Chapter 8 (Afterword)

Afterword

Long time no see. And to those meeting me for the first time—nice to meet you. I’m Riku Totsuka.

Thank you very much for picking up “Is It Okay If I Stay Close—Within Your ‘True Love Zone’?”

This story is a laid-back romantic comedy that begins with discovering the true face of a popular idol. I aimed to depict a uniquely breezy atmosphere—fundamentally light and fun, yet sweet and refreshing at the same time.

The heroine, Shizuku, shows the charming, crowd-pleasing face of a beloved idol as her public persona, but her private self is fairly cool and natural. I’d be delighted if you could enjoy the relaxing youth spent unwinding together with her, who’s usually so busy.

In the story, Shizuku is called a “goddess-like beautiful girl,” and thanks to the stunning illustrations, that divine beauty was brought to life perfectly—it moved me deeply as the author.

Not just the cover illustration, but all of them are absolutely amazing, so if you’re interested, please take a look.

Lastly, my words of thanks.

To my editor, and to everyone involved in the publication of this work—thank you very much. I look forward to working with you all again.

To Ms. Tadano Yukiko, who handled the illustrations. Thank you for coloring this story with such cute and luminous illustrations. I hope we can continue working together.

And to all the readers. Thank you so much for reading this story. If you enjoyed it even a little, that makes me truly happy. I’ll keep giving it my all, so I’d love your continued support. I look forward to your company from here on as well.

Thank you for reading all the way to the end.

And with that—I hope we’ll meet again in the next volume.

Riku Totsuka