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

How could this happen?

Yuuki Yuuka thought as she looked at another child who bore an uncanny resemblance to her childhood friend right in front of her.

Having helped with household chores since middle school, Yuuki often thought she’d witnessed situations a human should never see.

Of course, she didn’t blame her parents. If her mother had not passed away, there wouldn’t have been a need for Yuuki to wield a knife. It was simply the way fate flowed; it wasn’t anyone’s fault. After all, whether it happened now or years from now, Yuuki would have wielded a knife someday.

Still, she had never witnessed a person die directly in front of her. Typically, Yuuki was involved only after an incident had occurred, but she had never actually gone to see the place where a corpse lay.

High-ranking officials, managed by the state, gathered evidence and analyzed it before handing it over to Yuuki’s family. Then, depending on the information, either her father, grandfather, or Yuuki herself would step in.

The reason Yuuki transferred to Hanagawa High School was due to such circumstances.

To solve a serial murder case that the police couldn’t crack. Although there wasn’t clear evidence yet, high officials in the area already suspected it was not a human murder.

However, the traces simply vanished at some point and had yet to reappear.

Anyway, since Yuuki lived in such a world, she knew just how evil humans could become. Among the yōkai, some were affected by human emotions, leading to some unspeakable trash among those entangled.

Now, while it could be debated whether Yuuki had solved many cases, she was certainly well-informed about the world compared to most kids her age.

But.

“Kotone?”

“…Kurosawa stepped out briefly. She’ll be back soon.”

The intent to call the police was genuine.

Of course, she didn’t think doing so would drastically improve the situation. She had seen firsthand how Kurara was treated at the police station last time. Even after witnessing such scenes, the police did not take legal action.

Surely, the organization behind it wouldn’t allow that to happen.

“Kurosawa?”

Koko tilted her head and spoke.

Koko was unaware of the connection between Kurosawa and Kotone.

It seemed not just a matter of lacking intelligence. Rather, it appeared she simply lacked social reasoning altogether.

Meow.

Meow.

As Kuro hopped onto her lap, making the sound, Koko flopped over onto her side.

Then, she rolled around on the floor, Kuro cuddled in her arms.

Meow. Meow.

Meow.

“…”

When thinking about a socially impaired human, the stereotypical image that first pops up is that of a ‘beast.’

Someone who cannot comprehend relationships and focuses solely on survival. Tragically selfish behavior.

However, Koko was different.

She didn’t hate animals that bothered her and didn’t act aggressively toward people.

In fact, she seemed to find joy in having someone beside her.

So, watching Koko brought all sorts of thoughts to mind.

When she saw Kurosawa’s mother, it felt as if Koko was someone who shouldn’t be out in the world. A being she just wanted to hide away.

Without even a name.

Yet, that very existence now acted like an unparalleled angel in front of Yuuki’s eyes.

“…Why?”

Why is this happening?

Even after vocalizing the line she had repetitively thought all day, the conclusion remained elusive.

She glanced at the clock. Nearly thirty minutes had passed since Kurosawa had stepped out.

Yuuki pulled out her phone.

Even if the police wouldn’t resolve the situation, at the very least, they would help locate Kurosawa. That alone would suffice—

But, luckily enough.

Before Yuuki could press the phone keys, the door flung open.

As if she had been running, Kurosawa entered, panting and sweating.

“Kotone!”

Koko leapt up from her spot.

Meow.

Kuro also stood up, stretching out her front paws. Then she lazily followed Koko, who dashed towards the entrance.

“Koko.”

Watching Koko burrow into Kurosawa’s embrace, Yuuki quietly observed from behind.

Then she slightly turned her gaze and locked eyes with Kurosawa.

Kurosawa’s eyes trembled. She wore a look filled with things she didn’t want to say.

But today, there was no letting go easily.

She needed to thoroughly investigate what had happened, what was the story regarding the yakuza mentioned earlier.

And if—

If Kurosawa was involved in some illegal and self-endangering act for the sake of money, Yuuki decided she must persuade her to come home with her.

—

Seeing Koko clutching onto her made Yuuki certain of one thing.

Koko clearly possessed an intelligence capable of learning something.

Not only did she mimic words or memories, but she could also follow social behaviors.

The concept of ‘hugging’ hadn’t existed for Koko until yesterday. She had been born in pieces, shoved into a refrigerator, and there were many reasons why her remaining body parts shouldn’t be hugged by anyone… well, she just looked that way.

Though she might have been a victim, anyone would have likely bolted or swatted away a cat-sized figure instead of embracing it if they had seen it.

So, Koko must not have known the concept of hugging. Even so, she had indeed learned how to use the bathroom properly.

Koko remembered not to do things she hated or to frown based on what was told.

Because her way of thinking was simple, it could be said she didn’t question when told not to do one thing or to do another.

And Yuuki embraced Koko tightly.

Koko seemed to genuinely enjoy that action.

Yuuki gently detached Koko and walked into the room.

There was Yuuki, looking determined, with an exceptionally serious expression on his face.

“…”

Holding back a sigh that threatened to escape, I knelt on the blanket spread out.

“Where should I start?”

I calmly asked, placing everything in my heart on the table.

Yuuki seemed to have a lot on his mind, but upon noticing my demeanor, he appeared to have resolved not to rush.

Yuuki sat across from me and spoke in a calm voice.

“Then, what was the story about the yakuza?”

—

Naturally, I didn’t share everything.

I assumed Yuuki had some understanding regarding matters related to social circles, but revealing that I was connected to the yakuza felt a bit much.

What’s more, mentioning that the yakuza was connected to Yamashita’s family and that it just so happened that Yamashita was my cousin was still too early to divulge.

Even if I got caught, shouldn’t that be something to tell him beforehand?

“So… you solved a curse that brought you into the yakuza to earn money.”

“Yeah.”

“Alone.”

“…”

That… was true.

By not calling Yuuki on purpose.

“Do you not know how powerful loneliness can be?”

Yuuki asked while gazing intently at me.

“…”

“If you hadn’t been a bit lucky…”

Right.

I could have died.

I had no idea how far Jjapgurasu would allow me to endure the danger.

Would she dislike it if I could die? I guessed so.

If she disliked her plaything getting broken, that would be quite plausible.

The way she cooperated whenever I needed something was suspicious. Jjapgurasu’s terms seemed more like fun conditional restrictions rather than a fair play in a strict sense.

So, let’s just take Yuuki’s words at face value for now.

“If it’s for money, just let me know. I might be able to help somehow…”

“Already receiving too much help.”

“I…”

Yuuki jammed his lips shut as if withholding something.

“…Everything in this room is something you gave me.”

“…”

“Even now, you’re here. So it’s okay.”

Yuuki seemed at a loss for words in response to my statement.

Seeing Yuuki sitting there somewhat touched, a slight pang of guilt welled up within me.

I felt as though I was using someone who helped me.

I didn’t know how to deal with this.

—

We slept side by side.

There was no shortage of blankets. In fact, there were only enough blankets for two people to use, but laying two of them side by side made it feasible for three.

And honestly, no covering blanket was even necessary.

It wasn’t particularly cold at night, and Koko took up the spaces left between the blankets.

Along with Kuro, who squeezed in tightly between us.

Honestly, I had no idea how things would unfold from here.

How I would protect Koko, and how I would resolve the various matters I had set in motion.

“…Koko isn’t a person yet, right?”

Yuuki asked quietly as if unable to sleep.

“…Yeah.”

She had not looked like a person when she initially came into the world, so she wouldn’t be registered as part of the populace. I didn’t know much about how Japan’s residency registration worked, though.

“Tomorrow, can I take care of it for a bit?”

Yuuki quickly continued before I could respond to his request.

“It would be complicated to go through administrative procedures now. I’m sure my grandfather will help out.”

So, he was suggesting to leverage connections in the government.

After pondering for a moment, I answered, “…Okay.”

That answer was undoubtedly required.

If we managed to attend the same school, I might be able to look after her.

Hanagawa High wasn’t just any school, so admissions wouldn’t necessarily be easy.

At the very least, if a nearby protection facility existed, I could leave her there while I went to school.

“Thanks.”

“No, it’s… just something that needs to be done.”

Something that simply had to be done.

I let out a light sigh.

It was the same feeling I had when job hunting for the first time.

There were so many who didn’t share that mindset among the people in the world, and I saw many disrespectful things throughout my work life.

The end wasn’t exactly pleasant either.

I thought I had saved many people but failed to save my own family.

But.

“Thank you.”

I said it once more.

Because I understood just how significant and noble such thoughts were.

I was sure Yuuki, unlike me, would continue to hold onto that thought until the end.

This wasn’t simply because I read it in a story.

It was my personal reflections based on my time knowing Yuuki.

—

The days that followed were relatively easy.

When I returned home from work, both Yuuki and Koko were there.

I had worried about what would happen if Koko distanced herself from her body, but it seemed Koko didn’t care much about it.

“It was fun!”

“Was it fun?”

Hearing Koko exclaim that made me wonder how many words Yuuki had already taught her.

“Since I had only been in the room, seeing outside was just so fascinating.”

“…Wasn’t it tiring? Running all over the place?”

“No, not really.”

Yuuki tilted his head as he spoke.

“I’m not sure why, but… this child seems to comply well when told to do things.”

I had a feeling I understood what Yuuki was thinking—that Koko might have been trained through abuse.

…Were there any conditions during the process of creating her?

Perhaps they intended to condition her to listen to human commands… well, even if I asked Kagami, I wouldn’t receive detailed information, so for now, I could only speculate.

“I’m sure there’s no need to worry too much.”

“…Okay.”

I replied as I observed Koko playing with Kuro on the floor.

I wanted to believe that too.

—

As Yuuki had said, about a week passed without any major issues.

I wasn’t sure if Koko recognized the apartment as her home, but she wouldn’t come out unless I deliberately took her outside.

Oh, right. Perhaps she was scared of people.

Koko seemed a bit frightened of human gaze.

Even though Yuuki had assured her positively, Koko’s social anxiety was surprisingly apparent.

Whenever too many people gathered, she would cling tightly to my back. If a delicious smell wafted in, her curiosity would show, and of course, she would eat well if someone was kind and smiled at her. Koko would relax around someone who treated her kindly, but before such advances, she remained frozen.

It wasn’t that she disliked going out, but she seemed intimidated by people. That was Koko in the outside world.

To make matters more complicated, the fact that our appearances were almost identical made things worse. If anyone recognized us, they would be staring at us.

Is it that astonishing to have identical twins?

Well, I suppose it would be considering we were both cute girls.

Still, as I regularly took her out and about, I could see Koko gradually adapting.

I found that fascinating.

For those who suffered a mental breakdown, it took tremendous effort and time to return to normalcy, especially since even after healing, scars could linger for a lifetime, causing ongoing distress.

Yet, Koko managed to retain her composure after going through all of that.

…Ah, perhaps that was it.

When I considered it, even though I’d carve my wrist each time, I remained a sane individual without a single hint of mental illness—it could be I didn’t think of body mutilation as something particularly severe.

Koko was still alive and well despite all that.

Well, the person that exists within a human could be taken as only about half, so it could be challenging to entirely comprehend that mental state.

Anyway.

After spending a week like that, I grew a bit confident.

At least I was certain it would be fine to show her to my friends.

After all, I had already agreed to tag along for the Sasaki siblings’ summer trip, so naturally, I planned to bring Koko along too. Following that, I also intended to take her to the lantern festival.

Getting familiar with various people would surely benefit Koko.

—

“Wow……”

Shii exclaimed in surprise, alternating her gaze between me and Koko, who was hiding behind me.

“Ah, I’m sorry! You guys look so alike…!”

Although staring fixedly at us could be considered rude, it wasn’t the first time I encountered such a reaction, so I decided to let it slide.

Most importantly, everyone else in that location was looking at Koko and me.

“This is Koko. My little sister.”

In truth, she was more like an elder sister, but I figured referring to her as a sister would be more fitting.

If I said ‘older sister’… it might sound even more pitiable.

Well, in terms of setting, we were indeed declared twins, so there wasn’t much difference. Still, in Asia, titles like ‘older sister’ or ‘younger sister’ carry considerable weight. There are even character attributes tied to calling someone ‘older brother’ or ‘big brother.’

Even if born just a few minutes or seconds apart, a younger sister being responsible for caring for an older one appeared to be far more pitiable.

“…Koko?”

“Yeah.”

I had a fairly commonplace Japanese name, yet Koko sounded like a mascot character plucked from a comic book.

But what can I say? Yuuki had already crafted the character ‘Kurosawa Koko’ with that name. Changing it now would involve a lot of tedious administrative processes.

“Uh, so…”

Sasaki said, looking at Koko.

“That means she’s your twin sister, right?”

As Koko peeked around my shoulder and quickly ducked back behind me upon making eye contact, Sasaki spoke with a look of mild shock.

“Correct.”

I nodded.

“Wow… you really look alike.”

Hagiwara Hachiyo commented, staring blankly at Koko. It had been quite a while since our last encounter at Kudan’s place.

From the looks of it, she didn’t seem to harbor much feeling towards me at the moment. After all, she had once pointed a knife at me and got my face drenched in my own blood, so she would probably wish to forget that day.

“Of course, we are twins.”

Nanami, the childhood friend of Sasaki, remarked.

Yet, despite saying so, she didn’t seem inclined to approach Koko.

Given how little they knew about Koko and me, it seemed she viewed her as a potential rival.

If she ever tried anything with Koko, she might end up disturbing a mentally unstable woman.

With someone like Sasaki, there wouldn’t be the slightest indication of such behavior.

“…”

This time, the attention of the girls turned from Koko and me to Yuuki, who stood confidently by our side.

“What’s this about?” Their gazes seemed to communicate.

But Yuuki merely huffed beneath his breath and said, “I’m Yuuki Yuuka. I’m in the same class as Sasaki and pretty close to Shii.”

To be truthful, he virtually hadn’t met them at all.

That was the agreement we made.

The faces of girls, who had come to enjoy themselves accompanied by the boy they liked, resembled those hit by a lightning bolt.

Uh…

I did feel a bit guilty about it.

But there were duties to fulfill.

If they weren’t going to interfere, I would greatly appreciate it if they could just enjoy themselves.

I felt the weight of Koko, who had gently latched onto my back.

---