This is a space in which the author should talk about something.
But I canât just start idly rambling about this and that.
âRakuin no Monshouâ will end in the next volume. Please look forward to what kind of ending we are approaching.
Hmm, well. Having said what I wanted to, what can I fill this blank space with?
Times like these call for that: the âwhen-in-trouble, bring-out-old-filesâ technique.
And close at hand â which is to say, on my laptopâs hardrive â I have a text file named âKingdom Series Compositionâ. It is a rough outline for the series that I made right before I started the seriously writing for âRakuinâ (whose provisional title at the time was âShadow Kingdomâ). Although, since there was also the possibility that it might not be popular and thus immediately get cancelled, I really had no idea how many volumes it would be, so it is a really short document. And what it contains isâŠ
Volume 1: Orba vs. the Garberan rebels. The main course of events concerns the interactions between the gladiator-turned-crown-prince Orba and Princess Vileena.
Volume 2: Mainly about Orba and Vileena at the royal palace. (And about Guhlâs schemes?) While trying to find out about his brother, Orba deliberately murders Oubary out of rage. Because of that, Orbaâs situation at the palace reaches a crisis point but⊠Meanwhile, with its sorcerers at the centre of things, Ende is preparing to start a large-scale war.
Volume 3: Vs. Ende. After somehow or another blocking the emperorâs moves, Orba, through Vileenaâs intervention, gets Garberaâs army to move and catches Ende in a two-pronged attack. The war is ended when the prince of Ende who is to become the next Grand Duke admonishes the sorcerers and gathers the country behind him. Signature of a triple alliance.
Originally, it was a file for my own reference only, and although there are parts where the language kind of fails, but well, please enjoy. Looking at it now, it seems like I was thinking along the lines of âAt any rate, letâs aim to finish a first part in three volumes.â If by that time it had gotten popular enough, I was planning on stirring up interest by saying âOrbaâs fight has only just begun!â No, I wasnât being irresponsible. Itâs the law of the jungle. Survival of the fittest. The losers leave quietly. Yep.
Thinking about it again, I canât help but feel surprised: seriously, this series actually went over ten volumes. Since this is also thanks to Mr. 3âs robust illustrations and Dengenki Bunkoâs amazing advertising power, I donât feel that this is my achievement alone, but even so, if you, the readers, keep the name âSugihara Tomonoriâ in a corner of your hearts, then I would be deeply grateful.
âŠHonestly, it really looks as though Iâm suddenly bringing things to an end right here, but the critical point for the author actually starts here. At the same time as Orba cuts through the situation with his ingenuity and his sword, the author will be tapping away at his keyboard and filling the white screen on his laptop with written words. When thinking that this series will end in the next volume, I canât deny feeling some strong emotions, but honestly, I canât afford to indulge in that sentimentality right now. Today again, letâs head off once more to that other world, to breathe the same air as Orba and Vileena, and feel the same wind against my face.
Well then.
I look forward to the day that I can meet you all again in the afterword to the final volume.
--Sugihara Tomonori
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