A Simple Survey:Volume2 Afterword

Afterword

Tah dah! The unexpected second volume.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

The theme this time was life-or-death gambles. I think the color has changed quite a bit compared to A Simple Survey, but “she” is still involved at the core of the story…or so it seemed. The very, very end gives a different ending, so be careful. If you carelessly overlook it, you might incorrectly think the girl from the previous novel was behind all this.

In the A Simple series, most of the explanation and information given by the characters is wrong, but the true setting begins to show itself if you compare what the different characters say. It’s a bit of a special story structure. When it comes to portraying “her” at the core of the story, I have tried to emphasize a feeling of things being left unexplained since anyone giving a plain and direct explanation would end up dead.

For example, take the voice mail message that suddenly appeared in the middle of the story. Be careful about directly making the simple assumption that it was left on the cell phone of second half’s protagonist, Higashikawa. Well, if you read the previous novel, you should be able to make a good guess at who made it and who it was meant for. However, there is actually one more trap set up on top of that. You should be able to figure it out if you read this novel to the very, very end and then compare the speech patterns.

Also, in the second half of this novel, I intentionally altered the “speed” of the story in a few places. For example, when Higashikawa was persuading Rachel through the door or the final exchange with the bunny girl. I was trying to give an impression of the formless absurd slowly and silently approaching. How do you think I did?

I’m a bit worried that the reader participation gimmick was too complex and involved compared to the one in A Simple Survey.

I prepared that sort of gimmick because I really wanted to get across the absurd turn of events of having your own choices block your path as your greatest enemy.

…By the way, did you clear that final rush of questions without getting killed?

I give my thanks to my illustrator Kasai Shin-san, my editor Miki-san, and all of the readers.

This series has now handled love comedy and gambling. I thank you for sticking with me this far. I can’t imagine when another novel in this series would come out, but I do hope I can eventually write one.

Not explaining things really is a special sort of story structure.

-Kamachi Kazuma

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