No Hero

Volume 7, Epilogue: Character Introductions

Translated by lucathia (proofread by Trespasserby & Taffygirl13)

Sin Simon: The leader of the Church’s Sin Elimination Committee. “Sin” is actually a position. Once someone becomes Sin, they must forfeit their original name, changing their name to “Sin,” leaving only their family name. Sin Simon’s current identity is unknown.

Ri Ji Yan: The master and the young master’s father, but their actual blood relation bears investigation.

Luo Ye: Ri Ji Yan’s brother from the same father but different mother. According to his position in the family hierarchy, he can be considered to be the master and the young master’s uncle, but the actual relation is much more complicated.

Elowyn: The master and the young master’s biological mother.

Dong Fang Lei: Curtis’s personal butler.

Afterword

I accidentally went over the word limit again. My original plan was for this to be the final volume. In fact, in the very beginning, this was going to be five volumes long. Then came volume 6, volume 7… And now, I’m afraid that it will take volume 8 for this story to conclude. It will be eight volumes1 just like The Legend of Sun Knight, so that might be a good thing, too?

I already had plans since Eclipse Hunter to write about the business side of the Sun Emperor, along with his scarier face. I didn’t think that it would take me an entire series just to write about matters between the brothers. It took me until the latter half of No Hero before I could develop this plot. When I began writing, I knew it would be an involved process, but I didn’t expect the magnitude to be even more immense than I imagined!

Not only was I unable to conclude No Hero in the planned amount of books, I even ended up with this whole plot revolving around Daystar City (*holds head*). In fact, during volume 7, I had this frightening thought of wanting to write about Charles’s past, but I still have other stories to complete. I am really conflicted about which plot bunnies to tackle first!

I experimented with having more dialogue in this volume, in order to have some of the details explained more clearly. However, I was also afraid that too much dialogue would make people feel more… more what? I don’t really know how everyone would feel about having more dialogue.

I can only forever continue the endless search for a better balance.

Charles is an extremely stubborn guy. In fact, I’m the same too, so I guess you can say that I took this trait from myself and “exaggerated” upon it. So, he is really super stubborn!

Even when he feels negativity, he won’t ever give voice to it. He won’t even complain to himself. Just how stubborn can he be? I don’t even understand! Also, whenever I want to write about his true feelings, I’m unable to write directly about them. No matter what I write, I feel like they aren’t feelings that Charles would allow himself to have?Just how utterly stubborn can this guy be? He won’t even allow himself to entertain the thought!

So, the author can only make him take drugs.

P.S. Painkillers can indeed make people dizzy, but they probably won’t have the same effect on humans as they had on Charles. If you aren’t a vampire, please do not try this.

After getting drugged, Mr. Butler is finally more honest. I can finally write about his true feelings toward Ezart and Curtis without going against his gentle and sincere nature.

Why did I choose such a difficult fellow as the main character of a first person story in the first place?

With each book I wrote, I would wonder whether my brain had stopped working. But before I knew it, my brain had stopped working seven times, and I had completed seven books.

Although I was doubtful and the writing process was difficult, I never regretted choosing him as the main character of a first person story. As to what kind of contradiction this is, I sometimes really want to investigate just what kind of structure my brain has.

Strange, the topic has derailed too far. Let’s get back to the scary face of the Sun Emperor. There is a gap of around six to seven years between Eclipse Hunter and No Hero. Many things happened during these years. I tried to depict it in No Hero for everyone.

All in all, this pair of brothers (who are also like father and son) will endlessly fight, forgive, and love each other. It’s really just the same as any other family.

Maybe others wouldn’t be as theatrical, but children will always have a rebellious phase, just like how a cocoon must be forcefully burst open during a metamorphosis. Parents will always have a hard time getting used to their child no longer being a child. Although they’re happy to see their children spread their wings, they also cannot accept the fact that their child is about to leave the nest.

Besides, our Ah Ye always forgets to call home to comfort his petulant father… I mean, gēge.

Fine, I really did treat the brothers like father and son as I wrote.

This time, it even involves the love and hate of the previous generation. It’s becoming more and more like a soap opera. After all, I always take inspiration from real life—but I haven’t been watching any soap operas! I don’t understand how I ended up writing something that is so much like a soap opera~~

In this volume, I also put into words the relationship between Curtis and Charles. I always felt that everyone needs an excuse for what they do. He clearly thought of him as family, was clearly very devoted, was clearly a loyal dog butler, yet he always needed a sufficient and satisfying excuse that could convince himself that he wasn’t a loyal dog.

Therefore, Sadina, who understood her own grandson well, already helped find an excuse for him.

It isn’t anything easy to honestly admit that you are willing to sacrifice yourself for someone else, no matter how grave the sacrifice, no matter how right or wrong, no matter how completely and utterly biased.

However, regarding this, Ri Xiang Yan and Ri Xiang Ye have always been very good at it.

By Yu Wo

Character Introductions

Nitewalker

Profession: Taxi driver

Young Master’s opinion: How cool!

Alex

Profession: Priest

Young Master’s opinion: Seems like a good guy.

Ni Cai

Profession: Doctor

Young Master’s opinion: Kill him!