Spice and Wolf - Volume 24 - Chapter Aft

AFTERWORD

Hello, it is me, your author, Hasekura. This is our first long-form story in a while.

The Spring Log volumes have always had short stories in them, or medium stories, I suppose, if they were on the longer side. But I personally found Volume 23 to be so well done that the prospect of writing short stories was way too exhausting. And so, this was one long story. I thought I couldn’t write longer stories anymore, which is why I had been writing shorter ones, but as you can see, people change quite frequently.

This volume talks about the forest. I don’t think we ever had a story focusing on the forest before.

I went through a lot of reference material, and I found a book that talked at length about firewood and bonfires. I was impressed—there are lot of specialists out there, aren’t there? It was called Norwegian Wood. It was apparently a bestseller. Do that many people need to burn wood…?

Speaking of references, I always come across the most interesting books after I start writing the manuscript. And it was a new volume this time—I could’ve referenced it if it had only come out a little sooner! But I think it was periodically published, so I’d only come across it because I was writing the manuscript.

I have a lot of books that sit on my bookshelf because I bought something only because I was in the middle of writing a book myself. I can never get what I want.

This time, we’ve come across plenty of effects Col and Myuri’s adventures have had on the wider world. Introducing too many runs the risk of limiting what’s happening in Wolf and Parchment, so I was shaking the whole time I was writing those parts. But it was kind of fun writing it like adults cleaning up after children’s playtime.

As of writing this afterword, I’m not sure how things will turn out yet, but there is one part of the map in the frontispiece that I think will be getting a little crowded… Maybe these maps will be regional, and not the whole thing, in the future. But I’m not sure. Stay tuned.

Personally, nothing in my private life is different. Things have been so samey that I’ve been looking at the map of Japan, wondering if there’s a place I don’t know that I could stay in for the long term. I’ve been interested in the cities of Wakayama and Tendo enough that I’m looking at rentals. Japan is full of places I haven’t been to yet, so I figure I’d best enjoy visiting these places while I can.

Where will I write my next afterword?! My next volume will probably be the new Wolf and Parchment.

I will see you next time.

Isuna Hasekura