“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
“If it gets dangerous, Sensei will help me!”
“O-oh, right.”
…Hm? As we’re talking, I sense something coming from up ahead. It might be quite a large group.
“Kimijima. Something’s coming.”
“Yes.”
We hurriedly slip into the forest at the side of the road. We hide among the thick leaves, both of us holding our breath. “Bear with it for a bit, okay?” Kimijima says as she closes the lid of her bag to hide Mera.
…Humans?
Eventually, the figures that appeared were humans. All of them were armed.
I remember Carton from the other day and hesitate whether to show myself. If they’re a group of bandits, I might put Kimijima in danger again.
However, if there’s someone among them with the ability to detect us, like that magician…
Kimijima seems to be thinking the same thing, her face tense.
In the middle of the group were two riders, a man and a woman mounted on animals with long antlers stretching back like deer. They appear to be the commanders of this group. As we watch silently, waiting for them to pass, the woman raises her voice.
“Stop! …Yarzak, search the area.”
“Search… Did you sense something?”
“…Over there?”
The red-haired woman turns her face directly towards where we’re hiding. Damn… Have we been discovered? The laid-back looking man next to her turns towards us with a bothered expression.
“Ah~ As expected of you. But they’re humans, you know?”
“Hmm… Did I get it right?”
This is bad… The group has also turned towards us after hearing the conversation between the two. Kimijima nods as if she’s given up. It seems we have no way to deceive them if they’re using magic to search for us.
We part the grass with a rustle and show our faces. I keep my left hand on my sword, just in case. Staying alert.
“We just got lost. We’re not thinking of attacking you.”
“…Who gets lost in a place like this?”
“But it’s true–“
“Sensei!”
Huh? A boy from the back of the group shouts and comes running. I see a girl running after him as well.
That’s…
Ah…
I see… They were… saved…
“Nishina! Sakuragi!”
“Sensei!”
“Senpai~!”
Sakuragi, her face a mess with tears, leaps at Kimijima while running. Nishina stops in front of me, his eyes welling up, looking like he doesn’t know what to do. I step forward and firmly embrace Nishina.
“I… brought Kimijima… safely…”
The relief I feel surges through me the moment I embrace my student. Everything I’ve been holding back until now overflows like a broken dam. Kimijima, Sakuragi, Nishina… and even I couldn’t control these feelings anymore.
The men around us, taken aback by the situation, were frozen in confusion.
“Phew… You really survived from there, huh… Well, I’ll hear the story later… No, can I ask just one thing?”
The red-haired woman calls out from atop her mount. I manage to nod in response.
“You’re the one who did Carton, right?”
“…Yeah.”
“At that time, some of our comrades were with Carton’s group. Do you know about them?”
“The men… wearing the same armor?”
“That’s right.”
“…It seems they were deceived by Carton. When we saw them, they were all dead, fighting against monsters with faces like boars… One was still alive, but he too…”
“…I see. I understand. …We’re going back to town once.”
The woman mutters with frustration and informs the others about returning to the village.
As we settle down, the group begins walking towards the village.
“Now we’ll see how Disaster moves…”
Camilla’s whispered words, as she watched us, didn’t reach our ears.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
Afterword
First, I’d like to express my gratitude to the readers who picked up and read this book. Then, to those involved in its production: the editor, the illustrator Touzai-sama, the proofreaders, and everyone else.
I’m late in introducing myself, but I go by the pen name Sakasa Giri. Choosing a pen name is quite challenging, and after much deliberation, I decided on this name, which comes from a natural phenomenon in my hometown called “Sakasa Giri” (Inverted Mist).
This work is my first published book. …While it’s uncertain if a second or third will follow, I feel like I’ll continue writing novels as a hobby as long as I’m breathing. However, this is also my first experience writing an afterword. I’m flustered by the editor’s message saying, “Please have the afterword ready by tomorrow.”
So, for this time (?) I’ll start with a self-introduction about why I began writing novels.
I’m a novelist who, like many these days, started with web novels. Originally, I was what’s called a “reading specialist,” someone who only read posted works. I enjoyed reading them casually during free time at work.
Then, during this COVID-19 pandemic, work slowed down, and I thought, “Maybe I’ll try writing as a side job?” That light-hearted thought was the beginning, and once I started writing, it turned out to be quite enjoyable, so I’ve been at it for over two years now.
The first novel I wrote was “Just Reincarnate Them, Right?” which I wrote without considering industry trends, but it was still read fairly well, though it ended without any talk of publication. The next work was completely for personal enjoyment, ignoring web needs, so it finished without gaining any readers. (Personally, I believe it’s a masterpiece.)
And this current work is my third.
Come to think of it, I’m surprised I’ve kept at it this long. As I’ve made friends in the web novel world, I’ve seen everyone working hard towards publication, which has been inspiring. Every day, they strive to create interesting works that everyone will read, constantly improving. Among them, a close friend said, “Sakasa giri, you should try writing a novel aimed at the rankings too,” which led me to take on this current work.
I’ve always loved novels and have been reading them voraciously since childhood. There used to be a children’s literature specialty store in my neighborhood, and during elementary school, I was hooked on fantasy works like “The Hobbit,” “The Chronicles of Narnia,” and “Krabat.”
But, to be honest, I hadn’t really delved into light novels much.
Probably the author I was most obsessed with was Jin Yong, a master of Chinese wuxia novels. I’ve read all of Jin Yong’s novels. I was really into wuxia novels.
This current work isn’t based on Jin Yong, but it was somewhat inspired by a novel called “The Smiling, Proud Wanderer” by Gu Long, another Chinese wuxia novelist. In that novel, there’s a concept called the “Weapons Manual,” which ranks the weapons of the world’s masters, and the top-ranked individuals compete in strength. I had that vaguely in mind when I started writing.
While the Weapons Manual is a ranking of weapons, it’s actually a ranking of their users, and the masters at the top display extraordinary strength.
In that novel, the protagonist Li Xunhuan’s dagger is ranked third in the Weapons Manual, with the setting that once thrown, it never misses and always defeats the opponent. I found this very cool and wondered if I could create such a protagonist… After much thought, I decided to use iaijutsu, with the image that once drawn, the sword would always cut down the enemy.
This Li Xunhuan, besides being strong, is also an intellectual who holds the title of “Tanhua,” the third place in the imperial examinations, which makes him even cooler.
Some of you might know that “Tanhua” refers to the third place in the imperial examinations, with the first place called “Zhuangyuan” and the second “Bangyan.” I actually used this as a reference to create the setting where the top three in the strongest rankings are called Tenyo, Nagumo, and Keisei. In the first volume, I briefly mentioned that the second-ranked man, Ulrich, is called “Nagumo,” and we’ll see how this develops in the future.
It’s quite an old work, so it might not be in bookstores anymore, but I believe “The Smiling, Proud Wanderer” was published by Kadokawa. If you’re interested, you might be able to find it in libraries.
Although I took inspiration from it, this world is a fantasy with reincarnation, unlike wuxia novels. The content is completely different.
Before I started writing, I thought about following the popular trend of exile and revenge stories… but I gave up on that idea soon after starting.
Constantly fleeing, in an environment so harsh that a moment’s carelessness could mean death, how does one survive and escape? As someone who doesn’t create plots beforehand, I wrote this while feeling just as nervous as the readers.
Recently, I’ve heard that with the increase in various forms of entertainment, fewer people are enjoying reading. I also see news about bookstores gradually disappearing from streets. Considering my childhood when I visited bookstores almost daily, it’s a very sad development.
I hope that if this work of mine sells even a little, it can contribute to the sales of bookstores.
They say it’s presumptuous to write about sequels (?) but if I have the opportunity to publish a continuation of this novel, let’s meet again in the afterword.
Sakasagiri
Visit the request page If there’s a Japanese Light Novel (LN) or Web Novel (WN) you’d like me to translate
When the donation goal progress bar above hit 100% one novel will be chosen for translation
| Table of Contents | Next* |
Support the Author by Buying the Original Books!
