AFTERWORD

Hello again, kentusrpg here!

This story became more popular than I've originally thought, so it makes me glad to write it. And we're pass something like a first arc since I got all the main-characters I've originally planned for into the story.

When I started publishing everything, I always read comments like “Don't make it a harem” and such, but I already set the course and noticed at some point: This is a bit of a satire. Plus, I need these typical tropes, to keep it interesting for me to write. Especially, since it's the story like I pictured them: A harem fantasy story with a character who doesn't want one!

So look, what archetypes do we have?

Classmate (even class president) as a love interest – check; she abuses the main-character whenever possible and dislikes him in general

Princess-character, which is also badass – check; she's overly badass and also an idiot, who get on the main-character's nerves

Strange beauty from another race – check; usually a love between them would be considered something in the line of bestiality and this story (like many others) forces them to take an interest in each other in a way, that's above-threshold

And everyone likes the main-character – check; one would use any opportunity to separate, the other is so clingy, that it annoys the main-character, and the last one is a no-no

There are still some archetypes missing, but this should be enough for now. Not that I'm out of ideas, but for the time being I don't need anyone else.

Well, there are a lot of typical situations in this story, so I won't sell it as something new, but I hope that the spin to it is unique enough to make it a pleasant read.

In this volume, the alfar are introduced, and my, are they odd. My personal problem with multiracial settings is usually that the other races are still much like humans or (like in Tolkien) are like idolized archetypes of what humans are supposed to be. The wise elves, the loyal dwarves, and such.

I'm a fan of mythology. Elves are known in Northern Europe mythology; the Norse referred to them as alfar, which are different from elves from the celtic mythology, who would be more like wood elves.

Norse alfar are mean, wise due to their age, but led by emotion and they don't like humans much, tricking them and even the gods whenever possible. They're like the embodiment of the bad side of humans. And what did I do to my alfar? They hate the word 'elf' and are forever stuck in puberty, loving sex jokes, pranks of bad taste and other stuff, you wouldn't expect from hundred years old people.

I experimented a bit for their appearance with my own drawings of Ara'ainn, and their physical behavior was mostly made up while writing the first draft of the story. I hope that the alfar seems strange to you.

So I had my alfar, but what about their view of humans? Well, I needed to pick something to give the humans some sort of alfr identity. Since there is so much fiction about bestiality, romance (and other things) between elves and humans and such, I decided that an alfr's sexual life is more similar to many animals'. Means an actual mating period and little sexual variety, they don't even have that much of fun while having intercourse.

Looking how human's sexual biology works is fascinating and disturbing for them, leading them to think, that all that humans care about is their sex-drive.

I'm especially proud of the reactions of Kenta and Kyou, especially since I'm sure that I would act the same way, if someone asks out of the blue if I'd pork a girl I'm currently with.

In this volume, I go a bit into the setting and how languages work. To put it simply: There is only one single language in this world, even though there are different degrees in mastering it. The standard ss'rak, for starters, slurs their words.

Then we have the heroes, who got an auto-translation function build in. This is a vital part of the setting, so remember it: One language originally in this world and the heroes speak and understand it due to this auto-translation.

Some terms don't translate, like names, places and plants, even though animal names do, as long as there is something similar in the respective languages.

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The way alfar names work is also a bit different. I won't delve that much into it, as long as nobody asks me, but they have a name (Ara) and a title (Ainn), they gain the latter when becoming an adult. Ainn means something along the line of "studious".

Alfar uses prefixes to discern relationships, but as Japanese have their suffixes, those get translated by the hero-system. Ara'ainn hears Kenta calling her 'Ko'Ara', while the elder calls her 'Ti'Ara', which is used for little children. A growing alfr is something very little and cute for them, as they live so long, while their childhood is rather short.

So while the Ainn is part of the name and not translated, the prefixes aren’t and are translated. Will knowing this help you? Only for some jokes.

Finally, I want to talk about Ara'ainn. I like her. She's funny, being overly curious and ready to try things out, even though this backfired at the end of the volume. But this happen if you withhold vital information regarding the curse, Kenta!

What I like most about her is the fact, that she actually tried to befriend Kenta and got all the way. While Kyou wants to end the relationship and Rine is so absorbed in her own thoughts, that she forces her fantasies onto Kenta, Ara'ainn is interested in the boy himself, and both of them have enough similarities to make a friendship work.

But now, while it was all A-OK on a platonic level, the curse interferes. So it'll be interesting, how things will unfold from here since both of them knows, that they're not supposed to find each other physically attractive.

So that's it. I hope that you read the next volume as well like always I'll do a little break after one volume. We'll work on Volume 4 during the break, so there will be fewer breaks between chapters.

Next time we start with the introduction of another secret of the hero-system and the beginning of the new adventure. Which means to go deeper into the Correo-plot, the oni and the lady they're working for!

HOW TO SUPPORT THE STORY

If you like to support the story, there are several ways.

The easy ones (no to little effort put into it and you remain anonymous):

1.) Vote on TWF. It's easy, just a few clicks, no account needed, and you've got a vote, which will last one week. The higher the story is on the list, the more likely it is that more people will take a look.

2.) Like Button. Under each chapter is a like button. Use it, and the statistics are going to my favor. (If you need FB or something else, please tell me).

3.) Become a Follower/Favorite. If you aren’t following the story via the Follower-option, consider doing so. Just go to the fiction page and choose “Add to your Bookshelf” on the right side. This not only boosts my confidence, but the number of Followers and Favorites is also visible for everyone on RRL.

4.) Rate this story. If you have a RRL-Account, you can rate this story on the fiction page. The higher the rating is, the higher it is ranked, therefore making it easier for the search function to be found. There is also WLN, where you can rate this story, even without an account.

5.) Upvote and downvote reviews. You can do that on the fiction page as well, and yes, you need an RRL account. The more a review is upvoted, the higher it is on the list. The more it's downvoted, the lower it is placed. So if you like to help, upvote the positive reviews, downvote the bad ones, and give visitors to the fiction page a more positive outlook to the story.

With the new version of RRL, up-/downvoting became a bit of a hassle (because the page reloads every time), but I'd appreciate it if you do it nonetheless.

Some effort involved (and you'll lose your anonymity):

1.) Write a comment. I really like to read your comments, I'm easily pleased by praise, I'll think about actual critique which is usable, and I like to converse with my readers in general. Even if you spot a typo, everything is fine. As long as you don't write stuff like "I hate your guts," "your story is full of shit," and "I don't like your MC," this is not really helpful. I can deal with critique, but I need reasons, I need personal outlooks, I need examples why something feels wrong.

2.) Write a review. Another way to increase the rank are reviews, also made on the fiction page. They have more "weight" when determining the rank of the story. Of course, advanced reviews have more weight.

To put it into perspective a half star rating without review made me fall 10 ranks, a 2-star advanced review made me fall about 80 ranks. So there is a lot of control here, how this story does on RRL.

Go the extra-mile

1.) Advertise the story. Be it on social media (there are also share-buttons at the end of each chapter), on other forums or fiction pages, blogs or by talking to friends, there are several ways to make this story known.

2.) Leave a review on WFG. If you have an account there, you can also make a review there. Of course, a positive one would help there.

3.) Apply as a proofreader. As a non-native, I need my PRs. And as I like to work on Volume 4 to some degree during the break to make releases more regular again, it'd be great if people would help me here. Especially as I have real problems right now in terms of PR, as my other two have some issues, which makes it hard for them to PR right now.

4.) Donate on PayPal and/or Patreon. I'm still trying to figure out a satisfying resolution for my Patreon, but for mere $2 it's currently possible to read the next chapter before everyone else (still without PR though, as we're still short-handed in that department). I'm still working on an end-solution, when I have one, I'll make another announcement.

The donations will only be used for the improvement of the story.

I hope to have you again in volume 4!