Rich Girl Caretaker Vol. 10 Afterword

Afterword

Is it just me, or is Tokyo real estate completely out of its mind?!!?!

Hey everyone, Yusaku Sakaishi here. It’s been a while!

So, I’m actually making plans to move to Tokyo pretty soon. There's no big, dramatic reason for it. Honestly, it’s just one of those "thinking about the future" things. I feel like if I'm ever going to really experience living in the 23 wards, now is my only shot.

...I mean, I lived in Tokyo for a bit before, but that was right after I debuted as a writer. I’d just quit my day job, and I was definitely not in a "Woohoo, Tokyo life!" headspace. Now, seven years later, things have finally settled down. This time, I’m determined to actually enjoy the capital.

Looking back, I was a basket case about everything back then. I was so terrified of running out of money that I forced my food budget under 10,000 yen a month. Later, I moved into an apartment that cost 30,000 yen in rent. I have to say, maybe I just got lucky, but I’ve managed to avoid any catastrophic failures so far.

...No, wait. That's not quite right. It’s probably because I was so terrified that I dodged all the worst-case scenarios. Yeah, that feels more accurate. I’m a massive scaredy-cat, after all. My go-to line in job interviews used to be, "My greatest strength is my caution." What a boring superpower.

Anyway, I’m deep in the house-hunting process right now, and I am just staggered by the prices. For what they're asking here, I could get a place with two extra rooms back in Kansai. It’s almost enough to make me cry. My fragile little heart can't take the panic.

After I narrowed down my search with specific layouts and conditions, the only options left were... all on major, high-traffic roads. I had to laugh. I finally picked out three potential properties, and when I mapped them, I realized they were all on the exact same national highway.

How loud is this one road?! I looked it up, and apparently, there’s a hospital nearby, so you can hear sirens blaring at all hours of the night. Cool. Great.

And look, I deliberately tried to avoid the peak moving season. I figured, "Hey, I'm a full-time writer, I can move whenever, this'll be easy." Turns out, a ton of other people had the same idea. There are so few listings available, maybe we're all just fighting over the same few properties? Moving is never easy, is it?

...Okay, okay, let’s talk about the book!!

The Student Council Election arc is finally complete! Ever since the Management Tournament arc, I’ve done a few two-part stories, but I think I’m done with these massive, sprawling arcs for a little while. As I said in the afterword for the Management Tournament, these stories were basically an expanded, upgraded version of Rich Girl Caretaker. Now that I’ve laid all this groundwork, I feel like I can finally develop the rom-com side of things in a much bigger, more expansive world.

As I hinted in the main story, the next big event after the election is the cultural festival.

The thing is... if I jump straight into the cultural festival in the next volume, I’m pretty sure I can't wrap it up in just one book. I might need a whole "preparation" volume first. Because of that, I honestly haven't locked in the plan for Volume 11 yet. It’ll be about the cultural festival in some capacity, but I also really want to push the romance forward, so I’m still trying to figure out the right balance.

After everything he went through in the election arc, Itsuki has finally grown into someone who can start shouldering the Konohana family’s heavy responsibilities. From here on out, the key players are probably going to be Takuma-san and Kagen-san. As Itsuki steps into a more adult role, he’s going to have to dip his toes into their world. In that sense, Rich Girl Caretaker might be heading into a kind of "Adult Arc."

Not that I’ve thought any of this through!! (Just covering my bases.)

[Acknowledgments]

I am deeply indebted to everyone who helped bring this book to life. To my editor, thank you for focusing on every little detail, even the staging. Most of all, thank you for approving another two-part arc, just like the Management Tournament. Because you did, I feel like I was able to write a story with real weight and impact.

To Sakura Miwabe-sensei, Tennouji-san... seriously, Tennouji-san is just stunning... (tears of joy). Thank you for giving Volume 10 such a fresh vibe with the cover, making it stand out while still being so eye-catching.

And finally, to every single reader who picked up this book: my deepest, most heartfelt thank you.

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