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

“Seriously, does Yamashita’s house also…?”

Kagami’s voice asking that sounded like it was squeezed out. It was a voice that forced out words that seemed impossible to say. It was the first time I’d heard such a voice from Kagami.

“No, it’s not.”

The man said firmly.

“Nothing like that has happened yet. In fact… I’m not sure if you know, but it’s not a place that’s easy to walk in and out of in many ways.”

What does he mean by not easily entering?

And just what happened to this uncle to get hurt like this? And who is that woman in the dress?

If we’re talking about ‘relationships,’ I can think of something.

Didn’t he mention it’s Kagami’s sister? When I recall my hazy memories from childhood, Kagami and that woman looked very similar. It wouldn’t be strange to say it’s Kagami a few years later.

At the time, Kagami was so young that it ultimately showed.

Is it a conflict among the Yakuza?

Could it be that Kagami isn’t actually the daughter of a Yakuza family? I don’t really know how real Yakuza families expand their influence. Is it possible that there are strategic marriages even among such families?

“That’s… right.”

“Yes, um… I’m sorry to say this, but we didn’t just leave the young lady alone. My older brother told me to protect her nearby.”

“That’s… right…”

Kagami seemed a bit relieved, but still, we couldn’t completely relax.

I feel sorry for the uncle, but if Kagami ends up like him—then I might not be able to endure it.

“This way. There’s a car—”

But the uncle couldn’t finish his sentence.

It was a slightly chilly evening, but I could feel a little warmth.

And more than that, there was a burning smell.

I heard the sound of a siren and someone shouting.

The road ahead was lit up orange from a distance.

Even without getting closer to check, we understood that the car the uncle mentioned was on fire.

We turned and ran.

“Ah…!”

Along the way, I tripped over a stone and fell forward. Thud, in my haste, I hadn’t properly closed my bag, and the things inside spilled over my head.

“Koto Ne!”

Thud!

My rolled-up socks and underwear rolled around, and a pink toy bounced out and fell to the ground.

Maybe luck was bad; while I was falling, the uncle’s foot stepped hard on the tip of that magic wand as he turned around to see me fall. Without realizing it, I reached for the broken wand. It hurt more to see that toy damaged than the pain I felt.

Suddenly, the uncle picked me up.

“Ah!?”

Kagami screamed, but then she seemingly accepted it, clenching her mouth with a anxious expression.

“Just a little, I’ll run.”

Kagami and I wore sneakers. Our clothes were good for running.

Kagami nodded, and the uncle started to run.

I caught a whiff of cigarette smoke. And a hint of iron. It was probably the smell of blood. It had been a while since I smelled it.

A bit of blood stained part of my clothes, but I quietly clung to the uncle.

Tokyo is vast. And we were pretty deep in Tokyo.

So where would be the fastest escape route?

If we looked for a way out, we couldn’t leave Tokyo on foot. But using public transportation would easily lead to being tracked. Depending on which bus or train we took, they could be waiting for us ahead. The car we needed was ruined.

But it seemed the uncle had a plan.

As he stepped onto the roadside, he raised his hand high.

A taxi stopped right in front of us, but maybe the driver recognized the uncle too late and was going to leave again. But the uncle opened the taxi’s front door and pushed himself in.

Through the open door, he handed me over to Kagami in the backseat.

Kagami held me and sat in the back.

The uncle handed a thick bundle of cash to the driver.

“No one will say anything if we get caught up in this. We’re just riding here for a moment.”

“……”

Hearing the uncle’s words, the driver appeared slightly scared but stepped on the accelerator.

I didn’t know where the uncle told him to go, but looking out the window, I could guess.

We were headed toward the sea.

The deepest part of Tokyo is Tokyo Bay. Of course, you can’t just hop on a boat from anywhere…

I guess you could say they secured a place—

As soon as the taxi stopped, the three of us got out, and the taxi immediately left. Thankfully, I didn’t leave anything behind, like a bag.

In such a situation, strangely, even while cradled in Kagami’s arms, I held onto the broken wand tightly. If I let go of this too, it felt like the evidence that such a good friend existed for me would disappear—

Though we were heading toward the sea, it wasn’t the pier.

If it were a car, maybe, but there’s no way to quickly prepare a boat for transport. Transportation on water is exceedingly slow.

Where we arrived was probably a river somewhere connecting to the sea.

Not even a pier, far off the riverbank, there was a small boat. The boat floating next to the walkway looked as if it were there out of necessity.

While we were running—

“…Ugh!”

The foot of the uncle running ahead was severed.

“…What!”

Seeing Kagami stop for a moment, the uncle shouted. Blood flowed from his mouth, and soon only the sound of the wind remained.

He was dead. Or maybe just on the verge of it.

That was… an odd sight. On the riverbank in the city center, there shouldn’t be an obstacle that could make someone bleed like that.

There wasn’t even anything visible when injuries appeared on his back. Could it be gunfire? Even though we didn’t hear any gunshots—

But before I could confirm that, Kagami leaped, still holding me. We heard a voice calling us from the distant boat.

Only then did fear seep deep into my chest again.

What the hell is this?

What kind of person is the opponent—

“Kagami.”

I heard that voice.

And Kagami’s body froze.

Kagami’s trembling breath clearly revealed how terrified she was right now. Tired, suffering, and trembling with fear.

“I have a suggestion for you. Would you like to listen?”

It was a voice similar to Kagami’s but oddly different. It sounded like someone looking down on me. Even though they used honorifics, the tone didn’t respect the other person.

Kagami slowly turned around.

I, too, still clinging to Kagami, looked toward the source of the voice.

There stood a person who seemed to mimic Kagami. A person as tall as Kagami and as beautiful as Kagami.

She wore a white dress and a broad-brimmed hat.

“……”

Kagami didn’t answer. She just glared at the opponent.

“Oh my. Looks like your personality has changed a bit.”

The woman gradually approached.

When Kagami stepped back, the woman halted.

“……”

She could jump in at any moment, and if she pulled a stunt like what happened to the uncle a while ago, she could take Kagami down.

“Is that child that precious to you?”

“……”

“However, that child is also precious to me, you know.”

“… She’s my daughter.”

I blinked.

I had never heard Kagami speak in such a tone before.

“…Well, yes, she is your daughter. She’s also the daughter of God.”

The daughter of God?

I heard Kagami’s breath quicken.

The woman sighed heavily and said.

“Alright then. So if you hand that child over to me, you’d like to follow along without any resistance, right? Given your attitude.”

“……”

“Do you know? Even if you have no arms or legs, it doesn’t matter. As long as the breath sticks to that body… you do know, right? You must have seen the other materials.”

“……”

“Anyway, in time, eventually it will come to us—”

“Solitude.”

Kagami opened the entrance.

“Ah, it’s solitude.”

“…What?”

“…You can’t just kill me. As long as I’m holding her, we both will become targets, you know. Solitude doesn’t grasp such things, right?”

“……”

The woman’s expression became a bit grim.

I don’t know what that solitude means, but it seems that power that woman wields isn’t just aimed at one person.

“…Is that so? Then we have a method as well.”

Kagami stepped back.

And in the moment she turned her body—

“Ah!”

Kagami screamed.

Blood flowed from her arms and legs.

But Kagami didn’t fall or anything.

As if she was determined to protect me from that attack, she wrapped around me instead—

Whoosh.

In that instant, I heard a sound next to my ear.

It was like the sound of a knife being swung very quickly.

I was thrown out of Kagami’s grasp.

Kagami had thrown me away.

Blood splattered on my face. The pain from falling from a high place was nothing compared to this.

The blood flowing from Kagami’s arm looked so painful.

My heart raced madly.

I hated this situation.

When I lost my family in my previous life, I at least had no reason to think it was my fault.

But this time, it was because of me. I don’t know how or why, but that woman mentioned me.

I stood up from where I was.

Kagami stood up again and came toward me.

The woman laughing from a distance—

I struck my neck hard with what I held in my hand.

In that moment, everything around me fell into silence.

“…Koto Ne?”

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Forcing myself to tear my gaze away from Kagami’s pale face, I looked straight at the woman.

“Let us go. Me and my mom.”

“…?”

“If not, I’ll die. You’ll be the one with a ‘body with no breath’ left behind.”

I said that, and I felt the—

The broken wand’s sharp end was digging into my neck. Perhaps a bit of blood might have spilled. I couldn’t tell due to the sweat.

“Don’t!”

Kagami shouted.

“Don’t!!”

That was a ripping scream. Something I had never heard in my life—

No, I had heard it in my previous life. The voices of mothers and fathers realizing their child is in the flames.

Kagami, with a strength I didn’t know where it came from, rose and rushed toward me.

She grabbed my arm, still bleeding from her arms and legs.

Stretching out her hands, Kagami held my arm, but I tightened my grip on the wand with both hands and strained my neck, shouting.

“Let go! Or——!”

“……”

“Koto Ne, Koto Ne!”

Kagami could only utter those words, screaming and shedding tears. Passersby were gathering around.

Yeah, we’re right in the middle of Tokyo.

There are too many people here.

By now, someone might have reported the police?

Not being able to stop me from holding on, Kagami, in the end, lifted me entirely and jumped.

Then she got on the boat and shouted to the uncles.

“Please help! Koto Ne, Koto Ne…!”

Ah, I could now feel blood really flowing from my neck. How deeply had it gone?

Maybe because of the running and being thrown moments ago, my mind was slightly hazy.

The boat started moving, and the uncles, along with Kagami, struggled to pull my hand away from that plastic toy—

That was the last memory of that moment.

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