Thank you very much for picking up volume 2 of The Isle of Paramounts: Reborn into a Slow Life Among the Strongest in the World! Everything, including the release of this sequel, and above all, the second print run of the first volume, is thanks to all my readers who purchased volume 1!
Like volume 1, volume 2 is a revised and rewritten version of the online edition of the novel, but...to tell the truth, I’d already made various changes in volume 1, so this volume’s contents also differ greatly. Specifically, Arata and Reina’s house was already built in volume 1, but at that point in the online version, they still lived in a tent. Additionally, Grr and Garr didn’t exist at the point equivalent to the beginning of volume 2, so their appearance led to quite a few changes.
Besides that, I wanted to center volume 2’s story around Tailtiu, so every plot point ended up focused on her... And this led to me inserting a large amount of new episodes in order to revise the sections that had changed from the original online version. But anyway, I think I was able to turn the book into something both those who have and haven’t read the online version can enjoy, so all’s well that ends well!
At any rate, Noy’s illustrations are wonderful, just like in volume 1! I received incredible responses from so many people when the illustrations for the first volume of Isle of Paramounts were made public, and volume 2’s also exceeded expectations! Various fellow authors also gave me all sorts of compliments, like, “Those illustrations are really great,” so even though I didn’t draw them myself, I can’t help but brag about it sometimes (lol).
As a matter of fact, I imagine almost everyone who purchased volume 1 were those who saw the illustrations and thought, “This looks interesting!” This resulted in a “Second Edition of the Smash Hit!” so I really can’t thank Noy enough, can I? I’ll have to continue writing an entertaining story so I can keep on getting them to draw for me...
That’s the thought I have in my mind whenever I occasionally look up reactions and other responses to my books on various sites (while also wondering, Do they really think it’s entertaining?). Once, I saw someone say, “I like how they’re actually living a slow life,” and I laughed a bit, like, “The story has Reborn into a Slow Life in the title, so why do they seem so surprised?”
Then again, in these types of stories, a traditional pattern is that the protagonist and the people around them get wrapped up in all sorts of incidents, which keeps them from being able to actually live a slow life (I love that type of story as well), so I can see why some people would have that reaction. Although Reborn on the Isle of Paramounts does occasionally have some battle scenes, my aim for the story is, “We might be members of different species, but let’s all be friends and have a loud, fun time together!” so I’m going to keep going like that all the way until the end.
Plenty of new characters showed up in volume 2 as well, didn’t they? There’s Zelos and Merlyn of the Seven Celestial Archmages; the Alfr girl, Katima; Ark the Hero, Saint Ceres, and Ellie the Witch of Destruction; Gram, the leader of the young Ancient Dragonfolk and Gyes, the leader of the young Fierce Ogrefolk; and finally, three names out of the remaining Seven Celestial Archmages were introduced. How will their relationships develop? That’ll have to wait until after the book sells well and a sequel is set!
With that said, if you enjoyed this book, then I would be incredibly grateful if you could recommend it anywhere, whether it’s on social media or a review site!
While I make this appeal, I would also like to mention that, as the wrapper on volume 2 says, the manga version will be starting soon! The author, Yamaura, has made something with an amazingly cute and tender atmosphere, so please, give it a shot as well! As I write this afterword, I’ve already seen the storyboard, and it was wonderful. I never imagined that anything I wrote would become a manga, but it’s a pretty good feeling (lol). I’ve also written a new, exclusive side story for the official website, so if you’re interested, by all means check it out.
Last year, I made my authorial debut with Raitei no Kiseki [The Trails of the Lightning Emperor], which makes The Isle of Paramounts my second series. I will be publishing a new series as early as next month under another imprint, and I’m also taking on various other jobs. All of that is because of the popularity of this story, and that’s thanks to all of my readers. Once again, thank you all very much!
As before, I’m going to do my best so I can keep writing about a fun, bright island life that brings a smile to many people’s faces, so I would be grateful for your continued support!
Heiseiowari