It Became a Time-Stop Slit-Eye chapter 69

69 – 69. Crackling (sound of burning logs).

Yoho, with her head held underwater for a while, received a lecture or rather, brainwashing.

Dressed in gym clothes, she felt strangely submissive in a forced posture with her head bent, but she had no intention of rebelling.

In such a situation, foolishly flaunting self-esteem was not within her nature.

Pride had to be kept alive somehow for future leverage.

“Right, right. Just stay put.”

“…hehehehe.”

Feel free to remove the head whenever you want.

Yoho forced a smile and tried to appear as positive as possible.

The right to life and death had long slipped away.

So, even belatedly, gaining a bit of the man’s favor was crucial.

Of course, even though she smiled lightly, there was a sense of anxiety brewing within the fox.

Seeing that he wasn’t breaking her head right away, it seemed he wouldn’t kill her… He really won’t kill her, right…?

‘…I can survive, right?’

At that moment of thought, Yoho felt the grip that was squeezing her head suddenly loosening.

She looked at the man in front of her with a vacant expression.

The monster named Ichimaru Shikira still added a warning in a sinister atmosphere.

“Stay quiet, really stay quiet, okay?”

Temporary as it may be, it was still freedom.

Although a monster, the vulnerable part, the head, regained freedom from the monster’s grasp.

It was a momentary chance to catch a breath from the terror of violence and death.

‘…Am I alive?’

A faint sense of relief emerged in the fox’s heart as she looked at the man in front of her.

With seven tails swaying, the fox chuckled lightly and subtly scanned the surroundings.

The smile that appeared on her face, with a hint of sincerity, brought up her first thought.

‘Can I escape?’

Even if she gained the man’s heart with her light chuckle, if things went wrong, she could end up with her throat slit or her head smashed.

The best option was to escape from this situation itself. To move away from the monster in front of her.

The crucial issue was whether escaping from now on was actually possible…

‘Hmm.’

As one grows older, their eyes tend to sharpen.

It doesn’t just mean improved eyesight, but living through many years leads to gaining more experiences and understanding why things happen as they do.

‘In trouble.’

Uncharacteristically for a yokai, as a fox more skilled in magic than physical combat, she quickly noticed the alien aspect present in the classroom.

—Perfectly intact.

The school classroom, from the windows to the walls, the desks and chairs placed on the floor.

Every element within the room maintained a perfectly intact state without any signs of damage, despite the explosion created by pouring most of her energy.

When Yoho concentrated, she finally saw the barrier covering the surface of the classroom.

Normally, the effectiveness of magic is inversely proportional to its secrecy, but this barrier lacked no aspect of deficiency.

Having a solidity to withstand the explosion, even she, with expertise in magic rather than physical combat, just realized the existence of the barrier.

‘…The desks and chairs were definitely broken.’

However, the fact that everything else was destroyed was an undeniable truth.

If nothing in the classroom was damaged, she would have noticed that fact earlier.

In other words, someone had restored everything in the classroom that was damaged in an instant.

But the only person Yoho sensed in the immediate vicinity was the man.

“You’re not going to run away, right?”

The man with silver eyes seemed to be silently watching how she would act, just smiling quietly.

The monster in front of her surpassed not only swordsmanship but also magic.

She knew only a few magical constraints, but it was clear that there were far more spells wandering in the man’s mind than she knew.

“Ah, hehehe.”

Yoho chose to bow deeply and voluntarily become a pet.

There was no freedom until the owner appeared.

As Yoho crawled in, Ichimaru Shiki simply smiled and nodded.

“Then, there’s no need to kill.”

“….Yes?”

The fox’s muscles almost relaxed in an instant.

***

After the soul-binding oath, it became truly difficult to intervene.

Since it was a contract made with their own souls, no third party could interfere.

Even with a considerable gap in abilities, it would be impossible to unilaterally break it.

‘Who knows what the future holds.’

At least for now, it was impossible to completely separate the fate of the fox spirit and the human, Sawako Tachibana, who were now united as one.

Although the fox spirit’s soul was removed from the body, damaging it would affect Sawako’s physical and spiritual being, connected through the contract.

While I am here next to her and will not let anything happen, living a civilian life without any issues like before was impossible.

Damage to the spiritual and physical aspects would occasionally cause inexplicable pain.

In a world where many civilians fall prey to urban spirits due to lack of resistance, Sawako Tachibana had no idea she could fall victim to a monster due to my negligence.

I will make arrangements for her survival, but human affairs are unpredictable.

There could be unexpected changes beyond imagination, where Sawako’s defenses could be breached, or conversely, a future where I die could unfold.

If I die, the spell I placed on her will not last long.

From Noble mtl dot com

‘Well, I probably won’t die easily.’

Human affairs are unpredictable, after all.

Surely, no one could have imagined that I would kick someone, causing that woman to fall into distress, make a contract with a spirit, and then, the next day, surprise everyone at school.

Kenichi and Sento, who always complained, might not understand, but I have a strong sense of responsibility.

“Shall we give it a try?”

Having gained memories of the future and discovered Sawako Tachibana’s problem, I conducted research from that point on.

As a result, although I couldn’t nullify the contract itself, I was able to create a separate clause.

Of course, it required exceptional skill in handling the soul, but that was not a problem.

I could confidently say that I was the best in this field of magic.

─Forced transformation. Soul manipulation.

By intervening in part of the soul contract, I managed to adjust the details through close communication with the spirit.

Well, I might have seemed a bit too proactive, which might have been a bit overwhelming, but as long as everyone is happy in the end, isn’t that what matters?

The fox spirit, with some safety measures in place, returned to Sawako’s body.

Though they may seem similar, it was clear that Sawako Tachibana was the true owner of the body.

As the spirit entered her body, Sawako Tachibana, still with brown hair, seemed to regain consciousness, blinking her eyes as she rose from her desk in the classroom.

“…Ichimaru…kun?”

In the dark classroom, I found myself being stared at blankly.

Sawako blinked her eyes absentmindedly and, as usual, gazed at my expression, which was as usual, uneventful.

With nothing different from usual, and probably no fun in looking, she tilted her head from side to side.

“What is it, a dream?”

Could it be that touching the soul caused bits of memories to slip away involuntarily?

Certainly, if there was no context, the current situation of facing a classmate in the classroom at midnight was surreal.

Some might see it as a romantic situation, while others might think a horror game was about to start, creating a shivering background context.

Well, in this world, it’s a mishmash genre where even the local stray dog won’t touch it, called “Exorcism Action Romance Simulation,” and having just dealt with the exorcism-action side, only one thing remained.

“Miss Tachibana Sawako.”

I still don’t quite see myself fitting well into dating someone.

“Would you like to go see the campfire together?”

At least I could lift the mood for a moment.

—

“Hey, nothing happened, right?”

After finishing all the tasks and returning to the student council room, I heard from the student council president, Tokito Minami.

“Clearly, I was busy, got rejected for recruitment, and ended up with all losses. Really, nothing happened with Ichimaru-kun. Go back to the field.”

Although his face looked much happier than usual, indicating something had definitely happened, he didn’t seem willing to disclose it, so I didn’t press further.

There was no need to confront the not-so-close student council president; I could just ask the rest of the people.

Well, just as I was about to ask, he left, saying he had something to do.

“Hmm, a meeting?”

Sento chuckled unconsciously.

Although I thought he would do well with tasks like sports festivals, it was unimaginable for him to attend a meeting among students.

Ichimaru Shiki flirting with a girl?

“That guy, dating or something-“

Muttering to himself, Sawamura Sento suddenly caught sight of a pair of a man and a woman.

It was the always smiling man and a beauty I had seen at school before.

Ichimaru Shiki and a girl were walking together, watching the flames of the field alone.

Tap-tap-

Hearing the crackling of the nearby campfire, Sento stopped in astonishment.