The Neighboring Aarya-san who Sometimes Acts Affectionate and Murmuring in Russian - Volume 4.5 - Chapter Aft

Afterword

Hey, Sunsunsun here. I know, I know. “What? We’re at the afterword already? But there’s still more than ten pages left.” You must have thought there was another chapter. You were probably in bed last night thinking, I guess it’s late, and I’ve got places to be tomorrow. I’ll read the rest on the morning bus or train, and now you’re annoyed that it was just the afterword. This is you, right? Well, take a nap. If you even have a minute of free time, you should sleep. Surely, you’ve already realized this yourself. You “guess it’s late”? Those are the words of someone who stays up far later than they should. Those are the words of someone sleep-deprived. Hey! Stop right there! I saw you trying to pull out your smartphone! Don’t get on social media! Don’t try to collect your log-in bonus for the day! I don’t want to hear any buts about your favorite comic updating today, either! If you have time to stare at your phone, use that time to sleep! You don’t even have to read the afterword! Because even if you do read it, it’s not like it’s going to benefit you in any way. Just sleep! And don’t forget to turn your alarm on so you don’t miss your stop! Oh, and don’t do anything to bother the people sitting next to you! Be respectful when you sleep! I’d personally be looking at my phone if I had free time, though!

Yes, that was a terrible opening to a long afterword. Honestly, it’s probably the worst there has ever been. Oh, and you there. Yes, you. You probably think you’re sooo cool for making it to the afterword instead of going to bed when you should have. You should honestly just go to bed. I know I sound like a broken record, but there is really nothing for you to gain from this. Hurry up and sleep while you’re still basking in the afterglow of the main story. You might be able to see Alya in your dreams if you’re lucky. I mean, none of the characters have ever visited me in my dreams, but maybe you’ll be luckier. Ah, how I wish I could be Masachika, even if only in my dreams. I’m cool with turning into Yuki, too.

Oh, hey. It’s somebody thinking, Sorry, but I only read during lunch, so none of this applies to me. Well, sorry, but you should take a nap, too. You’ve got work or class after this, right? Even ten-minute power naps can really change your day. If you have enough time to read at the end of your lunch break, then you should be using that time to sleep, even if only a little. What? This isn’t your lunch break? You don’t have to worry about work or school? …Oh, you work night shifts. My apologies. Wait. If you work the night shift, then what are you doing awake now?!

And then there’s you. You think you’re the real winner here because you bought this on Friday, and you’re using your weekend to read. Well, congratulations. Because you are the real winner here. Feel free to put the book down to do your own little celebratory dance. In fact, how about you show off your victory pose? If you can hold it for ten seconds, then you are, without a doubt, a true warrior.

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…Oh, I need a moment to see everyone’s victory pose. And I’m definitely not trying to reach a word count, so don’t even bring it up. And for all the losers, put your book down, close your eyes, and take a moment to imagine the true winners. What kind of person did you imagine? Incidentally, I imagined the weatherperson I saw on the news this morning. Strange.

Unlike someone like me, whose head is constantly daydreaming about beautiful women, I’m sure you serious readers actually imagined the winners’ courageous, godlike poses, and I’m sure you must be cringing at the bitter taste of despair. Aspiration is the first step to achieving your dream. If you were inspired to improve, then you’re up next. You may have lost this time, but you will be a true winner next time.

There is only one thing left for you to do. You need to look up online when the next volume of Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian is coming out and buy it on the day it is released. That not only increases the initial sales, but it would also bring a smile to my face and my editor’s face as well. Yes, the true winners here were actually my editor and me! …Heh! You look like you’re confused. Me too. What is this guy saying? Can you believe it? And he hasn’t even been drinking. Isn’t that scary?

Oh, hey. It looks like the others have returned from their victory dance. The embarrassment must have been too much, so they had no choice but to return to this book. But please let me tell you this: Thank you. Thank you for buying this volume the day it came out, and thank you for reading it as soon as possible. There is nothing that makes me happier than knowing you were looking forward to the newest volume that much.

“I didn’t immediately read this volume from cover to cover as soon as it came out. Is my love not enough?” I’m sure some of you feel that way, but you’re wrong. The depth of your love doesn’t depend on when you read it. You are using your valuable time to read this story. That enough is proof of your love. Huh? You sped through the entire story in five minutes? Yeah, that’s not cool. Please go back and read it for real this time… If you said, “Sure. I can read through it again,” then you probably already actually enjoyed your time with this novel and understood what you were reading, right? So you probably don’t even need to reread it. You’re probably a fast reader. I wish I had the ability to speed-read. Give it to me.

To all those who read the afterword first, as you can see, it’s extremely long. Furthermore, it’s about nothing, as I’m sure you’ve already noticed. There aren’t any spoilers for the main story, either, so it’s a relatively safe read, but if you have time to read this garbage, then you should probably just focus on reading the novel instead. If you’re still wanting to read the afterword first even after I said that, well, you deserve a pat on the back. I’m not going to stop you, but I did warn you, okay? I don’t want you coming back yelling and complaining later that I wasted your time. Oh, and that goes for everyone who’s reading the afterword, okay?

To the readers who skipped to the end to see how many pages this novel was and realized that the afterword was abnormally long, well, I doubt you’re even reading this, since most people read the afterword after finishing the story.

My condolences to those of you who got a little too excited flipping pages and saw the last double-page spread before you finished reading the main story. You should have looked at the book from the side and checked to see where the illustration was first. Huh? You did check, so you already knew where the illustration was? Wait. It’s my fault because of how long the afterword is? Oh… Sorry.

I always apologize when I am at fault. I’m an adult, after all. On the other hand, I am stubborn, and I will never apologize if it’s not my fault. I’m still a child, after all. I’m an adult who can’t adult. I’m sure most people who write light novels are like that. We still have the heart of a child that we refuse to throw away. With that being said, I only know two other light novel authors, so maybe you should take what I say with a grain of salt. One is far more mature than me, and the other is a saint… Wait. Am I the only one who acts like a kid? I think I owe all light novel authors in the country an apology. I almost damaged everyone’s reputation just because I’m still mentally a child. I’m very sorry. If you’re still in middle school or high school, please don’t become someone like me when you grow up. Really, I mean it.

Now, I would like to say something to the beautiful, wonderful readers who are cheering, “Whoa! Look how long the afterword is! Sick! This is sooo awesome!!” …Wait. You don’t exist? Come on, there has to be at least one person? Is there nobody excited about this? …Oh, there is someone? You? You’re happy that the afterword is even longer than the main story? Hmm… I don’t even know what to say, so please return to your seat.

See? Nothing good came from reading all this (serious face). Whichever reader is complaining about how long this is and skips the afterword to see Momoco’s illustration in the back, you’re doing the right thing. I’d do the same thing, too. I can already guess what you’ll be thinking when the next volume comes out: Now that I think about it, I never read the afterword in the last volume. Well, I can’t have that. Time to sit down and read it.

Hey, you. The person who read about how long the afterword was on Twitter beforehand. Thank you for following me. If you’re still not a follower, please follow me. You won’t lose a thing. You won’t gain anything, either.

Phew… All right, I think I covered every possible type of reader, so it’s time to get real. I’m sure most of you are wondering why the afterword is so long this time. The reason…is simple. A few days after I finished writing the main story, the editor told me that the main story essentially filled up the agreed-upon number of pages perfectly, so there was probably no room for an afterword for Sunsunsun or anything for Momoco this time. I was then told that the number of pages could be increased for an afterword, but it would be an extra sixteen pages, and all the unused pages would be used for advertisements, which wouldn’t be cool. I then asked if this book would be more expensive if they increased the number of pages, because I care about your wallets first and foremost. I’m a considerate man, after all. I knew that even the smallest price increase was a big thing, especially for my middle school and high school readers. That’s why I asked about the price and— Okay, I’m lying. I was actually just worried that nobody would buy this novel if it was too expensive, especially when it’s a collection of side stories. It was all about me. I know, I know. I said it was time to get serious, and barely two hundred or so words later, I’m already doing this. I’m awful. I know.

Anyway, when I asked if it would cost more if they added a few pages, it apparently didn’t change the price at all. Why? I have no idea, but I figured there was no reason for me to hold back on adding more pages if I could. Honestly, it didn’t really matter to me if we lost my afterword, but it would be a tremendous loss to the world if we lost Momoco’s illustration on the last page! I’m sure all you readers would be disappointed as well! I’m sorry! I’m just trying to look like a good person again, but in reality, I wanted to see Momoco’s illustration on the last page! I did it all for myself!

Phew… Getting all worked up is exhausting. I’m usually more laid-back than this. I’m not a total introvert or anything, but I guess you’d consider me unsociable. I know my pen name makes me sound like an extrovert, but I’m more of a Cloudcloudcloud kind of gloomy guy in reality.

It looks like we got off track again, but to sum everything up, we had to add sixteen pages in order to include Momoco’s illustration at the end of the book. Then my editor enthusiastically told me I got to write a max of around six thousand Japanese characters to fill fourteen pages of afterword… That’s about the size of two short stories you’d usually write for two different shops’ preorder bonuses. But when I was in the middle of writing “Like hell I’m doing that ♡,” my editor sent me another message saying, “I’ve actually never seen an afterword that long. It might even be a historic first (lol).” So after reading that, I felt like I had to do it.

Plus, having the last dozen or so pages filled with ads didn’t sit right with me. Furthermore, if it means becoming a legend (← nobody said this), then fine. I’ll write six thousand or so characters. I’ve already written about four thousand (in Japanese) just talking about this, so I’m more than halfway there. Anyway, let’s get down to business and discuss our last topic of conversation.

Huh? Don’t pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about. Is this really the time to be joking? Come on, you know what I’m talking about, right? Did you not stop and think why I was releasing short side stories while this deep into the main story? After how Volume 4 ended, the author would have to be insane to release side stories instead of continuing the main story. That’s what you’re thinking, right? I get it. So let me explain! I couldn’t fit all the summer stories into one volume last time! There was too much I wanted to talk about! I only had basically a month to work with for each of the first three volumes, so there’s no way I’d be able to fit every summer story I wanted to talk about in a single volume! My drawn-out, long-winded sentences take time! If anything, you should be congratulating me because they’re finally starting the second semester next volume. What I’m trying to say is…I’m sorry. This is my fault. But I believe I’ll be able to release the next volume within a reasonable time frame, so please forgive me. I always apologize when I am at fault. I’m… (The rest has been omitted for brevity). Heh! Despite having to hit a word count, I’m omitting stuff! That’s how seriously I’m taking this…and yet I’m getting closer and closer to that word count as I sit here and brag about that.

The fact that I’m basically writing the first thing that comes to mind shows how not serious I am. I believe that before writing the afterword, you should clear your mind and write about things other than the story you just wrote. I know I got off topic again, so let me tell you one thing about this volume. It’s important, so listen up…

You honestly won’t be missing out on anything in regard to the main story if you skip these side stories and go straight to Volume 5. There’s nothing in any future volumes that you’ll be confused about if you don’t read this volume. Reading Volume 4.5 will only deepen your understanding of Volume 4, and it will bring a grin to your face when you see characters introduced in this volume who show up again in Volume 5 and beyond. What was that? I should have told you that beforehand? You wouldn’t have bought this volume if you knew that ahead of time? I’m sure there are people thinking that right now, which is why I’m hiding this comment in the middle of the afterword. Yes, I play dirty. I have grown into an awful person. If you asked me if I was a good kid… Just don’t ask.

…All right. You’re getting tired of this. I get it. You’re wondering if it’s really okay that I submitted this to the great Kadokawa to be published. Well, I don’t want you thinking that these additional pages would have been better if they were used for ads, so it’s really time to get serious. I’m not messing around this time. I need to thank everyone for their help, so it’s honestly time I start taking this seriously. And if I keep repeating myself, it’s going to sound like I’m doing a bit again, so that’s enough of this.

First, I’m sure some of you already know, but Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian is being made into a manga and will be handled by the artist Saho Tenamachi (aka Tenacitysaho). Please look forward to it. For those of you who saw the beautiful illustration of Alya on a promotional wraparound band, it was incredible, right? Looks like something done by an extremely experienced, popular illustrator, right? So I am extremely grateful that my editor introduced me to her and that she accepted the project. Furthermore, Saho isn’t simply an extremely good artist. She excels in reproducing emotional expressions as well, so her ability to convey not only the romantic-comedy portions of the comics but also the serious parts of this coming-of-age story is impressive to say the least. A bitter old man and menace to society like me, who enjoys a glass of wine while watching young people suffer, is going to have to start looking for a good wine that pairs well with Masachika’s pain. I’m not really a big fan of drinking to be honest, though.

Did I mention that Saho is a great person, too? When it was finalized that she would be handling the comics, she sent me a handwritten letter with an illustration of Alya to go with it, to boot. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to receive a letter, so I was truly touched, and I am truly grateful for that. I put the letter in an acrylic frame on the wall, and I will treasure it for the rest of my life.

In other words, I am personally looking forward to her comics for Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian. I hear she has already started on the draft, and I just know it’s going to be great, so please start downloading the Magapoke app. “Magapoke? Isn’t that Kodansha?” You’re sharp. But there are things sometimes that are better not knowing… This isn’t one of those things, though. There isn’t any fishy stuff going on behind the scenes. It would just take a long time to explain, and it’s complicated, so I’m not going to get into that right now.

Next up, I want to thank two amazing illustrators for their contributions. The first I want to thank is Yuu Kuroto. There was a certain light novel cover he illustrated that I saw on his Twitter, and it was so incredible that I had my editor make him an offer to do an illustration for us. I almost never make such requests, so I was so happy when he accepted the offer. And the Alya that he drew for me in a swimsuit…is incredible. How can one make someone look so angelic? So pure? The water and sunlight were drawn so beautifully that it really makes it magical. It’s as if she were a summer fairy. And her eyes…wow. Incredible. He really brought out her tsundere-ness while still making her eyes seem somewhat alluring as well. And to top it off…depicting her from a low-angle shot that only further emphasizes her incredible figure! What an amazing waistline! What thick thighs! Thank you so much! To those who have not seen the illustration, you can get your hands on it at a certain store as a bonus gift with the purchase of Volume 4.5, so please do so. Don’t make a fuss about buying multiple copies. You can keep one as a spare or give one to a friend, even, which makes the illustration practically free… Of course, only a true nerd could understand this absurd way of thinking.

Next, I want to thank…the one and only Kina Kazuharu. Thank you very much. Really. I mean it. You made one of my dreams come true.

Kina Kazuharu is the first illustrator I fell in love with after becoming a nerd. The only other illustrator I guess I even knew of before then was Noizi, but the first illustrator’s name that I looked up on my own was Kina Kazuharu’s. The first art book, calendar, and autographed book I bought were all his works. When a certain short story that reached first in the rankings on Shosetsuka ni Naro got made into a light novel with Kina Kazuharu doing the art for the cover, I was like, “Seriously? That’s the Shosetsuka ni Naro dream!” I couldn’t believe it at the time, and before I knew it, he drew an illustration to help promote this series. In other words, when it comes to short stories, I am the Shosetsuka ni Naro dream. Please feel free to ignore that comment.

You may be wondering who Kina Kazuharu drew. And my answer would be Aly—Yuki, of course, since he is known for his illustrations of heroines with long black hair. I know Alya’s the protagonist, but I’m not some fool who’s going to ask him to draw a silver-haired maiden. Anyway, the illustration he did for me was absolutely beautiful! It’s unbelievably wholesome and pleasant, like something you’d see in an advertisement for a refreshing drink! Black hair blowing in the wind! It’s too beautiful! The black hair Kina Kazuharu draws is unparalleled!

…It looks like I met my word count while doing all that screaming. In fact, I went beyond six thousand characters. I think I’m at seven? It looks like there’s no reason to draw things out any longer. Besides, I’m sure my editor gave me that word count while knowing I was going to need some leeway, so exceeding the word count shouldn’t be a problem. And if the afterword now doesn’t fit the additional pages, I’ll just remove some of the fluff… Hold on. When I put this all in the proof paper, it ended up being only thirteen pages? I’ve got an extra page. Should I put in an ad?

…Yessssss!! An extra inning!! I should be able to make sure there’s no room for an advertisement if I write about seven hundred Japanese characters! Seven hundred doesn’t sound like much, but that’s about the size of your average two-page afterword without the special thanks included! I’m adding postscript during the editing phase. I should really apologize to my editor. I’m really sorry, and I thank you for your patience and kindness.

Now, for the extra inning… What should I write? Hmm… I’d feel bad if I kept talking about pointless garbage when I begged my editor to let me do this, so let’s talk about something with a little substance. How about we discuss the main story?

There were three Russian dishes mentioned this time: pelmeni, varenyky, and solyanka, and I actually went to Russian restaurants to experience the taste and to see what they looked like as well. Surprisingly, solyanka genuinely tasted like pizza to me, and pelmeni unsurprisingly was just like a boiled pot sticker. The difference between varenyky and pelmeni was essentially the filling, but they didn’t seem to be completely different dishes to me. Maybe it’s because I tried them both at the same restaurant.

Also, I tried some sort of jellied chicken…but, well, that was…incredible. I was trembling. Not like Ayano, though. If you’re curious, I think you should give it a try. It’d make a good story, at the very least. I recommend going as a group, since it’s one of those things that you’ll probably either love or hate. That way, if you’re unable to eat it, you can force whoever likes it to eat your portion of jellied chicken as well. This is just a little bit of advice from someone who has been there before.

I know. The postscript was more afterword-y than the actual afterword. I’ve already gone way over the word count as well. I think this is around 8,200 Japanese characters? Lengthwise, I basically added an extra chapter to the story. No joke.

But what’s done is done. Anyway, I want to apologize to my editor, Miyakawa, since the draft for this novel proceeded at a snail’s pace again. Thank you for all your help. I would like to thank the illustrator, Momoco, for once again drawing numerous beautiful works of art, despite being so busy. I was blown away by the illustration of Masha on the cover, the illustration at the end of Alya in the bunny costume, and even the bonus illustration of Alya as a succubus. The illustrations of “nerdy” Sayaka and “cool-guy” Masachika made me laugh out loud as well. All the illustrations are amazing. And last but not least, I want to thank you all, the readers, for making this happen. You guys make me so happy, I could squeal. Thank you so much! I can’t wait to see you all again when Volume 5 comes out. Until we meet again.