Tales of Leo Attiel ~Portrait of the Headless Prince~

Sorry for keeping you waiting!

... Even if I say that, those of you who have just read this book probably won’t have any clue about what you are going to be reading here next.

It would be one thing if this was a popular series which hadn’t come out in a while, but this book is the first volume of a new series. And there must be plenty of people picking up a book by this author for the first time. But in actual fact, that strange ‘sorry to keep you waiting’ greeting was not meant for the readers.

Around about the end of last year, Sugihara Tomonori folded his arms as he sat in front of his desk. This useless adult, who was no longer young but who really doesn’t exude the dignity of a veteran, was worried about ‘becoming a productive member of society’.

He had written successively about a gladiator who got caught up in a plot and made into the body-double to the heir to the throne of a large country; then (under a different publishing label!) about how, on a battlefield filled with heroes and braves, a boy rose in position not through physical strength or magic power, but only thanks to his own inborn cunning; and finally about the adventures of an ordinary boy, and of his older sister who yearned for a world of fairies.

“So, what comes next?”

The sense of being unable to move forward was like a gaping hole had opened wide in his chest.

That's right, he was racking my brains for an idea of what to write for his next novel.

Although various fragmentary ideas, such as Celtic mythology, karate, ninjas, yakuza, teachers, MRV missiles, spirit possession, boxing, warring states... came to mind, he could not find anything that clinched things within him. Given that worrying endlessly was probably nothing but a waste of time, this man, who was seriously worried, decided to waste time doing whatever he wanted instead – sorry, I mean he gave ‘his own seriously worried self’ some time off instead.

After spending several weeks in complete idleness, a certain name surfaced within his brain.

Leo Attiel.

The sound of that name carried with it a mix of joy and nostalgia, like unexpectedly meeting an old acquaintance in the street. Right, at the time, he hadn’t abruptly come up with something, but rather, he had known that name since long ago.

Several years ago, when he was writing ‘Rakuin no Monshou’ under Dengeki Bunko and was coming to the end of the ‘story of the west’, he though to himself, ｆ𝘳e𝒆w𝗲𝐛𝘯𝐨νe𝚕.cｏ𝓶

“Maybe the next one will be the ‘story of the east.” And so he started to ponder about the various countries and powers that were dotted around to the east of Mephius, the lead actor.

In the end, and perhaps also because of the author’s own lack of ability, not even half of the memo produced at the time was put to use, and, for some reason, only Leo Attiel’s name and a brief outline of his career stuck in the author’s mind for a long time after.

The name ‘Leo Attiel’ did not only bring feelings of nostalgia with it. The various settings and scribblings concerning Leo and Principality of Atall, the many scenes from Leo’s life, the innumerable anecdotes that drew a picture of Leo’s personality, all came flooding back one by one with so much strength that it was impossible o stem the tide.

It was exactly as though Leo was complaining to the author,

“Have you finally remembered? In that case, hurry up and write about me. Tell my story to as many people as you can.”

Sugihara Tomonori – actually this is kind of a pain, so, basically, I – stiffened my resolve and took up my pen.

That greeting at the beginning – “Sorry to have kept you waiting!” – was addressed from the author to none other than to his main character, Leo Attiel.

An old hero, forgotten by history. I want to tell to as many as possible the ‘true’ tales of a person who is by no means famous, or who is only known because of his bad reputation. It was with a passion a bit like that of a history writer’s that I finished penning this book.

Those of you who have already finished reading it will have realised that the lead actor in this story did not appear much in this volume. However, I hope that you, the readers, will look forward to seeing how Leo, who is currently still an unreliable boy, will leap to the centre of this historical tale.

P.S.

As written in this afterword, this humble book is set on the same stage as ‘Rakuin no Monshou’. If it had been a direct sequel, however, it wouldn’t have been possible to enjoy it without knowing the previous series, and I wanted those who have not read ‘Rakuin’ to be able to pick this up without worries.

Although of course, if this book motivates you to take an interest in the author’s other series, nothing could make me happier...

--- Sugihara Tomonori