Afterword
Thank you so much for picking up the sixth volume of The Death Mage. It’s nice to meet those of you coming through for the first time, and welcome back to those who already have a Death Mage habit. I’m Densuke, the author.
The year of this book was a big one for The Death Mage here in Japan. The second volume of Takehiro Kojima’s comic edition was released, along with Vandal coming to life in a collaboration event with the Yurudorashiru game, developed and distributed by Clover Lab and Saga Forest. I’m still stuck with my flip phone, and so I didn’t get to play the event myself, but my readers seem to have enjoyed it.
Thinking back, it’s been four years since I won my prize at the 4th Internet Novel competition, which made all of this possible. That means year five is about to start. Makes me wonder if everything that happened is due to the auspicious fourth-year factor. In that case, next year is the fourth year since the publication of the first volume, so I hope the miracles keep coming. Of course, I’m aware that I’ve only come this far thanks to the support of you, my audience.
In this volume, Vandal finally invades . . . er, encroaches . . . ahem, advances into Olbaum. Vandal and his expanding pool of allies have had this as a target since volume #1, but of course, things aren’t going to go smoothly just because they finally achieved it. He meets new faces, visits the adventurers’ guild, and faces obstacles from interfering deities and the powerful foe depicted on the cover. He even meets a new heroine, also on the cover. This volume also reveals the mystery of what happened to the previous royal family and remaining people of Talosheim. It also features the return of at least one character with a complex connection to Vandal, although much has changed since we last saw him. There’s definitely a lot going on, so I hope you enjoyed it. I’m doing my best to enjoy it myself, although my family does complain about me talking to myself. Apparently I do that a lot when I’m writing, without really being aware of it. I need to be more careful of that!
I don’t have much room left, so I’ll finish with the usual round of thank yous. My thanks as always to proofreader (sorry for all the typos!), editor, and everyone at Hifumishobo publishing. Also, congratulations on your move! I’m a little worried that I’ll lose my way the next time I come over.
I also need to thank Ban! for always designing and drawing the bizarre characters I come up with, and this volume was no different. The attractive, characteristic art really helps to expand the world of The Death Mage. Thank you to everyone involved in the publication of this book, and all the readers who support it! I look forward to seeing you in the next volume!
—Densuke