Afterword 

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Hello, dear readers. I’m Nishi Jouyou, the author.

Before touching on the main story, let’s talk about ASMR first.

By the time this 7th volume is released, Hayasaka-san’s ASMR should either be available on various download sites or at least announced.

This is all thanks to your support. Thank you so much.

And who’s voicing Hayasaka-san, you ask? None other than the voice actress Takahashi Rie-san!

That’s right, the perfect and invincible voice actress Takahashi Rie-san is bringing to life the incredibly cute high school version of Hayasaka-san. I bet a lot of you were surprised by this casting, weren’t you?

The highlight, at least on the surface, is Hayasaka-san’s energetic and adorable declaration of “Suki suki daisuki chō-aishiteru!”—I love you, love you, super love you! And of course, she’ll also say that subtitle.

During the recording, when we heard Takahashi-san’s voice, the entire staff was over the moon, going, “So cute~!”

And then—

I hope you’ll pick up on the nuance here, but I wrote the ASMR script with utmost fidelity to the concept of the “second girlfriend” and Hayasaka-san’s high school character.

In other words, that sweet, humid Hayasaka-san is perfectly recreated through Takahashi Rie-san’s voice.

Whispering “suki, suki” right in your ear…… kissing you over and over……

Listen with headphones, and I guarantee your ears will melt.

There’s probably a sample voice on the download site, so please, please check it out. You’ll feel the original novel’s atmosphere—Hayasaka-san snuggling up, pressing herself close, no holding back.

Those who listen to the ASMR will surely think:

Bliss.

Alright, I think I’ve conveyed the charm of the ASMR well enough.

So, as usual, let’s talk a bit about the main story. Volume 7 was—

Touno…………

That’s the vibe it ended up with, right?

From Hamanami’s perspective, it’s probably like, “Oi, Kirishima~! Where are you headed, turning all golden like that~!”

This is probably the first time Kirishima has made the decision to “break up” and clearly conveyed it to someone, isn’t it? I feel like that carries a lot of weight.

This is just my gut feeling as someone who’s watched their story from the sidelines, but I think this moment marks the start of the story moving toward its true end credits, like a tide shifting.

To be specific, I have a hunch that Kirishima and the others’ story will wrap up in about two more volumes.

Honestly, I think of Kirishima and the others like old friends I’ve known for a long time. So, ending this story feels incredibly lonely, and sometimes I wish they could just keep being their chaotic selves by my side forever.

Thanks to all of you, I could keep going for a while if I wanted to.

I even considered stretching things out with stuff like the triple date from the start of volume 7 or comedy bits like the baseball chapter for another ten volumes, but well, that’s not really what this story is about, is it?

Above all, I want to give their story a beautiful conclusion.

A story ends, and it becomes a memory. It lingers in our hearts forever.

Kirishima and the others will walk paths we don’t know.

I feel like my job is to put a period on their story to send them off.

The next volume might take a bit of time. Endings need to be handled carefully, and I want to savor my farewell with them a little longer.

I might make you readers wait a bit, but I hope you’ll stick around to see the end of Kirishima and the others’ story.

It got a bit sentimental there, but what can you do? When a story like this heads toward its end, a sense of loneliness inevitably creeps in.

That said, surprisingly, the start of volume 8 is probably going to be super upbeat.

Because Kirishima is—get this—going to do student teaching! Laugh

Whether he’s heading to a girls’ school or back to his old high school is something I’m currently discussing with Kirishima.

Look forward to the next volume.

By the way, if you want to feel super upbeat right now, I recommend Shoujo Jian. This 7th volume of Second Girlfriend comes out on March 8, and ten days later, on March 20, the second volume of Shoujo Jian will be released.

If you’re feeling down imagining Touno’s emotions, reading this will totally lift your spirits. Please, please give it a read.

Now, onto the acknowledgments!

To my editor, everyone at Dengeki Bunko, the proofreaders, the designers, and everyone involved with this book—thank you so much.

ReTake-sensei, thank you for the wonderful illustrations in volume 7 as well! The inspiration I get from your art has helped me get this far. Please stick with me until the finale!

And finally, to all the readers, thank you again and again.

See you in volume 8! And please, please check out Hayasaka-san’s ASMR!