“Well…I’m sorry for suddenly dragging you out here. I’m not forcing you to tell me if you don’t want to.” “I-It’s okay…!” “R-Really? Then…” Aika had considered just waiting for Wataru to come back if they were going to change their location anyway, but she swallowed that because Mina said she was fine with this. Plus, learning that there was something Ichinose Mina wanted to talk about with Wataru—she couldn’t completely erase any and all curiosity. The possibility of their bond deepening without her knowing—To the current Aika, that was not something she could just ignore. And while not knowing of this guilt, Mina made up her mind and spoke up. “Um…the thing is…” Mina then began telling Aika about the other three girls. That she wanted to do something for them, but didn’t even know why they were acting this way. So, she wanted to ask if Aika knew anything. “…Hm. Now that you mentioned it, I haven’t talked much with them after the cultural festival…” “…” “…Ah, I’m sorry, okay! Don’t look at me like that.” Aika must have felt the disappointment from Mina and her expression, as she frantically apologized and looked away. Recently, her mind could only think of Wataru and his grave injury. She didn’t have the leisure to worry about her other classmates or people that weren’t close friends. “B-But…They do seem to be bothered by something. That influences the mood in the classroom, too…”
“…” “Ugh…! I-I said I’m sorry!” She spoke as if only now she realized that something was wrong in the classroom. Mina looked up at Aika like she couldn’t believe her. At the same time, Aika dropped her shoulders in defeat. “…Natsukawa, Ichinose-san can be very delicate to handle, so you can’t treat her the same way as Ashida.” “! W-Wataru, took you long enough. Did you let out everything?” “Natsukawa, let’s calm down, okay?” By the way, it was only a “small” deed. “With only my left hand, it’s a bit hard…And it still hurts a bit,” Wataru said with a somewhat bashful tone, leaving Mina and Aika beet-red.
Nobody gained anything from that conversation. That being said, at least Wataru arrived to join the two of them. Figuring that at least he wouldn’t be as useless as Aika, Mina told him the exact same thing. As she progressed, Wataru suddenly began looking like he would break out in tears any moment. “Ah…Oh…Ichinose-san…You’re trying to help your friends…” “…Um.” “Ah, sorry. We were being serious, right? I mean, I was just so moved, don’t blame me.” Mina narrowed her eyes again in a judgmental way, which seemed to be very effective as a way to get others back on topic. Even Aika couldn’t entirely stand this, as she crossed her arms and looked the other way. She then cleared her throat once and faced Wataru. “I’d like to help them too, if possible. They were the ones who first started talking to me when Kei and I grew closer.” “You say that…But it’s gonna be something complicated.” “! D-Do you know something…?” “Well…I’ve got an idea.” Both Mina and Aika moved in closer toward him, which left him staggering backward. But looking at his left hand and the bandage, they regained their composure. “S-So…?” “I mean…I don’t know if I could just spill the beans and…Ah, wait a second.” “Huh…?”
Wataru suddenly looked at Mina, moving closer toward her. Out of shock and surprise, she bumped against the wall behind her. “Not being able to help someone in their time of need…Personalitywise, that’s the opposite of Shinomiya-senpai. What if the one being troubled was Inatomi-senpai and not her…? What would make her happy…?” “A-Ahhh…” “W-Wataru! Aren’t you getting a bit too close? And…why is Shinomiya-senpai’s name popping up now…?!” Stared down by Wataru up close, Mina blushed furiously. Aika was left in shock, trying to pull Wataru away from Mina. But, he was still thinking. Both of them had question marks up above their heads, looking at each other. Finally, Wataru must have reached a conclusion in his mind, looking at the two. “Ichinose-san…Do you remember the first interview you had at work?” “Huh…? Y-Yeah…” “I want you to remember the courage you felt back then. Because of this problem…You could be the savior of our class.” “Wha…Huuuuh?!” Lunch break arrived, and the school cafeteria was packed with students. At the table in the back sat four students, facing each other. “Um…Mina-chan?” “Y-Yesh…” “A-Are you okay?”
“…!” Sitting to Mina’s left, Saitou Mai called out to her with a worried tone. Sitting across the table, Shirai Nononka did the same. Okamoto Aoi was next to her, not voicing it openly, but her worried expression spoke for itself. I…I have to tell them properly…! This gathering came into place because Mina called for everyone. She sent “I want to talk about something” to everyone. And she finished it off with “I would be happy if you could come to the cafeteria for next lunch break.” This was the beginning of the operation that Wataru, Aika, as well as Kei and the class representative Iihoshi Seina came up with. And the details were simple…For Mina to express her worries and problems to the group. They didn’t prepare any script, of course, so Mina was understandably worried. And then there was another group of four watching them from a distance. ‘H-Hey…why did you all just order bread and milk…? I’m the only one with a lunch box now…’ ‘You lose once you worry about it, Natsukawa.’ ‘I just wanted to join in from the sidelines, AIchi.’ ‘A nutritious lunch box will be helpful for a long battle. Not bad, Natsukawa-san.’ ‘A-About what?! You didn’t set me up, did you? You didn’t just forget to let me know, right…?!’ Despite a few ups and downs, they were just as prepared. They told Mina they would be watching from a distance…but in reality, it was more like insurance in the event that Mina’s limit was to be reached in front of the other three. If things derailed, Wataru and the others could
step in to ask the girls about their problems…But, Wataru didn’t doubt Mina’s success for a moment. ‘Hmph…I would have loved to help myself.’ ‘Now, now, Aichi.’ ‘You’re such a hard worker, Natsukawa-san. But from what Sajou-kun told me, no hard work could be helpful here.’ ‘What does that mean?’ ‘This situation relies on the fact that the introverted Ichinose-san takes the first step. So apologies, but just please stay by my side for now.’ ‘W-Wataru…?’ ‘Now hold on, this isn’t what I was told about.’ ‘Hilarious.’ As the conversation derailed into a sweet atmosphere, Kei and Iihoshi stepped on the brakes. Contrary to that, Mina’s table was mostly about everyone reading the mood, nobody knowing how they could start the conversation. “So…what do you want to talk about? What happened?” “U-Um…” “Just tell us! We’ll do anything to help!” “…!” Okamoto called out to Mina in a warm voice. But she knew that she was just forcing herself to smile. She’s not in the mental state to listen to other people’s problems. Mina formed fists on her lap. She was
aware that they all kept their true feelings locked away. And that frustrated her only further. It showed they had no trust in her. Just like someone told her before, it showed they simply treated her like a mascot. “…!” “…Huh?” “…!” “…” Mina glared at the three of them in order. Met with such a determined and almost hostile expression, the other girls swallowed their breaths. Mina prepared herself to be hurt and hated, as she finally spoke up. “I want to know what’s on your mind.” “…?!” Each word made it clear how much it weighed down on her. This surprised the girls. Mina was the one and only person who asked just what nobody else dared to. “Lately, you all seem so…devoid of energy and sad…And it won’t let me go.” “Ah…” Shirai and Okamoto looked down at the table. After all, the reason for them acting this was to sit with them at the table—which was Saitou. “All of you…by yourselves…and nobody talking to me…I was llonely…”
“…Mina-chan…” Hearing Mina’s quivering voice, Okamoto raised her head. As expected, Mina’s eyes were tearing up. “I don’t know what’s on our minds…And if you really can’t tell me, then that’s fine…” “Ah…” Finally, tears fell from Mina’s eyes. But she didn’t stop there. “But…is there no way I could help you…?!” “““…””” These words conveyed with tears—Undoubtedly, they showed how Mina truly felt. In reality, she was just an existence they could spoil whenever they want. But when they were troubled with something, she was just there to heal their minds. Yet, this very mascot now said that she wanted to be their strength. These feelings, paired with her tears, deeply reverberated inside of them. “…I see. I’m sorry, Mina-chan.” “…! Aoi-chan.” “It’s okay, Honka-chan. I’ll say it.” Listening to Mina until the very end, the first one to speak up was Okamoto. Shirai seemed worried, but the light had returned to her eyes, as she looked at Saitou. “You know, I was really shocked to hear that you started dating Sasaki-kun, Mai-chan.” “Ah…”
“…Wha…?” Hearing Okamoto’s confession, Saitou’s expression was distorted in sadness. Meanwhile, Mina stopped crying and looked between the two. Wataru said he had a feeling as to what caused the rupture in this group. He never told Mina, but she had no idea that it would be related to love and everything around it. And since this was a territory much more mature than she assumed, she was shaken. “We always talked about Sasaki-kun being cool, started admiring him, talked to him from time to time while being excited, and then gushed about it in our group. I thought that would continue forever. So when I heard that Mai-chan and he started dating, I thought that she cut ahead of me.” “Aoi…chan…” “But, I’m the weird one for thinking that.” “What…?” Saitou was surprised to hear that, raising her head in shock. “I always talked about Sasaki-kun being my favorite, my idol. But I just lied to myself. I was happy keeping him at a distance…like he was an idol. No way I wouldn’t develop any feelings.” “…” “I’m the same.” “…!” Following Okamoto, now Shirai looked directly at Saitou, confessing her feelings. “Even after I fell in love with Sasaki-kun, I didn’t have the courage to confess. I sometimes talked to him but was happy with just that. With
the possibility of him rejecting me hovering in my head, I couldn’t tell him my feelings.” “Nonoka-chan…” “You’re amazing, Mai-chan. You actually confessed to him.” “You must have known that this would make things awkward between us. But you still did your best and mustered up your courage.” “Y-You two…!” Saitou’s expression was distorted in pain as she couldn’t keep up the facade anymore. She began shedding tears like Mina previously did. “I’m sorry…I just couldn’t hold myself back any longer…I knew we couldn’t be friends anymore, but my feelings for him continued to grow…And I couldn’t tell you about that…!” “It’s okay. It’s okay, Mai-chan.” “You don’t have to apologize.” They said and then smiled at Saitou. ““Congrats.”” “…!” They both were blessing her with tears in their eyes. The guilt Saitou felt grew even stronger, as she couldn’t hold back her own tears. Mina didn’t know what to do, so she just handed Saitou a handkerchief and rubbed her back. “Um, if there is anything I can do, then…” she said. “It’s okay, Mina-chan.”
“…Huh?” “You already helped us. Because we could finally talk it out.” “…” “Thank you, Mina-chan.” “Really…Thank you so much…” “Ah…” The courage Mina showed through her struggles was what allowed Shirai Nonoka, Okamoto Aoi, and Saitou Mai to become friends again. For high school girls in love with the same boy, this problem had to be resolved eventually. However, Mina’s courage allowed them to preserve their bonds. Being thanked, Mina realized the effort she put into everything was worth it. Looking at the table in the distance, the people supposedly watching over her had already disappeared. * Sixth period ended, and the students were waiting for homeroom to begin. The regular school life they were used to had returned. In the midst of that, Okamoto and Shirai gathered at Mina’s desk. “Mina-chan! I only have you left, Mina-chan!” “Not fair, Aoi-chan! Me too!” “P-Please let go of me…!” “I…I’m so sorry…” Okamoto clung to Mina, with Shirai on top of her. Saitou watched this from afar, one hand on her chest. The group was finally back together.
“Ashida, this is how you and Natsukawa look on the regular.” “Huuuh? No way, I don’t leap at Aichi like that.” “I can’t believe you can just say that…” “Natsukawa-san, you have the right to complain.” Now that things had calmed down, class rep Iihoshi joined the others, watching this unfold from afar. Wataru and the others were relieved all the same. “…Seems like everything worked out.” “Sasakichi’s smiling, too.” “I…had no idea that Sasaki-kun was this popular.” “I’m more surprised you didn’t know about that.” “…Welp, I can leave it at that.” As it turns out, Aika never saw Sasaki as a potential love interest. Thinking about the fact that Sasaki had feelings for Aika not too long ago, if he hadn’t been dating Saitou right now, things would have been bad. He almost cried of joy, so he looked away. As for the other students, they seemed relieved that things had gone back to normal, smiling as they went about their day. It showed how big of an influence those three were. “Oh? Ichinose-chan’s walking over towards us.” “I wonder what she wants…?” “?” Wataru turned around as he saw Mina walking over. She held something like a sheet of paper in her hand.
“What’s up?” “U-Um…Thank you very much.” “No worries, no worries. We couldn’t go on our date, so I’m glad I made up for it.” “You’re still on about that, Sajocchi?” “…” Wataru mentioning a “date” once again made Kei’s expression stiffen, as Aika simply remained silent with a sour expression. Since she remembered Sajou sulking the last time, she didn’t deny it again. “So…You can have this…” “Hm? What’s this?” “A token…of my gratitude…” “Oh?” “Lesse! Is that a ticket?” “Huh…?” The group looked at the ticket Wataru was given. Kei and Aika were more than interested and checked out what it was for. “Huh? A ‘Will do anything for you’ ticket…?” ““Now hold on?!”” “Hilarious.” Right before classes come to an end, the students are most relaxed. However, the loud voices of the two girls completely disrupted this
calm atmosphere.
Afterword Hello everyone, this is Okemaru. How did you enjoy ‘Yumemiru Danshi wa Genjitsushugisha’ volume 8? It depicted a rather grave development for the first time, so the people who emphasize a lot with the protagonist might be feeling a pain similar to his. I hope you look forward to our dear Wataru dealing with his surroundings as he’s impaired like this. And of course, I will put more focus on the change of his relationship with the heroine. With the eighth volume safely making it to bookshelves, there was one facet in my life that changed greatly after the release of the 7th volume last year in August—Namely, I bought a new TV. And it was a lot of trouble. You may have already read it from the author’s comment inside the cover, but I really wanted a PS5. Because as of late, they actually became available again, which allowed me to buy one…so I did. But, of course not immediately. An old TV I had made me waver if it could even be compatible with a PS5. And the size of my old one was too big, not fitting the stand. Once it rains, it pours as they say. To continue this comment, I ended up going with a regular display and not a TV. Looking into it, a TV alone won’t let you watch local cable, so I added an HDD side so I can play with that. That’s why I figured it would be more effective to pass out on that when it came to the display. And the displays are even the size of regular TVs nowadays, so I don’t have to buy a bigger one. That allowed me to keep the purchase cheaper. But since it had no proper speaker function, I had to buy a high-quality speaker instead. Still, I didn’t expect I would get to 4K level without paying like a million yen. By the way, the PS5s were sold out, after all. —Yes, yes. I understand. I’m sorry. The biggest change from when volume 7 was released is the fact that an anime adaptation for this
series has been announced. Not many romcom novels made it all the way to an anime from HJ Bunko’s series and their selection from ‘Shousetsuka ni Narou,’ so I consider this a great honor. This being my first series that was properly serialized, which immediately ended up with a comicalization and anime…I feel incredibly blessed and lucky. With the anime production proceeding, as the author, I naturally am deeply involved, but this being my first time, there were a lot of new things I was challenged with. Especially when it comes to the script for the anime made by the scriptwriter, I have to check everything as the original creator, making sure there are no contradictions. And this made me realize just how different a regular novel and script are. It might look weird as an author, but once everything comes together with the sound of voices, it feels absolutely natural. But even so, I had to thoroughly check through it, so that was what probably took the most calories out of me. Another part of my job was to gather character data. Writing the various characters’ personalities into a text, as well as their birthday, height, weight, three-sizes, and other facts that will be made publicly available. There is a lot of information needed only after an anime adaptation is made. The same goes for Shirai-san, Okamocchan, as well as Ichinose-san’s brother, whose names I had to decide specifically for the anime. As well as how they referred to each other. On a side note, this was also the first time I learned about a women’s chest being categorized as top and under. Another secret that was unmasked because of an anime. Following that, I had to look through the candidates for the various voice actors that applied. The production company offered demo data, and they offer candidates that would fit the voice, but that was something else, too…I figured we would have maybe four to five people for each character, but when I opened the lid, I was greeted with twenty to fifty people as candidates, and I listened to all their data. And a lot of times, I encountered what I would consider data from an absolute veteran. They would then voice a few lines from, let’s say,
the protagonist or the heroine. That alone made me feel emotional. Out of all these candidates, I limited it to five finalists for each character. The voice actor for the protagonist Miyase Naoya-san and the voice for Aika, Suzumoto Akiho-san, were part of these candidates. Of course, the work would be even greater for a series with two cours or other popular series…and I feel the pain of those authors. Listening to the opening and ending theme was also a great experience. In that context, I don’t have much of a special position when it comes to that, but I could listen to the song before anyone, so I do feel a bit superior. And I hope you look forward to it. All that was left was to check out the visuals and art in the anime. This includes the character designs, of course. As well as background characters, scenery, buildings, the composition, minor characters, smartphone covers, icons, as well as other designs that never appeared in the original material. Sometimes I think to myself that it would be fine to leave it to the production company, but it needs to be properly checked. It’s important to have both sides’ consent before production continues, and that is something crucial I learned in my own work. Out of everything, deciding on the characters’ casual outfits took the most work. In the novel, I would just decide on a general type and clothes, but now I get asked what exact style as a reference. Thanks to that, I had to read up on the fashion styles of modern high school students, as well as women’s fashion. By the way, looking up clothes for Airi-chan made me scared my browser search would get leaked. However, when it comes to the actual production, I’ve got no role to play, so I feel guilty. I did check the actual progress in person, but the rest is up to them. I never got involved with any such TV work, so seeing it by myself was quite an exciting event. Out of my own prejudice, I assume that all the voice actors were tall models, but meeting them, I was relieved to see they were fellow mortals such as myself. However, they were all very handsome and beautiful, but there was no Miss Universe that towered over me, either. I was especially
excited to hear that Aika’s actress Suzumoto-san read the light novel up to the newest volume. The only thing I haven’t mentioned is the various events for advertising. I appeared during last year’s Comic Market in Hamamatsu City last December, trying to advertise the anime as much as possible. I don’t mean to make this an excuse, but going all the way to the Comiket used up a lot of stamina, so showing up there was a bit out of my scope. Then again, I usually stay away from such events, it’s more of a personality problem. I’m the type to read novels but not watch anime, so I want to leave these events to the people who know what they are doing. They are all working so much harder than me, I don’t even know how to thank them. But when talking about anime, one cannot go without mentioning the current rise of a new Corona variant. Sometimes, it’s tough to get everything necessary, so I wish that every person involved takes great care of their health so that we won’t have to count any sacrifices to make this happen. On that topic, Corona is not only proving difficult in the anime industry but for light novels, too. With bookstores and other management establishments closing down, it’s hard to get physical copies at times. And even if these offered any series, it often boils down to the label’s newest releases. So for the most part, the fans are tasked to either order it online or go to Melonbooks directly for the added bonuses. And I feel for the people with limited possibilities. At the same time, I consider myself extremely lucky to be an author who can continue his work despite these trying times. When I debuted in 2020, most people had begun reading on their smartphones, allowing me to see the sales numbers there. At the same time, I can keep contact with my editor through LINE or Discord, too. And this is coming strictly from an author, I can even handle my own tax returns. I don’t have to head all the way to the post to hand it in. And the same goes for “Shousetsuka ni Narou.” Its existence made uploading my work
and eventually debuting much easier than during my previous generation. For my writing activities, I even rely on smartphone notes, too. Something like that would be incomparable to a long time ago. It greatly helps in keeping up motivation. Honestly, I don’t think I could have debuted all those years back. As I said earlier, I was more of a web novel reader than light novel fan or anime watcher, so I had to learn a lot of new things. Especially when it comes to procedures and other work-related details about light novels, manga, and anime. And it’s only after I debuted that I found out about the so-called ‘Narou Works.’ Even though I use it regularly, I don’t particularly mind the reception it has. That is also why I don’t have an official Twitter as “Okemaru.” I never even considered making one. And that made me wonder. Is “Yumemiru Danshi wa Genjitsushugisha” a Narou Work? That’s what you call a series from that website that get an anime. But looking at the definition, I don’t think that’s quite it. It’s mostly related to isekai and reincarnation series, and most works follow three simple conditions: 1: Through a fantasy phenomenon, the protagonist earns a special status. 2: He is superior to his surroundings in some way. 3: Or so it looks to be. What the protagonist needs is something that makes him stand out. Regarding point 3, it really depends on the individual series, because this can be the case even without an isekai reincarnation series. And it might not even be from Shousetsuka ni Narou, either. (TL here: He then rambles on about the categories and whatever, but I honestly can’t be bothered because I’m tired and this afterword
has already been going on for too long because the author wants to fill the pages, so I’ll skip to the ending.) With Corona still going strong, the development of AI, and the invoice system, I’m sure that a harsh future is waiting ahead of us, but I don’t intend on losing. Taking in the strength of our protagonist who could joke around despite stabbing himself in the hand, I will continue to work on the source material so that it won’t lose against the anime. I hope you stay around and support me along the way. This has been Okemaru.
Links Community for Yumemiru Danshi Discord: Here Reddit: Here Fandom/Wiki: Here CClaw Translation Website: Here Discord: Here