Chapter 46

AFTERWORD Happy New Year! This is (or should be) my first publication of 2020, the second year of Reiwa. We’re still deep in midwinter, and as I write to you now, I have to wonder: Do they have kotatsu in the Labyrinth Country? It has been a long time since I’ve had one at home, but even now I still miss it at times. Peeling mandarin after mandarin beneath the warmth of a kotatsu on a cold day is one of the greatest pleasures winter has to offer. Apologies for my quotidian passions. The weather does, in fact, change in the Labyrinth Country, though its climate is not plainly divided into four seasons. Conversely, some labyrinths have only one unchanging season. This trend is especially strong in District Five: The Dead Sea Sands, which our heroes have not yet explored, is a desert as its name implies; meanwhile, bright red leaves adorn the trees of the Blazing Red Mansion year-round. It’s quite impossible to capture the landscapes of the Labyrinth Country with words alone. Thankfully, our illustrator, Huuka Kazabana, and Rikizo, the artist behind this series’ manga adaptation, have literally brought color to this world and have even helped me expand my vision for it. I will endeavor to provide as much vivid detail in my descriptions as I can. As this world has so many labyrinths, I’d also love to ask my readers what kind they’d like to see next. I’m sure Arihito and the gang would appreciate one chock-full of both experience points and scrumptious monsters. At the same time, Seekers would surely try to monopolize that kind of place with more vigor than any crabs could inspire. You can’t have everything. The plot twists and turns in this volume will not allow our heroes to resume normal seeking activities until they’ve run their course. I can’t even start talking about what the team might do if or when they tie up those loose ends, since that in itself would give too much away. Instead, nothing would make me happier than if you would put your trust in Arihito and all the members you know and love, and stay by their side as we find out who they are yet to become. My goal as an author is to make you feel as though you are exploring these labyrinths right along with them as you read. I wrote and rewrote the stampede against The Calamity—the second stampede so far—several times while first formulating the story until it became the finished product you saw here. As I did, I kept thinking about how Kozelka’s Active Feint is an amazing skill to have on your side but would be terrifying if turned against you. Skills with the power to switch up attack order or cancel them entirely are extremely powerful in this series. I’m sure the Gaze Hounds’ faces would light up with joy if you thought of them whenever someone used Stun (though they’d still look scary, even if they warmed up to you). There is not much I can reveal about the Simian Lord here; I’ll focus my efforts instead on delivering the next volume as soon as possible. I imagine the weather will have warmed up quite a bit by then, and I hope you enjoy reading about Arihito and our heroes’ desperate battles while stretching out in the sun. Two editors are now gracing me with their kind assistance as of this volume, and I would like to apologize to them both for causing such worry over my progress. I’m pretty sure I’ve gotten to the point where “putting my heart” into anything won’t cut it anymore, so I promise I’ll put my very soul into this next volume and work under the assumption I should prepare for reincarnation myself if I need to request another extension. Thank you once again to our illustrator, Huuka Kazabana, for your incredible artwork. I always look through previous volumes whenever I check my drafts, and the illustrations there move me anew every time I see them. I truly believe that image of Arihito in the depths of his first real predicament set the tone for the entire series. The illustrations in this sixth volume feel like a natural extension and evolution of that. Rikizo, the artist behind the manga adaptation, packs so much of the Rearguard world into every chapter; each one gets me more excited as a reader myself. They are available on Nico Nico Manga and Comic Walker. If you haven’t read them yet, I strongly encourage you to check them out whenever you have a minute. I feel I must prostrate myself, and stay in that position, before the feet of the proofreaders, whom I once again worked to the bone. However, I’m quite sure that would do my back in for good, so please know my heart is full of remorse for all the trouble I’ve caused and gratitude for all you do. I swear I will spare no effort to ensure I don’t make the same mistake over and over again next time. I know I say this in every volume, but I promise to approach the next installment as a new man and hope you will lend him your kind support. I would also like to once again give my thanks to the people at Kadokawa Books and all those who have devoted their efforts into getting this book out into the world and delivering it to our readers. And above everything, to those lovely readers who have supported me every step of the way, I devote a level-100 Recovery Support to you. Thank you very much. Farewell for now to you and the ever-deepening days of fall, Tôwa