Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka Gaiden – Sword Oratoria - Volume 11 - Chapter Aft

Afterword 

This is the eleventh book of the side story, brought to you by an author who has missed yet another deadline. 
Please allow me to extend my sincerest apologies to the editors at GA Bunko, Kiyotaka Haimura, and all those involved…! 
I know I’ve been including more and more spoilers in the afterwords. Be warned! This is the case here, too. 
I’ve written this book with a great deal of effort. Take this as both a conclusion to a long battle and a catalyst for something else. 
I knew it would irk people on multiple fronts (particularly those involved with the manga, game, anime, etc.), but this was still where it ended up. I have a conclusion in mind, and while I can’t say for sure whether it was the right choice, I’ve set my foot down on this one. 
In this volume, we didn’t get another one of those miracles like we got in the eighth volume of the side story. I might regret the fact that I didn’t save it for this book. In fact, the person who wrote this volume might just be the most unsure of all, so let’s switch topics. 
I’m going to forcibly segue into a happy topic: I was finally able to portray a battle scene for the holy woman. The Saint has been appearing since the first volume of the side story (and the fourth volume of the main series), but she just never got a chance to join and fight together with the main team in this series…I think that might have been the most exhilarating scene in this overall distressing volume. Her character design is actually one of my favorites out of the ones that Kiyotaka Haimura created, and I had always wanted to let her get her hands dirty. 
When I presented my first draft, I was happily talking off my editor’s ear: “Actually, I was thinking Amid would have this kind of background!” or “If that happened, and then this happened, which means this couple might be a thing!” or “Basically, what I’m trying to say is that she’s really strong! Super strong! Like, ultra-hyper-strong!” 
And every time, my editor told me very politely: “Please write that in the Chronicle series. Grin. ” 
I can’t promise that I’ll absolutely write that in the next manuscript, because I obviously don’t want to be that type of person. In fact, I’m not sure whether I’m expressing myself very well, but I bet the holy woman will play an active role from time to time. Make sure to keep an eye out for her in the future. Let’s just say: Yes, I’m working on a bunch of manuscripts. 
Moving along. Lately, as I’m writing, I find myself thinking that foreshadowing is difficult. 
Like, even when I’m secure in my decision and the plot is moving forward, there have been times when I get an “oh shit” moment at my wits’ end when I come back to it. 
I guess there are a lot of factors to blame: my insufficient situational awareness, not adding enough details in earlier scenes, etc. At its core, the main reason is a lack of experience for me. 

I mean, obviously, both the author and the readers open up a new book knowing nothing. Whether I can arrive at the scene in my head is sort of like a series of adventures. And in all those trips, there are only a handful of examples of foreshadowing that were set up and later ultimately paying off. Or at least, that’s how it has been with my works so far. 
Recently, I’ve started to get a feel for the rhythm of battles. Or at least I think I have. But weaving in foreshadowing and the cathartic payoff associated with it are still a bit of a mystery to me. 
I wouldn’t say that I’m scared to set up foreshadowing, but I would say that I’ve gotten to the point where it takes courage for me to weave it into the story. Perhaps I’m being too cautious, since I can always just abandon some of the earlier details, but I really want to be able to add more spice to the story. I want to be able to say: “It was planned all along!” and flash a smug grin, following in the footsteps of many people in the story. 
And as always, I worry whether I did a good job following through on the foreshadowing this time, but I will continue to battle against this inner demon going forward. 
With that, I’d like to move to my words of gratitude. 
To my editor Takahashi and chief editor Kitamura, I’m in your debt once again. I’m sorry for always keeping the editorial department in a time crunch. 
To Kiyotaka Haimura for the illustrations. I hope you will let me use a few of the wonderful character designs that I couldn’t employ at some later time…! 
My sincere apologies to everyone involved who helped this book make it to publication. And as always, thank you very much to all the readers who picked up this book. 
My plan is to bring this long battle to its end in the next volume. 
Speaking of, why did this big massacre have to happen on the heels of the events in the thirteenth volume of the main series? Why would you plot this scheme, Enyo? Give me a break! And all my other grievances should hopefully be cleared in the next book… 
I hope I will be joined by the readers as I continue to believe in hope and run through to the end. I would love it if you would come along with me on this journey. 
To everyone who read this far, thank you very much. 
And with that, I’ll take my leave. 

Fujino Omori