Feb 08, 2025
Thanks for reading to the end!
Perhaps Sprout could have found some peace in the city had she not awoken to her full instincts and been left with PTSD from the entire ordeal. She definitely deserves a better life after what she's been through and what she accomplished.
The ending is definitely rushed. When I first outlined the story, it was twice as long as it is now, but I had to bend to the reality of the contest deadline. Originally, I would have spent much more time with Sprout, Aiko, and the gynoid in the city, the character deaths wouldn't have all been so close together, and Sprout would have spent a bit more time in the village at the start.
But Sprout's conclusion sets up a sequel where she, now believing herself to be a powerful hunter, a human and a nekomimi, learns the hard way that there's only so much she can do on her own as she hunts down the remaining militants. If I ever write such a sequel, you can be sure we'll see more of the gynoid mom and of Aiko. Though you are right it would have been good to see more of the gynoid trying to figure out how to be a mom in the city setting.
