86 - Volume 2 - Chapter Aft

AFTERWORD 

Pilot suits are nothing more than decoration! Hello, everyone, this is Asato Asato. 

I’ve always been oddly fascinated with the question of “Why do pilot suits have to have full-body tights?” Of course, a lot of them have special features or settings, but do pilots suits really always have to be like that? Especially with robots that are used for ground combat, why don’t the pilots wear tanker jackets like real tankmen? 

No, I mean, I do get it. It’s because girls in pilot suits are cute. And cute is righteous. But my book’s protagonist, Shin, is a guy…! And that’s why in 86—Eighty-Six, I had them fighting in field uniforms. This volume has them in panzer jackets, though. 

While revising Volume 1, I said, “If possible, I’d like to avoid pilot suits…,” and halfway through Volume 2, I screamed “No pilot suits, aaaaaaah!” and thankfully, my kindhearted editor gave me the okay. Yay! But we did agree that “we want to see Lena in a pilot suit at some point.” So fellow girls-in-pilot-suits enthusiasts should look forward to that, albeit patiently. 

Not to worry—I stick to my beliefs. Cute is righteous. Girls in pilot suits are righteous! 

Now, then. 

So Volume 2! I continued the story! I continued it!! And it’s all thanks to your fervent support, loyal readers! Thank you so much!! And my sincerest apologies for dropping a two-parter on you right off the bat. I intended for this to be only one volume, but I wanted to write everything I wanted to write, and as I put in more and more content, it got longer than I’d anticipated… 

In terms of the content, this volume goes into the events and people mentioned in Volume 1’s epilogue, making it a story about a faction with quite a lot of people in it. Also, while Volume 1 is told mostly from Lena’s perspective, I had Volumes 2 and 3 focus more on Shin. This series’s title is Eighty-Six, after all. 

So why did I use this derogatory term used by the Republic even after they escaped the Republic’s battlefield? What does Eighty-Six even mean? I intended for this his-and-hers story to be the curtain-raiser for the story that begins with this volume. 

Some commentary for this time: 

•     The Juggernaut’s main turret: 

In this volume, the Juggernaut is equipped with an 88 mm cannon that is technically dubbed a Ratsch Bumm. But in the real world, the Ratsch Bumm was a nickname given to a Soviet 76 mm anti-tank gun. Why not just use an 88 mm cannon’s nickname, you ask? I suggest you look up what the World War II German 8.8 cm Flak 36 antiaircraft gun was nicknamed and then check this book’s jacket or cover. 

…Get it? It’s a classic example of how deciding your pen name without really thinking too deeply about it can land you in trouble later down the road. 

•     The title: 

While we’re on the topic of my pen name, I’ve been asked a few times about the origins of the title Eighty-Six. It comes from English slang, where to eighty-six someone means you designate them as someone who isn’t allowed to enter a store or as someone you refuse to give service to. But it also carries the nuance of ejecting someone, disposing of them, or murdering them. 

Lastly, some thanks. 

To Kiyose and Tsuchiya, my editors who patiently stuck with me and gave me all the right advice as I was constantly straying off course while writing this rapidly changing manuscript. 

To Shirabii, who decorated this brutal story with lovely illustrations. This volume’s new female character appears a lot, and you made her quite brilliant! 

To I-IV, who brought all my puzzling settings to life with this new strong Juggernaut. I look forward to seeing how you work on that one thing in Volume 3! 

And to all of you who picked up this volume. I’m cranking out Volume 3 as we speak, so let’s meet again in Volume 3, Run Through the Battlefront (Finish)! 

In any case, I hope that for even a short moment, I was able to let you experience that journey to beyond where the sun rises, to the summer of that northern militant nation. To run by their side once again, on that battlefield of blood and iron. 

Music playing while writing this afterword: “Run Through the Jungle” by Creedence Clearwater Revival