Hello, long time no see. Tenth time’s the charm! I’m Tamamaru, the part-time light novel author who’s nearing fifty. We finally made it to the big double digits! I’d like to thank all the readers for helping me make it this far.
For the first time, this volume ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger with a “To Be Continued...” Those who’ve read the web novel may know, but I wrote this part of the story around the second year after I started serializing this title, and I wrote so much that it couldn’t possibly fit in one volume. So, I decided to split it in two.
The seventh volume was quite hefty, but I only managed to fit it in one book after shaving away quite a few scenes. But I couldn’t do the same this time around. Since we finally made it to double digits, I thought I’d try out something new.
Speaking of something new, while I’ve introduced a few characters who were limited only to the published series, this time, I decided to add an unusual character who’s quite detached from reality (Helen’s power aside). This character took less inspiration from the mainstream, and I think she turned out just fine. I’ve planned for her to appear later on, so if you liked her, please look forward to it!
Now, about Maribel, the fire spirit. She was designed pretty early on—I’d like to say during the publishing of the third or fourth volume. I was just waiting for the timing to throw her in. I think there were a few chances that I missed, but I finally added her. And yet, this newcomer immediately vanished from the story. But don’t worry—I’ve got a very important role for her, and I hope you can eagerly await her reappearance.
Now for some acknowledgments. As usual, thank you to my editor, I-san. I troubled you a ton again, and I hope we can continue to work together. Kinta, who worked on the illustrations, the character design, the cover, and all those images, provided some lovely artwork once again. Thank you so much!
I always feel so bad because frankly, I don’t really write detailed descriptions of my characters, and since I added a few odd, new characters, I might’ve caused a difficult time. And yet, Kinta drew everyone so beautifully, as though I’d given a detailed image from the start. Thank you so much, always.
Thank you to Yoshino Himori, who’s in charge of the manga version. I know I wrote some stuff in a confusing way, and I caused a lot of trouble, but I always enjoy the manga as a reader. Thank you.
Thank you to those involved in the making of the audiobook and the international releases.
Thank you to my mother and younger sister, as well as my cats: Chama, Konbu, and Shijimi. Thank you to my online and real-life friends. Thank you to the many authors who continue to be friends with me and provide me with their support.
Lastly, I’d like to, of course, thank you, the reader. I cannot thank you all enough. It’s all thanks to each and every one of you that I was able to make it to the big double-digit volume. I hope you will continue to enjoy this series.
Let’s meet again in volume 11!