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

I changed my clothes and had a meal with Yuuki.

Yuuki seemed like he wanted to treat me to something, but we decided to go Dutch today.

I’ve been looking forward to it all this time, but I didn’t want to keep expecting on a day like this. Yuuki must have been pretty tired too. Besides, I had just gotten new clothes. It wouldn’t feel right to get a meal on top of that.

Moreover, it seemed like Yuuki believed the fake prophecy I told him about. Unless I deliberately talked about the truth, Yuuki would just keep thinking that way.

…But I guess I’ll still get paid. In truth, I’ve already caused quite a bit of trouble.

According to Yuuki, the church people turned back after meeting with the government officials.

Well, by that time, Kudan had already died, so there was no point in following along.

They probably think the prophecy itself is false, so they wouldn’t even think to ask.

It’s going to get really bad between us, though.

“Are you going back right away?”

As we left after having tempura rice bowls for lunch, Yuuki had a slightly disappointed expression.

But he looked more tired than that.

That made sense.

After all, we had been driving for hours that night, climbing mountains and having a mental duel with church people.

I was also in no state to say I slept well.

“There are still plenty of rest days left.”

When I said that, Yuuki smiled faintly and nodded.

Ikebukuro Station.

Yeah, there are quite a lot of people. Even I, who don’t know much about Japan, had heard of this place. I’m not sure exactly where it is in Tokyo, but.

There were many buildings. The building we had been in vanished before we knew it as we walked a bit away. Rather, it was a bustling place with many buildings, making it a good hiding spot.

“Well then, see you later. We might even meet tomorrow.”

Yuuki said his goodbye like that.

I lightly waved back to Yuuki.

His figure turned and disappeared among the crowd in an instant. It was a weekday, even in broad daylight.

Did all the kids pour out for the vacation?

Now that I think about it, there might be college students too. Perhaps someone took their summer vacation a bit early.

The summer after the rain season. Though there were a few clouds, it didn’t look like raindrops were about to fall. Even the sunlight couldn’t be blocked by those clouds.

I turned my body back and headed home.

I meticulously read the route map hanging in the station and spent a considerable time on the train, returning to my neighborhood that seemed completely devoid of people compared to when I came out of the station.

As soon as I got back, I carefully placed the shopping bag I was holding inside and then entered the shower room, took off my clothes, and washed my body.

I thought I had rinsed myself quickly, but small sand particles came out of my hair, making me struggle for a while.

After finally thoroughly washing my long hair and taking a clean shower to avoid any smell on my body, I roughly dried off and stepped outside.

Dressed only in underwear and a t-shirt, I climbed onto the blanket that I had unfolded last night but hadn’t tidied up.

And then, I immediately fell asleep as if I had fainted.

*

The next day. The 29th.

We decided to meet a little earlier.

Even though it was midsummer, the sun sets earlier in Japan than in Korea. Since it’s to the east, the sun rises earlier too.

The fireworks event is set to start at 7:15, so we were told we needed to go very early.

From what I heard, it sounded like quite a famous event in Japan.

I remember when I was a kid, I nearly got crushed by the crowd while watching fireworks in Yeouido.

At 11:30 AM, we arrived at Kita-Senju Station.

“Kurosawa!”

Miura, who had come early and was waiting, waved excitedly at me. Next to her were Fukuda and Yamashita.

“Kurosawa, you’re late.”

Fukuda said while tapping the wrist of his wristwatch with his finger.

Late? Late, my foot!

I arrived exactly on time.

I actually thought I might be a little late, but I still made it on time.

“…”

Yamashita didn’t say anything. He slightly waved, but that was it.

He probably knows it takes quite a while for me to get here.

“Shall we have lunch first? We need to fill up because there’s almost seven hours ahead of us.”

…So, does that mean we’ll eat and then go straight to wait?

I guess that can’t be helped. They say the joy of an event is in the waiting, after all. I’ve never really felt much joy in that aspect, and I’ve hardly ever wandered around since I didn’t have anyone to go with.

And the place we headed to was a fast food joint.

Considering that the things I usually eat on the way home are mostly sweet desserts or drinks, it seemed these kids were really planning to have a hearty meal today.

Everyone ordered a large set.

Since I saw how to eat French fries while having a meal with Yamashita last time, I also ordered a large set this time.

The sight of four large-sized French fries spilling over the tray was quite a spectacle.

After devouring the hamburgers first, we picked up the fries one by one from the plate, sometimes washing it down with cola.

Did you know? Being young means you can eat more without causing trouble to your body. Ever since I hit my thirties, I’d often suffer whenever I ate too much greasy food, but since I got this body, I’d never had that issue once.

Even though I was thin and looked somewhat malnourished, being young is indeed something impressive.

As I savored the salty taste of the fries, I listened to Miura, Fukuda, and Yamashita’s stories.

“Oh, that drama is fun—”

“Who was that actor we saw last time—”

Well, it was basically Miura and Fukuda’s conversation, but.

“…”

The Yamashita I remembered always seemed to be focused on his phone while Miura and Fukuda talked about whatever.

But today was a little different.

Yamashita’s gaze was facing outside the window.

At the end of that gaze was a river. The river where the fireworks festival was scheduled for today.

Was it Arakawa River?

“Do you like fireworks?”

I casually asked Yamashita.

Just at that moment, Miura and Fukuda’s conversation ended, so all eyes suddenly turned to me.

Yamashita’s gaze moved from the window back to me.

“I quite like them.”

Hmm.

If a guy had heard that, his heart might have skipped a beat. Of course, I understood that it didn’t mean he liked me.

Thinking about it, the fireworks festival is a great way to cover the heroine’s confession lines.

The kids here weren’t heroines…

Thinking back, how do festivals in Japan usually go? It’s a staple theme in romantic comedies, but I don’t really know how they actually unfold. The heroine is always depicted in a yukata, catching goldfish or eating candied apples.

Are festivals just held randomly based on the region? Then, do they just let fireworks off themselves? I’ve heard those big fireworks are quite expensive. Can they just set them off like that?

“…”

While I was lost in thought, I realized that the eyes still focused on me hadn’t shifted away.

“Kurosawa.”

Miura called me with a rather serious expression.

My heart skipped a beat.

Did I touch on something I shouldn’t? Is it wrong to talk to Yamashita about fireworks?

“Um… I’m not sure how this question might come across, but…”

Miura carefully spoke to me.

“Have you ever been to see fireworks?”

“…”

Ah, so that’s why.

To others, I looked like a kid who had been abused at home. If my mom, Kagami, were to hear me say I wanted to see fireworks, she would happily follow along, but these kids knew nothing.

I thought it would probably be difficult to speak about it in the future.

I pondered for a moment and then said, “Once, in my childhood.”

Of course, it was not in Japan, but in South Korea, at Han River.

“I saw them from afar. It was at a distance where they could be covered by the palm of my hand.”

That was the case.

My family didn’t really like crowded places. Rather, they preferred to do something peacefully in a slightly relaxed space.

Of course, that turned out to be a failure.

Too many people had similar thoughts as my family. Back then, Seoul was a city said to have a population over ten million. If even one out of a hundred shared that thought, that’s a hundred thousand people, so it’s no surprise that there were tons of people waiting with mats along the Han River.

But it was fun.

Doing something with the family together.

“…”

After listening to my story, Fukuda, Miura, and Yamashita exchanged glances.

Did what I say resonate with them?

“It seems like you’ll be able to see them really up close today!”

Fukuda said with a smile.

“You can look forward to it.”

Miura nodded her head too.

Seeing Yamashita quietly watching me, he probably thought similarly.

“I’ll look forward to it.”

When I answered like that, all three of them smiled.

*

We had secured our spot.

In fact, the three of them took care of the reservation, so I couldn’t tell if it was a first-come-first-served basis or not. But I thought it was a good thing that we got seats where we could sit and see properly.

Unlike my childhood fireworks, it seemed like we would be watching the fireworks rising exactly from across the river today.

The entrance fee was free.

Naturally, an incredible number of people had gathered. I couldn’t really guess how many, but it must be a lot, probably in the hundreds of thousands?

Thanks to coming out early with the three of them, we didn’t have to wait in line for too long to get our seats.

Though it was called a fireworks festival, it was a bit different from the Japanese-style festivals I had seen in manga, and I had just thought everyone would come in their casual clothes, but surprisingly, a lot of people were in yukatas.

“Do you want to try it on?”

Fukuda asked, picking up on my subtle hints.

“…I’ve never tried it on.”

I used a double meaning.

I didn’t particularly feel like trying it on. But if I were offered to wear one, I wouldn’t have turned it down.

Wouldn’t they be wearing more than just a yukata? I’d probably enjoy the festival then.

A festival.

It had been a long time since I enjoyed events like this. Just before I finished my previous life, I had been doing nothing but work for almost the entire time.

Having lived almost years without family or friends, such feelings had faded away immensely.

Perhaps the reason I could endure things here was because of all the time I spent alone.

It wasn’t a particularly joyful feeling.

“Well then, how about we release some lanterns this year?”

“That sounds great!”

Miura clapped her hands at Fukuda’s suggestion.

“There’s a lantern releasing event at our local shrine in mid-August. Well, for us and you, we’ll have to check our schedules, but honestly, let’s be real—how many of us will have plans that day?”

“…”

No one answered.

Mid-August… Hmm, I probably won’t have any plans.

“We all don’t have boyfriends, right? Is there anyone who successfully got a date during the meeting then?”

“…”

No one.

I hadn’t contacted anyone.

“Well, it’s a bit early to make a plan right away. There might be things happening at home.”

When Sasaki Sota’s siblings will meet Raiju, I don’t really know, but since I’d like to be there too, I hope the date doesn’t line up.

Whether or not I wear the yukata doesn’t bother me that much, but hanging out with friends… Honestly, it was a little fun.

I glanced toward Miura.

…I met Miura’s dad just yesterday.

Though I had never read the original work to the end, it seemed like Miura’s dad truly loved her.

In “Tokyo Slayers,” Miura was just a background character who had never exchanged a word with Sasaki, but perhaps her death became the catalyst for everything in the main story.

I turned my gaze back to Yamashita.

What would Yamashita’s world have been like, where Mori had died? Losing his closest friend, Miura, and then losing Mori, who was practically like an older sister to him… Moreover, considering that Yamashita had left home after the fight before Mori died, that must have been the worst.

Even if Yamashita went through all sorts of bad things and managed to return home, it was too late for Mori.

What kind of life did Kurosawa Kotone lead in that world?

…I can’t say for sure, but I doubt a bright future awaited her.

It was quite suspicious that the class next to Sota’s was right next to his.

“Things were happening in the adjacent class… And I didn’t know…” It was the perfect position for me to feel guilty.

Thinking back to those times, just a few years after the century-turning, Kurosawa Kotone must have been a character who saw horrible scenes.

“It’s getting quite dark.”

Fukuda said.

“Yeah.” Miura agreed.

“I’ve been wearing my summer uniform since June, but I feel like it’s only now that summer is really here.”

In response to Miura’s words, I chimed in, “…It usually rains until mid-July.”

“Right? Summer should be about sunshine!” Fukuda said with a bright laugh.

“…It’s starting now.”

Yamashita said, looking at the time displayed on his phone.

Not only our group but everyone sitting around seemed to have noticed, causing the murmuring to grow louder.

It seemed like the people running the event were announcing something from the front, but it wasn’t clearly audible.

There were still people in line. Up ahead were also people holding large cameras.

…I wonder if I can take decent photos with my phone?

Seeing Fukuda, Miura, and Yamashita lift their phones, I awkwardly took mine out of my pocket and turned on the camera.

A small screen, and the quality was definitely not great for today’s standards.

In this world, this phone might indeed be cutting-edge technology.

Every time I felt this way, it felt strange. In the world I lived in, photos taken on phones had resolution fine enough to not get pixelated regardless of where they were posted.

High school girls.

I had to bite my lips to suppress any tears of laughter.

How long did we wait like this?

Bang!

It wasn’t loud enough to consider it big, but it wasn’t so small that I would disregard it either, a vague pop sound rang out, and fireworks soared with a whoosh into the sky.

And then, bang!

With a sound reminiscent of a gunshot, small fireworks burst forth, spreading like palm leaves.

Starting from there, one firework after another shot into the sky.

Beautiful fireworks of all colors didn’t merely burst like images but bloomed into three-dimensional geometric shapes in every way imaginable.

Red, green, blue, yellow.

Even on the small phone screen, they looked extremely vibrant and dramatic.

I couldn’t help but widen my eyes and stare at the fireworks.

Wow, I never knew fireworks could be this beautiful up close.

I either felt like I had just discovered that fact or had never once thought about it before.

“How is it? Isn’t it nice?”

I heard Miura’s voice next to me and turned my head to see her smiling at me.

“…Yeah,” I replied.

But I wasn’t sure if it got through; the sound of the fireworks was too loud.

After all, the heroine’s voice could easily get drowned out.

I turned my head left and right to look at Fukuda, Miura, and Yamashita.

They all seemed captivated by the colorful fireworks painting the sky.

The bright lights cast a glow on their faces, making them all look extraordinarily beautiful.

Just young people enjoying life—the pure state of teenagers.

Without any injuries or pain.

My heart raced.

For the first time, I was aware of that fact.

Probably no one would ever know. Not even Miura, who was up high, nor Yamashita, who was associated with the church.

Even Kagami, Nirlas, and Yuuki too.

It was a story only I knew.

But it was okay. At least the things I did weren’t meaningless.

I looked up at the sky again.

They said the fireworks would last for about an hour.

At first, I thought it felt a bit short for such a big event, but once I started watching those fireworks, it didn’t seem that way.

For an entire hour, they would draw fantasy across the sky.

Feeling like an adult, I at least wondered how much it cost to do this—well, that wasn’t something I needed to consider.

For now, it was simply about this moment.

Even I could enjoy the youthful vigor I gained.

Since this world feels fantasy-like, I would probably get caught up in all sorts of bizarre events ahead.

So, I should enjoy it while I can.

“Wow.”

I heard someone let out a wow next to me. It may have been from our party or someone nearby, but honestly, I couldn’t help but agree with that sound.

I closed my phone, which had been taking random shots, and put my hands down, fully enjoying the splendid fireworks with my own eyes.

Well, even if I end up dying someday, I might still get another chance next year.

Next time, let’s come together with Yuuki.

I thought that while entranced by the magnificent fireworks that burst forth.

“It’s amazing.”

I think Miura said that.

I nodded.

“It’s amazing. Really.”

With my legs stretched out comfortably as I sat, I let myself be carried away in the sky.

I had changed into my summer uniform, and even though the rainy season was already over.

I finally felt like I was starting to welcome the sweltering summer.

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