A Certain Compiler’s Afterword

First of all, thank you for taking this book into your hands—I’m really grateful. I would also like to thank all the people who went through great efforts to make the publication of this book a reality.

Originally, Fushi no Kami was entirely written from Ash’s perspective, but for this book I added those of some of the people around him. In addition, I included some more objective narration, effectively turning the original Fushi no Kami into a newly compiled edition. I hope you enjoyed reading how the other residents perceived the maverick Ash, who suddenly showed up in their impoverished village. Personally, I think it adds new flavor to the original story.

I’m writing this afterword in the village where Ash grew up. While the townscape no longer resembles a village at all, I visited it in the hope of gaining some insights into the starting point of Ash’s journey. At first, I was disappointed seeing how big of a town this place had become, but I managed to find some traces of the past.

They are selling honey products in all the cafes and candy stores with Tanya’s name on the label, and most restaurants have a “Yuika style” stew on their menus. If you go to a well-established restaurant, you can even commemorate your visit with a “Yuika style bear stew.” The barkeeper at my hotel boasted that they were the only establishment that based their dishes off of Yuika’s authentic recipe, while serving me a “Peddler Quid cocktail,” which was just watered-down mead. He joked, saying, “It’s believed that drinking this here brings good fortune, so no one complains about this essentially being a watered-down scam drink.”

I would recommend everyone to visit the town at least once with this book in your hands! Also, it looks like I will be able to travel to the neighboring city once the next volume comes out!

Finally, I would like to personally thank some more people. First, I want to thank my parents for introducing their easily-bored son to so many different stories and giving me the freedom to get to where I am today. I also want to thank my high-school friend for recommending me a novel that changed my life into a fun ride. I’m also grateful for my engaged university teachers, who taught me how to do research and influenced my way of thinking. And finally, I want to thank my friend who has always been my first reader. I hope you like it.

—Written in the town once called Noscula village.