It’s good to see you all again. I’m Shigeru Sagazaki. Thank you very much for picking up From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman Volume 9. We’re finally nine books in—double-digit volumes are just over the horizon. When I started writing this series, I never imagined we would get this far. There really is no telling what life has in store for you.
As usual, the schedule was pretty tight. I spent my days tapping away at the keyboard, praying I would finish in time. Things ended up relatively borderline. I would prefer to not push things until the last minute, but when I can’t write, nothing comes out. It’s quite problematic. But ultimately, I think things turned out pretty well. Did you enjoy it? I do hope so.
Anyway, as the cover implies, this volume focuses on Surena. Much like with Allucia in the last volume, I wanted her to settle a score with an incident in the past. I’m glad I got around to it. I mentioned in the last afterword that there are things I want to write and things I have to write. I hope to deliver them all to you in proper form.
Also, we can’t forget about the anime. It’s finally airing next month, and I’m really looking forward to it. It seems to be getting a lot of publicity at events and such. It’s an honor to have it seen by so many people, and a little frightening too.
Following the anime, this volume, and volume seven of the manga, we’re also going to be publishing the first volumes of two spinoff manga. One is focused on Surena, and the other on Ficelle. That means we’ll have four series in publication at the same time. I’ve really gotta give this my all! Well, I’m just the writer, though. All the illustrations in the manga came out great, so please consider picking those volumes up too.
I’ll do my best in the coming year to keep the positive news rolling in. But in the meantime, I hope you will continue supporting the series.
Until next time.