Yuusha no Segare

Volume 2, Afterword

Broadband internet connections started to become common around the time I finished high school and was moving on to college.

Actually, I think the reduction in price and wide adaptation of broadband connections laid the foundations for the internet becoming so popular, but I’m sure there must be some readers of this book who don’t even know what the term 『Broadband』 means.

Back when I was a highschool student, internet connections were divided into 『Narrowband』 and 『Broadband』 connections.

As the terms “narrow” and “broad” imply, broadband connections were fast and had a large data capacity that used technology such as ADSL and CATV, and in the current day, these networks are being replaced by fiber optic connections.

On the other hand, narrowband connections used technology based on analog telephone lines, such as ISDN, and while they had low capacity and low speed, they were also much cheaper.

It was a time when the capabilities of digital devices and completeness of the online experience were completely incomparable to how it is today, so there were people who were able to get by just fine with narrowband connections, but back then, being able to 『load the homepage in a few seconds』 was a kind of status symbol, this is actually quite terrifying.

The connection was based on top of the analog phone lines, with a pay-as-you-go system where the bill would increase the more you used it. Moreover, the logic was the same as making a phone call to the ISP through a modem, so when establishing the connection, you would hear sounds from the modem that would make you wonder if it was not possible to do something about this.

After booting up the PC and initiating a network connection,

『Ga ga ga ga ga ga piiiiiiiiiiii hyo ro ro ro ro ro ro ro ro!!』

If you wanted to send an email,

『Ga ga ga ga ga ga piiiiiiiiiiii hyo ro ro ro ro ro ro ro ro!!』

Every time a customer at your part-time work place asked you to check the inventory,

『Ga ga ga ga ga ga piiiiiiiiiiii hyo ro ro ro ro ro ro ro ro!!』

And then, depending on the time of the day and the performance of the computer,

『Zu… Zu… Zu… Zu…』

The home page would load so slowly that you could almost hear the sound.

It was almost the same as waiting for a fax to come through.

Something of that standard was quite common, so when broadband connections became more common and detailed home pages could be displayed just a second after clicking the mouse, it was something of a revolution.

Despite that, if you go to an electronics store in the modern day,

“Would you like to purchase a new internet connection~ Would you like to purchase a mobile data plan~”

You get people selling high-speed internet connections in a manner that makes you think even cucumbers or Pacific saury are sold more carefully. This is actually quite terrifying.

It’s been a while. I am Wagahara Satoshi, a fossil from the digital Triassic Period.

The things I’ve talked about so far are from about twenty years ago. You’re pretty much an old man once you start reminiscing about the past, but I don’t want to go back to those times or think that things were better back then, so I’m probably still just barely safe.

During the writing of the first book of this series, 『Yuusha no Segare』, I talked about how I carried out research regarding the current atmosphere in which current high schoolers take their exams, but students do not just live for the sake of studying.

Studies are certainly their first priority, but life-enriching methods of playing and having a private life are also important parts of living.

However, these are quite difficult to research. More like, completely impossible.

If an old man halfway through his thirties shows up at middle and high schools around the city during a weekday and asks to interview the students, it will definitely have the opposite effect.

However, trying to look back on my own high school life for reference is no good as, apart from using digital devices, when I try to recall what kinds of things I did with my friends for fun, I can only think of 12-hour marathon runs of Daihinmin, which is of no use at all.

Part of me wishes that I had led a more vibrant student life, but the answer would definitely be “no” if you asked me whether I could live such a life if I had the ability to relive those years. So I don’t think that I want to go back to those times or think that things were better back then at all.

This book is about the 『now』 of students who are worrying about what they should aim for and how to live their lives.

In the end, most of the things they worry about will not make sense until the appropriate time comes, and while the problems are often easier to solve than they first appear, I would still like to believe that thinking hard about these issues will be helpful someday.

I will continue to think hard for the purpose of making another interesting story for the next volume, and hope to reunite with all of you people who have read this book again someday.

Goodbye!