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

The homeroom teacher seemed like a nice person.

She looked young enough that there was hardly a ten-year age difference between us.

I didn’t know much about the teaching profession, so I wasn’t sure what age a homeroom teacher typically started at.

Judging by the slight tension in her, maybe this was her first time as a homeroom teacher too?

“…Alright, then shall we start with our self-introductions?”

Since it was the first day of school, the homeroom teacher proposed this to us. It wasn’t unusual, as we had done this ceremoniously in middle school.

However, I felt a bit nervous.

My identity had changed once.

Originally, I was ‘Kurosawa,’ but it changed when I escaped with Kagami, and then again while hanging out with Harumi and Yuuki.

It changed again while messing up there. At least the name Mako knows is the same as the one I’m using now.

In any country, changing surnames is not a common occurrence. Even if someone’s father changes multiple times, the surname doesn’t change that often.

Actually, it’s almost unheard of for a father to change that many times.

“……”

Kagami had never had a husband. Considering what I thought about my and Koko’s true identities, perhaps she never had a father at all.

A result of some ceremony born without a father. That’s how I should think about it.

It’s not shameful to talk about changing surnames.

Kagami wouldn’t want to be misunderstood that way. After all, she lived looking only at me since I was little.

Listening absentmindedly as the other kids in my class stood up to introduce themselves, it was finally my turn, and I stood.

“……”

After a brief moment of silence, I steadied my heart.

Right. In the end, Harumi, Yuuki, and Mako are all in the know. Even if I can’t say I have the blood of a monster, I should mention that my identity has changed.

So I said it.

All the kids were sitting behind me, so I wasn’t sure what expressions they had.

I didn’t want to deny my childhood. After all, that memory is the reason for who I am now.

So, I guess I have to accept the parts that have changed compared to back then.

The name ‘Kurosawa’ isn’t particularly important to me anymore.

I was Koto Ne and Kagami’s daughter. With just those two, no matter how my name changes, I will still be me. That’s how I decided to think.

Fortunately, no one seemed surprised by my name. It seemed no one from elementary school attended the same school as me.

Or maybe they just couldn’t precisely remember me.

*

“Koto Ne.”

When school was over and everyone was getting up from their seats, I heard a voice calling me.

It was Mako, who had been sitting behind me.

Despite having heard my changed name earlier, Mako didn’t seem to care at all. Instead, she seemed genuinely happy, enough to make me feel guilt.

“It’s been a while since we last met, so let’s—”

But as Mako continued speaking, her voice lost a bit of energy.

She soon looked at the others. Yuka and Koko.

Furthermore, I still didn’t know these three, but I had more friends at this school. There was also Shii, who was the sister of one friend and also another friend.

We were supposed to meet after school today with those kids.

…Actually, even saying ‘supposed to’ feels off. We all head home in the same direction. Plus, Yuka started living not far from my house.

Without realizing it, I looked at Yuka sitting in front of me.

“What, isn’t it fine?”

Yuka said.

“You said you were friends from when you were little, right? From the way you say that, you must have been pretty close?”

Seeing Yuka smile as if she understood everything made me feel a bit complicated.

“Well, we’re in the same class, so it shouldn’t really matter if we all play together, right?”

“Y-Yeah?”

Mako carefully chimed in with Yuka’s words.

“Harumi, Yuuki, what do you think?”

“Yeah, I’m fine with it.”

Harumi said with a smile. However, Yuuki still had a somewhat grumpy look.

As some time passed, he seemed to have relaxed a bit, as if the tension was easing. Getting angry takes energy, after all. So while the temperature had risen a bit, it felt more like he just lost some strength rather than truly calming down.

Yuuki’s eyes glued to his phone didn’t seem to move. He was apparently listening to our conversation.

“But I wonder how Sota will feel about it.”

Yuka said, as if trying to change the subject.

“He sometimes feels uncomfortable being around us.”

I couldn’t help but laugh a bit at those words. Although there was still some uncomfortable feeling left in my heart, Sota’s reactions were occasionally quite funny.

Sota is a boy after all.

And he’s still in the middle of puberty. Sometimes same-sex friends feel more comfortable at this age.

But every kid around him is a girl. Me, Koko, Yuka. Nanami. Plus, Shii, who’s his younger sister.

What would Sota’s expression be if three more girls were added?

Ironically, like in the original story, Yuka wasn’t in love, and neither was either Koko or I, so really, the only girls sticking to him would be Nanami and Shii, but that wouldn’t erase the strange discomfort a boy like him would feel.

“Sota? Is he a boy?”

Harumi’s eyes widened a bit.

“Oh, yeah. He lives nearby….”

“Koto Ne is friends with a boy?”

Is she interested in that?

I thought a moment, but it seemed that when I was young, Harumi, Yuuki, and I weren’t really close with boys. The three of us hung out, and other kids would occasionally join, but most were girls around the same age.

…Looking at Harumi and Yuuki now, it wouldn’t be strange if they had a boyfriend or two, but it seems like I still don’t look that way in Harumi’s eyes.

“Yeah…we are kind of close.”

When I replied like that, Yuuki’s expression hardened even more. His gaze, which had been stuck on his phone, flickered toward me for a brief moment.

Could he be misunderstanding?
If he’s misunderstanding, there’s no reason to get angry… Ah.

I see.
We used to share our worries. Although they were worries typical for elementary school kids, nothing grave from my perspective.

Even at that age, of course, they’re not completely disinterested in boys. Naturally, they at least fantasized about romance. Even if I didn’t, sometimes Harumi would talk about “handsome boys.”

I think we even made a promise to tell each other if we ended up getting boyfriends. At the time, I thought it wouldn’t happen and brushed it off lightly, and of course, I still haven’t.

Looks like I created a misunderstanding that would make Nanami’s blood boil — but what should I even say here? Yelling “It’s not like that!” feels like it would hurt Sota somehow.

While I pondered briefly—

“Is he handsome?”

Getting pretty absorbed in that topic, Harumi leaned in and asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. Her expression was bright.

“Um… objectively speaking, he’s probably handsome compared to the boys around here?”

Yuka evaluated Sota’s looks quite analytically. Well, he is the protagonist, so he’s handsome.

“Oh.”

For some reason, Harumi looked at me as if she was seeing me for the first time, and Mako was blushing and fidgeting awkwardly. Yuuki’s atmosphere further soured.

Somehow, it felt like the conversation was slipping into a strange direction, so I looked at Yuka again, who had a slight smile on her lips as she looked at me.

So, it didn’t seem like Yuka would help me out of this situation. Why?

For the record, Koko didn’t really seem interested in us showing interest in Sota’s story. She just tilted her head while glancing between us as we talked.

Well, it’s Koko for you.

…If Koko showed any interest in a boy, I’d be shocked.
Hmm.
Could that have been the feeling Kagami had when I first went home with Sota?

I found myself trying to escape from reality like that.

*

To cut a long story short, Yuuki did follow us.

He still seemed to want to keep a distance from me, not planning to talk to me.

“……”

Harumi watched Yuuki’s demeanor and moved a bit closer to me.

“It was something you couldn’t help, right?”

Harumi asked.

“…Yeah.”

I nodded.

“Then Yuuki will understand too. No need to worry too much.”

“…Yeah.”

When I nodded again at Harumi’s words, this time, Mako spoke up.

“But to think you were friends since elementary school, it really seems like fate. That we could meet again like this.”

It was hard to find any awkwardness on Mako’s face now.

Instead, she was smiling brightly, truly happy.
Her face looked just like I remembered from a few years ago. Of course, she was taller now and had a calmer demeanor than back then.

…I see.
That face that used to be so young has come so close to being an adult now. But at the same time, that childhood face hasn’t completely faded away.

It wasn’t just a few years; enough time had passed for us to leave our childhood behind.
I could understand why Yuuki was upset.
We… we’re still so young. Both then and now.

Perhaps it’s good we could still meet now?
If we became adults, it might actually be easier to move on from this. We could just think, “Oh, that was a time.”

But if that happens, I wouldn’t be Yuuki’s childhood friend anymore.
I’d just become someone he meets again after growing up, someone he runs into at work, an ordinary relationship with no flavor.

I didn’t want that.
So—I wanted to think that there’s still a chance.

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