Chapter 12

Afterword I love “The Detective is Already Dead”—a book by an author who debuted in the same Newcomer Award round as me, and the series gave me a tremendous sense of exhilaration when I read it. As entertainment, it’s like a blade that’s been honed to a keen edge of perfection, and it encompasses a variety of genres. I recall that it strongly resonated with me, not as an author, but as a reader—the best kind of novel, crammed full of excitement and fun, like a toy box. It made me think, “Ah, this is the exact kind of light novel that I’ve always loved.” I’ve rambled on, but let me introduce myself. My name is Syusui Tsukimi. Like I said before, I made my debut with the 15th MF Bunko J Newcomer Award, the same round of the competition as nigozyu-sensei. And when the esteemed nigozyu-sensei asked me to write a spin-off with Nagisa Natsunagi as the main character, I immediately accepted. I mean, there was no reason to refuse. I love this series more than any other light novel author in the world, and I love Nagisa Natsunagi, too. That’s why I wanted to attempt writing it—why I definitely wanted to write it. With those thoughts in mind, I was able to get on board with the spin-off. While writing this story, I engaged not just with the original work, but also the anime and related mediums to face the enormous body of work head-on—the feelings and themes that were put into the work, and the charm of the characters. And with a lot of love, and a few small tidbits, this finished product happened. At first, I struggled with how to pick a subject for my favorite work. I decided on “a school story with Natsunagi and her friends,” but in the original work, her classmates are (mostly) not depicted. Then, after I consulted with nigozyu-sensei, Fuyuko Shirahama and Haruru Agarie were born—a cool, prince-like girl and an otaku girl who make Natsunagi laugh, push her around, and support her. After I’d finished writing, I fretted over whether these girls, who were so full of “Syusui Tsukimi-ness,” would fit into the world of Tanmoshi, but I remember feeling deeply relieved when I received positive feedback from Mr. Nigozyu that began with, “it was interesting!” At the same time, there were moments when I thought I’d been able to add a small splash of color to the world of Tanmoshi with my inexpert brush. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all involved: the editor who has been looking after me since my previous book, and the editor in charge of Tanmoshi, who invited me to the project; Hanekoto-sensei, who depicted Nagisa Natsunagi with fresh charm; and nigozyu-sensei, who has tirelessly continued writing this wonderful series since creating and sending it off to the Newcomer Award five years ago. Finally, to those of you who love Tanmoshi and picked up this book: The world of Tanmoshi will continue to grow even more, and I would be thrilled if Nagisa Natsunagi Still Wants to Be a High School Girl became a special book in that world for you. It would be an irreplaceable joy for me to know I’ve lit a fire in someone’s heart. And let’s continue to love and support Nagisa Natsunagi together! Let’s surpass Siesta, Nagisa!!