I Became a Time-stopping Narrow-eyed Character

Chapter 2

A massive wolf that could be called a monster, a pitiful female student, and a small mountain.

The suddenly changed scenery before my eyes.

Time that had stopped.

White hair subtly obscuring my vision and a higher perspective than usual.

The sense of helplessness, the basic passive trait of a shut-in, was gone, replaced by an overflowing energy throughout my body.

All of these things proved that this body was no longer mine.

'It seems I've somehow ended up possessing someone.'

As soon as I drew the sword at my waist, time stopped, which gave me a vague idea.

Perhaps it was the Time-Stopping Sword I had longed for. Seeing that I had it in my hand, it seemed I had entered the game......

And not just any game, but the infamously terrible 'Apocalypse Love Comedy.'

"Hmm, what should I do with this?"

It was exciting to have entered the game and obtained an incredibly powerful sword, but it all happened so suddenly that I was left bewildered.

The strange tone of voice that escaped my mouth, and the fact that I had entered a game that had never once seen a happy ending, 'Apocalypse Love Comedy,' were significant problems.

I had never even completed it in the game; could I clear it in real life all at once?

'......The farthest I've gotten was Episode 7.'

It was a well-known fact from the game catalog that 'Apocalypse Love Comedy' had 15 episodes, and not even knowing half of the coming apocalypse was an incredibly despairing thought.

"This is quite the predicament."

If the person I had possessed was the protagonist of the game, 'Kitagawa Kenichi,' who wielded the Demon Sword that nullified abilities, there would have been no hope at all.

Whether or not the difficulty adjustment from the expansion pack was applied, I would surely have faced a bad ending at least once.

However, the person I possessed now was someone who muttered in a peculiar tone and held none other than the Time-Stopping Sword.

Yes, with this...... anything could be possible.

Having roughly calculated my situation, I turned to face the scene before me again.

A pack of wolves attacking a girl who had fallen to the ground.

Saying it like this might sound a bit sinister, so let's rephrase it as monstrous wolves targeting a human girl.

They were monstrous wolves so huge that I, as a shut-in, wouldn't have dared to face them before, but now I felt like I could do something.

Thanks to the stopped time, the monstrous wolves were frozen in place as well.

"Alright, let's deal with this first."

Moving leisurely, I approached the frozen pack of monstrous wolves and raised my sword.

The transparent blade reflected the full moon in the sky and, inadvertently, its wielder's face.

The crescent-shaped eyes, narrowed like a sliver of a moon, reflected a sneering smile on the steel.

Swoosh─!

I had been worried about swinging a real sword and killing something since I was inexperienced, but it turned out better than I thought.

Apparently, this new body was adept at all of it.

Slash!

On the first night of possessing a character in the terrible game 'Apocalypse Love Comedy,' I annihilated a pack of about thirty wolves.

***

After taking the unconscious girl to a local police station, I slowly began to learn about 'myself.'

There was no convenient setting where the memories of the original owner naturally flowed into me.

By rummaging through the wallet in my pocket, finding an ID, and visiting government offices for additional inquiries, I discovered information about this new body.

Summarizing that information, it went roughly like this:

───

Name: Ichimaru Shiki.

Orphan.

Age: 16.

Education: Dropped out of elementary school.

No observable social experience.

───

"Hmm, what a delinquent."

I never imagined there could be someone who dropped out of elementary school.

And to think I would become that delinquent myself.

Of course, since I was an overpowered character with the Time-Stopping Sword, there must have been some circumstances, but according to society's records, I was a notorious delinquent who dropped out of elementary school.

"This is quite troublesome."

The game's progression difficulty was notoriously high, but nonetheless, 'Apocalypse Love Comedy' was a dating sim.

No matter what anyone said, it was a beautiful girl romance simulation.

Like most dating sims, 'Apocalypse Love Comedy' was set in a high school in the city.

Yes, a high school!

For someone who hadn't even graduated elementary school, entering a high school was an incredibly challenging feat.

Even if I didn't enroll, there were various things I could do, but being close to the main characters would make things much more convenient.

'At least it's fortunate that I seem to have a basic grasp of Japanese.'

The terrible game 'Apocalypse Love Comedy' wasn't a domestic game but a Japanese one.

As a result, the setting of the game was Tokyo, Japan, and a high school in the city.

If I hadn't understood the language, surviving in the city, let alone the game, would have been impossible.

"So, what should I do right now......"

Sitting on a park bench with no money, I organized my thoughts and finally reached a conclusion.

First and foremost,

'I need to study.'

Japanese high schools had separate entrance exams, and as the city's top delinquent, I had to graduate from elementary and middle school first.

Who would've thought I'd end up studying for an elementary school equivalency exam?

Still, since I had already mastered basic knowledge, I only needed to focus on history and literature.

A few reference books should be enough to grasp it quickly.

'Now, onto the second problem.'

Perhaps the most urgent matter for me right now. I emptied my wallet and gloomily watched the dust scatter in the air.

"I have no money at all."

Yes, I urgently needed cash.

In the long run, I needed enough funds to attend high school for the next three years without any issues.

It seemed my struggle for survival had begun the moment I landed in mainland Japan.

Standing up immediately, I gazed at the bustling streets of Tokyo.

"Hmm, let's start by finding a part-time job."

It was autumn, with the weather gradually getting colder, and sleeping on the streets wasn't an option.

***

About half a year passed since then.

Those six months were a very precious time during which I adapted to the Tokyo cityscape, the setting of the terrible game 'Apocalypse Love Comedy,' and the unfamiliar body named 'Ichimaru Shiki.'

The half-closed eyes, or rather the squint, and even the peculiar tone of voice that initially felt strange.

I also finally got used to the superhumanly strong body and the time-stopping ability.

Screech─!

"Oh, still alive, huh."

While the ability to stop time by drawing the longsword at my waist was one thing, I couldn't test combat skills on people, so the occasional monsters in the city became excellent test subjects.

Mostly dogs or cats, and sometimes human-shaped monsters, I clashed with them to gauge my abilities.

Hmm, is this about right?

Speaking in a tone of cold evaluation.

Incidents like the one with the girl being attacked earlier had decreased, which was undoubtedly a good thing.

"One giant cheeseburger, please!"

"Haha, one giant cheeseburger, coming right up."

Not only that, but I used the money I earned from part-time jobs to buy reference books and study for the equivalency exams.

Despite being a shut-in, I was quite educated, so elementary school studies were a breeze.

Middle school took a bit more time, though.......

Thankfully, having Japanese pre-installed in my brain from the start was a huge relief.

Without it, I wouldn't have made it in time.

Yes, passing the entrance exam for this damned school would've been absolutely impossible.

The hellish high school, Karakura High.

A fairly prestigious preparatory high school in Tokyo and the main setting of 'Apocalypse Love Comedy.'

After the bleak winter passed, I arrived at the school where the light pink cherry blossoms in front of the school gate had bloomed.

[ ※Congratulations※ Karakura High Admission ]

When I glanced up, a banner welcoming me, a new student, was hanging there.

"Finally, a new beginning!"

Six months of possession.

After a short yet long adaptation period, I had finally reached the main game.

In a typical preparatory school, all you'd have to do is study hard, but the school in front of me was nothing short of a labyrinth!

If you don't want to die, you'd better know how to protect yourself.

Since a longsword would stand out too much, I brought a small blade that could be hidden in my sleeve.

"Hmm, for the first day, this should be enough."

Nodding to myself, I passed through the school gate and stepped into the campus.

A noisy group of students, who also seemed to be new, were bustling around.

Although I was eager to mingle with them, there was a place I needed to check first, so I moved quickly.

'First-year Class A is... Ah, here it is.'

This was the class where the protagonist and the nominal heroines of 'Apocalypse Love Comedy' belonged.

It was harder to match my entrance exam scores to join the main characters.

By the time I arrived, the classroom was already fairly filled with students.

'Reddish-brown, light pink, golden. Judging by the unusual hair colors, it seems like the Priestess of Fire, the Ancient Weapon, and the Descendant of the Great Mage have all arrived.'

The protagonist didn't seem to have arrived yet, but all the other key figures I needed to pay attention to were present.

Although I tried to act cautiously, I was worried about the butterfly effect, but fortunately, it seemed like nothing of the sort had occurred.

They were still part of Class 1-A, and no one knew me, so we would share our school days together.

We would save the world together.

"Hehe, I feel like a hero for some reason."

I smiled pleasantly.

***

"......Hehe."

A new student letting out a strangely sinister laugh... Right behind the man with the narrow eyes.

The girl blinked.

She couldn't take her eyes off the man with the villainous aura who had appeared right in front of her.

"Ichinose? Are you feeling unwell?"

"......No."

The Priestess of Fire, Hotaru Ichinose, was now certain.

The new student who looked like a villain was the one who had saved her from the wolf monster six months ago.

She immediately scanned the man's name tag.

'Ichimaru Shiki.'

The Priestess of Fire remembered the name of her savior.