AFTERWORD

Nice to meet you all—My name is Tôwa. I mentioned this a little in the last volume, but I have nothing but the utmost appreciation for every single person who continues to read my work. I pretty much spend all my time now prostrating myself in gratitude.

Perhaps you’ve already noticed the large cast of characters in this series. It’s incredibly difficult for me to decide which characters will be depicted in the illustrations. My lead editor will tell me, “My money’s on this character for this volume,” and we’ll choose a scene based on that, which then dictates what the book’s illustrations will be. ※Note: My editor’s tone is not what I have presented here. My editor always takes all aspects of the work very seriously and makes no compromises on delivering excellent work to (omitted due to space constraints).

…Anyway, what I’m trying to say here is, I would also love to see as many images of as many characters as possible, but there are just too many of them. Perhaps readers can have fun guessing who’s going to show up in each volume’s illustrations. I’d also really like to hear what you all have to say about that one scene where the kendo swordswoman, Kaede, was being quite cheeky. We writers are always eager to hear our readers’ feedback.

I’m starting to run out of space now, so I’d like to thank Huuka Kazabana; my lead editor; everyone who helped get the book published; and most of all, my wonderful readers. I’m also looking forward to continuing to work with Rikizou on the manga version!

I hope to see you all again in the next volume of The World’s Strongest Rearguard.

Tôwa