And so ends volume 3.5. Like I said, it was short.

I know it looks like a bunch of chapters that barely connect with each other, but there is a method to my madness. I don't even want to talk about the chapters to avoid spoilers.

In fact, I'll dedicate this AN mostly to talking about meta stuff just so there's no risk of spoilers.

First point, there was a point in time where I considered making this "half-volume" just about Yuuto's part. So the prologue would basically be the same, then there would be a chapter for Yuuto's kidnapping and then things would basically follow the same lines, except over a few chapters rather than in just 1.

But I ended up deciding to make this volume be a little about everyone. Not only did it make it easier to write, but it also allowed me to foreshadow some stuff. We'll be seeing the first payoff as soon as the next volume.

Another thing I should mention is a slight change in the timeline of events. Basically, you guys probably noticed that volume 2's Extra Chapter takes place in the future (as in after that volume). Originally, it was supposed to take place at the start of volume 4, but I've now changed it so it takes part somewhere here. It's not a big deal, but just in case anyone's wondering about the timeline.

The last thing I have to comment on is about illustrations. I actually almost got an AI to make illustrations for this story. The only reason I decided not to was because the official characters (the ones that show up in Kuji's LN) weren't quite matching up.

I considered doing illustrations just for the original ones, but I felt like I should either do them all or do none. Since I couldn't get good results with the official characters, I opted to do nothing.

But I would like to hear you guys' opinions on this. Should I try to do the original characters to give you guys some visual aid? Or are you guys fine with the descriptions? Or anything else you'd like to contribute.

Since the chapters themselves weren't long, I also don't want to make this note too long. So I'll call it here for now. See you guys in volume 4.