Afterword

Hello, this is Makishima Suzuki. The previous volume, Volume 5, was released in February of the second week of Reiwa (2020). Looking back, it was right before the world was shaken by the coronavirus. I hope you have all been healthy during this time. The state of emergency is no longer in effect, but I believe it will still take some time until things settle down completely.

Fortunately, my company has allowed us to work from home, so I have been able to put some distance between myself and most of the commotion. However, now that I no longer walk to work every day, I have been presented with an issue that is entirely new to me. Yes, due to a lack of exercise, I have been troubled by all of the weight I have gained. I do envy Kitase and Marie at times like these. You may wonder why, but it’s because they can simply say, “Then, let’s play in the other world for a while instead.” So, I bought a high-end rice cooker to let out my frustration and to improve my meals at home. But my rice ended up tasting better, accelerating my weight gain as a result... Yes, I decided not to think about it too much.

After staying home for about three months, naturally, the season changed. The scorching summer arrived in the story as well, which was a very trying time for Mariabelle, as an elf who hated the cold and the heat. The humidity and heat is too much even for the Japanese, who are used to this climate.

But if they can find ways to have fun that can only be enjoyed in the summer, maybe they would feel differently about the stifling heat. Mariabelle views things differently than we do, so I hope you’re able to turn the pages and get a peek into the elf girl’s life... Though, since this volume is being released as an e-book, I doubt most people would read the afterword before reading the main story.

We are no longer making paper books as of the sixth volume, which may be disappointing for readers who had been collecting them on their bookshelves. I’d like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for purchasing and reading my story. It amazes me just how much my feeling of gratitude grows with each additional volume.

I’ll take this time to explain a bit about the e-books. I’m not sure if this is something I should write in the afterword, but my revenue will obviously decrease now that we are no longer doing paper books. This is because there is no longer any need to print a predetermined quantity, which means I won’t be getting royalties for those copies. This part will vary depending on the publisher, but generally, e-books provide more revenue per copy sold, compared to their paper counterparts. I’ll leave all of the money talk at that, but my goal is to have as many people enjoy the story as possible, so I’m not too concerned about the revenue part. With Yappen drawing the illustrations (they were adorable as usual) and Aonoesu working on the comic version (I’ve always loved their works), I’ve been having so much fun, I sometimes wonder if I truly deserve to be so blessed. This is part of the reason why I’ve put more work into revising and adding episodes than ever before, in hopes of making the series even more enjoyable.

It can be said that Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! is also a story about pursuing happiness. It may seem like they’re always running around and laughing or enjoying themselves in leisure, but the situation is slowly changing, and appreciating that change is part of the fun. There will likely be many changes in the latter half of the Chapter of Midsummer. There are even plans to go to the pool and the beach marked in the calendar at the Kitase household.

Going back to the e-book topic again... In my case, it’s been harder and harder to secure space to store books, so I’ve been reading e-books more often as of late. I wouldn’t mind if it was just a book or two, but when it gets to several hundred, it can end up becoming an issue. I dread the idea that my family will tell me to get rid of them someday. I’ve been switching over to e-books lately, and not only do they save space, but I’ve found they have the advantage of being legible in the dark. It was quite a happy discovery when I found out I could read them anywhere, like while lying down or in my bedroom with the lights off. I also love the fact that I can read old books whenever I want.

I’ve been enjoying such changes to my lifestyle as I think of the storyline for this series. I hope you all have fun, peaceful, and fruitful days ahead.

Now, I look forward to greeting you all in the next afterword and will go back to writing.