AFTERWORD TO VOLUME TWO

   I don't know when it started, but there's been a Romance of the Three Kingdoms boom... I already said that in the previous volume. I am that Ono who has already written until she doesn't know what else to write, and is afraid of writing afterwords.
   After my previous book, Shadow of the Moon, Sea of the Shadow, was published, I received a question from many readers: "Could it be that you didn't plan on writing a series?" Thank you very much. For the time being, I intend to write a series. In addition, there are preparations, and to that extent, with the support of the readers-sama, I will keep writing... If only that were the recent publishing situation. Oh, relentless world...
   In brief, I'll try my best to write as much as I can. I also ask everyone for lots of advice.
   Since I aim to write a series, I regret that my writing speed is too slow. I've thought about it very carefully. If I were to write a book a month...in an instant, the series would also be completed, and following that, I'd have to start a new story... It's easy to say five books or ten books, but when I work it out, I'll have to spend many years' time. When I think about that, I can only put it aside with a "tohoho." However, for those readers waiting for my next work, I feel so helpless... I will be diligent.
   The speed of my writing is already slow; if I didn't have the help of a word processor, the situation would be even more dire. I can't even imagine that. If there were no word processors in the world, I don't think there would have appeared such an author called Ono. So, I must really thank our home's old-boned 98-kun (also called Zorac-kun) that I still whip around, and the support it gives me.
   That's right, the Zorac we have at home is already an old soldier. We often think about getting a newer, faster machine, but because I've saved so many definitions in the old machine, this isn't a problem that can be solved with a new computer and new software. For instance, when I type 'kuji' for the 'nine words,' it will appear as 'Rin Byou Tou Sha Kai Jin Retsu Zai Zen' instead of 'Rin Byou Tou Sha Kai Jin Retsu Zen Kyou.' And if I take into account the fact that this story is a series, the more I write, the more strange words will be added. I wonder how many megabytes the dictionary will be a year from now... Hmmm...
   Since I wrote the previous book, I often hear people saying, "Even the second standard set of kanji aren't enough to use." But JIS-2 unexpectedly served its purpose. Just when I was praising its performance, for the first time there was a character that couldn't be found in the second standard set of kanji. Just thinking about simply organizing the already enormous dictionary and then all the words that I've added, makes my head spin.
   ...If I keep talking like this, people are going to think that I'm a computer otaku. I should say first that I am definitely not a person with extensive knowledge. I may want to be an otaku, but I just don't have enough time. Just dealing with the word processor on the Zorac (with its attached communications function) already keeps me busy. I'm very, very sorry.
   Oh, yes, speaking of communications, I should talk about the SF forum at NIF. Thanks for the encouragement you guys gave me last year. When the vote for the best was going on, you guys especially wrote a commentary that made a timid person like me speechless. In my own consistent way of doing things, I very gratefully received the responses in the conference hall. I must take this opportunity to extend my gratitude to you. Thank you very, very much!
   Oh my, in the end, this afterword has turned into miscellany that has nothing to do with the work it follows.
   Honestly, I don't really like saying this and that about my own work. I always feel like, no matter how I say it, everything turns out sounding like an excuse. So, I think I'll wait and be ready for everyone's impressions. Even if it's just a little bit, I'll be happy.

   --Ono Fuyumi