Berserk of Gluttony (LN) - Volume 7 - Chapter Aft

Afterword

THIS IS ISSHIKI ICHIKA. It’s been a while.

It’s been eight months between Volumes 6 and 7. Sorry to keep you waiting. I always thought about writing, but it was hard to make time. At the start of the year, work was really busy, and on top of that the coronavirus hit. That caused the workings of society to change completely.

When Japan’s state of emergency was announced, my company limited the amount of people in the office per day and everyone largely stayed home. This meant that even when I was at home, I was working. For me, home is an irreplaceable place of respite, and bringing work into that environment was difficult. I had my hands full dealing with all of that, and I felt like I didn’t have the time or space to write. 

Even once the state of emergency was lifted, it wasn’t like the virus was gone. Going to work was different from what it once was. Masks, disinfecting your hands, socially distanced meetings—there was an all-new etiquette. We started to hear more and more about working from home. Everything had changed in a way that was unimaginable just a year ago.

Even with all of that, I found time to continue to work on Berserk of Gluttony. But I felt as slow as a turtle, and I was constantly worried about whether I’d make the deadline. I wrote desperately. In the midst of that, I found myself wanting to add more to the story, so I asked my editor for a little extra time. I’m so thankful to them.

This seventh volume is really about Myne. I thought a lot about how Fate would face Myne. Actually, I was inspired at the end of last year when I heard a Buddhist sermon. To be honest, I can count the amount of sermons I’ve heard on one hand, but there was something about this particular one that resonated with me. I wanted to share it in some way through the story of Gluttony. So, I hope you can feel something as you read through Fate and Myne’s interactions.

Now let’s talk about Myne. To be honest, when she first appeared in the story, I didn’t see her as a particularly important character. But when she appeared, I wondered what she’d be like as Fate’s enemy. I think because of that, somewhere in the back of my mind I’ve always wanted to have Fate and Myne fight each other. Now their battle has become a reality, though I’d say it’s likely the first and last time they’ll ever face each other. And in the end, Myne showed that she has feelings for Fate…as it always goes.

I never wrote Berserk of Gluttony with a harem in mind, but as the volumes added up, the girls just gathered before Fate’s eyes. So, I’m thinking I’ll cover for all the girls’ antics with some heavy bromance. That’s what the story needs, right?

Nope. It doesn’t. 

I know, I know!

Getting back to the story, though, in this volume, Myne’s past was revealed. She’s always been mysterious and a woman of few words, but now she’s managed to reclaim the feelings she thought lost. In the next volume, I hope you’ll all enjoy seeing a slightly different side of Myne. 

The epilogue of the story, too, is from Myne’s point of view. It was such a struggle. A few times I almost gave up. I mean, how do you write a character who speaks so little?! Writing in first person for a character like that is just really tough. I wanted to curse myself for even thinking that this was a good idea; the deadline was closing in and I was running out of time, and yet I seemed to make things even harder on myself.

Anyway! The next volume is the last! I’m giving it my all. I don’t know if I can bring it all to a satisfying conclusion, but I wanted to make sure all the pieces were in place for the ending. I’ve never written anything this long before, so it really is a first-time experience for me! If I can bring everything to a satisfying conclusion, it’ll be a miracle! When the ending comes, if you read it and you write a comment on Let’s Be Novelists along the lines of, “You did good,” that will make me happy.

Though I’m happy to leave the conclusion of the story to the me of tomorrow to take care of, I do really want to make sure that Fate and Dean’s story is properly handled. It’s been stretched out and teased for some time now.

That said, I do like stretching things out, like the Roxy Arc, which went from Volume 1 to Volume 3; and the Myne Arc, which went from Volume 4 to Volume 7. Perhaps everybody reads it and thinks, “Hurry up and get to the ending!”

But please rest assured: The next volume is the last volume, and there’s nothing more to stretch out!

The manga version is still going, drawn by Daisuke Takino. I love being able to see each new volume. It’s up to Volume 5 now, and the story has just gotten to Galia, which is about Volume 3 of the light novel. It’s a volume that holds a lot of memories for me. I remember writing about Fate meeting Roxy again and hiding his face behind a mask as he fought through his battles. That was about two years ago. Time certainly flies!

I can’t wait for Volume 6 of the manga. Fate is certain to rampage through the region of Galia. I hope you’ll check it out.

Finally, I’m grateful to my editor, fame for all the wonderful illustrations, and all the people who helped with the publishing of this seventh volume.

I look forward to seeing you all again in the final volume.