Thank you all very much for buying this book.
I know this is sudden, but I am terrible at writing afterwords. They always cause me a lot of stress. However, here’s a tip for authors—it’s possible to use the space to introduce both the writer and their other series (at least in the first volume), so I’m going to use the space on that!
My Big Sister Lives in a Fantasy World
A completed series with 7 volumes, published by HJ Bunko. This is a modern-day story set in school. A boy with a delusional older sister has chuunibyou training pushed on him, and—as a result—he becomes the strongest entity of all! He ends up fighting murderers, vampires, zombies, witches, evil gods, and people who force him into mysterious games of death.
Daimaou ga Taosenai (The Demon Lord is Undefeatable!)
An isekai fantasy published by Earthstar Novels, with three volumes currently released. The main character is a beauty and also the strongest Demon Lord. As the title suggests, she is undefeatable.
My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! —AΩ—
Published by Earth Star Novels, with four volumes currently released and counting. It’s exactly what it says on the tin. The main character’s power is to instantly kill any target at will. That’s all. No matter who it is, they will instantly die. Thus, it’s a pretty laid-back isekai fantasy series.
Also, this series has been turned into a manga by Nanto Hanamaru-sensei, which is published in Comic Earthstar (http://comic-earthstar.jp/). I also recommend that, so please check it out!
Lastly, we have my fourth series—the one you are reading right now. In the world of this series, mimics like you’d see in some nationally renowned RPG series are the norm, but for some reason, a mimic with arms and legs is the main character.
As you might be able to tell by the reference to legs in the title, the motif here is something steeped in greed. The style is less dark fantasy and more of a...carefree(?) isekai monster story with RPG elements, though.
The RPG system here is a mishmash of all the games your dear author has played thus far, so those who like games might recognize some of my sources of inspiration.
Those who’ve read all the way through the book and are just now reading the afterword might be thinking, “And? Where’s the cute girl on the cover?” But...well, you know...it’s just a cover image! That’s how it’ll look if she ever manages to get her upper and lower halves at the same time. Not that it ever appears in the first volume!
Well, mimicry literally means to pretend to be something else. Mimics aren’t limited to just treasure chests, so I’ll just say that it’s possible for a mimic to pretend to be human!
Oh, I was going to do a “We need weirdo adventurers! Currently recruiting!” thing, but it looks like I’ve written enough. I guess it’s not needed. I haven’t actually prepared any application guidelines or requirements or anything, but any passionate eccentrics can look at the colophon and apply with the information there. Or you can look up my Twitter and send an application there!
And now that I’ve built up a good amount of padding, it’s time for acknowledgments and thanks:
To Yuunagi-sensei, who was in charge of the illustrations—thank you so much for taking on this responsibility. I can’t help but wonder if it’s really okay to have you draw stuff like strange mimics with limbs, but I’m all the more grateful that you’ve portrayed such a bizarre main character so cutely.
To my editor—thank you for taking this on in addition to Instant Death Cheat. I was also grateful that you listened to me when I came to you with such a weird story.
The big number one on the cover might imply the will to do a second volume, but that actually depends on how this book fares in sales. To any of you who found this story interesting, I would be terribly happy if you would spread the word to your friends and over the internet.
Anyway, let’s meet again in the next volume!
Fujitaka Tsuyoshi
✦ ✦ ✦
“Ah...”
Gradually, the number of lights disappeared one by one. It was not long before the last one vanished, and the forest was again shrouded in its original darkness. Mit stared up at the traces of moonlight through the treetops. Angeline chuckled, grabbing their hands and standing.
“Now let’s go back.”
Not understanding a thing, Mit and Charlotte followed her lead. They had barely entered the woods and were now out once more. The moonlight was as bright as ever, lighting the plains in white.
Looking up at Angeline, Charlotte asked, “What were those lights, sis?”
“That, you see—that was spirit fire,” Angeline replied.
“Spirit fire?” Mit cocked his head curiously.
“Yes... Once upon a time, I was lost and alone in that forest.” Angeline’s eyes narrowed as she reminisced. “It was before the spring festival, you see. I thought I’d pick some glowgrass on my own, and that dad would praise me for it... But I got tired and fell asleep along the way, and before I knew it, night had fallen. It was dark and cold, and I was terrified.”
“What happened then?”
“I was too scared to move, and when I was mulling over what to do, those lights came to me... Their beauty let me forget my fear for a moment. And after that, dad came to save me. When I asked him later, he told me it must have been spirit fire. He said they came because I looked lonely.”
Mit blinked. He wondered about those flickering lights he had seen in the Ancient Forest—had they come because they were worried about him?
“Are spirits...kind...?”
“Yeah. They like kids, I hear. Though they do their share of mischief too... I’m sure they came all the way to the forest’s edge because they wanted you two to notice.”
Mit and Charlotte immediately found themselves looking back. In the depths of the shadows, the green light let off one final burst before fading for good. It felt as though it was waving a hand. Their fears were gone now, and Mit was excitedly pulling Angeline ahead.
“Amazing. It was pretty.”
“It was. The forest isn’t as scary at night as I thought,” Charlotte said with a giggle. When she went to pick glowgrass, she had gone with a large party, and she hadn’t been given the time to feel scared. Even now that it was just the three of them, she felt more awestruck than afraid.
“There’s a folktale about spirit fire, you know. The tale of Lost Isolde... My dad knows it.”
“Really?”
“I want to hear it.”
The three returned in a hurry for a story. They didn’t head to the annex, instead opening the door to the main house. Belgrieve and Graham turned from their seats at the fireplace.
“Hmm? Bedtime already?”
“Dad, I want to hear about Lost Isolde!”
“Tell us!”
The kids raced to Belgrieve and sat on both sides. Belgrieve looked pleasantly surprised, tugging at his beard to bring back some memories.
“That story... All right, I don’t see why not. But first, brush your teeth and get ready to sleep.”
They quickly stood and went to get their pajamas.
Kasim, slouched in a chair and sipping distilled liquor, cackled. “The kids sure are lively.”
“Yeah... Ange, did something happen?”
“You could say that...” Angeline chuckled.
Graham closed his eyes, a slight smile on his face.
As they changed clothes, Charlotte softly whispered to Mit, “Honestly, I was a little scared when we entered the forest.”
“I...was too. But I really am fine now.”
“Hee hee, yes. I never knew it could be so warm in there.”
Strangely, it had felt warmer in the forest than on the plains. The canopy had protected them from the cold air blowing from above. Though they had been too nervous and fearful to realize it then, the memory seemed to be coming back now.
When they were changed and their teeth were brushed, they sat down beside Belgrieve. Belgrieve prepared some hot water and then slowly told a tale. It was a story of a girl who lost her way, and how she was led back to town by the light of spirit fire. That’s all there was to it; it was a simple tale, yet it was lovely for its simplicity.
The forest could be scary, but it could be warm too. I’ll have another look at it, thought Mit. The fears he had held on to for so long had seemingly been burned away.
There was a crackling sound. The log in the fireplace burst, sending specks of flame dancing through the air.