Afterword

It’s nice to meet you all! I’m Broccoli Lion.

First things first, thank you so much for taking the time to read volume 1 of The Great Cleric. I started writing this story on a website called Shousetsuka ni Narou, a place where all sorts of people upload their stories, many of which I have personally sincerely enjoyed. At first, I was just another reader, until my imagination got the better of me and I thought to myself, “Hey, why don’t I try putting my own ideas on paper?” And that’s essentially how I started writing.

Full disclosure, this was actually my first time writing pretty much anything. So I set a goal to write a hundred thousand characters and just got down to it, regardless of whether it was “good” or “bad.”

It didn’t take long for my lack of writing ability to get to me. Still, I kept chugging along. I was having fun putting my imagination to work. Eventually, I started receiving feedback. Some of my readers taught me a lot about writing stories, which was a huge boost to my motivation.

About ten days after I started, I landed on the daily rankings for the first time. I still remember that rush of emotion. I even took a picture of my computer screen with my phone.

Around that time, Crowd Games opened applications for their Web Novel Award. Funny thing is, I actually applied because it said that professional editors would offer feedback on submissions, not for the grand prize that would eventually lead to my novelization. That was the turning point for me. I guess I have a certain Monsieur Luck to thank.

More and more people started to see my writing, readers piled on the support, and my motivation was sky-high. I channeled my gratitude into my work. Just like our protagonist, Luciel, I kept up the grind, revising and improving, until the unthinkable happened: I got published.

This work represents the final version of the web series, and I hope you folks transitioning over have enjoyed it. For those of you starting with the novel, please give the web version a look. Compare the differences and experience the true magic of the original: a harem of a bunch of old guys.

Now, during the process of this publication, I ran into computer trouble a grand total of three times. The first incident happened during editing, when, unbeknownst to me, an update had begun. I’d been leaving my computer on sleep mode for several weeks, so when it rebooted, I lost over half of my revisions. Back to square one. I was badly shocked, but binge eating candy saw me through the crisis.

You bet I made sure to start turning my computer off properly from then on. I wasn’t about to let myself have another computer scare. And so my work continued...until the machine just flat out froze while I was in the middle of writing, that is.

An hour later and it was still dead, so I was forced to put it out of its misery. Three steps forward, two steps back. Thankfully, I had a backup, so I only lost about thirty thousand characters. I didn’t even need alcohol! Several days later, however...

My trusty PC, after a long, nine-year partnership, bit the dust. Right at the very end. I was beside myself, but a backup I kept on an external hard drive saved the day. I immediately rushed online to buy a new computer. The days leading up to its delivery were filled with anxiety, dread, and many troubles for Mister I, my editor. When it finally arrived, I was so unused to it that my speed took a pretty heavy hit.

All the unfortunate technical troubles aside, I pushed through and came out having achieved one of my dreams. I was the author of a published book. My deepest thanks to everyone who helped to make it happen.

Readers of the web novel, your comments, impressions, and support fueled my motivation. Without you, I’d probably have thrown in the towel ages ago. Many thanks to each and every one of you. I look forward to hearing more from you all.

Thank you to my editor, Mister I, who always let me crash at the office when meetings ran well past the last train. Without his insistence and enthusiasm, this novel wouldn’t have been possible. We would have likely seen far fewer scenes with the female cast, as well.

Thank you to my illustrator, sime, for your beautiful artwork, and for putting up with my obstinacy. I can’t wait to see this world continue to be brought to life through your drawings.

Thank you to Crowd Games for giving me this opportunity. To everyone in management, the proofreaders and designers...everyone. I’m extremely grateful for your help in bringing this all together.

Lastly, I offer my deepest and most sincere thanks to you, the reader, for buying my book.

I’m going to do my best to keep you all entertained, so I hope you’ll look forward to more of The Great Cleric: White-Collar Survival in Another World!