Afterword

In the manga Space Brothers, there’s an episode where the protagonist is utterly amazed that he’s able to discuss incredibly esoteric outer-space-related topics with the astronauts around him, even though none of his friends were interested in space when he tried talking about it as a kid. But when I go up to my writer friends and talk about novels, manga, anime, games, or other types of entertainment, I sometimes feel the same rush that this protagonist does. Discussing characters’ insides, or what the author’s trying to say through the work, or the shouts and murmurs in this or that sentence or scene, or how awesome the character setups for this-or-that description is, or whether a priest should “bless” something or “offer prayers,” or whether the term should be original concept or original story, or whether it’d be better to use the term crap or shit. Or saying, “I think it’d be sillier if I used the term purty li’l panties in the novel that kicks off this story, but do you think that could work in terms of the vocabulary Itsuki would use?” Not to mention discussing whether nudes or clothed photos are sexier or saying “Here’s this new servant I just thought up” or “What if I was summoned to another world to serve as its hero?” All this utter nonsense being tossed around by grown men and women. Nobody ever says anything like “It’s only a light novel” or “It’s only manga” or “Why are you getting so worked up over these works of fiction?” It can get so heated that it actually leads to fistfights, and even as I type this into the keyboard, there are bloodstains on my knuckles. Why don’t they understand that nude wins every time, that it’s only natural that a woman in her most natural of states would be sexiest of all?

It’s often said that you shouldn’t get a job doing the thing you love, lest you lose the ability to enjoy it. That makes sense to me. This job isn’t easy, and it’s not all fun and hilarity nonstop, and sometimes it becomes hard to enjoy a lighthearted comedy novel if you find out the author was coughing up blood throughout the writing process. But making this your job gives you access to new perspectives, and discussing these hardships with friends working from the same perspective is the most fun thing in the world. Whether it’s novels or outer space, encountering something you truly love and being able to work in it may have some bad elements, but I think it ultimately leads to happiness. The fact that I still have my head above water in this world, even after all the struggles I’ve had to face in this reality of mine, isn’t just because I like light novels. It’s in large part because I like the people I met in this world, people I could never have met otherwise.

Spending time with the screwy yet incredibly fascinating people who like getting all worked up about fiction—fully taking in the bravery, the justice, the love, the lust, the friendship, the dreams, the hopes, and the kindness within them—is bliss to me, and that’s why I want to keep treating all this fiction seriously. That’s what led to A Sister’s All You Need., a very personal, very absurd love letter that extends out to tens of thousands of words. It’s a work of fiction, of course, and it really doesn’t have anything to do with any real person or group, but in terms of my feelings, it’s the unvarnished truth. If you enjoyed it at all, nothing could make me happier.

Finally, I would like to profusely thank my illustrator, Kantoku; my editor Iwaasa; everyone else involved with producing this book; everyone who provided comments for it; and most of all, the people who reached out for this book and the other ones I’ve written. Also, to everyone I’ve played with, drank with, and worked with—I’d be too embarrassed to say this anywhere else, but thanks for getting yourselves involved in my life. Let’s keep it going.

L-O-V-E!

Yomi Hirasaka, Silver-Haired Nude Lolita Writer

* Note! Refrain from going extremely lowbrow or sexually harassing your fellow players during an RPG session. Game aggressively, but keep it fun and in moderation!

Afterword

Thank you very much for reading all the way to the end. This is Kantoku, the illustrator for this novel.

The chemical reactions that make up this tale, a mix of true-to-life writer situations and the kind of non-geeky developments that would never happen in reality, are a remarkable joy to read. I feel as if this is the kind of creative life I’ve been striving for all this time… Plus, I love sexual innuendo, so reading this was a total laugh for me.

Designing the characters for this book was quite a task. Chihiro in particular took a lot of doing. When I first saw the title, I hadn’t drawn for any series that had little-sister characters in them. I thought to myself, Hee-hee, I know exactly what kind of balance to strike, but really, none of the characters here are as easy to understand as all of that. Thinking in terms of a standard template like that makes me cringe now!

Now that I’m done with Volume 1, though, I think I’ve finally got a decent image of the overall work. Talk to you soon!