After Reaching the Happy Ending, I Was Locked up by the Extremely Possessive Heroines I Had Conquered - Chapter 36: I Always Feel the Gaze

Chapter 36: I Always Feel the Gaze

I pulled myself together and decided to discuss the laws.

I sat side by side with Satori on her bed and turned only my face toward her before opening my mouth.

“Just to confirm, the Four-Person Group System was modeled after the five-person group from the Edo period, right?”

“It’s a great idea, isn’t it?”

Satori smiled with satisfaction.

“…Setting aside whether it’s a great idea or not, I have a simple question. Why the Edo period of all times?”

“Is that a problem?”

“It’s not a problem, but I thought referencing current laws would be more in tune with the times. You know, things like environmental issues or work-life balance or sustainability.”

“Those are pointless.”

“They aren’t… pointless.”

She stated it so definitively without hesitation that I panicked and quickly added,

“…They have at least some meaning.”

“No.”

It seemed Satori’s values had been left behind in the Heisei era. This was all the fault of the three great families.

“Besides, do you think the one doing the confining would even care about environmental issues? More than environmental issues, more than work-life balance, more than sustainability, Akira matters so much more to me.”

“…True.”

If asked which mattered more, of course I did. There was no need to compare; I mattered more without question.

“That’s right. When I think about you, Akira, the Edo period suits better than current laws.”

“True. …True?”

“Because the Edo period had seclusion, which fits my ideal perfectly. That’s the goal we should aim for.”

Satori said it with firm conviction.

Could the Jindaiji family be descendants of the Tokugawa or something?

The thought crossed my mind for an instant, but the original story had no such setting, so it was simply Satori running amok.

Well, liking the Edo period was not necessarily a bad thing.

If there was one thing I could say, it was that seclusion ended with Perry’s arrival.

In short, it could not continue forever.

“So next up after the Four-Person Group System is seclusion?”

“Yeah. I plan to propose it at tomorrow’s assembly.”

I see. This was very bad.

“By the way, can I join that assembly too?”

“…No. You’re not my husband yet, are you, Akira?”

“W-Well, true.”

The moment she said “husband,” Satori’s cheeks flushed bright red, and watching her face created an awkward atmosphere.

“But I’m kind of curious, or rather, I’d like to participate for future reference.”

“No. You’d just cause trouble.”

“You make me sound like some troublemaker.”

I had meant it as a joke, but why was she giving me such a dubious look?

“I’m saying it again: don’t come.”

“Let me support you from the side.”

“No. Just stay there and be fine, Akira. Don’t do anything.”

Satori stated it sharply and stood up. She opened the room’s door and gestured for me to leave.

If I backed down now, some outrageous policy would surely emerge at tomorrow’s assembly.

However, even if I persisted here, the result would not change. I decided to head home obediently for now.

With that thought, I took a step toward the door to leave the room when,

“Akira.”

I turned at Satori’s voice, and she directed emerald-like eyes at me.

Those eyes should have shone beautifully like jewels, but for some reason?

They felt fathomlessly dark, with the depths clouded.

“I’m always watching you. Whatever you plot, it’s pointless.”

Her warning did not feel like a joke at all.

That was because the several monitors looming behind her displayed nearly all of my daily life.

—

Her words were in earnest.

※

“Lately, Satori has been pretty precarious.”

On the way home, I walked the pitch-black night path and thought.

She had always been precarious, but since becoming head, it had accelerated to dangerous levels.

The Four-Person Group System, seclusion— she had completely lost her senses. She seemed to have broken free of all limiters and was rampaging unchecked.

In that case, the time when she had confined me had been far more tolerable.

“…Was it really more tolerable?”

There were arguments on that point, but without doubt, the Satori from back then had been a bit more restrained.

What had changed her so drastically?

“The three great families, huh. Yeah, it’s the three great families.”

It had to be that.

The problem was how to stop Satori’s rampage.

“Big brother.”

I was pondering what to do next when I ran into Mahiru at the corner of an alley.

She widened her eyes but then approached matter-of-factly and,

“Come on, let’s go home.”

Grabbed my hand without question and pulled me along.

“Mahiru? What’s with the sudden—”

“You’re worrying about something right now, aren’t you, big brother? That’s dangerous. It raises suspicions of escape.”

“Suspicions of escape⁉︎ No way.”

“I can’t trust you.”

Toa, Satori, Mahiru— wasn’t their opinion of me a bit too low?

“Anyway, we’re going home. Hold hands!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Even without her forceful eyes urging it, holding hands was natural for siblings.

“By the way.”

As we walked side by side down the slope, I suddenly asked what had been on my mind.

“What do you think of the Four-Person Group System, Mahiru?”

When I asked, she replied in a casual tone.

“I don’t think anything of it.”

“Nothing? No feelings like it’s annoying or a hassle?”

“None. Everything except big brother is trivial to me.”

“O-Oh.”

Her fingertips entwined as if determined not to let me go. Gradually, her grip tightened.

“Of course, if I weren’t in the four-person group, I’d lose it? I’d lose it and plan to escape the island with big brother.”

“…Huh? Tell me more about that—”

“It’s purely hypothetical.”

When I latched on, Mahiru immediately denied it.

“Even hypothetically, you had a plan, right? Tell me the details.”

“You don’t need to know that now, big brother.”

I pleaded desperately, but she rejected me outright.

“I think Toa-san feels the same, but as long as I have big brother, I’m fine. Or rather, I’m in trouble without big brother.”

“In trouble?”

“In trouble!”

Mahiru brought her face close with bloodthirsty intensity. Her expression conveyed that it was truly dire.

“Got it. You’re in trouble.”

“Yes. It’s seriously in trouble!”

You don’t need to emphasize it that much; it got through just fine.

“So I’m fine either way. As long as big brother and I don’t get separated.”

I see. Mahiru seemed to hold similar thoughts to Toa.

“That’s like dogs. You know the saying— dogs attach to people, cats attach to places.”

“To places?”

It felt subtly off, but the meaning aligned roughly, so I let it go.

“I get it. Thanks.”

In other words, Mahiru and Toa were dogs, and Satori was a cat.

In reality, all three were wolves, but this was just an analogy.

Wolves that were dog-like and wolf that was cat-like. Thinking of it that way made a lot of things click.

As I walked along, convinced, we arrived right in front of the house.

“I’m home.”

“Welcome back. Senpai, you’re late.”

When I opened the door, Toa Watarase’s slightly whiny voice echoed.

“Sorry, sorry.”

I tossed back a light remark while taking off my shoes and entering the house.

Compared to the chilly outside, the interior was warm, and the faint aroma of dinner tickled my nostrils.

The night path outside felt like a lie as my body and heart naturally filled with a sense of fulfillment.

The outside was nice, but home really was relaxing.

With that renewed thought, I headed toward the living room.

“…………………………..”

Even now, someone was watching this scene from behind the surveillance cameras.

Satori was peeking at my movements.

With that awareness lingering in the corner of my mind….