It’s nice to meet you, everyone. Or perhaps it’s been a while. I’m fukurou, the author.
I mainly work on web novels, but this time I was approached by Drecom to publish One Last Hurrah! The Grayed Heroes Explore a Vivid Future. If any of you are familiar with me, please allow me to make an excuse. Yes, it’s another strange concept thought of by a weirdo, but what’s wrong with having elderly people as the main characters? I came up with this idea while in the bath, and I got to writing the moment I sat in my chair. (As a sidenote, taking baths, going for walks, or taking breaks from work to escape reality often helps me come up with ideas.)
However, I still had to wonder how things would turn out with the protagonist being an old man, the heroine being an old woman, their friends being old people, the party members all being elderly, and even everyone else involved being elderly. To think this story has actually been turned into a book... I’m in awe of Drecom’s open-mindedness. I really wonder what the average age is of the characters in this book. Even though Carl and some others keep it lower, there’s still a limit... There are many stories where characters are old but actually appear young, but I can’t think of any that only focus on old people whose ages and appearances match, so it was an unexpected pleasure to be given the opportunity to turn such a strange idea into a light novel.
Thinking back, I started writing this around July of last year, so it took somewhere between six months and a year to publish this book. To be honest, I didn’t think there would be talks of turning this idea into a light novel with how peculiar the concept was, but then I saw a notification in my message box on the submission website. I think I was at work when it happened. I was finishing work in the afternoon and was about to casually check my readers’ comments when it popped up. I remember being so happy that I immediately called my parents. I was so shocked that I think my blood pressure and heart rate were through the roof.
Now, let’s move on to the actual book. Those of you who’ve already read the web novel will know that this is mostly about the elderly characters getting back together, and there’s not much continuity in the story. It’s like a collection of short stories, with a part for Sazaki, a part for Lara, and so on. I also wanted to dedicate more pages to characters like Aldrick or Clovis, so I made some changes here and there, and this is the result. Even so, the main theme remains the same. It’s a story about walking along the street and reuniting with dear old friends, relatives, benefactors, and, well, minor victims. If there’s one more thing to add, I guess it would be what the Great Demon King and his closest associates were like in their prime, when they were routinely fighting to the death against these outrageous old people.
But there’s still no end to trouble in the modern day these elderly characters live in. Many people of the postwar generation are approaching death, and certain problems arise specifically in times of peace. Of course, I doubt any of these problems will be a match for the group that once resolved the biggest problem in history. I would be extremely happy if you enjoy this strange story about old people who don’t mind disappearing from the stage.
Finally, I would like to thank my editor for their hard work, johndee for drawing these wonderful illustrations, Drecom for turning this bizarre story into a novel, everyone involved in the publication of this book, and above all else, you, the readers.
I truly thank you from the bottom of my heart!
fukurou