Afterword

Hello, nice to meet you, and it’s been a while. I’m Koushi Tachibana. Wait. That’s a contradiction.

How did you like Date A Live: Dead-End Tohka?

The initial idea for the book was “wouldn’t it be kind of funny if the members of a secret organization were very seriously playing a dating sim”? Like, imagine a torso shot of a beautiful 2D girl on the large screen on the bridge of a battleship, and the captain and everyone are trying to choose an option, sweat pouring down their faces. If the girl’s reaction is bad, they’re all like, “Wh-what?!” and it’s all sirens and emergency alarms! “We’ve got a situation on our hands! You’ve got to keep it together, Wilbur! The affection meter has taken a hit! Medic! Mediiiiiiic!!”

When I added a few other spices to this base flavor, it became the story that’s in your hands now. I hope that you enjoyed it.

I don’t know how long it will be, but I plan to continue. There should be a preview on the next page, so please have a look.

Incidentally, my other series Blue Sky Karma is also ongoing, so if you liked this book, I’d appreciate it if you could take a peek at that series, too.

Now, I owe the creation of this novel to the efforts of a number of people. First and foremost, the illustrator, Tsunako. I was already astounded at the character design stage. How do you manage such quantity and quality?

I really wish I could show all the concept art to the world. If this story sells well, I might get that opportunity, so…you know what to do. (Winks.)

My editor and everyone else involved in the production of the book were also a tremendous source of help. They really made me understand in true beginner’s style that you can’t make a novel alone. Above all else, my greatest and most heartfelt thanks to you for picking up this book.

Well then, next time—um, let’s meet again in either Volume 2 of this or Volume 8 of Karma.

Koushi Tachibana