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

There are no perfect parents in this world.

Just because you perfectly satisfy a child doesn’t make you a perfect parent, and being strict alone doesn’t make you one either.

Sure, the ideal image of a parent exists, but even if that ideal parent shows the maximum possible image, a child is rarely fully satisfied.

So how about me?

Was I satisfied?

If you ask me if there’s nothing I’m dissatisfied with in my life, I could say no. Money is always better when there’s more of it. I wish Kagami wouldn’t have to suffer. Ideally, I’d want them to be home with me and not have to go to work.

But even if that’s not the case, I already feel it deep down that Kagami always does their best for me. I can sense that they sacrifice themselves.

The reason they save money, despite not being able to take a day off when they want to rest or buy the things they want to eat, is solely for me.

For whatever reason, they got involved with a yakuza family, and instead of escaping to live comfortably, they couldn’t do that.

…The very act of bringing me into this world without erasing my existence was all a sacrifice for Kagami. Even while struggling, Kagami always smiled like they were the happiest person in the world when they looked at me.

How about me?

Was I a perfect daughter to Kagami?

Wasn’t I a bit too blunt? Was I too stiff with Kagami, because I found it burdensome to go back to being a child and imitate my childhood actions?

Even though I’m now the best student in class, what’ll happen when I run out of the basic knowledge I already know as I grow older? Will Kagami still say I did well when I bring home my report card?

…

There’s no such thing as perfect parents or perfect children in this world.

Even when one understands that the people around them are not perfect, being born into that family just means that doing our best to cherish each other is the only way.

So, I practiced with all my might.

Just as Kagami always gave me the best memories, I wanted the moment Kagami looked at me to remain a memorable memory for a long time. My cheer was for my classmates, but it wasn’t just a cheer wishing for them to win the competition.

“Hahaha! Koto Ne, you’re really working hard!”

Harumi said as she saw me like that. The other kids seemed to view my efforts positively too, even if not as much as me; they all practiced hard.

Still, even with that practice, we couldn’t do it as properly as professional cheerleaders. After all, we’re just kids who just entered elementary school and only practiced for about a week. It’s impossible for us to become experts.

Yeah. It’s always the same; things can’t be perfect.

But it’s okay not to be perfect. Doing your best for someone else is a joyful thing in itself.

And so, days went by.

The leaves slowly dyed their colors, and the weather became cooler to the point where it could truly be called refreshing.

But it wasn’t cold; it was just right for kids to run around and play.

And thus, the day of the sports festival arrived.

*

How long has it been since a day like this?

Once you become an adult, of course, and even when you’re in middle school, the day when parents pack lunchboxes and come to school disappears. If some parent participated in the sports festival because of their child, that child would surely be the class president or in a similar position. Still, I don’t think parents would come to see.

Well, in Japanese manga, sports festivals tend to be on a larger scale, so there are instances where parents do come, but I’m not quite sure how that is in reality.

Whether it’s reality or manga, it’s not too strange for parents to come to their child’s elementary school sports festival. No, in some sense, it feels natural.

Kagami naturally brought a lunchbox to school.

They wanted to raise me as a normal kid. Kagami hoped I would do the same as other kids, even if I was a little lacking.

The sight of them with a big camera around their neck and a three-tiered lunchbox in hand was quite heartwarming.

As expected, Kagami wasn’t the only one with such thoughts. Mr. Fukuda and Mr. Yamashita thought the same.

If there’s a good thing about growing older, it’s that Kagami doesn’t stand out awkwardly with other parents anymore.

Of course, Kagami still stands out in that crowd. They appear much younger and more vibrant.

But everyone thinks, “They look young,” and doesn’t seem to think outside of that they might be my mom. Finally, a grown-up vibe is slowly coming from Kagami.

“Koto Ne, Koto Ne.”

Kagami said while tightly hugging me.

“Don’t get too nervous today, okay? Even if you make mistakes, that’s fine, but still, you practiced, right? I’ll be cheering from far away.”

It felt oddly amusing to hear that cheering someone meant you were cheering them on.

When I listened closely, it seemed like Kagami was a bit more nervous than me.

To be honest, I was okay. After practicing so hard for the past week, I was confident I wouldn’t mess up.

“Yup. I’ll do my best.”

In response to my answer, Kagami hugged me tightly like I was the most precious thing in the world.

Well, most parents probably feel that way about their children.

After becoming a cheerleader, I realized cheerleading is busier than I thought. Because cheerleading is all about “cheering.”

If a student is in any event, they do their best in that event and then get to take it easy until the next match.

But cheerleaders are different. Naturally, doing their best to cheer for every event is what cheerleaders do.

Of course, since dancing at every match would wear out the kids’ stamina and they might get hurt, we decided on a rotation for who would dance.

The remaining kids would sit in the cheering section, shout slogans, or sing along to the music the cheerleaders danced to.

Harumi, Yuuki, and I were a team of three.

Dancing with my closest friends was fun.

To be honest, I might have gotten a bit too excited, dancing more exaggeratedly than during practice, which was different from my usual self.

But it didn’t matter. The kids in front of me cheered and sang along joyfully.

Occasionally, I noticed Kagami watching me from afar. Kagami snapped several pictures of me with the camera around their neck, waving at me.

But as time went by, Kagami’s demeanor started getting a bit strange.

At first, their lively smile became a bit complicated, and the way they waved changed from a big wave to a small one.

Later, they turned their body away sharply while looking at me.

Why?

I was a little puzzled. I thought Kagami would surely enjoy it.

Could it be that I looked a bit exhausted?

After our class’s events for the morning wrapped up and lunch break was declared, I hurriedly ran towards Kagami.

“Mom?”

“K-Koto Ne.”

Kagami quickly called me while wiping their eyes. Their voice was clearly trembling.

As I got closer to look at Kagami’s face, they hurriedly turned their body away.

When I moved to Kagami’s side, they turned away again.

“Mom, what’s wrong?”

I gently asked while holding onto Kagami’s clothes.

Did I do something wrong? Should I have not joined the cheer squad? Did my actions bring up one of Kagami’s traumas?

When I asked, Kagami finally took their hands away from their face and crouched down in front of me.

Had they been crying just moments ago? Kagami’s eyes were red.

But that expression wasn’t simply the face of someone crying.

Kagami was smiling.

It was a much more complex expression than just out of joy. It was hard to tell if they were crying or laughing, but ultimately, it felt like they were smiling.

With trembling hands, Kagami gently brushed my hair and placed their hands on my cheeks.

“…How did you grow up so well?”

With Kagami’s words, I was at a loss for words.

Kagami, who had been looking at my face and silently smiling, pulled me into a tight hug.

This time, I looked like I was about to cry.

But strangely enough, it felt a bit embarrassing to be like this in front of a crowd. Even though I’m just a child, I still had that pride.

Kagami held onto me for a while and then let me go, stepping back to meet my gaze.

Then they slowly brushed my cheek again and smiled brightly.

Although their eyes were still a bit red and strained, it was—this time, a completely beautiful smile that was different from before.

Genuinely pure, the expression of someone who felt this moment was incredibly precious.

In that expression too, ultimately, I had no answer to offer.

All I felt was relief that the choice I made wasn’t wrong.

“Are you hungry? Shall we eat?”

“Yup!”

I answered loudly, trying to forget the tingling in my nose.

Kagami patted my head, stood up, and held my hand as we headed toward Harumi and Yuuki.

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