Sword Art Online – Progressive - Volume 3 - Chapter Aft

AFTERWORD 
It’s been a full year, but thanks for reading the third volume of Sword Art Online Progressive! Well, I’m relieved that we at least climbed one floor this year. If I can just keep this pace up next year…Okay, I’ll admit, I hope to pick up the game’s pace… 
Now, then. The subtitle of this book is “Barcarolle of Froth,” which I ought to explain, since it didn’t come up in the text. A barcarolle is a type of classical piece that translates to “boat song.” The reason I put it in the title is because Kirito and Asuna ride in boats on the fourth floor…simple as that! 
I’ve always wanted to write a story about traveling across the map on a boat. It’s a classic vehicle in RPGs (though there are very few MMORPGs in which players can own boats), and I like boats in real life. But the only kind I’ve rode in recently are car ferries. A few years ago there was a big boom in fishing interest, and I bought an inflatable rubber boat, which was quite fun to ride down the Arakawa River. But it was quite a pain to set up and store, so I got tired of it quickly…and on the other hand, a proper pleasure boat is dangerously expensive, not to mention the marina docking fees and fuel costs. If I ever get the time, I’d like to earn a boating license, though. 

Excuse me, I got off topic. Anyway, the theme of the third volume is boats…or should I say, the scenery of Aincrad. Until this point, I’ve spent very little time on describing the scenery, but I tried to put more effort into that this time. I hope that you were able to imagine the sights of Rovia, the city of water, and the looming Yofel Castle on the lake. Of course, because of that, I had to provide an extremely brief and abridged version of the boss fight again… 
But if there’s not going to be great danger in the boss fight, there’s not much to write about, and I’m not sure I really want for every floor to be like the second, where everyone was nearly wiped out. Up next is the fifth floor, a nice milestone number, so I feel a tougher boss coming up! 
As for my usual acknowledgments, I feel that this time is less out of thanks than personal apology…To abec for her even more wonderful illustrations despite the boundary-pushing schedule, and to my always courteous and helpful editor, Mr. Miki, I’m sorry and thank you! And to all of my readers, I hope to see you again next year! 
Reki Kawahara—November 2014