110-Million Bride

by Natsume Akatsuki

  “I’ve got plenty of money.”

  Chris scratched at her scar again, in consternation this time. “Pfah. Fine. You’re on notice—I’ll get you to help me again soon.” Then a gentle smile came over her face.

  ……Huh?

  That smile, combined with the way she scratched her cheek… Something felt off. Or…like I’d seen them somewhere recently.

  You know, I’d been wondering: Why would Chris talk about “Darkness” and “Megumin” but go out of her way to refer to “Miss Aqua”?

  And then there was the fact that even her name sounded a bit like someone else I knew… Someone with the same color hair and even the same color eyes.

  That person called Aqua her “senior” and talked about “Miss Megumin.”

  But she still just called Darkness “Darkness.”

  Could it be because Darkness was her…friend?

  I had the urge for a little mischief.

  Chris was just getting up and waving good-bye when I said:

  “By the way, Lady Eris. Where are you keeping the divine item you took back from His Lordship?”

  “Oh, that? I sealed it up in the cave where the hydra used to—”

  Chris—or rather, the goddess Eris—stopped where she was, that same sweet smile frozen on her face.

  Afterword

  Natsume Akatsuki here, light-novel author and capable of telling one baby chick from another.

  An anime.

  We’re getting an anime!

  On that note, I’d like to let you know about this, that, and the other thing, but I’ll have to ask you to check The Sneaker WEB website for details.

  I swear I’m not just being lazy; they give me only so much space for these afterwords! I have other priorities for these pages. Please forgive me!

  On that note, I have a very important announcement.

  Behold: I have received four whole fan letters! Yahoo!

  Now, now, I know what you’re thinking: Why would he go out of his way to mention that? Ugh! But it’s just that it’s easy for me to count them because I store each one neatly and carefully.

  I suspect—indeed, am convinced and fully believe—that the majority of authors obsessively store their fan mail and then sit there smiling at it.

  I must admit, to my embarrassment, that I haven’t yet answered any of them.

  There’s a reason, though. I’m supposedly a professional writer, yet my handwriting is way worse than the stuff in these letters. Please just hang on until I clean it up a little bit. I’m reading a famous manga featuring a calligrapher as a main character, so I’m sure I’ll get it soon.

  I know what you’re thinking: This is what he was so eager to talk about? What about that other stuff? Okay, I’ll throw you a bone.

  I just recently became Natsume of Saitama!

  What I mean is, I moved house.

  I promise it isn’t because my parents chased me out, telling me that since I had a real job, it was time to give up my life as a residential security guard and get out of the house. I use the word moved, but it’s only temporary; I fully intend to land back at my family home and resume my shut-in status.

  You’re probably getting angry about now (he skipped telling us about the anime to write this inane crap?), so let me append a proper announcement.

  A new spin-off, separate from May There Be an Explosion on this Wonderful World!, is going to be serialized briefly on The Sneaker WEB. The main character will be a certain assistant to a certain unprofitable shopkeeper.

  As for the plot, it will feature townspeople, each of whom naturally has one or two little quirks, coming to this character for advice. A lonely girl makes a bad choice of friends; a certain princess, influenced by one NEET’s tall tales (all taken from Mito Komon), gets the idea to imitate her hero… In short, it lets us focus on characters who don’t normally get to stand in the spotlight. I hope you’ll give it a look.

  Okay, then. Once again I owe a profound debt to Kurone Mishima-sensei, my editor, and all the many other people without whom this book would not have seen publication.

  But especially to you, dear reader.

  You have my deepest thanks!

  Natsume Akatsuki

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

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