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Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? (Light Novel) - Volume 23, Afterword
Volume 23, Afterword
This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml
Long time no see, everyone. It’s Takehaya.
This volume consists of three short stories from Invaders of the Rokujouma!? Hercules! published on HJ Bunko’s site, “Read It! HJ Bunko,” and half a volume’s worth of new material. The truth is that if six parts of Hercules! don’t get released, they’ll just keep stacking up. But my danger sense also told me that at least half of this should be a newly written story, which is how it ended up like this.
As for the new content, “Behind the School Excursion,” it was something that I was due to write, but it wasn’t enough to fill an entire book. Moreover, while it was something that needed to be done to progress the story, Koutarou and the others are currently in Forthorthe. In other words, it was a tricky situation. I wanted to add it on to a different story, but it would be difficult to do in the middle of the Forthorthe arc. And so, in spite of everything, we decided to release it alongside some Hercules! stories where the timeline is unclear.
It was poor timing for those of you who are waiting for the continuation of the Forthorthe arc, so we also decided to increase the release pace for volumes 23 and 24, getting them out in three months rather than the usual four. So in total, there will be a volume and a half’s worth of new content in six months in order to prevent major delays. While it’s hard to say for certain because of the complex intertwining of various elements, work is currently progressing in that direction. Once I’m done writing this afterword, I’ll be moving on to the plot for volume 24… one month earlier than usual! That’s something only made possible by a lack of work (haha). I believe that’s enough shop talk, so let’s get back to the stories.
The first story, “Badgirl Begins,” is about Harumi becoming Kiriha’s protégé in an attempt to become a bad girl. I believe the highlights are why Harumi wants to become a bad girl in the first place, and whether or not Kiriha can actually pull it off.
Next is “Sleepless in Harukaze,” a story involving Clan, Shizuka, and martial arts. The highlights are Clan and Koutarou’s tangled feelings, as well as Shizuka’s intervention.
The third short story is a little different. It’s like a new series with three main characters and a guest appearance. The title is “Beauty Becomes Her” and it features Sanae, Yurika, and Maki. The story unfolds around their surprise guest, Elfaria.
And finally there’s “Behind the School Excursion.” This serves as a turning point for Koutarou, but the same can be said for the invaders. The story is focused on the last step before their relationship reaches a new level. It’s a rather important episode that’s part side story and part main story.
Also, BOOK☆WALKER has another special edition bundle of a drama CD with the digital edition. This time it should be the first half of volume 8.5. Fortunately, the sales for the previous two have been good, so they’ve decided to see it through until the end. What a relief. Once the details have been decided, it will be announced on HJ Bunko’s main site.
I think delivering a drama CD alongside a digital edition will be a valuable weapon for
future digital editions. It seems like there are quite a few people who were reluctant to touch digital editions because of the lack of specials, and those who collected the digital editions would still buy physical copies of the volumes that came with specials. I think by making things more convenient for those fans, digital editions will be more popular. I hope they will continue to deliver until the final drama CD for that reason.
By the way, currently on Hercules!, we’re going back to basics. The invaders confront each other in the new “VS” series. The latest episode is a confrontation between Sanae and Theia. The next episode should come out about a week after this volume is published. For those who are interested, please check out the “Read It! HJ Bunko” website.
I have some leeway in the afterword this time, so I’ll go ahead and introduce the next volume, volume 24. We last left off with Koutarou and the others safely managing to group up, but standing in their way is the imperial army under Bandarion’s control. After the incident with the virus weapon, support for Elfaria’s faction hasn’t dropped. Rather, it’s actually increasing all over the solar system. Concerned about a rebellion, the army has one hand tied. But even then, the imperial army is still a considerable threat. How will Koutarou and the others deal with such a powerful enemy?
The next volume will be more tense than normal. In other words, the next volume will be completely different from this one. Since the readers are all following different elements of the story, I can’t really leave anything out. I’ll do my best so that you can enjoy various kinds of content in the future as well.
It’s about time, so I’ll end things here. But first, I would like to give my heartfelt thanks to everyone at the editorial department who’s giving it their all; to Poco-san who manages to draw illustrations despite my many specifications; and lastly, to all of the readers who picked up this book.
June, 2016
Takehaya
