This story took place when I, Toshio Satou, was in my twenties.
When you’re drinking at that age, you often find yourself talking about the dumbest things. What type of girl you like, your doomed crushes, who you’re gonna ask out next, how you’ll wait and wait, and text a bit to see if she’s interested… You know the drill.
These topics are especially guaranteed to come up when everyone there is permanently single.
At one of those occasions, alcohol got the better of me, and I blurted out, “I’m not eating crepes until I have a girlfriend!”
I loved crepes. But by refusing to eat them, perhaps I could turn my luck around. We talked for ages about the relationship between self-denial and attracting potential partners.
Ten-plus years later…
I’ve forgotten what cream, chocolate, and banana together even taste like. I’ve eaten each individually, but I can’t even imagine that delicious harmony anymore.
Not only have I forgotten—in my mind, crepes have been elevated to the food of the divine. Like a system message in the mind, warning me that I’m not worthy of eating them.
…If they’d had rental girlfriends back then, I’d definitely have rented one just to go pig out on crepes. Good thing the times didn’t catch up to me.
Point is, I’ve had a habit of making up rules for myself and then sticking to them. And I think that actually helped me win the novel contest. The fact that I’m still working as a writer is thanks to those rules—and to you, my dear readers. You’re the only reason a sad man who’s so unpopular he’s still unable to eat crepes can keep going.
This may be the most natural transition to the thank-you section I’ve ever managed.
Maizou. I always make things difficult. I will send you provisions later.
Watanuki. Thank you for your marvelous illustrations. Asako’s expression on the cover made my heart skip a beat.
Fusemachi. I look forward to the manga storyboards every time. Shouma’s flashback scenes really got me; my editor and I were floored by them.
Souchu. Thank you for your work on the spin-off. I never expected CEO Johns to become such a vital character. I’m in love.
But most of all, my readers. Thank you for accompanying me on this journey. You’ve kept this series going, and I owe you a lot for that.
Next volume will be the last. I can’t thank you enough. I’ll do everything I can to make their heroics memorable.
Weird, I meant to kill off Satan to make Lloyd more motivated for the final battle, but somehow missed that opportunity. Volume 14 ended without it coming round! Satan’s one lucky man.
Maybe I’m just not suited for this whole murder thing.