Afterword

Afterword

 

TO EVERYONE who’s picked up this book, it’s a pleasure to meet you. To everyone who started reading it on Let’s Be Novelists, long time no see.

I wonder if everyone who writes on Let’s Be Novelists yells with happiness when they’re approached with an offer to novelize their book? I actually developed a stomachache when that happened. I was beside myself! Why would anyone want to publish such a terribly written work?

This book is about a girl who has gotten her hands on the strongest gear possible in a game world—a bear onesie. When she wears the onesie, she’s the strongest person there ever was, but when she takes it off, she’s a normal girl. I was inspired by the concept of the “strongest weapon and strongest shield.” The strongest weapon is the black bear glove, and the strongest shield is the white bear glove. But the gloves alone didn’t have quite the impact I wanted, so I also made the protagonist wear a bear costume.

You may be wondering, why bears? Well, when I pictured a fierce, strong animal, a bear was what came to mind. Besides, they make cute hand puppets, and would look really cute on a girl.

So that’s the reason I started writing this book.

The townspeople and adventurers who gawk at Yuna at the beginning gradually come to accept the bear-costume wearing girl. They come to love her, whether as a charming bear or a terrifying bear. Many of the people who interact with Yuna end up happier for it (though the villains aren’t quite so lucky).

If this book brought you even the slightest enjoyment, that would make me so happy.

Finally, I’d like to extend my gratitude to everyone who helped create this book. Thank you to my editor, who helped me out so much, to 029, who drew such magnificent illustrations, and to everyone at the publisher.

 

Kumanano – On a day in May, 2015