I believe this is the first time I’m introducing myself to many Dengeki Bunko readers. My name is Inori. Thank you very much for purchasing The Girl Who Wants to Be a Hero and the Girl Who Ought to Be a Hero. I hope you will stick around for a bit longer as I use this afterword to briefly introduce myself and say a few words.
I am a light novel author by profession, specializing in yuri and girls’ love among many other genres. This story—nicknamed GirlHero—depicts the relationship between two girls. Dengeki Bunko already has a number of veteran authors in this genre, so I am humbled to be able to join them as a newcomer. While I feel almost crushed by the pressure of standing alongside the great works of my predecessors, I did my best to make sure you will all find this book entertaining as well. Was it to your satisfaction? After being fortunate enough to publish this volume with Dengeki Bunko, I hope you were able to enjoy my story even a little bit.
While the yuri and girls’ love genres often depict the subtleties of emotion as if made of delicate glass, or the ephemeral nature of human relationships as if in watercolor, my writing style is a bit more vivid. As I believe you already understand from experiencing the character of Ruchika, she essentially has no sort of internal conflict, like, “Oh no, I’ve fallen in love with a girl, even though I’m a girl. What should I do?” That’s not to say that this element is nonexistent, but rather that the story was unable to go that far in this volume. I’m sure Leonie will eventually come up against that sort of dilemma, so please look forward to it.
My partner, Aki, played a big role in the creation of this story. She’s a wise and very positive person who never forgets to have a sense of humor, and without her presence, I don’t think I could continue being a writer. The main character of this book, Ruchika, has some aspects that were inspired by Aki. For example, Ruchika’s carefree cheerfulness and positive attitude were basically copy-pasted from her. Of course, I’ve added embellishments to the character for the sake of fiction, but I don’t think the essence has changed that much. Since Ruchika’s character was born in this way, perhaps you could say she is like our daughter. I sincerely hope you will love Ruchika as much as we do.
At the same time this book is being published, an anime of my other series, I’m in Love with the Villainess, which was released by a different publisher, is being broadcast. To summarize, it is also a girls’ love story, in which a former corporate slave is reincarnated into the world of an otome game. There, she ignores the princes the game wants her to romance and instead puts all her effort into going after the female antagonist. It has five e-book volumes released by GL Bunko and three paper volumes released by Ichijinsha, and seven volumes of the manga adaptation have been released so far by Comic Yuri Hime. I hope you will check out it out as well if you are interested.
I would like to conclude with a few words of acknowledgement.
To Kondou of Dengeki Bunko’s editorial department: Thank you for your numerous efforts in the publication of this piece. I hope to repay my debt of gratitude to you through this volume’s success. Thank you so much for your continued support.
To Kimura of Straight Edge: Thank you for your overall support with the content of this book. Your extensive editorial experience allowed me to successfully bring this book to fruition. If and when the next volume comes out, I look forward to working with you again through trial and error to build Ruchika and the others’ story going forward.
To Akamoku, who illustrated this book: Thank you so much for all your wonderful illustrations. It would not be an exaggeration to say that your art gave souls to Ruchika and her friends. It goes without saying that it’s the author’s responsibility if a book doesn’t sell, but if the book doesn’t sell after you drew such lovely illustrations for it, I really have no excuse. I hope I can repay you for your exceptional work.
To my partner, Aki: I was finally able to release another story besides I’m in Love with The Villainess. You helped me so much while I was brainstorming for this title. Let’s celebrate together on launch day with nonalcoholic cocktails again.
Lastly, I would like to express my utmost gratitude to you, the reader, for picking up this book. Thank you so much.
Now, with the hope that I will have the good fortune to see you again, I put down my pen. And here’s to hoping there will be a next volume… Inori., signing off.
August 22, 2023
X (formerly Twitter): @Inori_ILTV
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