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

Today, Kagami said she would be home late.

If I had to pick the most decisive difference between living in Tokyo when I was younger and living here now, it would be that I hardly ever go directly to my friends’ houses after school.

It’s not like I haven’t been to Mako’s house or the other friends’ places, but honestly, it wasn’t as much fun as going to Harumi’s or Yuuki’s.

It wasn’t just that those houses were bigger and had more toys to play with.

My hobbies didn’t really match with the other kids. Even the girls would often run around or play games like hopping on drawings made on the ground, and I wasn’t active enough to join the boys in playing ball.

There were many times when Mako’s dad wasn’t home, but even then, we would just lie down and chat or read books until we parted ways. It felt like it was always the same whether Mako came to my house or I went to hers, so Mako would often come to my place just to walk together.

Now, my house didn’t feel cramped even when friends came over.

“……”

Maybe it’s because I still read comic books and watch animations even as an adult.

I turned on the TV thinking I might watch a cartoon. It was summer vacation during the day, so there were a lot of cartoons, but for some reason, I felt too lazy to watch them until the end.

In fact, I had just overslept today. Kagami woke me up and made me breakfast before leaving, but I dozed back off immediately.

I had shaken off nightmares quite a bit during my childhood. In my previous life, I used to have nightmares unless I worked hard enough to drop dead from exhaustion, but since I started sleeping with Kagami, those nightmares have really reduced.

So, if you think about it, it must have been since I was reborn into this world.

Through the wide-open door, I could hear the sound of cicadas. It was loud but had a refreshing tone.

Looking at the clock, it was only around one in the afternoon.

Kagami had left lunch in the fridge for me, but I didn’t feel like eating, so I lay there, sweating a little, staring blankly at the ceiling.

I must have been lying there for about ten minutes.

“Koto Ne!”

I heard someone calling my name.

It was a child’s voice. A voice I knew well, one I heard almost every day.

I couldn’t help but think about how they made it all the way to my house, a bit far from the village, even on such a hot day.

Of course, while I was glad to see her—

“Mako…”

“Koto Ne?”

When I shuffled my way to the door and opened it, Mako seemed a bit flustered when she called out to me.

I repeated waking up and falling back asleep, and honestly, I was feeling too lazy to get up after lying there for so long. Thinking about it, I had only been dragged around by energetic Harumi and hadn’t thought of leading the kids myself to do something special.

Since I had come to this quiet neighborhood, I thought it wasn’t bad to spend some time like this without doing anything.

I left the door open and shuffled back into the room, and I heard Mako following me and closing the door behind her.

I went to the living room that overlooked the yard and lay down near the wide-open door. Naturally, I avoided the sun.

Setting the fan to rotation mode, I thought it was manageable enough.

“Koto Ne?”

While I was lying there staring blankly at the ceiling, Mako’s face suddenly came into view.

Mako’s hair wasn’t very long. But for some reason, she seemed a bit more composed than Harumi, who had longer hair.

The strands of her black hair tickled my nose.

“Mako, that tickles.”

“Yeah.”

At my words, Mako smiled and pulled her face back.

“Are you in any pain?”

“Not in pain, but I’m just too lazy to move. I plan to just lie here until Mom comes back.”

“Can I lie here too?”

“There’s enough space, so it’s fine.”

Mako lay down next to me, in the same position.

“I went to the city with Dad over the weekend.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I brought back an aquarium for raising a goldfish and some other things.”

“I see.”

I named the goldfish “Baduk” this time again. When Mako was pondering, I casually asked, and she happily accepted the name I suggested.

Though they looked similar, I honestly couldn’t tell how alike they were. Unless we compared them side by side, I wouldn’t be able to know. I couldn’t remember the positions of the dots one by one.

I might find pictures if I looked for them, but for some reason, I didn’t want to take them out and share with the other kids.

“You know, goldfish can live for up to thirty years.”

“Yeah, I think so.”

They say if you raise them at home, they can live around ten years if cared for well, but if they’re kept in an adequately spacious environment, they might live even longer.

“In the future, when we see Baduk even after time passes, it’ll remind us of this moment, right?”

“……Yeah.”

I wondered how much longer I could stay here.

Even if I could stay for a long time, we couldn’t stay together forever.

Mako was a child who followed her dad here. If her dad went on a business trip to another place, Mako would likely leave this town again.

I thought Mako would adjust well wherever she went, but really, I didn’t want to be separated from a friend I had gotten close to.

Bzz, bzz, bzz.

I could hear the cicadas again.

I had completely woken up, so I felt I could no longer sleep like this.

But the two of us just continued to lie there.

I didn’t think this wasn’t so bad.

I didn’t know how it would be when I grew up, but then again, when you’re a child, there’s no such thing as time wasted.

*

Summer vacation passed, and we had a light sports festival at school.

Kagami came once again to cheer me on and took plenty of pictures. I took lots of pictures with Mako, and also snapped quite a few with some friends from my class or other classes I had gotten close to.

Perhaps because it’s the countryside, the village adults seemed to be more excited. They don’t seem to get many excitement, so these kinds of events must feel like festivals to them.

It’s a lot quieter than in the city most of the time, but sometimes, during these kinds of events, it gets way louder than in the city.

While racing to grab candy hidden in the flour, Mako ended up with her whole face covered in flour.

Yet, she was laughing cheerfully, and that made me laugh too.

The lunchbox was delicious. Cheering was fun. While I didn’t cheer as passionately as before, I thought this small atmosphere was just fine.

*

As autumn came, Kagami and I went for a light hike up the mountain once.

Thinking about it, I never really hiked on purpose when I was in Tokyo. Well, there really weren’t any mountains in the central area of Tokyo.

Holding a red maple leaf in one hand while holding Kagami’s hand with the other, I went up, up.

We didn’t climb to a very high place before stopping midway, but still, the way the village looked from above was very beautiful.

It hadn’t even been a year since I’d come here, but I was already getting attached to this town.

Was I really someone who got attached this easily?

There was a tree stump cut down, so I sat down with Kagami.

It wasn’t a famous mountain or anything, but since it was a place where the locals often came, it didn’t feel scary at all.

“……”

Kagami didn’t say anything for a long while.

It seemed like she wanted to say something, but I didn’t feel the need to prompt her.

Kagami is nice. She’s a mom, after all.

But I didn’t think I could easily accept everything Kagami wanted to say.

I realized that the story intertwined with me was much more complicated than I expected.

And that complicated story was definitely not a pleasant one to hear.

Kagami is nice.

But there are parts about that situation I didn’t truly like.

It wasn’t something Kagami chose, nor was I suffering simply because she wanted something. I was just accepting it as it was.

Did Kagami know about that fact?

Or was it merely my illusion that she wanted to say something?

Finally, after a long time of remaining silent, Kagami said,

“……The scenery is really beautiful.”

That was all she said.

“Yeah, it is beautiful.”

I nodded simply.

Through the red-tinted maple leaves, I could see the village below, small and in one glance. It felt much bigger when I walked around with my not-so-grown legs, but it was this small in reality.

Was that neighborhood in Tokyo that felt so wide actually the same? I didn’t know.

“……”

Let’s head back.

That’s what I thought.

Even if I’m still a child, someday I’ll grow up. And if I grow up and can endure all those things…

Then, I will definitely return to that neighborhood.

I wonder if Harumi and Yuuki will still be living there then? Will they remember me?

I don’t really care. If they can’t remember, that’s just how it is.

But still, if there’s a chance they might…

Hmm, would it be okay to at least try?

I mean, I’m a child. Isn’t it fine to have such childish thoughts?

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