I Became the Final Subjugation Target of That Era’s Light Novel

It was a rather strange scene.

In a world that had completely stopped, the only things moving were the coin and my finger on top of it.

Kaneko and Ikeda’s fingers remained still as well. They were clearly placed perfectly on the coin, yet it seemed like the coin was moving on its own, as if ignoring any friction, definitively indicating “yes.”

Moreover, this coin wasn’t being moved by me. It was simply heading towards “yes” on its own.

However, ‘she’ seemed to think it was the truth.

“If so, are you here to interfere with what I plan to do?”

This time, the coin pointed to “NO.”

“Is that so?”

Her voice seemed to find it amusing.

“This is the last question.”

She paused as if to select from a plethora of delicious foods right in front of her. It felt as if I could hear a humming tune, even though I really couldn’t. It was an incredibly strange sensation.

“Oh, I see. This question will do.”

Hehe, ‘she’ whispered in my ear, laughing like a child.

“You’re wondering whether—do you believe in God.”

“……”

Even if I could move my mouth right now, I probably wouldn’t have said anything.

Not because I didn’t want to.

It was something much more simple. I simply lost my words.

I was nervous, thinking a very fundamental question would come up, yet all that came was something rather trivial.

“Right, right, I see.”

Did she read my thoughts? ‘She’ spoke, clearly pleased.

The coin remained on “NO.”

“You don’t believe in God. How interesting.”

What in the world could be so interesting about that?

“You wouldn’t consider me, who prepared ‘her,’ as God, would you?”

The coin didn’t budge.

“Oh, I apologize. I’ve already used up the three questions and ended up asking one more. Thus, I wish to tell you one more thing.”

The whisper in my ear grew closer. Although it was only sound, it felt overwhelmingly unpleasant, as if someone was breathing into my ear.

“First, let me tell you what I promised. My name is—”

The voice practically pressed itself against my ear.

“Shura-Nirlas. I am the mother of a thousand lambs.”

“……”

I tried not to think about anything. Whether that was amusing to her or not, she giggled once again.

“And the second. You are my thousandth lamb.”

Blink.

My eyes blinked.

“Ah!?”

Someone jumped at that exclamation, startling me as I flinched.

“Huh? What? What’s going on?”

The one who cried out first was Ikeda. So surprised that he brought his finger, which was hovering a perfect height above the ten-yen coin, back to his chest. His thick glasses slipped down his nose, and he quickly pushed them back up with the other hand.

Kaneko alternated her gaze between her finger and mine, shivering slightly.

Bang!

As she slapped her palms on the desk, she shot up from her seat.

“What was that? You really do have talent! No, this is pure occultism, isn’t it!? Izumi, did you see that, did you see it!? I clearly saw the finger move suddenly! I was pressing down on the coin hard, and yet it moved that way! We didn’t even realize! This isn’t just a club of the occult!?”

“Stop spouting nonsense!”

Ikeda shouted back.

“You just did something weird! What is this? A trick to take the club members away? That’s too much!”

“No, there’s no such magic in this world!”

Kaneko said in disbelief.

Ikeda quickly grabbed my arm.

“Absolutely not! Your club hasn’t even been properly registered, and you don’t have a faculty advisor, do you? More importantly, the coin pointed to ‘NO’ before we even asked Kokkuri-san. That means Kurosawa doesn’t want it either.”

Hmm.

Since the last question was of that nature, I didn’t believe in God. Considering that I crossed over to this world, it didn’t seem like there was any divine presence here.

Besides, Shura-Nirlas…

…Wasn’t she obviously a knockoff of Shub-Niggurath?

Moreover, what? The mother of a thousand lambs? If you’re going to reuse that setting, then why change the name?

If it isn’t that, then it could either just be a character made to ‘assert copyright’ or something. Anyway, as long as it doesn’t overlap, I’m good.

What I had in my left hand wasn’t a black flame dragon but a black goat instead.

It seemed like it would be healthy if boiled. It certainly looks rather unassuming.

“…So, can I have a snack?”

“Oh, of course! There’l be plenty left since only one person can eat at the moment. All the leftover money from the club’s budget goes into buying snacks.”

What a splendid club!

So, this means the snacks were bought with the money from Hanagawa High School.

I should use my tuition for this.

I might not even go to university, so isn’t that a waste?

Having that thought, I reached for the dorayaki—

Kiik, and I heard a sound that felt oddly familiar.

As I pondered where I had heard it before, the sliding door to the Literature Club room burst open with a rattle.

Durururu, or should I say, Kwarururu, and add a Bang! to it, and it’d be pretty close.

Startled, I dropped the dorayaki back into the basket. Thankfully, I dropped it before I could open the bag, so I wouldn’t miss eating it.

“…Kurosawa?”

I could swear I heard a voice I usually hear during lunch.

Slowly turning my head back towards the open door, there stood Yuuki Yuka.

Holding the door, she was breathing heavily, sweat running down her face.

She appeared to be carrying something wrapped in a cloth over her shoulder.

…It looked like ‘Mumei’ was inside it.

“…Yuuki.”

I called her name.

“Yuuki? Is she a friend of yours?”

Ikeda asked from behind me, hiding a little.

“This is quite the grand entrance.”

Kaneko mumbled, a bit dazed.

Yuuki’s eyes darted between me and the two girls in sailor uniforms next to me, then to the Kokkuri-san paper spread out on the desk. Then she looked at me again.

“What’s going on?”

Now that I think about it, she said that door could feel the presence of Yōkai.

Yuuki’s gaze on me was sharp.

“What’s going on?”

Ikeda asked.

“Did something happen?”

Kaneko wondered.

“……”

Yuuki seemed to realize that I was simply sitting in the Literature Club and trying to grab a snack.

But it seemed she wasn’t ready to completely drop her suspicions.

Yuuki stepped into the room.

“Uh, are you perhaps hoping to join?”

Ikeda asked, eyes twinkling.

Yuuki looked at me, then back to Ikeda.

“Kurosawa joined too?”

“Of course! If you join now, snacks are free!”

Will they ask for money later?

But that’s not a problem. Let’s eat our fill while it’s free.

I finally lowered my hand to pick up the dorayaki.

To not seem too rushed, I slowly brought it forward to my desk and carefully opened the bag.

Dorayaki usually gets translated as ‘sweet red bean bread’ in Korea, but technically, they’re different things. The red bean bread literally has red bean paste inside, while dorayaki has sweet bean paste between two pancakes.

The texture and taste are completely different.

As I cautiously placed it in my mouth and bit into it, the outer layer of the grilled pancake was soft and tender. It was not at all like the dry and crumbly red bean bread I usually have.

“…Is it really that good?”

Ikeda asked, watching from the side.

I nodded quietly.

It is delicious.

I enjoy both pancakes and beans.

It seems like it came from quite a famous place. Ah, I’m really glad I joined the club.

Couldn’t I get a meal with this instead of part-timing?

*

In the end, I ate three pieces of dorayaki and finished the club activities.

Ikeda seemed completely unbothered. Rather, he was incredibly pleased that he had secured two new members during the course of the day. After all, a literature club wouldn’t just read books every day, would they?

No, ideally, they should only be reading books, but maybe they had too much fun today?

…Anyway.

It seems Kaneko didn’t particularly feel like putting Yuuki into the occult club. Well, since she chose me because I reminded her of Sadako, it seemed she thought Yuuki, who looks like a school officer with an armband, wouldn’t fit in.

Even though she doesn’t fit in either.

Well, it probably doesn’t matter. Thanks to that, I got to know the conditions under which I could call that… Shura… Shub-Niggurath knockoff when needed.

Maybe it got easier because I called it through what was etched on my wrist? Or could it be that, just like Rog, as long as the minimum conditions are met, I could call it?

Cthulhu Mythos had similar settings.

Most gods have such strange names that humans can hardly pronounce, making it nearly impossible for them to be summoned through mere speech, but it seemed Hastur could be called easily with human pronunciation.

That said, it wouldn’t pop out whenever, and calling Hastur mother, then that Shub-Niggurath knockoff would likely be similar.

I didn’t even call its name, and it popped out.

As I pondered various thoughts and walked ahead, I noticed another footstep blending in with mine from behind.

When I halted, those footsteps stopped as well.

I turned around.

Yuuki quickly turned her gaze elsewhere and whistled.

“……”

In the end, I fully turned toward Yuuki.

A breeze blew gently. The sky was dusk, and since we hadn’t left the school right after finishing our activities, the streets were almost deserted.

Given the atmosphere, it seemed we were about to exchange confessions, but of course, that wouldn’t happen.

Rather, it would be reasonable to see Yuuki as a stalker-to-be following me right now.

Having a pretty girl following is pleasant, but having someone carrying a Japanese sword isn’t quite it.

I walked up to Yuuki. By then, it seemed she had given up whistling, which was not even good, and shifted her gaze back to me.

“…Is there something you want to say?”

Yuuki’s expression turned serious, carefully choosing her words.

It would be a bit awkward for her to directly ask if I was a Yōkai. I usually didn’t give off any Yōkai vibes at all.

No, I don’t even know if I’m a Yōkai or not. This body appears to be an avatar, and if one were to be precise, the original owner would be the Yōkai.

If that’s the case, then what she was sensing was probably similar to what I felt concerning Miura.

“Uh, um…”

But what was I supposed to explain?

“There’s a Yōkai following you, and you might get killed in a few days?”

If I could convince her with that, then I wouldn’t have had such a hard time rescuing Miura.

“I’ll be going if you have nothing to say.”

Saying that, I turned to leave again.

Just confirming that I knew she was following me would surely make it awkward for this stalker behind me.

I know Yuuki is a good person. She was likely following me out of pure goodwill right now.

But if my true identity were to be revealed, then things would definitely change.

As I turned away, my body stopped as if it had hit something.

Nothing big happened. Yuuki had just grabbed my arm with her hand.

“…Wait a sec.”

“Why?”

When I looked up at her face, she seemed slightly flustered before finally managing to speak.

“Would you like to come to my house today?”

“……”

It seemed that even she found it a little absurd to say. Judging by the way her eyes darted about.

“Why would I?”

“……”

Now it was Yuuki’s turn to be speechless.

“If there’s no other reason—”

“—Sukiyaki.”

She cut me off.

“Tonight, it’s sukiyaki.”

I looked up at Yuuki for a moment.

“Sukiyaki.”

Yuuki emphasized it again.

“I’ll go.”

I replied.

*

And after responding like that, I regretted it just a little bit.

Yuuki Yuta is a person who hunts Yōkai. And her family has been passing that profession down through the generations.

Where in the world would her house be?

If it were a mere ordinary house or mansion, that would be far more surprising.

Yuuki’s house was a shrine.

It took a little over 20 minutes by subway from Tamachi Station to Kamata Station, where Yuuki’s shrine was located. After getting off and strolling for about 15 minutes, a shrine came into view.

“This is it.”

The shrine was situated right in the middle of a neighborhood filled with private homes. It didn’t seem to be particularly famous as a tourist spot. After all, one had to enter a place where people actually live.

“It’s been around for quite a while. That means the shrine was built first, and the houses around it came later.”

I nodded along to Yuuki’s words.

There was a torii gate at the entrance of the shrine. Beneath the bright red torii, stood a girl in a black sailor uniform with a ponytail, holding a katana wrapped in cloth over her shoulder.

Somehow, it fit the scene very well.

Yuuki took the lead, and I slowly followed her inside.

Even though it was in the middle of a residential area, the shrine was surprisingly spacious. Most of the surroundings seemed to be flat, yet this shrine was elevated. It wasn’t steep enough to have stairs, but a gentle slope extended momentarily.

And as I climbed that slope, I thought.

Yuuki Yuka, she’s unexpectedly a rich girl, isn’t she?

Now, I’m not saying she’s throwing money around like a rich chairman’s daughter, but how many people own land this big in Tokyo?

Besides, while climbing, Yuuki greeted several neighborhood residents. It seemed there were quite a few visitors.

Even a miko appeared!

“Oh, she’s a part-timer.”

As Yuuki waved at the miko and greeted her.

Oh, I see…

No, I know about it, but somehow hearing it from an insider was a bit disappointing. It felt like finding out that Santa Claus is just someone dressed up by a grandpa sitting next to you.

“Let’s go to grandpa right away. He’s probably watching TV in his room right now.”

…The scent of everyday life snatched my attention back momentarily.

So we proceeded slowly, crossing the expansive shrine grounds, passing the main hall—

—exiting the shrine again, entering a private house on the opposite side of where we had come from.

…Huh? So they don’t live in the shrine?

“The deity is my father.”

That shattered my illusion once again.

If that’s the case, then why go out of the way to cross the shrine? Shouldn’t it be closer to take the subway like this?

Passing through the uniquely low gate of a traditional Japanese home, Yuuki took out her keys from her bag and opened the door.

“Grandpa, I’m back. I brought a friend; is that okay?”

As Yuuki entered, she spoke quite loudly.

There was no immediate answer from inside.

“You can come in.”

I silently followed.

When I go to someone’s house, I casually throw my shoes off in the hallway, but that’s not the kind of face I want to make going to the house of a classmate from the same school.

Like Yuuki, I neatly took off my shoes and entered.

“Grandpa!”

“Hmm?”

Only after Yuuki shouted towards the living room did her grandfather react. His voice sounded a bit sluggish, clearly as if he had just woken up.

From the living room, the sound of the TV could be heard. It seemed to be a documentary about tuna fishing, showing the struggle against waves and the thick fishing line catching tuna.

“I brought a friend.”

“Oh, Yuka.”

Her grandfather reacted a bit late, sitting up on the sofa.

“I’m going to have dinner with him, is that okay?”

“Then, that’s fine—”

As he spoke, Yuuki’s grandfather turned to look at me.

And then he froze solid.

“……”

Well.

Thinking about it, it was probably Yuuki’s family that made her transfer to our school. So, her grandfather and father must have discerning eyes for such matters.

He might even be more impressive than Yuuki.

“…I’m Kurosawa Koto Ne. Nice to meet you.”

However, since it felt slightly awkward just glaring at each other, I bowed my head to her grandfather.

“Hmm, is that so? It’s Koto Ne, then.”

Hearing my voice, Yuuki’s grandfather instantly came back to life.

“Yuka, would you mind preparing things a bit? I’ll just go to the bathroom for a moment.”

“Okay.”

Yuuki replied, then turned to me.

“Take a look around if you want. Anyway, my father will have to come too.”

“……Okay.”

Even if she told me to look around, I had no clue what to watch.

Since I didn’t have a TV at home, I wasn’t even sure what I could watch during this time.

“Sit down and rest.”

Yuuki’s grandfather said that and stood up.

And I was left alone in the living room.

……

Well, then, should I take a break?

Thinking that, I carefully sat down on the sofa—

“…It’s comfortable.”

I nearly melted into relaxation.

Who would throw away a sofa like this when moving? I’d be willing to drag it home myself.

Thinking that way, I stared blankly at the tuna fishing show on TV.

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