Afterword
Thank you very much for picking up this volume.
2018 marks the release of the fifth volume of The Greatest Magicmaster’s Retirement Plan. I am a little relieved this volume was released so soon after the previous volume.
Allow me to reintroduce myself for those of you coming from the fourth volume’s afterword and for those of you who are new. I am Izushiro.
This time I have more room for the afterword, and I’d like to use that space efficiently... That said, I have a lot I want to touch on, starting with the story.
Two stories are proceeding in parallel. As those of you who have already read the volume know, the Friendship Magical Tournament is standing in the spotlight, but in the shadows...
This is of course a necessary divergence, and the two stories will come together at the end of the overall story. Surely it will become a major turning point for Alus and the girls.
Compared to the web novel, there is a bigger focus on the heroines of the story. What will wind up happening to them, and what kinds of developments will the characters go through? You will find out in the next volume.
At the same time, the series follows the story of genius Magicmaster Alus Reigin and his way of life. His change of heart will surely come to change the story as things go on. So please look forward to it.
This is a little sudden, but I would like to reveal the results of the heroine popularity poll held on Twitter in December of last year.
Fourth Place, Tesfia Fable.
Third Place, Felinella Socalent.
Second Place, Alice Tilake.
And securing First Place is... Loki Leevahl. With a landslide victory at that.
There were a lot of votes, and I can’t find the words to express my gratitude.
In celebration, I’d like to take this opportunity to talk a bit about Loki. This is about how her character was born. That said, it’s nothing serious, so feel free to kick back.
At first, this series was meant to feature Tesfia and Alice as the two heroines. However, as you may have picked up on, things did not go as planned. The fundamental reason for that was that they are very different from Alus.
The girls have lived in a small, closed-off world, while Alus knows of the life beyond the walls, having grown up in a harsh environment. In the first stages of the story their core values were just too different. So without having someone with similar values as Alus to serve as a bridge, they wouldn’t be able to get along. More specifically, a character that understood him to a certain degree was needed.
That’s when I understood the reason for Tesfia’s lack of popularity. Incidentally, Tesfia was designed to represent humanity inside the walls and the innocence of youth. But behind her immaturity lies possibility, so please continue to watch over her.
I plan for Tesfia, as well as Loki, Alice, and Felinella, to have plenty of time to shine in Volume 6. What forms a person are their meetings and interactions with other people, so please look forward to the next volume.
While I’m at it, I’d like to add some supplementary information about this volume.
Warning, there are spoilers from here on.
Specifically, I’d like to talk about why Lettie and Jean don’t get along. In reality, this is a one-sided enmity on Lettie’s part.
Their story takes place several years before the current Friendship Magical Tournament. At the time, Lettie and Jean were considered the top two Magicmasters. Moreover, they were the same age, but Lettie had recorded more losses than wins. She’d lost to Jean in her first and second years, until finally winning in her third year.
I’d like to touch more on that story if I get the time. Doesn’t the idea of two young Magicmasters that would eventually become Single Digits seriously battling it out sound interesting?
In terms of diplomatic relations, Alpha and Rusalca were on good terms. While individuals might feel differently, they had a traditional rivalry in a sense. The two rulers could definitely be described as not getting along, and it would be a stretch to describe the two Governors-General as being on friendly terms.
Rusalca and Alpha were both major nations that had two Single Digit Magicmasters each, and Alpha was especially strong, securing the most results in the Outer World against Fiends—and yet, they hadn’t won in a while as far as the Friendship Magical Tournament was concerned.
The reason why was clear enough. Alpha’s strongest trump card had kept himself out of the tournament.
Right, then that should fill up most of my available space, and I’d like to dedicate the rest to the usual thanks.
Miyuki Ruria-sama in charge of illustrations, thank you so much for going along with my unreasonable requests despite being so busy. I am so happy about these beautiful illustrations that also included Lettie’s first appearance that I don’t know how to express it. Not only did you supply me with plenty of illustrations and writings to color the story, but you also gave me a driving motivation. If not for this reliable support, I would have been in trouble, probably. Thank you for your continued support!
I would like to express my gratitude to the designers, printers, and everyone else involved in making Volume 5 the best it could be. This book finding its home in shops is purely thanks to everyone’s hard work.
I would also like to thank my editor-in-charge, T-sama, for the good meetings and advice.
This volume is a bit on the thin side, but I’m sure it would have been a scary size if I’d been left unchecked... ha, ha, ha (worried laugh). I’m sorry the progress is always so tight. I believe this time things were busier than they’d ever been during this series.
That said, it was a very satisfying period of time for me. It was around the 5th of January when I first realized it. I hadn’t even noticed we’d entered a new year.
Finally, I would like to give special thanks to all of the readers for picking up this book. I hope to deliver Volume 6 before long.
Next time, the Seven Nations Friendship Magical Tournament will reach its climax. Moreover, the ‘work’ that fell into Alus’ lap during the tournament will be revealed. Please look forward to it. By the way, the first volume of Uonuma Yuu-sensei’s manga version of The Greatest Magicmaster’s Retirement Plan is currently on sale. If you have the chance, please follow the adventures of Alus and the others in the manga as well.
I have one more notice. There is currently a campaign using a password and the ticket found on the paper wrap on this volume, as well as on the manga’s first volume. There are some gorgeous goods on sale, so please check the wrapper out. Please be aware that the final deadline is April 2, 2018.
Thank you so much for reading, and I hope 2018 treats you well!
—Izushiro
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