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

I was relieved that Kagami wasn’t nearby.

Not just because I was in danger.

I’m fundamentally okay even if I handle things a bit clumsily. I can heal quickly even if I get hurt to some extent.

…

I suddenly thought of that thing I saw a little while ago, the one that looked like my own head.

Kagami ran away with me. That woman is after me.

If this place is a trap, and if she was the one who leaked information to the government…

I had some doubts about whether Kagami really gave birth to me. She was too young when she ran away with me. When I was little, Kagami was almost always in her teens. Isn’t she too young to have really given birth to someone?

I can’t deny that I resemble Kagami, but if she’s said to be a sister with a large age gap, it wouldn’t be too strange.

If that woman wanted to create something, and if I am the success she made, then those lumps inside can be called failures, right?

That thought flew away as soon as it hit the ground. I managed to land on my feet. But even so, it hurt, and the pain clearly informed me that it would be a problem if I thought of anything else right now.

The height of the low apartment floor. I wondered how much it affected my legs. Did I crack or break a bone? At least seeing that Yuka, who jumped before me, is okay suggests it’s not a big problem. I’ll heal quickly.

I took out a knife.

Even before I cut myself, the scent of blood was already wafting around. A few people were collapsed. They must have used all their strength to escape, but no one seemed dead, though they were bleeding. Some were hiding behind cars or near buildings, trying to conceal themselves or act as distant as possible.

“…Who are you?”

That was Yuka’s voice.

At first glance, she looked nothing special, holding a fairly ordinary Japanese sword, aiming it at a woman who looked very similar to Kagami.

My breath hitched a bit. Chills ran down my back. No, it wasn’t only my back, it was all over my body.

That woman was my trauma itself.

Every time she appeared, my daily life shattered. My life was never that normal to begin with, but whenever there was something I wanted to protect, she would show up.

I gripped the knife tightly.

“Yuka.”

“Koto Ne, what is she?”

“She’s inside. She seems a bit scared.”

“…I still don’t know what’s going on, but it’s related to that woman.”

Yuka paused for a moment.

There’s probably something she wants to say. She must have many questions.

Why does that woman resemble my mom?

What relation do I have with her?

Unfortunately, I hardly have answers to give. Perhaps realizing that or thinking we should solve this situation first, Yuka let that part slide for now.

“…The lumps.”

There were things around that looked like slimes.

I didn’t see them when that woman was chasing me.

At that time, something invisible…

At that moment, chills ran down my back.

Shlick.

Yuka swung her sword quickly and sliced it. The thing that got hit in mid-air sprayed blood everywhere.

A horrific sound echoed.

“Oh my.”

The woman far away let out a chuckle.

“You’ve trained quite well, haven’t you? It seems that swinging a sword since childhood paid off.”

“You know me?”

Yuka asked. But she didn’t seem relaxed.

It’s no surprise. It seems “Kurosawa” is somewhat famous in this field. Then it’s not surprising that Yuuki might be too. Yuka has been slicing Yōkai since she was little, and her grandfather and father must have done it long before that.

Yuka’s mother also passed away while doing similar work. If that side is someone who commands Yōkai, she must know Yuka’s name.

“I know, but that’s not really important right now. I came to meet that child.”

“That woman looked at me.”

Yuka stepped forward a little more.

But the woman hardly paid attention to her and spoke directly to me.

“Now, Koto Ne.”

With her arms wide open.

“Will you come to your mother?”

“…….”

I frowned.

“Do you really think I’ll just go along with that?”

“No, that’s not the kind of meaning I meant.”

The woman said.

“What if the one who ran away with you is a fake, and I’m the one who really gave birth to you? What if that woman is the fake?”

…No.

What makes her think I would believe that?

Whether she really gave birth or not isn’t what’s important. As she said, I might have been created by that woman.

But still, separate from that.

In any case, a child cannot have ‘memories of being born.’ To a child, the best parents are just the ones who feed them well, put them to sleep, and dress them warmly.

If they also shower them with love, that’s the real mother.

However, there could be cases where someone of a different race or someone who learns about being adopted when they grow up wants to find their real parents.

But for that to happen, the parents must be completely different people; in reality, that woman isn’t all that different from Kagami. Ironically, that makes her words less credible. Anyone resembling me could claim that.

“Hmph.”

Even Yuka, who was listening, couldn’t help but snicker at such a shallow nonsense.

“Well, if I thought like that, I wouldn’t have been able to run away like I did back then. To be told to flee while having something sharp against my neck, that was truly pathetic.”

“…….”

I stared hard at the woman.

“Do you think I couldn’t do it now?”

“I definitely can’t.”

Yuka looked at me in surprise, but the woman decisively stated.

“Right now, you have too much to lose, don’t you? Isn’t it a pity to throw away your life?”

“……So, I’m just supposed to wait until I’m happy?”

“I have a proposal.”

The woman spoke again.

“If you become my daughter, I won’t touch any of your remaining daily life. You’ll just disappear. Kagami might find new love and build a family, and your friends might live happily ever after.”

“…….”

“You’re not entirely unhappy either. After all, you’re just continuing the legacy of the Kurosawa family. I’m not one to say this as the head of the family, but the Kurosawa clan is definitely not an impoverished existence. There are probably many who would want to follow you. Ah, yes.”

The woman laughed with her hand to her mouth.

“Rather, being in such a position might allow you to protect the Kagami you think of as your mother.”

“Are you joking right now?”

“This isn’t a joke—”

“Then there’s no way Kagami would have run away with me!”

If the Kurosawa family were completely normal, if I were born normally, if Kagami hadn’t been abused in that household, she wouldn’t have run away with me.

She wouldn’t have struggled like that. She wouldn’t have tried to protect me at the cost of her own life.

This isn’t just a common assumption. I know this from the years I’ve seen Kagami’s true self.

Knowing it because I’ve shared life itself with her, not just acting.

“…….”

The woman fell silent at my words.

Then, resting her chin on her hand, she sank into thought and eventually smiled.

“Well, that’s true.”

Is she trying to provoke me?

I pondered seriously.

“But, well, it’s fine. At this point.”

“What do you mean, ‘fine’?”

“Anyway, I thought you wouldn’t listen. I don’t know if you have the ability to brainwash my younger sister or not, but you seem to love Kagami enough to throw away your life, right?”

“Sister?”

“I have to stall for time to prepare; what can’t I prepare?”

“……!”

Yuka reacted first.

“Koto Ne, duck!”

At Yuka’s command, I quickly lowered my head. Swish. I heard something pass over me. Yuka swung her sword, and blood splattered. Thud. This time, I properly heard the sound of a lump hitting the ground.

Ah, right.

Damn lump.

There are plenty of those in that household—well, they certainly looked like nothing but human, though.

“And also, there’s a reason why I called you here.”

The woman claiming to be Kagami’s sister spoke in a sing-song voice as she approached us.

“I wonder if you’ve seen those lumps inside?”

“You—”

“Have you greeted the being you can call your sister? Or should I say, ‘sisters’?”

“…….”

I was thinking.

But hearing that directly was—

Yuka turned to look at me with a slightly bewildered expression—

I quickly grabbed Yuka’s arm and pulled her down.

Thump.

Pain flared in my arm.

“Honestly, they’re just brainless monsters, aren’t they? They were of no use. I told them to give birth to divine children, and they just bred garbage I could make myself. But still, they have some use in a place like this, right? If I need hands without worrying about the surroundings—”

But those words were cut off.

The smile faded slightly from the woman’s face.

Thud.

I heard a sound that felt like piercing.

Knowing that it shouldn’t be happening, I turned around involuntarily.

There were—

Oh.

Several slimes were lying on the second-floor railing as if they were hanging laundry. Naturally, there were something resembling clothespins to hold them in place.

Or should I say, laundry ‘pins’? Or should I say, laundry ‘windows’?

Whatever it was, they were pinned down by something dark and sharp.

And on the end of that dark and sharp object—was my face.

Below the face, there was a school uniform that seemed to have tried awkwardly to follow my body, melting in a sloppy manner, and something resembling a raincoat was dangling over it. Perhaps because the AI was awkwardly imitating a person, the way it attached was disturbingly realistic yet completely unrealistic at the same time.

However, separate from how disturbing it looked—

“Uwa?”

The sound emitted from that ‘head’ draped over the railing was somewhat cute.

…Yeah. I already knew there was flesh inside the refrigerator. There were even strands of hair used as hands.

The barriers drawn also broke by me and Yuka.

My head looked down at the woman.

Maybe because it had certainly grown bigger than before.
That head did not hold any fearful expression at all.

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