Chapter 31

Special Thanks! To the writer, Kotoko Hachijo: Our author for the Hirano and Kagiura novel, as well as the first Sasaki and Miyano book, and now this one! She really gets to the heart of the Sasaki and Miyano characters and packed way more moe into the stories than I expected based on my own plot outlines. She shows us Sasaki and Miyano from a wide variety of angles. To the editor, Sakurazawa: You’ve been my editor since Volume 3 of Sasaki and Miyano. You’re a manga editor, but thanks to your previous experience, you can handle novels, too. (I don’t know when you sleep.) We started out talking about work matters, but our conversation slowly morphed into a discussion where I pelted you with questions about everything I’ve always wanted to know about the publishing industry but was afraid to ask. Sorry about that. Sakurazawa is the only reason I’m able to publish five things in as many months. (This novel is month two.) To the assistant editor, Matsuzaki: You started as the sub-editor on Sasaki and Miyano this year, as well as keeping an eye on the various merchandise coming out, making a great addition to our team. It’s good to know you’re out there doing an extra check on the novel. Matsuzaki is the rare morning person in the editorial division; I suspect you’re usually already up and about while I’m still sleeping. To everyone at the Gene Editorial Department who cooperated: What a bunch of butt-kickers. Thank you so much for helping me to get a third novel out! And for the Sasaki and Miyano TV anime! And for the read-aloud! It seems like I owe you for an awful lot! To my assistant Sugiura: You drew amazing translucent backgrounds with incredible speed. It’s thanks to you that I was able to include so many backgrounds in the manuscript. To my assistant my mom: Thanks for doing the screentone. I wouldn’t be alive without you, literally and figuratively. Sorry for making you pull those all-nighters. To the designer, Kawatani Design: The design firm that’s been handling the Sasaki and Miyano series since the beginning. They always send back designs that go beyond what I imagined, so the chance to see the drafts is a comfort and a joy amid the stress of deadlines. To everyone at RUHIA Ltd.: You handled the typesetting for this book, as well as the last one, and the one before that. I know I made you wait until the last minute for everything… Thank you very, very much. To Daisuke Shinseki (RUHIA Ltd.): You were in charge of proofreading once again. I made an awful lot of additions to the manuscripts, so I think there may have been a lot of revisions… Thank you so much. To everyone in the Kadokawa Sales Department: Given the slew of stuff I was putting out this time, I understand that you were working with Sakurazawa for quite a while ahead of release. Thank you so much for helping this book stand out, sell, and reach everyone who wanted to read it. There’s no way this series would have sold more than 1,000,000 copies without the sales department. Thanks also to the printer, who comes up with beautiful printing despite the tight schedule; the delivery people who get everything to us safely; and all the bookstores and publishing people… There are so many people who helped this book become what it is. Thank you all. Finally, thank you to everyone on Twitter and Pixiv who read and supported the original manga. Thanks to you, we were able to publish another book. And thank you to those who picked it up! Very much! So many people gave their time, effort, and ideas to help make this book a reality. Thank you all!