Starting the "I'm a Pharmacist, After All." Novel Project

I wanted to turn the invisible work of pharmacists into a story.

Having written the practical book "Pharmacist, I Started Using AI," I have now begun writing a novel set in a pharmacy.

The title is "I'm a Pharmacist, After All. ~Sakurano-cho Pharmacy, Business as Usual Today~".

When working at a pharmacy, there are times when words become stiff the moment I try to explain something.

The atmosphere in the waiting room, the expressions across the counter, the time spent searching for words before handing over medication. Those nuances are easily lost when only explaining systems or job duties.

The view from outside the pharmacy and what is being thought inside are probably a little different. I wanted to write about that gap as a story.

"I'm a Pharmacist, After All." is a workplace novel set in a pharmacy.

The setting is the fictional Kita-Tama City. It takes place at "Sakurano-cho Pharmacy," located in a corner of the Sakurano-cho shopping district.

It is not in front of a large hospital, but in a shopping district where local people drop by casually. Some bring prescriptions, some stop by to buy cold medicine or masks, and some just come for advice before leaving.

The protagonist is Chiaki Kashiwagi, a pharmacist in her 30s working at Sakurano-cho Pharmacy.

She has a self-deprecating side and is the type to finish tasks one by one in front of her rather than saying grand things.

However, at the pharmacy, she stops in her tracks at a casual remark from a patient. Even in front of someone in a hurry, if she thinks it is better to confirm, she is the type to choose her words carefully and ask one more question.

To ensure it can be read by those who don't know much about the work of a pharmacist, I plan to focus on the hesitations, judgments, and small conversations of the people working at the pharmacy, without putting technical terms at the forefront.

This novel is being created with AI.

I should state upfront that this novel is being written with AI-assisted writing.

I use AI as a partner to think with. It acts as an assistant to organize the structure, consult on drafts, and find awkward phrasing in the text.

I decide the themes, setting, and the personalities and relationships of the characters. I also make the final judgment on whether there are any unnatural parts in the pharmacy descriptions, whether the text contains expressions that should be avoided when dealing with medical topics, and what to leave in at the end.

I thought it would be more appropriate for this series to write this at the beginning rather than hiding it and explaining it later.

What lies behind the work that looks like "bagging"

The area behind the pharmacy counter is hard to understand from the outside.

If you only look at the moment of receiving medicine, it might seem like the person is just gathering medicine while looking at a prescription and explaining it. Sometimes, pharmacy work might even look like a task close to "bagging."

But just saying "that's not true" probably won't get the point across. What we see inside the pharmacy, where we hesitate, and why confirmation is necessary are things that are hard to see from the outside.

Before handing over the medicine, in addition to the prescription details, we check previous medications, physical condition, how to take them, and any concerns as needed. To see how the medicine is used in daily life, there are times when we ask about how many times a patient wakes up at night or what they are struggling with at home.

Of course, dramatic events don't happen every time. It's rather plain. However, an important aspect of this job lies in the accumulation of those confirmations.

In the first episode, I used this "work that is hard to see from the outside" as an entry point.

What I want to convey through a story, not an explanation

I could explain that "pharmacists do more than just bagging."

But what you understand through explanation and what you feel as a scene are different.

For example, even if there is something I want to ask a patient, there are moments when I hesitate about how far I should step in. Even if I know confirmation is necessary, I make small judgments over and over, such as choosing my words while watching the atmosphere in the waiting room or the patient's expression.

Perhaps that atmosphere can be conveyed more closely through a story than through commentary.

That is why I started writing this novel.

I don't want to make pharmacists look particularly grand. I want to depict the judgments and hesitations that actually happen on this side of the counter as a normal job as much as possible.

So that even those who don't know pharmacies can read it

I do not intend for this novel to be an inside story aimed only at pharmacists.

I hope that even those who know almost nothing about pharmacy work, or those who like occupational stories or stories about shopping streets, will read it as if they are peeking into Sakurano-cho Pharmacy.

Technical terms will appear, but this is not a novel for memorizing terms. It is not a story for studying the system either.

What do people in the pharmacy see in their daily work, what catches their attention, and what kind of words do they choose?

If you can read that, that is enough.

The creation process is a cycle of dialogue and verification.

In production, I determine the themes, setting, characters, and essential conditions for the pharmacy environment.

Based on that, I refine the flow of each episode while engaging in dialogue with AI.

I confirm what kind of patients come in, who moves where within the pharmacy, and where the protagonist encounters obstacles. I also confirm what is left behind at the end.

Even when a draft of the text is finished, it is not published as is. I check for unnatural parts with a pharmacist's eye, and review expressions that should be avoided in medical depictions or prose that feels too polished.

AI is convenient. But I am the one who makes the final judgment on the atmosphere of the pharmacy.

I make the final decision.

As long as I am dealing with medicine and pharmacies, I will not be vague about this.

The characters, pharmacies, and medical institutions are all fictional. I do not handle information that would identify actual workplaces, colleagues, or patients.

Also, this novel is not individual medical advice. Decisions and consultations regarding medication should be confirmed in an actual clinical setting.

Making it readable as a story while not being sloppy with the pharmacy depictions.

I will write while verifying as a pharmacist so as not to miss these two points.

All 9 episodes will be published on note until completion.

This series will be published on note as a 9-episode serial. The text is already written up to the final episode, so there is no worry of it stopping halfway.

At the same time, I will submit it to the note Creative Awards 2026 in the Work Novel category. I didn't want to make it too grand, but since I'm writing it, I wanted to try putting it in a place where it can reach readers.

Each episode is a serial short story that can be read as a standalone. You can read it as a single event from any episode, but if you read them in order from the first episode, you should be able to see the relationships between the people at Sakurano-machi Pharmacy and the changes gradually approaching the town.

I want to prioritize having people enjoy it as a novel above all else.

Starting with the first episode.

The title of the first episode is "Medicine is not about medicine." The story begins from the point where pharmacy work looks like "bagging."

What do I see and what do I verify before handing over medicine at the pharmacy? Why is there a moment when I verify not only the contents of the prescription but also the patient's life?

That confirmation leads to conversations about the patient's daily life. That is where the Sakurano-cho Pharmacy series begins.

I think pharmacists and pharmacy staff will find these stories relatable. For those who aren't very familiar with pharmacies, I hope you will understand this job a little better after reading.

I would be happy if you could start by reading the first episode.

The first episode is here.

All episodes in the series are collected in this magazine.