At such chiding words, his mouth opened nearly reflexively. And as soon as it did, pain shot through his body. At this, Holo’s satisfied smile remained so.
Lawrence fought back the pain, closing his mouth over the bite and chewing.
The eel was fragrant and tasty.
He could tell that it was a bit overcooked, though, and there were places that were bitter and burned.
Lawrence stared off into the air as he chewed the eel. Beside him, Holo stuffed her cheeks, making happy little noises.
He could see the church steeple at the end of his gaze, as though it were quietly looking down on him, amused, chin in its hands.
AFTERWORD
It’s been a while. Isuna Hasekura here, with Volume 14. We’ve just passed four years since my debut, but somehow it feels like I just wrote an afterword about how three years had passed since my debut. Time flies like an arrow!
By the time this book comes out, the year will have already changed, but at the time of this writing it’s still December. Thus, as I take a quick look back on the year, it makes me realize that…wow, I really had a lot of fun this year. I went to Hong Kong (for work, though!), I went skiing in Hokkaido in the winter, and in the summer I went again just to sightsee. I went to Okinawa and Kyoto, and I even got my driver’s license.
And yet I still managed to write four volumes a year for the first time since my debut, so maybe it really is better to make time for fun instead of just shutting myself up at home.
Given that, I resolve to play hard again this coming year! Although there is some small chance I’ve misunderstood the causal relationship between having fun and making progress on my manuscripts…
Nonetheless, when this book comes out, I’ll be starting my fifth year since being published, which feels like a bit of a turning point. It makes me want to work harder, start new things, and accomplish everything I can.
That said, as the number of years since my debut advances, so does my actual age. Just recently, and also a month ago, I got invited to the weddings of college friends. This was the first time I’d been thus invited, and I found myself shocked with the realization: Augh! I’m getting to be that age, too!
Incidentally, I didn’t own a suit, nor did I know how to tie a tie. So I headed to the department store and got a suit, then hastily taught myself how to put on a tie—grrk! And after all that, when it came to wearing a suit like a normal member of society…it made me think about how there are tough guys out there in the world who get invited to weddings every month, who must be the product of intense training on how to appear calm. If you went to a wedding every month, the wedding present costs would really stack up.
By the way, in reading books about medieval Europe, it seems that wedding traditions back then were rather violent. For example…whoops, if I say anything more I might spoil the surprise!
And now having written this much, I find I’ve filled my pages.
This is going to be a pivotal year for the series.
Let us meet again in the next volume!
Isuna Hasekura
Isuna Hasekura, Spice and Wolf, Vol. 14
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