The summer that one line from "The Surgery Room" fell from her lips with poignancy has passed into distant history.

But I can still remember the surprise and pain I felt when she bit the back of my hand.

And the many stories she gave me.

So in my heart I whisper.

Filled with all the gratitude and affection in the world for my dear book girl.

I won't forget you-.

AFTERWORD.

Hello, Mizuki Nomura here. The sixth volume of the Book Girl series is its first side story!

In terms of the time line, it falls after the second book, but the subject matter is a forecast of the seventh book, so I'm perfectly happy if you read it in the order it was published.

The inspiration this time for Tohko and Konoha's memorable summer plus the Maki file is Kyka Izumi's Demon Pond. I also made use of The Grass Labyrinth and "The Surgery Room." Kyka's vocabulary and plotting are powerfully beautiful. His writing is unique and parts of it are hard to read, but the beauty of the words and scenarios flying into your mind will make your head spin. The plots and settings are often truuuuuly wonderful, so it might be better to get an idea of the story before the difficult parts and then experience the flavor of the prose.

I quoted an Emily Bronte poem in the opening illustrations again. I love this poem and it suited Maki perfectly, so I really wanted to use it in the story this time and in the second book! Just as I was surrendering in tears, my editor unexpectedly suggested, "Why not use it in the opening illustration?" and I begged to do it. They use it in the main theme for a TV drama called Hagetaka, too. I've been a fan of the writers for a while now, and whenever the song played in a scene, I was sooooooo moved.

Once again, I'm running out of room in the afterword. Ms. Takeoka-our illustrator-the "curry restaurant" Tohko from your afterword in the fifth book was SO cute! That hairstyle, just oh, my gosh. I finally offered you Tohko out of uniform, so I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how the drawings turn out!

I have an announcement for the readers. This year, Book Girl was once again third overall in Takarajima Publishing's This Light Novel Is Amazing! Tohko won second place in the female character category! Kotobuki was eighth, Konoha was seventh for male characters, and Ms. Takeoka was second in the illustrators' category!

Thank you so much to everyone who voted! I'm going to turn my attention to the graduation volume now and do my best, so I hope you'll stay with us to the end. I'd like to put out a few short-story collections, which a lot of people asked about. I'm currently accepting requests for stories you'd like to see. Okay, see you!

Mizuki Nomura.

November 27, 2007.

end.