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

Why did I suddenly feel a bit anxious?

It wasn’t just because I was alone at home.

I had never really been abused in either my previous life or this one. Kagami treated me more like a precious little treasure than anything else, maybe even too much for my own good.

I can’t say for sure if that was the right thing to do. If I had gotten into serious fights with the kids or caused accidents everywhere, then that would be a different story. Well, at least it means she wasn’t a strict mom in front of me.

Now, a good amount of time has passed since Kagami became an adult, but when I was young, she was still far too young to be called an adult herself.

In a few more years, I would be around the same age as Kagami, so I can somewhat guess just how young she was when she had me.

…Usually, parents who aren’t fully grown struggle to raise their children properly. It’s an unavoidable fact.

Kagami and I were just unusual cases.

Could that girl named Shii have been the same?

There are many reasons why a house might catch fire. Sometimes, it’s just kids left alone playing with fire, or kids who think it would be fun to start some trouble in an empty house.

A colleague who works in emergency services once told me about a child who had been in a serious accident, their abdomen swollen up like a balloon. He even moved a child who hadn’t eaten anything for days.

Was Shii one of those unfortunate kids?

Maybe that’s why I felt so anxious about her. Somehow, I felt the father of that girl wouldn’t be someone capable of normal thought.

I glanced at the clock.

It had been about ten minutes.

There was still no sign of Kagami or Dad returning. If it took about five minutes to get to their house, that wouldn’t be too strange, but still…

If I was just going to pass the time, I could do something else, yet I found myself unable to do anything at all.

I still didn’t quite understand why I felt anxious. Was it because of the past that could have been similar to mine? Maybe it was simply because I could have been in that girl’s shoes if I hadn’t been lucky enough to have Kagami as my mom—

Shii.

Suddenly, that name sparkled in my mind.

Why was that? When I heard the name earlier, I likely didn’t process any emotions due to the situation, but looking back, it felt oddly off.

This feeling was just like when I first introduced myself to Sota.

“……”

A memory that felt like it had been known for a long time.

But the puzzle pieces didn’t come together clearly, and I couldn’t fit them into my memory. Did I meet those two when I was young? I also lived in Tokyo when I was little. I hardly remember the names of kids from kindergarten unless they were close friends.

So why did I react so strongly to the name Shii? I didn’t understand.

It only made my heart race more. I glanced at the clock, and it had barely passed seven minutes.

“……Yeah.”

I nodded quietly.

It’s fine.

They must be nearby. I couldn’t hear the sound of a car going by.

Just a quick look outside to see how Kagami and Dad were doing should be okay.

Besides, I hadn’t even changed my clothes. Though there was a bit of blood on my pants, it was dark enough that it didn’t stand out much.

I opened the door and stepped outside.

I carried my keys with me just in case. I unlocked the door and stepped outside, looking around the neighborhood.

And for some reason, in careful steps, I made my way in the direction Shii had been going.

*

I was unlucky.
Yeah. Sota had stayed behind to play with his friends at school.

Because I was a girl—and honestly, it wasn’t that important, but I just didn’t feel like joining a ball game, I ended up heading home instead.

We usually didn’t act overly friendly at school, as we all understood that it would likely lead to complications.

The age where boys would bully girls or where girls would make it clear they didn’t like boys was slowly fading, yet that embarrassing tension wasn’t completely gone either.

I didn’t feel that awkwardness myself, but I was well aware it existed among my friends. I wasn’t sure what kind of feelings Sota had.

“Koto Ne.”

When I heard someone calling my name from behind, I involuntarily jerked my shoulders in surprise.

“Sota.”

When I turned around, Sota was standing there holding a soccer ball. Did he bring it to school too? Surely there would be balls there.

Well, he is a boy after all. If he bought a fancy soccer ball, he might want to show off to his friends.

But more importantly—

“What are you doing here?”

“Ah….”

It came to me a bit late that this path Shii had been on wasn’t too different from the path Sota usually took.

I had been so anxious that I hadn’t even considered running into a friend on the way.

But I couldn’t talk to Sota about Shii. That would be—

“……”

Huh.

Wait a minute. Did I hear Shii’s last name?

“Koto Ne?”

As I stood there dumbfounded, Sota approached me and asked.

Now that I think about it, what exactly did Shii say?

She mentioned she was going to meet her older brother.

And Sota had previously told me about having a younger sister, too. It seemed like there was a story behind that, and I hadn’t pressed for details back then.

Am I jumping to conclusions?

Am I just forcefully connecting Sota and Shii? Would it upset him if he heard something like that?

“Koto Ne.”

“Ah, yeah.”

Once Sota called my name again, I finally managed to reply.

“What’s wrong? Is something going on? Is that why you’re outside?”

“Uh… No, it’s not like that.”

What should I say?

My instincts were telling me to take Sota and quickly go in another direction.

I had no way of knowing if Sota was really Shii’s brother, but I could sense he would be in for a big shock if he saw her.

But—how?

Our house was empty. But bringing Sota to our house would…

No, wait.

Maybe because it was empty, I should do it anyway?

“Sota, could it be—”

“Yeah?”

Was it the serious expression on my face that caught his attention?

Sota replied a bit flustered. But it seemed fine for the moment as I didn’t look too serious—

However, before I could say anything more, a voice rang through the quiet residential area, echoing loudly. The way it stood out in the stark midday silence made it particularly jarring.

Even to where we were standing.

“What are you doing here!?”

It was a voice I had never heard before.

Unlike when Dad would yell, which was a trained voice meant to definitely rile someone up, this one sounded as if it belonged to someone who simply couldn’t contain their emotions.

But what scared me even more was the voice that followed.

“……Dad?”

Sota mumbled, looking in the direction of the voice.

That phrase sent chills down my spine.

Finally, I was able to identify the feeling of discomfort in my mind. I realized just who that girl Shii was.

Shii was Sota’s younger sister.

And then—

Sota took off running. Ignoring me standing next to him. The soccer ball he was holding went bouncing on the ground, and I instinctively bent down to pick it up.

“Sota!”

I cried out and chased after him a bit too late.

Calling his name reignited the strange discomfort I had felt earlier.

It was the same kind of unease I felt when I had first called out to Sota.

The feeling I had almost forgotten while talking to him came back, just like the discomfort I felt when I first heard the name Shii.

But I still couldn’t pinpoint the source of that unease.

Could it be related to the memories of the world I came into? What if my past life had something to do with this?

I had no idea.

More pressing than that, though, was what I needed to do.

I didn’t know exactly what to do, but—

“Sota!”

I called out his name loudly and ran with all my might. Miraculously, I still held onto the soccer ball.

Ahead of me, I saw Sota running, and even further ahead, there was a house that seemed to be a bit larger than ours, somewhere between a mansion and a house.

And in front of that house stood a man who looked slightly smaller than Dad.

The man, red-faced with anger, shouted,

“You said you were going to live with your mother! That woman you resemble!”

“……”

“Dad!”

Sota shouted.

The gaze of the angry man shifted towards Sota.

Oh.

So it was true.

Really, Shii…

A moment later, Kagami, who looked back at us in surprise, met my gaze.

Kagami had her hands on Shii’s shoulders.

Shii, despite hearing such words from her father, was looking over at Sota.

“Brother……!”

Shii cried out.

And as she shook Kagami’s hands off, she stumbled and nearly fell.

Sota caught her in his arms.

And he held her tightly.

“……”

All the adults around us, as well as I, who was panting and out of breath, were frozen in place, unable to say a word at what we were witnessing.

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