Chapter 540

Hello, readers. This is Songasonga.

How to Ruin a Romantic Comedy has finally come to an end. After nearly two years of serialization, I'm left with a bittersweet feeling.

I was thrilled by how much love this story received. It was my first time ever getting fan art... Just remembering how I felt back then still gives me a thrill. Thank you.

The ending might feel a bit rushed, but I think I found the right time to wrap it up.

It feels right to explore the remaining plot threads in side stories.

I'd like to take a short break before starting those, though. In the meantime, I'm debating whether to write side stories for my previous magical girl series, work on a draft I've had sitting around, or start a completely new project.

Speaking of a new project, my heart—which used to flutter only for NTR or corruption stories—has recently started responding to pure romance as well.

I suppose I've been corrupted by pure romance... It's a real shame.

I do want to write one, but since my favorite genre is NTL (NTR), I'm still weighing my options.

If I do write one, it won't run for as many chapters as my previous or current works.

If I go with pure romance, I'd like it to be a sweet, bubbly, and heartwarming story rather than an R-19 one.

I'd want to write a pure romance involving soccer, or a fantasy story using classic tropes like childhood friends or an arranged marriage.

On the other hand, if I go with NTL (NTR), I'm drawn toward a highly explicit corruption story that is unimaginably immoral and spicy.

The reason I specified NTR in parentheses is that I plan to write it in the third person, meaning we'd see a lot from the perspective of the one getting their partner stolen.

Since I originally debuted in the martial arts genre, I'm considering writing another martial arts story, too.

But I'm not very good at it. I guess I lack that bold, stylish prose unique to the genre... It's pretty sad.

I might just go with a lighthearted harem or slice-of-life martial arts story.

There are just so many stories I want to write.

Digressions aside, the side stories for How to Ruin a Romantic Comedy will likely follow an omnibus format rather than the long-form pacing of the main story.

However, just because it's an omnibus doesn't mean each chapter will be short.

Actually, it might be more accurate to call it a picaresque rather than an omnibus.

As for the side story I want to write the most, it was inspired by a comment a reader left early on in the serialization.

It made me think... wouldn't it be incredibly fun to write it from Miyuki's perspective with a slightly more mature tone? It was such a great idea that I've been wanting to write it ever since I first saw that comment.

However, I lack confidence and am pretty clumsy when it comes to writing in the first-person female perspective, so I'm debating whether to just write it in the third person instead.

Aside from that, I'm considering writing a 5P scenario, an epilogue, and even capture routes for the school nurse, Bread Girl, Kanna, the heroines' mothers, and Tetsuya's family. I'll have to give it a lot of thought before deciding whether to write all of those, though.

Since I believe the side stories should match the overall atmosphere of the main work, I'll probably have to cut a few ideas that might turn out too hardcore.

Lastly, I'll leave you with an illustration I intended to use but never managed to fit in.

I commissioned this piece when I came up with a winter episode featuring Hiyori dressed too lightly for the cold and Matsuda worrying about her. I've been sitting on it for several months now.

I could never find the right timing to insert it, so the plan fell through. I considered saving it for the side stories, but since the heroine routes are already completed, I figured it wouldn't fit anymore. That's why I'm sharing it here instead.

Thank you for loving How to Ruin a Romantic Comedy all this time.

—Sincerely, Songasonga—

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