Afterword (Dehumidifying)

Hmm. That escalated quickly, didn’t it?

People lately like to call this kind of development “depressing,” but I’m not a fan of that term. It’s not especially depressing; it’s just serious. No one’s given up, after all.

When was it that people decided that a story’s protagonist withdrawing into his shell and kicking himself instead of taking action makes a story “deep”? I guess it’s been almost ten years now (distant gaze).

Sousuke’s not that kind of protagonist. He might kick himself about things, but he still takes action. Decisively.

Liberated from the world of the short stories, he can show his real ability. It’s just like when Kinnikuman, who started out farting while he flies, became super cool by the time he joined the Chojin Olympics! (Okay, maybe not the best example.)

Anyway, let’s make some plans for the future!

1: A heartbroken Sousuke heads to Tohoku and ends up in a hot springs town full of interesting characters. While he spends day after day in the warm and tranquil environment of a local inn, he gives up on finding Kaname and decides to start a new life there. He marries an ordinary girl and has a happy ending.

2: To find information on the missing Kaname, Sousuke infiltrates another school. A beautiful girl believes that Sousuke is her long-lost brother, and she barges into his apartment with 108 people and it’s chaos. Shenanigans ensue, like him accidentally peeping on the girls’ bath, or the girl coming to wake him up, yanking the sheets off his futon and shouting “Eek! Big Brother! That’s disgusting!” Amidst all these delightfully embarrassing events, both Sousuke and the author forget about Kaname.

3: We follow Tessa and the de Danaan crew as supplies run low. To earn funding for their activities, they form a traveling circus troupe. The athletically disinclined Tessa is forced to undergo training of fire, and ends up doing an incredible trapeze routine. It’s all very inspiring. When it gets an anime adaptation, the DVD will only be sold on ***zon.

4: Kaname, in Amalgam’s possession, uses her paper fan to purge Leonard and the other executives from the ranks of command, and takes the reins of the organization herself. As their newest leader, Kaname sets her sights on taking control of the Kanto criminal underworld! The only one who can resist the cruel and merciless Amalgam’s reign of terror in Sengawa are the Mikihara Gang and its Bonta-kuns, who’ve recruited Hayashimizu to be their top general! Meanwhile, Sousuke is wandering around, blissfully unaware of all of this.

I guess that’s all I got. Three more pages, huh?

That reminds me. The other day I went on a trip to Taiwan and Hong Kong. There was a meet-and-greet in Taiwan, and I was surprised by how big the welcome was. The food was tasty and the town was interesting and the girls were pretty, and I had a great time. Yano-san, Shi-san, Cindy-san, and everyone else from Kadokawa Taiwan, thank you so much! I’ll be back again soon!

Now, in Hong Kong... I talked to the anime staff (grin). Timing and medium haven’t been decided yet, but thanks to you all, we’ve got a new anime in the works. I shared a hotel room with the director, Takemoto-san, but maybe because I was exhausted, I kept snoring really loudly and made a ton of trouble for him. It was a busy time, but an interesting and eventful trip.

We’re full speed ahead on the main story now, so don’t expect the next book to be the last one or anything. We’re just getting started. My number one objective is wrapping things up cleanly. I’m not gonna taper out with slow developments, or start a new series with things left unfinished, or anything like that. Don’t worry!

What will happen next? Where do I take the story?

I don’t know. Sousuke and I are both at our wits’ end.

But I’m sure he’ll figure something out. Have a little faith, okay?

Well, see you.