Chapter 375: Completion Afterword
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 375: Completion Afterword
Thank you to everyone who has been reading since the first chapter.
And for those of you starting with the afterword, welcome.
This is Schooling, an author who is always learning.
First, before I begin, a word of thanks!
Thank you so, so much for reading and loving this work!
As always, I struggled with how to write this afterword.
If you've read my other works, you'll know that I tend to write rather long afterwords.
But when I look at other authors, they just say what needs to be said and keep it concise.
So I thought about whether I should just make a clean exit without rambling on...
...but since it's always been a dream of mine to write novel afterwords, I'm just going to write it.
I mean, I serialized this every day without a break and brought it to completion. A long afterword should be fine, right!
Yes, Devouring the Hero's Family has finally come to an end.
I started serializing it in July, so including the time I spent writing beforehand, it's been just under a year.
If you include the planning stage, I was probably creating this story around this time last year.
Looking back now, it's hard to believe it's been that long.
When you're writing, a week or a month just flies by.
Letting go of a work I've spent so much time with always leaves me with a bittersweet feeling of relief and regret.
Even though I've written quite a few novels, it's always like this... I suppose being an author is a profession where you constantly live with this feeling.
This is my 6th work, and my 2nd erotic novel.
To be honest, while writing my first erotic novel, Devouring the Beauties on a Deserted Island, I felt there were many areas that were lacking or regrettable.
The beginning of the first chapter, the plot development, the character concepts, and so on.
The list of shortcomings would be endless.
For this novel, I tried to learn from that experience and write something better.
Personally, I think the beginning and the plot's direction have improved, but I'm not sure how the readers saw it.
Actually, I expected Devouring the Hero's Family to end rather quickly.
After all, the plot itself was simple, and the protagonist's goal was clear.
But as I wrote various episodes, it surpassed 200 chapters, and then 300.
I even thought, "Should I go for 400 chapters...!" but I held back, fearing it would just keep going on and on.
It ended up being longer than I expected, but it was a very satisfying time because I enjoyed writing it so much.
In truth, I had ideas for future stories and personally wanted to write them.
The princess, the saint, the Demon King's army, and the hero from the original work who were mentioned or appeared from time to time.
Just hearing about them is enough to make your heart pound, right?
I even plotted out a classic scenario where the protagonist becomes an academy professor and slowly 'trains' them...
While having the Armeina women continue to appear, of course.
To be honest, since so many of you consistently read this work, the desire to extend it was quite strong.
However, this story is, at its core, about 'devouring the hero's family,' and I felt that if the story expanded that far, the original concept would be lost.
The foundation was a concept of banishment + revenge + erotic novel, and the protagonist's 'training' of women was a means to that end.
Once the revenge was complete, I suddenly realized that continuing to expand the harem with other women would turn it into a completely different work.
One of my goals when I started writing was not to drag it out and to end it at a good time.
So, after indulging my desires freely until now, I finally reined them in at the end and concluded the story.
Every work is special, but Devouring the Hero's Family is a particularly meaningful one for me.
It's the first work I've serialized for over 300 chapters, and it achieved an incredible 4 million views, a number I still find hard to believe.
I was so happy that so many people loved this story.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you all once again.
Since we're here, shall we talk a bit about erotic novels?
Personally, as an author writing an erotic novel, I prefer to hold back on the story and show as many 19+ scenes as possible.
The reason for reading an erotic novel? "Obviously, to see something lewd!" That's my mindset, you could say.
Or maybe it's just that I don't want to hold back my desires.
Of course, that's just my preference; I don't think one way is better than the other.
In fact, the lewdness of a scene can change drastically depending on whether there's a story and characters behind it.
It's like how adding the words "my friend's" before "married woman" heightens the sense of transgression.
In the end, I'm learning that a good erotic novel needs a strong story and characters.
If the story I wrote could bring even a little bit of fun and satisfaction to you, the readers, then I believe writing it was meaningful.
Hmm, while serializing, I had hoped for an opportunity to show this work and its heroines in other ways.
Sadly, that didn't come to pass.
Sob... It's something I personally regret a lot.
Still, I always did my best to write a good novel, so if you, the readers, were satisfied, then I can be satisfied too.
As for my next work, I haven't decided what to write yet.
Since it's a shame to stop, I'm tempted to try my hand at another erotic novel.
Having written a fantasy story, I'm also getting greedy and want to do more in that setting.
Or maybe it would be good to challenge a completely different genre.
Whatever it may be, I will do my best to return as soon as possible.
Sometime in June, if you find yourself thinking, "What crazy author wrote this crazy story?" it'll probably be me.
Now, I'll end with my final thanks.
Thank you so much for loving and reading this work.
I hope that only joyful things lie ahead for all the readers who gave me the chance to be an author!
I'm always grateful, and I love you all!
