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

I woke up today to the warm sensation against my side and belly.

“I’ve experienced Korean weather my whole life, where summer feels as hot as California and winter as cold as Alaska,” I thought, but Japan’s summer was even more intense.

Saitama isn’t a coastal area. Sure, it’s right next to Tokyo, so calling it “completely inland” is a bit misleading, but there’s definitely no “beach.”

Still, even in Saitama, the characteristic humidity was strongly felt.

I guess it’s because it’s much further south than Seoul. Even Busan doesn’t see much snow in winter, so Tokyo and its neighboring Saitama must be even worse.

“… Cool.”

…

But looking at Koko, who was curled up next to me and breathing softly, I think it’s better than being alone.

Reflecting on it, part of the reason I brought Koko along was indeed due to loneliness.

If I had to dig deeper into that fundamental feeling, it was fear. But the result of attempting to face that fear with another being was Kuro’s abduction. In some sense, Koko could be considered a gain beyond that.

“Koko. Koko.”

I shook Koko’s body to wake her up.

“Uung?”

“Wake up. We need to prepare soon.”

The sun was high in the sky. In Japan, the sun rises early, but if it was up this much, it couldn’t really be called “early morning.”

Koko, who had been curled up, lifted her upper body with a sleepy expression.

Can she not feel any pain in her back while sleeping like that?

… That would explain it, right? Koko is very straightforward with her emotions. If she felt uncomfortable, she would have changed her position long ago.

Moreover, Koko’s body… can’t really be described as “flexible” in any sense.

“First, let’s eat.”

“Eat?”

Even with her eyes half-open, Koko responded to the mention of food.

Watching Koko react like that sparked a bit of curiosity in me.

She can eat like a human, sweat, has saliva in her mouth, and her eyes are moist like normal people. She doesn’t just look like a person; each part of her seems to function correctly, just like normal humans.

Is this something that can simply be replicated from the outside? The remaining body parts of Koko in the fridge were a bizarre and clumsy imitation of a human body.

Did those parts also have the same functions as a human body?

Sleeping means feeling fatigue and needing to recover. But if I think that a being like Koko, who can melt away, feels fatigue and rests just like a person… it feels like it doesn’t quite add up.

For that matter, it’s impossible to know if the inside is properly represented.

…

Well, I guess it doesn’t matter.

“… Ugh.”

I got up, stretched my arms high, and yawned.

Yeah. It doesn’t really matter.

As long as Koko is beside me, Koko is just Koko. A bit dangerous, but fundamentally a cute and kind child.

That’s all that matters.

“Right, Koko?”

“Uu?”

Koko seems somewhat satisfied too.

I gently patted Koko’s head while she looked up at me, then headed towards the kitchen.

Before going out, first is food.

Should I make some fried rice today? Even if I mess up the portions, Koko probably won’t complain much. She might even like it.

When I was alone, I thought ready-made food was enough. I figured as long as I could fill my stomach with some soy-sauce-dressed bean sprouts stuffed between bread, that was good enough.

Even when friends came over, I thought it wouldn’t matter if I ate the same thing for a day or two. After all, isn’t it just standard food for a student living alone?

But, I can’t do that with Koko.

If Koko was just spending a few days, I might have simply given her instant rice or ramen, but since she’s someone who will stay with me for a long time,

I need to feed her properly.

The food expenses might increase a bit, but since Kagami said he would take care of tuition-related things, I’ll just leave that to him.

As I was in the kitchen, tossing simple ingredients into the frying pan, Koko approached me with her nose in the air.

“I’m waiting. It’ll be done soon.”

“Uu.”

Koko doesn’t seem to like the word “wait.”

But thankfully, it seems she understands the meaning of “you have to wait.”

Koko waited by the door, playing with Kuro as the cooking finished.

A little while later, the fried rice was a bit bland compared to what I expected—

But, Koko cleaned her plate without any complaints, not leaving a single grain of rice.

Seeing Koko proudly show me her empty bowl made me unconsciously smile.

… Peaceful.

Thanks to the constant sound of cicadas outside and the television, which was turned on in the background of our home, a strangely nostalgic atmosphere enveloped the room.

The place was different, the food different, and there were various subtly different aspects of life, but—

Despite that, I found myself strangely recalling memories.

Why is that?

Could it be that I’m projecting my younger sister onto Koko—

“… Ah, no. That can’t be.”

I quickly shook my head to deny it.

My sister wasn’t nearly as affectionate.

I hardly ever called her “older brother.” But back when I had to pick her up from daycare instead of our busy parents, I think I was called that. But at some point, that transformed into simply “Ya.” It’s not that she never called me “brother,” but it was probably about 60-40.

I have no idea why.

Maybe my sister didn’t know either.

“Uu?”

Koko tilted her head, so I hurriedly patted her head.

“No, no, you did well.”

I said it wasn’t like that, then suddenly praised her.

My back and forth may have confused Koko a bit, as she had a somewhat bewildered expression.

*

August 16.

The last day of Obon.

We both dressed up nicely and went outside.

Unfortunately, the clothes we used during our summer outing had both been soaked and were now unwearable. However, since we had packed a few changes, we had something to wear, but we had put a lot of thought into those clothes to wear throughout our vacation.

Fortunately, the clothes we bought while out with Miura, Yamashita, and Fukuda, didn’t get ruined.

We succeeded in not bringing anything that would be completely useless.

After all, I always had to bleed when dealing with Yōkai. Though now I’ve learned enough to handle it.

… Well, I can’t say I’m too thrilled about it.

So, I wore the dress I bought back then. I put Koko in the white short-sleeved shirt and shorts I wore when visiting Kaoru and Izumi.

Since it was our first time meeting friends, I made sure to style Koko’s hair a little.

The sun was hot.

We had been exposing our skin to the sun as we played around, yet both of us had no tan lines whatsoever.

While at first glance, it might seem like our skin would burn easily even with just a little sun exposure… I wonder if it’s due to the fact that it easily bruises if hurt?

Well, I decided to just accept that.

We headed towards Minato Ward, near the school.

“Oh, what’s this?!”

The three of them had arrived a bit earlier than us.

The moment Fukuda saw us, she rushed over.

With her gaze moving eagerly, she asked,

“Which one of you is Kotoné-chan?”

No matter how you looked at it, her reaction was like a child who just got a new toy, but Fukuda was of a fundamentally kind nature, so there was no need for major worries.

“I’m Kotoné.”

“Wow… Ah, you’re wearing the clothes we bought together. Did it confuse you?”

That’s also a factor.

“By the way, twins, huh? When I heard about it, I didn’t really believe it, but seeing you two now, you really do look exactly alike!”

Fukuda said it with a laugh as if she was delighted.

“This… girl, what’s her name?”

“Koko.”

“Koko!”

As I spoke her name, Koko immediately echoed it.

Fukuda blinked in surprise, looking at Koko, then at me.

“Uh, hey there?”

Seeing me, who usually didn’t have a wide emotional range, Fukuda must have found Koko fascinating in many ways.

There are people like that. It’s hard to imagine that person has a “neighboring face” or can’t picture them angry.

When such a situation arises, you go, “Why couldn’t I picture that?” but until you see it for yourself, it’s hard to visualize.

It often happens that you don’t even think to imagine it.

For others, Koko must give off the impression of a “lively Kurosawa Kotoné.”

“I’m Harumi.”

But Fukuda surprisingly adapted quickly and placed her hand on her chest, introducing herself.

“Harumi!”

“Hahaha! She’s really cute!”

Fukuda seemed to be thoroughly enjoying it.

Yeah, I thought she would give off such an impression. Even when I remained expressionless, she didn’t hesitate to play with my hair.

“You’re a bit different in personality.”

And that made me feel a little relieved.

It seems Fukuda… doesn’t see Koko as a child with disabilities. Although perhaps it’s due to certain aspects of their personalities being somewhat similar, I can’t say for sure.

Then again, we had only exchanged a few words thus far.

“By the way, I was surprised too.”

Miura, who had come closer, said.

“I hadn’t heard about you having a sister…”

While glancing over at Koko repeatedly, Miura asked me with a serious expression.

… In Miura’s mind, I was a terribly pitiable child. I was still not sure how to resolve that misunderstanding, so I had felt it was best just to leave it for now. Miura saw me as a “victim of sexual assault.”

Always alone at home, abandoned by my mother, my only family.

The very definition of a neglected child from a dire situation.

For her, the very fact that I had a “little sister” would be astonishing.

Everyone, Miura, Fukuda, and Yamashita, knew somewhat about my situation, but it seemed Miura was the one with the biggest misunderstanding.

“… I was able to find her recently.”

I decided to not go into too much detail.

The best way to hide a secret is to be vague. So if someone confronts me later, I can say it was just a misunderstanding.

And honestly, I couldn’t just say that Koko had become this way after I stuck her parts that I found in the fridge onto a huge, unknown, snail-like nose.

“…”

Everyone fell silent at my words.

I silently apologized to Kagami in my heart.

I’m sorry.

It seems like your image among my friends just dropped down even further.

I can’t be sure if there’s more of a drop down from there, though.

… Nevertheless, it was still Kagami who had put Koko’s parts in the fridge, so it wasn’t exactly a lie. If they were putting things in, they should have at least properly accounted for the leftovers remaining.

Well, I understand. If her body is like a slime, wobbling and wriggling with its head and limbs sprouting everywhere, then losing one part would actually be acceptable. It’s not even clear where the missing part would be in the first place.

“… That person.”

Yamashita murmured.

While Yamashita still kept a quiet and subdued demeanor, the days spent with me, as well as my helping Mori-san, had built a close relationship between Yamashita and me.

In fact, I could even say we’re pretty good friends.

Considering that Yamashita had already seen Kagami looking like that in front of me, it meant that my overall impression must have plummeted.

…

But I wonder if Yamashita knew about her mother’s previous lineage? If she did know, wouldn’t she have reacted when she heard the surname “Kurosawa”?

Then again, “Kurosawa” is a surname that isn’t solely exclusive to any one family. For example, I know of at least one of Japan’s most famous film directors who shares this surname.

Even if she recognized the overlap, it probably just flew over her head without much care.

Even if a classmate claimed to not know their cousin, it wouldn’t be easy to be overly suspicious unless they had known that fact from the outset.

“… So now we lived together.”

Feeling an awkwardness in the air, I quickly spoke up.

The three exchanged glances.

“I’m Miura—”

As Fukuda took a step forward from beside her, placing her hand on her chest, she stopped short.

“I’m Mako.”

“Mako!”

Since Fukuda had just straightforwardly stated her name, Miura seemed to have caught on to Koko’s condition somewhat.

Was she thinking it would be easier to call out her name here?

“… Yuuki.”

Finally, Yamashita also introduced himself similarly, placing his hand on his chest.

Since the previous two introduced themselves by name, Yamashita followed suit.

Hmm… well, that’s fine.

I thought it wouldn’t be necessary to provide any awkwardness to the three who just wanted to introduce themselves, so I nodded and took Koko’s hand.

“So, where should we go first?”

“Hmm… I initially thought we could walk around a bit outside.”

Fukuda glanced at the sky, and we all followed her gaze.

There were clouds, but not enough to block out the scorching sun. Though even if they did block it, it would still be incredibly hot.

“Well, let’s first go somewhere cool and take a little break. You guys were on the subway until just now, right? We still have a fair bit of time before we smoke.”

During Obon, they set fires to call the spirits of their ancestors, and on the last day, they set fires to send them off. I had done some research myself.

Though I picked up this information while idly watching TV yesterday.

I guess the lantern festival that supposedly was held at shrine is also an extension of that. I’m unsure why it’s not held by the river but at a shrine’s pond, though.

“Oh, right.”

Fukuda suddenly clapped her hands as if she remembered something.

“Koko, do you want to try wearing a yukata?”

“Yukata?”

Koko tilted her head, asking.

“You know, kimono.”

“Kimono?”

“Um….”

It seems even Fukuda is a bit taken aback that she wouldn’t know something like this.

Miura and Yamashita’s expressions looked a little serious from the back.

That… well, Koko might not know much about yukata… No, wait. It would be strange if a teenage girl living in Korea didn’t know much about hanbok, anyway.

As I contemplated how to explain it,

“It’s a pretty outfit.”

“Pretty outfit!”

Upon hearing my explanation, Koko’s eyes lit up.

Fukuda’s face, which had lost its cheerful vibe, shifted between Miura and Yamashita.

Then it seemed like all three settled on a resolution.

“Let’s definitely wear it.”

And Fukuda turned back to us, firmly holding both of Koko’s hands, saying that.

… Hmm.

If I think about it as giving Koko more experiences, there’s nothing wrong on my end.

So, I decided to just go along with what the three were leading toward.

*

“… Kotoné-chan.”

After spending some time sitting in a cafe, we rented yukata at a nearby place and were leisurely walking down the sunset-lit street when Fukuda casually came beside me and spoke.

“… Uh-huh.”

Unlike her usual self, Fukuda didn’t seem lighthearted at all, so I answered her seriously.

Fukuda contemplated for some time, trying to figure out if she should say this or not, then finally opened her mouth.

“… So, about your mother.”

She probably tried to say this as carefully as she could. In reality, it wouldn’t matter if I blurted out Kagami’s name, but to others, it would just look like a biological mother.

I guess she seemed to have a bit of resemblance. My eyes weren’t completely squinty, though.

“It seems she has gotten a bit close with your dad.”

“…”

Hmm…

What was that?

Don’t tell me the odd remark about having a little sister wasn’t just a joke? I’d prefer to deny that.

“So far, it doesn’t seem to be anything serious.”

Fukuda said with her brow furrowed in thought.

“Ah, I don’t know. I just felt like I had to say it.”

“… I understand.”

I nodded.

It might not be someone who opposes it or dislikes it.

That’s what Fukuda seems to see in Kagami.

On the contrary, it might be more bizarre how Fukuda’s father interacts so casually without a care.

Since I don’t think of it as a serious relationship, it’s easier for me to engage without worrying.

“Uh, do you need any help?”

Fukuda cautiously spoke again, looking straight ahead.

Koko was there.

Sandwiched between Miura and Yamashita, Koko looked quite happy.

When Koko was having fun, her peculiar sounds, like “Uu,” “Kyaha!”, and “Wawaa,” would be heard, suggesting she really was genuinely enjoying herself.

“… I’m fine for now.”

“Really?”

… Fukuda hasn’t said something like this before.

“Really.”

I answered sincerely about this.

“Even if it looks like that, she’s someone who provides the bare minimum of support.”

And I subtly voiced my support for Kagami.

No matter what, she helped me with tuition. Well, even if I needed things like school uniforms, I was buying them with my own money, but if I asked Kagami for help with that, she’d likely jump at it.

It’s just that I was too wrapped up in my own feelings to bring it up.

… It may be a bit late for that now.

“… Is that so?”

Fukuda replied with a somewhat strange expression.

“Yeah.”

After all my comments, Fukuda didn’t seem like she wanted to press for any further answers, so she shrugged.

“Kotoné!”

Koko suddenly turned her body towards me while pointing at something.

“Yeah?”

“Look!”

She pointed to a torii gate.

In Korea, churches or cathedrals often sit right in the middle of cities, so it’s a bit understandable, but I never really gave it much thought.

Temples are also quite common in urban areas.

Nonetheless, a shrine has a uniquely Japanese atmosphere, so even thumbing it down right in the middle of the city feels refreshing.

Then again, everything feels novel to me. To my eyes, it’s just a foreign tourist spot.

A small shrine nestled in the town. Fukuda was right.

There were lots of people around.

I hurried forward and grabbed Koko’s hand.

“…”

Miura, upon witnessing that scene, seemed to have unconsciously smiled, covering her mouth with her hand.

“Well then, let’s go.”

Fukuda said that and took the lead.

The yellow-based yukata perfectly complemented Fukuda’s raised hair.

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