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

Being a middle school student while preparing for exams… honestly, it was a bit annoying.

The only exam experiences I’ve had in my life were during my time going to university and getting a job. Of course, I had to prepare for exams in high school; I thought that was just how it was. And the job, well, it was at a place I admired.

Looking back, I don’t think I knew how to study well until I became a high school student. I sat in front of a desk and looked at books, but that didn’t mean I could fully memorize their content.

Sometimes I wondered what it would have been like if I had studied harder as a teenager, but who knows?

I am who I am. I can be who I am now because I lived those days and have those memories.

To put it simply, if I went back to that time, I don’t think I would study any harder. I enjoyed hanging out with my friends too much.

“……”

But even someone like me, who didn’t really enjoy studying, if the kids gathered together and studied hard, I found myself studying along with them.

In fact, ever since I came to this world, I had been quite diligent in my studies. Thanks to that, my grades were bouncing around the upper ranks.

Kagami didn’t really care whether my grades dropped or not. I’ve felt for a long time that Kagami had a tendency to pamper me. Maybe it’s because I met my loving family at such a young age. I suppose it’s partly because we had no one else to lean on.

Because of that, I remained somewhat childish. I still sleep clinging to my mom when I go to bed. I’m such a spoiled brat.

The only reason I managed to keep my head on straight was probably just because I had the memories of my past life.

Despite my best efforts to study, this body’s head isn’t all that bad.

I turned my gaze to Koko.

Koko was studying hard too. I had scared her into studying by telling her that if I failed the exam, she wouldn’t get to go to the same school as me.

Yuka, Shii, Sota, and even Nanami had joined us.

Hmmm.

“Hey everyone, is there something you want to do in the future?”

I suddenly thought of it and asked.

Going to high school is nice. It’s not weird to attend the high school that your friend aspires to go to. Unless I planned to get a job straight after middle school or aimed for a particular athletic scholarship, generally, it’s just a difference in the study atmosphere.

However, thoughts about going to university or jobs afterward are somewhat different.

I did manage to get the job I wanted. Although my thoughts changed after getting it, I still held on to it until the end.

That said, life doesn’t end just because things don’t go that way. I’ve seen many kids who have set aside their goals of dreams and managed to live well while treating them as hobbies.

But living without any dreams is a little sad.

I hope everyone has at least one thing they love, even if it’s not something they want to do.

Except for Nanami, the kids here didn’t come from normal family backgrounds.

…Am I being too nosy?

However, it seemed like the kids didn’t mind what I said, which came out a bit unexpectedly. Maybe feeling a bit tired from studying, they seemed welcoming of my words.

“What do you want to do…?”

It didn’t seem like anyone could easily answer that.

The first person that came to mind was Nanami. She’s smart and sociable, so she’d likely manage to find a job, but aside from that, perhaps her goal would be to “marry Sota.” That would be her “thing she wants to do.”

I have no idea how infatuated she must have been during those childhood years, jumping over from upper elementary school to halfway through middle school while carrying such thoughts, but having at least one person you like isn’t a bad thing.

Shii might be similar.

After growing up under an unusual mother for a long time, she’s finally met her family. And it turns out to be her biological older brother, no less.

Now that she’s just starting to do things she wants to do as a family, I hope that time lasts a long while.

Koko looked a bit blank, as if she hadn’t thought much about it, while Yuka was deeply lost in thought but couldn’t bring herself to answer.

“What about you?”

Yuka asked me.

“The fact that you asked that means you have something you want to do, right?”

That’s true. I have a lot of things I want to do.

After all, I’ve just barely entered my teens. Plus, I was an otaku in my previous life, and in this one, those tendencies are still very much intact as I’ve been reborn in Japan.

There are so many things I want to see. There are also places I want to explore with my friends.

And I want to stretch that time for doing those things for as long as possible. It’s not just during high school, but also when I become a university student, and beyond… continuously.

However, like the intent behind my question, Yuka’s didn’t seem to be that either.

It was about what we wanted to do in the far future. If we have any image of what we want to be.

“….”

I pondered.

My question was also aimed at myself.

What do I want to do?

I want to save Kagami, save Koko, protect my family. I want to protect my friends, and ultimately reach a happy ending.

What would I do afterward?

Suddenly, a thought popped into my head.

It was a simple thought. It was one of the jobs I wanted in my past life, but I had distanced myself from that dream by choosing another profession.

After losing my family and falling into despair, I stopped enjoying that hobby, but I still loved manga and novels in this world.

“I want to be a writer.”

So, I impulsively said that.

The kids’ gazes all turned to me, as if they hadn’t expected me to give that answer.

“A writer?”

“Yeah.”

Isn’t it natural to feel like writing when you read?

I had written a few things in my childhood. After all, I was an otaku. I hadn’t succeeded in gaining confidence, and since I had other dreams, I had no regrets.

But isn’t this different now?

After all, I’ve achieved that dream. It wasn’t purely enjoyable. I don’t regret it, but I don’t feel the desire to return to it either. Since I’ve been given this life again, I want to dream a different dream this time.

So, I want to be a writer.

I haven’t decided whether I want to write manga stories, light novels, or some other writings. In fact, I feel like it might be better to not have it set in stone.

But one thing I could say for certain.

The people around me would definitely appear in those writings. In various forms, always different. Little by little, based on them.

And perhaps, the memories of my past life as well.

Yuka, who had asked me what I wanted to do, blinked her eyes once. Then she let out a small chuckle.

“I see. So you already have a dream.”

“Yeah.”

I just decided it, but it really feels like it could be good.

After everything is over, after our adventure concludes with a happy ending, I will become a writer.

Seeing me smile brightly, the kids looked a bit flustered.

“Koto Ne. Koto Ne.”

Koko, who had been sitting next to me, tugged at my sleeve and called me.

“Is it a happy ending?”

“Huh?”

“Will the stories Koto Ne writes have a happy ending?”

Ah, right.

Kagami, Koko, and I read fairy tale books together when she was learning the language.

Even books for kids don’t always have happy endings. Thinking about it, there were several stories that didn’t in my childhood, too.

Koko didn’t seem to like those stories much.

The stories she always wanted us to read were all happy ones. The parts she wanted us to read were always the happy endings.

Yeah. After all, every story comes to an end. If that is the case, it’s not bad for the ending to be happy.

There are tragic or sad stories out there, all for the sake of being realistic or having artistic quality.

Even if there’s someone whose every story ends in a happy ending, the world won’t come to an end.

“Yep. It’s a happy ending.”

I see.

If the story I write includes the people I know, then it would be nice for the ending to be a happy one.

And I want a conclusion that says they lived long and happily. That’s what I’ve wanted since I was young.

“Will you read it to me?”

“Yeah. I’ll read it.”

I patted Koko’s head. Koko smiled with a silly expression on her face.

“Is that right, a writer.”

Yuka murmured, looking away with a distant expression.

“A dream…”

Yuka has lived a different life from ordinary kids. She might have to continue living like that in the future too.

Since childhood, she had done those things thinking it was all just natural, but in the end, Yuka is just a regular kid.

Like the other kids, she has something she wants.

Maybe, apart from being an exorcist, she might have other dreams too.

For some reason, all the kids in the room seemed to be lost in thought, gazing into the distance.

Knock knock.

Suddenly, a knocking sound startled the kids back to reality as they blinked.

“Koto Ne, can I come in for a moment?”

“Yeah!”

I responded to Kagami’s voice, and she peeked her head in with a plate full of fruit.

“I brought some fruit.”

That sight was so motherly in many ways; it felt nice.

“Thank you, I’ll enjoy it.”

I smiled as I received the fruit.

Seeing me smile brightly, Kagami tilted her head a bit.

“Mom.”

“Yes?”

“I want to be a writer when I grow up.”

Kagami seemed momentarily taken aback by my sudden revelation, blinking in surprise, but then she broke into a big smile.

“That’s wonderful!”

She seemed overjoyed, as if she hadn’t expected me to say such a thing.

Yeah.

Perhaps the first thing I write will be about mom.

Because she’s the person I’ve seen for so long.

The person I think is the most amazing in this world.

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