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

In a damp place, there was often a musty smell.

It seemed the inside of the house hadn’t been organized for a long time.

From what I could see of the furniture inside, most of it was pretty ordinary.

There was a computer, an old CRT TV, blankets spread out on the floor, and both a dresser and a wardrobe. At least, it looked more like a place where people lived than where I lived.

But there was way more trash. Except for the blanket spread out in the middle, convenience store bags tied clumsily were piled high, leaving no space to step on. I had seen a room like this in a documentary about hikikomori.

Amid the musty smells, there was a faint, unpleasant odor that was hard to describe. It was somewhere between sweet and sour, but for some reason, it felt a bit nauseating.

In the midst of such a dark, gloomy room, there sat a suspicious icebox.

“……”

They said the corpse had no head found.

There were bite marks here and there, and it was said that it had been cut up as if trying to hide the body.

And only after coming all the way here did I think that maybe this incident had nothing to do with yōkai.

The icebox probably had—

“Kurosawa.”

Yuuki, who grabbed my shoulder from behind me, was there.

“This isn’t the place.”

I heard Yuuki’s voice.

Right?

Why did I have such thoughts?

It was just an article written randomly by a reporter from a newspaper. While there were similarities with the incident, even what I had read already showed contradictions.

First of all, yōkai don’t try to hide human corpses. They have no need to.

So, this is—

“……Who?”

A voice came from behind.

Yuuki and I turned around at the same time.

A man was staring at us with his mouth agape.

Thick, horn-rimmed glasses that hung down to the tip of his nose. An old suit reminiscent of a salaryman who worked late every day.

In his right hand, there was a plastic bag. The kind you get at a convenience store when you buy something.

“Who are you?”

Yuuki’s eyes sharpened. It seemed he had no intention of explaining why we were here. He might not even make such a face when facing a yōkai he had to cut down.

I turned back around.

I had a feeling something was dripping from my left wrist and, looking down, I saw blood spilling over the bandage, soaking it red beyond the capacity of a sanitary napkin.

“Looks like time’s running out.”

That voice came to me.

I lunged at the man.

“Eeek……!”

The man fell flat on the floor, hitting his bottom with a thud. His face had turned pale.

“What the hell! What the hell!”

He was shouting those words without comprehension of the situation.

And he had every right to. If he were a cop, he might’ve taken it in stride. But what stood before him now was some crazy woman with a long knife.

Ironically, in this place right now, only this man had the experience of killing someone. Calm Yuuki, who was probably just as sane but faced with a corpse likely concealed in an icebox, and me, charging at a person holding a long knife. Funny enough, both of us had never experienced anything like that before.

“Wait! Kurosawa!”

Yuuki quickly jumped in between me and the man.

My sight started to narrow.

“No. This person is…… No. This is a human.”

“Hah…… Hah……”

Yuuki spoke to me, gripping the knife tightly raised above me with both hands. Yuuki, arms wide open, was persuading me.

“We aren’t…… people who cut down humans.”

“Then, I’ll kill him.”

“No, that’s not it. We found him, right? If we hand him over to the police—”

Rustle.

A sound emerged from behind Yuuki.

Yuuki, who was speaking to me, immediately shut his mouth and reacted.

With a turn of the body, he kicked the man’s temple with his heel. The man fell to the side, sprawled out.

After looking down at him for a few seconds, Yuuki turned back around.

“Kurosawa—”

But before he could finish his sentence, strength left my legs.

“Kurosawa!?”

Yuuki caught me. Slowly setting me down on the floor. Leaning my back against the wall, Yuuki spoke.

“Breathe.”

I gasped, speaking. My vision was narrowing, and my head was buzzing. I had seen people bleeding extensively before, but this was the first time I had bled so much. Ah, so this is how it feels.

Yet my mind was still online. Usually, people with such severe bleeding can’t respond this clearly.

“Breathe?”

“You have to…… offer your breath.”

At this point, there was nothing I could do alone. I had unexpectedly stirred up trouble but never thought it would roll out like this.

But as he said, I prayed.

Perhaps, if I didn’t sacrifice that man’s life, I would die from blood loss.

Yuuki pondered for a moment.

He must have understood what I meant. Yuuki had grown up in a shrine and was involved in this kind of thing. He probably knew how important it is to make promises with gods.

Bowing his head briefly, Yuuki suddenly raised it again.

“Got it. You need ‘breath,’ right?”

Saying that, Yuuki got up from his place.

And he went to the man.

Ah.

Wait.

I tried to rise from my spot, but there was no strength in my legs.

Yuuki, don’t tell me?

Yuuki picked up the convenience store bag the man had dropped. Then he turned it upside down, spilling everything out onto the floor. Canned goods and cup noodles fell all around.

Then, he brought the bag—

Right in front of the man’s mouth.

Sure, even someone who fainted would naturally breathe. Because he’s alive.

The bag inflated and deflated with the man’s breath.

Yuuki timed it just right, pulling the bag away from the man’s mouth.

Then he came back to me, gripping the opening with his hand tightly.

“Here.”

“Hmm……?”

As I stared blankly at the empty bag he offered, Yuuki said, “I’ve brought you breath. Now what do we do?”

“Breath…….”

Ah, I see.

Yuuki…… he literally acted on it.

“You’ve got a smart friend.”

I heard a voice snickering, as if finding it amusing in my ear.

“How nice. Since you didn’t directly say it, let’s leave this matter at that.”

Satisfied after a long time, the voice that had been looking at Yuuki said, “I hope you call me if you need help next time.”

Saying that, the voice chuckled and faded away.

All the strength drained from my body.

“Kurosawa? Kurosawa!”

The pain I felt in my left arm vanished in an instant. There was a thick, viscous feeling flowing from the back of my neck. The knife I had been gripping in my right hand…… became slimy, and with a splash, turned into a red mess.

Ah, so this is how it played out.

At that moment, I think I understood why the knife hadn’t been found.

“What the hell…….”

Yuuki’s expression turned somewhat horrified upon seeing this, and he quickly turned his head back to me.

“It’s okay now.”

I spoke quietly.

“It’s all over.”

“What do you mean it’s okay?”

Yuuki lifted my right arm, throwing an arm around me.

“Let’s head to a better place for now. No need to worry here. I know someone.”

“That’s…… a relief.”

I suppose there was some negotiation with the government or something.

It seemed better than me getting involved with my blood at the crime scene.

Maintaining my consciousness that was on the verge of collapsing, I walked almost clinging to Yuuki’s body.

*

What the hell was I doing during the golden week?

Well, I mean, the concept of a holiday didn’t really mean much to me in the first place. I had originally been someone who worked every day.

I also often had night shifts. At least students get vacations, right?

I stared up at the unfamiliar ceiling with my newfound clearer vision.

As far as I could remember, I had never lost consciousness. If I had, I probably would have fainted without realizing it. Was that it?

Unlike with Miura, many people were bustling around me.

There were so many beds, both beside me and in other spots. Some were empty, and some had curtains drawn around them.

Hearing people shout and moan, it seemed I was in an emergency room.

As I sat up from my spot,

“Just lie down.”

Yuuki said.

But he didn’t force me down again.

Yuuki stood up for a moment and drew the curtains around the bed.

“The doctor said it’s anemia.”

He said that and sat down on a folding chair by the bed.

Crossing his legs and folding his arms, Yuuki was staring at me intently. Whether he was intentionally hiding his expressions or not, there was no emotion evident on his face.

“They were really suspicious of you, saying you had blood all over your body but no wounds. They thought you might have coughed up blood and wanted to run tests, but remember how you kept your mouth shut?”

Did that happen?

I couldn’t remember at all.

“That.”

Yuuki pointed at the top of my bed with a hand.

There were…… blood bags hanging from there.

“They said it was dangerous.”

“…….”

I looked down again.

“And, you might have to stay hospitalized throughout the holidays. Did you know you were malnourished?”

……

I figured being made into an avatar by external influences would be okay to some extent.

Yuuki brushed his hand over his face.

“……Did you say you live with your mother?”

Of course, I had nothing to say about that question either. That paperwork was probably something I had ‘just made up.’ It would be to avoid bureaucracy bothering a minor living alone in the middle of Tokyo.

After a brief thought, I nodded.

“That man…… was arrested by the police. He can’t harm anyone anymore. I’ll know more details once I come out, but the body found was only one.”

That would probably be the body small enough to fit into an icebox.

“You have a lot to ask me,” Yuuki said.

“But still, it wouldn’t be right to keep interrogating a sick kid.”

I looked up again at the blood transfusion bag. With the knowledge that it was blood inside, the red liquid felt a bit creepy. It was probably because it was my first time receiving a transfusion.

“Do you have an affiliation?”

Yuuki asked while looking at me.

I shook my head.

I probably…… didn’t have any. Unless I had a cult serving me here.

“Okay then.”

Yuuki relaxed his arms, placing his hands on his knees, took a deep breath, and then blew it out.

“Then, how about we formally make a contract with us?”

“……I.”

Originally, that suggestion was meant for the protagonist.

Of course, calling the protagonist to be a fighter was not the purpose. More like I was being called as a blood supplier, you see. Talismans made using blood can have great efficacy. My blood even harms yōkai.

So, it would be correct to refuse this proposal normally.

“Twenty thousand yen per job.”

“……”

Normally, that would be the case.

“Meals provided as needed.”

“I’ll do it.”

There was no reason to refuse when they offered me food.

“You really love food, huh?”

Yuuki said, seeming incredulous.

“Well, looking at your condition, I guess it was bound to happen.”

Saying that, Yuuki rummaged through the shopping bag beside the bed. In fact, I hadn’t realized he even had that until he bent down to dig through it.

What Yuuki took out from inside was a box wrapped in cloth.

“Then, this will be the first employee benefit.”

Saying that, he placed it on my lap.

I untied the wrapping without a word. It was tied simply for easy unwrapping.

Inside was a wooden box.

There was nothing written on top of it.

“Open it.”

Yuuki urged, and I cautiously opened the box.

Inside was—food.

White rice, several meat dishes. It seemed all of them were grilled. In one corner of the wooden box partitioned was Japanese-style miso soup.

“Are you hungry?”

“…….”

I stared at the food inside the lunchbox for a moment, then picked up the chopsticks that had also been included in the wrapping.

“……Thanks for the meal.”

Yuuki nodded.

The lunchbox was…… really delicious.

The benefits of the shrine’s staff were incredible.

*

The good thing about being hospitalized in a hospital was, first of all, the bed was quite nice.

Well, objectively speaking, hospital beds aren’t that expensive, but at least it was better than the house where I had just laid down a blanket on the bare floor.

I even used a blanket as a wrap-around for the knife once and threw it away in front of that apartment.

Thinking about not being able to wrap myself in that blanket again at home already made me feel a bit bleak.

Secondly, I was getting three meals a day without fail.

Moreover, for some reason, the meals in Japanese hospitals were incredibly delicious. I’m not just saying this; grilled fish and meat came out without fail. It felt more like home-cooked meals than hospital food.

Of course, it was much milder than meals from a restaurant, but what does that matter?

For a moment, I thought I would just like to live in the hospital forever.

Yuuki’s family came to visit. In a way, it was only natural. They took me in as a staff member, and they agreed to cover the hospital expenses.

Ah, how good of a person they were.

“It’s not very often to have yōkai hunting.”

Yuuki’s grandfather said.

“So it’s fine to find a different part-time job in your free time.”

“……Thank you.”

That was good news too.

Twenty thousand yen per job was a lot of money, but it wouldn’t be guaranteed that the work would be available regularly. I figured there were probably weeks when there wouldn’t be any work. The novel had been published in short segments that contained events happening in a month or two after the main story ended.

So if I followed that story as is, yōkai hunting would probably happen around seven times a year.

Excluding incidents like the Hyakki Yagyō that happened in the latter half of the story, there wouldn’t be that much opportunity to earn money.

It didn’t seem mandatory to stay at the shrine, so for now, I decided to continue living in my own home.

“……But, what about your mother? She didn’t come to visit?”

After Yuuki’s grandfather, Yuuki’s father came to visit once.

It seemed like Yuuki had chosen that question since we couldn’t talk much together.

Well, I suppose I’d have to cut my wrist to create the person I called my mother.

And that injury would likely remain open for the duration of my form.

It was probably better for me to just say I had been abandoned for my health.

I shouldn’t be bleeding again now that my nutritional state was trying to return.

“I’m sorry.”

As I stayed silent, Yuuki’s father slightly bowed his head.

Anyway, it meant I wouldn’t be stuck in the hospital throughout golden week.

After getting the blood transfusion and consistently eating meals, the doctor said I was okay to discharge.

It was reasonable since I hadn’t had a single wound on my body.

On the day I was discharged, Yuuki came to the hospital.

“Are you okay on your own?”

After actually bringing me back to my home in Saitama, Yuuki asked.

“I’m fine now.”

“……In the future, when you’re working on something, call me first. Then consult and go together. Your…… tracking skills are impressive, but you never know what might happen if you go alone.”

Moreover, you couldn’t even distinguish between yōkai and humans.

This was really a problem with me as the questioner being too hasty to ask without peeling off everything.

“Alright then…… see you after the holidays.”

Yuuki said and waved his hand.

“……Yeah. Take care.”

In response to my answer, Yuuki nodded and turned his body.

Without looking back at all, her ponytail swayed gently as she walked away.

I stared at her back for a long time.

……The last time I saw her, she pretended to go back and ended up following me again.

Taking a deep breath, I entered the house again—

—only to be hit with a rotten smell.

The blood I had shed extensively…… seemed to have caused some unpleasant phenomenon.

There were stains on the floor, the blanket, and even on my textbooks, and the hallway tiles and entrance floor were no exception.

“……I want to go back to the hospital.”

I muttered while staring blankly at the ceiling.

*

“Kurosawa!”

I waved at Miura, who greeted me with a smile.

Seeing Miura’s face eased my heart. Now it felt truly over. There wouldn’t be any significant trouble for a while.

At least, regarding yōkai.

As long as I could properly tackle the large-scale incidents that occur in the latter half.

Miura, who saw me, rummaged through her bag and pulled something out.

“Here!”

What Miura handed me was a palm-sized box. It was labeled ‘Haginotsuki’.

“It’s a local specialty of Sendai. I just thought of it. A cream bun wrapped in a thin castella.”

Oh my god, a cream bun! A cream bun wrapped in castella!

“……I’ll enjoy it.”

When I spoke a bit heroically, Miura nodded with a big smile.

She’s really a good girl.

A person capable of giving food to others can’t be a bad person.

Without needing to open the box, I placed it in my bag.

Maybe I’ll eat it at lunchtime.

*

“Oh? You have different bread today.”

Instead of stopping by the convenience store today, I went straight up to the rooftop. I had no need to buy bread.

Oh, and just for reference, I had sent a message to Yuuki earlier.

Although we hadn’t made a solid agreement to meet, we always met up by lingering in front of the convenience store daily before heading up together.

I felt like she would probably wait if I didn’t say anything first.

“Here, have some of this.”

Yuuki said as she tossed a piece of bread to me.

Melon bread!

“I went to the convenience store early today. Even though I look like this, my stamina is pretty good.”

She seemed to have bought one of the same bread.

Sitting beside me, Yuuki opened the bag.

“But what is that?”

“A friend gifted it to me. Haginotsuki. It’s a famous delicacy from Sendai.”

I opened the box to take out the bread.

The bread, which was wrapped again inside another plastic bag, looked beautiful. In fact, it would probably look beautiful only in my eyes since it had the shape of a bun.

I tore open the bag, withdrew the bread, and split it in two.

It was filled to the brim with custard cream.

Ah, it looks so delicious.

I thought for a moment, then handed half of it to Yuuki.

“Hmm? Are you giving this to me?”

“……Yeah.”

“You’re hands are shaking.”

So just take it quickly before my mood changes.

But Yuuki waved her hands.

“It’s fine. You received it as a gift, right? You should eat it all.”

Ah, is that so?

Thinking about it like that, it seemed true.

I pulled half of the portion toward myself without hesitation and took a bite.

“……It’s tasty.”

“See? Guess I should look for a chance to visit Sendai.”

Yuuki said that as she chewed her melon bread.

*

Usually, characters living in such novels don’t really understand people’s hearts, but Yuuki was different.

Except for doing this kind of work, Yuuki’s feelings were no different from that of a high school girl.

Thus, she had the common sense not to bring up the story of a cannibal serial killer during a meal.

“……They testified that they loved them.”

“That’s right. They ate them out of love. To be together forever. I hear he claims to have eaten already-dead people. No one believes him, though. He tried to hide a corpse to destroy evidence, right? That guy couldn’t do even that.”

“……What an idiot.”

“An idiot?”

Yuuki looked at me with a slightly startled expression at my evaluation.

Exactly, it’s foolish.

“If you eat, it digests.”

“…….”

Yuuki momentarily went speechless, but I was serious.

There are often stories in novels about devouring a loved one to be forever with them, but that is obviously nonsense.

Did they sleep through science class in elementary school?

Organic materials that enter the human body are broken down into energy and consumed, so they don’t stay in the body permanently.

And besides, the waste produced after that becomes poop.

Do they want to turn their beloved into poop?

The same goes for mummification. In the first place, what’s preserved is just a vague shell, left to resemble them while the contents are entirely emptied. It’s no different than a figurine.

Carrying around ashes made from burnt remains is the same. Isn’t it absurd to think that the soul of a person dwells in those fragments? The most important parts that form a person’s character are concentrated in the brain.

“If that’s the case, what about the parts that are part of their body? Wouldn’t they at least be together in some way?”

“……Cells eventually die. They’re replaced by new ones.”

Every cell has a set lifespan. Those that don’t aren’t cells anymore; they turn into cancer cells. If we nitpick, neurons might last a lifetime, but that only happens when the brain is growing. Beyond that, it’s meaningless.

An elementary student wouldn’t eat their beloved just because they loved them too much, right?

As time passes, the cells constituting the body will eventually replace themselves with new ones, and the dead cells will be expelled as waste. Didn’t they teach that in science class?

I was alone, fuming over being in this situation because of that idiot, and Yuuki suddenly asked,

“Then how should someone keep their beloved next to them forever?”

“……Huh?”

“I mean, if someone really wants to keep their loved one beside them forever, what should they do?”

It probably wasn’t meant to defend the criminal. Did Yuuki also lose someone she loved? After all, her family wasn’t present here.

“……There’s no way.”

I replied.

“There’s no way?”

“There’s no way.”

I repeated again.

“……If they left first, you have to just accept it and let go. There’s no way.”

It was a terribly difficult thing to do. I had experienced it myself.

But what can you do?

“……Yeah.”

Yuuki responded to my words.

---