As a kid, I always wondered why authors took forever to release the final books in their series, but now that I’ve had to write a final volume myself, I finally understand: It’s way more effort to wrap up a story than it is to continue one. Sorry it took so long, everyone, but it’s finally out.
Hyougetsu here, one book older and wiser. Thank you so much for waiting patiently for the finale. I’d started these last few volumes thinking that it would just be an after story of sorts, telling the rest of Veight’s life and the people who take over after him. But I also wanted to showcase Friede’s growth, so the arc dragged on for quite a while. Then I decided I wanted to keep going until Veight’s retirement, and I figured the best capstone scene for that would be Veight passing the torch to Friede. But in order to make that happen, I needed to let Friede experience various adventures and grow into someone capable of taking over.
By the time I realized it, I’d gotten all the way to volume 16. I also had to swap publishers during that time, making Der Werwolf both my longest and most hectic series from an administrative perspective. Honestly, I expected the series to get canceled halfway through, so I’m very glad I was able to write all the way to the end of Veight’s story. It’s all thanks to the support of the publishers and the support of you readers.
Thank you all so much.
When I first started writing this story on Narou, my eldest daughter was just one year old. Now she’s ten, and my younger daughter’s six. I actually was only able to have a second child because this series did well enough to give my family a bit of extra leeway in our finances, so in a sense, it’s thanks to all of you that there’s another life in this world. Again, thank you so very much.
Thankfully, my two daughters get along great, and seeing them play together was what made me start thinking, “It’d be nice if Friede had a sister too...” I hadn’t planned on giving Friede any siblings when I first started writing the final volume, but by the end, I realized that was exactly where the story was heading. And so, Friede’s sister, Othilie, was born. Thank you so much to my editor Saitou-sama for coming up with her name. I’d come up with the names of all of my characters until then, but I felt I needed something special for Friede’s sister, so I begged my editor to name her. (I’m so sorry for making you always handle things that aren’t part of your job description!) Othilie was born too late to see her dad’s golden age, but knowing Veight, he probably did enough cool things after she got older that she thinks he’s a hero too. I’m sure by Elainya’s time, there are over a hundred Black Werewolf King plays.
Anyway, I once again would like to thank everyone who has supported me all this time and allowed me to complete this series. A big thank you to all of the editors, proofreaders, designers, publicists, and printers at Earth Star Entertainment and Square Enix for your wonderful work. I’d also like to thank my illustrators Nishi(E)da-sama and Teshima Nari-sama for your amazing drawings; all of your character art was truly exceptional! Special thanks as well to Kosumi Yuuichi-sama and the manga department for making a manga that surpasses the original.
A big thank you to chief editor Itagaki-sama as well, who first offered me a publishing deal. Thank you for always putting the work first, and making sure I could write to my heart’s content. I don’t think I’ll ever meet an editing chief as wonderful as you. Thank you for also introducing me to all those great sweets shops—how do you know about all of them?
Of course, I’m also eternally indebted to Saitou-sama, who has stuck with me as my editor from start to finish. He’s basically a coauthor at this point. Without his passion for the work and deep understanding of the characters, I’m not sure I would have made it to the final volume. Thank you so much. (And I’m sorry my daughters kept barging in on our video calls. They love you too.)
Last but not least, I’d like to thank all of you who read from volume 1 all the way to volume 16. It’s thanks to you that I can continue being an author, and I will be eternally grateful for that. Veight’s story ends here, but his life goes on even if we’re not reading about it. I hope you enjoy imagining what kind of antics he’s getting up to now that he’s a free man. Whatever your headcanon is, that’s now canon. May we meet again in another story.
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