Chapter 12

Afterword Hello, this is Yushi Ukai. Like in the previous volume, I will humbly take charge of this section. Thank you very much for reaching the end of this volume. How was Volume 2 of Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table? After Candle Woods, the phantom girl Yuki has found her footing. This volume followed her in taking on the biggest hurdle that separates ace players from second-rate players, a milestone achievement, the curse plaguing the death-game industry—the Wall of Thirty. After thinking about when death-game players would show their true mettle, I decided to go with a dramatic come-from-behind story. Nowadays, keeping ugly emotions bottled up inside seems to be a recommended practice, but there are perhaps a not insignificant number of cases where those emotions can also save oneself. Players obsessing over trivial matters and butting heads is, as expressed by Ghost Mikawa, an ordinary occurrence in an extraordinary setting and, as expressed by Haruki Kuou, a true representation of characters who play death games to put food on the table. To speak of a personal matter, this is the first thing I have ever written in high expectation of compensation. As a result, there are things I have gained (e.g., pressure) as well as things that have been dispelled to a degree (e.g., psychological complexes). And I can see the reality of that is influencing my writing. Right now, I am thinking that I must manage this new mindset as soon as possible. I would like to express my warmest gratitude to my editor, O, for working with my hostile story and to Nekometaru for drawing the far too many characters I create. I would also like to offer my deepest appreciation to Ghost Mikawa and Haruki Kuou for their commentaries. Now that there is pressure weighing on me, I will lean into that force and deeply bow to everyone. And with that… May we meet again.