Afterword

This is the third volume of the romantic comedy that’s currently trying to win the world record for “most worlds saved.” Hello again to those of you who’ve been reading since Volume 2. And to all of you who bought all three at once, it’s nice to meet you.

This series began in June, and I’ve managed to put three books out before the end of the year. This is all thanks to you readers who support me.

We met a new heroine in this volume. She’s a little different than the ones we’ve seen before... and that’s what Volume 3 is about. Rekka faces a bigger challenge than ever before.

By the way, for the covers for the first two volumes of Little Apocalypse, Rekka is surrounded by heroines with a “what have I gotten myself into?” face that might make you a bit jealous. This time, he’s covered in wounds and looks like a total mess... but he’s also got a bright smile on his face. If you want to find out what happened to him, please read the story.

Come to think of it, when Volume 2 came out, I went with my editor and a salesperson to visit some bookstores. When an author visits a bookstore, he goes to introduce himself and promote his work. All the bookstore employees I spoke with were great people, and some of them were really strong supporters of Little Apocalypse. It was really encouraging.

Also, I signed a bunch of books. Thanks to those of you who found them and picked them up. My hand hurt when I was signing them since the title’s so long, but I’d love to get another chance to do it again! (He said, looking at the editor and the sales department.)

Lately, I’ve really wanted to get a cat.

I had two of them at home when I was a kid, but I am catless now. I’d love to have another one. I mean, I’d like to have one around, not just as a pet. I’d love to have it sleep next to me on my futon. Or maybe hop up on my keyboard when I’m writing so I can’t work.

But yeah, I love cats. I have a lot of cat stories. I’ve had a soft spot for them ever since I was a kid. Even before I started elementary school, I just loved cats more than anything. But I was allergic to them.

“Huh? Isn’t that a problem?” you ask.

Yes. That would normally be the end of any talk of cats, but being a cat lover just seems to be in my DNA...

As a kid, I would play with them and pet them. I did it even though I had allergies. I pet those cats more than anyone’s ever pet cats before. If I saw a stray, I’d chase after it and cry when I couldn’t catch it. Whenever I went to the house of a friend who had a cat, I’d pet it. My face would get all red and swollen, but I didn’t care. Man, I really do love cats.

And then one day, a stray cat came into my house. I don’t know if it was hungry or if it was running away from somebody, but just when I was closing the door, it zoomed in at an incredible speed. And then it started rubbing up against my legs and meowing. Of course, I was overjoyed. I began to pet it and pet it and pet it and pet it and... Huh? My eyes didn’t hurt.

Evidently that was the end of my cat allergies.

Maybe touching so many cats had helped me develop antibodies or something. I don’t know. I never went to a hospital to get it checked out. But after that day, I could hang around cats all I wanted. And so the story had a happy ending. Well, anyway, I might be moving next year, so I’d like to find a place that lets you keep pets.

Oh, and also, Hobby Japan’s webcomic site, Comic Dangan, will be running a Little Apocalypse manga. By the time you’re reading this book, I think they should be up to chapter 2, maybe? It’s another Little Apocalypse story, this time by Koji Hasegawa, so please check it out.

Lastly, my acknowledgments and thanks. I thought that since there was only one heroine this time, the character design would be less work... But in the end, it turned out to be the same number of pages as always. And so once again, a big thank you to Nao Watanuki, who always works so hard on the character and item designs. Thank you so much. When I saw the second illustration at the start, I said to myself, “That’s it! Volume 3 is as good as done!”

And thanks again to my editor, Nanbu, who I always cause so much trouble for. This time was the first time I got the “is the draft ready yet?” call, and it terrified me. V-Volume 4 will be ready on schedule! I promise!

And thanks to everyone at HJ Paperback’s editing and sales department who worked so hard. Thanks to the designers who always get the title design done, despite its ridiculous length... Thanks to the bookstores that put this book on their shelves. Thank you all very much.

And lastly, thanks to all of the readers who picked up this book. I can only write Little Apocalypse because of you. Thank you all so very, very much. I hope you’ll continue reading.

And I hope to see you in Volume 4!

I’m the artist for the insert pictures, Nao Watanuki.

Once again, I’ve been given the chance to speak with you all.

Sorry for this slightly creepy afterword page. For Volume 3, here’s the rough image for Zolphiakd! When I heard about spears that poked holes in people, this was the image I came up with. Not very creative, huh? Kult and Hibiki had very detailed character descriptions and it was fun to imagine what they might look like. I’m just a bit sad that I couldn’t show my design for Kult’s capsule, which had a beard symbol on it. Oh, also I think Hibiki looks really good in her school uniform. What do you think, Nameko...!

Thanks for reading my terrible handwriting.

I’d like nothing more than to get a chance to see you again!

Thanks to both Nameko and the editing department!

-Nao Watanuki