The Zashiki Warashi of Intellectual Village

Volume 3, Afterword

Okay, Volume 3!!

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

Some of you may be confused right now if you thought back to the Table of Contents. And yes, this is not where the Afterword should be. But due to the structure of this story, I thought it was best to cut the story off and place the Afterword here even if it destroys the entire meaning of the “after” in the term.

Having this entire story in a single chapter was also for the sake of a certain gimmick, but the actual story was not all that different from the four chapter structure used before. And with the Toubyou, Orochi, and Aoandon, the number of primary enemy Youkai was not that different either.

If I was doing a Youkai story, I really wanted use the Hyakumonogatari, but I didn’t think I could fit 100 ghost stories and then a final boss in a single volume. That is why I changed it up a bit. The stage of an abandoned village, a junction, and a giant factory along the highway is just a sign of my own tastes. The factory was something that I had some vague ideas about during a trip to gather material. I felt it was an important piece when talking about the modern scenery of rural Japan. Having that giant structure sitting right smack in the middle of a never-ending expanse of paddy fields seems so out of place. It’s an interesting subject that brings a lot of different ideas to mind.

Another unique characteristic of this volume was Kotemitsu Madoka appearing from the beginning to the end.

I created her as an extreme version of the high school girl who the adults cannot control and whose thoughts cannot be easily read. For example, she showed no open gratitude or kindness to Jinnai Shinobu when he protected her from the mysterious attacker in that creepy abandoned village. Instead, she watched him cautiously and with cold eyes as he grew arrogant upon acquiring the weapon. I think that would be the most obvious scene of that.

Madoka was thrown onto a stage where her strongest characteristic of money was of no use. But like the stars in the night sky that are not usually visible from the neon of the city, I think this setting allowed some of her humanity to show up. What did you think?

I give my thanks to my illustrator Mahaya-san and my editors Miki-san, Onodera-san, and Anan-san. This time, I think the Japanese horror-style of abandoned village was harder than the Youkai involved. I am truly grateful that they have stuck with me this far.

And I give my thanks to the readers. I apologize for not having any love comedy style events despite being a school trip story. I hope you will continue reading in the future, too.

And I will end this here.

By the way, I have prepared a continuation that will begin after this.

Please continue reading once you have found the 100 puzzles and the 100 answers.

Everyone has their own way of enjoying things, but if you have not met that requirement and you have some time, it might be fun to go back to the beginning with pen and paper to take the challenge again.

If this was primarily a horror series, it might have ended here.

-Kamachi Kazuma