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

Hanagawa High School was located not too far from the station.

When I got there, I understood why it was called a wealthy school.

The building itself didn’t seem particularly impressive, but the area where the school was located had a pretty high land value.

In Minato Ward, the character ‘Minato (港)’ means port. It was close enough to Tokyo Bay that it could have had such a name.

However, unlike other port cities, you wouldn’t see container ships coming and going nearby. I’m not sure how Minato Ward became a well-known affluent neighborhood in Tokyo, but anyway, it looked more like an international city crowded with the headquarters of various multinational corporations than a commercial area.

The station was spacious and wide, and there were tons of people coming and going. Even on the way to the school, there were quite a lot of people visible.

The atmosphere was different from my middle school.

Now in the second year of middle school, Shii, who had been attending a nearby middle school for the past year, had a familiar expression on her face.

Well, it was just the locality, but the area we lived in was also famous for being a nice place in Tokyo. There was no reason to feel intimidated now.

If so, “See you after school!”

Shii, who would always part ways at the fork toward the station, was smiling brightly until we separated, clearly happy to have walked to school together like this.

After cheerfully exchanging goodbyes, I walked down the road with a bit of tension.

In the original story, it doesn’t go into detail about how Sota ended up at this school. It just mentioned in passing that he wanted to be recognized.

Many people think that high school students are basically grown adults, but in reality, it’s an age filled with many firsts. You’re still not out of childhood and are just beginning to prepare for adulthood.

Even people in their early twenties know so little about the world, so why would anyone expect a kid just in their teens to know everything in detail and handle everything?

…

If you think about it, my age in this world isn’t that different either.

The number of female students in sailor uniforms and male students in gakuran gradually increased nearby. It was as if our surroundings were gradually filtering out those in similar uniforms, slowly gathering around us.

In the original story, Sota’s choice led him to this school, but in this world, our attending this school was clearly due to my choice. I wanted to go, and my close friends wanted to go too.

So, here we were.

That’s why I was scared.

In the end, everything that would happen at this school was because of me.

If we had gone to a different school, Sota and Shii might never have crossed paths. We might not have needed to go across the world filled with yōkai and exorcists.

I said I would protect my family, but was this choice really the right one? Even now, having those thoughts didn’t mean much though—

“Koto Ne.”

At Yuka’s call, I returned to reality.

“This way.”

Oh.

Did I accidentally turn the wrong way while lost in thought?

Following Yuka’s words and turning my body, I found the kids who had come to the same school looking at me.

Yuka, Sota, Nanami, and Koko.

“…Yeah.”

The kids that had arrived here, following the path I had chosen, even with such prophetic memories.

In the end, everything that lay ahead would be something I would have to be responsible for.

I had no intention of giving up. If something happened along the path I chose, that would be my fault.

I determined to think that way.

*

The entrance ceremony ended without much grandeur.

Although we had received class assignments beforehand, we weren’t seated together as a class. They had just started high school. If there were close friends, it would be more comfortable to sit together, so it seemed that was taken into account.

Koko, Yuka, and I had the same class.

Sota and Nanami were in the same class as well, but at least they were in the adjacent class, so that put me at ease. No matter what happened, I could help those two without too much trouble.

For now, the fact that Koko was in the same class was what relieved me the most.

The school would probably think of us as twins, so maybe that was why they placed us in the same class. As for Yuka… maybe she thought it was better to keep the kids from the same school together.

The best case would have been to all be in the same class, but considering this level of arrangement, I thought it was a substantial gain, and I entered the classroom with the two of them.

And—

I stopped in my tracks.

For a moment, I doubted my own eyes.

A girl with short black hair.

Many girls in high school have short hair. So, just that didn’t give me a reason to be flustered.

However, I recognized that unique aura.

It was just a silhouette, but I had known this girl for quite a while.

And the other girl conversing with her was—

“Koto Ne?”

As I stood there blankly, Koko, who had followed in behind me, called my name.

I’m not sure if that reached the girl. The short-haired girl turned her head in our direction.

Ah, right.

It was Mako. It had been several years since I last saw her, but I still remembered Mako’s face.

Had she grown a bit taller since then? But she still had that fair skin and that studious impression. Even the glasses were just as I remembered.

“Koto Ne?”

This time, my name spilled out from Mako’s lips.

She remembers me.

No, it would be hard not to remember, right? Though it’s a memory from elementary school, it hasn’t been that long in terms of years.

…

No.

I can’t say that the total number of years isn’t long at all, but compared to the timeline of life, it can definitely feel like a very long time.

We haven’t lived long enough to call a few years ‘just a few.’

And then I finally realized.

Could it be that I’ve been thinking too carelessly until now?

If my memories with Mako, who I spent the last years of elementary school with, are like this, how about the kids whom I spent time with from kindergarten to the lower grades of elementary school? Would they remember me?

I remember so vividly.

Mako suddenly jumped up from her seat, and the kids she had been talking with turned to look at us.

One of them had a very healthy appearance with dyed blonde hair. It wasn’t just her hair that was bright; she had a very flamboyant aura.

Harumi likes to dress up since childhood. She liked to carry various things on her bag.

The other girl beside her had skin so pale I wondered if she had ever seen the sun. But her hair color contrasted with that pale skin was black.

Similar to mine. Since Yuuki shares the same blood, it might make sense.

How did those three end up in the same place as us?

Oh, right. It’s not such a strange story. Harumi and Yuuki lived not far from here, and Mako said she was coming to Tokyo. So, it’s not odd for them to meet like that.

Did they just happen to meet today? So, was this their first introduction? It seemed they were quite close for something like that though—

“Koto Ne!”

But that thought flew far away with the next sound I heard.

The kids who had gathered together and were chatting turned to look at us at once. It was because Mako’s voice was too loud.

The next moment, my vision was filled with Mako’s hair.

She lunged at me and hugged me tightly.

Warm. The once blurry memories became vivid again. The memory itself suddenly rushed toward me and pulled me in.

“…Mako?”

Though my head understood it, I could only muster the name after Mako had hugged me.

“Koto Ne! It really is you, isn’t it?!”

That voice was already wavering with emotion.

The last image of Mako I recalled was just like that. Mako had been crying.

Mako’s father was supposed to return to Tokyo, and that’s why we had all gone on that trip together.

To create lasting memories before Mako had to go back. In fact, we still had time left. We were planning to enjoy ourselves during that time.

But all those thoughts were abruptly severed. Because of me.

Statistically, Japan has a consistent average of people being attacked by bears and dying each year, but it is hard to believe a bear would suddenly appear. I clearly hadn’t seen any bears around.

And if I think about what the voice had said back then, it was because of me.

Mako had almost died because of me—

Mako’s face pulled back abruptly.

Even after all this time, it was still Mako. I was absolutely sure that I wasn’t just seeing things.

“I never thought I would meet you here, Koto Ne.”

…

I was so flustered that I couldn’t say anything.

Then, right after, I felt a wave of fear wash over me.

Mako was here.

So was Harumi, and Yuuki.

There were students mentioned only once in the novel.

And among them, there were those who had passed away.

I glanced at Harumi and Yuuki.

Harumi looked horrified as she gazed at me, but Yuuki seemed uninterested and was looking out the window.

And once again, I became frightened.

That fear was different from the fear of yōkai or monsters.

“I was worried because there was no way to contact you.”

Yeah.

If I had wanted to contact them, I might have been able to. I had already traveled outside of Tokyo.

…Even while living in the same Tokyo, I had awkwardly made excuses for not meeting them. I hadn’t even properly thought of contacting them.

Someday, once this whole situation is over, I thought carelessly that I would go visit them, just being satisfied with what was happening nearby.

Would Harumi and Yuuki understand?

Now that I’ve said I wanted to see them.

Would these kids understand?

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