Chapter 40

AFTERWORD For those who have been reading through one book at a time, it’s good to see you again. For those who read through everything at once, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Kazuma Kamachi. And this is the second short-story volume!! I tried to write this one in a way so you could, to an extent, understand the vignettes without having read the main story. How did it turn out? I personally think I was able to express this world from a whole bunch of different angles: the sorcery side, the science side, and even the normal people’s side. The overall theme is “time is long,” and the key term is Uncut Gem, I suppose. And surprise! This book alone covers almost a year. This is the second short-story volume, but the story of the Uncut Gems started and finished in it. I’m sure some of you who read to the end may be thinking huh? Like, did it really get resolved? Or that one person didn’t end up getting retrieved—what happened to them? Your hunches are correct—in this second short-story volume, which revolves around the Uncut Gems, there are actually other, unmentioned things the story also revolves around. You may find it interesting to come up with theories for this or that. Oh, right. In regard to the two superstrong characters who appeared, both of them are the sort that break all the rules in this kind of battle. As for why—well, there’s zero set procedure for their battles. Though perhaps things could have been resolved more forcibly, like with a giant frontal blast that was even stronger than the full might of that inexplicable power. Speaking of unusual characters, not one but two ninjas show up. In this world, that is what their methods and goals are like. These ninjas are less a formal occupation, like the samurai, and more a way of thinking and acting; the story this time was about the dissension about how it’s carried out. It might be interesting to dig into their story some more, but they both have to obey the ironic rule of finding significance in devoting themselves to being side characters, so leaving it at that is probably for the best. In a way, they’re buried even farther underground than sorcerers are. Actually, I personally think the strongest one in this book was Daddy Misaka. What did you think of him? He, again, is someone with a different methodology than those in the main Index story in that he changes the world through methods that don’t involve people killing each other. But it’s not that he doesn’t fight, just that he fights differently. He’s not the kind of saint who would reject fighting altogether. And since he interferes with the foundations and cornerstones of societies, that fact might make him all the more dangerous than the children who only know how to swing their fists and punch it out. Technically, Touya Kamijou is able to oppose Daddy Misaka. Dandy gentlemen have their own battles to fight. Though they both experience a bit of hardship, with one getting pushed around by subordinates and being a corporate warrior late to be promoted while the other’s wallet is being tightly managed by his wife. …Actually, when I look at just the two short-story volumes, I’m astonished at the utter lack of connection between them. The only thin threads are the parts surrounding Skill-Out’s destruction. Short-story “series”? Yeah, right. Still, it’s more fun to purposely rip out all the demarcations and definitions and make this into an experiment where anything goes. If a third volume ever comes out, it’ll probably be even less connected to the others. I’d like to thank my illustrator, Haimura, and my editor, Miki. Things got rough with the stage changing so many times and with there being so many chapters, but thank you for sticking with me through it all anyway. And I want to thank all my readers. These short-story volumes started with the simple idea that things should begin and end in a single volume and then breaking that apart a little. Thank you for reading them. Now then, as you close the pages here, and as I pray that you will open the front page of the next volume as well, today, at this hour, I lay down my pen. Hey, why’s so much stuff happening without Kamijou knowing? Kazuma Kamachi