Afterword
Hi, it’s Takayama, the man who’s been kept so occupied with moving houses and uploading to the Shōsetsuka ni Narō website that he once again put himself through production hell.
Hello.
It’s been a while.
So, after growing up and living in Kanazawa for thirty-seven years, I’ve moved out to the Gotō City area in Nagasaki Prefecture, which is a city across several separate islands.
Oh and by the way, Satsuki Yoshino-sensei, who writes the manga Barakamon, lives just a few kilometers away from me.
As expected of the setting for Barakamon, this place is pretty rural.
On Shōsetsuka ni Narō, it looks like the whole “slow life” movement is trending, but out here, it really is a slow-paced life.
I’m sure those people that live in the hectic city probably dream of living the slow life, but in reality, it’s got its own issues, oh boy.
Weeding the yard is a total pain.
It’s really far to the supermarket just for groceries.
The Kyushu dialect makes it kinda hard to understand what people are saying.
I haven’t seen any yet, but I’ve heard there are weasels.
I’ve started getting snakes in my garden, so I’ve had to kill them with a shovel.
And there aren’t a lot of bookstores! (This is the biggest issue.)
Well, still, my daughter’s outside running around having fun with her friends, and you can get good shellfish out of the river and the sea here, and the silverberries in my garden are edible (there are supposed to be pears in the fall!), so maybe this place is good to raise a kid in.
Now, then... volume 8 is done!
With my previous work Ore to Kanojo no Zettai Ryouiki (Pandora Box), I maxed out at seven volumes, so this is a new personal record!
Hoorayyyy!
This is all thanks to you readers. Thank you all very much.
In regard to the content of this volume, I consider this as having gone past one of the major turning points of the story, but I’m planning to continue the series for quite a bit, so please stick with me until the very end.
Oh, and as for the major plot points in the last volume and this volume, during the early planning stages, it was all still pretty vague in my head, but once I started writing, after two and a half years, I finally caught up to this point that I’d planned out, so it really makes me feel something special.
Hey, actually, now that I say that, at first I had thought about putting the previous volume and this volume’s story together as one book and doing it that way, but wow, that was really a stupid idea.
I’m already into my fifth year of doing this, but I’m always looking at my mistakes, wondering, Am I ever going to get a little better at judging how long it’s going to take to do things?
Well, in any case, this was an episode of the series that I really struggled with, but I would love it if it’s something you readers can enjoy.
I touched on this a little bit in the afterword for the last volume, but about the work I’ve been uploading to the Narō website: Ryuu to Shoujo to Amakakeru Kishi (The Dragon, the Girl, and the Soaring Knight) was the title before, but it’s gained enough popularity that HJ Novels is going to let me publish it through them, as Maou-goroshi no Ryuu-kishi (The Dragon Knight Who Slew the Demon Lord).
I think it’s a pretty interesting story, if I do say so myself, but I’d been a bit worried about how it would fare if I tried to actually put it out for the market. But with the support of my readers, it’s going to become a published book, so I’m really relieved about that.
Actually, this work is something I wrote when I was still an amateur — my last work written before going pro.
I wrote it when it had been just one year since I’d decided to become a light novel author, and it’s sort of a compilation of everything I learned over that year. Well, it really felt good when I wrote it, but there were some circumstances that left it collecting dust on the back shelf for a while. That’s what makes it so moving to see it get published.
I hope I can count on your support for that series, too.
I should be able to post information on the sale dates and the illustrator and such pretty soon, so please check the HJ Bunko website for the latest info.
Now then, I shall dedicate my thanks.
To my editor, M-sama. I am saddened to hear the news that you will be leaving HJ.
It’s been five years now since that time we met, when I was a clueless newbie. You have taken care of me in so many ways.
My chronic lateness, my tendency to stir up trouble at the last minute... I know I’ve caused you plenty of headaches. But you were steadfast and patient with me all the while. Thank you, truly, for everything.
From the time I first entered the application process for HJ, you promoted my work to them, and I can say that the only reason the professional author Seiichi Takayama is here right now is because of you.
Wherever you go next, good luck, and do your best.
If you get the chance, I’d like to meet up again in a few years, and we can kick back and share stories about the good old days!
And to my new editor, U-sama. I look forward to working with you! I hope we get along well together.
To my illustrator, Yukisan-sensei. This cover art is the best! I hope we can keep working together in the future.
And my sincere thanks goes out to all of the many other people involved in the production of this volume, who helped make it happen.
Most of all, to you readers who are holding this book in your hands right now, I offer you my deepest thanks.
With that, I leave you with the wish that we might see each other again, in volume 9.
Seiichi Takayama
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