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

And the Yōkai vanished as if it were a lie.

Did I realize that something was moving? Probably just a coincidence. The Yōkai acted meticulously in their own way but at the same time often seemed pretty lacking in seriousness.

I wanted to search for the Yōkai, but there just wasn’t enough time to do so.

Yuka knew my personality too well.

I’m not normally the type to cause strange incidents frequently. However, sometimes I get caught up in events that even Yuka wouldn’t have expected, becoming the cause of those incidents.

Though it wasn’t usually due to my own will.

Maybe that’s why, ever since that last incident, Yuka seemed to be observing me a bit more closely.

I had no choice but to live close to Yuka; avoiding her wasn’t an option. Plus, I always had Koko following me everywhere.

A week passed like that, without any significant outcome.

…

Well, even if I searched for the Yōkai myself, I wouldn’t be able to find it for sure. Maybe I just wanted to move around a bit to calm my heart.

So, around the next Thursday—

“Friends.”

Harumi called us with an innocent expression.

“How about we have a meeting?”

A meeting?

For a moment, I thought of a ‘meeting’ in the sense of a conference. But Harumi wasn’t the type to suggest such things.

Soon, I realized she meant “Let’s meet some boys.”

I stared at Harumi intently.

Does she want a boyfriend?

Ah, I see. That does sound like her. Strangely enough, it seems Harumi has never had a boyfriend until now.

With her looks and personality, it wouldn’t be surprising if she had one.

Could it be because of the people around her? During middle school, Yuuki had a long period of feeling down, and Mako, who got close by chance, had her own issues, after all.

It felt like Harumi had really struggled among all that.

“Count me out.”

Yuka immediately reacted.

“Huh, why?”

“I’m not interested.”

If there had been even a small spark of interest, Harumi might have tried to persuade Yuka, but there wasn’t a hint of that vibe from Yuka.

That was typical of Yuka. She’s the type to flat-out say what she doesn’t think she is.

“I’m not interested either.”

Nana confirmed her refusal. She has someone she likes, after all.

Sota didn’t really intend to join either… hmm, it did seem strange for anyone of the opposite gender to follow along like this.

Izumi and Kaoru didn’t seem particularly interested either. They were listening, but it seems they weren’t keen on joining.

Being from different grades tends to create a bit of a wall, no matter how friendly they are in the club. Moreover, we hadn’t been in the club for long.

“Me too—”

“Hey, Koto Ne.”

As I was about to refuse, Harumi grabbed my hand.

“Don’t say that, let’s go together. If you drop out, we won’t have enough numbers. Plus, you’re pretty popular, aren’t you?”

“……”

I didn’t ask, “Me?”

Since the start of the semester, I had been fighting with the same grade students using my fists, but still, there were kids who showed interest in me.

It seems those who fought with us never had very good images to begin with.

Moreover, Harumi, Mako, and Yuuki lived nearby, and naturally, there were a few friends who came up together from the same neighborhood. They seemed to have established an unbreakable connection centered around them.

“…Does a popular person have any reason to go to a meeting?”

Yuuki, who had been reading a book in the corner, asked.

“That’s why I’m asking you guys. Mako and I have particular tastes.”

“Me, me!?”

Mako became part of the group unexpectedly.

Harumi didn’t need to say so, but Yuuki was probably already on that list.

“But Koko…”

“Ah, right.”

“Uuh?”

As Harumi and I turned to look at Koko simultaneously, she tilted her head.

That’s right. Introducing a boyfriend to Koko felt a bit wrong. After all, she looked just like me, was the same height as me, and all the other physical specs would likely match.

I didn’t think Koko would do well with a guy…

“Koto Ne?”

Koko called my name, looking at me.

“Koko can’t.”

“…No, I wasn’t even thinking of that.”

Seeing Harumi’s serious expression left me somewhat dumbfounded. But we look the same, right? What’s the difference?

“But that’s true. Koko always follows Koto Ne around. It would be a bit sad to send her home alone.”

“Where would Koto Ne go alone?”

“No, that’s not it…”

But as I said that to Koko, Harumi’s face drooped.

…

I let out a big sigh.

“Hey, Yuka.”

“Oh, got it, got it.”

Yuka waved her hand as if to say she understood what I was trying to say.

“Koko, do you want to stay with me for a while tomorrow?”

“With Yuka?”

“Yeah. I’ll buy you something tasty.”

“Something tasty?”

Koko had already gotten caught by Kaoru even before entering the cafeteria today. Of course, the sausage roll used as bait was delicious.

Koko looked between me and Yuka.

Yuka and Koko have known each other for quite some time. Naturally, Koko had almost no wariness towards Yuka.

And just because Koko was always sticking to me didn’t mean that was all she did. I had left her with Kagami when I went to catch Yōkai.

…But still, sometimes when I got into a significant mess and came out, Koko happened to be around. Though it wasn’t always.

For some reason, I felt like I could read this thought through Koko’s eyes.

In Koko’s mind, the times I was in serious trouble were when I was with Yuka. She knew that what I did was necessary and if she tried to stop me, I would hate it, so she simply stayed out of it.

“Are you going to stay away for a long time?”

Koko asked.

“It probably won’t take long.”

“Whether it takes a long time or not, we’ll see.”

Harumi said seriously to my words.

“Then, okay.”

Koko nodded her head.

I gently patted Koko’s head.

It might be because Yuka promised her something tasty, but—

I think Koko believes she’ll be much safer around me than when I’m alone with Yuka.

…How should I clear up that misunderstanding?

This seems like something I’d need to think over a bit.

The meeting was dull.

I often forgot because I was among very ordinary kids, but Hanagawa High School had a fairly high deviation in scores. They send quite a few to good universities.

Naturally, those who suggested having a meeting were from those types of schools.

As for me, I was not interested in boys whatsoever, and among us gathered, the only one who genuinely wanted to try dating was Harumi.

I tried to match the atmosphere in my own way, but in the end, all we did was play healthily.

Though we did diverge the atmosphere a bit in the middle.

Yuuki, being dragged by Harumi, shot me a scary glance.

“Koto Ne, how was it?”

After that awkward farewell with the boys, Mako and I headed to where Yuuki and Koko were. Koko seemed to be deeply engrossed in a steak that Yuka was feeding her.

It wasn’t terribly far, but it took about 15 minutes to walk. It was a time for Mako and me to talk one-on-one.

“Well, there wasn’t anyone particularly appealing.”

I didn’t want to openly say I had no interest in boys, so I brushed it off like that.

“What about you, Mako?”

“Ah, haha, I…”

Mako rubbed her cheek, a bit bashfully responding.

A brief moment of silence fell between us.

Now that I think about it, it’s been a while since it was just the two of us.

When I was away from Tokyo, Mako often came over to my house.

“…….”

But when it came down to it, all I could recall were the situations that had caused Mako to be hurt. I couldn’t skip over my experiences when asked how I’d been during this time.

“Um.”

Mako and I spoke at the same time.

We exchanged awkward smiles while looking at each other.

“You go first.”

As I hurriedly said so, Mako went “Ah,” and paused for a moment.

But that silence didn’t last much longer.

This time, it seemed like she had something to say herself.

“Have you been… doing okay?”

The question Mako posed seemed somewhat unexpected.

“Huh?”

“I mean, we couldn’t stay in touch. Your last name changed. But it’s still the same uncle.”

“Ah…”

Was I okay?

Maybe. My body hadn’t been particularly strained, but I had gone through some mental stress.

I shook my head.

“No, it wasn’t that bad. Various things happened, but…”

“I see.”

Mako nodded gently.

We fell silent again.

A moment ago, I also spoke to Mako, but faced with this silence again, I didn’t know what to say.

Should I just talk about the literature club?

Or perhaps suggest we go on another trip together next time…

“……Koto Ne?”

When I suddenly stopped walking, Mako turned to look at me.

“……”

“K-Koto Ne, what’s wrong? You’re making a scary face all of a sudden.”

“Mako.”

I said.

“Yes?”

“You should go first.”

“…….”

Mako’s expression strangely changed.

Her face turned pale.

Was I making such a weird expression?

But it was troubling here.

Mako shouldn’t be here. A chill crept up my spine telling me so.

I didn’t turn my head. Mako might look in that direction.

I smiled faintly at Mako, who was staring at me in front of the narrow alley entrance.

“No, it’s just that I forgot something for a moment. I’ll rush to get it, so you go ahead with Koko and Yuka. I’ll be there soon.”

I said that and turned as if I really would go towards the shop where we had just been—

But, I had no choice but to stop midway through that motion.

Mako was holding my hand.

“M-Mako?”

I turned to Mako with a slightly surprised expression.

She was looking up at me with a deathly pale face. She gripped my hand tightly with both hands.

“…It’s the same.”

Mako said.

“Same as what?”

Seeing Mako roughly pull me toward her as if she was forcing me, I blinked in confusion.

Is Mako really this kind of person?

No, that’s not it. Mako wasn’t the type to drag others around forcefully like this.

Thus, her current behavior seemed to be more of a panic-induced response.

Mako pulled me strongly towards her again.

I unconsciously took a few steps toward her.

“Mako, wait a second, what’s going on!?”

I tried to resist and stop Mako from pulling me along. It would be troublesome if I let go. More people could die.

And among them might be Mako, or my friends…

But my thoughts froze at what Mako shouted next.

“It’s the same, Koto Ne. Just like back then…!”

…Ah.

I see now.

With tears streaming down her face and her body shaking, Mako desperately pulled me toward herself.

Mako clearly believed that the last moment we saw each other wasn’t just a dream.

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