlier.

Well, I wasn’t going to hit him unilaterally just because he’s the middle class.

“But time is running out, so training is essential, right?”

“You liar… !”

I kicked Kenichi’s butt as he shouted with a very angry expression.

Deguru, following the rolling Kenichi, I also entered the inner space and closed the door.

—At that moment, the sound stopped.

Every footstep, breathing, even the slightest sound of rubbing clothes and skin were all gone.

Kenichi, who had just adjusted himself, looked at me with a shocked expression as if he realized that fact.

Always a kind gentleman, I just smiled and reassured him.

This is a universe processed by magic and my abilities.

Of course no sound can be made, and the space is close to infinite.

Again, it’s arbitrary.

A space that has been carefully created to prevent being torn apart by incompetent demonic swords.

Ichimaru Shiki, the room of spirit and time.

You probably won’t hear it, but in a good mood nonetheless, I told him.

“Let’s start with ten times the strength of normal people.”

I straightened my sword and took a step closer to Kenichi with a bewildered expression.

I soon became desperate and showed a blow that fell slowly towards the guy who summoned the sword.

Koo-ung!

However, a strong blow.

“…… !”

Looking at Kenichi with a puzzled expression, I, a kind private tutor, checked the training plan.

The weekend starts tomorrow.

So we have a lot of time.

“Whoops, that sounds like a lot of fun, right?”

After that, I happily struck down the sword.

***

“…… Hinokaguzuchinokami, please accept the sacrifice and bestow grace on me, as I hope that my close friend will rise from the disease.”

The fire priestess, Hotaru Ichinose, prayed to the god she enshrined.

It was because of his damn childhood friend Kenichi Kitagawa who suddenly fell seriously ill and was hospitalized.

I wonder if I’m malingering, I looked at my horoscope and it says that I’m really in danger of dying.

We fought recently, but we’re still best friends. She offered a sacrifice to God.

With all sincerity.

Is it because of that?

Three days later, in the mansion of the Shihei family, two people walked out of the same building.

Kenichi Kitagawa survived without dying and smiled brightly at the clear sky.

The body of an ordinary high school student became as hard as steel and rugged like a rock in three days.

I got stronger like crazy.

At that fact, Kenichi let out a word of joy.

“Ken.”

After that, Shiki Ichimaru put on a sad expression.

“Oops, I got stronger… ….”

I lost my intelligence.