After Helping “Ice Princess” From Another School, I Decided to Start as a Friend Volume 2 Afterword

 Afterword 

Hello, everyone! It’s been a while—Satsuki Hiryu here.

Did you enjoy “When I Helped the Ice Princess from Another School, We Started as Friends” Volume 2? If so, I’d be incredibly happy. 

Yes, Volume 2! We’ve finally reached the release of the second volume. The continuation was announced by Dengeki Bunko fairly early on, and that’s all thanks to you, the readers. Thank you so much.

I’d love to touch on the contents of Volume 2 a bit… but first, a quick aside. I never explained the symbols used in the story, like “◆◆◆◆,” so I’ll clarify their purpose here.

In simple terms: “◆◆◆” marks a scene transition without a change in perspective. “◆◇◆” indicates both a perspective shift and a scene change—mostly used for switches between Souta-kun and Nagi-chan’s viewpoints. And “○○” covers everything else. In Volume 1, it was used for Minakawa-san’s debut or Soichiro-san’s narration, and in Volume 2, it marks dream sequences. Sorry for leaving this unexplained until the afterword…

Now, let’s switch gears and talk about the main story. Those of you who’ve read the web version might have noticed, but there are several significant changes. First, Souta-kun’s parents made a surprise visit. Second, his final exam scores and ranking dropped. And on a more minor note, the depictions of Nagi-chan’s nightmares have increased.

In the web version, Souta-kun was supposed to meet his mom around the first half of Chapter 2, but that got moved here. I added this scene with the thought that if something happened to Souta-kun, his parents—being the pair they are—would come rushing in. Thanks to that, Souta-kun’s dad got to appear earlier too, and it created an opportunity for Souta-kun’s parents to meet Nagi-chan’s parents. I hope these two sets of parents can get along as “papa friends” and “mama friends” too.

And so, the core of this volume’s story revolves around Nagi-chan’s regrets. While a lot was resolved in Volume 1, emotionally, Nagi-chan still carries a heavy sense of guilt. As she herself mentions in the story, the fact that she hurt someone she loves deeply hasn’t changed. This volume is about how Nagi-chan, who’s become somewhat dependent, overcomes her past. That said, since the two of them are now officially a couple, there are far more affectionate moments compared to Volume 1. There are stories you can only write once they’re lovers, so being able to put them into book form like this made me incredibly happy. I adore the hesitant, budding distance of a relationship just starting out, but I also love this slightly unbridled, brakes-failing vibe just as much.

Since this is an afterword, I’d like to take a moment to gush about the illustrations too.

Misumi-sensei’s artwork is genuinely, overwhelmingly cute and beautiful—honestly, all I can say is “Thank you so much!” I couldn’t go into detail last volume due to space constraints, but Nagi-chan and Souta-kun are so adorable and gorgeous… especially their eyes, which are just stunningly beautiful. And it’s not just Nagi-chan—Souta-kun and the others are amazing too. With Souta-kun especially, the kindness that seeps through his expressions is so wonderful. There’s a coolness mixed with cuteness, and the first time I saw it, I had to clutch my chest.

Also, the frontispiece for Volume 2—cat-eared Nagi-chan and Souta-kun—had me writhing in delight all by myself. What even are those two? They’re too cute. I could stare at them forever.

Of course, every other illustration is equally phenomenal. Every time I look at them, my smile just keeps growing uncontrollably. Thank you so, so much.

Moving on a bit from Volume 2, this series has also been adapted into a manga, serialized in Alive+ and Niconico Manga. The Nagi-chan and crew drawn by Wanda Kuro-sensei are incredibly cute and beautiful too, so please check that out as well! Not only Souta-kun and Nagi-chan, but Eiji-kun, Kirika-chan, and Hayama-chan are all depicted with such charm—please give it a look!

Finally, I’d like to offer my thanks.

Once again, to Misumi-sensei, who provided the illustrations for this work. To my editor, who offered countless ideas and consultations to make Volume 2 even better. To Wanda Kuro-sensei, who took on the manga adaptation. To all the readers who picked up Volume 1. To those who shared their thoughts on SNS and elsewhere. To everyone involved in the production of Volume 2. And to all of you, the readers, who picked up Volume 2.

Thank you so, so much.

I desperately hope this series can continue, so if you’d like, please keep supporting it moving forward.

Until we meet again, somewhere, sometime, dear readers.

——.