Afterword

In the afterword of the last volume, I wrote, “If I have the opportunity, I’d like to write new adventures with Shun, Hiroshi, and the rest of the gang.” I never expected I would get that chance so soon! This is all thanks to those of you who read the previous volume, so you have my heartfelt thanks.

The idea of this novelization being something that doesn’t spoil the game, but instead takes from it and builds off of it hasn’t changed since the first volume. Now that we’ve revealed more to the mansion, I think that there’s something exciting about moving between the areas even for people who have played all the way through the game. My intention was to unfold a story that wasn’t told in the game while bringing out the flavor of the characters, setting, and events of the original work. I hope that those of you who are fans of the game snicker here and there when you read certain scenes or lines.

I watched hours of gameplay videos in order to write this book, and I really came to appreciate noprops’s player-oriented approach in keeping things new and entertaining. I’m also grateful to Karin Suzuragi, who’s illustrated this volume, as well. The opening comic pages she’s done are more impactful than anything I’ve written in this book. It’s really reassuring to get to work with such talented people.

This second venture in the series, subtitled ”Vengeance,” is based on patch 5.2. This is the only game version where all the classmates can escape alive, but what about the novel version? Well, you’ll have to read it to find out. With patches 3.0 and 5.2 out of the way, I’d like to do the next one on the latest patch, 6.23. Those of you who’ve already played the game know what’s coming, and who’s going to get it. I really want to try bringing those events to you in novel form.

So, here’s to hoping that we meet again.

Kenji Kuroda