Gahhhh, what a pain~! This Volume was by far the toughest to write, because it had a lot riding on its shoulders! Namely, Lune finally got to iron things out with his family, which was supposed to be a way more touching moment, but I've recently realized that I'm utter garbage at writing soppy moments in my stories. Still, it was fun seeing Lune and Latham's brotherly prank war, having Cecily interact with her in-laws, and of course, the legendary sword Prototype making a reappearance from Volume 1. It definitely revived the plot of this Volume for me, which brings me to my next point.

Right, this Volume sort of got divided down the middle, didn't it? I had completely forgotten to write some chapters in advance for the 7 day school trip I went to at the time, so there was also that pause where I just couldn't write because of all the drunk highschoolers around me. Still, it was a fun experience, and me and a couple of my closest buddies got to watch the second season of Jujutsu Kaisen together on the TV. It was an unforgettable experience, and it also came in handy for a more accurate description of the Grimhearts' journey back home.

Now, onto the initial draft differences! Let's see, did you know that, in the original draft, Lune and Cecily were only supposed to get engaged in this Volume? Yeah, I'm being serious! The whole engagement/wedding subplot of Volume 18 wasn't supposed to happen so early on, and instead it would've just been Lune proposing and that's it. I think I did the smart move in giving the idea some more love like I did. Next up, the main star of the show - younger brother Latham! Such a cool name, I'm glad it fits him! I was actually on the fence between giving Lune a younger brother or sister, but ultimately settled on the former after realizing just how many light novel protagonists have a younger sister (Ed being one of them, actually). So yeah, after that I thought "What personality would a younger brother have?" and settled for the prankster archetype. It was fun to write about a personality I never wrote before, but I felt a person like Latham who is a clown on the outside would have this more serious and mature reflection on the inside. This can be seen when he saves Cene from falling down the walnut tree, and even when Lune allows Flip to bite Cene. He's really trying his hardest to get on the "Awesome Uncle" list, it seems.

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Now Beth, the other new character... She was always meant to mirror Nelly, or at least what Lune saw in Nelly. This somewhat cheeky, carefree and naive child that still seemed wet around the ears, it was a way to get him to think about her a bit more, and to accentuate that fatherly need to protect. Though she was kind of put on the backburner because I wanted to finish Latham's character arc first, the two most palpable moments for her would be when she ran over the baby lamb and when she lashed out at the adults in her and D's house. I wanted to explain what happens when a teenager accepts responsibility, and what happens when they don't. For now, all we can do is wish her the best. She has D, her siblings and their parents, so I'm sure she'll be fine.

Well, that appears to be the end of our little chat. If this was a shrink visit, I'd say "Looks like our time's up", eh? Wait, that'd suggest you guys are the ones going to the therapist, even though writing Transcontinental has always been a form of therapy for me. Eh, you get the gist. That's all for now, I gotta think up the next Volume's cover!

Once again, this is Mikan Akai, signing out!