Afterword

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Afterword

I knew around the time that the third volume was completed that the next one would feature Edogawa Ranpo. Since writing short stories would probably difficult, I decided to make it a long form novel. I naively thought I’d be able to get it done somehow since it wasn’t like Ranpo was some unknown author, and started gathering material in May last year.

I wrote in the afterword of the last volume that this one would be out sometime in the winter, with the plan being to release in December. I suppose that was because I was calculating on finishing the volume in early Autumn.

That said, I’m here writing this afterword in January, and in the end, this volume took me the longest to write to date.

I imagine there’s no small number of Japanese who would consider Ranpo to be an extremely well known author. Probably all the more for people who spent their elementary school years voraciously reading The Boys Detective Club. Ranpo was also a familiar and somewhat nostalgic author for me, but when I started doing more research, the deeply interesting episodes I encountered one after another left me embarrassed at how ignorant I had been.

It was an unforgettable, fun experience. If only there were no deadline.

At any rate, I gave up on getting this published in the winter. All I can do now is pray that everyone who reads this finds it to be an interesting story.

 

It’s been two years since the first volume of Biblia came out, and there have been been joyous events like multimedia promotions and editions happening one after another. The environment around me has changed in a big way. But even with all that, the things I ought to do have not changed in the slightest. I still gather material, create plots, write, and revise. Small, everyday efforts.

But in this day and age where it’s difficult to say what the future will hold, I’m grateful that I’m able to put food on the table with my work. I plan to do the best I can from now on too.

This book was made possible by a great number of people, in particular the Rikkyo University’s Edogawa Rampo Memorial Center for Popular Culture Studies, Yagi Books, and the Museum of Safes & Locks. I’m truly grateful for the valuable things I’ve learned from them.

This story is now more or less at its halfway point. I would be honored if you were able to accompany me until the very end.

– Mikami En

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