Romantic Troubles of Duanmu-kun

Episode 52.5 – Volume 2 Afterword & New Volume Preview

Preface note: Due to unexpected circumstances, there are two updates today, concluding Volume 2. I hope everyone can continue their silent support during these twelve days when comments aren’t possible… Please! For this new book, it’s really an undeserved disaster…

If you have any suggestions or comments, please share them in this newly created group. Group name “Amazu Manor,” group number: 424702282. Answer the novelist’s real name for automatic entry.

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And so, this lighthearted romantic comedy has finally reached its second volume!

This volume’s core content is “double revenge,” which was decided from the start; though the early parts might have seemed like a “mansion in a snowstorm” style development, that was of course misleading; similar stories about serial killings in sealed mansions/estates haven’t even been told yet.

At the end of this volume, due to length considerations and thematic alignment with Volume 2, there was a major time skip. The long thirty days and seven days of rampage, the fleeing novelist and Yayoi, and the story of meeting a certain down-and-out combat specialist and fighting against attacking assassins—if time permits, these will be released as side stories.

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…Well, they should be coming gulp.

Also regarding the female protagonists, they aren’t limited to the characters mentioned in the synopsis. Even their order of appearance might not follow the synopsis. Please don’t rely too heavily on the synopsis when making guesses.

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While writing Volume 2, I’ve continuously received everyone’s encouragement and support. Besides votes and items, readers have also promoted this book on the Long Sky Forum, other reader groups, and message boards—I’m really grateful! There have also been authors like Zhai Zhu who’ve given chapter recommendations… um, I should mention that I haven’t made any arrangements with any authors, so regarding this, I’m truly thankful.

As a new book, this story’s number of fans and the liveliness of the review section are quite outstanding among contemporary new releases, showing that everyone has maintained expectations for the novelist’s story—I’m really happy about this.

However, looking at the current situation, the most important metric for a new book—the favorites count—still falls below many works. Also, the book client limits new books to three calendar months, and I very foolishly chose to publish on August 26… meaning I have almost one month less opportunity on the new book rankings than others. Therefore, I can only place my hopes on other rankings.

As one reader in the comments section said, this book doesn’t have the possibility of suddenly becoming hugely popular one day. If we can’t gather more favorites while the book still has recommendations as a new release, advance a few more positions in the rankings, and let more people see this book, there might not be another chance later…

So I hope everyone can feed this book more during this period; even friends who are saving it to read later can give it more sustenance. Thank you all!

The following content is the Volume 3 preview.

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Another acquaintance has died, and Yayoi-san seems to be secretly planning new schemes behind the scenes… but if one ignores these things, the novelist has finally achieved his ideal peaceful life.

Summer approaches. Several weeks before summer vacation, the novelist and the Class Rep visit the home of a friend who is recuperating from injury and living with their mother. Due to an oncoming rainstorm, the situation evolves into a three-person sleepover.

And on that night, the boys and girls together witness “a certain incident” that occurs in the villa across from them, amid the fierce wind and rain—