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

The unkind Miura seemed like she could actually sell alcohol if you paid her enough, but when I stared at her intently, she ultimately served us orange juice.

Of course, it wasn’t some high-end juice made from freshly squeezed fruit. It was plain orange juice that you could find at the local supermarket.

I felt like it might cost a fortune, but since I was the one who brought these two along, I had no intention of saying anything about it.

“So… what did you say back to her?”

I asked Miki. Miki made a sound like “Um~” and fell into thought before saying,

“I just said it was fine.”

“……”

I know that sounds evasive.

“If there were no scars, she would have had a pretty face, but that scar is just too big. But saying she’s ugly to someone meeting her for the first time is rude~”

What a wonderfully laid-back personality.

I contemplated for a moment on what to say next and glanced at Kaoru.

“Kaoru-senpai.”

“Yeah?”

Kaoru, who had been slurping the orange juice through a colorful straw stuck in a fancy glass, replied.

“What were you really going to do if you met the woman with a torn mouth?”

“Eh? Ah.”

Kaoru lifted her mouth off the straw and looked through her pockets with a triumphant expression.

What she pulled out was—

“Tada!”

At first, I thought it was shoe polish because it was a thin, flat, circular tin.

But upon a closer look, it read ‘pomade’ on the tin.

You know, the stuff you apply to your hair. It was something far removed from my usual concerns about hairstyles.

“She said the woman with the torn mouth dislikes the smell of pomade!”

“……”

Why?

Oh, now that I think about it, I’ve heard of that. There were several instances in that suspicious order where ‘pomade’ was shouted.

Did it originate from here? I didn’t even know why she hated the smell of pomade in the first place.

Well, this is also a characteristic of yōkai. An obsessive tendency towards one thing. Just like how the Hungry Ghost liked the flesh of teenage women with glasses, Hacha burned nasty people alive, or how Nue lured lonely people to take their souls… we could consider the woman with a torn mouth as one of those cases.

I turned my head again towards Miki.

“Anyway, so you’re saying after you said that, she just left?”

“Yeah~ that’s right~”

She answered with that same laid-back voice.

She said she was popular, and I was starting to understand why a little bit. It’s not just that she’s pretty with a nice figure; it’s more because she accepts whatever’s thrown at her in such a relaxed manner, making others feel at ease.

“So, you only met her once?”

“Yeah~”

“…… What was the situation like?”

“Not much different from usual~”

So, she means she walked into that area all alone.

Even if it flaunted itself as a night town, the number of people does drop significantly during the late hours. Right before midnight, when the subway shuts down, it would be filled with people who might have been somewhat tipsy and in good spirits. But after they’ve gone home, it becomes quiet.

So even if it’s a deserted area, there should still be a few people heading to find a subway station or a bus stop.

If Miki ran into the woman with a torn mouth, it must have been due to her being late and walking around without a single witness.

“…… I see. Thank you.”

“No~ it’s nothing~ I’m just happy that I can work comfortably like this~”

As I thought I had gathered enough information and nodded my head, Miki waved her hands in response.

*

There were still quite a few questions left.

Yōkai with histories spanning centuries are mostly treated as some kind of ‘race.’ Putting aside the opinions that say they are the transformed forms of the souls of the dead, in subculture, that’s what it typically means.

Even just the Nue I met had to be more than one individual.

Nue kubi were a type of yōkai with a large population, and there are defined methods of exorcism for them.

However, in this case… well, I’m not sure.

Isn’t it just one single murderer? This urban legend that was popular in the ’70s, if it existed then, the woman with a torn mouth now would be at least thirty years older than back then.

Even based on 2004, she’d be in her fifties. Wouldn’t she fit into a category closer to an old lady from Hong Kong rather than a woman with a torn mouth?

Though, I also never thought yōkai would age like people do.

“…… Okay.”

After leaving the store, we returned to the place where Miki said she saw the woman with a torn mouth.

Kaoru insisted on following me, and Izumi insisted on following Kaoru. The two had different purposes.

Kaoru was enjoying the situation out of pure occult curiosity, whereas Izumi just didn’t want to be left alone in that kind of bar.

I also felt that it was true. I didn’t think Miura would be nice to Izumi. Right now, she was in her ‘unkind mother’ mode.

For various reasons, that’s how we ended up outside together.

I actually suggested that we stop for today and gather again another time to search, but of course, Kaoru wouldn’t hear of it. Even after I went home, she looked like she would come right back here, and I figured it would be much safer if I was here next to her.

That darn occult magazine. I should check the publisher later. I wonder if it’s being published by yōkai too.

…Even in that situation, I wasn’t too worried.

“I’ll be the bait.”

“Koto Ne!?”

Izumi looked terrified at my words.

But this was the most fitting move.

Kaoru and Izumi were just regular citizens. If such a woman really appeared, they’d be pretty powerless.

So, I decided to keep Koko beside the two.

“You’re going to go there alone, Koto Ne?”

“Not exactly alone.”

I corrected that statement.

The distance might be over a hundred meters, but that’s just about it. They wouldn’t be able to see me from there, but I could see them from here.

The fact that I won’t be visible is because I’m planning to step into a dark place.

“But that street is practically alone! If something happens there, we won’t be able to help you right away!”

My gaze met Kaoru’s.

Kaoru wore a subtle expression too. She understood that I had the capability to confront, but she also saw how I’d fight back.

“Still, you can’t send either of those two or Koko!”

At my words, Izumi fell silent.

Good.

“Then—”

“I’ll go.”

Just as I thought the situation had settled and was about to say so, Izumi suddenly interjected.

“Izumi?”

Kaoru called out, surprised.

“I am the senior here. I’m one year older. How could I send a junior like you to a place like that?”

“No, but—”

“Or, we can all just go together and check it out.”

“If too many people show up, she won’t appear—”

“And if she doesn’t, we can just write it off in a column. Just say it’s probably a mere rumor. Or we can look for something else.”

“……”

“You guys seem a little strange.”

Izumi looked at Kaoru and me alternately as she said that.

“Don’t you think that there might really be something to it? Whether that murder incident is true or not, there’s a person who’s mentally unstable roving that street. There’s no chance that it’s a being from the legends, but it’s definitely mimicking a legendary being with a knife. What kind of sense makes it reasonable to want to enter that dangerous situation?”

“……”

Um, er.

Suddenly confronted with such reasonable statements, I lost my words for a moment.

That’s…

Well, that makes sense.

Normally, I would think about calling Yuka, reporting it to Miura, or even notifying the police would be the reasonable course of action.

If I proceed like this, both Kaoru and Izumi could be in danger.

Neither I nor Kaoru could bring ourselves to refute Izumi’s words and fell silent.

“Then I’ll do it~”

A very cheerful voice rang out.

Turning around, I saw Miki, who had left the store, had somehow made her way close to us and was overhearing our conversation while we were chatting.

“Miki-san?”

“Mainly, my name is here until the time runs out~ Our store usually runs all night. Until the guests go home.”

When I abruptly asked her, Miki replied like that.

“And~ following along to grab a bite here and there is allowed~ sometimes even for dates~”

Kaoru and Izumi’s faces grew complicated, but it seemed Miki didn’t notice.

“I’ve already met her once, so~ there’s a chance I might be able to talk to her again.”

It’s not a certainty that you can’t meet someone again after meeting them once.

That…

But Miki is still a regular person. Moreover, Miki, though not certain—

“Hmm? What do you think~”

It felt like Miki was thinking that she could come along with us to skip a day of work. After all, we’d soon be taking the subway home, and then Miki could clock out. She had accepted guests today… well, even though the number wasn’t exactly high.

“That’s just a street I walk every day, so~ I’m not scared~”

“……”

That… well, that’s true.

I closed my eyes and immersed myself in thought.

…I didn’t want to call Yuka. This was… personal.

As for Yuka, I’d feel guilty; but since it would mean information might leak from her, that would ultimately be a failure. It would lead me to give up the courage of being able to move first.

Well, I’m not sure if there are people watching us from somewhere, but they also shouldn’t be able to listen to conversations from inside Miura’s bar.

But I also didn’t want to put people in danger.

After thinking for a moment, I soon came to a conclusion.

“…Please wait a moment here.”

“Koto Ne?”

“Ku-chan?”

Izumi and Kaoru looked at me, puzzled.

“Koko, come over here for a bit.”

“Okay!”

When the two of us stepped away, the other three tried to follow us, but—

“Wait, there’s something I want to bring. You three please wait just a moment.”

Seeing that we were headed to Miura’s bar, they didn’t follow us anymore. Good thing the direction was this way.

I entered the bar.

When Kaagami saw Koko and me coming down, she looked a bit surprised.

I then asked her,

“Do you happen to have a sanitary pad?”

*

It was a good thing that no other guests came in while I was cutting my wrist in the bar restroom.

Not that anything particularly dramatic would happen if they did. As soon as I cut my wrist and finished preparing, I covered it with the sanitary pad.

“That’s really self-sacrificing for your friends.”

“…Or you could just tell me.”

As I picked up the teeth that had fallen to the floor and placed one in a plastic bag I’d gotten from Kaagami, I replied.

“Your actions are interesting, but I know well how that interest is sustained. If it were too easy for her to help you, it would surely become boring.”

“……”

I didn’t respond to that, just continued putting the plastic bags back into the cloth pouch one by one.

Then I wrapped the previously made knife in the cloth.

Fortunately, while doing this, blood did not seep out from the wrist covered with the sanitary pad.

“…Phew.”

I pulled down my school uniform to hide the sanitary pad as much as possible, clutching three pockets in one hand and tucking the knife into my armpit.

“So, what do you want this time?”

“What I desire would be enjoyment, I suppose.”

Nirlas answered with a cheerful laugh.

“And it seems there will be a series of entertaining occurrences ahead for you.”

And providing a situation wherein I don’t die.

Isn’t that right? Although they can create ridiculously complex modern oxygen systems—even providing oxygen within them—they categorically refuse to create anything like cannons or guns. If they did, I might resolve the situation too easily.

It has to be enough for them to take some sort of ideal punishment to make it interesting for the audience as well. That’s how I interpreted her words.

“So I hope you view today as mere benevolence.”

…Benevolence, huh.

When my blood starts to run out, at first, it feels like my body is heating up. But after a while, I gradually feel colder.

Thinking about it, the weather was getting pretty cold. …I ought to be careful not to die of shock while fighting in winter.

“Phew.”

I exhaled and opened the restroom stall.

Koko was there.

“Koto Ne?”

Even though I didn’t bother to show it, Koko’s eyes had turned towards my wrist. Despite the long sleeves covering my hand, she easily saw that there was a wounded body beneath.

“I’m fine.”

I said that, gently stroking Koko’s arm.

“It’s just something that’s necessary for the current situation.”

“Uu…”

Koko understands how I fight, so she didn’t say anything about the method itself.

That said, it couldn’t be helped that her heart was pained.

“Let’s go.”

When I said that, Koko nodded.

*

I handed out the wrapped teeth as “wards” to each of them, covered in plastic bags and cloth pouches.

Fortunately, the bar’s upstairs was a residential area. There were no other shops or tenants paying rent, which made it easy to set up the story of “there’s an old room where I used to live.” The talismans were said to have been taken from up there.

Of course, Kaoru looked like she roughly figured out what was going on but said nothing and accepted my “talisman.”

“If something happens, please hold on tightly to that talisman. Make sure to feel that something inside has definitely burst.”

“And what’s inside that?”

Something made of human blood, I suppose.

But I could never say something like that to Izumi.

While the inside was covered by a plastic bag, if the teeth burst, the characteristic of blood spraying everywhere would likely send droplets through a small hole at the top.

If blood sprays everywhere like a spray bottle, the yōkai would surely hesitate due to its stigma against blood.

In that moment, Koko or I would rush in to take care of the situation, that was the plan.

“Thanks~”

Miki accepted the talisman I gave her with glee. I feel a bit anxious about this person. I hope she’ll follow my words.

Before coming here, I had informed Koko beforehand. If I sensed that person was in danger, she should act right away. I told her she didn’t need to worry about the identity.

After all, Izumi would find out about it eventually.

“…Well, let’s try this out?”

Quite a bit of time had already passed. I wasn’t sure if we still could catch the last subway by setting off now.

…In that case, we should probably call a taxi or have someone let us stay in a room upstairs.

It’s not like there are people who would want to leave at such a time now anyway.

“Okay~ so what should we do?”

“…First, let’s choose a spot. And just walk alone. Like you usually do.”

Miki nodded at my words.

We moved a bit deeper into that desolate street and chose our spot.

It was definitely empty, with no one wandering around.

Considering how awkwardly eerie the atmosphere of the street was, it made sense that people would be less inclined to walk here. Or maybe it could’ve been some kind of reaction.

“Make sure the answer is always ‘It’s just fine.’”

“Uh-huh~”

Miki nodded to my statement.

Then she began to walk, holding the talisman in her hand.

Even now, she was quite the tall girl.

Or perhaps she thought that if she endured this particular experience, then it wouldn’t seem frightening compared to everything else she had gone through so far.

We quietly watched as Miki walked forward.

It was a dark street, but it wasn’t completely devoid of light. Even if the distances between the lamps were long, silhouettes of people could still be clearly seen.

If we were watching her back from a distance, we could certainly follow her with our eyes.

So, while we gazed at her back—

“Eh?”

Miki’s figure, which should have continued to be visible, suddenly vanished in an instant.

It wasn’t even a matter of blinking. She just seemed to disappear into thin air, like how I’d see Koko pop up out of nowhere.

“What the hell?”

Izumi mumbled.

“What’s going on…?”

“…Koko.”

At my words, Koko immediately nodded.

“Kaoru-senpai, grab Izumi-senpai and head back quickly. Directly to the bar.”

“But you guys—”

“…You know.”

Looking at Kaoru with a serious expression, I said these words.

“……”

Then Kaoru looked at me with the same seriousness and nodded.

“Just in case, hold tightly to the talisman. If something happens,…”

“Didn’t I tell you to hold tightly to it? Make sure something inside bursts for sure.”

Nodding at my words, Kaoru got to her feet.

Once Kaoru grabbed Izumi’s hand, Izumi looked back and forth between Kaoru and me.

“What’s going on? What’s happening? Where’s Koko?”

“That’s something I’ll explain later. But for now, let’s head back.”

As Kaoru spoke that way, she pulled Izumi along.

“Eh, eh?”

After seeing the two run towards the brightly lit area, I turned my body and dashed back to where Miki had been.

…What a fool I was.

Even if it’s a yōkai that doesn’t require a nest, I was still too naive to send a person toward a yōkai with an unclear characteristic.

I ran as fast as I could while hoping that Miki would be unharmed.

*

“Huh?”

After walking for a while, Miki returned since the woman had not appeared, looking puzzled as she headed back to the original spot.

It was an ordinary street. Nothing had particularly changed.

The only change was that the kids who were supposed to wait here were nowhere to be seen.

Puzzled, Miki decided to head back to the bar.

There was nothing different about the street where people walked either, nor was there any change in the bar. Guests still hadn’t returned. The women who worked alongside her.

And then there was Kaagami.

However, Kaagami’s reaction was different from what she usually displayed.

“The kids have disappeared.”

It was a rather serious expression, unlike the lazy annoyed looks she usually had.

“They were definitely waiting for you~ I’m sorry~”

“…No.”

Kaagami sighed deeply and then spoke.

“I should have been the one to be cautious instead.”

After contemplating for a moment, Kaagami said,

“Can you keep an eye on the place for a minute?”

“Where are you going?”

“…Just, I don’t want to lose any more people.”

Kaagami left those words and suddenly rushed off.

“…I don’t know how to make cocktails~”

Miki scratched her head at this.

…They seem to have quite a close relationship as mother and daughter, contrary to appearances.

I wish I had been that close with my sister.

Thinking that, Miki entered behind the now empty bar.

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