Chapter 6

Afterword …Please allow me to explain… Hello, this is Yushi Ukai. Although my comments do not compare to those of the preceding two authors, I am in charge of this section. First, I would like to express my gratitude to all the readers who have made it this far. In this day and age, reading an entire book is no easy feat. Time is more precious today than at any other point in the history of humankind, and there are plenty of forms of entertainment that are more accessible than novels. I have nothing but gratitude for you for having chosen to spend your precious time reading this work. Thank you very much. Now, for the readers who have completed this volume…I believe all of you shared a certain sentiment while reading. It is one I have heard expressed in many different ways, from the day I received the Newcomer Award until today, and even on the preceding commentary pages. “What on earth is this?” “Does this concept really work as a story?” “What in the world convinced this dude to write something so dreadful?” …I say this again, but please allow me to explain. The year was 2021. My life had rotted away into an ugly state. Perhaps it was because I felt no prospect of making any progress in my life of submitting drafts, or maybe because I had quit my part-time job knowing that I lack proper life skills, or maybe because the state of the world made it far too easy to come across distressing news, or maybe because of the low atmospheric pressure. (As the logical result of having quit my part-time job,) my savings dwindled, and as I found myself living out hopeless days, I spent more and more time mulling over life and death. Through that, I came to hold a number of different convictions. Every human slowly approaches death. The last thing remaining in the hands of someone who has lost all hope is the right to choose how to die. Deciding on how to die is the same as deciding on how to live. Naturally, those convictions began to appear in my writing. I remember clearly when I first noticed hues of chaos in my submissions. Those hues would grow more profound as time went on, becoming something so strong that not even I could control them, before finally leading me to the genre where they fit most appropriately. And thus, this work came into being. Long story short, since I hadn’t had many positive results, I became more and more disturbed until I wrote this disturbing story. When this work was recognized for the MF Bunko J Newcomer Award, I commented that I never expected to win an award, and that was the truth. For such a warped story to lead to such an achievement, the world certainly works in mysterious ways. That being said, I didn’t find it to be a completely ridiculous occurrence. I think there are plenty of similar happenings and similar people all over the world. Now for the acknowledgments. First, I would like to express my utmost gratitude to my editor, O, and Nekometaru. I confess that Yuki is only the way she is because of their direction. They pulled me by the arms as though I were a captured alien, shaping this story into its current form. Thank you very much. I would also like to thank nigozyu and Takemachi for their commentaries. Because of the nature of this novel, I can imagine how difficult it must have been to write up comments… I offer you my apologies and twice as much gratitude. My thanks also go out to the MF Bunko J editorial department and the judges of the Newcomer Award. You all are why I’m able to write these words right now. Thank you very much. To the proofreaders, designers, printing company employees, bookstore staff, and again, every single one of my readers… My appreciation extends to as far as it can reach. If it is not too much to ask, I would appreciate it if you would accept my gratitude. …By the way, maybe you have heard about it already, but this series has an official X account. There is a QR code printed nearby, so I would appreciate it if you could follow the account. I am certain good things will happen if you do. Well, then… If fate will have it, I hope to see you back for the second volume of Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table.