Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu?

Volume 8, Author Notes

Volume 8, Author Notes

I’m really grateful to the readers who bought this book. I’m Inoue Kenji, in charge of writing this book.

This series has finally broke double digits and is at the 11th volume! There’s about 1.5 million characters altogether! I’ll like to thank the readers who accompanied me down this path while I was criticized by my superior ‘it’s difficult to read’, ‘I have no idea what you’re writing’, ‘rewrite this again’ for my Japanese. That’s strange. I should be the one in the company writing the most, but it feels like there’s no improvement at all…

On a side note, amongst the latest mail, there were readers who asked me “Why must you hide the fact that you wrote ‘Baka Test’?”. I’ll use this author’s note to reply then.

My line of work is related to designing, and the details of the work includes lots of newly developed technology, most of it trade secrets that couldn’t be revealed. Since they’re secrets, we have to hide the technology that’s being developed. Our company earns profits through the secrets, so we would be strict about it and not let it out. We workers have a duty to keep it a secret. Also, our company has an ‘investigation committee’ to manage the secrets. A few important members of the company were members of this ‘investigation committee’, and they would take action against us when we reveal secrets.

Okay, then, let’s use our imagination to think of what will happen next. What will happen to Inoue Kenji, who works in this kind of company, is found out to be writing a light novel called ‘Baka to Tesuto to Shoukannjuu’?

—Yes, that’s right. I’m almost definitely going to be called up by these important members in the company for an investigation. Then, what kinds of questions will happen in the investigations?

The important members are all gathered silently in the wide meeting room. As it involves the company’s secrets, all the exits are tightly locked. I’m standing silently in the middle and watching my superiors read through the ‘Baka Test’ novels as reference.

And then, the chief investigator of this investigation committee will start questioning.

Chief investigator: “Inoue Kenji-kun, as for this…eh, what’s this called…this ‘Baka to Tesuto to Shoukanjuu’. It’s written by you, no?”

Me: “Ye yes…”

Chief Investigator: “Are you certain?”

Me: “Yes…I did write this book…”

Chief investigator: “Then—can you please explain the contents of this novel?”

I have firm belief that I would collapse here and want to cry.

I have to explain the contents of the novels I wrote to people I know, not my colleagues or friends, but to my superiors who’re about as old as my parents. I have to explain that it’s a comedy, and I have to do it in a meeting room full of tension. Wouldn’t it be normal that I would be crying in shame, trying to get away as I’m asked to do such a thing?

But at that time, all the exits are sealed, so I have nowhere to run to. At that moment, I can only endure the shame in my heart and explain the contents of Baka Test to them.

Me: “That’s…that’s a story with a unique high school as the setting…the students there specialize in doing stupid things and will use a summoning system to battle…”

Chief investigator: “Fuum…”

I can even think of those impressive and important people chatting away ‘what’s the summoning system’, ‘what’s this war in school’, ‘letting those students—kids who’ll do stupid things battle each other? What are the parents doing?’.

Chief investigator: “Then, let me ask you something.”

Then the chief investigator questions me.

Chief Investigator: “As for the ‘summoning system’, please explain further as some of it may include secrets our company doesn’t wish to reveal.”

I really want to run away! I want to force open the locked doors, scream and get away from this meeting room.

All the people here are technicians, so they would be extremely sensitive to the term ‘system’. Thus, it’s very normal for them to ask about the test summoning system. If I answer that this is a creation through coincidence and supernatural phenomena and that I don’t really understand this system, I’ll definitely be scolded things like ‘is this really good? You’re a technician’. They may even lecture me after this investigation is over. Sorry, I feel that that’s enough. Please let me go.

Also, there are other possibilities.

Chief investigator: “Over here(Vol 5 Author Notes), there’s a mention of research. I have to check if there’s any mention of our company’s secrets.”

Me: “No problems. I did not mention about our technology in the books.”

Chief investigator: “In that case, please explain the original meaning of the word ‘sou-uke’ to everyone here. If we’re not sure, we can’t make our decision.”

PLEASE JUST KILL ME ALREADY!

Anything related to technology may need a complete explanation. But for me to explain it to my bosses in so many different ranks, it’s like going on a painful training to release the human level of pain…if my eyes were suddenly clear on the next day and that I say something like ‘war can’t bring anything’, what should I do? Should I create a new religion?

Also, it won’t be just the chief investigator questioning me. Those direct superiors of mine who are identified as witnesses will ask me. It’s likely that they will ask this—

Superior: “There’re a lot of familiar names amongst the introduced characters, including mine, is there?”

Yes. Those antagonistic roles were designed off you guys.

Besides, even if I want to say it, I can’t say my thoughts out and just insist that ‘it’s just a coincidence’. But since it’s a novel I wrote, people will take it to read the contents, right? That’s human nature. But, even if they browse through until they find a character with their own name appearing, they should still be shocked about being treated like that. In that case, I won’t be able to come out and be outstanding. But this form of being outstanding didn’t exist in the first place, and so I guess it can be called a form of redemption since it is one…

That’s how it is. Because of these hidden possibilities, I couldn’t boldly declare the fact that I wrote Baka Test. Having explained so much, I wonder if the readers understand? If you do, please don’t care about what kind of person am I. Sorry…

Unknowingly, there’s very few pages left fo the afterwords. I’m really sorry. Then, let me write these tranks like you.

Illustrator Haga-san, Mizuki’s really cute! And Tamano-san! I’m really grateful. K-sama, I’m really sorry for delaying my scripts over and over again…Kagaya-san, who’s in charge of design, I’ve bothered you a lot all the time. Please continue to rate me. And to all the readers, thank you for accompanying the journey of this novel. I can’t express the gratitude in my heart no matter how many times I say it. I can’t send a letter but, but I’m really happy to read each mail one by one. From today on, I’ll work hard and come up with more interesting storys.

Then, let’s meet in the next volume, the continuation volume of the summoning battle.