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

Chapter 38: This Is My Choice

“Will you take Satori and leave the island?”

“…Leave the island?”

I couldn’t stop being perplexed by those words.

Because they went against the island’s laws and the intentions of the three great families.

Such a statement coming from the head of the Shiomine family should never happen.

It was utterly unnatural.

“What do you mean?”

“Just what I said.”

What made this statement so unnatural was that it wasn’t just about me leaving the island.

Take Satori and leave the island.

Not just me alone, but leaving with Satori, the head of the Jindaiji family. There was no way that would be allowed.

If anyone did such a thing, it wouldn’t just damage the prestige of the three great families—it would affect the faith in the Black Tide, the island’s serpent god.

It was a problem that struck at the core of the island.

That was exactly why, in the original Satori route, a bad end awaited. The bad end where, right after leaving the island, the islanders killed you.

And that wasn’t all.

In other bad ends, the three great families dragged you back, leading to an ending where you could never leave the island again, or one where you got confined to the mansion.

That was why I simply couldn’t believe the choice of leaving the island with Satori.

“Are you joking?”

“I’m serious. I seriously want you to drive Satori out of the island.”

“Why? Why—”

I asked.

After a brief silence, the old lady said,

“She’s lost her mind!”

“Eh…”

Her blunt statement left me stunned and speechless.

Satori had lost her mind?

Well, I wouldn’t deny it. The four-person system and the lockdown were completely off the rails.

But hearing it stated so boldly like this, I couldn’t help feeling perplexed.

“Lost her mind?”

“Satori has no limiter. Even the little bird barely stayed within the lines, but Satori doesn’t hesitate at all. For the sake of a man, she’ll do anything—that’s what she’s like.”

“…True enough.”

True enough, Satori had no limiter, and for the sake of keeping me confined to the island, she would do anything.

“I feel bad about it too. I did the groundwork to make Satori the head, but with the four-person system thing, I thought it might have gone a bit too far. But she reminded me so much of the little bird that I ended up approving it too easily. That was truly a mistake.”

Hm? Groundwork? What did she mean?

“But the lockdown talk is no good!”

The Shiomine old lady shouted it with fierce eyes, then continued.

“Locking down the whole island just to confine one man? That’s insane. If she wants to confine him, she should just lock him up!”

“Well, I don’t think locking someone up is a good idea.”

But I understood what the old lady meant.

She was changing the entire island for the worse just to confine one person—me.

It was only natural to think she should just do whatever she wanted, even if it meant confinement.

“Satori won’t do. If we leave her be, the island will fall into chaos. It’s a hassle, but we’ll have no choice but to get young Harune back as head.”

“Uncle returning as head!?”

“That’s the only way. But Satori will oppose it, of course. So, you—it’s your turn as her husband.”

So, the plan the Shiomine old lady had in mind was for Satori’s uncle to return as head, and for Satori to be driven out of the island.

For me, who wanted to escape the island, it was an extremely convenient proposal.

But there were two problems.

One was the issue from the original story, where the three great families would chase you down.

The other was…

“But there’s no guarantee Satori will come along…”

I didn’t think I could persuade her, someone with no intention of leaving the island.

Born on the island, living on the island, returning to the island. That is life.

How could I persuade someone who embodied that slogan like she did? That was the biggest problem.

But the Shiomine old lady didn’t flinch at all—in fact, she shot back irritably.

“We don’t need that!”

“Eh?”

“Even if you leave the island, she’ll chase you to the ends of the earth, obviously. That’s what a Jindaiji woman is like!”

“…True enough.”

It might be that way. No, it had to be.

There was no way that Satori wouldn’t chase after me.

“…”

I looked at the old lady again. Her eyes were serious, conveying that this wasn’t a joke—that she meant it.

“You leave the island. Then Satori will follow on her own. So, you can’t live outside the island. Tokyo or anywhere else is fine. The best thing is to live as far from the island as possible and be happy with Satori!”

“Living in Tokyo with Satori…”

“There are a few people from the three great families in Tokyo. I’ll do the groundwork, handle the house and all the troublesome procedures. I’ll even prepare a special ferry, so hurry up and get out, will you?”

“…”

“Hurry up and get out, will you?”

Fear dwelled in her eyes. The helpless fear one feels before an overwhelming force.

It seemed Satori was feared even by the Shiomine old lady. It was hard to believe at first, but at the same time, it made sense.

Satori was the main heroine in the original story.

Her actions changed the island and shattered the ancient traditions of the Black Tide Island.

She ended long-standing harmful customs.

She overcame bad ends and seized a happy ending.

That was how strong she was. Satori was strong. Strong enough that you couldn’t underestimate her just because she was a high school girl.

So, in a way, the old lady’s fear was just like in the original.

This time, it had just veered off into a fatally bad direction by chance. But in terms of fear, it was straight from the original.

Tokyo, though.

I thought again about what lay ahead if I accepted the old lady’s proposal.

In Tokyo, it would be easy to achieve my dream. There were plenty of game companies, and I could buy games whenever I wanted.

Plus, since I’d lived there in my previous life, I knew the lay of the land. It was an ideal situation.

What I wanted would come true. I could chase my dream.

And maybe I could even live with all three of them. It was exactly the ideal I’d been pursuing.

A chance like this wouldn’t come twice.

If I let it slip, I probably wouldn’t be able to leave the island ever again.

With the lockdown, I’d end up confined again, live on the island, and return to it.

But that wasn’t the future I wanted.

What would the protagonist do if he were in my place?

The thought crossed my mind suddenly.

If it were the original Akira Akiyoshi… If it were him…

Would he choose to escape the island?

Or would he choose to support Satori as head, just like in the original?

…Who knows.

I couldn’t understand his feelings. I had no way of knowing, but I figured he’d probably go with the latter.

After all, he was the protagonist. Irresponsible and half-hearted, unlike someone like me who got confined because he couldn’t face their emotions head-on—he had the substance for it.

He would surely confront and resolve the island’s problems directly.

But that was impossible for me.

I wasn’t saving just one person like in the original—I was trying to save everyone, and with that greed, I couldn’t choose that path.

I wanted to achieve my own dream. But that alone wouldn’t satisfy me. I wanted to achieve my dream and live with them.

That was, that alone was my wish. I had no intention of compromising. Just like when I’d resolved to save everyone, I would seize it all.

“!”

So the answer was simple.

“I understand.”

The moment I’d plotted to escape the island once, no—probably from the very start—it had been decided.

“This island—I’m leaving it!”

This was my fate. My choice.

After reaching a happy ending, leaving the island to fulfill my dream. That was me, Akira Akiyoshi.