Kenshin stood dumbfounded, staring at the icy scene in front of him, the shelves were covered in ice, and so were the floor, walls, and ceilings.
In his hand is the grocery that he and Alya's sister just bought.
The sound of screaming and panic echoed around him as the coldness of the ice-covered surroundings started to seep through his skin, although he barely felt it.
"How did this even happen. And every time I'm with someone…." Kenshin's face turned exhausted and looked like a single father tired of taking care of his eight children.
Let's rewind to see what actually happened.
———
[A few minutes ago]
"We're here!" Maria stepped forward, twirling her body around in excitement.
Kenshin held himself back from chuckling, he couldn't help it. Despite being a few years older than he—in his current body—Maria acts more like a child than him.
He then asked the white-haired girl beside him, "Is that normal?"
"Is that even a question?" Alya's reply was a look that says 'Are you serious?'
Meanwhile, on his other side, Sawako remained silent, occasionally replying whenever she was asked something but most of the time, she kept to herself.
Kenshin tried his best to help her by including her in their conversation on the way but it seems to be harder than he thought.
In the end, Kenshin decided to let nature take its course but this time, he would help her from time to time.
"Right. So where's the shopping list? Let's speedrun this thing." Kenshin cleared his throat and changed the subject, asking for the list of what they would buy.
However, he received strange looks from both Alya and Sawako.
Kenshin was confused, "What?"
"Shopping list? What are you, an American? We just drive the cart on each aisle until we come across what we need, we don't make shopping lists." Alya explained, still looking at Kenshin as if he were weird.
Sawako even nodded her head to the side, fully agreeing with Sawako.
Kenshin's lips quivered, Why are you two ganging up on me? I was just asking!
"….Alright, fine. You got me. The truth is, I'm a former American soldier who was reincarnated as a Japanese student after spending thousands of years in a world dominated by nothing but men." Kenshin raised his hands in defeat, fully exposing himself.
Alya snorted, clearly not believing an ounce of the words he just said, "Yeah right. If that were the case, I would be a Russian spy sent to infiltrate the Japanese government."
"W-While I would be Sadako who was reincarnated as…me?" Sawako tried to join in, meekly speaking in her turn. She doesn't know how to reply to such antics but since she looks cute, she passed.
Kenshin sighed in defeat, "You two…" can't they tell that he's telling them the truth, a huge secret of his that he would take to his grave?
What a pity. Such is the power of denial.
———
As they entered the shopping mall, Maria took the reins as she dragged them from aisle to aisle, filling up their cart in no time.
Snacks, beverages, tea brands, and even some small home decor.
"What do you guys want? My treat." Now that she's done with hers, Maria turned to the three of them who were too busy in their world.
Kenshin was contemplating at first before replying, "I'll just grab some mints, I'll pay for it."
He doesn't like owing somebody. Call it a habit due to a certain experience back in the world of Fantazio.
Just by recalling it, Kenshin was feeling the shivers.
It's not wrong to say he developed deep trauma against men.
"No no no! You're not going to pay for it! I won't let you!" Maria clutched Kenshin's wrist just as he was about to pull something out of his pocket.
"What? Why?" Kenshin confusedly asked.
"Because you're my guest and I even had you two join us in buying groceries, it's only proper for me to treat you two!" Maria crossed her arms under her bosom, pushing it before pouting.
Kenshin was speechless, he knows what hospitality is but doesn't that only apply to households, not outside?
But still, just to end the nonsensical argument, Kenshin relented, "Alright, fine."
"Hehe!~"
"How about you, Sawa-chan?" Maria then approached the meek Sawako with a jump, frightening the poor girl.
"A-Anoo~ N-Nothing?" Sawako fidgeted, still unable to match Maria's bubbly energy.
"Hmph! Sawa-chan probably hates me, that's why she doesn't want anything to do with me." Maria responded with a pout and a flick of her head to the side.
"Wahh! T-That's not what I meant!" Sawako panicked, waving her hand frantically.
Watching this, Kenshin couldn't help but roll his eyes, Maria is gaslighting the poor Sawako.
Just as he was about to step in to help her, something, or rather, someone with huge amounts of foul energy suddenly entered the domain of his senses.
The presence of this figure radiates an icy aura, the chills enough to make him feel its cold.
Kenshin's head quickly snapped to the side, searching for the source of such presence.
Soon, he finally located it and what he saw made him frown.
It was coming from an innocent-looking woman with black hair and purple eyes, holding hands with a child no older than 6.
And just as Kenshin could see them, the older woman seemed to have sensed his gaze and immediately turned her deep glowy purple eyes.
Just the stare alone made Kenshin shiver a bit.
Not out of fear, no—but because of how cold this woman is—her aura, her presence, the foul energy inside her, and everything about her reeks of sheer coldness, as if she's the epitome of the biting coldness of an ice.
This woman, murmured Kenshin, taking his eyes away from her.
We have to leave this place, this instant, he continued.
Alya, ever the attentive and observant one, quickly noticed Kenshin'd demeanor and asked out of concern, confusion clouding her face.
"Are you okay? What's wrong?"
"….It's nothing. I just saw someone. Say, can you tell your sister to hurry up? I don't want to sound rude." A simple look towards her eyes that contained a hidden message, Alya turned serious and replied.
"Okay. I'll go fetch her and Sawako." Before proceeding to approach the two women who were busy choosing what to buy in the chocolate and snacks aisle.
In the meantime, Kenshin slowly hid his presence, keeping a considerable distance between himself and the two women.
At the same time, Kenshin silently cast a spell that enhances his hearing, eavesdropping on their conversation.
"Sona-tan! Anything specific that you like? Onee-chan will definitely buy it for you!" The cheery and energetic voice of the older woman, who turns out to be the big sister of the little girl, reminds Kenshin of Maria just now.
The little girl, now known as Sona, replied with an indifferent tone, "Nothing interesting."
"Oh really? Oohh! What's that?" Serafall suddenly pointed at a certain item in one of the aisles.
A box-like object that has a familiar white and black stripes design.
That's a chess? Kenshin, who had been spying on them, saw where the older sister was pointing at.
"What's that?" Sona asked in curiosity, something inside her just felt attracted to it.
"I think that's called a chessboard? I remember Ajuka-tan playing it in his free time, praising the humans for being able to invent such a game." Even though she just muttered the last few words under her breath, Sona still heard it.
She murmured with amazement and curiosity, "A game made by humans?" She then turned to her sister and pointed at the chessboard.
"I want it."
"…Seriously?" Serafall was speechless. If there's something she doesn't want her little sister to become, that is to turn into a smartass like her friend Ajuka.
That guy is simply too smart to tease or have fun with.
———
As Kenshin continued to watch them over the distance, somewhere not far away from them, ten figures clad in dark robes and hoods with three similar-looking eyes stacked against each other, stared down on the large supermarket under them.
"Is the target confirmed?" One of the hooded figures inquired with a cold and expressionless voice.
The rest of the hooded figures responded with a nod of their heads.
"Good, remember, our only target is the little girl. Once we have her, the Leviathan would be left with no choice but to cooperate with us." The hooded figure who spoke before, continued with the same indifferent voice. It can be assumed that he's the leader of the band of creepy hooded figures considering he's giving out orders.
With a series of nodding heads, the figures slowly descended on the ground, the humans around them not reacting to their unusual appearance and illogical entrance.
They simply ignored them as if they were not there.
Eight out of ten among them split up, entering through the sliding doors of the supermarket, pairs of magic circles appearing on the tips of their fingers.
They were prepared for this.
To fight one of the Underworld's Satans!
———
"They're already lining up at the register. Though Nee-san was confused but as long as I say the word, she always does what I tell her." Alya approached Kenshin who was hiding in plain sight and proudly told him.
"…What are you still doing here then?" Kenshin looked at her confusedly.
Alya's puffed-up chest deflated and she frowned, "What do you mean? I'm here to help."
"Help? Wait, are you thinking of fighting with someone?"
Alya looked almost like she was about to throw hands with Kenshin, "Isn't that why you told me to take my sister away from here?"
"I didn't say anything about fighting and even if there is, there's no way I'll let you fight when you barely even scratched the surface of magic."
"You!" Alya clenched her fists, not liking being underestimated like this. What's the point of taking caffeine thrice a day just to stay awake and master the basics of magic?
"Look, you just go back to Maria-san and escort her and Sawako back to your home. I'll be with you guys shortly, okay? If your sister asks you about me, just tell her that I'm catching up with an old friend, okay?" Before Alya could refuse or ask any more questions, Kenshin went ahead and patted her head.
He then continued but with a soft touch in his voice, "Just protect your sister, okay? Isn't that the main reason why you want to learn magic?"
"Wha—….You know?" Alya looked away in embarrassment.
"Of course I know. It's almost impossible to lie in front of me." Kenshin snorted, taking pride in his passive skill to detect lies.
"…Okay…but you'll be fine, right?" Before Alya left, she turned around and asked worriedly.
Kenshin smiled at this, a feeling of warmth clouding his chest, "I will."
Alya nodded her head and finally left, her steps hurried to catch up to her sister and Sawako.
For a minute, Kenshin kept his attention on two different things. One on a woman whose name he just heard as Serafall and the other on Alya, Sawako, and Maria who were slowly distancing themselves from the Supermarket.
Just as Kenshin was about to sigh in relief, his senses suddenly went haywire when eight presences radiating malicious intentions suddenly entered the vicinity.
When Kenshin turned his head to them, his eyes squinting at the magic circles on their hands.
Before Kenshin could react, they suddenly approached Serafall and her little sister, Sona. The familiar foul energy that is similar to Serafall, surged like tidal waves.
They all squatted on the ground in unison, smashing their magic circles on the ground
"Sealing Magic: Five-Star Compa—!"
Hearing the familiar Sealing Magic, Kenshin'd attention was caught by them, only for it to be doused by a hot bucket of water as a pure blue wave of icy cold blast engulfed the 8 hooded figures, encasing them and turning them into ice sculptures.
Kenshin almost slapped his forehead at this scene.
Can't you guys just cast the Sealing Magic in silence!? What a bunch of fools!
As Kenshin was mentally reprimanding them, he suddenly felt a chill in his spine as when he located the source of it, he saw Serafall, hugging her little sister while staring directly at him, her purple beads of an eye containing nothing but cold and indifference, a gust of visible cold steam coming out of her mouth as she breathes.
Oh fuck!
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[Power Stones everyone!]
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[Next Chapter: Ch. 54 - Catching the Supernatural attention!]