Afterword

When I had a signing event in Taiwan in the summer of 2011, my impression was that Taiwan had a lot more younger fans than in Japan. My publisher there explained to me that Taiwan has a military draft, and that has the effect of pressing the reset button on people’s nerdy hobbies. It made me appreciate how these kids were using their precious free time enjoying my work, and it also made me brace myself—I needed to create something worthy enough.

The situation has since changed over there, so I didn’t use that anecdote in my story, but even now, in Japan and elsewhere, I think we all have only a limited amount of time to enjoy entertainment. And thanks to everyone who’s used their valuable time on this series, it’s finally reached Volume 10. I hope you’ll continue to provide it your support.

Notes, etc.

• Perhaps you’ve noticed, but until the halfway point of this book, Itsuki’s actions had mainly been described in the form of things you could actually see, such as laughing. I tried to avoid being an omnipotent narrator with him, describing what he’s thinking. If you go back and try to imagine what’s in Itsuki’s mind as he speaks and acts, I think that could give you an entirely different impression of him.

• The story of Keisuke, Natsume, and Chihiro that kicks off this book conflicts here and there with “The Father” in Volume 8. Just picture it as Keisuke reaching middle age and getting his memories mixed up a little bit. The chapter also forms a duo with “The Origin of Itsuki Hashima” in Volume 3, and again, if you go back and reread it, I think it’ll make it clearer just how at cross purposes Itsuki and Keisuke really are.

• People who know a lot about the light novel business might have lifted an eyebrow at the mech series references I made in this volume. I should explain that at the start of Volume 1, it’s officially January 2015 in the plot, which makes it October 2016 at the end of Volume 10 here. I’m thus writing with an eye toward keeping pop culture references true to that time. I’m not being too harsh on myself, though; I’ll reference modern stuff with my jokes and more trivial callbacks, and maybe I’ll mention some beers and board games that weren’t imported into Japan yet back then.

• Aoba’s popularity in the surveys skyrocketed after Volume 9, and Nadeshiko—the series’ official Lolita character, at long last—also generated buzz. Little-sister characters really are popular, aren’t they?

Anyway, I’ll see you in the next volume.

Yomi Hirasaka

Ravishing Silver-Haired Nude Female Novelist

Late June 2018

Afterword

This is Kantoku, the series illustrator.

I may start crying. At long last, the cute-looking Chihiro makes her debut! I’ve been itching to draw a girly Chihiro, hoping I could tackle more of her like that…so I have nothing but thanks for Yomi Hirasaka. Meanwhile, I understand all too well how Itsuki feels. For a creator, no matter how fulfilling your real life is, if your creative side isn’t going well, you’re more miserable than anyone else.

I’m not exactly sure how to describe Chihiro’s new hairstyle—ponytails? Braids? Then I remembered that me and an old friend of mine called them brakes (as in bicycle brakes). Now I just want to grab them.