Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, Vol. 9

by Hiro Ainana

  Beyond that mountain range was apparently a desert.

  “We finally made it!”

  “Aye-aaaye!”

  “Now our battle really begins, sir.”

  Arisa, Tama, and Pochi grinned excitedly.

  I wish they wouldn’t say such ominous things.

  “Let’s get going. There aren’t any villages between here and Labyrinth City, just rest stops with rain coverage, and some of them don’t even have water wells.”

  “Okey-dokey! Let’s-a go!”

  With that cheerful exclamation from Arisa, the carriage set off down the hill toward Labyrinth City.

  I sat back, imagining all the new encounters, sights, and delicious foods waiting for us in Labyrinth City.

  It was sure to be an exciting adventure.

  Afterword

  Hi there. I’m Hiro Ainana.

  Thank you for picking up the ninth volume of Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody!

  It might already say it on the cover, but…

  Death March is getting an anime adaptation.

  When I heard this at a meeting with my editor, my first thought was, Not just a drama CD?! but I was so surprised that I wound up saying, “Oh, really?” in a neutral-sounding tone.

  I was jumping for joy on the inside, but it still didn’t feel real yet, so I ended up only asking for extra pages for this volume and things like that while I calmed down.

  I’d love to prattle on about the anime now, but I already used up most of my pages with the main story, so I’ll have to move on to announcements to keep the afterword short. There will be more information about the anime on the Kadokawa Books website, so please keep an eye on that.

  Announcement #1: a game adaptation. It will be distributed to all applicants for the Kadokawa Books first anniversary campaign. The deadline is December 15, so please make sure to apply by then.

  Announcement #2: the survey on the Kadokawa Books official site. Respondents get to read short stories, like the new Death March story “The Autumn Forest,” so make sure you check it out.

  Announcement #3: the fourth volume of Ayamegumu’s comic adaptation of Death March goes on sale the same day as this volume. It’s full of highlights unique to the comic, so you should definitely pick it up along with the novel version if you can.

  I don’t have much space left, but let’s discuss this volume’s highlights!

  This ninth volume is a completely new story that takes place in the southern seas. In order to save the white-haired girl on the cover, Satou and friends face frightening monsters, nasty pirates, and even an ancient ghost that threatens to destroy the entire world! You can’t miss the climax of this one!

  Of course, this is Death March, so there’s plenty of everyday scenes, too, like enjoying the salty sea air and drinking with friendly sailors.

  I ended up adding way too much content, so this one has about 20 percent more pages than usual. It’s about 180,000 words long, which is a good 40,000 longer than usual.

  Finally, my usual thank-yous! My editors H, K, and the new editor A, as well as shri, everyone else who was involved in the development and sale of this book, and of course all of you readers who’ve supported the series! Thank you all so much!

  Thanks for reading all the way to the end of this book!

  See you next time in the Labyrinth arc!

  Hiro Ainana

  Thank you for buying this ebook, published by Yen On.

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