I used the Time Stop for the first time in a real battle.
Thanks to that, I was able to discover various facts.
First, let’s talk about the disadvantages. It turns out that the user’s ability is quite necessary. In reality, I had to personally slice the necks of all those Blade Wolves one by one with my sword.
Naturally, it took a lot of time. Because of that, the Time Stop cooldown was running too much. Thankfully, the Blade Wolves lacked regeneration abilities, and there were no other monsters around.
If the opponent had been a monster with regeneration, or if other monsters were left, I could have found myself in danger. But that’s just to say that there are disadvantages.
That doesn’t mean it’s cheating, though. On the contrary, it became clear that the Time Stop Breeding Uncle’s gift was more overpowered than I imagined. Objectively speaking, I’m very weak at the moment.
Without the Time Stop ability, I’d be at a level where it wouldn’t be strange to die right away, yet that allowed me to handle dozens of Blade Wolves by myself.
I never lost the initiative. I could certainly kill the enemies while performing various other tasks. It was literally a different caliber of gift. However, there were drawbacks.
“More than I imagined. To kill them all in one strike.”
“This is nothing.”
“Excessive humility can be harmful.”
“…….”
The problem is that those around me began to misunderstand wildly. After all, when time is stopped, one cannot perceive what is happening. It’s only natural that they would react that way.
From my perspective, I was completely losing it. I had been stopping time and barely managing to catch them one by one. I was even holding my sword poorly, which took even longer.
If I were truly a master of swordsmanship, I could have ended it much faster than before. However, from the standpoint of those who witnessed the results, it looked like I took them all down in one strike.
“If you’re around, I can rest easy handing things over to you.”
“No, it’s not that great…”
“Please, for everyone’s sake. Use that power.”
“……yes.”
No matter how desperately I denied it, it only looked like humility. But I couldn’t disclose my abilities. Revealing abilities at this point would be very foolish.
No matter how invincible Time Stop may seem—or even if it truly is invincible—the user is not invincible. In other words, I could easily be caught off guard and end up dead.
Besides, without Time Stop, I’m basically a corpse. In such a situation, I wouldn’t dream of doing something foolish like revealing my gift. For now, I will simply execute the immediate task at hand.
“Hey, when will we train again?”
“You’re not weak enough to need training from me.”
“???”
Crap. I didn’t expect this. Andrew stopped teaching me because he thought I was much stronger than him. Honestly, it felt unfair. My skills were much lower than his.
But it’s not that hard to understand. There’s a saying about not showing off in front of a slug. It must have been burdensome for him to teach someone stronger.
But that’s the problem—it’s me! If we fought without Time Stop, I’d get wrecked! I wanted him to teach me! I swallowed those words and quietly groaned inwardly.
“Um, sir? What should I do…?”
“Just stay comfortable.”
“Why are you using honorifics?”
“Because you are Hope.”
“???”
Even Brick and the other guards began to show me respect. When I asked why, they said it was because of my overwhelming presence in the previous battle. Damn, how did it end up like this?
To put it simply, I was receiving hero treatment. Monsters are running riot, after all. Naturally, people lean on heroes. That way, they can be at ease.
If it comes down to it, we have a hero. The hero will ultimately save us. This is how they comfort themselves. You can’t blame that. It’s a natural thing for people.
But why is it me? Damn.
I mean, I feel good. Things that previously subtly underestimated me are now crawling and fawning all over. But I don’t deserve this level of treatment right now. In other words, it was too much.
“What am I going to do now…”
“Uncle!!!”
“……?!”
Something flew at me from behind at an incredible speed and hit my back. I felt a twinge in my waist. Damn… what now? I frowned and looked at the little monster who ambushed me.
“Is it you again.”
“Hehe! I found you, Uncle!”
“How do you keep finding me?”
There was a familiar sight with short red hair and a disheveled appearance. But how did this little kid know where to find me? Was it a coincidence? Or is there something more?
“Uncle! Is something going on?”
“What are you suddenly talking about?”
“You’re lying! Your expression isn’t that cheerful!”
“…….”
Seeing the innocent little kid asking with a tilted head made me smirk and smile. Was my expression so gloomy that even this kid noticed? I shouldn’t have let that happen.
“It’s nothing.”
“Really?”
“This Uncle doesn’t lie.”
“Then promise me one thing!”
“Um?”
“Don’t just disappear all of a sudden.”
A promise heavier than I expected just popped out. Plus, for some reason, red light was shimmering in the kid’s eyes. The kid then extended her pinky toward me.
“Okay, I promise.”
It seemed like there was some story behind this. Otherwise, she wouldn’t show such a look. I absolutely wasn’t feeling pressured into making a promise to this kid. I just felt sorry for her.
“You promised! Uncle!”
“This Uncle always keeps his promises.”
“I can trust you, Uncle.”
With her hair color and her obsession with promises, there’s no doubt that she resembled that character a lot. But that character is a girl. Could this little kid in front of me…?
I couldn’t help but smirk and shook my head.
One of the protagonist’s heroines is right here.
Such a fortunate event wouldn’t happen.
*
[I’ll definitely come back, I promise.]
For that little girl, those words were the only reason to live. If she waited quietly, her parents would surely return. If she waited just a bit longer, they would come back. She kept her faith and waited.
A year’s time taught the little girl many things. Just sitting still and crying won’t change anything. If she doesn’t get up and find food, she’ll only starve.
There was no longer a fence protecting the little girl. Yet, she continued to wait. Even as time wore down that promise. She still kept her faith until the end.
When are they coming?
You promised to return.
Promises must be kept.
Questions echoed in her mind, gnawing at her heart. Her heart wore down, and her memories faded. The weight of that wait was not something a mere child could bear.
Maybe that’s why she sought attention.
In a bone-deep loneliness, the little girl unwittingly wished for someone’s care. She acted like a good kid. An obedient child who listened well to adults and did many good things.
And thanks to that, she met the Uncle.
At first glance, he seemed plump and very suspicious. Adults around her initially advised her to stay away from him. But that was merely the folly of the ignorant.
They would say such things because they knew nothing.
He had always seen her properly. And he even stepped up for her. At least, that’s how the child felt. Of course, the other side only initiated trouble first.
What mattered to the child was not that.
Wasn’t that Lowell? He was just a weird guy who always bothered her. He bothered her so much that even a well-behaved kid could not take it anymore and outright rejected him.
Apparently, Lowell bore a grudge for that and used everything at his disposal to trouble her. He distributed rotten food and gave various disadvantages for all sorts of excuses.
No one stepped in directly. After all, he was quite a successful guard. People only expressed concern with words. But the Uncle showed with actions, not words.
“Uncle! Is something going on?”
“What are you talking about suddenly?”
“You’re lying! Your expression isn’t that cheerful!”
To the child, promises became more important than anything else. But she never made a promise to anyone. Because the relationship just wasn’t deep enough to do so.
For the child, promises carried the weight of her parents. And as she spent time with the Uncle, he gradually occupied the child’s heart. She would wake up and look for him.
“Then promise me just one thing!”
Somehow, she could tell where he was. The child looked at him. Though his appearance wasn’t particularly handsome. That made her all the more relieved. The child extended her pinky.
“Don’t just disappear all of a sudden.”
To the little girl, no, to the girl, promises had become a token of obsession.
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