Afterword

Nice to meet you, I am Hainiwa Tama. Thank you very much for purchasing this book.

I never dreamed I would end up publishing a book in my life, so I have no idea what to write in an afterword (...I write, trying to pad the word count even just a little).

I only told my family that I was releasing a book, but I made it all the way here without being able to tell them the title or content. After all, it has some slightly steamy parts, so thinking about people who know me reading it is a bit embarrassing.

When asked about the contents, in my desperate bid to keep it a secret, I told a weird lie: "It's an isekai battle story starring a bearded old guy." But since they already know my brain is filled with yuri, they didn't believe me for a single second. By the time this book hits shelves, my title and pen name might already be exposed.

On a sudden note, I constantly daydream about "smartly rescuing a cute girl in trouble at work." But the real-life me isn't skilled at work, nor do I have a personality like Asami that can stand up to a power-harassing boss, so it never leaves the realm of delusion. Wanting to give form to those daydreams, I decided to write a workplace yuri novel featuring my favorite character types: "a cool-looking older woman" and "a slightly bad-tempered, calculatedly cute girl."

As you can see, this work was born from pretty impure motives. While I was freely updating it on the web, the editorial department surprisingly reached out to offer me a book publication deal.

This book ends happily once their feelings reach each other and they get together, but actually, there is a continuation. On the novel submission site "Kakuyomu," I have posted plenty of epilogues. They're so sweet and fluffy that you might think, "Hey, what happened to all that agonizing slow-burn?" If you're curious about what happens next for the two of them, I'd be thrilled if you searched for the title and gave them a read.

Lastly, please allow me to express my gratitude.

To everyone who picked up and read this book.

To Editor G-sama, who reached out to me from the web version and guided a complete novice like me through the publication process.

To the proofreader, who polished my unrefined writing.

To Yukiko-sensei, who drew the characters so charmingly.

And to all the readers who supported me continuously since the web serialization days.

My heartfelt thanks go out to everyone involved in this work.

I would be delighted if our paths cross again in another work. Until next time!

Hainiwa Tama

ToC