A Certain Compiler’s Afterword

A Certain Compiler’s Afterword

Thank you very much for taking this book into your hands. For the fifth time now, I was able to deliver a compiled version with the help of many people. I am grateful for each and every one of them.

Now then, this time I’m covering the Sukuna region. Although the region has changed its name, its most popular sightseeing spot is still the long-established Sukuna hot spring village. Just like Itsutsu city, this place stores valuable data and materials regarding Ash—or Sir Fenix, I should say here.

This region, which was known for its intelligence network at the time, also produced paintings as a means to accurately convey the appearances of the people about whom they gathered intelligence. That’s right. All depictions relating to the legend of Sir Fenix as we know them today are products of the house of Sukuna’s spy activities.

Those precious source materials are currently stored as a relic at the finest traditional inn of the Sukuna hot spring village. It is an establishment that formerly received royalty and nobility, and eventually became the regular inn of Sir Fenix and the Territory Reform Promotion Office. Even today, it is still operated by a descendent of the house of Sukuna.

Without further ado, I got the hostess to show me the precious paintings. I had seen them before on television, but I was still impressed by the inn’s art gallery-like facility. It really lived up to its reputation of formerly catering to royalty and nobility. There were a myriad of paintings here ranging from bust-up portraits and profiles depicting facial features to full-body portraits serving as a reference for height measurements and other details. Some paintings even portrayed the exact locations of scars.

However, the center of attention at the gallery was an official painting that hadn’t been drawn for the purpose of intelligence gathering. It depicted a boy and a girl walking close together under the bright sunlight. Despite their young age, the two looked like a couple who have been married for years. The painter really captured their excellent chemistry. It wouldn’t surprise me if even their breathing was synchronized. The arms of the harmonious couple were so tightly entwined that it seemed like they never wanted to let go again. Their similar smiles were as bright as the sun, and you could practically hear their laughter, accompanied by congratulatory and teasing voices.

No matter how you look at it, those soulmates were Ash and Maika. The painting captured the two childhood friends, who had fortuitously met in a poor, remote village, happily embracing each other so naturally. A delightful sight to anyone who knows about their story. It almost makes their many hardships appear trivial. As expected from the couple that was considered “an inspiration for all lovers in the kingdom.”

The title of the painting is Marital Vows of Two Jian Birds on Trees with Entwined Branches. The Jian are mythological birds that can only fly together as one. The entwined branches represent trees that need each other to stay upright. These images truly represent the relationship between those two.

I also want to congratulate them from the distant future.

—While writing my blessings on paper