EpilogueG.o.dou was aware this was occurring within a dream.After spending a lively Christmas Eve with his friends, he was supposed tobe sleeping soundly on his bed. But instead, Kusanagi G.o.dou"sconsciousness was currently wandering on a wide plain who knows where.Looking up at the sky, he saw a waxing crescent moon.Other than that, this was a desolate land without anything of note.Neither creatures nor buildings were present. If anything, the sceneamounted to a sea of tall silver gra.s.s growing haphazardly where onecould vaguely sense a mysterious atmosphere of incoming autumn.G.o.dou"s attention was drawn to the sounds of a stringed instrumentreverberating across the desolate plain.The tone color did not resemble that of the j.a.panese zither known as thekin. Undoubtedly, this wondrous melody was filled with exotic foreignflavor. Regardless where the tune was first composed, it must haveoriginated somewhere far to the west of j.a.pan.Otherwise aimless in the dream, G.o.dou could not help but begin to wanderacross the wilderness in search of the musical performer.Less than half a month had pa.s.sed since he last listened to Luo Cuilian"syueqin performance in a corner of Mount Lu. Perhaps because of that,G.o.dou was certain that the person playing the melody was definitely nothis sworn elder sister.Perhaps the performer was someone whose heart was burdened withinextinguishable sadness and regret?Such an image surfaced from a corner of his mind. The delicate andpersisting tune was infused with emotional pulsation, thereby causingG.o.dou to feel uncharacteristically sentimental.At this time, a voice reciting a poem could be heard extremely close by.In yonder days, there was an evil dragon in the sea. The king immediatelydrew his bow and shot an arrow, wounding the dragon right in the chest —The instant this voice entered his ears, G.o.dou could not help but tremble.The feeling was as though he was hearing a song in praise of an enemyfor whom he was destined for an inevitable encounter. A song that filledhim with a sense of hostile, oppositional and compet.i.tive spirit.In any case, G.o.dou quickened his pace and approached the owner of thevoice.Pushing the tall silver gra.s.s apart, G.o.dou was finally able to see the singerplaying the instrument."It"s you!"G.o.dou was struck with surprise, for the person on the opposite end of hissights was someone he had seen before.Sitting upright and dignified amidst the vast wilderness of the plain, gentlycaressing a trapezoid zither on her lap was a princess dressed in amagnificent Juunihitoe kimono with long, gorgeous, flaxen-colored hair andeyes as clear as crystal gla.s.s.The Princess of Gla.s.s whom G.o.dou had encountered multiple times in theNetherworld.Noticing G.o.dou"s arrival, the princess stopped plucking the instrument inher hand and a faint smile appeared on the corner of her lips."I have been waiting for quite some time, Rakshasa Monarch. As for theimpertinent act of appearing in Your Highness" dream without priorconsent, I do humbly beg forgiveness.""That"s completely not an issue. But why are you in my dream!?"Faced with G.o.dou"s confusion, the Princess of Gla.s.s gradually brightenedher smile."In actual fact, I received a request from your adoptive mother, theG.o.ddess who urged me to deliver this message to you no matter what andbestowed upon me in the Netherworld the technique of dream encounters.""Adoptive mother — in that case, it must be Pandora?"The one who proudly declared herself his adoptive mother with excessivefrivolity. As might be expected within a dream, G.o.dou swiftly recalledmemories from the Netherworld.The Princess of Gla.s.s politely confirmed G.o.dou"s question with an answerof "Indeed.""Come to think of it, I cannot see her easily unless I use that [Ram]something or other. But anyway, why did she ask you to deliver hermessage? Are you very close with Pandora or is there some otherreason?""My former self and that G.o.ddess" ancestor... If you trace back to their veryroots, one could consider them as sharing the same homeland. That is thenature of our relationship."The princess brushed the issue aside with a vague answer. G.o.dou did notpursue the matter any further.After all, it was probably a long story. Instead, G.o.dou chose to cut straightto the chase."So, what is the message?""Yes, King Perseus, whom you recall, was recently slain in preparation forwhen the "King"s Arrowhead" shall enter the battlefield. Please be extracareful.""Perseus slain!?""Indeed. The "Arrowhead" is the divine child"s blade which stands equal tothe Divine Sword of Salvation. A blade that shall one day tear you apartand bring forth destruction to the land. For the sake of the soon impendingday of battle, please bear this firmly in mind."The princess bowed her head deeply. G.o.dou expressed understanding.Indeed, this should be a warning of the "King of the End," the strongest[Steel]."Very well, I will try my best to remember this, to suddenly beware of a guywhom I"ve never even seen before. But then again, won"t I forgeteverything in the end once I wake from the dream, just as always?"G.o.dou"s question for confirmation caused the princess to suddenly smileand answer cheerfully."Please rest a.s.sured. Even if you were to forget the words, your ferocioussoul shall never forget any precautions related to battle — Moreover, thisapplies even more to Kusanagi-sama"s words compared to mine.""So this is really a warning?""No, you are simply being informed of a premonition. However, perhapssomething unexpected may happen?"At some point in time, the Princess of Gla.s.s had started gazing gently atG.o.dou.Her word choice also shifted subtly, showing slightly more affection."The inevitable encounter with the arriving "Arrowhead" will undoubtedlyprove to be a threat. However, ill fate is not everything it entails. Although itis not a certain G.o.ddess" box, when all disasters are over, hope will surelyappear.""Hope huh."Watching G.o.dou"s face as he muttered to himself, the princess nodded."Fufu, among all G.o.d-slayers in history, your att.i.tude towards power isespecially free and unfettered. Perhaps because of that, you might obtainpower instead. I — once known in the past as... The G.o.ddess" Daughter,pray for your victorious fortune in battle, Kusanagi-sama!"The Princess of Gla.s.s smiled as she spoke these words.Unfortunately, G.o.dou did not catch her words clearly because hisconsciousness was rapidly getting hazy.As he gradually woke up from the dream, surely early Christmas morningwas arriving. After waking up, memories of this unexpected gift wouldsurely vanish.Be that as it may, G.o.dou thanked from the bottom of his heart this modestgift delivered by these female acquaintances.AfterwordThis series has finally reached the publication of its twelfth volume.The story that began in spring has finally reached winter, while theinterpersonal relations between characters are approaching completion.Furthermore, in accordance to the current volume"s theme of the "winterfestival," it would be great if everyone could enjoy the story... And ignorethe fact that the actual season differs rather substantially from thepublishing date (wry laugh).Also, that particular exalted person makes a long-awaited reappearance.Within the story, she mentioned she had defeated a certain G.o.d in thepast. At the time, she acquired an authority conferring strategic and FengShui properties, thereby "ma.s.sively raising the agricultural productivity andeconomic power of the town where she resides." So long as she remainspresent at a location, the shocking truth is that the city will develop withouthindrance!Were she a feudal lord or general in an SLG simulation game, this woulddefinitely be considered cheating. "Possessing greatness beyond allemperors" is something only a person like her could boast.Oh, by the way, this ability does not activate without a minimum thresholdpopulation. Hence, it is completely useless at her current residence (deepin an uninhabited mountain)...Well then, the TV anime gradually approaches with the pa.s.sage of time.Production is going smoothly! ...I am praying for the best while I work onpromotional activities (laughs). Broadcasting is set to begin July on variouschannels including Tokyo MX, Sun TV, TV Aichi, BS1 1 and AT-X.The PV has already been released to the public at the promotional eventas well as the anime website.Whether or not it is due to author bias, I think that everyone will definitelylook forward to the anime once you watch the PV, so please show yoursupport and check it out everyone.The next volume is scheduled for release during the summer. However,the storyline is still set in midwinter.That said, since it is the summer season after all, missing out on oceans,swimming pools and similar settings and the various naturallyaccompanying outfits would be too much of a shame.Hence, I"ve come up with a story idea that allows summer and winter fun tobe enjoyed simultaneously. If possible, please look forward to the arrival ofthe vacation story in the next volume.