Chapter 23

Afterword When I first started writing this story, I thought I was writing a romantic comedy—but I put the comedy on the back burner in favor of the romance. One could interpret this story in many ways, but a major theme I wanted to discuss was loving something you don’t understand. The unknown is frightening, and we tend to reject it. That was the precise reason I think I wrote Norman as the protagonist. You’re going through the trouble of reading this afterword, so I’d like to write something fitting. How do you think the story went? The comedic elements of the story definitely got left behind. Still, I managed to write plenty about love, and I think I said everything I wanted to say. Once again, nice to meet you, I’m ryunosuke. I hope we can stay in contact for a long time. Now, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank many people. To the readers, thank you for purchasing my book in a world overflowing with other entertainment. I’m happy you felt it was worth buying. Perhaps you’d like to read a second volume? Thank you to the editorial department and selection committee members for the Dengeki Grand Prize and to the folks at Kakuyomu for giving me the opportunity to enter. My dream of becoming a published author has now been achieved. To the readers who’ve been with me since the web version of this story, thank you, and I hope you stick with me. To my editor, thank you for helping me, of course, not only with this book, but for teaching me many things when I knew nothing. It’s a huge help that we’re on the same wavelength as total nerds. To my illustrator, Gesoking, every illustration you draw is amazing. I can’t stop looking at your art. They match my tastes perfectly, and I’m so glad you agreed to work on this project. I hope we can continue this dynamic partnership we have. To everyone else who was involved, thank you very much. What struck me the most about going from reader to writer was just how many people were involved. Lastly, this is a story where Norman and the heroines interact one-on-one. If there’s a second volume, I’d love to give you a story about the heroines or Norman and all five heroines together. I hope to see you again soon.