86 - Volume 3 - Chapter Aft

AFTERWORD 

Let’s hear it for long-distance weapons! 

Hello and good day, everyone, this is Asato Asato. 

Things like heavy artillery and missiles are often looked down upon in these kinds of robot stories, so I wanted to let them take center stage for once. Don’t you just want to see the ace’s rig get blown away by suppressive fire without a hint of elegance or coolness left to them? Because I love seeing that. I love seeing that so much. 

Which is why this time, the enemy is 

a Railgun 

on 

railway artillery!!! 

The modern-day super-long-distance cannon, the railgun, and World War II’s super-long-distance cannon, the railway gun, in a duet you can only dream of! 

…Yes, forgive me; I just really wanted to do this. Realism be damned. 

And I apologize for the long wait, but 86—Eighty-Six, Vol. 3: Run Through the Battlefront (Finish) is finally here. 

When I was only working on the plot, Run Through the Battlefront was supposed to be a lighter story. After all, considering how grim Volume 1 was, I thought, let’s just go with what the name says and make this a story about the Eighty-Six running through a new battlefield! But somehow, once I got down to it, it turned out to be nowhere near as easy a story as I had thought it’d be. 

You’ll have to read to find out just how difficult of a story it is, but if you ask for my opinion as the author, it’s because of Shin’s plot-crushing ways. How in the world did both the progression and conclusion of the plot end up being so different that the only part that remained unchanged from early drafts ended up just being “The enemy is a Railgun”…?! 

Anyway, here’s this time’s commentary: 

•    The Nachzehrer: 

A chimera-like product of Caspian Sea Monster + the specs of the world’s largest transport plane, the AN 225 Mriya + the likeness of the B2 Spirit stealth bomber. It’s worth noting this class of weapon does exist in the real world, but its specs and usage are entirely different. 

Yes, I really wanted to do this, so realism be damned (omitted). 

•    “The hell you all love so much is headed our way!” 

This line, spoken in chapter 7, was inspired by something an editor in charge of me, Kiyose, said when the book’s manga adaptation was announced. (Not in the sense of the situation going south, but rather that things were going to become busy going forward. It was said in jest, to be clear.) The moment I heard that, I thought the sergeant absolutely had to say this line! And I’ve been sitting on that idea ever since. 

•    Fido: 

Talking just about Kiyose is a bit unfair, so this one’s about my other editor, Tsuchiya. I-IV’s cute designs were only half the reason Fido got revived after getting trashed at the end of Volume 1. The other reason was Tsuchiya’s overwhelming love for Fido. 

I mean, Tsuchiya kept bugging me about whether Fido was coming back or not every time we met… 

Lastly, some thanks. 

To my editors, Kiyose and Tsuchiya. Thank you so much for always reining me in whenever I got a bit too wild and for reining Shin in whenever he was about to lose his way. 

To Shirabii. Almost this entire volume ended up being one huge battle scene! Which means it’s full of cool illustrations. I’m sorry for dropping so much work on you. 

To I-IV. This time, we had two Goliaths, and they were both so impressive…! I’ve been wanting to include a long-distance artillery cannon ever since we had you for mechanical design, so I’m very excited. 

To the manga’s author, Yoshihara. Every time I see your detailed character portraits and impressive storyboards, I keep thinking, I want to read this so much! I can’t wait for the serialization to begin. I want to read it so much…! 

And to all you readers, who took up this book. Thank you so, so much. With Volume 3, Shin finally got his time in the spotlight, but I’d be happy if you could hold him dear to your hearts even after this. 

Next up, Volume 4 will be a light story! A really light story about how he and Lena and the other Eighty-Six finally come face-to-face and have a little chitchat! I’ll meet you again then! 

In any case, I hope that, for even a short while, I managed to show you that path leading up to the sunset, to the battlefield he wanders through, where the crimson dusk and lapis lazuli night come together. 

Music playing while writing this afterword: “Seirankepp?roku” 

by Ali Project