We meet again. I'm Takibi Amamori.
The third installment of losing heroines. I'm happy to say that Volume 3 has safely made it into your hands.
As always, I caused our editor, Iwasaa-shi, a great deal of trouble with this volume.
In fact, even as I'm writing this, that trouble is very much ongoing… Thank you so much (sweat).
And once again, Imigimuru-sensei drew the most incredible illustrations for this volume.
With the upper limit of greatness increasing this much, I fear that the world might soon impose a cap on total cuteness. The right to have Imigimuru-sensei draw your characters may soon become a commodity traded at exorbitant prices on the global market.
So, while you still can, make sure to grab all existing volumes of <Too Many Losing Heroines!> and <This Art Club Has a Problem!> along with the artbook <Imigimuru ART WORKS fruits>.
They are sure to become a big deal, kind of like cryptocurrency.
…Actually, I don't really know what cryptocurrency is, so let's get back to the main topic. This time, the spotlight is on Komari-chan, who graces the cover.
The story takes place midway through the second semester, as the third-year students approach graduation.
Komari-chan's feelings and her choices. And Yanami-san's gourmet tour-
I hope I was able to convey all this to you, dear readers.
And! This time, I have an important announcement!
Those of you who have seen the book's wraparound band may already know, but the manga adaptation is officially starting!
And the artist in charge is none other than Itachi-sensei! You may know him as the manga artist behind the adaptation of <Haganai: I Don't Have Many Friends>.
It will be serialized on the Manga ONE app and the Ura Sunday website, so please check it out!
As the original author, I got to read it in advance (privilege!), and let me tell you, it's really good. No exaggeration.
I was absolutely captivated by Itachi-sensei's beautiful artwork, but even more than that, the way the story was restructured and the characters reinterpreted for the manga was just brilliant. I read it with genuine excitement.
Even if you have read the original, I promise you'll find something fresh here and enjoy this alternate Makeine world to the fullest.
Now then, I once again begged the publisher to give me some space after the afterword.
So, please enjoy this extra taking place after Chapter 3…
Extra: Please, Teacher ☆
Not far from the train station, there's a pub run directly by a local fishcake maker.
Two young women sat side by side at the counter, clinking their glasses together.
"To the end of Tsuwabuki Fest! Cheers!"
One of them, a petite woman, held her now-empty glass high after downing it in one gulp.
"Excuse me, another draft beer, please!"
Konami Amanatsu, a social studies teacher at Prefectural Tsuwabuki High School. 26 years old, in the full bloom of womanhood.
Though she sometimes looks more like a rough-around-the-edges high schooler, she always has to bring ID when drinking out.
"You're drinking fast as always. Trying to get picked up by someone?"
The woman next to her, smiling suspiciously, is the school's health teacher, Sayo Konuki.
Tracing the condensation on her glass with slender fingers, she giggled softly.
Konami, already feeling tipsy, narrowed her eyes and shot a glance at her friend.
"Unlike you, Konuki-chan, no one wants to take me home."
"If you get properly smashed like you usually do, you'll end up being looked after before anyone thinks about taking you home."
"Is that so? Didn't you used to be a lightweight back in college? Whenever we went drinking, you always had some guy walking you home."
"Ara, I was just pretending to be drunk back then."
Konami, who had just received her second beer, froze mid-motion.
"…Come to think of it, your timing for getting wasted was always suspiciously perfect."
"If you get drunk at a mixer, it can be dangerous, you know."
Konuki returned her empty glass and ordered her next drink.
"Wait, that was a mixer? I was showing up in sweatpants and stuff."
At that, this time, Konuki is the one who stopped moving.
"Wait, Konami, you seriously were like that? I totally thought you were just playing to a niche fetish crowd."
"If you know someone into that kind of thing, introduce me- no, actually, never mind."
"A wise choice. That genre isn't beginner-friendly."
A server brought over a glass of sake in a masu box. Konuki accepted it and brought her lips to the brim, which was nearly overflowing. Shikai-O Junmai Ginjo, her favorite bottle.
Konuki's side profile softened with happiness as she narrowed her eyes. Yeah, no wonder she's popular, Konami thought, while deciding to change the subject.
"Anyway, changing topics, how are the Literature Club kids doing? They getting along okay?"
"Yes. It's my first time advising a club, so it feels very new."
Konuki stared at the clear liquid in her glass, as if recalling something.
"Nukumizu-kun especially, he's a strange one. Given my job, I like to think I have a decent read on students who need the nurse's office, but there are kids who need support in a different way, and those are hard to spot."
"Wait, don't tell me Nukumizu has been dealing with something?"
"If anything, it's the opposite. The girls around Nukumizu-kun are kind of a handful. I think his presence might mean more to them than even he realizes."
"Really, him, huh…"
Konami poked at her miso oden radish, hiding her surprise behind a neutral expression.
"That's why I'm kind of interested in Nukumizu-kun… from a school nurse's perspective, of course."
Seeing the scheming look on Konuki's face, Konami narrowed her eyes in suspicion.
"Konuki-chan, don't lay a finger on him, okay…?"
"Konami, I am a public servant, you know. When I became a teacher, I made a vow never to lay a hand on a student-"
Konuki raised her glass triumphantly with a smug expression.
"…You're doing that 'cool declaration' face, but that's just the bare minimum standard, you know?"
"Is it? Want me to argue that point in detail?"
"Absolutely not. Come on, just drink already."
Konami downed her second glass and ordered another.
Just as her next beer arrived, a small tabletop grill was placed between them.
At this place, you could grill your own chikuwa and eat it right at the table.
"Ara? You're going with the shiso-filled one, Konami? That's a pretty refined choice."
Konuki spoke as she rolled her chikuwa skewer back and forth over the grill.
"When in Toyohashi, it's gotta be shiso. You're just having the plain kind, huh?"
"I'm in a phase where I have come full circle and crave that simple, nostalgic taste."
The surface of the chikuwa slowly began to puff up. They pressed it down with toothpicks and made sure it grilled evenly.
"…Grilling chikuwa with another woman is fun and all, but still, I wish I had something going on too."
That candid thought slipped out of Konami's mouth, and Konuki responded with a gentle smile.
"Konami, you're too serious. Unless you jump into someone's arms, you'll never really understand anything."
"And you got burned plenty doing that. Honestly, surviving that coming-of-age ceremony incident was already a miracle."
"I knew what I was getting into. Konami, as long as we were born as women-"
Konuki lifted her perfectly grilled chikuwa from the flame.
"-it's better to be stabbed than to do the stabbing."
"You're totally not sorry about anything, are you?"
To her friend's retort, Konuki didn't answer with words, but with a smile.
The night for these women is just getting started-
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