Afterword

Hello, nice to meet you—or perhaps, long time no see. I’m Yuu Kagami.

It’s been about six years since my last book with Sneaker Bunko.

That’s undoubtedly long enough for people to forget me, but I’m back.

And with quite a work, no less.

Female Friends was originally posted on the online novel site Kakuyomu.

I started posting in April 2021, two years ago.

At the time, I’d just finished a long light novel series and had some free time, so I began writing online novels. My first was Even Though My Sister Isn’t My Girlfriend (tentative title), which was published by Dengeki Bunko (sudden plug for another label).

Then, I started Female Friends.

Maybe because my goal was to write something everyone could enjoy easily.

Or perhaps I was a bit tired of depicting typical lovers or idealized heroines.

But even with this content, I didn’t think much about “walking a tightrope within Kakuyomu’s rules.” I just naturally assumed it’d be fine to post there. Talk about dangerous—my lack of caution needs a limit.

In fact, for certain reasons, I fully revised the Kakuyomu version.

The book version is based on that “revised” edition.

The Kakuyomu version went smoothly, with all five chapters from seasons one to five completed.

Since the content differs from this book, I’d be thrilled if readers enjoyed both.

It’s been over a year since that story wrapped, and with nothing more to add, I let it rest.

Then came a sudden publishing offer—quite a shock.

And for Sneaker Bunko, no less. Though it’d been six years, we didn’t part on bad terms, so the offer wasn’t that surprising. But picking this work… I can’t help but wonder if the editor’s incredibly bold or has some dirt on the chief editor.

Oh, come on, this work just adds a tiny bit of fan service to a cheerful friendship between guys and girls. Publishing it is totally fine. I’m serious.

The main heroine’s a gyaru, fitting recent romcom trends.

I rarely wrote gyaru characters before, so Hazuki became a super fun heroine.

If the first heroine’s a gyaru, the second should be a pure, refined ojou-sama—simple thinking, but it works! Simple isn’t bad!

On Kakuyomu, Serina was super popular too.

Ultimately, I wanted to depict the protagonist’s relationships with his female friends, not lovers.

That was my only restriction, so this story is wildly free-spirited.

In the book version, that stays true. I just trimmed some of Kakuyomu’s overly free bits and dug deeper into friendship.

The result? This bizarre thing called a “female friends harem.”

The book and Kakuyomu versions may differ in style, but their essence is the same.

Both are joyful comedies about female friends. Maybe too joyful.

To illustrator Kuzuyu Komori-sensei, thank you for drawing the protagonist’s adorable female friends!

Both gyaru Hazuki and ojou-sama-like Serina are so cute! The title and content might’ve shocked you… but I’m truly delighted you added such amazing art to a work I quietly wrote alone.

To my editor, the editorial team, and everyone who worked to publish this book—thank you for your efforts!

I also extend my gratitude to all involved in this book’s sales and distribution.

Most importantly, my deepest thanks to you, the readers!

Here’s hoping we meet again soon.

Spring 2023, Yuu Kagami