Volume 13, Chapter 38 – Afterword

Ah, the day of the finale has finally arrived. To be honest, until just a few days ago, I didn’t really have the “real sense” that it was ending. It wasn’t until I wrote the chapter where the Origin of Calamity was defeated—two days ago, to be exact—that I suddenly realized, “Eh? The story is really about to end just like that?” Immediately after, every time I thought about the finale, my hands and feet would go weak. Of course, it wasn’t out of fear, but a feeling that is hard to put into words.

I suppose you could call it a sense of melancholy. I have genuine feelings for every character; it’s as if they are living, breathing people. I can converse with them, and they respond to me in different tones and manners according to their respective personalities. That’s why, when it comes time for the parting, the reluctance is particularly strong. Even though I said at the very end of the story that the girls’ journey continues, I know in my heart that we have already parted ways. From now on, the story belongs to them, and I will no longer be a part of it.

However, where there is a beginning, there must be an end. I remember a chat I had with another author while I was writing Aila . I told him the book was about to end, and he asked me in surprise, “Don’t you still have quite a lot of people reading? Why end it? If it were me, I’d at least keep writing until no one is watching before rushing to a finish.”

After hearing that, I felt like he and I lived in two different worlds. Perhaps different people have their own ways of living, but I have always believed that a story should end naturally while everyone still remembers it. This is a responsibility to the readers, to myself, and to the characters in the book. At the very least, I can guarantee that when I look back on the past one day, or perhaps when I’m dreaming, the characters won’t point at my nose and say I didn’t take good care of them. I can answer with a clear conscience that I did my absolute best. This is one of the joys of being an author—the world is real, the characters are real, and they are living the rich, vibrant lives that I yearn for.

Well… though this is the final postscript of the book, let’s leave the sentimental talk at that.

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Back to the business at hand: Yisi took nearly two years to write. From the first post on December 2, 2019, to the finale today, September 30, 2021, it has been a total of 668 days. Without everyone’s companionship, it would have been truly impossible to keep going.

Honestly, during the time I was writing Volume 3, I looked at my subscription numbers and once thought I was “done for.” I decided to “let myself go”—of course, “letting myself go” here doesn’t mean writing whatever pops into my head or writing nonsense to satisfy certain fetishes. It just meant changing to a different writing style, building a more solid structure so that a volume became a complete plot with a clear beginning and end—accelerating the finale. That’s why there was that sense of “abandon” in Pepe’s volume, jumping directly from the Count’s territory to the Queen (there were actually meant to be more “daily life” chapters in between). At the time, I planned to write Evelyn after Pepe, and then jump straight to the Sky Island after Evelyn. However, while writing Andrea, I was surprised to find that I had “come back to life” and regained my momentum. So, I went back and wrote according to the original structure. I never thought it would eventually end today in a normal, complete form. The me back then definitely wouldn’t have imagined today.

Of course, because of that mid-way decision to “let go,” many troubles arose later. For instance, the most criticized “Pepe Volume.” When I first thought of the plot for Pepe’s arc, I was so excited I was rolling around on my bed. Plus, thinking “I’m going to fail anyway, I might as well write something I like, even if the readers might not,” resulted in that volume, which subsequently caused countless people to drop the book at Volume 4.

In the past, I once doubted if I had made a mistake, but looking back now, that’s all in the past. I see it quite calmly now, and I can even say with confidence that it’s precisely because of the character Pepe that many plot points were propped up and made interesting. If nothing else, I personally really like girls like Pepe—someone very assertive, yet not simply a bully. If I were a character in the story, I would definitely marry Pepe—though I’d want the others too, I want them all.jpg . Also, it might be because I haven’t read enough books, but I’ve never seen a character who can be “hard” to such an extent. Of course, it’s also possible that all books written like that have failed (laughs).

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Compared to Aila, Yisi can be described as a mature, relatively strong girl with her own distinct personality. She was very easy to write. Because her personality is so strong, she could do many things “just because I want to,” without needing to explain how much benefit it would bring “me.” Alright, enough rambling. Actually, the thoughts for each volume have already been written in the afterword of that specific volume. Although I always thought, “I must write these feelings in the final afterword!”, when it finally came time for the finale, I didn’t know what to say. I’m like someone who forgets their lines after stepping on stage; my heart is just full of emotion and reluctance to leave the characters.

Finally, let me share some idle talk as my final thoughts. Actually, at the beginning of the month, I was still worried about whether I could reach 50,000 collections and 10,000 likes before the book ended. In the end, I reached that goal before the month was even over. Instead, the one thing only I could complete—reaching 3 million words—was not achieved. No matter how I wracked my brain, I couldn’t hit 3 million, so I decided to stop at 2.98 or 2.99 million (if it’s 2.99, I might write some side stories to make up the difference).

Writing to this point, the lingering reluctance of the finale has mostly been released. There is only an indescribable sense of fulfillment. The story ended according to the outline, and the characters have all found happiness. If possible—of course, I only say possible —how wonderful would it be if I could become the protagonist of my own book in the next life?

And for the very last part, let’s enter the customary phase.

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Thank you all for reading this far. I am truly grateful for your companionship along the way. Without your support and encouragement, this book could never have reached its conclusion. I believe the characters in the book would also thank you, just in different tones, so I’ll leave that to your own imagination.

In any case, all the characters in the book have reached a beautiful ending, and I have concluded a journey worth savoring. As for the new book, I have to finish the last unwritten volume of Aila first, and before I start that, I need to rest for a while—maybe a month, maybe two. In short, everything will be announced in the group (Group ID: 707425911); just keep an eye on the announcements.

For the very, very, very last time, please allow me to offer my best wishes here to the incredibly cute and memorable girls in this book. And then—the finale celebration begins! Cheers!!

September 30, 2021

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Yomi