There's no way a side character like me could be popular, right?

Chapter 1

Thank you for purchasing the third volume of Side Character. Oh, right—hi there! Sekaiichi here.

Sooo... yeah! It’s finally here! I know, I know—we’ve released the third volume, and now a manga’s coming out, too?! It’s all thanks to you guys. This never would’ve even been possible without your support. Thank you all so much! I can’t wait until you tell your grandkids about this Sekaiichi guy who—way back in the day—made you c***k a smile or two, and...

Anyway, leaving that aside, volume three is the long-awaited debut of Makiri-sensei, someone I very deliberately kept to a minimum for the first two books. I decided to make her the main girl this time around, and I hope that you’ve come to like her more after reading this. I know I certainly did, so I’d be so happy if you felt the same!

This volume is based on the initial content from the w*******l, but with a good number of tweaks and changes. For example, I don’t really delve into Yuuji’s past in the w*******l, but in this volume, I dedicated a sizable segment to it. In fact, Yuuji’s dad doesn’t even exist in the w*******l version. I also really, really want to write more scenes involving Yuuji, Haruma, and Makiri together. My imagination’s running wild just thinking about it.

I actually find it funny that apart from Takuma (Sennouji’s housekeeper) and Otome, all the other new characters are a bunch of old farts! There’s Yamamoto, with his excellent cooking skills; the harsh—but equally cute—Sennouji; and Yuuji’s dad, who has a secret romcom addiction. Expect to see more of these old timers in the coming volumes! Don’t worry, there’ll be plenty of screen time for the rest of the characters as well, including Otome!

I also want to address everyone who’s sent me letters until now. Thank you so much! I’ll try my best to keep releasing material that’ll appeal to everyone! Actually, I wouldn’t mind getting a few more supportive letters to lift my spirits. I especially like those that are along the lines of, “Go, go, Sekaiichi, go!”

Now I’ll jump to words of gratitude for those who collaborated with me.

First of all, to my editor-in-chief: I know I gave you some serious headaches, but I want to thank you. It’s because of your help that the story turned out as great as it did! I hope we can continue to work together just as well as we’ve been doing so far.

I also want to thank the illustrator, Tom Osabe. He did a terrific job. The editor-in-chief proposed him as the replacement illustrator and showed me one of Tom’s illustrations—a girl doing a peace sign. I was so impressed by his fashion sense and coloring that I had no other choice but to ask him to draw for Side Character! I’m so glad that he accepted. Thank you, Tom. I hope we continue to work together in the future.

I also want to express my gratitude to everyone else involved in the production of this novel. Thank you!

Most of all, though, I want to show my appreciation to the readers who purchased this book. Actually, as a way of saying thanks, I’ve decided to add a little sneak peek for the next volume. It’s a short segment featuring plenty of Touka. Enjoy!