Afterword

Kanata Satsuki here! Thank you for reading I Refuse to Be Your Enemy! 4. We’ve finally made it to the fourth volume! It’s all thanks to my faithful readers that the story has gotten this far.

After running all over Delphion, Kiara and friends have finally made it to the province of Trisphede. Plenty of incidents occur that shake Kiara up in a big way. Why can’t she help but deny something that she knows deep down? Why can’t she simply accept it? It’s when she arrives at those answers that the romantic subplot will finally reach its conclusion. I hope you enjoy the process of getting there.

Just like the previous volumes, the print version includes several additions and edits to what was posted online. The side story covers the aftermath of a certain incident in Delphion Castle, and I made sure it was chock-full of romance. I had fun writing about Kiara running from place to place, and I shone a little spotlight on poor Alan, who’s going to get an ulcer from all the drama unfolding around him.

Moving on, I would once again like to extend my thanks to my wonderful editor.

The cover encapsulates this volume perfectly! Which is precisely what I asked of my illustrator, Mitsuya Fuji. For the color illustration, she drew the trio of girls all dressed up for the festival. I wasn’t sure if I should have made that a regular insert illustration or not, but looking at the color version of it now, I’m glad I decided to go with this.

I mostly requested scenes on the battlefield and a lot of moments that were otherwise hard to capture, but I’m really pleased with the climactic feel of everything! My favorite insert illustration is the second one. The way Kiara smiles so tranquilly the moment their eyes meet made my heart skip a beat. I hope you all spent as much of the volume grinning as I did!

I’d also like to thank the editing department at Shufu to Seikatsu Sha—the proofreaders, the printers, and everyone else who helped get this book published. And finally, I’d like to extend my gratitude to all my dear readers.

As an additional note, I’ll be publishing a short story online as thanks for purchasing this volume. I’ll be uploading it to my blog on Shousetsuka ni Narou. I hope you enjoy it.

—Kanata Satsuki, October 2016