Chapter 64

Afterword Hello to readers of the Famitsu Bunko imprint. It’s me, Sakuma Sasaki—the guy who tried not to judge stargazy pie by its cover but got the hint when I couldn’t find it in any restaurants or online catering forms… Like, none at all. I imagine a few of you are aware that there’s going to be a television commercial for The Dirty Way to Destroy the Goddess’s Heroes. By the time you have this volume in your hands, I think it will have already aired. You can view it on Famitsu Bunko’s official website: FBonline (http://fbonline.jp). Take a look if you’re interested. This is just another thing that was only possible with your support. This might be considered an unsavory topic to some, but we decided to make a commercial because the ebooks had a slight edge over the sales of physical copies. I was a little mystified when I realized that was the case. Around the same time, I experienced the turn of the digital age. You know, ebooks are really convenient. Even I’ve started switching to digital, bit by bit. I think the biggest allure is that they don’t take up any physical space, even if you buy all the books in the world. But for country dwellers like me, the best part is that I can immediately buy books I feel compelled to read. Plus, there are discounts and free previews all the time, which definitely draws in new readers. As a huge geek, I guess my only qualm is that ebooks don’t come with all the bells and whistles of a physical book. Obviously, it’s not going to come with exclusive audio drama CDs or have special editions. No half cover on Drifters as a salute to OG fans. No survey postcard in YuruYuri that’s too cute to send back… As a fan, these items are essential. I don’t imagine print publishing dying out as long as geeks have a stake in it. “In other words, abandon your attachment to material possessions (including physical books)! Move to the immaterial (data of ebooks)! That’s the first step toward achieving Buddhist enlightenment!” I’m not sure how the monks would take me claiming that, so I think I’ll stop myself there. It seems I prattled on long enough to use up my space. I’ll get started on my acknowledgments. I want to extend my gratitude to my illustrator, Asagi Tosaka; my main editor, Kimiko Gibu; those involved in making the commercial and publishing the book itself; and—of course—to all of my readers. That’s it from me for now. Sakuma Sasaki, January 2018