I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level Max Level Witch - Volume 5 - Chapter Aft

AFTERWORD

Long time no see. This is Kisetsu Morita!

We are already at Volume 5 of I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years…!

There are always plenty of new characters appearing in the main series, and this time, a girl named Sandra joins the fray.

She’s a mandragora child (at least, she looks like one) with a bit of cheek. Basically, she’s a plant.

I’ve had mostly members of the animal kingdom until this point, so I tried my hand at something new.

Sandra will live at the house in the highlands, too. For the longest time, Falfa and Shalsha were the (apparently) youngest residents there, but they now have a little sister.

Age-wise, Sandra is much older than them, but I’m excited to see how all the kids(?) will run around together now. It might be weird for the author to be excited to see what happens, but I really am.

That’s because the goal of this story isn’t something so grandiose as defeating the most powerful enemy or becoming the best at sports but a haphazard and unplanned tale.

I could be traveling and happen to see something odd, which sparks a story in me—that happens rather frequently, in fact. So it’s a mystery what sort of chemical reaction will happen after I add new members to the family. Even to me.

The family at the house in the highlands, especially, has grown without much planning ahead of time, but I believe I’ve created a fun community. I want them to keep living interesting lives through trial and error in an environment full of different races as well as a ghost and a plant.

Also, the latter half of Volume 5 includes two chapters of the Beelzebub short story spin-off, which was posted on GanGan GA. They take place when Beelzebub was still pretty low on the ladder.

Thanks to all of you, we reached the greatest number of page views of all short stories on GanGan GA when it was posted. Please take a look!

http://www.ganganonline.com/contents/slime

Now, the first volume of the comic version went on sale at the same time as this Volume 5!

Yusuke Shiba’s illustrations of Azusa, Laika, Falfa, and Shalsha have a different type of cuteness from what Benio gives them.

If Benio illustrates a cuteness with hints of cool, then we could call Yusuke Shiba’s a soft cuteness.

Anyway, both of them are fantastic, so I would love it if you picked up a copy of the comic! There are original sketches in there that weren’t in the GanGan GA serialization!

Depending on the bookstore, it’s very likely that the comic will be in a different section from the novel, so be careful when you go looking for it!

I have collaborated with many more people than usual this time around!

First, a special edition of Volume 5 that was bundled with a drama CD came out at the same time as the regular edition! To all of the voice actresses—Aoi Yuki as Azusa, Kaede Hondo as Laika, Sayaka Senbongi as Falfa, Minami Tanaka as Shalsha, Sayaka Harada as Halkara, and Manami Numakura as Beelzebub—thank you so much!

When I went to the recording studio, I hadn’t been that nervous since my university entrance exams. I was most honored to be there.

I was overwhelmed by the amount of information a human voice can contain. I think it felt close to going to a live music club and hearing live music for the first time. I hope I can utilize this experience in future works.

Of course, many people besides the voice actresses helped with the production. It’s really a miracle that something I thought up on a whim and posted as a story online became this big.

Also, this series was rated twelfth in the books and novels category of Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi! 2018 at the end of this year. Thank you so much to all who voted.

Also, Fuse-sensei of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime fame has left a comment on the dust jacket wrap of the comic version!

It is truly encouraging to have Fuse-sensei, the pioneer of slimes in the online short story world and an author solidly at the top of his game, say something about my work. Thank you!

Also, a huge thank-you to Yusuke Shiba, who is in charge of the comic serialization in GanGan GA! I believe Halkara and Beelzebub will make their appearances soon, so I’m looking forward to that!

Benio-sensei created such wonderful pictures for the book this time!

Since this volume includes the Beelzebub spin-off, he drew a very imposing-yet-cute color illustration of her! Thank you so much!

And finally, I thank all of you who have supported the Killing Slimes series in all different mediums, be it as an online short story, GA novel, or comic, from the very bottom of my heart.

Like I said before, it has to be a miracle that a work I just thought up on a whim would be seen by so many people. I want to keep doing the best I can so that this miracle will continue to grow. I would be very happy to see you stick around!

Kisetsu Morita