Author's note

Alright, I'm going to try and keep this brief.

Hello, and thank you so much for reading. I hope you found the story entertaining. It has been really fun researching and writing this series—reading up on Japanese folklore, spiritual practices, various yokai and spirits, and trying my best to respectfully integrate them into my story. Same goes for the African side as well. I had to read a lot about my own culture, and various other African cultures, in order to achieve proper representation. It was fun, educational, and I will definitely do it all again when I have the time. After all, this was just the first volume.

Something else I wanted to say—when I first saw the prompt for the contest, I was really excited. I saw the opportunity to share what I haven’t really been seeing in modern international media: a fun exploration of African cultures. And the fact that the idea I had for the story was going to be shonen anime-inspired plus romance just made me all the more eager to begin writing and sharing about these two incredibly rich and beautiful cultures—African and Japanese. It was a dream project come true. And it was thanks to the contest prompt: Love transcending boundaries.

A few VIPs I would like to quickly say thank you to:

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Lihinel

Thank you for following the story from the start, and being the first to comment on every chapter. Your punctuality scares me, but I also really appreciate it. Thank you.

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Sino

Thank you for dropping the longest comments on every chapter, dissecting and diving deep into the story, characters, and culture. It was an absolute gem reading your comments every time. You are the GOAT.

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Nika Zimt

The amazing Nika Zimt.

Thank you so much for the absolutely beautiful fanarts, and the eventual updated book cover. I really, really appreciate all your efforts. Thank you so, so much for your contributions to my story.

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And to the new readers, thank you for reading and liking the story. I really appreciate you as well.

Slow out.