Log Horizon - Volume 9 - Chapter Aft

AFTERWORD 
I wrote something in an afterword about “wanting to put out one more volume before the year was over,” didn’t I? This is Mamare Touno. I was going to ask Ms. F?ta if we could take that bit out of the previous afterword when we published reprints, but I didn’t. It wouldn’t have solved anything. On the contrary, I realized that it would be more constructive to claim that March is still 2014. Saying this stuff is making me feel really ineffective. 
It’s currently a certain day after (cough, cough) Valentine’s. The second season of the Log Horizon anime is broadcasting its second half. The younger group’s adventure is over, and new trouble is bearing down on Akiba. 
Thank you very much for buying this volume, Log Horizon, Volume 9: Go East, Kanami! This time, for a change, the protagonist is the American geek Leonardo. The heroine is the elegant maid girl Coppélia. She’s accompanied by (how mean!) Elias and KR. And our hero, Kanami, finally makes her appearance. The stage is Aorsoi, in Central Asia. I’ve been there once; I remember the blue of the sky really was perfectly clear, and there was a steel-like darkness to it. It wasn’t a vague, soft “sky blue.” It was sharper, like cobalt. 
What with this and that, at the end of March, a book called Log Horizon TRPG Replay 3—Goat-Slime Tank and the Endless Journey—Part 1 will be released at the same time as this volume. What’s that “Part 1” bit about?! What a disaster. Anyway, I’d love it if you’d pick that one up, too. 
Moving on, let’s talk about the second-term heroine. 
In other words, about Ms. F?ta, my supervising editor. 
We’ve been holding preparatory meetings for a little while now (and this is an open secret, but the world is moving forward on a terrifying schedule. The cause-and-effect relationship between writing and printing has gone off-kilter, and the order of the universe is crumbling), and Ms. F?ta abruptly said, “You know, I’m starting to see light!” 
I’m in the same painful predicament as she is, so it was hard for me to bring it up, but I thought the “light” she’d started to see now, right as we were finishing the proofreading, might be some kind of intracerebral narcotic substance… But I couldn’t ask her that. I wondered if she was okay. 
“Are you okay?” 
“I’m fine!” Bounce. 
“You weren’t energetic before, you know.” 
“I didn’t have any energy before.” 
What’s that supposed to mean? 
“Because I was hungry…” 
Had she disappeared from the meeting because she’d been eating? Apparently. 
For a little while, I thought we’d cleared that up, but then: 
“I had dandan noodles, so my head works better now!” 
So she eats things besides meat. I thought spicy noodles were probably energy efficient. 

“I’m super-energetic now! At this point, I think I can make it!” Bounce, ba-bounce. 
“Uh-oh. It says ‘Go West’ here!” 
“You’re right! That’s a shock! Seriously not good!” 
And so we fixed it. 
The book you hold in your hands was made from meat, marmalade sandwiches, and dandan noodles. 
With that report on super-close-range current events, this has been Log Horizon 9. 
As we live out our lives in our own ways, being aware of standards is pretty important. However, it’s hard to internalize the boundaries between good and evil by learning them as rules. Or actually, just reading rules is rough to begin with. 
For that reason, most boys (girls probably do this, too, by a different route) foster their ideas of “standards” through stories, instead of through the rules themselves. I don’t mean difficult stories or anything like that. I’m talking about tales of heroes. 
I happen to be male myself, so I have solid knowledge about that. Courage, tackling difficulties, the spirit of chivalry, self-restraint, nobility—you really can’t have a hero story without those things. The same goes for friendship, humanity, and sympathy. We learn these rule-precursors, these role models, from anime, special effect–driven programs, manga, and novels. 
What am I talking about, you ask? I’m making excuses for the fact that I only consume things like that at my age. 
This volume, Log Horizon 9, was a story that revolved around “hero memories” like those. 
It’s true that almost all little boys idolize heroes, and they try to live by their example. However, in many cases, when those heroes hold on to their innate goodness through everything, there are separate abilities in the background. It takes ability to hold fast to your own will, even if it’s in the cause of justice, and on top of that, you also need to put in a lot of effort. The vast majority of ordinary people don’t have abilities on that level. In other words, at some point, that adoration breaks down. 
Leonardo, who appears in this volume, is old enough to be living as a full-fledged member of society. However, his longing for heroes still smolders in his heart. What do we need in order to make those resolutions we’d given up on? Log Horizon 9 is a rather old-school story. 
This time as well, the items listed on the character status screens at the beginning of each chapter were collected on Twitter in November 2014. I used items from @4u49971475, @MZ_pipe, @NEO_hakukou, @chysophylax, @dharma0430, @drooop_ura, @highgetter, @hpsuke, @kazamasa504, @log_mousou, @mimitabu_sub, @nakigaeru, @nyarukamini, @sig_cat, @suiga_mk_2, @tatara26, and @tk_leana. Thank you very much!! I can’t list all your names here, but I’m grateful to everyone who submitted entries. It was hard to make selections this time. Everyone thought up great items, and there were a ton of them! 
For details, and for the latest news, visit http://tounomamare.com/. You’ll find information about Mamare Touno that isn’t Log Horizon–related there as well. By the time this book is released, the remodel should be all finished, too. 
They’re also launching an SNS game. The details are on the book band of the Japanese edition. (I had them put Elias’s medal in the game!) 
And now for the acknowledgments! Shoji Masuda, the producer, and Kazuhiro Hara, the illustrator (please take care of your health). Tsubakiya Design, the designer, and little F?ta and Sakakibara of the editorial department! Oha, I’m in your debt this time, too! Tosho Printing, thank you very much! This time, in addition to those, I got lots of help from Ishihira, who directed the anime; Studio DEEN, the anime production company; Nemoto, who handled the series composition; and the rest of the script team, plus everyone at NHK and NEP. With regard to the SNS game Log Horizon—Land of a New Adventure, thank you GREE and AZITO. (There are a ton of elements.) 
Since this book was (I think you’ll have noticed already, but) an overseas volume, it has illustrations and background info for the region-limited main classes from servers other than Yamato! Get this: Director Ishihira of the anime designed them. They’re really cool, and very cute. This was festival data that we chose from submissions sent in from all over the world, so I’m especially thrilled. 
Volume 9 turned out to be really substantial. Now all that’s left is for you to savor this book. Bon appétit! 
Mamare “I seem to be living like a mole person” Touno