Sugar Apple Fairytale - Volume 5 - Chapter Aft

AFTERWORD

Hello, everyone. I’m Miri Mikawa.

This was the second story focused on the Paige Workshop, on Anne and the fairies, and on their delightful colleagues there.

At the end of Volume 4, Anne made the decision to work with the candy crafters of the Paige Workshop to make sugar candy sculptures for the First Holy Festival, and so—

“All right, let’s get to work crafting right away!”

—here we are in Volume 5.

The candy crafters are hard at work, as usual. No matter what kind of job they have, their work always seems difficult.

Speaking of work, while I was writing this volume, my dear computer, the tool I use to write, was in a bad mood and caused me all kinds of trouble.

It’s not like I was being unreasonable with it. Not at all. I was quietly typing words into my word processing software, when suddenly, the computer completely froze. I thought it was going to give me a blue screen. I couldn’t get it to turn off, no matter what I did. In my panic, I mashed the main power button. Of course, the section of the manuscript that I hadn’t saved yet was gone. This kept happening nearly once every hour.

“Why? How?” I grumbled, but there was no way that a tech novice like me was going to understand it.

I had to write this book. I had to, but the shock was doing a number on my heart.

I was nervous about losing my work, so I tried saving as often as possible. I was pushing the main power button on my machine over and over again. I was anxious and worried that it might break at any moment.

In the end, I felt guilty about pushing the main power button so often. I thought, Am I trying to destroy my computer with my own hands?!

Well, in the end, I finished writing the book, so hooray for that!

Now then, leaving all that aside.

There’s a good chance that shortly before this book goes on sale in Japan, around July 21, 2011, a magazine book with the title Premium The Beans, Vol. 1 will go on sale, reviving the long-running magazine The Beans. In it, you will find a Sugar Apple Fairy Tale short story they graciously allowed me to submit.

Anne, Challe, and Elliott are featured in the story. Mithril is drunk as usual, because the setting is the good old Weather Vane inn.

And to my delight, it sounds like we will also get color pages and maybe even manga drawn by Aki. What a luxury to have color illustrations and manga! Just what you would expect from a premium publication.

Once again, I am deeply, deeply grateful to my manager, for whom I have caused so much trouble. I always shrink when you give me your critiques over the phone. This time, I was so embarrassed that I shrank down to about the size of a grain of rice. I’m probably going to submit many more strange and bizarre things for your approval in the future, so please take good care of me.

Now, to Aki, who draws such magnificent illustrations for me: Thank you very much again. Your drawings are so, so beautiful every time, and I always look forward to seeing them.

To my readers, thank you for your continued support. Every time I think about having all of you with me, I feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Countless things take place on this earth, where humans live. When something I could never have imagined happens, I space out and can’t do anything. I’m a weak human. I’m useless. I’m miserable, pathetic, and hopeless. And yet when it comes to the things that I can do, I want to do them properly, without making any compromises.

Well then, good-bye for now. Perhaps we will meet a little earlier than usual next time? Maybe? I have a feeling we might.

Miri Mikawa