AFTERWORD

Hello. I’m Hiromu, recipient of the thirteenth Shogakukan Light Novel Merit Award.

I’d like to introduce myself, but as this is my debut work, and I have so many people to thank, I think I’d better start there so I don’t run out of space.

Guest Judge Labo Asai. It was a privilege just to have you read my novel entry. I can’t express how thankful I am for the six pages of A4 paper you gave me, containing your thoughtful feedback. I based my revisions on your advice. I especially loved the part where you wrote: “I don’t even know what genre to categorize this as.” I also want to thank everyone involved in evaluating and assessing my work from cover to cover. Thank you very much.

Thank you to H and Y for reading my novel and giving me your opinions both before and after entry into the competition. And thank you to N for making me such a cool signature and business cards! In particular, H, with their background in mainstream literature and publishing, managed to pull me out of the otaku swamp I was festering in and made me an actual light novel author. Even though you were very critical of the content of my work, you were the one who kept telling me that it would be a hit, and when you read the novel before entry into the competition, you kept telling me: “You’ve got a winner here; mark my words.” I can’t tell you how much that encouraged me. Now, just like you said you would, you can go ahead and tell everyone: “See that kid? I discovered him!” …Lol.

Now then, now then, on to the person in charge of the illustrations, raemz! I regret that I didn’t have many opportunities to tell you what I thought, but I have to say that getting into contact with you was one of the best things that could have happened to my novel! Every day, I was anxiously awaiting, thinking to myself Will they upload the pics today…? like a lovestruck teen. Then, when I saw the illustrations you sent, I could only squeal: “Kawaii! Kawaii! KA! WA! EEExyczzzz!!!” like some gross old fart. I could look at your illustrations for hours and never get bored. They get cuter and cuter the more I look at them. I call it: the raemz effect. Let’s both keep working hard together in the future, too!

Now, to Iwaasa, my editor, who has done more for me than anyone else. At first, we pushed each other’s buttons and even ended up in a sort of cold-war type of situation, but you are a wonderful editor who really respects and cares about the vision of your authors. When you read the second draft, you said only: “I see, I see” (quoted verbatim), and I thought, Editors really don’t have any appreciation for a person’s feelings! (lol). But now I’ve gotten used to you! Now when you send me messages with emoji, I tell myself: Today, Iwaasa is feeling especially personable! I call this: Looking for Iwaasa’s humanity. But thanks to you, this novel has become several magnitudes better than it was before the competition entry. So thank you very much.

And finally, to everyone who picked up a copy of this title…I thank you most of all.

See, I told you I had a lot of people to thank. So in the remaining space, allow me to introduce myself… (To be continued in Volume 2, if that’s cool?)

Hiromu