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

Chapter

The first thing that came to my mind when I opened my eyes was my school uniform.

Of course, I was aware of the situation.

Yuuki probably succeeded in dealing with the Nue. And the Nue I stabbed must be dead too.

As for my body… it probably recovered quickly, just like when I caught the demon.

So the only thing I really needed to worry about right now wasn’t my body recovering for free.

As for my summer uniform, I have another one at home. I washed it by hand, wrung it out, and left it to dry, so I could wear it tomorrow morning, but the problem would be the day after that.

I couldn’t wear the tattered rags again. And I certainly couldn’t put on the sailor uniform soaked in sweat and dirt without washing it first.

In the end, the conclusion was simple: I needed to buy another school uniform.

“…….”

I slowly raised my body.

The night in the hospital was not as quiet as I expected. The patient room lights were off, but the hallway lights were on, and nurses were constantly moving around checking on patients.

But since I didn’t hear any of that, it seemed I was in a private room once again.

When I was hospitalized before, Miura had taken my spot, and the next time, Yuuki did. I wondered who it would be today.

The people who brought me here were the ones who knew why I collapsed.

Yuuki and his grandfather were professionals in this field. It was easy to think that they had connections with cooperating hospitals in Tokyo, as it was impossible for them to be completely unscathed.

As for Kaneko… it was easy to assume her family was well-off. I heard that parents who were famous that night prevented the club members from bullying Kaneko.

I was wearing a patient gown. The condition was clean. I couldn’t feel any bandages wrapped around my body.

There was an injection needle stuck in my left wrist again. The IV line connected to it was red.

I let my arm fall limply and let out a deep sigh.

The sun outside was slowly rising.

The sky was still red.

…I have to go to school.

First, let me figure out the situation a bit more. It seemed there was no one in the hospital, so let’s at least get up from my bed—

creak.

Just as I was trying to get up, the hospital room door opened.

The person who walked in and made eye contact with me was Kaneko.

With her eyes bloodshot, it looked like she hadn’t slept a wink last night.

“Ku-chan!?”

Kaneko screamed like that and rushed over to embrace me tightly.

It was a different hug than the one we shared before; it was dry and fluffy. Honestly, it felt nice. It seemed Kaneko had washed up since her hair smelled slightly of shampoo.

“Are you okay?”

“…I don’t think I’m injured.”

“No injuries, you say? I saw you in that state right in front of my eyes yesterday!”

Well… was it really that bad?

Come to think of it, if I was that injured, it would be difficult to survive the night.

I… probably had endured because of my body’s peculiarities.

“Did you wake up?”

The one who came in saying that was Yuuki. He also seemed to have washed and changed clothes. Well, hours had passed, so that was natural.

“What about the Nue?”

“I hunted it.”

Yuuki replied.

“And by the way, the term ‘Nue’ is technically incorrect. We haven’t settled on what to call it exactly. It’s not like anyone is going to name it first. It’s awkward to call it a ‘Nue-like creature,’ so we just call it ‘Nue.’ But at this point, I guess it doesn’t matter.”

In modern times, it appears they simply took the name of the Nue, so it is indeed ‘Nue.’

“Since you caught one, I’ll pay you the payment today. Cash is fine, right?”

Yuuki said this while sitting in a chair next to my bed.

So, it would be two thousand yen.

I felt a bit proud thinking that in terms of hourly wages, it was a very high rate.

“……”

Then, noticing my expression, Kaneko’s face turned slightly blank.

“Wait a minute. Payment, you say?”

Kaneko asked Yuuki with a serious expression.

“Kurosawa has the ability to deal with those kinds of beings, so we signed a part-time job contract. Each case has a fixed payment.”

“Ku-chan? You’re not putting your life on the line for this, are you…?”

“……”

Yuuki fell silent at Kaneko’s words.

“I agreed to do it.”

I stood up for myself.

“After all, I was going to do it anyway, even without payment.”

“Ku-chan…”

“There are families like this.”

Yuuki said.

“Maybe Kurosawa comes from a similar family. Perhaps one even older than the one I belong to.”

According to what I told Yuuki, I had distanced myself from such a family. Still, in some ways, he was right. If I wanted, I could collect money earned from that social circle.

“…What about the souls that crossed over from the spirit world?”

“I sent them all back. It took a while to exorcise them.”

Yuuki said with a long sigh.

“Still, for now, there won’t be any more ‘urban legends’ coming to school. It became so clean that there won’t even be anyone like Kaneko-senpai who can connect with the spirit realm.”

“…For a while?”

“Yeah, for a while.” Yuuki said, nodding calmly.

“Where there are people, there are always factions. Weaklings who cannot fit in or adapt will emerge. And it’s not uncommon for those people to die. Such souls cannot easily leave the spirit world. Besides, many teens tend to be interested in that stuff, right? There are always people trying to contact gods, and they create and spread urban legends. Souls often get intertwined with stories and feelings, and if it’s an emotional story, it gets worse.”

A melting pot of emotions mixed together, each child having their own feelings and stories.

Come to think of it, outside of school, urban legends rarely existed. The only place I could vaguely think of was the military, but even there, people gathered with various stories to share, giving birth to such tales.

Moreover, the urban legends in the military are heard far more often outside than when you’re inside. It’s likely that veterans weave tales after they have left.

In university and the workplace, unless it’s a light-hearted joke, serious urban legends are hard to come by.

“And in such places, those who feed off emotions are attracted. Once it entangles, stories will get worse before they are resolved. Such beings can be found in many places beyond school. The reasons are varied.”

“…What about Kaneko-senpai disappearing?”

“The Nue was probably drawn to Kaneko-senpai’s emotions. It must have been a perfect source of nourishment. If they tried to take senpai out of school at that time, it would have been impossible. And senpai would have gradually become more absorbed by those lingering feelings. In time, she wouldn’t have been able to appear at school anymore.”

“……”

Kaneko paused for a moment before speaking.

“Among urban legends, there are ghosts that appear when the time is right.”

Could Kaneko have become one of those beings?

Yuuki shrugged.

“…Ah, right!”

Kaneko said, slapping her palm with her fist as if she just remembered something.

“You mentioned you exorcised the spirits in the school, right?”

“Spirit… who?”

Yuuki frowned.

“There’s no way to distinguish between a living spirit or the soul of a person who is really dead… but since it took a while to move around, if there were any souls, they should return to their rightful places.”

“Then, is there a possibility that someone in a coma might return?”

Yuuki quietly looked at Kaneko and then closed his eyes, letting out a small sigh.

“…You shouldn’t get your hopes up too much.”

Yuuki’s voice was somewhat subdued. I could sense what kind of thoughts Kaneko had when she came to school.

“Is it a place where souls should be, or should they be in the spirit world? That’s not something we can decide.”

“But if the body’s fine—”

“Even that, we can’t make a definitive judgment. No matter how much of a doctor you are. The body is just a vessel for the soul. If the vessel is broken and leaks water, you can hold it as best you can, but if it’s too damaged, even that won’t be possible. Sometimes the soul can’t leave this world because of the body, but conversely, the soul that should leave might be trapped because of the body.”

“…Yeah, that much is okay. I know that.”

Kaneko nodded with a slightly relieved expression.

“That’s fine. If that kid returned to the place they should be, then that’s…”

“……”

Neither Yuuki nor I could say anything more.

*

“Your mother…”

“There’s no need to call her that.”

“I see.”

With my answer, Yuuki looked relieved.

“Grandfather will probably come soon. There are some things he needed to take care of while I’m here.”

Probably removing people from the school. If there were people staying at school late at night, Yuuki would see everything he was doing.

“Take it easy today. I’ll come back after school.”

“Right. I’ll bring Ikeda.”

…I might just worry him. Just a day ago, his best friend went missing, and now his underclassman is hospitalized. He must be a fragile person, so this must be quite the psychological blow.

It might be better just to say I had personal matters to attend to—

“I’ll bring back lots of delicious food.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

I figured that if I showed Ikeda that I could eat well, he might feel a bit more at ease. The fastest way to alleviate concern for someone who is ill is to show them that they are no longer sick. If the cause of worry disappears, there’s no need to worry anymore. That’s how it goes.

The two nodded at me and turned to leave.

Now the sun was properly rising in the sky.

Is it a school holiday…?

If I get discharged today, I guess I can go right to work.

…If I can’t go to work, then I need to let Shii know in advance.

As I got to know more people, I had more things to care about.

However, the fact that there are people to care about made me feel somewhat lighter.

*

I wonder how much used Game Boys are selling for nowadays?

Despite everything, I found myself spending time playing old games at home. It’s true that a classic game has an elusive charm that’s hard to compare with smartphone games, making me sometimes stay up late into the night clutching a game console controller.

Since I had ways to kill time like that at home, lying on the bed vacantly didn’t feel as enjoyable as I thought it would. I thought about getting one just in case but then decided against it. It would just be annoying if I ended up breaking it during a fight.

Sure, I had a TV, but I’m not the type to find dramas entertaining. And at this hour, there wasn’t really any animation either.

Even so, I didn’t feel like watching animation here. After all, it wouldn’t sit well to be watching cartoons while I didn’t know when nurses or doctors might come in.

…But, did Yuuki watch animation when he was a kid? Was there ever a time when he found joy in watching magical girl shows?

The game console that I inherited was one Yuuki used to play with.

There were quite a few games too. That meant Yuuki had once played with toys like any child his age and watched animated films for fun.

The light novel Tokyo Slayers unfolds entirely from Sasaki Sota’s perspective. Naturally, Yuuki’s attitude toward this perspective was cold. While he wasn’t a tsundere who would always slap the protagonist in the face out of the blue, he was a coolly consistent tsundere.

He frequently shot barbs verbally. If it had come out as a web novel heroine nowadays, she would be perfect for the role of a regretful heroine.

Thinking back, I suppose there was a taste for that kind of thing back then as well. There was a scene where the protagonist was gravely injured, and Yuuki’s character anguished over it.

“Um…”

I stared vacantly at the ceiling while wiggling my toes. As thoughts wandered in and out, I hummed a little tune, and then the door creaked open again.

I had already had breakfast and received the doctor’s morning rounds. I was told to take it easy today.

So, there was only one person who could come in.

“Kurosawa.”

It was Yuuki’s grandfather.

When our eyes met, the grandfather had a complex expression.

He must have seen me charging at the Nue while holding a sword made of my blood.

I had already given up on thoughts regarding that.

He wouldn’t see me as a yōkai. I had casually crossed the barrier that Yuuki had created.

“Hello.”

I bowed as I greeted him, and he raised one hand. In the other, he held a plastic bag. I wondered what was inside?

“By the way, are you feeling alright?”

After scanning my body, he entered the room fully and closed the door.

He then sat down in the chair where Yuuki had been.

“…I’m not sure how to begin this conversation.”

Honestly, I wanted to ask first about how much the hospital bill was going to be, but that seemed a little rude, so I held back.

“Um…”

After thinking for a moment, the grandfather handed me an envelope.

“I don’t know if you’ll like this or not.”

I took the envelope with both hands. It was pretty cold. Just like—

Ice cream!

Inside was a delicious Hagen-Dazs!

Is there anyone in this world who doesn’t like this kind of ice cream?

“Thank you very much.”

“Make sure to eat it before it melts.”

I took a big scoop of the matcha-flavored ice cream with the spoon that was inside, but remembering there was someone watching, I was careful to take a small scoop to eat.

The smooth ice cream melted in my mouth instantly. The slightly bitter taste of the matcha combined with the sweetness of the creamy ice cream. It was exquisite.

“…Seems delicious.”

Ah.

I must not have been able to hide my expression!

But what could I do? It was truly delicious. Most importantly, it was an ice cream that felt way too precious to be buying with my own money. I could get a gyudon for a few hundred yen; spending that on ice cream didn’t seem right.

“Listen while you eat. You don’t have to answer.”

With that, the grandfather spoke in a lower voice.

“About yesterday—what was it?”

“……”

I froze with my spoon in my mouth.

The grandfather’s gaze was serious, intently watching me. It appeared he truly had no idea what had happened.

Had Yuuki… kept it a secret?

“It’s the power of a god.”

Thank goodness this grandfather’s religion wasn’t monotheistic. If he were the type of Christian that appeared in stories like this, he might have tried to behead me, labeling me as a cultist.

Also fittingly enough, I was somewhat a cultist.

But the concept of gods in Japan isn’t really that straightforward.

“Is that… a god you worship?”

“…It’s my mother’s god.”

“……”

The grandfather nodded as if he understood why I was averting my gaze.

“I see. Yuuki… sometimes acts as if he doesn’t like his job.”

But Yuuki has a strong sense of responsibility.

He must feel that if he doesn’t do it, who will… that must be his mindset.

This reminded me of the time not long after I started working; I thought of it.

“But in the end, he did what he had to do.”

“……”

Hmm.

He said ‘what has to be done.’

Of course, if no one does certain things, great trouble could follow. Beasts that eat people roam about, and unless dealt with by systematically trained individuals, they cannot be resolved. If left untouched, the damage can endlessly escalate. So on that note, it’s indeed something that ‘needs to be done.’

However, that doesn’t mean it’s mandatory.

The police, firefighters, and soldiers—those are all jobs someone must take on, but they’re not necessarily something one must do? There are places that draft troops, but where they spend their lives is ultimately a choice they make.

One mustn’t force it… I guess that’s what I thought.

So I continued pondering while scooping up ice cream.

“Would you tell me your mother’s contact information if I asked?”

I thought for a moment.

He probably wasn’t asking with the intention of trying to kill her, rather considering whether it would do harm or not.

However, there was a significant uncertainty in not knowing how big the being behind Kagami was.

From what he was saying, it seemed like a ‘small scale but each one is a significant character,’ but just because he said that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily the truth.

If their god was ‘a mother with a thousand sheep’ and I was the thousand and first, I certainly wouldn’t overlook it. It must be an antagonist lurking throughout the latter parts of the story in some sort of novel.

So, revealing it now… wouldn’t be wise. It might be better to gather better information first before taking measures.

When I shook my head, the grandfather nodded.

“Yeah… that sounds right. It’s not easy to break a parent-child bond.”

Though there was nothing like that between us, I didn’t correct him since it was a convenient assumption.

“Understood. That’s all I want to ask. …Want another ice cream?”

When I grasped the empty cup tightly in my hand, the grandfather asked.

“…Is that okay?”

“Should I just buy a whole tub?”

I nodded in agreement.

A bit vigorously.

*

“Kurosawa~!”

As soon as Ikeda saw me, he rushed over and hugged me tightly. Did he catch what Kaneko had passed on?

But feeling the warmth of another person was such a nice thing that I didn’t resist.

“What happened? How badly did you get hurt?”

“…Just a short faint due to anemia.”

That’s right.

There wasn’t really an injury; it was just anemia.

Anemia severe enough to warrant a blood pack prescription.

“Oh dear, see, you shouldn’t skip on meals or take care of yourself.”

I was definitely the person who took the largest share of snacks in the literature club room.

Of course, Ikeda probably didn’t mean it in that context. It was clear my body was really quite thin. Almost as if I couldn’t gain weight.

Ikeda and Kaneko dumped a pile of bread onto my lap.

“The doctor said it’s best to eat well. But you don’t have to overdo it. We picked these out together.”

Kaneko scratched the back of her head and smiled.

Seeing that expression, I realized.

Ah, this junior is alive.

Without hesitation, I picked up a yakisoba bread.

“…Did you eat lunch?”

Seeing my momentum, Yuuki asked.

I did eat, but it had already been four hours.

If I ate a lot now, I might not be able to eat dinner, so I should only eat one.

I had already contacted Shii. Apparently, she was serious enough that she wouldn’t skip her part-time job.

It had only been this early morning that I had collapsed, drenched in blood, yet just a day later, the atmosphere had recovered so much.

Yeah, this is how people live.

As I happily munched on the yakisoba bread stuffed with ample carbohydrates, I thought to myself.

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