The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria Book 4: Afterword

AFTERWORD

(This will touch on the story, so be forewarned

if you haven’t finished the book yet.)Hello, Eiji Mikage here.

This is the resolution of the Ga of Indolence, the fourth volu of HakoMari! (I’m really starting to like that nickna).

I kind of assud everyone would understand why it isn’t “Vol. 3, Pt. 1” and “Vol. 3, Pt. 2” even though the books deal with the sa Box, but what do you think?

Oh yeah, I have an apology to make. In the afterword of Volu 3, I wrote that this volu “should be out in the spring,” but it was released in June. I’m truly sorry… I’ll work harder.

Now then, I’d like to talk about the story a little bit.

As an author, I was a little surprised by sothing that happened during the writing of Volu 4.

The Classes in the final ga were assigned in a way that fit the image of each character perfectly.

To be honest, it wasn’t deliberate. I gave the characters their Classes in order to heighten the drama, so whether they suited the character’s image was secondary.

And yet, things worked out that way.

It’s possible this was no coincidence. Since I was thinking so much about the story, the things I couldn’t see during the conceptual stage revealed themselves in the end.

It feels wonderful to go beyond your superficial comprehension in crafting a tale.

And now for the acknowledgnts.

To the illustrator, Tetsuo: Thank you once again. It may sound like lukewarm flattery, since I say it every ti, but I think it must be truly difficult to draw appealing images that fit my work so well.

To my new editor, Miki: Thank you for the keen pointers and assistance. I know I’m a difficult author who writes in a quirky way, but I look forward to working with you more in the future.

Now, as for my plans for upcoming work, there will most likely be a bit of a longer window than usual before Volu 5 cos out. I don’t know if I can call it a replacent, but soti in the sumr, I’ll be taking pArt_in a certain project, so please pick it up and give it a look if you’re so inclined. It won’t bear the na Eiji Mikage for various reasons, but I think all of you who have read this series will know the book when you see it.

See you next ti!

Eiji Mikage