is a Japanese

light novel A is a type of Genre fiction, popular literature novel from Japan usually classified as young adult fiction, generally targeting Adolescence, teens to Young adult, twenties or older. The definition is very vague, and wide-ranging. The abbr ...

series written by Mayo Momoyo and illustrated by Itsuki Mito. It began publication as a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

on the user-generated novel publishing website

Shōsetsuka ni Narō is a Japanese novel self-publishing website created by . It was launched on April 2, 2004. Users can upload their novels free of charge and the novels are also free to read. As of December 2022, the site hosts close to 1,000,000 novels, has over ...

in October 2020. A sequel series began serialization in December 2020. It was later acquired by

Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, video game publisher and entertainment conglomerate. It releases role-playing video game, role-playing game franchises, such as ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', and '' ...

who began publishing it under their SQEX Novel imprint in August 2021. A

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

adaptation illustrated by Kaki Nagato began serialization on Square Enix's ''

Manga Up! is a Japanese manga service. Originally launched in January 2017, the service hosts manga series published by Square Enix. The service also serializes original works, many of which are derived from other media. In July 2022, the website launch ...

'' manga service in April 2022.

Media

Light novel

Written by Mayo Momoyo, ''Always a Catch'' was initially published as a short story on the user-generated novel publishing website

on October 21, 2020. A sequel series began serialization on December 4, 2020. It was later acquired by

who began publishing the series with illustrations by Itsuki Mito under their SQEX Novel light novel imprint on August 6, 2021. Five volumes have been released as of December 6, 2024.

Manga

adaptation illustrated by Kaki Nagato began serialization on Square Enix's ''

'' manga service on April 24, 2022. The manga's chapters have been compiled into eight ''

tankōbon A is a standard publishing format for books in Japan, alongside other formats such as ''shinsho'' (17x11 cm paperback books) and ''bunkobon''. Used as a loanword in English, the term specifically refers to a printed collection of a manga that w ...

'' volumes as of May 2025. The series is published in English on Square Enix's '' Manga Up! Global'' website and app. In February 2025, Square Enix Manga & Books announced that they had licensed the series for English publication, with the first volume being released in November 2024.

References

External links

* at

* * * {{Manga UP! 2021 Japanese novels Anime and manga based on light novels Anime and manga set in fictional countries Fantasy anime and manga Gangan Comics manga Japanese comedy novels Japanese fantasy novels Japanese romance novels Japanese webcomics Light novels Light novels first published online Novels set in fictional countries Romantic comedy anime and manga Shōjo manga Shōsetsuka ni Narō Webcomics in print