Afterword

It’s been a while everyone—a whole year, actually, since volume 3 was published in Japan. Such a long time that I think you all may have even forgotten who I am, so I would like to start by introducing myself once again.

First, I should warn you that I’m eternally afflicted by two illnesses: the “I-can’t-write-anything” illness and the “Allow-me-to-pull-out-my-endless-list-of-excuses” illness. These are also comorbid with my “That’s-it-my-life-is-over” illness. After kindly diagnosing me, my friend decided to give me treatment in the form of tough love, saying, “Get over it already!”

Yes, you guessed it. I’m not ill at all, just a spoiled baby. I truly am sorry.

Despite receiving news that the publication would continue after the third volume, I struggled to come up with anything concrete. I spent most of my time staring down a white computer screen and idling away. Finally, I resolved to step away from writing for a while. And you know what happened? Curiously, I...wound up not being able to write a darned thing!

I’m sure you’re probably thinking, “What the heck?!” much like my friend was, and you probably want to throw things at me now. I’m sorry.

Ahem, well, I hope you were able to get a laugh out of that, but honestly, not being able to write all that time was draining for me as well. I wanted to write, but I couldn’t do it. I could almost sympathize with a certain character in this volume. It was like having my favorite food in front of me but I couldn’t eat it—that was how awful it was. Yes, I can understand our dear Scarecrow’s feelings to a painful degree.

To tell the truth, I still haven’t escaped my slump. (I know, I’m not nearly skilled enough to claim to be in a slump.) Nonetheless, thanks to my own persistent drive to write as well as readers and my friends promising to wait for the next volume, plus my editor who continually encouraged me, I managed to force myself back into the world of Bibliophile Princess.

Thank you all for waiting for me without giving up on me. I truly, truly appreciate it.

That pretty much sums up my (pathetic) situation this past year. Although, if I told you I hadn’t done a single thing since the middle of winter, I’m sure it would only encourage you to scold me some more, so we’ll leave it at that for now. I’ve already received enough criticism from the self-professed leader of the “I appreciate Eli for her airheadedness” club in the form of, “What in the everloving hell are these new developments you’re giving us?!” (My liberal interpretation of what they said.) So I would appreciate it if you would take it easy on me! Lol

Actually, these developments are something I had in mind since I revised the script for the second volume. While I was trying to think of what tribulations to give our inexperienced hero, Chris, I also started thinking about what our protagonist lacked. After combining that with what I wanted to write, it wound up like this.

Since the story ended on a cliffhanger and our hero (and heroine) have yet to overcome the hurdles I have presented to them, I can’t really talk in specifics about what was going on in the background in relation to this story. So I will keep it vague.

First, I’d like to talk about the obstacle I gave Elianna. She has been at the prince’s side in the palace up until now, always presenting her ideas from a place of safety and security. I wouldn’t quite say she’s in enemy territory right now, but she’s among people who oppose her. Will she still be able to speak her mind as she did before? That’s one of the issues she has to face.

The story is suspended in the air right at the peak of excitement, I realize, but I hope you readers will look on fondly as our pair navigates this mess.

Next, I would like to talk about the short story we added for this volume. Honestly, I once again really, really couldn’t bring myself to write anything and caused no end of grief to my editor. My sentences kept going off in odd directions, and my editor had to keep pulling my trajectory back on track. Now that I actually read back over it, I have to shake my head at myself. Like, the story turned out this simple, what were you struggling so much with?

(Completely unrelated, but when I play RPGs, I often get lost in the middle of cities and dungeons. My siblings are always making fun of me, saying it’s my special talent. I never dreamed this would happen to me in books as well...)

Ahem, anyway... The second arc, “The Phantom’s Serenade”, is obviously a concept I came up with based on the famous musical. But even I found myself skeptical that Eli wouldn’t recognize Chris simply because he had a mask on his face. When I brought it up with my editor, she came up with a brilliant example to reassure me.

“Remember that famous male anime/manga character in a tuxedo suit who appears all the time, throwing a red rose at the floor? No one recognized him in a mask, so you’ll be just fine!”

Amazing. Just what you would expect from an editor working on shoujo works. Kudos to her. Lol

Anyway, the story in this volume was so serious throughout that I felt it lacked my usual playfulness. Thus, I added this sweet extra story to help raise everyone’s blood sugar. And who’s to say, knowing me, maybe things will get even more cavity-inducing in the future!

That’s enough about the contents of volume 4. There is something else I would like to announce to everyone. I am sure there are those of you who are already aware, but recently, a manga adaptation for Bibliophile Princess was approved. I had to ask my editor numerous times whether I was dreaming or not. After pinching myself all over and banging my little toe into the corner of some furniture, I confirmed it was very much reality.

The artist in charge will be Yui Kikuta-sensei (who has her hands in a bunch of different works). Odd how even our names are the same! Lol

I can only express my stories through words, so I have a lot of respect for people who can express them through drawings. Seeing Yui Kikuta-sensei breathe new life into my series and characters has been very moving. I hope you will all get a taste of how breathtaking it is as well!

Really, it’s just very entertaining seeing all the characters moving and making so many different expressions. To be completely honest, I didn’t even realize it was the story I’d written at first! Lol

I hope you will be sure to read the manga version of Bibliophile Princess as well!

And now for my usual confessions.

To everyone who is involved with Bibliophile Princess, from the illustrator Sheena-sensei, to the editors, head proofreader, and everyone else: I bow my head down past the floor, all the way to the earth’s crust! I’m so sorry for all of the trouble I caused you. Thank you so very, very much for not turning your backs on me.

Sheena-sensei, I am so sorry for making an absolute mess out of your schedule numerous times. (sobs) My apologies for all the elderly men who appeared in this volume, but thanks to her illustrations, they were all still very spellbindingly handsome. As always, I received immense motivation from seeing her drawings.

I would also like to extend my gratitude to my friends, family, and others who had to put up with my constant crying.

Lastly, a thank you to all you loyal readers who waited for me all this time. Words can’t even begin to express how much I appreciate you. Knowing you were waiting for me was what drove me to keep doing my best. Thank you so much.

I hope you’ll read the next book as well when it comes out.

-Yui