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

“……It’s hot.”

When I was young, I used to wake up often because it was hot in the summer.

The impression I had of air conditioning back then was that it was ‘expensive.’

An air conditioner was something you could buy, but in a sense, it was treated like an item not worth the money to get new, if that makes sense?

Summer is short, and there’s a fan, so did I really need to buy an air conditioner? I think I had thoughts like that.

The electric bill was also something to consider.

When the efficiency of air conditioners improved, and my living situation got better, and I started earning money, I eventually did buy one, and then I regretted not getting one sooner.

Not long after that, I found myself alone again.

“……”

My body feels hot.

It wasn’t just the temperature that woke me up. Maybe it was because there were no curtains; sunlight poured in through the open window, and particularly my face was right in the path of a long beam of light, making it incredibly blinding.

It feels like heat is rising from the floor as well.

Whirr, whirr, I could hear the sound of the fan, but it was still so hot. That’s because Kuro was curled up on my stomach while Koko was sleeping snugly beside me. The two living creatures completely blocked the wind from the fan, leaving me drenched in sweat.

I can overlook Koko, but aren’t cats nocturnal?

Or wait, are they sleeping now because they’re nocturnal? The sun is up after all.

I picked up my phone that I had left by my head; it was almost nine o’clock.

Still, for being woken up by external factors, I had a good sleep.

Even though my body was hot, my mind was clear and refreshed. It felt like I had slept really well for the first time in a long while.

Maybe just the fact that I wasn’t alone in the room influenced my psyche quite a bit.

“……Ugh.”

……Either way, I want to wash this sweaty body quickly.

I lifted Kuro, who was sleeping on my stomach, and laid her on the floor.

Not pleased that I woke her up by moving, Kuro glared at me with sleepy eyes but soon settled down in a sunny spot and curled up to sleep again.

Cats really know how to live carefree.

Just a little while ago, Kuro was a stray, but she adapted so well to living indoors. Honestly, I sometimes wonder if she’s adapting a bit too well.

As for Koko…….

“Uweh.”

Koko seemed to have woken up because I got out of bed, rubbing her eyes as she sat up.

What to do?

“……Let’s wash up first.”

“Koto Ne?”

As I took Koko by the hand, she stood up, drawn by me.

Her way of thinking is remarkably childlike.

She has the mindset of a little kid, yet somehow her judgments aren’t that different from an adult’s.

Her perception of space and memory abilities are the same. Sometimes she can’t remember everything at once, but with repeated reminders, she can remember things accurately.

I’m thinking it’s about time I teach her how to wash by herself. I can’t always lead her in.

……She looks just like me, but still, she’s regarded as a different being when I see her in front of me.

*

After a quick wash, I took her out and dried her hair with a towel.

Well, this part must be fleshy, but strangely, the texture feels like hair. The fact that it gets wet is also just like hair.

Well, it doesn’t make sense to argue about physical aspects with a shapeless entity.

I let out a small sigh.

After drying Koko’s hair and my own, I found myself at a loss for what to do.

Watching TV is fine for a day or two, and I was a bit tired of playing games.

You know those days when you just feel bored with the same routine and start wanting to do something different?

“……Should we go out today?”

“Go out?”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

With that, I decided.

I wasn’t sure where exactly we would go. I figured that once we got to the station, something would come to mind.

“How about we eat something delicious out there?”

“Delicious!”

Koko’s eyes sparkled as she shouted.

*

I still have a bit of money left.

More precisely, today, I feel a bit secure. This is because I received a hefty payment for my work this time.

I managed to catch a rare beast, and because I helped with catching that big lump, I got quite a lot. A little luxury today won’t hurt; I should be good for my food expenses for about a month.

I bought two cream puffs, one for Koko and one for myself, and we strolled leisurely.

But as we reached the station, I regretted it a bit.

I could have just taken the bus.

August heat in Tokyo is truly murderous.

As I sweat profusely, I noticed that Koko was sweating too.

I wonder if a part of her is human? I think she must have been made in a way similar to me, but honestly, I don’t quite know.

Sitting inside the station, I pondered where to go.

If that’s the case, I should have called a friend.

Shii…… I met her just a bit ago. Is it okay? I worry that seeing us might trigger some trauma. I have made some friends with Sasaki, although it didn’t feel like I could really invite them to hang out. Maybe I could if Shii invited me.

Besides, if I invite Sasaki, I might end up being restrained by Hagiwara and Nakahara later on.

I’d rather avoid that kind of hassle.

Yuuki…… I feel a bit bad about reaching out to him.

Koko is still in a childlike state, so it feels a bit like I’m dropping her off just because I’m going out. After relying on her so much up to now, I really don’t want to put any burdens on her for the future.

The same goes for other people. I’ve been in touch with the seniors from the literature club, but we haven’t actually met up. I’ve been exchanging emails with the Miura group, but there hasn’t been any discussion about gathering yet.

Wow, I know a lot of people, but I have no one to contact.

I scratched my head.

No, perhaps I was just overthinking it. After living in isolation for such a long time in my previous life, it might have just become a habit for me.

“……”

For a moment, as I sat there blankly—

“Huh?”

My phone vibrated.

“Wha—?”

At my reaction, Koko tilted her head curiously.

The name displayed on my phone was ‘Kaneko-senpai.’

It was a message.

[How have you been?]

I blinked at the screen in disbelief.

Talk about perfect timing.

Even during the break, we’d exchange greetings, and sometimes just chat about nothing through email.

Even if it was idle chit-chat, it was mostly Kaneko who was joking around. I’ve heard some pretty corny dad jokes from her, who was once a true uncle, more than I ever did.

I don’t know if she sends them because they’re really funny or just because she doesn’t want to leave me alone.

[Yes, I’m doing well.]

I replied like that for now.

After staring at the screen for a while, I saw the envelope icon appear again.

[By the way, do you have time this afternoon? Let’s catch up! We couldn’t gather during the vacation after all.]

This person does stick to her theme well.

After a moment’s thought, I answered,

[Sounds good.]

[Izumi is okay with it. Yuuki is in contact.]

…….

Oh, right. If the literature club is meeting up, Yuuki will definitely come too.

But is it okay?

[Shall we decide on a place first? Koo-chan, have you been to Tokyo Tower?]

Tokyo Tower?

Of course I haven’t. I’ve never traveled abroad, and I’ve never purposely entered a place that required admission fee while I was in Tokyo.

“Koko. It looks like we’re going to Tokyo Tower today.”

“Wuh?”

Since it seemed to be Koko’s first time hearing about Tokyo Tower, she tilted her head curiously.

*

To be honest, even though I am an otaku, I’m not too familiar with Japan.

I could come up with quite a few names if you asked me for names of cute girls in anime.

I know that festivals from anime sometimes happen, and that cars drive on the left side of the road, and all that.

But even now, after spending a few months here, the only Japanese scenery I know is just a few parts of Saitama and Tokyo, aside from the beach I went to the last time.

It’s not that I’m complaining. In fact, I was never the type to specifically seek out famous tourist spots even while living in Korea.

Over time, since I had been to most of the notable places in Seoul on my own accord or through others, I’d never particularly searched for tourist sites unless it was necessary.

So, it doesn’t feel right to say, “I’m dissatisfied because I haven’t been.”

But still, it wasn’t that I avoided going either.

I had no motivation to look for places, and I thought, “What’s the point of going alone?” Because if I didn’t have anyone to talk to or have fun with while wandering around, I might just end up going back home before dinner, just to sleep.

But if there are people waiting for me like this, then the story changes.

“Koo-chan… Ah?”

As I spotted Kaneko approaching happily from a distance, her steps slowed down a bit.

The bright smile on her face was filled with confusion in an instant.

“Huh? Huh?”

Then, she looked back and forth between me and Koko repeatedly as if in wonder.

“What’s going on with you two? Are you perhaps doppelgängers?”

Such deduction from self-proclaimed occult research club’s president. In some sense, that’s not entirely wrong, is it? Since it’s true that I’m being mimicked.

“I have no idea.”

Kaneko said this and then hugged Koko and me simultaneously.

And while tightly hugging us, she said, “Ah, this is nice. It’s been such a long time~”

“……Seriously, you’re really a perv.”

Ikeda, who had followed at a slight distance, said that.

Then he focused his gaze on Koko and me.

“So, what happened here? Are you twins or something?”

Ikeda’s voice was dripping with curiosity as he asked.

I nodded.

“Is that so… I had no idea.”

Ikeda muttered with a bit of a spaced-out tone.

“Eh? But don’t you go to our school? Are you attending alternately or something?”

As Kaneko let go of us, she asked.

“Wouldn’t that be weird?”

Ikeda replied to Kaneko as if he was mocking her.

“Ah, well….”

I looked at Koko.

“Wuh?”

Ah, right, I hadn’t introduced Koko to these two yet.

I pointed at Koko and said, “This is Koko.”

“Koko!”

“Koko?”

Seeing Koko calling out her own name, Ikeda tilted his head in confusion.

That’s probably a normal reaction. In all fairness, “Koko” is more of a name you would give to a pet than a person. Or perhaps, it functions better as a name for a magical girl protagonist. It sounds like a name that could exist, but still.

“So it’s… Kurosawa, Koko?”

Ikeda said in a somewhat puzzled expression, and I nodded.

At times like this, being shameless works best. If I act like it’s obvious, the other party will hesitate to make a fuss about it.

“Koko, that’s a cute name.”

Kaneko said as she placed her hand on her chest.

“I’m Kaneko Kaoru.”

“Kaneko? Kaoru?”

“It’s better to let you know just one of the two names.”

Koko understood many things, but strangely, she gets confused when too many names are thrown at her.

Perhaps it’s because she doesn’t grasp the concept of separating a surname from a given name.

Given that she doesn’t even understand that reason, it would make sense.

Meanwhile, since she’s been around others, observing how names are called out, it seems she eventually adapted to it. Last time during our trip, she was confused only a few times and seemed to understand that I’m referred to as “Kurosawa.”

The issue is that she doesn’t understand she’s also Kurosawa.

If she ends up meeting someone with the same name later, she might get confused about her own existence.

……Well, as a matter of fact, even without running into a namesake, I still haven’t learned when to refer to others by their nicknames or names, so I think it’s reasonable that Koko is struggling with it too.

“Uh, um?”

Kaneko showed a rare flustered expression.

“Wuh?”

After Koko gave out that sound and tilted her head, it seemed that the two realized Koko was acting a bit differently.

“Um… Yeah.”

Kaneko momentarily panicked but then closed her eyes and nodded, soon returning to her usual energetic expression.

Then she placed her hand back on her chest and spoke up loudly. “I’m Kaoru!”

“…….”

Can I really be addressed like that?

Well, it doesn’t seem like there’s any rule against it. If you were to ask me if ‘Koo-chan’ or ‘Koto Ne’ feels closer, I’d say it’s the former. The first one is way more of a nickname than a full-on name.

But since Kaneko has bypassed that ‘addressing by name stage’ and started calling me by my nickname, it feels a little strange when she suddenly starts calling me Koto Ne.

“Since it’s like this, let’s just stick with calling you Koto Ne today.”

Is it really necessary to go that far?

But then again, I guess it’s fine since this feels more intimate than some formal address.

Before I could explain that this wasn’t necessary, Kaneko pointed at Ikeda and said, “You can call Ikeda Izumi as well.”

“Why are you giving permission for that?”

Ikeda rolled his eyes in disbelief and said, but then most likely sighed and said, “Alright, I guess so… Yeah, given how long we’ve known each other, maybe this is a chance to do that.”

Ikeda looked at me with a gentle smile that seemed incredibly out of place on him.

That just does not fit.

“No, that—”

I mean, I told them to stick with just one name.

That’s Koko’s designation when she refers to someone, and when we speak to each other, using either by surname or nickname is fine—

“Alright then, Koko, let’s go. There’s a cafe nearby that sells amazing sweet desserts! You haven’t had lunch yet, right? Let’s start off by filling up on sugar calories.”

“Sweet?”

“A lot.”

Hearing Kaneko’s words, Koko’s eyes lit up.

Walking behind Kaneko, Koko looked just like a child following an adult holding candy.

Koko must have felt that Kaneko meant no harm and that I had a certain degree of familiarity with her, but still, the way Koko followed someone she just met seemed a bit unsettling. I thought I’d need to properly educate her later.

“Come on, let’s go, Koto Ne.”

Ikeda said that.

“…….”

The conversation suddenly felt like it zipped past us.

……Well, I guess that’s fine.

Both of them are really good people, after all.

As Izumi said, let’s just consider this an opportunity.

---