After Reaching the Happy Ending, I Was Locked up by the Extremely Possessive Heroines I Had Conquered

Chapter 20: The Island Residents Unite to Stop My Escape

Everyone must have thought about it at least once.

Whether there was truly any difference between captive life and cohabitation.

Because cohabitation meant constant surveillance from those around you. For instance, when you woke up in the morning, your little sister was in your futon. In the living room, the bathroom, even the toilet, and even when you entered the bath, you always felt eyes on you.

If you stepped outside for a change of pace, three shadows would inevitably stir behind you. At that point, it was no exaggeration to say it was synonymous with captive life.

But I was not the type to give up because of that.

I absolutely wanted to check out the world beyond the island before summer vacation ended.

Because there was no guarantee anywhere that this world was the same as my original one.

At least in the original Toa route, you traveled across Japan, so I thought it followed the real Japan’s layout.

That said, until I confirmed it with my own eyes, I could not say for sure.

If the world outside the island turned out to be the one from before my reincarnation.

What choice would I make?

Would I leave the island alone, stay on the island, or take all three of them with me?

Either way, it was not something I could decide right away. Because for Satori to leave the island, we needed to resolve the three great families’ issues.

…!

The day I went to take down the three great families might come sooner than I thought.

Anyway, for that reason, I visited the ferry terminal alone because I could not stand the urge to investigate the outside world.

Of course, I wanted to check the ferry schedules, and if I ran into any tourists, I wanted to hear about the outside.

However, in stark contrast to me, who wanted to scout the outside, there were people who desperately wanted to keep a certain someone confined to the island. Traces of their machinations were scattered all over the ferry terminal.

For example, posters on the walls had my photo with messages like “Missing: If you see him, contact us here,” or enigmatic slogans like “Born on the island, live on the island, return to the island. That is life.”

It was practically treating me like a wanted criminal.

And the crowning touch was the ticket seller uncle.

The uncle stared intently at my face, then trembled as he gripped his newspaper and spat out,

“…The proposal guy, huh. Sorry, but we don’t have tickets for you. Go home.”

“Huh?”

“It’s the three great families’ orders. Don’t hold it against me.”

“No, that’s such tyranny—”

“I’m scared too!”

The uncle raised his voice and crumpled his newspaper. Terror seeped from his eyes, making me acutely feel how the three great families’ influence extended across the entire island.

“I understand. But ‘proposal guy’ is a bit harsh, isn’t it?”

I forced a wry smile and said that, and the uncle sighed in exasperation.

“That’s what the neighborhood association calls you.”

“Wha…”

“Rumors spread fast on this island. Just assume you can never ride the ferry again.”

“…”

The shock left my mouth hanging open, unable to close. It felt like the entire island had banded together to block my escape.

I had wondered why I was not being kept captive since cohabitation began, but finally, the reason clicked into place.

No need for captivity at all.

If they set up a system where physical escape was difficult, there was no need to bother locking me up. No such hassle was required.

I could not leave the island anyway.

Was this the power of administration?

It was frustrating, but I could not resist authority. My plan to board the ferry and escape the island was completely thwarted.

“Even just going out for a moment and coming back… they wouldn’t allow that, right?”

I could not imagine the girls permitting it.

“…So what should I do?”

I clutched my head and was lost in thought when

“Big brother.”

A low, chilling voice whispered in my ear.

In that instant, before my brain could process the words, cold sweat erupted all over my body.

My heart pounded wildly, and my feet felt nailed to the ground, unable to move.

…!?

I knew who the voice belonged to without turning around.

“No matter what you scheme, it’s pointless, you know?”

Of course, it was Mahiru.

She slowly rested her face on my shoulder and rubbed her soft cheek against mine.

Because we were pressed so tightly together, I could even feel the sound of her breathing and the faint vibrations from her moving lips.

It was just our cheeks touching, yet I could not move, as if I were under a spell.

“W-What’s wrong? Want to talk about it?”

“It’s your fault, big brother.”

She ignored the words I barely managed to squeeze out and repeated the same phrase over and over.

“It’s your fault, big brother.”

“It’s definitely your fault, big brother.”

“It’s your fault, big brother.”

“It’s your fault, big brother…”

“I get it! I get it already!”

Driven mad by the endless repetition, I shouted on impulse.

But of course, Mahiru would not let me off that easily…

“No. You don’t understand, big brother. The meaning of making Satori serious…”

“…”

I looked around once more.

Wanted posters like the ones I had seen earlier were plastered all over the walls.

Next to them were lines of cursed words like “Born on the island, live on the island, return to the island. That is life,” making it look like some kind of cult.

This island was definitely strange.

And if Satori had orchestrated all these unnatural situations…

I see. Indeed, this…

It might be my fault for making Satori serious.

After all, I was undoubtedly the one who created the trigger for her to awaken.