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

Chapter 22: The Three Great Families Came Barging into the House

Once lunch was over, the time was basically free.

I would do summer homework or listen to Satori’s stories and draw pictures of their content.

Sometimes I went for walks, but shadows always writhed behind me, so lately I had been avoiding going far out. In fact, I had hardly left the house at all.

Ever since the incident at the ferry terminal, it felt as if the entire island was scheming to confine me, which made it awkward to face any islanders no matter what.

Some fools called me by ridiculous nicknames, and the discomfort was unbearable.

However, being holed up did not mean things were peaceful by any means.

That was because the three great families regularly came barging into my house.

“You need to take responsibility, as I’ve been saying.”

“Even so, I’ve told you over and over that marriage is ridiculous, right? Wait, am I saying something weird?”

–The Jindaiji family.

–The Kirishima family.

–The Shiomine family.

Those were the three great families that dominated this island.

And the one currently barging into my house and repeating incoherent statements at the entrance like “When are you going to hold the wedding with Satori? Hurry up” was Satori’s uncle, the current head of the Jindaiji family.

This pervert, whose fetish was sniffing women’s socks–a man who would be arrested immediately outside the island–crossed his arms, furrowed his brow, and repeated himself.

“Take responsibility. You can no longer remain unrelated to the Jindaiji family. It’s futile to try to escape. You understand that better than anyone, don’t you?”

He glared at me with a demonic expression. In the past, that intensity would have overwhelmed me, but unfortunately, I had been glared at so often lately that this level did not intimidate me.

Mahiru was far scarier, and besides, Uncle was one of the people who had been confined.

Who ever cowered before a herbivore?

“Of course it’s hard to escape the island. Thanks to the pressure from one of the three great families!”

When I glared back, Uncle looked guilty and averted his gaze.

“…It can’t be helped. There’s nothing I can do about it.”

This uncle was surprisingly weak despite his appearance, wasn’t he?

His eyes looked like a yakuza’s, but inside, he was a newborn fawn. A fragile fawn with broken antlers.

“Give up. There’s nothing good about defying the Jindaiji family. Even if you somehow manage to get off the island by some stroke of luck, it’s pointless. They will chase you to the ends of the earth.”

“–Huh? Tell me more about that!”

“There’s nothing to tell you. …You never know where or by whom you might be overheard.”

By the way, Uncle’s name was Haru. Jindaiji Harune.

It was a name so cute that it could easily be mistaken for a woman’s. It screamed that he was the kind of person who would be devoured by carnivores.

Uncle’s words felt strangely realistic, or rather, based on personal experience,

“So tell me the details!”

“I’ve told you it’s impossible. You have no idea of the terror of the Jindaiji family.”

“But aren’t you the head of the Jindaiji family, Uncle? Why are you so scared?”

When I asked out of curiosity, Uncle’s eyes twitched for a moment, and he glanced around.

He directed his gaze to the ceiling, the walls, and the corners of the entrance. It was as if he was convinced that something was hiding in the house. Suspicious.

Staring at the ceiling would reveal nothing…

“Have you never wondered about it?”

After a while, Uncle slowly broached the subject. He lowered his voice by one tone and asked with a grave expression.

“This island has no internet access. Cell phones and PCs are hardly widespread. Televisions too. But surveillance cameras are installed everywhere on the island. I can’t say much, but it’s not just the ferry terminal or the community center. They’re everywhere.”

“…”

“It’s unnatural, isn’t it? In other words, even the heads of the three great families cannot go against the will of the island. Especially the Jindaiji family, which is matrilineal. It’s questionable whether a male head even has human rights.”

“…Uncle.”

The content was shocking, of course, but Uncle’s anguished expression made it clear that this was no joke.

–As I thought, this island was somehow twisted.

It was common knowledge that I had repeatedly claimed the three great families were at fault, but this was not simply the tyranny of those in power.

The island itself was like a single living creature, binding its inhabitants.

Simply resolving the Jindaiji family’s issues would not eliminate this distortion at its root.

To solve this problem, there was undoubtedly a path waiting that was the same as–no, even harsher than–Satori’s route in the original story.

“…”

For a moment, the choice of taking the three of them and leaving the island flashed through my mind, but I immediately shook my head, knowing that would not work.

Because if I left unstable elements behind and departed the island, who knew what might happen.

This world was a game, but unlike a game, there was no guarantee of a reset. Even a single failure would likely not be forgiven.

If only I got off the island and ended up killed, that would be one thing, but if I took the three with me and they lost their lives…

Just thinking about it made the trembling impossible to stop.

After all, dealing with the three great families’ issues had to come first.

And to do that, there was a goal that absolutely had to be achieved.

Specifically, that one.

–Making Satori the head of the Jindaiji family.