Afterword

Afterword

 

GREETINGS, readers old and new alike. My name is Shinobumaru, and I’d like to take a moment to thank you for picking up The Haunted Bookstore – Gateway to a Parallel Universe. I’m overjoyed to know that more people can read my story.

From a young age, I always loved stories about spirits from Japanese mythology.

My first exposure to them was in a popular picture book. I was terrified of this horrifying spirit with a giant mouth chomping on salt as it chased after people. Honestly, it was so bad that I couldn’t even sleep at night, and yet for some childish reason, I just kept reading the book over and over again.

From there, I read the works of the late Mizuki Shigeru-sensei and Kyogoku Natsuhiko-sensei, which probably contributed to my sense of familiarity with these mythological spirits—even if I’m still terrified that the moment I give them an opening, they might chomp my head off in the dark. They’re strange and live at odds with humans, yet I’ve always felt there was something charming about them. That feeling hasn’t changed.

This story is my own take on these mythological spirits.

Seen from Kaori’s point of view, the spirit realm is a gentle and beautiful world. However, it’s anything but that when taken from Suimei’s perspective. To him, it’s a visceral, terrifying world where the strong feast on the weak. A lot of my own personal preferences were put into the world inhabited by these spirits.

However, in spite of the world in which they live, I think it’s a really heartwarming story. You’ve got the screwball non-human adoptive father, the affectionate twin birds, the mysterious woman running the apothecary, and of course, the young exorcist boy juggling many issues. I did my best to ensure Kaori and all these other characters felt like they were really alive. I really hope you enjoyed the story right up to the very end.

I received a lot of help in bringing this story to book form. In fact, it’s all thanks to one certain individual making an introduction. If I were left to my own devices, there’s absolutely no way that this would have ended up in readers’ hands as a real product, and for that I’m extremely thankful.

I’d like to thank my editor, Sato, for always providing pointed advice and having a kind word to say. You brought me to tears time and time again with your kind praise.

Munashichi did the cover art. To be completely honest, I had actually been looking at their illustrations while I was writing the story, so I could barely believe Munashichi was actually going to work on this. Having you draw a picture for me was one of my dreams, so I really can’t thank you enough.

Finally, I’d like to thank all the designers, proofreaders, marketers, and other people who helped work on this book. Of course, I’d also like to thank my family for supporting me, and you, the reader. I hope we meet again.

 

Written in the year of the new era and launch of Kotonoha Bunko,
Shinobumaru