Hello, everyone. I'm Kinosuke Naito.
I'm very happy to be here with you again.
Now, let's get straight to the highlights of the story.
Those of you who have finished volume two have probably noticed that time passed at a very different pace this time compared to volume one. The first volume covered roughly seven years, but the second advanced by only one year.
But I wasn't deliberately dragging things out to pad the page count. It was what the plot (the story) called for.
The protagonist spent about five years living alone, and as I described how he gradually adjusted to the Forest of Death, I brought in the heroines. Only after that did the romance begin. It's a story that builds a grand (?) and intricate (?) plot through a slow, leisurely life.
What prompted me to structure the plot this way was a question: would this story's protagonist, suddenly thrown into a completely unfamiliar world, really have the nerve to fall in love with a heroine right away? Basically, I had my doubts.
Even in the real world, if you transferred to a new school somewhere unfamiliar, wouldn't confessing your love to a boy or girl on your very first day feel unnatural? It wouldn't? These days, readers won't bother reading a novel unless it moves at that pace? Is that what the modern light novel world is like? Damn, that's scary.
Well, as an old stick-in-the-mud, I found that strange, so I wanted him to establish a certain foundation for his life in the other world first, then arrange the romantic scenes with the heroines once he had gained some confidence. That was the basic framework behind my plotting.
As a result, since I hadn't had the slightest idea at the time that this would become a book or be adapted into a manga, the beginning of the novel ended up far too leisurely, leaving the protagonist lonely all by himself for ages... While I should reflect on the need to come up with more visually engaging scenes, I also feel that without this style, it wouldn't be Farming Life in Another World.
So, am I still using that approach to plotting now...? Going with the flow is important in anything.
Originally, Alfred and Tiselle were supposed to be born much later, and even the heroines' pregnancies were supposed to happen later.
Did my hand slip? No, this was divine inspiration. In other words, Alfred and Tiselle are both children blessed by the gods. Well, following the original plot for absolutely everything would be a little dull anyway. Even if something seemed interesting when I first planned it, if it feels boring when I actually write it, I have to change it without mercy. There's no predicting what will happen in life, and I think the same can be said of novels.
Finally, to the editor who looked after me for this volume, and to those responsible for proofreading and copyediting: it was thanks to all of you that this became a book, and I'm deeply grateful.
To Yasumo, who handled the illustrations, thank you very much for the beautiful illustrations and adorable characters.
And to the readers, male or female, holding this book in your hands right now, I'd like to say thank you.
With that, I'll close here, in the hope that I'll be able to see you all again in the next volume.
Kinosuke Naito