On fan works, and what I wanted to say
(Dear readers, same time, same place: the author's end-of-volume rambling session.)
(If you know, you know. Read it or skip it; it won't affect your experience of the main story.)
When I finished writing Volume Four, I let out a long breath.
Looking back on Volumes Three and Four, I really had only one central goal:
To take you all along and truly "see" the world of Jobless Reincarnation.
To follow the protagonist's footsteps, touch the pulse of every city, and experience the customs and character of every nation.
To bring the original's setting and worldbuilding vividly to life before your eyes.
Personally, I think readers familiar with the original might have smiled knowingly at certain scenes.
And found that little thrill of "Oh! So this is that place!"
Of course, I also knew there would be readers who hadn't read the original.
Who might feel a little lost when certain people or events appeared.
For example, the owner of the Bad-Tasting Restaurant, whose cooking was absolutely atrocious.
Actually, I originally intended to save his true identity-Randolph the Death God, one of the Seven Great Powers-as a major reveal much later in the story.
But then I thought, rather than leave everyone guessing in confusion, I might as well reveal it sooner.
So every reader could know.
As for the person who recruited him, that was a general from the Dragon King Kingdom.
This plotline was one significant piece of "creative reinterpretation" I made based on the original.
In the original, Rudeus unleashed such a vicious tongue-lashing that our Death God friend lost all faith in himself and began questioning his life.
In the end, he gave up running the restaurant and went off to become a knight.
At the time,