AFTERWORD
Thank you all for buying and reading High School Prodigies, Vol. 5.
Between all the things I have to keep track of, all the foreshadowing there is to juggle, and how generally hard the series is to write, its Choyoyu (Prodigiously Easy) nickname is really starting to get to me. This has been Riku Misora, self-destructing.
Sorry about the long delay between the last volume and this one.
In case you didn’t know, the Panjandrum that showed up this time around is a weapon that truly existed. Wow. Just, wow. You had a country put all the best and brightest in a room together during a war, and that’s what they came up with? What were they putting in that tea?
However, as hard as I was on the Panjandrum in the story, there’s an interesting theory that its development was actually an advanced misinformation tactic to trick Nazi Germany into defending the wrong front and leaving Normandy vulnerable.
If that’s true, then it turns out that the Panjandrum wasn’t a failure at all, but a fantastic weapon that played a crucial role in helping the Allies emerge victoriously.
So while it seems useless at first, maybe it’s secretly really awesome. And if you ask me, that’s pretty cool.
For my money, though, it doesn’t get any sweeter than the railway gun. Railway guns are like a more modern version of Mons Meg, the cannon briefly mentioned in the narrative.
Despite having access to cutting-edge technology, Nazi Germany used it to re-create the same weapon that had failed all those centuries ago. It didn’t make any sense.
While it might not have amounted to much, you have to admit that it looked slick, and on paper, it was as badass as could be. It was like every little boy’s dream made real. And I’m clearly not the only one who feels that way, because many works of fiction pay homage to the Mons Meg.
I think the first time I saw it was when I saw Arc the Lad. I was totally blown away by how cool it looked and how awesome an idea it was.
Mayonnaise got to display its fearsome power yet again. Believe me when I say that mayonnaise and salmon really do go amazingly together.
I’ll admit that putting mayonnaise on salted fish isn’t great for you when it comes to your sodium intake, but I still can’t stop myself from spreading it all over my lightly salted autumn salmon.
Now, there are some who say that the mayo ruins the meat by overwhelming its flavor, but I assert that they’re wrong. The fatty sourness of the mayonnaise doesn’t overwhelm the salmon’s flavor; it accentuates it. After all, you don’t get that same taste by just eating mayonnaise straight, now, do you? It’s a match made in heaven.
As it happens, in the Misora household, we practice the forbidden art of mixing yuzu paste in with our mayonnaise. We’d already tried plain mayo and wasabi mayo with our dried squid, so we figured that yuzu paste might be good, too, and sure enough, when we tried it, it was delicious. If anybody reading this likes a little kick with their salt, I highly recommend giving it a shot.
The sodium contents are through the roof, though, so make sure you practice moderation. Otherwise, your kidneys will fail at Mach speed.
As you know, this story ended by showing the evil that no democracy can avoid—the “vultures” who want to use politics as a business for personal gain. Even with Tsukasa and the others having gone to Yamato, things will be heating up back in Elm as well.
I plan to demonstrate the ugly parts of democracy as well as its good sides. So the next book is probably going to be the most tumultuous, jam-packed installment yet… Honestly, I’m a bit worried about the page count. I hope it doesn’t end up as gigantic as Volume 4, buuuut…
Finally, I’d like to express my gratitude toward the people who helped make this book a reality.
First off, to my editor, Kohara: Once again, thank you for walking across this tightrope with me. And to Sacraneco as well, thank you for the consistently wonderful illustrations. I doubt I could have made the June release date without you two.
Next, I’d like to thank Kotaro Yamada for working on the manga adaptation that’s running in Young Gangan and Gangan GA. I always look forward to getting my copies!
At the time of writing this, the manga version is in the middle of Volume 2’s story line. It’s only just started touching on the darkness lurking in the Gustav domain, but seeing the inn-slash-butcher’s-den come to life in the manga was downright hair-raising.
It’s obviously a bit late now, but it makes me wish I’d included even more horror elements.
Finally, I’d like to express my heartfelt appreciation to everyone who purchased Volume 5. Thank you for buying it after I kept you waiting for so long. It’s all because of you that my works keep getting published. I fear I’m starting to repeat myself now, but again, thank you.
I think that’s about it for this one. I hope we meet again in the next afterword, but for now, I bid you adieu.
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