Hello. This is Roy, author of By the Grace of the Gods. Thank you for picking up volume 17, where we continued the story of Ryoma learning hexes and cleaning up the mountain.
On the mountain side of the story, Ryoma opened up a lumberyard, dug wells, completed a path... He was overworking himself again, perhaps out of habit from his previous life. What’s worse, whenever Ryoma thinks of a better way to do something, even if he’s in the middle of a task, he has to implement it. Combined with his perfectionist tendencies, he didn’t finish everything he wanted to. He’s sped through tasks much faster than a normal person would, but he just keeps adding on more tasks faster than he can complete them. This was a show of Ryoma’s best and worst attributes.
Ryoma paused his work for now, but he will resume whenever he has the chance in the future...hopefully at a more relaxing place. You can look forward to how much he’s going to modify the mountain by the end. In the process, Hudom and Eleonora are sure to suffer—wish them luck.
As for his hexology lessons, due to the nature of curses, I had to write stories that were a little more depressing than usual. I’m sorry if you were hoping to read more lighthearted stories in this volume. Hexology is like a collage of that person. For example, even though I haven’t even lived forty years on this Earth, I’ve experienced a decent number of hardships. Everyone has their own story, and even children suffer in their own way. I am sure everyone who is reading this book must have experienced hardships or painful experiences. In order to portray the gravity of a person’s life in one curse, I couldn’t make things too lighthearted (in my opinion, anyway).
Ryoma Takebayashi’s life, in particular, because the gods on Earth had had it out for him, was difficult. Ryoma accepts his past in the end, learning to control his emotions and convert them into power. Curses can be dangerous, but I believe that Ryoma could use them to break through tough situations he may face in the future. I also hope that he can use them to better life for himself and those around him. With Ryoma as my role model, I hope to leverage my past for a brighter future. I want to live a life where I don’t sneer at or dismiss anyone else’s suffering, but lend them a helping hand.
Ryoma notices a clue to help Korumi communicate with the outside world, which means things are going to be even more exciting around Ryoma while he and his friends continue to level up.
Finally, what will Jasper do in Gimul, and how will he come into Ryoma’s life? Find out in the next volume.
Life is a rollercoaster, and so is this series. I hope you will continue to experience and enjoy Ryoma’s growth.