Afterword - Book 2 - Chapter 63 (Patreon)

Chapter 63: Burning Love Heart

(Original Chapter Title: Burning Love Heart)

Yes, the chapter title a Fire Bomber reference. And I managed to turn it into a bad joke. A+ me.

And yes, the Fire Bomber reference would have been clearer if I left it as Totsugeki Love Heart, but then I'd confuse every single reader that didn't watch the best Macross series (Macross 7; fight me, but those that come at me with Macross Plus, I'll point out that was the best OVA series (and a solid movie)).

More seriously, writing titles is one of the things I struggle with. As I break the books into sub-books I struggled, hard, to figure out names. Book 1's name was technically a placeholder that I ran out of time to replace. So yes, I sometimes sorely regret my decision to give each chapter its own title. A good title is evocative, yet it changes meaning as you read. It's a high standard that's impossible to meet regularly, at least for me. Some chapters I know their title before I write them, most I assign once I finish, and many I changed the title of while editing (as the observant might have noticed). I don't really have any significant point, it just came to mind after I finished editing this chapter for RR.

...Why is my brain suggesting things that would work better for a post-book afterword for this chapter afterword?

Anyhow, the shimagu definitely outwitted Remera's personnel this time around. Had Ranthia been forced to return to Remera without killing the [Leader], things might have gotten really bad for them. The shimagu would have been able to press their attack while the base's own focuses remained split and the command tent that was actually in use would have been easy to identify; the shimagu could have dealt significant damage.

Unfortunately for them, Ranthia happened. Just as they finally won the advantage they sacrificed—heavily—to obtain, the mastermind was cut down. And for whatever reason, no one else was able to reunify their forces to press the attack.

Tragedy visited Remera, but even if there were a few scary moments, Ranthia's immediate circle weathered the storm. Gailla lost friends, but they weren't people Ranthia knew—not truly. It's still enough to let one couple decide to press forward and accelerate plans that were already set.