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

I was thinking that I would have to make do with bread for lunch, as always.

I had spent quite a bit of energy cheering, but I also felt it was surprisingly manageable.

I pondered why that was, and I realized that I often ended up putting my body through tough situations.

It wasn’t just running around or swinging things; I frequently had to spill blood at least a few times a month.

After that, I couldn’t just eat normally, so I ended up having to be transfused as I lay groaning and fainting all night.

For someone like me, just dancing, yelling, and moving around a bit more was nothing major.

Besides, I didn’t have a part-time job that required me to stand for long periods, after all.

Thinking about it logically, I understood why I felt that way.

So I was contemplating that it wouldn’t matter if I just filled my stomach with bread today when—

“Kotoné-chan! Koko-chan!”

There was a kid waving at us while shouting loudly.

It was Mako, who was in a great mood after winning all her games in the morning dodgeball match. Fukuda and Yamashita were sitting next to her.

They usually had lunch together. If I remembered correctly, they typically went to the student cafeteria.

“…….”

Hmm.

Ah, right.

During the sports festival, the school is open to students’ families as well.

Of course, outsiders can’t just come in unless they have a close relative or family member who is a student. I think it’s a wise rule. With the girls dressed in their sailor uniforms, who knows what could happen if outsiders came in?

One might think of something like “young ladies’ school girls footage” or something.

Well, let’s not dwell on that.

The mention of “family can accompany” meant that those kids’ families could enter too.

While Mako’s father was a bit suspicious in terms of his job, he was dressed in an ordinary suit, so he probably wouldn’t draw too much attention.

Considering it’s the 2000s, one might think, “Isn’t it Mom, but Dad?” But honestly, with such a neat outfit, it wouldn’t be surprising if he had taken a day off to come here.

The real issue was with Yamashita’s and Fukuda’s dads.

No, it wasn’t a significant problem, but…

I wouldn’t think having their dads around was an issue… Still, I felt it might be a bit off to wear white and purple suits at their daughters’ sports festival.

For Fukuda, since he usually had a flashy appearance, it suited his dad in purple, but Yamashita’s dad in white was rather… Plus, Mori, who was next to him acting like a “wife,” looked notably different from Yamashita.

When I heard that Mori had proposed to her at the beginning, I thought she was quite lucky, but now I could see why it was such a difficult situation.

In any case, for various reasons, the three of them were carrying quite colorful lunch boxes, and it felt a bit mismatched.

“This way! This way!”

Mako shouted with gusto again toward us.

I decided to take Koko along and moved closer.

“Oh, Kurosawa-chan, how are you? Is your mother healthy?”

The first one to speak was Fukuda’s father. Fukuda nudged his father’s belly with his elbow.

Well, I suppose Fukuda would know better than me whether Kagami is healthy or not. Well, she probably is. If something serious had happened, she would have come to find me.

Unless she’s too busy to even do that. There seemed to be a reason the fire department didn’t arrive on time yesterday. Apparently, there was a hole in the fire truck’s tire, and some firefighters were in an accident, causing confusion at the fire station.

I remembered hearing about the delayed response of the fire department on the morning news when I saw it in the hospital, and all I could do was feel sympathy.

“It’s been a while, Kurosawa-chan.”

Mako’s father said with a kindly smile.

But the emotion in his eyes didn’t seem purely innocent. He was definitely scrutinizing me.

Last night’s event had undoubtedly come up in conversation with the guy. Did they think Kosuzu would negatively influence the social system? I wish the government would step in and deal with that directly.

…Although, thinking of my previous life where cults were openly prevalent even 20 years later, it might not be that easy.

“……”

“I owe you quite a bit from last time.”

“Oh, no, I didn’t do much…”

Yamashita’s dad was simply observing me without much to say, while Mori bent deeply at the waist, greeting me.

Although I was the one who resolved her solitude, Mori probably didn’t know the full story. I was unconscious back then.

She might have heard the details later, but… I just don’t get the feeling she’s an “insider” here.

I glanced around at the others. It was clear they each had packed full lunch boxes. Although they hadn’t opened them yet, they were definitely filled with lovingly made food.

Or maybe they had bought them from a fancy bento shop.

Either way, I felt a bit bad about just mooching off them.

If only I had brought something with me, it wouldn’t be a problem.

“We don’t have anything—”

Before I could finish speaking,

“Oh, excuse me. Is this Kurosawa Kotoné-chan?”

I heard a sudden voice calling me.

All eyes turned towards the person who spoke.

It was the school guard, who was with Suzuki-sensei. A middle-aged man.

“I’m sorry to interrupt you while you’re talking with your friends.”

Suzuki-sensei said that and slightly bowed her head toward the three of them. They all seemed to understand. After all, she’s the homeroom teacher.

“But I need to ask you something.”

“……What do you want to ask?”

“Well…”

The guard and Suzuki-sensei exchanged a glance before turning toward me.

“A person who says they are your acquaintance has come to deliver a lunch box.”

“……”

In an instant, my eyes widened.

I glanced at Koko again, who tilted her head, going, “Wha-?.”

*

At first, I wondered if Kagami had come.

But as I walked, that thought was easily dismissed.

Kagami had publicly built a ‘bad mom’ image. It’d be strange for someone like that to suddenly show up and hand me a lunch box.

But was there really anyone else who would hand me a lunch box?

If it were Yuka’s family, it would make sense, but they could just enter the school, given they are literally “Yuka’s family.”

As I followed behind Suzuki-sensei and the guard, I had plenty of thoughts racing through my mind, but upon meeting the person at the main gate, all my thoughts were wiped away.

That person was my cafe boss.

The boss stood fidgeting, holding a plastic bag in one hand.

Running into someone I didn’t expect like this is a bit surprising.

Could it be that they closed the café today for this reason?

The boss was aware of the school we attended. He hadn’t asked about it, though. Last time, when Koko was talking about her exams, she had mentioned which school she was taking the test for.

And honestly, how many schools in Japan have such distinct uniforms? Sailor uniforms are almost non-existent even in the 2000s. Hanagawa High School is also quite famous.

So it wasn’t odd for the boss to remember and come looking for me.

What was truly strange was that he went out of his way to find me.

“Do you know this person?”

Suzuki-sensei asked.

I nodded.

“Yes… he’s my acquaintance.”

Had he been a guy, I might have been more suspicious than I was now. But since he was a guy, they probably felt relieved by my statement.

I couldn’t bring myself to say he was my part-time job boss. I wasn’t quite sure how the school rules worked, and if I mentioned that, things could get a bit complicated.

As I stepped outside the school gate and faced the boss, he suddenly handed me the plastic bag.

Inside was a lunch box. A pretty large two-tier lunch box. It didn’t look super luxurious, but it also didn’t seem something you’d find in stores. If he prepared it from the morning, it must have taken quite some time.

“Well, I thought you might not have received a lunch box.”

“……”

Yeah, I had acted like I didn’t have parents before.

…That sounds a bit strange when I say it.

“If it’s inconvenient, you don’t have to accept it—”

“No, thank you.”

In situations like this, it’s not polite to refuse.

If he had said he was going to prepare something from the beginning, I would’ve declined at that point, but since he put effort into preparing it already, and if there wasn’t a grand motive behind it, I figured it was fine to accept.

“…Let’s go inside and eat together—”

“No, no. I have to see to some things.”

As I spoke, the boss quickly cut in. He waved his hands dismissively, and the faint paleness on his face suggested that it wasn’t just a polite refusal. I fell silent as a result.

The statement about having work to do was probably a lie. He had already mentioned he wouldn’t be opening the café today.

“Well then, I’ll enjoy eating this.”

“Oh, right. You do that.”

The boss’s gaze turned toward Koko.

I took Koko’s hand and stood her next to me.

“Koko, the boss gave this to me.”

“Waa?”

Koko looked at the lunch box in my hand.

“It’s food.”

“Waa!”

As I said that, Koko’s face lit up.

“Thank you, I should say.”

“Thank you!”

Koko bowed deeply toward the boss as she said that.

“I’ll enjoy it!”

Um, I didn’t tell her to say that.

I decided to take it as proof that Koko is learning about social interactions. After all, she’s been using a lot more vocabulary lately.

“Well, um, right.”

The boss responded awkwardly and then wiped his nose with his hand.

“Then, do well today?”

It sounded like he was randomly putting together words that came to mind without knowing what to say in that kind of awkwardness, and I just nodded along.

“Thank you.”

“What’s there to be grateful for? I just dropped by since I had some time.”

The boss looked up at our school and then back at us.

“Uh, you can just take the lunch box home with you. I have another one. It’s the same.”

“Yeah….”

Once I responded, an awkward silence fell between us.

“Well then, I’m off. So, you know… do well in both of you. Your outfits really suit you.”

That was an incredibly awkward compliment. He wasn’t someone who usually said nice things, so I could tell just how lacking he was in words right now.

…I suppose it was similar reasoning that led him to refuse the offer to eat together. If we sat down to eat, it would only become awkward.

The boss turned quite awkwardly, pausing first then hurriedly walking away.

I was on the verge of deciding whether to greet him again or not, but I ended up not doing so. Otherwise, he would turn back toward us, and we’d have to exchange awkward greetings a few more times.

Instead, I looked down at the lunch box in my hand.

It felt heavy, suggesting that, aside from the weight of the lunch box itself, it was packed full of food.

“……”

He’s a pretty thoughtful guy.

*

Mako, Fukuda, and Yamashita’s lunch boxes were not just simple high-quality bento boxes.

Each of their lunch boxes didn’t seem like something ordered from a shop. Instead, they radiated that warm feeling one gets from a homemade bento.

Moreover, even if Yamashita’s lunch box was packed by Mori, what did that mean for Mako and Fukuda’s lunch? Did their fathers wake up early to make them?

“Look at this, Harumi! Dad’s cooking skills have definitely improved!”

“…It’s just full of rice balls. You should have just bought them from a specialty shop.”

Fukuda’s father’s lunch box was full of Japanese-style triangular rice balls. The shapes varied slightly in each layer, but it seemed he was gradually getting the hang of it. The last time he might have made even more irregular shapes.

The rice balls in the bottom layer were still somewhat cubical. By this point, perhaps he had some spare time, as a few were crafted into faces using seaweed.

Imagining the sight of a tanned uncle in a cute apron squishing rice balls from the morning made me conjure an image of someone between a craftsman and a housewife.

“Geez. Who only makes rice balls to get the shape right?”

While grumbling outwardly, Fukuda couldn’t help but smile broadly. He even took some photos with his phone from the last layer.

Mako and Yamashita’s lunch boxes had a more classic composition, like the ones you see in Japanese manga.

Sausages cut to look like octopuses, tamagoyaki, fried chicken, and white rice.

Of course, the portions were quite generous.

And—

My own lunch box was similar.

It looked like a plain wooden box at first glance, but on the inside, it was quite colorful. It also had octopus-shaped sausages, tamagoyaki, fried chicken, and rice.

The kids didn’t bother asking where I got mine from.

It seemed like they thought that any answer might sour the mood.

“It’s delicious!”

Koko exclaimed, her eyes sparkling.

Indeed, it was delicious.

Everything was tasty.

Fukuda couldn’t finish all those rice balls and diligently shared them with us and the other kids.

The rice balls contained various fillings, all different. Some had canned tuna and mayonnaise, while others had teriyaki sauce with finely chopped meat.

When we tried the pickled plum inside, I couldn’t help but frown, but I noticed I wasn’t the only one. Everyone else had the same reaction.

Even Koko, who usually enjoyed everything, scrunched her face at that.

Mako’s and Yamashita’s three-tier boxes had some inari sushi and other additions beyond the typical Japanese lunch box items, making it quite delightful to eat.

…..

Ah, right.

I usually ate kimbap here. It was a staple for picnics in Korea, along with inari sushi.

While this was no picnic, I thought it wouldn’t be too bad to try making a lunch box once.

Since it would be a novelty in Japan, I figured I’d try it next time… maybe during the school trip.

After all, waiting until next year or the year after might be too late.

“Is it good?”

“Yeah!”

I patted Koko on the head as she answered while smudging rice on her mouth.

All the kids looked at us with incredibly happy expressions.

Well, if days like yesterday exist, then today was bound to have its light.

At least for this moment, let’s push aside our worries and just enjoy.

I thought about that as I took another big bite of the rice ball that Fukuda handed me.

And then I frowned.

The filling was pickled plum.

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