That World of Otome Games is Tough for Us - Volume 2 - Chapter Aft

Afterword

DID YOU ENJOY the second volume of Trapped in a Dating Sim: Otome Games Are Tough For Us, Too!? Even as the author, I, Yomu Mishima, sometimes mess up that title. It’s so similar to the main series that it’s ridiculously easy to get wrong. Part of me regrets not naming it something more distinct.

That said, while we’re on the topic, it was me who suggested the current title to my publisher. I thought having a similar title would make this series easier for readers to pick out. If you notice me mess it up, I hope you won’t judge me too harshly.

Anyway, in this afterword, I’d like to discuss Stephanie.

My personal opinion is that she turned into a rather curious character in this volume, just as she did in the original series. She didn’t even have a proper name in the original; she was only referred to as “Earl Offrey’s daughter,” or by a similar moniker. She was essentially a nameless background character.

When the anime was produced, it became necessary to name her. She has a unique character design and, I’m sure, made a big impact on my readers. 

Stephanie is the epitome of a villain. I like her, personally. It was fun to write her and easy to come up with details about her. Still, when it came to publishing this series officially, I paused to think a bit more about her character.

For instance, what drove her to pester Angelica so obsessively? In the main series, I didn’t include a reason. Hopefully this spin-off helped answer that kind of question.

Another subject I’d like to tackle here is how this series works. I think that’s necessary, since you’ve all read what happened to Stephanie in this volume. Those readers who have followed the story since it was an online extra are probably shocked by the outcome and wondering whether I really plan to end Stephanie’s storyline here. The web version involved her well beyond this point, after all. 

A novel series needs storylines to wrap up at the end of a volume, though. Thus, I’ll keep adding to the original storylines and ending them cleanly when necessary to make this a better read for everyone. My goal is to make this version more entertaining than the one online, and I’ll be doing my best in that regard. I hope you continue supporting the main series, as well as this one!