Rokka no Yuusha - Volume 6 - Chapter Aft

Afterword

It’s been a long time. This is Ishio Yamagata. I’ve brought you Volume 6 of Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers. 
I hope you enjoyed it. 
The Rokka series is going to be made into an anime now. By the time this book is out (in Japanese), the show will already have begun airing. 
All my readers who have seen it: Are you enjoying it? Those who have yet to see it and those who didn’t know it’s been made into an anime: I would love it if you would please watch it. The entire staff has worked on it with a lot of passion and respect for the books. As the author, I’m as thankful as I can be. I think it’s sure to be an anime all my readers can enjoy. 
Please do check it out. 
The other day, I was allowed to witness the post-recording. It was the second time that I’ve participated in process, since Tatakau Shisho was made into an anime, but I just can’t get used to it. For some reason, it’s extremely embarrassing for me to listen to someone read a text that I’ve written. Am I the only one who feels that way? 
Normally, I hardly watch any anime, so I’m basically completely ignorant when it comes to performing arts and the production of visual media. They asked me for my opinion a number of times during the recording, but I was always flustered and couldn’t give them much in the way of ideas. I basically just turned into a decoration that just sat there. I’m sorry I couldn’t be useful. 
But the anime staff overcame the handicap of the original author’s uselessness and made a wonderful anime. I would like to take this opportunity to once again express my thanks. Thank you so very much. 
Changing the subject: In February of this year, they had an art exhibition called Japanese Art: Selected Creators from All Over Japan at the Ueno Royal Museum. The exhibit gathered art from creators in various different fields in a single venue. Miyagi-san, who does illustrations for this series, also submitted a piece to it: the picture of Fremy that’s on the cover of the first volume of the Rokka series. 
I see Fremy’s face practically every day, but seeing her framed in an art museum made her seem different than usual. So refined. I couldn’t look away for a while. 
There was a lot of other wonderful art on display there besides Miyagi-san’s illustrations, and I forgot the time enjoying them. 

And now, a report on my current state of affairs: 
I don’t even know when this happened, but now I have over thirty books that I’ve bought and just left unread. Generally, when I buy novels or manga, I read them, but I often have how-to books or new books that end up on the unread stack. With some of these, I can’t even remember what I was thinking when I bought them, and some I don’t remember buying at all. 
I have two books about rehabilitation methods for overcoming a gambling addiction and how to join a support group for compulsive gamblers to help one another. I never gamble at all myself, and I have no plans to write about gambling, though. I also have a book by the fortune-teller Kazuko Hosoki-san and another book about her. Was I ever a fan? I have no recollection. 
I have about three books about psychology. I do have some inkling as to why I bought these. When I picked them up, I must have been thinking I’d be able to write a good novel if I learned about human psychology. However, I haven’t even opened any of these since buying them. 
These wonderful books were supposed to help people and be enjoyed. What quirk of fate has led them to my bookshelf? Seeing the stacks makes me a little sad. Is there no book out there that teaches you how to efficiently absorb the ones you don’t feel like reading or how to not buy books you don’t need? 
And finally, the acknowledgments. 
To my illustrator, Miyagi-san: Thank you for your gorgeous work. And also, I don’t even have the words to thank you for all the many times you’ve helped me so much in my writing. 
To my editor, T-san, and everyone in the editorial department, the proofreading staff, and those involved in the production of this book: Rokka exists because of all your help. 
To Kei Toru-san, who wrote the manga, and all the staff who worked on it: Thank you very much for producing such a wonderful comic. 
And all the staff of the anime: Thank you so much for your work now and in the future. 
And to all my readers: Let us meet again in the next book. 
See you. 

ISHIO YAMAGATA