Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash Volume 3

Afterword

I am, thankfully, able to make a living writing novels.

For some reason, I’ve received a steady stream of offers from different
people, which has put me in the privileged environment of being able to
support my lifestyle just by writing the manuscripts that I need to work on. It
keeps me fairly busy, but if I set my mind to it, I can make as much time for
myself as I’d like, so the reason I constantly keep writing is because I enjoy
writing.

When I find myself without work to do for a day or two, rather than play
through all of the games I’ve bought and set aside, I think of how to make the
ideas I’ve been incubating into novels.

There’s basically no distinction between work and play for me. I’ve never had
many friends to begin with, so for me play meant playing video games by
myself, so writing novels by myself is a kind of play, too.

Of course, the experience of writing novels isn’t always fun. It can be painful,
difficult work. However, even with video games, there are times where you just
can’t beat them and you struggle. The joy of overcoming those challenges and
beating a game, that feeling of release, is incredible.

It’s the same with novels. When you go through hardship to finish writing
them, it’s very rewarding.

I am half—no, more than half—making my living by playing around. I often
run into difficult situations while writing, but I’ve overcome them many times
before, and I take the relatively optimistic view that I’ll continue to overcome
them. Even if I make a mistake, it’s not like I’m fighting on the battlefield, so it’s
not going to kill me, and I’m sure I’ll have chances to redeem myself. Well, I’ll
get by somehow.

I no longer play games the way I once did. This is probably the reason why.
For me games were, at least for a time, the only kind of play I knew. But now I

play by writing novels. Thanks to that, I don’t have time to play games.

That said, I’m sure there are kinds of excitement and new experiences that I
can only find through games. That’s why, to this day, I continue to look for
information on games. I buy the ones that interest me, play them for a bit, and
then get a little disappointed when they don’t live up to expectations. Still, I can
never stop looking forward to my next experience with them. I’m sure I won’t
stop until the day I die.

I’ve run out of pages.

To my editor, K, to Eiri Shirai-san, to the designers of KOMEWORKS among
others, to everyone involved in production and sales of this book, and finally to
all of you people now holding this book, I offer my heartfelt appreciation and all
of my love. Now, I lay down my pen for today.

I hope we will meet again.

Ao Jyumonji



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Copyright

Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash: Volume 3
by Ao Jyumonji
Translated by Sean McCann Edited by Emily Sorensen

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the
product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to
actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Copyright © 2014 Ao Jyumonji Illustrations Copyright © 2014 Eiri Shirai Cover
illustration by Eiri Shirai All rights reserved.

Original Japanese edition published in 2014 by OVERLAP
This English edition is published by arrangement with OVERLAP, Inc., Tokyo
English translation © 2017 J-Novel Club LLC

All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the
scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the
permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s
intellectual property.

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The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not
owned by the publisher.

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