Owari no Chronicle

Volume 6, Afterword

Here we are with Part B. I only have two pages for the afterword for the first time in a long while, so I cut out Ya-san’s section. I apologize to anyone looking forward to it. He was the one that would often tell me to shorten the novel. Did you hear that, Ya-san? You’re what got cut.

Anyway, I can only do this thanks to all of your support. Thank you very much.

This one has taken the irregular structure of a three-parter. How did that happen? Oh, and I visited Kurashiki last summer while gathering material for this novel. The theme park north of Kurashiki Station has built a few dioramas and robots inside a pavilion near my parents’ home, so it was oddly familiar.

The trip to gather material was a lot of fun. I almost died doing so much walking under the hot sun, the guy running the Ferris wheel was worried about my life and asked if I was lonely when I rode it again and again to get a good look at the city, and the hotel bath clogged up and the water just about flooded the living room. Oh, but the food was good and the scenery was nice.

At any rate, I like to think the fruits of those labors are showing themselves here.

Now for a forceful chat. Let’s get started.

“Could you tell me a painful story from your middle or high school days?”

“Hmm. When I was in middle school, the shop class had a device that showed you how a bicycle chain rotates. It had all the unnecessary covers removed so you could see how it worked inside.”

“And?”

“One day, I was spinning it during class and wanted to see how fast the chain was going, so I pressed my finger against it. The chain caught on my work glove and dragged my finger right between the front gear and chain.”

“Oh, ouch! And that isn’t quite what I meant by painful.”

“They had to open three holes in the gear, I had to get four stiches, and the doctor had to remove the fingernail.”

This is gradually turning into the section for unpleasant memories.

Anyway, you can use Underworld’s Two Months Off as the battle BGM for the latter half of this third story. (I want to fight to that kind of expansive song.) I listened to it a lot while editing.

“Who exactly will kill themselves?”

I also thought about that.

Now then, now then. Part C will be out soon.

April 2004. A morning of falling snow.

-Kawakami Minoru

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