Afterword

Thank you all very much for reading this book. I am the author, Firehead.

Right now, I’m so hot I can’t help myself. And it’s not because my head of fire is hot; it’s because it’s summer right now. Things might have gotten cooler by the time this book reaches all of you, but at the time I’m writing this, it’s very hot.

So, summer is an absolutely awful season. I’m sorry to everybody who likes summer, but I hate summer the most out of all the seasons. Bugs are everywhere, I can’t stop sweating while I have to work, the cost of everything I drink drains my wallet, I get ruined by mosquitos, I find dead cicadas on the veranda, and as soon as I try to clean them up they fly at my face in their last spurts... Anyway, it’s a horror show.

That’s how I am now, but back when I was a kid, I loved summer the most. Why? Because of summer vacation. I didn’t have to go to school, and I could play every day. I could start gaming right in the morning, and they even started to sell shaved ice. Back when I was a kid, the feeling of invincibility I got during the summer was amazing and strange. And it always came as a set with realizing I didn’t get my summer homework or free research done.

Eventually, I became an adult, and the season I had liked the most became the season I liked the least. Summer vacation melted away, and the cicadas were having their last spurt of life on my veranda.

But that’s so weird, isn’t it? As far as I could find online, cicadas can only fly up to around ten meters high, and I live more than ten meters off the ground. I’m in a condo. Even then, I get cicadas on my veranda. Just how and why do they fly all this way...? Oh cicadas, just so you know, even if you come up here there won’t be any females waiting for you.

But still, I’m really impressed that I could go out to play even in this kind of heat as a kid. Running around under a blazing sky... I can’t even imagine that now. If not for work, I’d want to stay inside my house all day in the cool. Even going to the nearby convenience store to get some ice cream on the occasion I want one is tough. Staying outside would be impossible. Recently, I’ve even started thinking going out to buy ice cream is too much trouble, so I bought a shaved ice machine.

But somehow I didn’t think the heat was a problem at all as a kid, and I went outside anyway. I even ran around out there. If I were to try that now I’d definitely lose all motivation to keep going after five minutes. Running around under a blazing sky is just torture now. I remember thinking that swimming in a pool was really fun, but now I don’t really get it. I just end up thinking, Why not just take a bath?

Now that I’m thinking about it, I realize that I’ve changed a lot, but I’m still not going to return to my childhood and start running around in the summer. I’m a person who wants to take it easy at home.

Still, there are times where I have to go outside. When I do, I often stop by a family restaurant on the way back. You can probably already guess, but I’m after the drink bar. I just pick the cheapest thing and get access to the drink bar as a combo. Guzzling drinks while basking in the cool is one of the few pleasures I have in the summer.

If you ever see a guy going back and forth between his seat and the drink bar for over an hour, that might be me. Of course, there’s a good possibility that it’d be someone completely different and unrelated as well, so don’t just call out to that person, please.

Anyway, a lot of my money goes to drinks in the summer since if I ever get thirsty while I’m walking somewhere and there just happens to be a vending machine in the right spot... Well, you know the rest. Their placement is so tempting, since I always think, I’m thirsty, but if there’s no vending machine nearby I guess I’ll just deal with it. But as soon as I think that, there’s a vending machine right there. It’s like they meant for this to happen. I have no doubt that the vending machines have legs or something, and they follow after me. And I, the easy mark, just keep throwing money at them. Even if I know there’s a convenience store nearby selling the same drink for 100 yen, I’ll still end up paying 130 yen for it at a vending machine. Then I’ll suffer buyer’s remorse before doing the exact same thing the next day.

And it’s all summer’s fault.

Damn you, cicadas! Even as I’m writing this, there are cicadas outside my window. They’re crying out as they cling to my window screen. If I shake the screen they go away, but they always return after a while. And tomorrow they’ll turn into near corpses. Seriously, what do they even want...?

By the way, apparently cicadas are delicious. These days cheapo gourmet adventures are a popular genre in the light novel world, and not only online either. But even then, I haven’t seen a protagonist eat a cicada. Maybe if I actually try one and start writing, I could create an unprecedented cicada gourmet series...?

No, of course that’s impossible. It’s not like I don’t have a very slight urge to take one of the cicadas crying outside right now and boil it for a taste test, but when I take a good look, cicadas just don’t look appetizing at all.

And to be honest, I don’t think that series would be popular. There’s a limit to how far you should go for a hook. And I don’t think I can cross that line just yet.

Anyway, I’ll stop writing for now. I think I’m going to go catch some cicadas.

All right then. See you next volume.

-Firehead