Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me - Volume 1 - Chapter Aft

Afterword

Hello, my name is Makiko Nagaoka. Thank you for giving this book a read.

Now then, this time it’s a rom-com with a bit of a shocking title.

I originally started writing light novels for a male audience because I was obsessed with virgins, so I never thought I’d end up writing one with a heroine of this type... I think if you told the me from ten years ago that she’d write such a book, she’d fall down on the floor!

After finishing my last series, Isekai de Rori ni Amayakasareru no wa Machigatteiru darou ka (Is It Wrong to be Pampered by a Loli in Another World?), I talked at length with my editor regarding my next work. I ended up choosing to write an orthodox rom-com in a school setting, which I hadn’t done in a while. But we decided to go with a new approach while we were at it, and after more discussion, we’d settled on a story with this kind of protagonist and heroine before I knew it.

Back when I was a student, I was, if anything, more like Ryuto, so I drew inspiration for Shirakawa-san from some of the girls around me whom I had admired—they were gorgeous, a little on the mature side, and dazzling like the sun.

When it came to writing a heroine like this, I felt somewhat conflicted on the inside, just like Ryuto. But since Shirakawa-san is a very cute girl, I’m hoping my readers will come to love her as much as I do.

Kurose-san is so cute too! Come to think of it, I’ve never really given main roles to the kind of girls you’d find in a shojo manga before—girls like Kurose-san—so it was really fun to write her. I hope she’ll fight harder in the second volume! She has a lot of potential, so as the author, I have hopes for her in the future.

I also like Nicole. Female best friends in my works tend to be kind and devoted to their friends. My own best friend is like that too, so maybe I’m just unconsciously projecting. Not that she’s ever read any of my books...

It was fun to write Ryuto’s friends as well. It’s been a while since I last had male characters in my stories who were anything like that friend archetype, and it made me once again think: guys who goof around with their male friends are so interesting!

Ryuto is me, so I don’t really have anything to say there...

As for writing the love between Ryuto and Shirakawa-san from the point of view of the former, I took it as a thought experiment: if I got lucky enough to date a beautiful voice actress I admired, would I give up on the idea if I found out she wasn’t a virgin? There’s no way I would...

So basically that’s what this story is about. Some of you might be put off by the title, but if you’re reading this book and I’ve made you want to follow the love story between Ryuto and Shirakawa-san in the future, that would make me happy.

To my illustrator magako-sama—thank you for the numerous lovely illustrations, and plenty that feature the fashionable Runa! I’m always shouting in joy all by myself whenever my editor sends me your work because it’s too wonderful.

To my former editor, Suzuki-sama, who gave me little bits of advice here and there while I was coming up with the plot—thank you for working with me over the past three years. I’m thoroughly indebted to you.

And to my current editor Matsubayashi-sama—I’m already thoroughly indebted to you too. I’m always grateful for the thoroughness of your work and I look forward to our continued collaboration!

And K*N-sama, whom I’ve used as a model for KEN without permission—I offer you my quiet gratitude, love, and respect.

Lastly, to everyone who found the time to read this book—thank you so much from the very bottom of my heart.

Let us meet again in the second volume!

August 2020, Makiko Nagaoka