Chapter 14

Afterword Hello! Welcome to any new readers! And to those of you who have read my other work… What am I supposed to say here? Thank you for your continued patronage? Apologies, my absentmindedness is shining through with blinding force from the very start. I’m the author, Tappei Nagatsuki. It is an incredibly personal thing, but this is the first time I’ve ever introduced myself as just Tappei Nagatsuki in an afterword. The reason for that is that I originally started out writing light novels on the web before eventually being approached by a publishing company about the idea of adapting my story for an actual book. Because of that, I would always sign with the pen name I used online in my web novel, too, and this book is the first time I’ve stepped away from that. This was a moving book for me as the author, but what did you think of it? I hope you enjoyed it. This book is a spin-off of sorts, a prelude to the main work, Warlords of Sigrdrifa. You may be wondering, Where is that main story, then? If you are picking up this book on release day or soon after, then no one will have seen the main story yet. The reason for that is because Sigrdrifa is an original anime that will be broadcast after this book is released! Original anime has such a nice sound to it. It just makes the heart dance in excitement. And I danced while I wrote this as well. Just kidding. Warlords of Sigrdrifa is an original anime that I have contributed to by writing the scripts and working on the overall structure of the series. During the initial planning stages, it started with just three really basic foundations of manga, of “Open skies! Fighting girls! Something dramatic!” and things just took off—pun fully intended—from there. And now it has finally reached the light of day. The first piece of all that is this book. That’s a lot of pressure. Writing a spin-off prelude before the main series even releases is certainly an aggressive approach, but I personally love exploring the past arcs of stories, so I’m all for it. Please have fun looking forward to seeing just how the characters here will make their appearances in the anime! And just as you would think from this being part one of two, these characters and their stories will show up in the next volume as well. What battles, struggles, and sorrowful good-byes wait in store?! I hope you’ll enjoy the struggles that lie in wait for Rusalka and the others… Hold on. Isn’t that just a lot of bad stuff? I suppose that’s what a story is. It’s always darkest before the dawn. I’m sure you all enjoy dramas. I do, too. We have that in common. That’s why I’m sure you’ll love the next part, too, friend! I won’t keep you waiting too long on the next part! Depending on when you pick this up, it might even be out already, and I can meet you again in the afterword of that volume! So having made that energetic announcement, I’d like to take a little bit of space to thank all the people who have helped place this book in your hands. To my editor Ono, thank you very much for waiting for me to finish the manuscript with an archaic smile even while everyone was worried about such a tight schedule! You were a lifesaver during the proofreading and corrections phase. I hope you’ll continue granting me your wonderful help as this new series continues! But seriously, please and thank you. To the illustrator, Takuya Fujima, thank you for such a lovely illustration of Rusalka and Amy! And thank you as well for contributing character designs for the anime! As a fellow lover of less intensely colored characters, we were like two horses in harness, pulling together! Thank you to Takaaki Suzuki for your help with the military setting and research. I’ve been in your debt from the very start of this project. We worked through the night together just three days after meeting. Thank you for all your help supervising the general setting of this book! Fujima and Suzuki are also working hard with me on the anime, and it would not be an exaggeration to call Sigrdrifa our baby! And also to all the people in the editorial offices of Sneaker Bunko and to the proofreaders and the people at various bookstores, without whom this book would not have been published. It is truly thanks to you that this book made it to publication. And to all the people involved with the creation and production of the anime, thank you all. All of you working day in and day out to create something special has been the greatest motivation to me as an author. I can’t wait to continue our work and make Sigrdrifa a hit! And finally, my greatest thanks to you readers who have picked up this book. This story continues in the next book and creates a foundation for the contents of the anime! I will be doing my best in hopes that you will enjoy the future developments of this series! Let’s meet again in the next book! Thank you so much! April 2020 (while at work furiously writing the next book)