Bungo Stray Dogs - Volume 8 - Chapter Aft

AFTERWORD

Long time no see. Kafka Asagiri here. How have you been? Did you enjoy my latest novel under Beans Bunko, Bungo Stray Dogs: Storm Bringer?

This ended up being much longer compared to the previous novels, the most difficult to write, and it had me groaning the most about how to craft the story during countless scenes. Please line it up on the bookshelf with the other novels in the series if you own them. It’s thick. It’s massive. Even 55 Minutes, which was the longest before this one, started its afterword at around page 237. What happened, Asagiri?

By the way, this novel is a continuation of the previous one, Dazai, Chuuya, Age Fifteen, released a year and a half ago. That was the prequel. The mysteries surrounding Arahabaki and Verlaine, which were touched on in that volume, are revealed here. While I don’t think anyone would read this book first—or at least I hope not—I want to apologize just in case you did.

If you’re thinking So why did you make it so confusing? It’s not my fault I didn’t know this was a sequel. A decent human being would have called this book Dazai, Chuuya, Age Sixteen, then yes, I would agree with you because you’re right. There is no excuse for what I’ve done. (The good thing about the afterword is that people can be as angry as they like, but they can’t physically punch me.)

At any rate, what I want to say is that if you combine this book with the previous one, it turns out to be an extremely lengthy story. But there’s a single reason for why this one ended up so long. Do you remember how I basically wrote in the afterword for Dazai, Chuuya, Age Fifteen that this would be the end of the Twin Dark Past Arc? Well, yeah. That’s the reason. It managed to be a lot longer than I thought it’d be.

Chuuya’s character is an inexhaustible spring. I can’t describe the joy I get out of writing such a deep, intricate character and then having everyone read about him. All the same, I couldn’t help but worry whether we could even print a book this long, but here we are. It was accepted and published.

That being said, there are still tales I still haven’t finished telling. What battles did Chuuya have to face, and how did he become an executive? What did Chuuya feel, and how did he grow after Dazai left the Mafia?

But for the time being, I would like Chuuya’s fate to remain in the palace of imaginations. His destination is still a secret, although there is one thing I can say with confidence: His will not be a peaceful, easy path.

I received a lot of help to get this book published: my partner, Sango Harukawa, who never fails to draw the most unbelievably beautiful and perfect illustrations; my editor, Shirahama, who always proofs my stories and helps me with my schedules no matter how unreasonable I am; the people who printed and distributed this novel, the bookstores, and everyone else who was involved and lent me a hand. Thank you all.

Until we meet again in the next installment.

KAFKA ASAGIRI