Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 24 - Chapter Aft

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Afterword

It’s Takehaya again. As always, thanks for being here.

Like last time, this volume was published just three months after the previous one. It’s a faster pace than normal, but it was in order to release some relaxing stories and then dive into the Forthorthe arc without losing too much ground. The next volume will be out in the usual four months. In exchange, there won’t be any more interruptions in the Forthorthe arc.

Now then, as for that Forthorthe arc, I believe everyone can feel that we’re starting to reach the climax. In this volume, that finally appears. I’m sure that there were many of you anxiously awaiting the debut of that, so what do you think of how it appeared? I hope you enjoyed it.

Another noteworthy point in this volume is the position Koutarou finds himself in. In the highly advanced society of Forthorthe, it turns out it’s impossible to keep Koutarou hidden from the public eye, and the media is keeping a close eye on the way he fights. The diminishing difference between “Koutarou’s identity that the citizens are imagining” and “Koutarou’s actual identity” is a bit of an issue. If the truth gets out, it would inevitably lead to confusion. It could possibly even become a hindrance to Elfaria. All that could be done would be to feign ignorance, but because of that, a certain person might end up in quite the predicament. (Ha!)

Speaking of predicaments, Harumi is certainly in one at the end of the volume. In her case, it’s a problem she clearly had from before, and I’m sure the readers will find it natural considering the situation. Of course, the effects of said problem are far from small. Harumi’s crisis is connected to a certain other crisis. And so the story of volume 25 will begin as a result of this problem. I think it’ll be a major volume as far as affecting how the characters behave and act is concerned.

In regards to Harumi, she and Maki are the main characters of the current short story over at “Read It! HJ Bunko.” In terms of timing, the final of four chapters should be released around the time this volume comes out. The story is a carefree game showdown between the two girls, which is almost the complete opposite of what’s going on in the main story right now. Please give it a read if you’re interested.

For this volume, I actually have a little more wiggle room in the afterword, so I’d like explain some points on world building that I didn’t have a chance to go into detail on. Specifically, I’d like to talk about the military unit formations of Forthorthe.

The smallest unit in Forthorthe’s military structure is a squad. A squad has a commander, an adjutant, and eight subordinates for a total of ten men. In this volume, the team Maki was leading was around this size. With fewer numbers, the speed and stealth factors are their selling point.

Four squads gets you a platoon for a total of forty men. This was about the size of the troop Koutarou was leading. With more men, a platoon isn’t as fast or stealthy as a squad, but they have more firepower and can use larger arms. It’s a good balance, and that’s one of the key features of a platoon.

Next up is a company, which consists of four platoons. With 160 men, hiding from the enemy while on the move is next to impossible. However, since they don’t have to worry about being sneaky, they can use vehicles and weapons that would otherwise give them away. So basically in exchange for stealth, a company has increased attack power and mobility.

A battalion—as I’m sure you can guess by now—consists of four companies. It’s a total of 640 men. At this scale, it becomes impossible for the commander to keep track of all of the men. Companies and platoons are assigned various functions and given general orders. As a result, flexibility is lost, but a battalion’s strength lies in uniting platoons and companies with similar functions to make them even more powerful. A tank battalion is good example of that. In this volume, Theia leads a battalion consisting of companies and platoons capable of flight and anti-aircraft warfare.

Above battalions are regiments. Consisting of four battalions, a regiment has a total of 2,560 men. In the latter part of this book, it’s a regiment that invades the base from the front gate. In Forthorthe, it’s normal for a standard military base to have a full regiment stationed there. Fort Charldrissa having slightly more than a regiment of forces despite being on a developing planet just goes to show how well defended it was.

Above regiments are divisions, and it’s standard for them to consist of four regiments. A little math tells us that would be 10,240 men, but practically speaking, a regiment is already a little beyond a combat unit. It would be more apt to think of a division as a form of area control. In other words, within a specific region, four bases are treated as one group. If the region is in danger, the bases in that group respond. As an example, the Imperial Army’s attack on the spaceport instigated something like this. In order to take control of the spaceport, Lord Galbauda sortied with two other battalions, but that would have left a base with half of its forces, so the other neighboring bases lend forces to cover for one another.

For the record, bringing four divisions together creates an area army. This is on a provincial level, grouping up several regions together. There’s no longer any meaning in counting individual troops, but if you were to do so anyways, you would get 40,960 men. As you might guess from the scale, it’s extremely rare for an area army to mobilize. It would take something like a national crisis to warrant that. In terms of our story, that might be necessary soon.

That’s all on the military structure of Forthorthe for now. Of course, these specifications are commonly exceeded situationally, so there’s no need to think too hard about them. The numbers given are only for infantrymen, so if the arms differ, so will the numbers. For example, the fighter platoon that appears this volume consisted of four fighter crafts and four pilots. Since an infantry platoon consists of forty men, we can see that a fighter platoon is one-tenth the size. However, after you take into account the 36 additional crew members needed to keep the fighters operational, the numbers check out. I hope that all makes sense.

Oh, it looks like I still have some space left. What should I do?

That’s right. I know I mentioned it in a previous afterword, but I’m actually working on plans for a new project. At this rate, it looks like it’s going to be published through HJ Bunko like normal. The goal is to have it released during the first half of next year. Summer at the latest. Of course, since this work will be a collaboration, there’s no guarantee that it’ll stick to the schedule. I’d be happy if you could keep my new project in your thoughts.

It will be a somewhat twisted adventure novel that won’t follow trends too much. However, that being said, the editorial department and my acquaintances who listened to my explanation won’t take my word for it. Since Rokujouma started in a similar way, they’re suspecting that it’s going to be another story that’s not what it seems to be. Now that I think about it, that might actually be true. Since the work will focus on a child going on a journey, the start has a similar vibe to it.

The project is almost completed, but the most important thing is to keep those who buy it from being disappointed, so I’m planning on refining it even more. I want to finish it and get it out there for everyone to read, so when that time comes, if you’re interested, I would love for you to accompany me on this new journey too.

By the way, I’ve made a schedule so that it won’t affect Rokujouma, so there’s no need to worry about that. I have no intention of neglecting Rokujouma after it’s come this far.

That should just about fill up the space I have, so I would like to end this with my usual farewell. I want to thank everyone at the editorial department for their hard work; Poco-san who always draws my illustrations in time; and the readers who have kept up with this novel all the way to volume 24. Thank you from the very bottom of my heart.