Afterword
Hello, my name is Hamura Tetsu and I’m the winner of the Rookie Novel Award.
First of all let me express my gratitude to all the readers, editorial staff, the illustrator Nanakusa and the judges.
Thank you all for taking my poor manuscript and turning it into something that could be considered a book.
That’s all I really wanted to say, so I would kinda like to end this now, but I realize that wouldn’t be the best choice so I’ll try my best with a follow-up.
(I really wonder why I’m more worried about writing an afterword than I was writing the actual story.)
The story is centered around a girl and a wolf.
Both of them are isolated for some reason, the wolf because of his appearance, the girl because of her mindset.
They met each other and were attracted to each other realizing they both lived in loneliness and lived happily ever after–––Not.
Be it humans or wolves, both were the same in their cold reception of something out of the norm.
Even though neither of them had done anything, their surroundings set forth in chasing them out.
But they didn’t get frustrated giving up (they also didn’t just meekly accept getting chased out).
If they had to submit, they’d rather die. If they had to die, they’d rather fight. Holding their pride high to a fault, they confronted the crowds head on.
So if you could, please take their story a look.
Anyway, this story is actually based on a certain myth. A rather famous one in the northern regions about vikings, runes and things like that.
If you don’t know much of that stuff, it’s possible that a weapon, Gungnir, that makes an appearance in that myth at least sounds familiar.
If any of you do have knowledge about those kinds of stories though, you probably already figured out what legend that is, but there’s no prize for figuring it out (though I could give you my love if you so wish).
In any case, I really like stories where the god that killing giants is female, go ahead and laugh if you want.
For now, writing from the heroine’s point of view was really fun so I feel satisfied.
And this reminds me, the heroine! She appears in the illustrations! We did it bro!
(And so I continued talking to my imaginary reader)
She came out really beautiful, or like today’s kids say, she’s moe.
You can make an enlarged copy and use it as wallpaper, hang it in a shrine and pray to it, or…well, there are many uses for it. I’d suggest to use it as a healing method.
And now you! Imaginary reader N°2 who’s complaining about your eyes getting tired after reading the entire book. Hurry and return to the cover and stare at Nanakusa-sama’s illustration until your optic nerve burns out.
It’s just too magnificent.
I feel my heart calming down, my muscles’ tension dissipating, and my strained eyes and sore shoulders feel re-energized with this illustration.
Wow, such amazing effects. And they even come bundled with a novel. It’s such a bargain, everyone should just get it–––
…I tried to get really hyped out of desperation, but now I deeply regret saying all that. (The fact that I’m going crazy by being quite cornered by the deadline for this afterword isn’t helping either.)
But anyway, to wrap it all up:
“It doesn’t matter that she looks a bit small, she’s still really good looking.”
That’s…it.
I’ll try my best to make her more beautiful as well. I’ll go around calling my character my daughter and stuff, and when it’s her birthday I’ll buy cake and make a party, and never forget to dance in gratitude for Nanakusa-san!
….What kind of cult would that be? Maybe I’ll end up reaching enlightenment following with it.
Okay, by now I can’t write seriously anymore. I’ll be putting down my pen as I wish that this book had left at least a little something inside of everyone who read it.
-Afterword God Wannabe, Summer 2008.