Ch.BONUSThank You for All the Love

# Do you like cream bread?

I’ll eat it if it’s there, but I don’t go out of my way to buy it. So when I grabbed one at the bakery, I didn’t think much of it. But when I split it in half, I had to laugh. All the cream was concentrated on one side.

It’s not like I haven’t seen filling or cream unevenly distributed before, but this felt particularly significant. It reminded me of this novel, “The Hero’s Downfall Report.”

I felt a bit of regret—what if I had spread the cream more evenly over the dry parts at the beginning?

*

Strangely, with “The Hero’s Downfall Report,” I always felt something was missing after writing each part. Typically, about an hour after uploading, I’d think, “Ah, I shouldn’t have written it that way,” and now I feel the same even after posting the final chapter.

My biggest regret is that I couldn’t show you everything I had prepared. Of course, nothing is missing from Kain, Lily, and Maria’s narrative. From the beginning, I designed the story by establishing the conclusion first and building backward. Even though I ended up deconstructing and rebuilding it after watching more Batman… the overall structure remained largely unchanged.

However, my inability to make it consistently engaging from beginning to end stems entirely from my inexperience. It’s a writer’s duty to make even the less exciting parts interesting, and I fell short in that regard. In other words, I lacked the consideration a writer should show readers. You shouldn’t feel fatigued after reading a chapter.

Originally, I planned for about 350 chapters. While the central characters’ stories are complete, my initial plan included more depth about the Elector, the religious orders, the dark priests, and the shadowy collusion of the “heroes.” Beatrice and the Rose Revolution were also meant to have more prominence…

But covering all of that—I think I overestimated my capabilities. As the writer, I knew the ending, but readers didn’t… and I missed that crucial point.

Another regret concerns Maria and Elisabet. Since I had their conclusion already mapped out… it was extremely difficult to develop their relationship more deeply throughout. After all, the concept of “a descendant of a powerful witch who pretends to be strong and dignified but is actually a twenty-year-old mother with many unfulfilled desires” isn’t easily relatable. I was just hoping not to receive criticism, so I was delighted that everyone loved Maman.

Well… I won’t discard the parts I couldn’t include. I plan to present them someday in different forms and stories with different messages. I had planned extras too, but I decided it would be better to write entirely new stories rather than extras. Of course, these will be completely new stories, not sequels to “The Hero’s Downfall Report.”

Looking back, was it an amazing piece of writing? Well, probably not.

But was it a story I wanted to write? Yes. It was a story I wanted to write and a world I wanted to create, and I’m truly grateful that you joined me in this stubborn endeavor.

Thank you so much for being with me throughout this year.

Have a wonderful day, and I’ll see you in the blessed new year.