Pleased to meet you—or h.e.l.lo again—this is Akihiko Odou.

This was my new series "Tsuk.u.modo Antique Shop". Did you like it?

This afterword can also be read by those who have yet to read the book.

This book takes place in the present and consists of four closed short stories. The stories revolve around the incidents between the people from the Tsuk.u.modo Antique Shop—the employees Tokiya Kurusu and Saki Miano, and the owner Towako Setsutsu—and the mysterious Relics—or the ones that obtained one of them.

In the following section I will go into each of the stories.

A pendulum that makes the coincidences you think up come true. The owner of this pendulum drowns in its power and tries to take Tokiya"s life out of a personal grudge. Will Tokiya be able to survive the menacing "willful" coincidences...? That"s the gist of the story.

This first chapter made the most work and took the longest. The previous first chapter had just been sc.r.a.pped, but wasn"t of any significance to the plot. As a result of not wanting to put in too much, I decided against an appearance of Towako, the owner. Personally, I think I managed to write what I wanted to write.

A myth says it heals any disease. Another myth says it inflicts an incurable disease.

A statue the owner of the Tsuk.u.modo Antique Shop brought that is surrounded by contradicting myths. Touching it by accident, Saki...?

I remember getting the idea for this chapter on the train to work. I recorded the key points using the memo function of my cell phone until I arrived at my working place. That day, I dropped by a family restaurant on my way home and worked out the plot. Thanks to that, writing this story went very smoothly. I just wish I got my ideas always like that.

A notebook that makes you remember anything you write in it. Etsuko Uwako, who has written something she wanted to remember no matter what, changes her mind and wants to forget it. She pays the Tsuk.u.modo Antique Shop a visit to find out about a method...

It"s important to make notes in order not to forget things. When I get an idea just before falling asleep, I always scribble it on the memo I put by my bed, while wrestling with the sandman. If I lose to the sandman and have to realiz that I forgot it the next morning, it makes me want to tear my hair out. Probably, my fellow writers have similar experiences?

A wallet that makes all your earnings disappear unless you spend them on the same day. The rather poor part-timer Tokiya gets cursed by that wallet and thus tries to find a way to get through these seven days without wasting any money...

A common j.a.panese phrase that translates to "spending one"s earnings before the night is out" led me to this idea, although I can"t agree with the phrase.

Always use your money wisely.

Well, there"s not much s.p.a.ce left. I"ll use it as always for the acknowledgment.

To Takagi-san, my editor in charge, Takeshima Satoshi-san who continues to provide me with ill.u.s.trations, the people who have helped this book to be published, and of course the readers.

Thank you so much.

I hope to see you again.

Akihiko Odou