It Became a Time-Stop Slit-Eye

44. Riding a horse.

The day after sharing a cake with Sento.

The long-awaited time has finally arrived.

To be honest, I don’t know, but for some people, exams are a big deal.

I don’t like studying, but like humans, grades have to come out.

It certainly seemed more desperate than saving the world from destruction.

“…… Can do. I can do it. It’s a day ago, but you studied all night, right? …… Yes, counter-threshing can do enough. I can do it… ….”

For some reason, Kenichi, who came to school early, repeated with a bloody expression on his face and bloodshot eyes.

Looks like he’s gone crazy.

Even after the study with Hotaru was over, it seemed like he stayed up all night studying.

Cramming to the limit of the extreme? How can you use the stamina you gained while awakening like that?

‘Should I call it special?’

As a swordsmanship master, it hurt to think that his student was cheating on his studies, but thinking about it positively, I wondered if he was trying hard not to reduce his training time.

“Hmm.”

Then it would be right for a true teacher to encourage his pupil to get good grades in the exam.

With a bright smile on my face, I approached Kenichi and tapped him on the shoulder.

Kenichi blankly lifted his head and met my gaze.

“Kenichi, don’t you know what I will do in the future if our training time is cut short because we failed and have to take supplementary classes?”

“…… Are you a demon!?”

Kenichi put on a disgusted expression, and soon he put his head back on his textbook and began to concentrate.

He didn’t study all semester, so I don’t know if he’ll get good grades if he reads a little bit of the textbook before the exam, but since he did it, he just cheered for him.

“Fighting, Kenichi! You can do it!”

“Please get out of here.”

“I’m sure you can do it!”

“…… sh*t.”

Kenichi seemed to be more hysterical than usual, so he returned to his place—the seat right behind him.

He didn’t ask how others were doing or cheer them on.

From Hotaru Ichinose, who leads an ordinary, exemplary life, to Sento, the class president, and Eris, who is surprisingly smart, everyone was good at studying.

I can see better than Kenichi.

That was the same for me.

I wasn’t the type of person who couldn’t study to begin with, but as I became this body, my brain got better.

At least memorization and arithmetic skills have risen overwhelmingly compared to before.

“Come on, gentlemen! Items on the desk! Put everything in your bag!”

“Mathematics” Supervised by homeroom teacher Baki Yamamoto.

Finally, the time for the first exam came, and Kenichi trembled and grabbed his pen.

I enjoyed watching it from behind.

“Start!”

The test that will be hell for someone has begun.

***

It’s the exam period, and there’s only one good thing about it.

School ends early.

There were also guys who ran to karaoke or cafes with joy, and there were also losers who headed to the study room while drooping.

“…… Why was it number 3, not number 3?”

Kenichi was the latter.

As soon as the test was over, the guy who got the answer right with Hotaru covered his head and started muttering.

Well, the atmosphere seems like it would be infected with a virus just by getting close to it.

Even if it was me, I was afraid of the disease, so I didn’t bother to approach him.

Instead, I exchanged a few words with Sento, who returned with an expressionless expression as usual, as if feeling better.

To be precise, Sawamura Sento, who was only drawing circles on his exam paper, glanced sideways at me and asked me a question as if it were nothing.

“Did you see?”

“hahahaha, I think I saw it in moderation.”

“You lie again.”

“Hmm, it’s really sad that you don’t believe me?”

“…… Like that.”

A conversation of this type.

The atmosphere was back to the same as before, but they couldn’t believe my words, probably because the trust had fallen.

This is an insult to me who has lived honestly all my life.

However, since he was her shaman and her model student, she had no intention of making her look like her Kenichi, so she was especially forgiving.

Well, I can’t help it.

I decided to relieve my current sadness and anger by harassing Kenichi after the exam.

I decided to put aside my negative emotions and enjoy my leisure time for now.

We stopped by the Kenju family, the stage for the next episode, to discuss details, or went home earlier than usual and spent time with others.

Having a chat with Docomo, my exclusive fight, or enjoying refreshments with Shihei Rin.

It was human relations that were neglected as sure allies and then collapsed in an instant, so I paid attention when I had a lot of spare time after a long time.

KEN I didn’t cram every night like a certain person, but it was a fairly fulfilling week.

In the suburbs, I focused on forming human relationships, and in school, I also took exams.

Starting with mathematics, Korean (Japanese), English, a second foreign language (French/Chinese), science, society, economics, etc.

After three days of taking the seven subject tests, it was Friday morning.

The test week that had been so long and short was over.

Friday, right after midterm exams. It was also the day when someone’s life came to an end.

“…… My life is over.”

Did the test fail as expected?

Idiot Kenichi slumped on his chair with a desperate expression on his face, as if he would soon turn to white ash and fly away.

It’s very similar to a monster on the verge of dying in that it looks like it will fly to ashes and that it looks like a corpse.

‘Shall we defeat it, Master?’

I thought about stepping up and touching him for a while, but I decided to just go ahead.

If you bully me now, Kenichi was really looking like he was about to die, so I honed my patience.

I just cautiously approached him and tapped him on the shoulder to encourage him.

“It’s okay, Kenichi! This generous master won’t be particularly resentful if he misses training because of make-up classes!”

“…… Shiki, please die.”

Wow, it was so painful that he asked me to kill himself right now.

As someone who listens well to requests from friends, this is a request that is hard to refuse.

As I was fiddling with the dagger in my sleeve, Hotaru, who had been taking care of my stupid childhood friend, suddenly turned around and smiled at me.

“Oh, what should I do? It’s completely gone.”

“mmm, can I fix it?”

“It’s okay, Kenichi worked hard for a few days, so let him enjoy the afterglow.”

Having said that, Ichinose Hotaru shook his head and stood up.

Leaving Kenichi on the brink of turning into white ash.

Oh my God, to be abandoned even by a childhood friend, our student is such a pitiful guy.

I was shaking my head in pity, but Hotaru looked at me and talked.

“Hey, Shiki.”

“Yes, yes, what are you doing?”

“Now that the exam is over, do you have a little time to spare?”

“Sure, I can pay as much as I want.”

“Then could you come behind the teacher for a moment?”

“Anyway…… Uhm?”

I was going to answer willingly, but I hesitated when I heard the place.

In my experience, it was a place where passionate emotions raged in many ways.

In fact, it was also an unofficial tryst place for all high school students, both male and female.

I thought there was no way that would be the case, but for an instant, I looked sideways at the rational Sento sitting next to me with a sense of uneasiness.

“…… What?”

Sawamura Sento was also staring at Hotaru with her eyes wide open as if in shock.

Sento, who was an honor student in both studies and magic, seemed to know the meaning of the place.

On the other hand, whether she knew it or not, Ichinose Hotaru closed her eyes and said after a moment of hesitation.

“…… Shiki, there’s something I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time.”

“…… Hoo, indeed.”

It seemed that the protagonist’s childhood friend, the heroine, was unintentionally stolen.

This is a pity.

Looking down at my dear disciple, Kenichi, who was almost dying right now, I cried out after wiping my tears of sorrow.

“I’d be happy to give you my time!”

My heart, which had been bored with the short break, began to beat with intense interest.

Sawamura Sento, who started glaring at me with a bloody expression, desperately turned away.

***

How should I react if I confess?

In the few minutes of moving behind the teacher, I imagined hundreds or thousands of scenarios with my brilliant brain.

I concocted the ending considering my own happiness, Hotaru’s happiness, and the happiness of everyone in the world.

A truly perfect happy ending!

Now, if Hotaru Ichinose confessed to me, everything would go as expected, but unfortunately, that was not what Hotaru said.

“Hey, Shiki-kun.”

The girl, who is always as warm as the sun, spoke to me with a smile full of vitality.

“I wondered if I was pretending not to know on purpose, maybe there were some circumstances, so I thought it would be better not to say it, but I still want to say this.”

The fire priestess, Ichinose Hotaru, bowed her head deeply as if facing a benefactor.

“Thank you for saving me half a year ago.”

What does this mean?

I was dumbfounded for a moment, not realizing that I had saved her in the first place, but her improved brain quickly and thoroughly searched for her memories from half a year ago.

The moment she first became possessed, she said that Hotaru looked similar to the girl who was almost killed by a pack of monstrous wolves.

…… It is said that there is a gap between the game visual and half a year, but why did I only notice it now?

Even though I thought I was stupid, there was a reason I couldn’t help it.

“…… No, you don’t have to thank me.”

“No, but-!”

It is because I did not assume that I would have met the heroine before the scenario, that I would have intervened in the development of the original from the beginning.

This time, the one I got must be right.

My memory said so, and Hotaru himself, the person involved, expressed his gratitude.

But on the other hand, another question arises.

In this world line, I, who possessed Shiki Ichimaru, saved it, but then in the original world-

‘…… Who saved Hotaru in the game?’

I thought blankly while receiving endless thanks.