Sugar Apple Fairytale - Volume 7 - Chapter Aft

AFTERWORD

Hello, everyone, this is Miri Mikawa.

In the world of Anne and her friends, the First Holy Festival has ended, and a new year has begun.

This part of the story takes place from late winter into spring. Coincidentally, the publication date of this book is the first of January. How auspicious and timely.

Volume 1 was released for sale in the spring, but in the story, it was autumn. When we got to Volume 2, it was released during the punishing heat of August, but the story was set in the middle of winter, with snow fluttering through the sky. The seasons in the world of the story and those in the real world don’t have anything to do with one another, but still, rather than read a tale set in midwinter when you’re sweltering in the heat, it’s probably much more fun to read a story that matches the season. Or at least, that’s what I’ve always imagined.

So it may have been a coincidence, but this time the seasons matched up perfectly. It’s ever so slightly gratifying.

With this volume, we enter a new part of the story. That said, the story has continued unbroken from the beginning, so this is just a division that I came up with in my mind. Incidentally, the other divisions I’ve made so far were breaking off Volume 1 through Volume 3 as the Silver Sugar Master saga and Volumes 4 through 6 as the Paige Workshop saga.

The new arc that starts with this volume could be something like the Silver Sugar Fairy saga, maybe?

Yes, it’s the Silver Sugar Fairy saga (provisionally). I’ll be delighted if you all enjoy it.

I rack my brain every time I’m putting together a new story, but I think that my manager must be even more perplexed with every new volume. Once again, the story just wouldn’t come together well, and I caused you all kinds of headaches, starting with the plot. As always, thank you so very much.

One especially big issue this time around was the “Keith problem.” I took it a little too far, and the delightful young man Keith wound up coming off as bizarrely lustful toward Anne. If we had published the story without any changes, Keith would have… Well, I am truly grateful that we were able to prevent that. Again, I give my thanks to my manager.

To Aki, who draws the illustrations for me: Once again, thank you so very much. I’m always, always so grateful. I got to take a look at the rough sketch for the cover, and Anne is just as cute as always!

I said it was a rough sketch, but the quality was so high that I couldn’t believe it wasn’t finished. I’m someone who can only draw along with the Anpanman doodling songs. I think Aki’s rough drafts are probably about a thousand times better than my best efforts. I swoon over them every time.

My feelings of gratitude for the people who purchase these books are boundless, every time. And so I want to produce stories that are always just a little bit better, just a little bit more fun. That’s the only thing on my mind.

Miri Mikawa