Wortenia Senki (LN) - Volume 18 - 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. To those of you who have kept up with the series since Volume 1, it’s been four months since the last volume. This is Ryota Hori, the author.

First, allow me to take this chance to thank everyone. You have my deepest gratitude for picking up this book during these troubled times we live in. I’m sure that the Corona pandemic has forced many of you to change your lifestyle, but I hope that books such as this one will be the kind of cure that will refresh and enrich these difficult days.

Well, Record of Wortenia War is pretty bloody as cures go, though. If nothing else, it won’t reek of ethanol, but rather of the sweet, rusted fragrance of blood.

If I had the talent for it, I’d have liked to write a romantic comedy or something of the sort, but I’m not sure my literary style would be a good fit for it. And personally, as an author, I don’t like that kind of indecisive story that never comes to a conclusion. It feels like a waste of time. In that sense, I’d be better off writing erotic novels. Of course, if I have time to think about writing something else, it’d be better spent progressing on Record of Wortenia War instead.

But those musings aside, let’s get to the volume’s highlights, as is customary.

Volume 18 focuses on tying up previous threads and setting the stage for the next volume. First, this volume investigates the events of the Battle of the Cannat Plains, which didn’t make it into the previous volume, as well as its aftermath. Next, it follows the Church of Meneos, which sent Cardinal Roland to Pireas, and the anxiety it causes Rhoadseria. Finally, it ends with Queen Lupis’s decision to dispatch the northern subjugation to forcefully eliminate Ryoma.

Queen Lupis has gathered an army of two hundred thousand men, with Helena Steiner as its supreme commander. Rhoadseria’s nobles burn with anger and want revenge for Ryoma’s slaying of their relatives, and in the midst of all this, Viscount Gelhart offers to help Queen Lupis in an attempt to regain his authority. Different factions all conspire and compete for their own profit, casting Rhoadseria into chaos as the neighboring countries look on. And all the while, our protagonist Ryoma slowly and gradually weaves his plans.

Of course, there’s no ignoring the fact that Koichiro joins Ryoma’s side. As the author, this is a huge relief, since the stage is finally set for Koichiro to operate openly. After all, I have heard from my acquaintances that the more elderly characters, like Koichiro and Helena, are the most popular. I have to wonder, is my readership’s age group higher than I anticipated? Either way, you can expect Koichiro to take center stage.

Last, I would like to deeply thank everyone involved with the production of this book, and you, dear readers, for picking it up. Volume 7 of the manga is set for release soon, so I hope you continue to support Record of Wortenia War in both its incarnations in the future as well.