Tokyo real estate is way too expensive!!!!
It’s been a while; this is Yuusaku Sakaishi.
I’m actually planning to move to Tokyo soon. There isn’t a grand reason for it, honestly. If I had to pick one, it’s just that I felt like this was the only time I’d be able to fully enjoy living in Tokyo’s 23 wards when looking toward the future....Well, I did live in Tokyo once before, but back then I had just made my debut as an author and had recently quit my job, so I wasn't in the right frame of mind to think, "I'm going to go have fun in Tokyo!" It’s been seven years since then, and things have stabilized on various fronts, so I’m going to enjoy the capital to the fullest this time.
Looking back on those days, I feel like I was prone to far too much needless anxiety. I was in a "save every penny" mindset, cutting my monthly food budget to under ten thousand yen and eventually moving into a place with thirty thousand yen rent. But fortunately, or perhaps just by sheer luck, I haven't really been destitute since then.
...No, that’s not quite right. Maybe it’s precisely because I was so high-strung that I was able to avoid the worst-case scenario. I have a feeling that’s the case... I’m quite a scaredy-cat. Even when I was job hunting, my main selling point was, "My greatest strength is my caution." My weapons were way too plain.
So, I’m currently looking for a place in Tokyo, and I’m absolutely appalled by how expensive every single one of them is. Almost every listing makes me feel like I could get two more rooms for the same price in Kansai. It’s enough to bring me to tears. My weak heart is screaming.
After narrowing down my search with various floor plans and conditions, the only properties that showed up were those facing major boulevards with incredibly heavy traffic. It made me laugh a little, but when I finally looked up the locations of the three candidates I was considering, it turned out they all faced the exact same national highway. Just how noisy is this road supposed to be? When I checked the reviews, some said things like, "You can hear ambulance sirens night after night because of the nearby hospital." Wow... I see.
I even tried to avoid the busy moving season. I thought being a full-time author would give me the advantage of moving easily, but surprisingly, there seem to be many people looking for properties at the same time. Since there aren't many listings, is everyone looking at the same ones? Moving really isn't as straightforward as one might think.
...Anyway, let’s talk about the book!!
The Student Council Election Arc has finally come to an end. Ever since the Management Game Arc, I’ve written several stories split into two parts, but I feel like I’ve reached a stopping point for those more voluminous stories for now. As I mentioned in the afterword for the Management Game Arc, these stories are essentially a massive expansion update for Gifted Girl's Care. Since I’ve significantly expanded the foundation here, I believe I can now unfold the romantic comedy within a much larger world than before.
As I wrote in the main text, after the election comes the School Festival.
However, about the School Festival... I’m not sure if I can fit it all into a single volume if I start writing it right away in the next one. Depending on how things go, I think a "preparation arc" volume might be necessary. Consequently, the content of Volume 11 is still completely undecided. In any case, it will be a story involving the School Festival, but I also want to start making progress with the romantic comedy side of things, so I’m struggling a bit with how to handle it.
Itsuki, who successfully achieved his own growth during the Student Council Election Arc, is finally in a position where he can seriously engage with the heavy responsibilities of the Konohana family. Moving forward, the key persons will likely be Takuma-san and Kegon-san. Having grown into an adult, Itsuki will soon begin stepping into the world of adults as well. In that sense, the future of Gifted Girl's Care might take on a role like an Adult Arc.
Though I haven’t actually thought of anything yet!! (That's my disclaimer.)
[Acknowledgements]
I have received a great deal of help from many people in the process of writing this work. To my Editor-in-charge, thank you for your meticulous attention to detail, even regarding the presentation. Above all, thank you for permitting this two-part structure, just as you did for the Management Game Arc. Thanks to that, I think I was able to write a story that is quite a substantial read. To Sakura Miwabe-sensei, Tennoji is... Tennoji is beautiful... (Tears of joy). The atmosphere of the cover has also changed slightly since it’s the tenth volume, and it’s very eye-catching. Thank you so much.
Finally, to all the readers who picked up this book, you have my deepest gratitude.