Wortenia Senki (LN) - Volume 16 - Chapter Aft

Afterword

I doubt there are many such readers left, but I welcome any new readers who picked up the series with this volume. And to those of you who’ve kept up with the series since volume 1, it’s been four months since the last volume. This is Ryota Hori, the author.

With the Corona crisis going on since last year, my environment has been changing quite a bit and making life difficult. But thankfully, I was able to deliver volume 16 to you. I greatly appreciate the fact that readers are still picking up this series despite the trying times we live in. Allow me to take this chance to thank everyone.

I’m sure many of you have had your lives turn upside down because of the Covid crisis. It has shaken up my lifestyle quite a bit over the last few months. In terms of my personal life, get-togethers where I would meet with friends to drink had to be put off until further notice, and I had to eat my meals alone or with only a small number of people.

My hobby was going to see movies several times a month, but over the last four months, I haven’t had a chance to do so. Shows I was looking forward to watching had to be postponed. All of these were shocking changes for me.

As for my job, I was able to telecommute from home, but even this has been fraught with difficulties. I work in the IT industry and have some knowledge about working remotely. I was well aware of arguments for and against using the internet like this, but experiencing it myself as an everyday routine really showed me how different reality was from the stories.

As it turns out, video conferences and chats are quite troublesome! Things that can be done by simply getting up from your desk to ask someone now have to be resolved by checking their online schedule and assigning them a task. It’s not so bad when you get used to it, but it’s very sudden, and it’s hard to say it’s well suited to the nature of our work.

Still, if it’s possible to avoid commuting to work until a vaccine or a cure is developed, it’s probably for the best that we do. But I suppose that’s not an issue that should bother a low-grade employee like me...

But let’s put such gloomy matters aside. In volume 16, our hero Ryoma finally arrives in the capital, Pireas, for his hearing, but since the people of the capital hate him, he’s met with harassment at every turn. He’s not childish enough to let his anger get the better of him, but that’s not to say he’s temperate enough to let his abusers get away without retribution either. Still, he knows to act according to the situation and let it slide.

Unfortunately, his maturity only makes those around him more suspicious. Mikhail’s ploy turns Ryoma’s dinner party at Count Salzberg’s estate into a scene of bloodshed. This is probably the highlight of this volume.

In addition, we have a new character named Kikuna Samejima. How will she act? And there’s also our beloved old lady, Helena, who’s placed in a terrible conflict of interest. Quite a lot happens in volume 16, so do look forward to it.

Lastly, allow me to thank all the people involved with this book’s publishing, and all the readers who picked up this book. Thank you very, very much! Please continue supporting Record of Wortenia War.