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

It’s a dream.

Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve had many dreams since coming to this world.

Perhaps I’ve dreamed but forgot.

I’ve had a lot on my mind, and many worries in the days that have passed.

I made friends, and things have improved significantly compared to the beginning, but I still don’t know much about this world.

I walk for at least an hour every day combined for going to and from school, and when classes end, I have a part-time job. The same goes for weekends—I couldn’t rest and worked instead.

Moreover, in an effort to save money, I barely ate, and yet I continued the habit of going to bed late and waking up early, like an adult.

Of course, I always slept like I fainted.

Every time I opened my eyes in the morning, I thought, “Did I just fall asleep?”

So, it should have been like that this time too.

I bled a lot, and I was extremely exhausted. Frankly, it would be more fitting to say that I fainted rather than just fell asleep.

But…

The surroundings are noisy.

Car horns keep blaring.

It doesn’t seem like someone is deliberately honking. It feels like something is firmly pressing down on it.

I was wearing firefighting gear. When I raised my hand, I found thick gloves on, making me unsure if this was truly my body or the body from my previous life.

Flames were rising from several cars.

People were running around me. Some were also wearing firefighting suits, others were in orange t-shirts carrying things, and there were ordinary people assisting the injured.

Ah.

I only have bad memories related to fire.

I thought as I looked at the burning cars.

Besides, this situation is the worst.

I understand what this situation is.

That’s why I know it’s a dream. These things don’t happen twice.

The dream I have repeated over and over again.

The most crushed of the seven cars that collided was the one in the middle. Unfortunately, it was so wedged between the front and back cars that it was hard to recognize its shape.

Even if the airbags deployed properly, if a truck came from behind and there was a large van in front, it would be useless.

And if the car was on fire…

The white midsize sedan was crushed flat from the front and back, and there was even a fire in the front seat.

Water was poured over it. Strong water sprayed from the fire hose brought by the fire truck, extinguishing the flames on the car.

But it was already too late. The people trapped under the driver’s seat and the passenger seat, behind the burning airbag, were burned beyond recognition.

In the back seat of the dripping wet car, one person was sitting between the crumpled driver’s seat and the back seat.

Face, chest, knees, legs.

In a space so crammed that it was impossible for a single person to fit comfortably, a person hung their arms limply.

In their left hand was a small wristwatch I also knew, ticking away.

Blood dripped down.

Even after all that pouring of water, the blood didn’t drain out completely.

As I blankly walked towards the car, a colleague grabbed my shoulder.

When I turned around, I saw my peer’s face pale with fear.

I knew who the car belonged to. I even knew who the girl sitting in the back seat was. I was close enough to know who was in the front seat.

The three of them had gone out to play and were on their way back today.

There was probably a gift for me in the car.

My sister, who always chirped whenever she saw me, seemed a bit upset that I couldn’t join her for the university acceptance celebration trip.

But what could I do? That was my job.

Now, my younger sister would never chirp at me like that again.

No, could I even say there was a face left?

*

…

When I opened my eyes, it was already dark.

Still not completely out of the dream, I finally realized where I was lying—it was a hospital.

This is the worst. After having a dream for the first time in a while, it had to be this kind of dream.

…No, wait.

More precisely, the dreams I have are highly likely to be like this.

Every time I took night shifts afterward, I’d walk around the neighborhood several times before going home to tire myself out.

If I’m extremely tired, I don’t dream. Even if I do, I can’t remember them.

Was it because I saw such a scene today?

It probably was.

…Koko.

Koko—ah.

I could hear the soft sound of gentle breathing.

Clumsily having climbed onto the not-so-large single patient bed, there was a child curled up half over my body.

It was a child that looked exactly like me now.

A formless silhouette that reflected my own image was here.

“Hoo.”

I sighed deeply.

Yeah. She’s safe.

…

What about the other kids?

Struggling to lift my still heavy body slightly, I looked around.

Yuuki was safe. He had pulled a chair over next to my bed and was half-propped up on the bed, asleep.

Hagiwara, Nakahara, Sasaki, and Shii were nowhere to be seen.

Those four…

But, I didn’t dare to wake Yuuki or Koko.

The moment Yuuki saw me, he’d probably start asking all sorts of questions. I would have to explain everything I had been hiding so far, and that didn’t seem easy.

But I also didn’t want to fall back asleep.

I felt like I would continue that dream.

…I hate that.

I glared at the hospital ceiling.

Even in a hospital this far away, was I in a private room?

Once more, I had to owe Yuuki.

“…”

As I slowly opened my eyes, only negative thoughts filled my mind.

What should I do?

Really, what should I do?

In the end, I sat there for almost several hours, mulling over the thought of “what should I do.”

*

“…Are you okay?”

But despite my worries, the first thing Yuuki asked was that.

Ah, of course, that wasn’t the first thing he blurted out.

He rubbed his eyes, sat up, caught my gaze, opened his mouth slightly, shook his head hard as if to gather himself, cleared his throat a few times, and after about ten seconds of searching for words in his head, he finally asked me that.

“…Yeah.”

“…”

Yuuki looked at me with a knowing expression, as if understanding that I wasn’t okay, and his face stiffened.

He glanced at Koko, who was sleeping awkwardly on the bed, before turning back to face me.

“…Kurosawa.”

“Yeah.”

“Is Koko okay?”

“…”

I fell silent for a moment.

What kind of entity is Koko?

For now, I think it’s appropriate to assume she’s a being similar to me.

That lump of flesh from yesterday was certainly made similarly to us. In some ways, she resembled Koko very closely.

But there was a critical difference.

The chill I felt when looking at it.

I didn’t feel that chill when I looked at Koko. If I had felt something like that, I should have felt it from the first day. The snoring sounds were already coming from the next room back then.

Maybe, the materials used to make Koko and me didn’t include Yōkai.

Human and something other. It would be correct to assume she was born between those two.

“Maybe, she’s a being like me.”

“…A being like you?”

“…”

I thought for a moment and put a word out.

“…A failure.”

“…”

Yuuki said nothing.

He just stared at me with a pale face.

He probably felt a lot from that word.

In the past, he might have thought of an escapee from home, but now he might be thinking of something more distant from humanity.

“…I am.”

“It’s okay.”

As I opened my mouth, Yuuki shook his head.

His hands overlapped on top of my right hand.

“You don’t need to say anything else.”

Yuuki looked at me with teary eyes as he spoke.

“From you, I feel nothing.”

“…”

“So, it’s not true. Neither you, nor Koko. Understood?”

“…”

I nodded.

Yuuki couldn’t be called a representative of humanity. He was working in that direction, but he was somewhat ambiguously positioned in that regard.

But still…

Hearing those words from someone like Yuuki, one of the ‘protagonists’, felt like being granted permission to exist in this world.

I bit my lip and held back my tears.

*

After waiting a little longer, Koko woke up.

During that time, I had discussed the other kids with Yuuki.

When I heard the story about Koko and Nakahara, Koko had shielded Nakahara with her body to protect her from the men. Nakahara had no injuries. That meant that Koko had fought hard inside the car.

“Why didn’t you escape?”

It seemed Hagiwara had asked Koko that.

“With your ability… it should have been possible to get out of the car, even if I hadn’t stopped.”

“Koto Ne told me not to.”

And Koko answered like that.

Because I told her not to kill.

Because I told her not to hurt anyone.

Koko knew too. That if the car flipped in that situation, everyone could be hurt, she thought that way.

The men, too, and Nakahara wouldn’t have been safe.

Because I told her not to.

My heart broke at that thought.

“…Koko.”

“Koto Ne?”

As I spoke to the awake Koko, she, for some reason, turned to me from her spot on the bed and tilted her head.

What should I say to her?

I thought for a moment and slowly opened my mouth.

“…You did well.”

“Wah?”

Koko blinked at my words, and her face brightened.

“But from now on… if it really seems like it’s dangerous… it’s okay to hit them as long as they don’t get too badly hurt.”

“Is that okay?”

“Because you are more important.”

Koko’s eyes widened.

This really makes her cat-like. When ordinary people widen their eyes like that, it’s usually scary.

…To put it another way, it meant I looked that harmless. Since she looked just like me.

Yeah. It was like looking at a reflection of myself in a mirror.

Not only that.

Koko is… a mirror reflecting me.

Whatever I do, she follows my actions like a mirror.

Having met me in a state of not knowing anything, without having learned anything from anyone, Koko was following my thoughts, words, and actions one by one.

How that is even possible, I don’t know well.

The question from Kagami about Koko’s identity.

It seemed like a determination to never let her use her powers, sealed tightly, one by one, breaking apart.

When you combine those facts, several conclusions emerge.

That they considered that power to be dangerous and sealed it.

And that such a dangerous being, for some reason, follows my words.

“Koto Ne!”

“Gah.”

Koko suddenly leaped at me, and Yuuki screamed.

*

“…Haa.”

Hagiwara scratched his head, frowning.

“So, you’re saying it’s related to that ‘religion’ you believe in? You don’t really know the details?”

“…Kagami treats me like a complete failure.”

At my words, Hagiwara frowned.

I didn’t go into details. I just said we were in a position being used by some religion, and as a result, we ended up like this.

Strictly speaking, it’s not a lie.

It has the condition of ‘from birth’ attached, but.

Whether Hagiwara realized that or not, he simply stared at me.

And then looked at Yuuki.

Yuuki maintained a perfectly expressionless face.

After noticing Koko, who was sitting on my bed munching snacks, Hagiwara let out a deep sigh.

“You know? Thanks to you getting involved, Sota has gotten tremendously interested in this matter. Ugh, he’s usually nosy, but now he’s trying to meddle with you too.”

…Is that a good thing when he’s that nosy?

“If Sota gets seriously hurt because of you, I won’t let it slide.”

“If that happens, then I won’t just sit back.”

Yuuki said at Hagiwara’s words. Hagiwara snorted as if to say it wasn’t really scary.

He opened his mouth as if to shoot something back, but then looked back at me and closed his mouth instead.

Then, he stared at me with a complicated expression.

“…For now, I won’t dig any further. I’m sure Sota will meddle if I do something to you.”

“…”

“Even so, someday. If you end up on the other side from us, I won’t hold back then, even if Sota is next to you.”

I see.

Hagiwara…

Indeed, there have been no half-human, half-Yōkai beings in novels, so I couldn’t know how Hagiwara might act in that situation.

Even if we assume he would mercilessly cut my neck or eventually bring the knife down, all those options make sense.

Hagiwara stared at Koko, who was munching snacks innocently, and let out a deep sigh.

“You won’t tell the cathedral, right?”

“Well, I’m on vacation, after all. If we went according to the original plan, we should have gone with Sota by now, right?”

No way, but you’re a nun, aren’t you?

“What does being a nun have to do with it?”

“…?”

“Hey, it’s written all over your face.”

Hagiwara said, pushing her bangs back in disbelief.

“God said to be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth. Am I wrong for following that doctrine strictly?”

What a typical light novel character interpretation.

“Besides, I… no, never mind.”

She closed her mouth as if she was going to say something.

Could you please finish what you were going to say?

“Well, that’s all I have to say. … For now, I’ll reserve my judgment. My actions will depend on how you all act. I don’t want to end up cutting down a school junior either.”

“…”

“Instead, wouldn’t it be good to think about how to explain this to the other three?”

As Hagiwara said that, she glanced at the door of the hospital room.

The door was slightly ajar, and the faces of the kids peeked through.

“…”

I exhaled softly.

*

“…Um, about that.”

Nakahara was the first one to speak up.

Approaching Koko tentatively, she cautiously asked.

“Are you okay?”

“Uh?”

Koko tilted her head, seemingly not understanding what that meant.

“You got stabbed with a knife and bled. And back in the car…?”

But when Koko tilted her head again, Nakahara looked at me as if seeking help.

“…Koko will be okay.”

“…”

However, even with that reassurance, Nakahara seemed a bit unconvinced. After a moment’s hesitation, she hugged Koko tightly.

“Thank you, Koko. Really.”

“Wah?”

Suddenly pulled into a hug, Koko blinked for a moment, then burrowed into Nakahara’s arms. Seeing her giggling was likely a good sign.

…Nakahara, surprisingly well-endowed.

“Excuse me~”

As everyone watched that warm scene, Hagiwara raised a hand from near the window.

“You were the one who made the hole in the car, though? And you clung to the car while sprinting away!”

What the heck.

Are you even human?

Well, in this world, humans sometimes pull off such stunts.

In movies like 007 or Mission Impossible, it’s not unusual for people to fly around like that.

“…”

“Huh? Ignoring me!?

As if encouraged by that remark, Hagiwara shouted, watching Nakahara hold Koko tighter.

…

Still, I’m glad things didn’t completely go south.

But she would definitely need care. There’s no way she could remain completely mentally stable after going through such an event. It would likely leave a trauma.

This was… my fault.

I should have been more careful.

But perhaps realizing my expression, Yuuki tapped my hand.

When I looked at Yuuki, he shook his head, as if to say not to worry too much.

…Yeah, worrying won’t solve anything. Looks like Yuuki has some thoughts on this matter.

For now, all I could do was do my best going forward.

“Sasaki, Shii.”

I called out to the two.

“…I’ve heard from Yuuki.”

Sasaki spoke calmly.

“My blood has that… ‘Yōkai’ slaying power.”

“Exactly.”

“…How did you know?”

I pondered for a moment. How should I explain that?

“It just feels similar to me.”

“If that’s the case, our family—”

“—That’s not it.”

I cut him off firmly.

Sasaki’s father does quite well as a businessman, but that’s pretty much it. In the story, he comes off as thoroughly ordinary.

No, he’s not exactly ordinary when it comes to how he treats his children, but at least he’s ‘ordinary’ in the sense of ‘not like that’. He ended up helpless during the later Yōkai-related incidents.

The same goes for the Sasaki family on their mother’s side.

That’s ancient blood, probably forgotten through various branches, or perhaps it’s just coincidence.

Or there might be a third reason.

We could take our time to figure that out someday.

“…I’ll help too.”

“…”

Probably, having gotten this far, I wouldn’t be able to push them away. That’s just who Sasaki is.

“If you ever need help, I’ll step in.”

“I-I’ll help too! If you have such power, then I…”

“…”

You can tell she’s the typical protagonist’s sister.

But Shii also needs mental care, just like Nakahara. She’s been in dangerously tight spots before.

And because of that, I couldn’t refuse so easily. Shii had a compulsive fear of becoming useless.

For now, I simply nodded without answering.

“You’re already being plenty helpful.”

At my words, Shii beamed happily.

“…”

Yuuki silently observed that moment.

…Vacation ended like that.

Everyone seemed relatively okay ‘considering’, but in this situation, they wouldn’t have the mental strength to laugh and play cheerfully.

But still…

Everyone was unharmed.

At least for that fact alone, I thought we should be grateful.

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