Slayers - Volume 14 - Chapter Aft

Afterword

Scene: The Author and L

Au: If you hate someone, you hate everything related to them! And with that, let’s get into the reprint of Hatred in Selentia!

L: It’s definitely a turning point in the story, isn’t it? During the writing of part 2, fans kept asking if Zelgadis and Amelia would show up, and this story is the reason they didn’t, I guess.

Au: That’s right. It can be hard to write around those healing spells that are so common in books and games and such.

L: Indeed. Sometimes in Dr*gon Qu*st and the like, a villain kills a character during the story, and you’re like, “Can’t we save them with K*z*ng?” I think about that a lot.

Au: Same, totally. In that So-and-So Fantasy series, there’s a character you’ve been fighting with the whole time who suddenly dies in a plot event. And you think, “Wait a minute, I’ve always been able to bring you back with L*fe before!”

L: There’s also an issue of verisimilitude. A girl who’s been shot by submachine guns, exploded by giant snakes, and tossed around by the neck by wolves yet always managed to jog back to the party up and dies just from one little stab?

Au: Ah, yeah. I remember getting to the end and thinking, “Wait, she really died from that?!” Though I do like the game otherwise. So in terms of believability and structure, there’s probably a way we could have done this storyline with Amelia present, but it would have taken a lot of extra steps and explanations to get there, not to mention drag everything out a lot longer than necessary.

L: So you just left her out.

Au: Yeah. But looking back at it now while doing typo checks for the reprint, I realize I really got swept away by emotions while writing this story. Sometimes I feel like, “Wow, I really lost my cool in this part.”

L: Maybe you should’ve just rewritten it then?

Au: Part of me wishes I could. When we first decided we were doing the reprints, my editor told me it was okay to check for typos, but not to make any major content changes. When I was reading it over for checks, I understood why he impressed that onto me.

L: What do you mean?

Au: There were so many places where I found myself fighting the urge to rewrite. If he’d given me carte blanche for revision, I’m extremely confident that I’d have ended up changing the story completely and ruining the balance!

L: Don’t say you’re “confident” like it’s something to be proud of! But anyway, why not just change as much as you want? Have me completely take over the protagonist in volume 8 and give me free rein! I’d travel around the countryside meeting up with monsters, and fifteen minutes before the episode ends, I’d say, “Don’t you see this chaos?!” and flash my void up to the screen!

Au: The Mito Komon formula?! But if you did that, there’d be no good guys or bad guys left.

L: There’d be no one left! No one left to cause trouble. In other words, true peace!

Au: That’s not how this works! Peace doesn’t mean anything without people there to enjoy it! It’s just void!

L: Oh? But isn’t it frustrating when they depose one evil magistrate, then a few years pass and another evil magistrate is appointed to do the same bad stuff all over again?

Au: Yes, but... That’s no reason to destroy everyone. You sound like the final boss in a video game.

L: Well... I kind of am, man.

Au: Ha! I completely forgot, now that you mention it!

L: You forgot? Wow. You’ve really been playing with fire then. Maybe I should do something to reset your priorities... Actually, that reminds me.

Au: (cringing) R-Reminds you of what? I was sure you were going to attack me there...

L: Well, you remember how I sometimes murder you in the afterwords?

Au: That’s a very uncomfortable question, but... yes.

L: And then in the next afterword, you’re back to life like nothing happened. It feels like when you have the hero of a video game reviving again and again.

Au: Oh. Well, I don’t recall getting scolded by the king or a priest. And as for why I’m always back to life the next time... That’s just how the world works, isn’t it?

L: Don’t wrap this up with a pat little saying! Then again, you might be right... Anyway, that’s it for the afterword.

Au: That’s very offhand! Um... See you next time, everyone!

Afterword: Over.