Afterword (Contains major spoilers for the main story; reading after finishing the book is recommended)
You don't need a blade to bring down a hero; it just takes three Command Seals, a lot of sacrifices and mud, and advanced magecraft to keep from going insane... That's actually a much bigger hassle than getting a blade ready. Anyway, that's pretty much True Archer's true identity!
After a conversation that went something like:
Me: "Still, even if he has become _______, I doubt _____ would ever shoot a little kid like Tine. Even in Fuyuki, when he was ___, he came to his senses when he saw _____."
Nasu: "You shouldn't underestimate revenge, especially revenge on the gods. It's true that aiming his bow at a child is an absolute taboo for him, Ryōgo, but he wouldn't have a hope of getting back at the gods if he wasn't prepared to break that taboo."
I made up my mind to go ahead with it.
By the way, I do have a answer to the problem of how he tailored that "hide" that human works don't penetrate. It has so little to do with the main plot of Fake, however, that I don't know if I'll get a chance to explain it. I'll have to hope Fake does well enough to justify a materials book where I can put that kind of behind-the-scenes detail...
With that out of the way: Narita here! It's been a long time.
The Fate smartphone game recently depicted a new aspect of Gil (Toyotomi Gilyoshi). I'm in the middle of worrying whether or not what I do in Fake should reflect that.
Yes, Fate/Grand Order. FGO.
The FGO scriptwriters told me, "Spoilers kill half the fun, so we're going to keep all the little things secret." As a result, I got to enjoy FGO's fifth chapter, which is set in the United States, completely fresh, but that policy can also lead to tragedy.
*The following is condensed from exchanges that took place over a long period of time.*
Me, before writing Fake: "What? Is it really okay if I write about the _____ in the fifth ______ in Fake!?"
Nasu A: "Yes... Use it wisely."
Nasu B: "You can also use (material about Dumas' novels)!"
ME: "..."
Nasu C: "Don't hold back. Write as much as you want."
Me, while writing: "Hmm, yes... (This is juicy material... I'm sure no one's used it yet)..."
Nasu, wearing a gas mask: "Now announcing the Chateau d'If event and FGO chapter five!"
Me, in March: "Gwaarrgh (It overlaps with a bunch of plot elements in Fake)! (Dies in agony.)"
Nasu: "Who would have thought he'd actually die..."
I don't know how many people will actually know about the elements that this conversation was based on. That aside, Sanda-san, who watched the tragedy unfold from the sidelines, said that he had a "bad feeling" and asked to be shown scripts for events in advance if the characters in them overlapped with his work. Two weeks later, he screamed, "They overlap!" and I was forced to watch him rework the entire second half of the Case Files plot. But that's another story.
Anyway, you might think that I'm being too sensitive about redundant plot elements, and I probably am, but it's a fact that the story of FGO is just too interesting. I want to add more excitement to Fake so that it doesn't lose out.
Speaking of Sanda-san, I've also been having him supervise my depiction of magecraft and related subjects.
Sanda: "Gil's line here, about 'a desperate measure on the part of the Throne to curb the world's contradictions,' is about as unreasonable as saying, 'A desperate measure on the part of the Earth to prevent humans from flying into space — gravity!'"
Me: "But doesn't that sound like something he'd say? About the Earth?"
Sanda: "...It does!"
And so, working through sometimes fun, sometimes strict editorial oversight, we managed to put together a collection of rule violations that we could only get away with in a "fake" Holy Grail War that works differently from the one in Fuyuki. I hope that you enjoy it with an open mind as one of the "Holy Grail Wars held in distant, different worlds" that Da Vinci mentions in FGO! Francesca tinkered with the Holy Grail System a lot when she brought it to America, so, while there are things in Fake that would be categorically impossible with the Fuyuki Grail, I would appreciate it if you would bear in mind that this is not the Fuyuki Grail War.
Now, our full cast is finally in place. In book four, I'm going to write about Flat and the "white woman's" pasts. I'm also finally going to add magical battles between Masters, so I have feeling there will be ingredients for a lot of fighting. I'd like to show as many flowers blooming and scattering as I possibly can, so please look forward to the next book. Try to guess True Berserker and Watcher's true identities while you wait!
Book four will probably be published this winter, but I suspect that the final date will be determined by a combination of TYPE-MOON's various machinations and the schedule of Morii-san, who's drawing the manga version of Fake.
Every aspect of Morii-san's manga, from the magnificent battle scenes to the lively expressions on the characters' faces is genuinely great. Please pick it up if you have the chance!
My editor, Anan-san, who I gave a lot of trouble with deadlines; my Dura editor, Wada-san, who adjusted the schedule for Durarara!! — which I was working on at the same time — and everyone in the editorial department; all the concerned parties who I am indebted to through their Fate spinoffs, beginning with Sanda Makoto-san, Higashide Yūichirō-san, Sakurai Hikaru-san, Mashin Eiichirō-san, and Sanda Makoto-san; Team Barrel Roll, who did part of the Servant background research for me; Morii Shizuki-san, who has produced wonderful illustrations along with a number of character designs; Takeuchi Takashi-san and Urobuchi Gen-san, who honored me with their comments on the wrappers of books two and three — especially Urobuchi-san, for giving me permission to use "her" "son" — and, most importantly, Nasu Kinoko-san, who created Fate and provided me with editorial oversight; everyone at TYPE-MOON... as well as all the readers who picked up this book and made it this far:
Thank you very much!
April 2016, while believing it a secret that Watcher was originally Shielder.
Narita Ryōgo