Wortenia Senki (LN) - Volume 5 - Chapter Aft

Afterword 

I doubt there are many remaining, but I welcome any new readers who took up Record of Wortenia War with this volume. And to those of you who have been following the series since volume 1, it’s been four months since we last met. 

This is Ryota Hori, the author. 

According to the calendar, we’re at the end of autumn and edging into winter, but the days have been so hot, only to suddenly turn cold. It’s rather easy to get sick in this climate. I myself caught the flu and several colds, forcing me to frequent the hospital more often than I would like this year. Do take care of your health, kind readers. 

Now, for those of you that start reading from the afterword, here’s our customary digest of the book’s story. 

Firstly, the most striking point regarding volume 5 is that the protagonist’s grandfather, Kouichirou Mikoshiba, and his cousin, Asuka Kiryuu, become much more involved in the plot. This is one big departure the Hobby Japan novels have in comparison to the web novel. And yet, they will only reunite with the protagonist later down the line. 

Truth be told, this was mostly included because this part of the story, where our protagonist gains dominion over the Wortenia Peninsula, has so much more scheming and negotiation than before. This ends up making it much less exciting. That may be the appeal of a “war record” story, but too much plotting and negotiation becomes tiresome after a while... For both the readers and the author. 

But Kouichirou Mikoshiba and Asuka Kiryuu ended up being characters with much more latent potential than I had originally thought, and I ended up writing much more detail into them than I first expected to. That may well have been another trigger. In the future, I intend to write more of how Kouichirou and Asuka grow used to this world, while making use of new characters introduced into the story. 

The other remarkable point about this volume is of course, the protagonist and his group’s actions. It already appeared at the end of the previous volume, but the titular Wortenia is brought to the forefront of the story. 

Thinking back to the web novel days, when readers often asked when Wortenia would finally figure into the plot, is by now a pleasant memory. There were many direct and blunt opinions at the time, and I wondered if I should reply to them, even at the risk of going into spoiler territory. 

With this volume, Ryoma Mikoshiba begins to set in motion his plan to turn the no-man’s-land known as the Wortenia Peninsula into his territory, but as one might expect, things won’t go as easily as he might hope. I don’t like torturing Ryoma too much as the author, but perhaps thanks to him being such a harsh character, I tend to set him hard conditions to conquer. Just like his grandfather, Ryoma is quite the idiosyncratic one, after all. 

But he’s a protagonist who always finds a way to break through, which I think balances out the story... 

Also, I’d like to take this chance to announce Record of Wortenia War’s manga version. The art style is serious but not too heavy, which helps bring the story out in a new light. As the author, I was quite impressed with it. At the time of this afterword’s writing, it hadn’t been published yet, but it should be published on Hobby Japan’s site by the time this book reaches your hands. Do give it a look. I’ve already seen chapter 2’s drafts, so I’m sure it will also be out shortly. 

At this rate, we might even live to see a TV anime for the series, which is something I’ll admit I’ve been secretly looking forward to. But given the work’s themes and the brutality of the descriptions, an anime might lead to a lot of things being changed. Still, as an author, I would love to get a peek into the world of anime production. 

The work on volume 5 came during a very busy time both personally and professionally, but I was able to deliver it to you on time. And I owe a lot of that to my editors who helped to lengthen my deadlines, and the many people who offered their cooperation to me. I would like to take this chance to extend my warmest gratitude to them. 

And the only reason I can continue to work on this series is thanks to your support, kind readers. I will strive to bring volume 6 to you as soon as possible, so do continue giving your support to Record of Wortenia War in the future as well. 

After all, the conclusion I’ve foreseen for the plot is still quite a good distance away...