Afterword: Author’s Message
Thank you for picking up this book.
My name is Saeki-san, your author. I hope you enjoyed The Angel Next Door, Vol. 9.
Who could have expected consecutive birthday volumes? This release was all about Amane-kun running around, using trial and error in preparation for his beloved’s birthday. When it’s for Mahiru-san, Amane-kun never fails to go the extra mile.
Amane-kun is always willing to go above and beyond, but this time he gets a little help from his friends to plan her celebration. It’s amazing how much his social circle has developed and how he’s gained more people he can trust. I have nothing but admiration for him. If only we could show the Amane-kun from a year ago what he’s up to now!
Now in the story, they’ve finally promised to live together. But Amane-kun still hasn’t popped the question yet. Yeesh, this guy.
Amane-kun very naturally made the decision to spend his future with Mahiru-san, meanwhile she’s the one who gets all flustered. But as long as Mahiru-san’s happy, that’s what really matters. Amane-kun has this way of casually promising a future together, and that really helps Mahiru-san feel secure. He’s unknowingly a total Mahiru-san charmer!
And we also have Koyuki-san, who makes her first appearance in the main story (even though it’s just through a screen). She’s practically a stand-in parent for Mahiru and it would be no exaggeration to say that she has had the greatest impact on shaping her personality. Koyuki-san always doted on Mahiru like her own child, so much so that she even considered taking Mahiru if anything were to happen. Now that Mahiru seems happy, Koyuki trusts Amane and leaves her in his care. But if anything bad happened, you can bet she’d come flying in to whisk Mahiru away. So, I can only hope Amane continues to make Mahiru happy going forward. Then again, both Mahiru and Amane are very rational people and are always willing to listen to each other, so I’m not particularly worried about any big misunderstandings or communication breakdowns between them.
With Koyuki making her main volume debut, I find myself even more tempted to write more chapters about Mahiru’s childhood. There’s something I really enjoy writing that subtle touch of darkness that seeps into a generally happy life. It makes for good contrast—it’s like Mahiru’s current happiness shines even brighter because of the struggles she has endured. Plus, I just really wanna see more illustrations of Mahiru as a child. Isn’t the way Hanekoto-sensei draws young Mahiru just too adorable?
Speaking of Hanekoto-sensei, the illustrations in this volume are just fantastic! With the special edition, you get to see so many more colored illustrations, and honestly, I feel like I’m the one getting the best deal here. It’s like a treasure trove of Mahiru illustrations… It’s definitely the author who’s benefiting the most. No doubt about it.
The cover art for the special edition and the colored insert illustrations in the regular edition each have their own unique style, and they’re all just so adorable. I’m practically at a loss for words. Mahiru’s expression on the cover, where she looks so overwhelmed with emotion, is just too precious. Well done, Amane-kun.
And I can’t help but smile every time I see the little wing motifs included in the art. It’s clear how much attention to detail went into these illustrations. I also really love the seasonal feel of the special edition cover. I’m a huge fan of how Hanekoto-sensei captures the different seasons, so this autumn-themed illustration really hits the spot for me.
This time, Koyuki-san finally makes an appearance in one of the colored insert illustrations, and wow, she’s a real beauty... Hard to believe she’s a grandmother, right? I’ll keep her age a secret for the time being.
I hope to keep writing so that one day we can get an illustration of her meeting the other characters in person!
Finally, I’d like to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported this work.
To my editor, the GA Bunko editorial team, the sales team, the proofreaders, Hanekoto-sensei, the printing staff, and of course, to all of you who picked up this book, thank you ever so much.
I sincerely hope we can meet again in the next volume.
Thank you so much for reading all the way to the end!
✧ ₊ ✦ ₊ ✧
I hope you enjoyed. Fan translator, Indi writing.
Firstly, thank you very much for reading! While this volume has been a long time in the making (well, translating?), I believe that the result was definitely worthwhile.
I would like to thank Dil, Trevor, aritakun, CN2025, and Uzumi Kum for helping to provide the raws for the Bookwalker, Gamers, Melon Books, Suruga-ya, Toranoana, and GA Bunko 2024 Spring Fair short stories. As always, I would like to thank our accuracy checkers, Zel and Blank, for helping me wrap my head around lines that just left me scratching my head. Classic Saeki-san. She always throws us curve balls when we least expect it. I would also like to thank SoTipsyy and existence is pain for proofreading, bzk for editing, and SecreFTL for helping me with the preliminary translation, speeding things up when I have been unavailable due to work or other personal reasons.
If you have enjoyed our translation, please consider giving them all a heartfelt message over at discord.gg/otonari. Once again, thank you very much for reading our fan translation!
Don’t forget to support the series in other ways!
See the Fan Translator Page for the relevant hyperlinks, and please purchase the official English Translation by Yen Press once available in your country. As of this translation, they have English translations up to Volume 7, with Volume 8 set to release December 10th! I hope you will continue to enjoy this series!
Note: This fan translation is NOT for resale, nor should it serve as an alternative to purchasing the official translations in the future.
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