Chapter 20

Afterword Nice to meet you. I’m Himari Hino, the author of this novel. How did you like the adventures of Mifu and her sisters? I still remember the day I came up with this story. That day, I had plans to hang out with my friends, but I was so excited, I woke up at four AM. (Even though we weren’t meeting until eleven…) I knew I had to sleep, but I just couldn’t. I lay in my futon, eyes closed, spacing out… The dependable eldest daughter, Ichika. The bright and playful second daughter, Nitori. The kind of clumsy third daughter, Mifu. The shy and introverted fourth daughter, Shizuki. The four of them gently floated out of my dreams and came to me. I immediately got up, sat at my desk, and opened my notebook. Identical quadruplets who look alike but have completely different personalities. What sorts of things do they like? How is their hair styled? What are their strengths? What if you thought you were alone, but one day, three kids who looked exactly like you suddenly appeared? What if they became your family, and you lived together, just you kids? Simply imagining it made my world open up and my heart race, and before I knew it, my pen was moving and filling the paper in an instant. And when the time to meet came and I hung out with my friends, they asked: “Hino, you want to be a novelist, right? What kind of story are you writing now?” “A story about quadruplets.” “Huh. Sounds interesting. Keep it up!” I was so happy to be cheered on like that, and it gave me even more motivation to write. That’s how the story of the four sisters was born, and of course, it’s now a real book. My heart is brimming with joy. If you had to live together as just kids, what kind of kids would you want to live with? Which one of the four do you think you’re most like—Ichika, Nitori, Mifu, or Shizuki? I’d love to hear what everyone thinks. Thank you very much to Oriko Sakura for your wonderful illustrations. To the judges who selected my work for the Special Prize in the 6th Kadokawa Tsubasa Bunko Novel Awards; to my editors, A and S, who supported and stood by me; and to everyone involved in the making of this book, thank you very much. And thank you for reading this far. Please keep cheering for the quadruplets from here on out. Look forward to the next volume!