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

Occasionally, there are those who claim to have become criminals due to unfortunate pasts.

Growing up without love in childhood. Being too poor. Not having parents. Living a repressed life.

They may steal something or act in ways that others cannot accept, bully someone, or even kill.

Stealing might be understandable to some extent. In Japan, there are at least minimal safety nets for the poor, but if they haven’t received proper education, they may not know about them. Or perhaps they are subtly outside this net, unable to receive help. It might be hard to scold someone who steals a piece of bread when they are on the verge of starving.

But if they go further than that…

The fact that they grew up abused doesn’t justify bullying others. I don’t believe that sexual assault or murder can be justified by such reasons either. Once that certain line is crossed, their past becomes irrelevant, and ultimately, all that remains is a criminal.

Even in similar situations, there are those who strive to live earnestly. Not everyone facing such circumstances bullies or kills others.

That kind of behavior occurs regardless of the amount of money.

If we assume that “such situations” create “such people,” then people will inevitably view anyone caught in such a situation as potential criminals.

Ironically, when such incidents happen, those who are unsafe are often striving to live genuinely in the same circumstances.

Like Kagami.

“…”

I don’t know what kind of person Kagami was before she gave birth to me. She could have committed crimes. Or perhaps Kagami’s parents or that kind of people did something wrong.

But still, Kagami tried.

Throughout our time living together, Kagami made efforts not to burden others. Even in unavoidable situations, she would write letters and leave them behind before leaving.

From her young days, Kagami tried to set an example before me. At the very least, she worked hard to ensure I wouldn’t be a kid who did bad things.

Even after coming home from work, exhausted, she never got annoyed with me and quietly held me close. It must have been hot in summer when she held onto me, yet she never pushed me away.

The reason I could grow up so well in this world is thanks to Kagami. No matter how much I had memories of a previous life, if I had been in an environment that would harm me, I wouldn’t have been mentally stable.

Ever since I lost my family in my previous life, I saw them in my dreams. Their last appearances, which were already hard to recognize since they were dead, are now the most vivid memories of my family in the faded memories of my previous life.

Kagami made it so that I wouldn’t have those dreams anymore.

She was my family. My only family in this life.

“…”

Kagami was sitting there with her head bowed. Kneeling, touching the floor.

I couldn’t see her expression. But whatever expression Kagami had—or perhaps the lack thereof—meant only despair.

An ordinary life.

The ordinary life Kagami longed for might have been impossible from the very beginning.

Chased by an unknown organization, the only ones she could ask for help were the Yakuza.

Even if she escaped, she had failed several times.

It was only natural. What could a teenager do alone? Just surviving was a miracle.

For me, that miracle had always been with me.

That’s why Kagami’s feelings resonated deeply with me. So much that I couldn’t even say a word. Even Dad, who was next to us, was keeping his distance, watching the situation unfold.

Kagami remained silent for a long time, then finally spoke.

“…I’m sorry.”

She hardly managed to say it, squeezing the words out.

There was nothing to be sorry for.

Kagami hadn’t done anything wrong in the first place. Wanting to live a life like everyone else, was that something to apologize for?

Should she apologize to her own daughter, whom she had raised with her best efforts?

I might be the one who should be apologizing.

I didn’t know about Kagami’s past—but at the very least, if I hadn’t existed, she might have lived better than she does now. She could have lived thinking only of herself without worrying about a child.

“…I’m sorry, really.”

“Mom.”

I almost said that I was the one who was more sorry.

But I knew it wasn’t a thing I should say, so I kept my mouth firmly shut.

If I said I was sorry, all of Kagami’s efforts until now would crumble into nothing.

To Kagami, I was the very reason for her life.

No matter how much I felt sorry, I shouldn’t be the one to apologize to Kagami.

“…”

Unable to say anything, I finally did the only thing I could.

I reached out and took Kagami’s hand.

Her cold hand trembled for a while before slowly wrapping around mine.

I moved closer to her.

Kagami embraced me.

Kagami cried. For the first time in a long while, aloud.

Ironically, I found comfort in Kagami at that moment. I shouldn’t be feeling that way.

Kagami’s body was always warm, and her arms embracing me were as strong as ever.

Did Kagami find comfort in me too? Did she feel relieved to see that I was still alive?

Were there no regrets about the way we lived until now?

Questions I couldn’t bear to ask flashed through my mind.

Eventually, I chose to stay silent.

I hoped that as I drew warmth from Kagami, she could also find warmth from me.

For a long time, we held each other like that.

Just as we had until now.

*

In the end, Kagami accepted it.

In truth, from the beginning, it seemed she hadn’t thought of a way to refuse such a thing.

That crazy organization was just that—a group of people like that. Rushing against the country’s government would only lead to disintegration. At the very least, my family was among those protected by the country.

But conversely, it meant that our escape routes were completely blocked. Once we had been caught in that fence, wherever we went, eyes would follow us three. More subtly than we could notice.

That’s why I was worried about Kagami. After all, she’d shown signs of being on the verge of giving up before.

Come to think of it, Kagami was younger than when I had been an adult.

In this era, those in their 20s were already considered adults who had to manage everything on their own, but even so, I knew that it was still true that not knowing something meant not knowing.

Since I revealed the truth to Kagami, I stayed by her side every day. As much time as I could.

I felt like she would vanish in front of me at any moment, like a candle extinguishing and leaving only smoke behind.

Fortunately, it seemed Kagami found strength from seeing me like that.

Sota and Shii looked a bit worried these days, sensing the changed atmosphere between Kagami and me. I’d tried hard not to show it, but it didn’t seem easy.

“Senpai, is something wrong?”

Shii, still an elementary school student, had asked me like that.

I had just been wearing a serious expression, but at that, I couldn’t help but chuckle a little. I mean, she meant no harm. But it felt kind of…

Even so, it felt a bit awkward for an elementary school student to call a middle schooler “senpai.”

“…”

Shii puffed her cheeks right away.

“Sorry, sorry.”

I waved my hands in a hurry to apologize.

“No worries. Nothing special is going on.”

“Well, that’s a relief…”

She still had a childlike aspect about her. I thought that was a good thing. Those who spent serious situations in their childhood sometimes ended up having that innocent youth restrained.

“…”

Yeah, let’s stay strong.

I was not the only one struggling.

I still had too many expectations left in this world to fall apart.

*

And, there was one more reason why I couldn’t collapse yet.

“…”

“Hmm.”

Two black eyes gazed at me.

Black hair tied back, neat appearance.

I knew that face.

It wasn’t that I wasn’t sure because I only saw it in illustrations—it was more like the atmosphere made it seem like she was cosplaying the face I had seen multiple times in illustrations.

If I had just happened to run into her on the street, I probably wouldn’t have thought twice about it. Even if I met Shii and Sota, I wouldn’t have thought that all characters I encountered in this novel resembled those from a book.

But…

“…Hmm, you look too young.”

“…You’re probably about the same age as me.”

“…”

For a first-year middle schooler to say such things to someone they might have to fight alongside in the future—it was tragic.

It was the kind of thing that was only enjoyable when read from a novel, especially during my teenage years, but experiencing it in reality couldn’t help but be described as tragic.

She didn’t seem to care about my worried expression as she looked back into my eyes.

“I am Yuuki Yuka.”

“…Kurosawa Koto Ne.”

“That’s different from the name I heard.”

“Kurosawa is my real surname.”

“I see.”

Yuuki Yuka continued to stare at me and said,

“From now on, I look forward to working with you.”

It was the first moment I had met the main heroine from the story I had been reading.

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