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

We not only prepared clothes and swimsuits, but also various other things in advance.

The tube I would use and the tube Kagami would use.

True to the fact that Kagami hadn’t even considered buying a swimsuit before, it seemed she had no intention of getting into the water at all. At first, she only planned to buy a tube for me.

However, just like when she ended up buying a swimsuit, Kagami couldn’t resist my persuasion and ended up buying a tube large enough for an adult to use.

To be fair, I can swim too. I had a job in my previous life where I had to know how to swim. Plus, young children float in water much easier than adults do. Just lying still usually makes them float.

But the danger of swimming in a still pool and swimming in the ocean with waves is very different. As easy as it is for a child to float, it’s equally easy to get swept away in the water, and since they are much weaker than adults, having a tube is the safest option at my age.

It seems Kagami herself realized a bit too late that she would have to follow me into the water no matter what.

…Unfortunately, Kagami doesn’t know how to swim. If it were simply that she hadn’t learned, it wouldn’t matter, but she didn’t even have that option.

“…”

And right before that weekend.

Kagami stared blankly out the window for a moment before going to sleep.

The residential area was quiet. Just a short walk from here, there’s a wide road with people bustling around even at this hour, but once you get a block or two into any city, it soon turns into a quiet street.

The place where we live was just like that.

There wasn’t anything interesting to see out the window, yet Kagami just stared blankly outside.

“Mom.”

Wondering what she was thinking, I approached and tugged at her clothes, causing Kagami to quickly look at me and smile.

“Since we have to get up early tomorrow, shall we go to sleep soon?”

Saying that, Kagami laid me down on the duvet.

A long time ago, when I was a few years younger than I am now, we used to use different duvets. It could be dangerous for a small child to sleep with an adult.

Now that I’m in the first grade of elementary school and can express my feelings properly, it’s fine.

Maybe that’s why I’ve grown accustomed to sleeping right next to Kagami all this time. It seems she doesn’t mind it much, as she hasn’t pushed me away.

Looking back, it seems I got into the habit of huddling close together to withstand the winter cold.

…For someone like me, with a past life, this behavior might be a bit too childish—but I wonder why.

Somehow, even if it was a bit hot, it felt comforting.

After tucking me in, Kagami turned off the light and lay down next to me.

Faint light filtered in from outside.

The sound of an old fan ran regularly, and its breeze gently brushed against my legs. It wasn’t entirely cool, but it was better than having none at all.

Next to our heads were two bags. Since we planned to go out tomorrow morning, Kagami had prepared her backpack and my backpack in advance. Well, the truly important stuff was mostly in Kagami’s bag, while mine contained mostly snacks.

“How do you feel, Koto Ne?”

Kagami, who was lying facing me, asked.

“Are you excited?”

For some reason, I felt that question reflected her own feelings rather than mine.

But yeah.

“Yeah.”

I nodded.

Of course, I was excited.

The days when I thought our relationship was awkward and strange had long passed.

Now we were simply a family who could lean on each other.

So, I was excited.

The fact that the existence I had lost was now by my side.

The fact that I had a chance again.

The fact that we could make new memories and cherish each other again, made me happy. And it made me excited.

“Then we should go to bed early.”

Kagami said this and made an awkward expression for no reason.

I closed my eyes.

Kagami’s hand rested on top of mine.

Rough as always, no matter when I touched it.

…Someday, I hope I can return to how things used to be.

I just hoped it wouldn’t take too long.

*

Just like when Kagami came to pick me up at Yuuki’s house last time, Yuuki kept looking up at Kagami strangely.

After staring up for a while, tilting his head, then turning to the side and looking back up again, he seemed oddly curious.

I could brush it off as a child’s natural curiosity; sometimes kids stare at people’s faces intently.

However, that image didn’t quite match Yuuki.

Yuuki is generally shy. When he first met me and Harumi, it took him some time to even speak, and he hasn’t really bonded much with friends in other classes yet.

I wouldn’t call that behavior particularly strange, but that made Yuuki’s behavior a bit peculiar.

Kagami was definitely a great beauty, but do kids really recognize that properly? Usually, they just think anyone somewhat pretty is “a pretty person.”

Moreover, Miho, who he sees every day… well, although she’s still quite young compared to Kagami, kids often see someone in a school uniform as an adult. She’s pretty too. For him to find Kagami fascinating while being surrounded by such people was a bit odd.

After staring at Kagami for a while, Yuuki finally turned to Miho, who was also waiting nearby.

Then he lightly tugged at Miho’s pants.

“Hmm? Yuuki?”

Miho, who was checking the train tickets, immediately squatted down next to Yuuki.

Yuuki placed his hands next to Miho’s ear and whispered as if sharing a secret.

As Miho listened to Yuuki’s voice, her gaze turned to Kagami, showing a slightly troubled expression.

“No, Yuuki. That’s someone else.”

Someone else?

I tilted my head.

Could it be that Yuuki thought she was family with Yamashita? He might have met her once when he was very young. Is that why he remembers? Maybe Miho was just playing along.

But I wondered if that was really necessary.

Miho smiled bitterly while patting Yuuki’s head.

Yuuki tilted his head and then returned to Kagami’s side.

Kagami seemed to share the same odd response. She seemed somewhat uncomfortable with Yuuki’s gaze, avoiding direct eye contact, looking around instead, and slightly shifting her body.

Yuuki didn’t stop there and circled back to Kagami.

After tilting his head for a while, he then ran over to Yamashita. Just like how Miho had done, Yamashita squatted down in front of Yuuki.

Yuuki raised his hands next to Yamashita’s ear and whispered.

“No, Yuuki. It’s just someone who looks similar.”

Huh?

This time, I couldn’t help but tilt my head too.

What’s this all about? What were they talking about? I wasn’t a real elementary school student, but I still wanted to hear a story about Kagami.

Even though I was Kagami’s daughter, I still didn’t know how we ended up living alone together like this.

But Yuuki didn’t directly ask me either.

*

I thought that because they were Yakuza, they would all ride in a black sedans together, but it looks like I had a fixed stereotype.

Well, after all, they needed to make it feel like a proper outing for the kids.

As Miho was checking the train tickets a moment ago, it’s clear that we took the train to our destination.

Even Yamashita and Fukuda, who usually dress like Yakuza, were… well, now they’re in aloha shirts and shorts.

They may look like Yakuza, but it seems they wanted to have a little vacation vibe.

Miho wore a bright white blouse and short denim shorts. Kagami wore a white dress that she had once worn when going out for a walk with me.

Originally, we were supposed to sit with our respective parents, and Miho was meant to sit across the aisle from Yuuki, but at some point, Harumi and I ended up sitting together with Yuuki and Miho sitting across the aisle.

Since the seat opposite us was reserved, there was no reason for Yuuki to feel uncomfortable. Originally it was reserved for Miho, but… well, it worked out in the end.

Harumi sat by the window, and I was sitting by the aisle, so Yuuki could easily talk to me.

Yuuki had been glancing at me from time to time. Miho seemed tired from preparing since the morning, as she was dozing off. After all, she was older than us and now a middle school student.

Harumi was staring out the window, lost in thought.

“Koto Ne.”

Yuuki quietly called my name.

As I turned my head to Yuuki, who was sitting next to my smiling, it was like he was making a “yay” gesture with his hands cupped in front of his mouth.

Just like he did earlier when he asked Miho and Yamashita.

“Koto Ne.”

Even though I turned my head to look at him, Yuuki called my name once more.

“Yeah?”

Wondering what the question could be that required my name to be called three times, I replied, tilting my head.

“Is your mom… your mom, right?”

“…Huh?”

I blinked at Yuuki’s question.

I didn’t quite understand the meaning of the question.

“So…”

I had to whisper, but the train was noisy, and I wasn’t sure how to ask the question.

With a frustrated expression, Yuuki asked again.

“Our mom… isn’t she?”

“Uh… huh?”

But after receiving that question, I found myself getting even more lost in confusion.

Uh…
What does that even mean? Is it an abstract question only kids could come up with, something that had a lot of unspoken elements to it?
I just stared blankly at Yuuki, thinking hard for what seemed like a long time.

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