Afterword

Thank you for reading Altina the Sword Princess: Loose Threads! This is the author, Yukiya Murasaki.

This book was released alongside the seventh volume of the main story. I’ve been given more pages than usual for this afterword, so I’ll try using it to describe each story.

The Eve

When I kicked off the main series, I originally published this online as a short story to introduce people to the main plot. It takes place before Regis and Altina met. That said, my prose back then was quite old and rather stilted, and I rewrote so much that it’s essentially a different story from what it once was.

“The Eve” essentially goes into why Regis was assigned to the Beilschmidt border regiment back in the first volume, as well as why Altina was pretending to be a carriage driver.

Auguste, the Silver Princess

This story was also originally published online. I wanted to delve a little deeper into the secrets of First Prince Auguste, who initially appeared in the third volume. That was where the main cast really started to expand.

The fourth volume became the story of Third Prince Bastian, but that one was also initially intended to be no more than a short story. Auguste’s short story was received quite favorably, so Bastian and Elize’s became an entry into the main series.

One of my goals when writing this series was to depict a single history from multiple viewpoints, and I am quite satisfied with the results.

A Vow to the Morning Star

This was a new piece written for this book. Readers took quite well to Bastian and Elize from the fourth volume, and there were a surprising number of people who said they wanted a continuation of their story, so it has taken shape here.

This is a turning point in Bastian’s life, the ripples of which will eventually spread through the history of the Empire.

I’d quite like to write another short story volume if the opportunity ever arises. If you want to read more stories like this, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

Now on to a status report (or maybe just some advertisements?):

I don’t like writing about things unrelated to the work at hand, but with so many more pages to fill in this afterword...

Koma Hibiki, a manga I worked on that was published in Dragon Age, has released its second volume. It’s about high school girls playing shogi.

This winter, I’m also scheduled to release a KanColle light novel with Kadokawa Sneaker. I’m working on it in earnest.

On September 29th, Alice and Shirley of the Floating Academy will release Volumes 3 and 4 simultaneously. It’s about tea and sweets, and a school for those with special abilities.

My thanks—

To my illustrator, himesuz-sensei. Your illustrations are always amazing. I’m sure I’ve caused you quite a bit of trouble, putting out two books at the same time... Thank you!

To Yamazaki-sama and Nishino-sama from Afterglow. Even here, you’ve put out yet another wonderful design.

To my editor, Wada-sama. Two books at once is pretty tough, eh? Now that this is over, though, let’s go eat something nice!

To everyone in the Famitsu Bunko editorial department, everyone involved, and to my family and friends who continue to support me.

And of course, my greatest thanks to you, dear reader, for reading this far! Thank you!

Yukiya Murasaki