Bonus Interview with Kanata Yanagino

We asked the author your questions, and a few of our own!

Q. You mentioned tabletop gaming in the afterword. Were there any specific games, mechanics, or elements that inspired parts of The Faraway Paladin?

One note before I answer this question... If you allow me to start talking about my hobbies, it will be a while before I stop!

My first experience with tabletop RPGs was in my mid to late teens with the old Japanese-made Sword World RPG. It was an RPG with simple rules from a time when tabletop RPGs hadn’t yet established themselves in Japan.

It was already being treated as an “old RPG” even back when I played it, but there were still people who loved it, and I played it online for a long time. Of course, I’ve dabbled in many other games too, but I feel that the greatest influence comes from Sword World RPG. Warriors, thieves, priests, and wizards forming a party, swords and lanterns in hand, and taking on a dungeon with traps and monsters lurking inside—the memories of my young days experiencing an extremely classic take on RPGs descended from the Dungeons & Dragons lineage are a very valuable asset.

The first time I ever played was a simple quest to defeat a monster who had taken up position on a bridge. Following that, we attacked dens of goblins and giant ants’ nests. We crossed oceans and traveled to islands floating in the sky as we chased the solutions to legendary mysteries. We conquered sprawling dungeons full of puzzles. And at times I was the GM (Game Master), making the dungeons and traps, creating conspiracies and epic stories, positioning monsters and livening up the session. Each one of those adventures and characters we created are a memory more precious than gold or jewels. In particular, having roleplayed a priest character and experienced his religious devotion and the different relationships he had with various gods was an experience that surely built the foundation for The Faraway Paladin.

Unfortunately, I haven’t had the opportunity to play Dungeons & Dragons yet, but I find it stimulating to read the rulebook and the logs of other people’s adventures from time to time. The breadth of its different takes on what a world can be, spanning many planes... the large variety of unique magic items... and most of all, the encounters with all those fearsome creatures! I do admire D&D.

Regarding American tabletop RPGs, I recently played a little of the Japanese translation of Shadowrun Fourth Edition. It offered a very exciting and creative world, and I enjoyed the time I spent with it. “Watch your back. Shoot straight. Conserve ammo. And never, ever, cut a deal with a DRAGON!” ...But aren’t the rules for hacking a bit complicated? Maybe it’s better in the fifth edition?

Lastly, this isn’t an RPG, but: Ursula Kroeber Le Guin’s Earthsea series. In particular, I adore and really admire the first book, A Wizard of Earthsea. I think that Sparrowhawk is one of the greatest wizards in fantasy!

Q. How does it feel to have your work translated into English? Do you speak any English to be able to read any part of it?

Try to imagine it yourself. The story you wrote is deemed good enough to go on sale and gets published. ...That feels great! And then it gets translated, and you get to have your story read by people who speak a different language as well. ...Even better!

It’s the best feeling. I feel very happy. I think that when a person receives validation from someone else, it brings them a lot of happiness. So when the English version of The Faraway Paladin was announced on J-Novel Club, of course I tried my hand at reading it. My grades in English when I was a student were... not exceptional, shall we say, and even now I’m not very good. But speaking aside, it was possible for me to read and more or less understand it with Google Translate and a dictionary. (Thank you Google!) When it sank in that it had been translated into English, the joy I felt is something I cannot describe.

Q. Any plans to come overseas for conventions?

None at present. But I’d like to give it a try someday! The only issue is that my English is a little... no, very lacking for playing games at conventions. Ah—We are talking about tabletop RPG and boardgame conventions here, right?

Q. Will there be romance involved in the future and party members we can look forward to?

I don’t think I should talk too much about what’s coming up outside of the novels themselves, so I’ll just say one thing. I think you’re going to like what’s coming! I’m giving it my very best!

Q. Not a question, but your American fans are rooting for you and congratulations on charting for this year’s Kono Raito Noberu ga Sugoi!!

Thank you very much! I’m really happy for your words of support! I feel very honored to have been rated by Kono Raito Noberu ga Sugoi!! I’ll keep on making even more interesting stories so I can chart next year as well.