I was a boy scout as a kid, so I actually have a fair amount of experience foraging for wild plants. They’re surprisingly tasty if you fry them up as tempura, which also takes some of the bitterness away. Oh, have you ever tried a “dark hot pot”? Hello from KAME, your mountain-veggie-loving author!
When most people hear about a kid who likes to read novels, I think they tend to picture someone who’s into indoor activities. I was definitely a homebody as a child, so I was no exception. On weekends, I just wanted to lie around on my bed and read books I liked all day instead of going outside. I wasn’t very athletic to begin with, so I can’t say I ever liked doing all the physically demanding scout activities.
But now that I’m writing about adventurers as a novelist, I often find myself digging back into those childhood memories of outdoor experiences for inspiration. Life really is funny. You never know what’s going to come in handy. And the human brain is conveniently wired so that all the painful and miserable memories, like huffing and puffing just trying to keep up with the rest of the group because I didn’t have the stamina, get tidily sorted away. In fact, now I can look back and say, “That was actually kinda fun.” Pretty amazing, don’t you think?
Well, even though I say I was an indoorsy kid, I was the type who had fun once I was outside. So I really do have fond memories of those times. Mountain climbing, foraging for wild plants, camping—we did all kinds of things. I sometimes find myself reminiscing and thinking, Man, I’d love to go back to those lush natural places and take a deep breath of that fresh air again. Maybe the old me was more in tune with the outdoors than I give myself credit for.
However, allow me to say just one thing: If you’re going to climb a mountain, wear shoes that are broken in. Seriously.
And with that, how did you enjoy volume 2 of They Don’t Know I’m Too Young for the Adventurer’s Guild?
This series began as a web novel on the site Shosetsuka ni Naro, and this book is a revised and expanded version of what I originally posted there. For this volume in particular, I made some fairly extensive changes and additions. Back when I posted it online, I prioritized momentum and energy over polish. Volume 2 gave me the opportunity to revisit and refine the story with the goal of truly completing it. I think that process turned out to be a really valuable experience for me, and I really hope readers who had already read the web version discovered something fresh and enjoyed the story in a new light.
Now, I have some news to share. This will probably be announced around the same time as the release of volume 2: A manga adaptation of this series is currently in the works! I was shocked to hear about this myself, as someone who’s always loved manga, but it’s not a dream. When I first received the offer, I was so stunned I could hardly believe that day had actually come. I’m incredibly excited to see how Kiri and the others’ adventures will be portrayed. I hope you’ll give the manga version lots of support like you have with the novels so far!
Finally, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who made this second volume possible. To my editor, Yuri Wada, who worked so hard on its release; to ox, who once again created such stunning illustrations; and of course, to all of you who picked up this book. Thank you so very much. I’ll continue doing my absolute best with the writing, so please stick with me for the next volume too!