You like me, don’t you?

Now that I have kids of my own, I understand even more than before that when adults tell you to “be good children,” they’re really telling you to “be good children for them.” They want you to be a kid that suits them and society at large. There’s nothing truly wrong with that, of course. In most cases, being “good for someone else” and “doing something good for someone else” equate to one another. Without a doubt, being a “good kid” makes one’s life much easier in the grand scheme of things. It’s just, well, when we ask children to be good, and when we scold them for being bad, are we doing that for their sake, or for our own? I’m not claiming that either one is good or bad, or anything of that sort, but I’d like to challenge everyone to be cognizant of that distinction, because acting patronizing is very undignified overall. When you want to make things easier for yourself, you shouldn’t say “I’m saying this to help you.” You should instead say “I want to make things easier for me, so please help me out here! Be a good kid and help me!” I want to be a good dad that can be honest and upfront with my children. With that out of the way, hello there. I’m Kota Nozomi, and this is the second volume of a romantic comedy where an adolescent boy’s love for his upperclassmen is accidentally exposed to that very person. In this volume, they go on a date, and a little bit of Kasumi’s past is touched upon. Sorry about that obvious cliffhanger to pull people into buying the next volume. The third volume will contain detailed recountings of what happened at the culture festival in Soukichi’s first year, as well as more in-depth divings into the relationship between Soukichi and Kasumi. I hope you’re all looking forward to it Also, the current volume offers a small introduction to the female editor with a daughter, Ayako Katsuragi... who might just be the heroine of “You like me, not my Daughter?!”, which I’m publishing under Dengeki Bunko. If a romantic comedy between her and the university student living next door piques your interest, please give it a try. Also, an announcement! Believe it or not, “You Like Me, Don’t You?” is getting a manga adaptation! I was a bit worried about how things would turn out, seeing as the first volume was released during rather troubling times, but there have been enough sales to guarantee a second print, in addition a continuation and even a manga. This is all because of you, the readers. Thank you so much. I’ll announce more details regarding the adaptation on Twitter once I can provide them. I hope you’re excited to hear about them. Finally, I’ll give out all my thanks to those involved in this volume. First up, my editor, Mr. Nakamizo. Thank you for your help on this volume, and I really look forward to working more with you in the future. Next up, my illustrator, Azuri Hinata. Thank you for all of the amazing artwork and illustrations you’ve provided for me. I can practically picture Kasumi leaping out from the cover page and inviting me out on a date with her. I hope we can continue this working relationship of ours for some time from now onward. Lastly, I offer the greatest of all thanks to all the readers who purchased this book. If fate will have it, let us meet again in the third volume. Kota Nozomi