Afterword
IF we’re meeting for the first time, it’s nice to meet you. If it’s been a while, hello again. I’m Fuyu Aoki. Whether you’re reading this after enjoying the main story or you’re the type to read the afterword first, I’m so happy to be able to greet you here.
What did you think of this exhilarating, heartwarming, and off-the-beaten-path school comedy woven by the strongest offensive magician, Yuffie? As the author, it would be my greatest joy if you could enjoy the slightly(?) eccentric story of this girl as you sometimes laugh and sometimes cry at her antics.
All right, so my most loyal readers, the ones who buy my work because I’m the author (thank you always!) already know this, but Fuyu Aoki is a writer who doesn’t stick to a specific genre. When I debuted, I was writing teen romantic comedies for a male demographic. Then I suddenly published a sweet Cinderella story for women. And now I’ve written a fantasy comedy with the strongest protagonist. As of January 2024, it hasn’t been announced, but I also have an outline for a battle action story set in the present day, so more and more I’m starting to wonder, “What genre do I even specialize in…?”
I don’t know how many times I’ve been asked what my style as a writer is because the themes are all over the place, but when you read my works, there is one throughline that runs through all of my stories. That is, “The protagonist is unhappy at the beginning, but winds up happy in the end.” I’ll avoid explaining my previous works because there isn’t enough paper, even if I cut down all the trees in the world. In this work, though, Yuffie, who was unhappy because she had no friends, becomes happy after enrolling in the Academy of Magic and makes friends, including Lyle.
That’s right. No matter what subject or character I write, the protagonist, who starts out somewhat gloomy, begins to smile as the story progresses. I think this is probably deeply rooted in my personality and is an unchangeable aspect of my style as a writer. To give an easy-to-understand example, an elf slave who’s been oppressed and deprived of anything decent to eat is picked up by a kind master, fed delicious food in a warm house, her scarred body is cleaned up, she wears a cute dress, her smile slowly comes back to her, she falls in love with her master, and before she knows it, the two of them are in love and get married and live happily ever after. I really, really, really love stories like that! (End otaku-like lightning-fast rambling). I’d like to write something like that someday.
I was pretty silly in the main story, so I thought I’d be serious in the afterword, but I ended up joking around again. This may also be an unchangeable part of my nature as an author. Anyway, I’ll continue to make unhappy characters happy, so if you like the same style of writing, please check out my new work!
With that said, happiness without any challenges is boring. Yuffie is happy to have made a friend, but many people don’t like her. I think she’ll face many trials in the future, so I hope you look forward to seeing how she overcomes them.
While I maintain some modicum of gravity, I’d like to express my gratitude! To my editor, I-san, thank you for working on this story. Every time I receive advice from you, it becomes more magical and entertaining, and I’m so grateful. The strongest magician is you, I-san!
Thank you to the illustrator, Bodax-sensei, for the wonderful illustrations, which I’d love to project onto the giant screens at Shibuya’s Scramble Crossing. I’m overwhelmed with emotion at how beautifully you transformed my incomprehensible instructions for a beautiful girl with a black cat on her head, clutching a burdock root and unleashing a powerful attack spell into an impeccable cover that will go down in the history of light novels.
I’d also like to thank my parents, who welcome me with open arms whenever I return to the countryside on those all-too-often occasions I get tired of city life, the readers who supported me through the web version, and everyone who was involved in the publication of this book.
Thank you so much!
I hope to see you all again in volume 2.
Fuyu Aoki