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Reviews

Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start with Magical Tools, Vol. 10

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By Hisaya Amagishi and Kei. Released in Japan as “Madougushi Dahlia wa Utsumukanai” by MF Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by A.M. Cola.

After a volume of side stories that focused on other characters, we’re back to Dahlia and Volf. Who, you can be assured, are exactly the same. For better and for worse. Volf, at least, seems to be trying a bit harder to realize what his feelings for Dahlia are. Dahlia KNOWS what her feelings for Volf are, but he can’t possibly love her back, because there’s no way he can possibly get over the massive wall that is her low self-esteem. Fans of seeing Dahlia try to avoid getting credit for anything or paid for anything will be pleased to see that folks are kicking back against that on a regular basis now. Oh well, at least she managed to do well in her debut ball. Indeed, that’s the basic core of Dahlia. She’s beautiful, brilliant, and savvy, but refuses to see herself as anything but plain, basic, and doing the same things anyone could do. I hope a barony will help a bit, but I suspect she may need stronger methods.

It’s time for Dahlia’s debut, and that means learning how to dance. Fortunately, as with everything else she does, she picks up on it really fast – though she’s her own worst critic, as always. Unfortunately, Volf is called away to subdue a wyvern, and then take on giant bears, so may not be able to get there in time to dance with her. Fortunately, Gildo, his wife, and their staff are here to help, and it turns out Dahlia is a natural at making friends with noble wives almost without thinking about it. Later on she helps to invent a new kind of magical weapon just by thinking of the idea of insribing spell circles on both the inside and outside of the wand, and she and Volf go out for dinner at a high-class restaurant that specializes in monster recipes. But it’s not a date. Honest.

I do appreciate that it’s made clear every book that it’s not the readers. Half the cast assume they’re already dating, and the other half desperately want to do everything to make them date. And yes, this includes breaking the noble rules that say it’s too big a jump. Also, for all that Dahlia still occasionally reminds you this is technically an isekai by thinking about Japan, it’s made clear from the way others react that even without her memories from there, she is her father’s daughter, and would have been brilliant regardless. We haven’t seen Tobias for some time now, but it’s clear that his dumping her, along with her father’s death, really is responsible for EVERYTHING in this series, because Dahlia’s lack of desire for anything good to happen to her is painful. Fortunately, sometimes good things happen anyway. The ball is terrific.

Next time we might get a festival, which traditionally you invite a girlfriend or lover to. Volf has invited Dahlia. She’s already rationalized it. So has he, I think. For romantic masochists.

Love Between Fairy & Devil: Cang Lan Jue, Vol. 2

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By Jiu Lu Fei Xiang. Released in China on the JJWXC website. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Yu. Adapted by Ivy Fox.

As it turns out, the second volume of this series is the last one, and it’s also far more serious in tone. That’s not to say there aren’t funny moments, though. I haven’t seen the live-action drama based on this series, but from what little internet searching I did, it appears that it was “prettied up” a bit, with the books being seen as a dark fantasy with less humor and Dongfang Qingcang being purely evil rather than the brooding boyfriend preferred by live-action dramas. I have news for them, not only was there still a great deal of humor in this book (the side story about what happens to the legendary sword is particularly funny), but Dongfang Qingcang, while doing a lot of horrible things, is generally evil because he has no idea how to be anything else. The war between wanting to resurrect the Lady of the Scarlet Wastes and wanting to stay walking around with Xiao Lanhua is what drives this book, along with Xiao Lanhua’s crisis of faith. The character development is the plot.

We pick up where we left off, as Xiao Lanhua now has a body made from regeneration earth. Dongfang Qingcang also gives her a bone orchid to keep her safe. Unfortunately for him, the bone orchid also allows Xiao Lanhua to have dreams where the Lady of the Scarlet Wastes informs her that all Dongfang Qingcang wants is to use that body to resurrect the Lady, and that once that happens, Xiao Lanhua will be left to die. And this is not inaccurate, he really is planning this! It’s just, y’know, he’s wondering why he keeps wanting to have Xiao Lanhua always by his side. He’s much more comfortable when he’s allowed to beat the crap out of people and torture them by leaving their bodies crucified for weeks. Sadly, Xiao Lanhua loses her trust in him due to all this murmuring in her dreams, and is convinced to run away. Which is bad for everyone.

As I said, this is not really a book to read for plot. There’s a lot of supernatural battles. Cultivation is not specifically mentioned much, but you can feel its presence – this is a Chinese fantasy, after all. For those who want to read a love story between a very bad boy and a girl who really should not be falling for a very bad boy, though, this is like catnip. I can’t deny that Dongfang Qingcang tends towards being a terrible person, but as the book goes on he works his way towards being a terrible person but a good boyfriend. As for Xiao Lanhua, frankly, she breaks about halfway through this book, and most of the second half is devoted to getting her back to the point where she can snark at the side of Dongfang Qingcang while they tour the mortal world. By the end, they’re cute. Sort of.

This ended up being a lot of fun to read. Recommended for those who love shoujo manga with “I can fix him” love interests.

Zero Damage Sword Saint: I Enrolled in a Magic School and Wound Up in a Contract with the Demon Queen, Vol. 1

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By Isle Osaki and kodamazon. Released in Japan as “Kougekiryoku Zero kara Hajimeru Kenseitan: Osananajimi no Oujo ni Suterare Mahou Gakuen ni Nyuugakushitara, Maou to Keiyakusuru Koto ni Natta ” by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Stephanie Liu.

Yeah, this was another “take a flyer” title, and this one did not go quite as well as the Gyaru Vampire Hunter book. That said, I’ve learned with light novels that start off with everything I hate to give them till the end of the volume and inevitably the quality will slide back towards ‘generic light novel that exists’. So it is with this title, which began with someone getting a bad magic gatcha pull and so his life is ruined, everyone now jeers and mocks him, and his childhood friend and girlfriend dumps him. Now, in the present day, all he has to look forward to is that his supposed loser magic is so incredibly powerful that he can visit the sealed demon queen every week and have sex with her. Fortunately, things pick up, and I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, when a young girl is isekai’d into this world.

So yes, Eugene was the son of a famous swordsman, he was tops at sword mastery in school, engaged to the princess, whole world in his hands. Then he got white magic, which can only be used for healing and barriers. And not with swords, which this world’s mechanics require some sort of attack magic to go with it. Flash forward a year, and he’s in the general course at the magic academy, where everyone regards him as a failure pile in a sadness bowl, except any character whose name we have to remember. They all like him. Unfortunately, he hates himself, so that doesn’t help. Then one day a disaster appears at the 5th level of their giant tower dungeon – a cute girl is there, and has set the entire floor on fire. It turns out she’s from Japan, she’s now an Ifrit, and Eugene, because he has barrier magic out the wazoo, has to be her guardian.

You’ll notice I didn’t bring up the demon queen in that summary, mostly as she barely appears, beyond the start and the final battle. She’s there to take his virginity and be a deus ex machina. The other big downside to this book is Eugene himself, a sad sack who we’re supposed to feel bad for but we can’t break in as he’s too busy feeling bad for himself. Or at least that’s what the writing is trying to convey, because he tends to lack any real emotional heft at all. At one point he’s drawn by the illustrator to look exactly like Daichi in the fake magical idol anime Hoshiiro Girldrop. Please don’t have the same personality as a parody the Pop Team Epic guy thought up. The bright spot in the book is Sumire, who is likeable, empathetic, and does all the right things. I hope for her sake this world has polyamory, though, as she has “losing heroine” written all over her thanks to our demon queen. Mind you, she does better than the Student Council President *or* Eugene’s ex.

This apparently takes place in the same world as Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers, but I haven’t read that, so have no idea. For fans of light novels where the hero is betrayed by his high school classmates, but instead of seeking revenge he just goes to community college instead.

I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss, Vol. 11

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By Sarasa Nagase and Mai Murasaki. Released in Japan as “Akuyaku Reijo Nanode Rasubosu o Katte Mimashita” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Taylor Engel.

Those who have read my reviews of this series know who my favorite character is, and I am delighted to see that this final volume gives her some wonderful things to do. After ten volumes where she has been a giant chaos gremlin, Lilia is now a mother, and has to face a situation where she will be deciding her own daughter’s fate for her. And there is a brief moment – it only lasts a page – where Lilia shows fear and regret over it. Now, Lilia being Lilia, she vows that she will raise her daughter to be the sort who can laugh at this sort of responsibility. She even manages to have praise for her husband and his actions in this book. that said, at the end of the day it’s the relationship between her and Aileen that’s more important. To both her and the narrative – this has always been a story that empowers women, and it does so right to the end, where the final fight literally takes all the men and puts them in a viewing room to watch the women fight.

Seven months after the events of the tenth volume, Aileen and Claude are headed off to a conference to decide the new ruler of Hausel, who needs to be able to predict the future, and also be a woman. She’s not concerned, as she is pretty sure that there aren’t any more otome game plots that can possibly kill her, off, right? Unfortunately, the antagonists of the tenth book are back, and Diana and Cattleya are determined to make Cattleya the new ruler by force, blackmail, and various other blunt object tactics… which of course include Cattleya marrying Claude and raising his new daughter, leaving Aileen to abdicate. This should be easy because, once she realizes what’s going on, Aileen goes back to the persona she put on for Book 10, which is an Empress with a button for a brain.

Honestly, it’s amusing how easy this is for Aileen and company to take care of. The antagonists are not only in the “this is a game” mindset that even Lilia has finally abandoned, but they also think that if things go badly they can destroy the world and get a reset, not understanding this is reality and it doesn’t work that way. It doesn’t help that they’re literally the only people not to immediately see through Aileen’s facade of stupidity, as all the other princesses and queen consorts are savvy enough to see what she’s doing. The ending shows all the women in the book working together to save everyone in the country, take out Diana and Cattleya, and also save Diana and Cattleya, because this is a book that has both its heroines and villainesses live happily ever after. Well, eventually. After some prison time, perhaps.

By the end of the book, we flash forward to the future, where Aileen and Lilia’s daughters are thick as thieves, and headed off on new adventures now that it’s time to go rule a country. Will we get more of the series set in the future? Probably not, this was a pretty excellent finale. One of my favorite villainess series. I’ll miss it.

I Shall Survive Using Potions!, Vol. 11

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By FUNA and Sukima. Released in Japan as “Potion-danomi de Ikinobimasu!” by K Lanove Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Hiroya Watanabe.

My long-running thesis about the FUNA books is that Kaoru, the protagonist of this series, is the “advanced” version, the one you read after you’ve already dipped your toe into the water with Mile and Mitsuha. Naturally, this means that she is much more difficult to get into and accept. She’s a pain in the ass, to be frank, too smug for her own good, and let’s not forget the occasional atrocities. She’s also unthinking about important things, though that’s something she shares with her fellow FUNA compatriots. But this book reminds me that we are not, of course, supposed to be rooting for her, really. Oh, sure, we’ll root for Kaoru when she’s going after people who are pure evil. For the most part, though, she’s going after shysters, scammers, and lowlifes, and taking them for all they’ve got. It’s kind of … petty? As such, when we see her screw up, which she does a lot in this particular volume, it’s just fun. Seeing Kaoru suffer is fun. There, I said it.

Kaoru is continuing to try to spread the word of Edith, but has suddenly found herself surrounded by those who know her older self. Francette’s descendant Falsetto has been sent there to protect Kaoru. The Eyes of the Goddess are being sent to protect Kaoru. Birds and dogs directed by Mariel are being sent to protect Kaoru. And the King and his Chancellor are panicking whenever anyone comes near Kaoru who they have not already thoroughly vetted. Still, they go ahead with the plan, which also involves Reiko making a name for herself as a hunter by capturing a rare, highly prized ingredient, and Kyoko opening another store in the capital, which gets a grand opening by showing off how to butcher and auction off a wyvern. With all this going on, it’s perhaps no great surprise that Kaoru occasionally forgets to pay attention to “daughter dying” rumors.

I will admit it was morbidly funny seeing the subplot with the Earl’s daughter. I was pretty sure the author was not mean enough to have her actually die, but it’s signposted relatively early in the book that an Earl has a very sick daughter and is paying a lot to get cures that might help her, and Kaoru does not make the logical leap and think “maybe I should, y’know, go there as Edith”. And to top it off, when she does figure it out, we get an almost Looney-Tunes run where she storms the mansion, administers the cure, and takes off… forgetting to disguise ANYONE in her party. But the capper is seeing her rationalize this and think “it’s OK, this will be fine” and then be called out on it by everyone. Even Kyoko, who is the biggest ditz in a party of three ditzes. As for the rest of the book? Same old same old. They’re at least concerned that the orphans have work PTSD, but haven’t worked out a solution yet.

This series is not for anyone but FUNA obsessives, but if you are, it’s still fun.

Mercedes and the Waning Moon: The Dungeoneering Feats of a Discarded Vampire Aristocrat, Vol. 3

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By Fire head and KeG. Released in Japan as “Kaketa Tsuki no Mercedes: Kyūketsuki no Kizoku ni Tensei Shita kedo Suteraresō nanode Dungeon wo Seiha suru” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Maddy Willette.

This series has a tendency to do things that I find very interesting but also do things that annoy me a great deal, and this third volume does not break that tradition. Last time I said that I wished Mercedes had more friends, as without them she might get a bit too up in her own head and/or sociopathic. Clearly the author heard me and thought “I cannot give you a friend, but would you accept a predatory lesbian who lives in one of those “country ruled by women who treat men like scum worlds?”. The answer to that question is no, I don’t really want to accept that, though I suppose it could have been worse. But then we also get a lot more detail as to what this world really is, as well as what Mercedes’ goal needs to be, and while that reads very much as “exposition ho!”, it’s also a lot more interesting than seeing Mercedes murder a bunch of prisoners because she doesn’t really care about them.

It’s time for an exam at school, but the exam itself barely starts before Felix and Sieglinde are kidnapped by mysterious men in white uniforms and taken to the kingdom next door. That said, it’s not REALLY Sieglinde, as they had thought that something like this would happen. After finding out who was the traitor in their midst that helped it to happen (no surprise there), Mercedes heads over to the Beatrix Empire, named after its Empress. There, men are treated like dirt, while women are rich and arrogant. Even the men sent out to capture Sieglinde end up being degraded when they return. Fortunately, Felix is able to avoid being horribly executed by… erm, dressing up as a woman, but stronger steps are needed. Like overthrowing the Empress.

Leaving aside the bits I did not like (misandry country and its residents, including the obligatory woman who enjoys having rape fantasies), there are some interesting bits of writing here. Frederick being the traitor is such a non-surprise that I don’t even care I’m revealing it here, but I did like his ironic hell, a case of “let’s pretend that you’ve gone back in time to make things better, only you fail every time and all it shows is that you are bad and pathetic”. It was chilling but also very apt, given what a horrible person he was. Speaking of chilling things that are not really given much gravitas, the fact that Mercedes keeps the Empress Beatrix locked in her dungeon while a clone rules the throne… and that Beatrix is surrounded mostly by monsters who don’t like her much… is given very little examination. Particularly by Beatrix herself, who not only suggested it but doesn’t seem to mind? Admittedly, she fell for Mercedes once defeated, so this could be due to that, but it’s still kind of disturbing.

So, a mixed bag again. Fortunately, after a three-year-gap, a 4th volume of this just came out in Japan, so I get to have mixed feeling about it once more in a few months. For fans of stoic sociopathic loli vampires, and I wish I could say there aren’t many of those, but…

This Gyaru’s Got a Thing for… Vampire Hunters?!, Vol. 1

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By Wasan Kurata and Kewi Hayashi. Released in Japan as “Vampire Hunter ni Yasashii Gal” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Gwendolyn Warner.

I didn’t have any lights-out picks from JNC’s Anime Expo license announcements, so I decided to try a few titles that didn’t grab me but might be interesting, of which this is the first. I was curious as to whether it was a yuri title, and I think the best answer I can give is that it’s definitely a yuri title by 2005-2006 definitions of yuri. That said, the yuri or potential for yuri is not why I liked this first volume so much. We’ve had a lot of light novels featuring gyaru/gals lately, but almost all of them tend to be primarily from the POV of the male narrator, as the gyaru is a love interest (and sometimes, as is the case with An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups, not quite a gyaru at all). This book, though, has the bulk of its first person narration come from Ruka, the titular gyaru, and she is fantastic, not only being a wonderful positive representation of the gyaru lifestyle, but even managing to tie that into the vampire plot. Because there are vampires. Or… there were.

Ruka is a high school gyaru who mostly lives on her own as her mom’s a nurse who’s usually on call. She’s having a wonderful high school life with her besties, Meiri and Hinaru. Meanwhile, Ginka is a vampire hunter who has spent much of her youth following in her grandmother’s footsteps and slaying every last vampire in the world. Now she’s succeeded, and the world is free from vampires. What’s a girl to do? Return to high school, of course, and naturally it’s Ruka’s school. Ginka, unfortunately, is blunt and socially inept, so things get off to a bad start, but Ruka is not only socially savvy but also a kind person, so she helps Ginka out. Then the two of them discover that maybe vampires are not quite as extinct as Ginka thought…

As the cover art might indicate, guys are the target audience for this book, but the bulk of it is dedicated to the growing friendship between Ruka and Ginka, and the guys who try to confess end up being jerks, losers, or both. Ruka manages to become Ginka’s best friend by virtue of being nice, outgoing, and caring about her. She’s also surprisingly OK with her occupation, possibly as Ginka saves her life more than once. As you’d expect, the plot takes a turn for the darker towards the back of the book, but I appreciated the fact that Ruka showing up in the middle of a battle was not just to get captured but that she used everything Ginka had given her to fight back as a gyaru against the supernatural, leaving Ginka to fight back as a vampire hunter. They make a terrific team. Also, I laughed when Ginka briefly did not recognize Ruka without her makeup.

So yeah, this was a terrific read for me, and I cannot wait to read the second (final?) volume. For fans of great female friendships.

From Two-Bit Baddie to Total Heartthrob: This Villainess Will Cross-Dress to Impress!, Vol. 4

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By Masamune Okazaki and Hayase Jyun. Released in Japan as “Mob Dōzen no Akuyaku Reijō wa Dansō Shite Kōryaku Taishō no Za wo Nerau” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Caroline W.

The gimmick for this book, of course, is despite it being a villainess novel, and Elizabeth genuinely being a woman, it is essentially a BL harem in all but name. Lilia is the sole exception, and for the most part she’s started to get reduced to a combination of comic relief and sole purveyor of common sense. Lilia is, like Elizabeth, a Japanese girl who has been brought into this game world. Unlike Elizabeth, though, Lilia seems to accept that things are different and she can make different choices, and also seems to have awakened her sapphic side, in a PG sort of way. Elizabeth, though, who seemingly does everything in order to try to seduce someone and/or hook up the “targets” with someone else, seems to be completely asexual. And is, frankly, a lot better at being a sexy man than most of the men. Thus, as I said with the first book, you get a BL series that isn’t really.

Much to Elizabeth’s horror, her older brother Frederic has gotten a marriage proposal from a nearby kingdom. Unable to tolerate her big brother vanishing from her life, Elizabeth immediately decides to impersonate him and break up the match… and she’s supported by her father and Christopher, leading to her and Frederic having their first ever fight. Now she’s off to the west, along with Edward (who is delighted to finally get some time with the woman he loves), Christopher (ditto), and Lilia (ditto). When they get there, they find Princess Diana is a knockout, but seems somewhat inexperienced in the art of love. Meanwhile, her sister Marie, who is, according to Elizabeth, a classic tsundere. Can Elizabeth find the time to charm two princesses, convince them she’s a terrible choice for a husband, and not annoy everyone around her? Signs point to no on that last one, especially when Lilia reveals they may be in a spinoff manga plot.

The series continues to have one big, big, drawback, and unfortunately it’s Elizabeth herself. Generally speaking I tend to enjoy when a villainess is cheerful and oblivious (see Bakarina) or stoic and oblivious (many examples), but it’s hard when they’re an arrogant ass and oblivious. Yes, she’s putting on a persona, but I think everyone in the entire series, including Elizabeth herself, agree that it’s stopped being an act and become her. This did make it somewhat amusing then it’s actually Lilia who manages to sabotage the marriage talks, as she ends up turning Princess Diana into a BL fangirl, which ends up getting a little bit out of her control but she’s quick to take advantage of it by advocating for gay marriage for women as well. She’s snarky fun, and I enjoy when she’s in the book. As for Elizabeth, at least she is coming to appreciate that she does not understand anyone’s hearts. At all.

There’s at least three more volumes in Japan, and this plotline will continue into Book 5. Christ, though, Elizabeth is annoying.

Spy Classroom Short Story Collection: No Time for Goodbye

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By Takemachi and Tomari. Released in Japan as “Spy Kyoushitsu” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Nathaniel Hiroshi Thrasher.

I do have to admit, and I apologize for the rude language, that when I saw that the bulk of this short story collection would once again be devoted to the late lamented spy group Avian, my first reaction was to scream “OH, FUCK OFF!” at the book. I appreciate their tragic death, and I get that the author regretted doing it so fast before they got to write all the stories they had inside them for the group, but come on, I feel like we have gone down this well about eight more times than was really necessary. At least, that’s what I thought when I started the book. As it turns out, though, this is probably the strongest short story collection to date. The series itself tends to hide a lot of its most pivotal moments as a writing conceit, and the short stories have been dedicated to filling in what we missed. This includes finally giving everyone catharsis for what happened to Avian. Who are, by the way, still dead.

The wraparound story in this volume concerns Lan, the surviving member of Avian, who has become something of a leech around the halls of Lamplight. As they discuss what to do with her, we get four short stories: 1) Lily and Sara return to Lily’s old spy school, to find that most of those she went to school with are still there… and are ready to bully the shit out of her again; 2) Thea and Grete visit Pharma’s brother Holytree, who is also a spy, and has an enormous sister complex; 3) Erna guards Amelie as Klaus uses her to try to resolve the last plot arc, and Amelia tries to bond with Erna; and 4) There’s a festival in town, and everyone is going… except Monika, who is too busy castigating herself for her traitorous actions. And avoiding Annette still trying to kill her. In the end, Holytree asks for a chance to duel Klaus to the death, and shows both Lan and Lamplight a path forward.

The most satisfying of these stories may be the first. The bullying that Lily went through (and goes through again when she returns) is vicious and attacks her physical appearance, as always, but she’s gotten stronger, as well as craftier – and Sara is now in her corner, and not about to stand by and watch her friend get stomped. It was VERY satisfying to see their revenge. Sybilla also really comes off well in this book, being the “big sister” of the group in more than one story, and reminding folks what it means to really be a big sister, more than anything else. We still don’t see the actual conversation between Monika and Lily, but we do see that Lily is taking it seriously, and agonizing over her response. My favorite story may have been Erna’s, though, as she shows that you can have compassion and empathy and let that lead you to the right decision… much to Amelie’s disappointment.

All this and a battle royale crying/punching match. If you’ve been skipping these side stories, this is definitely one to read anyway. Especially as the next volume’s not till next year.

Lady Bumpkin and Her Lord Villain, Vol. 5

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By Ageha Sakura and Kurodeko. Released in Japan as “Imokusa Reijou desu ga Akuyaku Reisoku wo Tasuketara Kiniiraremashita” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Vasileios Mousikidis.

I’ve talked before about artifact titles, when you have a series with a title that was accurate for the first volume but proves increasingly wrong as the series goes on. Lady Bumpkin and Her Lord Villain is proving to be one of these, and not just because she’s now Madam Bumpkin. This series started with Agnes dressed in 80-year-old fashion and pancake makeup getting thrown to the wolves for the lulz by the “heroine”. Now, four books after that first one, Agnes is making everyone who meets her fall in love with her, much to the jealous annoyance of her husband, she’s able to use her powers to help the crops, throw yams that can take out an enemy, and still find time to research the legendary saint. Which she absolutely is not. Why, they have totally different names for their very similar sounding powers! There’s no way Agnes would be a saint! (cough)

Agnes is about four months pregnant, and is having to deal with everyone around her treating her like an invalid. Fortunately, her brother Paul will be graduating soon from school, so she and Nazel get to visit Polypstan… where they also plan to research some information about the saint, just in case. Unfortunately, Polypstan has been having trouble growing crops as well, so they are very interested in the sunchoke potatoes that Sutrena has been working on, which are able to grow without the help of Agnes and Nazel’s magic. Unfortunately, there are a few hiccups. Both a duke and the prince of Polypstan seem to have fallen for Agnes, and this is a nation that allows polyamorous relationships… even if all the parties don’t approve. More dangerously, Paul’s graduation test is interrupted by a swarm of what amount to very giant locusts who can punch people, and they’re possibly the ones responsible for the crop failure.

There’s a lot of cute stuff here, which is good given that I think that’s why most folks read this series. It’s nice to see Agnes meet several women and get along with all of them, even going so far as to make potato chips with the duchess. Nazel may spend most of the book being jealous, and trying to have Agnes sit and take it easy constantly, but it always feels fun rather than forced, and her flustered reaction whenever he gets too loving is adorable. That said, there are ominous rumblings for future books. Robin may escape soon, which is not great news for everyone who didn’t like his “mind control my way to power” ways. Moreover, I think it’s pretty clear Agnes *is* the saint, and they’re not going to be able to keep that secret forever, no matter how much they want to ignore it. Nazel needs to figure out a way to make it so Agnes cannot be taken away from him for the good of all mankind.

That said, escaped jerkass will likely come first. This is cute and fun, if not lights out.

Management of a Novice Alchemist, Vol. 6

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By Mizuho Itsuki and fuumi. Released in Japan as “Shinmai Renkinjutsushi no Tenpo Keiei” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sean McCann.

So, a brief word of warning: if you were not fond of Sarasa’s cavalier and lethal attitude towards bandits in earlier books of this series, you’ll want to give this book a wide berth. Thanks to events in the last book, banditry is now prolific in her area, and when it comes to affect those close to her, she is going to be a little pissed off. There’s less actual brutal death than usual, but there’s a lot of violent beatings, and the two wannabe rapists get a somewhat apropos punishment that I will not go into here. She’s a holy terror. That said, for those of you who enjoy “Sarasa is amazingly overpowered at everything she does and also an asexual lesbian”, there’s plenty of that here as well. (OK, Sarasa pushes back when described as homosexual in the book, but she’s clearly now fine with not only Iris as her wife, but Kate as her “mistress”. Sorry, Lorea, you’ve been familyzoned.) There’s a lot of Sarasa being a lot.

Sarasa is headed off to the capital to pay her taxes. While there, she reconnects with her master Ophelia and Ophelia’s… partner, Maria (Sarasa is not sure if they’re married, but does give a toast to their eternal love), and also runs into her underclassman at alchemist school, Misty. Misty is there to become Sarasa’s new apprentice, and will not take no for an answer. What’s more, Sarasa also meets up with the workers at her parents’ old business, which is still going strong, and they want to help her in any way they can. So she heads back home with a new cast member and a new company to work with. Maybe two companies, as Misty is the heir to the Hudson’s Bay Company… erm, a shipping firm… though she’d really rather not be. Oh yes, and the prince appoints Sarasa as a knight and gives her rule over her small domain around the village and city. Provided she stop the bandit problem.

The last third of this book is so filled with revenge that it tends to distract from the goofy first two-thirds. Misty is a great addition to the cast, as she’s able to keep up with Sarasa’s alchemical miracles while also having common sense, and is not as pathetic as Maris is. (She also does not appear to have any designs on Sarasa romance-wise… if anything, she’s a rival to Lorea as the little sister figure.) The running gag of Sarasa not understanding how famous she is, not understanding how powerful she is, or just underreacting to everything in the book is always going to be funny. And I will admit, I don’t mind Sarasa getting really, really mad and going after bandits with bad intentions in mind. They killed her parents, after all. This is not like other LNs where our newly isekai’d hero is just like “oh, bad guy, stab”. She has motive!

There’s a cliffhanger into the next book, which the author put in in order to advertise the anime that was coming out. So we’ll see you next time to see how Sarasa punches out plague.

In Another World with Household Spells, Vol. 2

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By Rika and HIROKAZU. Released in Japan as “Isekai ni Kita kedo, Seikatsu Mahou shika Tsukaemasen” by Mag Garden Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by sachi salehi.

I try to give authors the benefit of the doubt, but sometimes it’s a little easier to tell that their hot new series is not “I have a brilliant idea for a story that just won’t go away” and more “what’s hot and trending that I can whip up fast?”. The first volume of this already had a noble girl at a magical academy where she’s more OP than most everyone around her, but was mostly content to stay in that lane. While this second volume also hangs around in that genre, there are signs that it wants to branch out. The moment that Patience asked who those people were and was told they were from The Adventurer’s Guild, I groaned a bit. Then there was monster hunting. Did you know monster meat is delicious, milady? Would you like me to pass it to you? That said, while that may impact future volumes, here we’re just content to do genre-related things like inventing sea salt and pound cake.

Patience is spending a large chunk of her summer with Princess Margaret and the royal family, mostly as the Queen has figured out that Patience is the only one who can actually motivate Princess Margaret. She gets to see the sea, and as I noted before, she and Prince Richard come up with ways to get sea salt, which will stop the kingdom being so dependent on rock salt. After this it’s back to school, and coming up with more songs that she has “written” for everyone to play, as well as fending off Albert, who is not into 11-year-olds but wants her creativity around him his whole life. She’s also trying to figure out what happened with her father losing his job, and near the end of the book, we finally get that answer, and it proves to be the best part of the book as well.

I find it amusing that while the series frames Patience’s dad as being the one noble willing to stand up for the common man, even to the point of sacrificing nearly everything, in reality he’s kind of weedy and pathetic, and you get the sense that a lot of his arguments with his sisters are less “they are horrible and overbearing” and more about him being non-confrontational to a ridiculous degree. Now, they are confrontational and overbearing, but mostly for Patience that proves to be a good thing. She also proves to be a fantastic teacher, as when blackmailed into teaching her cousin, who has many issues with studying, she’s able to find ways to get him interested, identify the problem, and set him up for future success. No wonder everyone wants her, Right now she’s still a lady’s maid, but in future…

She’s off to “college” in the next volume, and I expect, given the foreshadowing, this series to branch out a bit. Hopefully no dungeon diving. This remains “pretty good”.

The Hero and the Sage, Reincarnated and Engaged, Vol. 5

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By Washiro Fujiki and Heiro. Released in Japan as “Eiyū to Kenja no Tensei Kon: Katsute no Kōtekishu to Konyaku Shite Saikyō Fūfu ni Narimashita” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Joey Antonio.

All I ask is for this book to be relaxing good fun, and this volume delivers in spades. It helps that we get a heaping helping of Millis, who I adore. She manages to be a ditz, a tsukkomi, and a savant all at the same time. Here we discover that her inscribing skills are self-taught, and that with proper training she could be legendary. We discover that, in the alternate universe that our cast go to in order to beat up the bad guys, her making friends with alternate-universe Eluria may have saved the world. And we also discover that she apparently has negative abilities when it comes to sensing her own love life, as even when the answer is handed to her about who her alternate self marries she still doesn’t figure it out. She’s goofy in the best ways, and I hope we get more of her in the next volume.

Raid and Eluria are now ready to go to the other world in order to take care of the Emperor whose fault this all is, Raid’s old boss. They’re taking Millis, Wisel and Alma, but that’s it – this is not an invasion, but a small force. Which is fine, because honestly Raid and Eluria are pretty much good enough to beat anything on its own. That said, the other world is on its last legs, poisoned by the mana left by Eluria’s alternate self, who was feeling really disillusioned. Fortunately, there’s a haven in the middle of this, called Paradise, which turns out to be Millis’ hometown. Her alternate self befriended the demon lord, and now years and years later her descendants help to keep this little slice of normal land active. Honestly, they’re better than the current regime. Why not switch the two?

There’s some attention paid to motivations here which I liked. One of the heroes in the alternate world is the daughter of the guy who betrayed and killed Eluria, and she’s trying to make up for being a family of traitors. That said, when talking with Eluria, it’s pointed out that defending your family honor is not going to mean much if the world ends, while betraying her superior AGAIN would actually be the better moral decision. Especially because this series is not really big on moral greyness. Most everyone in it is either good, or following the orders of a very bad guy of pain of death. Raid and Eluria are trying their damnedest NOT to have a lot of casualties – apart from the emperor, of course, who is scum. And for those who worried there would not be a lot of flirting in this book, fear not, these two are still adorable, in love, and planning to have seven kids. Which appalls the innocent Millis.

I suspect the next book may be the last, but who knows? I do feel we’re not getting back to magical academy days anytime soon, though. This is fun.

The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 15

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By Natsu Hyuuga and Touko Shino. Released in Japan as “Kusuriya no Hitorigoto” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

One of the things that comes up both in this latest light novel volume and in the recent anime season is that this is one of those “sort of ancient China emperor, inner court with consorts” series. There are more of them than you’d expect. And a subplot in a lot of them is that, if someone does something that attacks the country or the Emperor, not only are they killed, but everyone in their family, and their servants, and everyone even remotely connected to them is also killed. This seems a bit excessive to some people. Someone asked what happened to all Loulan’s servants after Jinshi interrogated them, and well, sorry, they were all killed by the state. This is because the Emperor is not merely a head of state in this genre, he is a divine being of sorts. He is not meant to be human like everyone else, and trying to make him human is a hideous crime. Even if, say, that crime involves trying to save his life.

Maomao is one of several physicians given a medical exam to show how good they are at their job, with the winners being assigned to various seemingly unrelated places. Maomao is assigned to help with testing out a new drug, meant to deal with intestinal disorders. They also have to research better and safer ways to give anesthesia, which requires Maomao to go to Ah-Duo’s residence and talk with a dead woman who is, of course, not so dead – Suirei. All of this turns out to be for a very good reason – it’s the Emperor who has the intestinal disease, and it may kill him. What’s even more annoying, there’s no guarantee it’s that – it could also be appendicitis, which would be better… unless it bursts. Basically, surgery needs to be done. Unfortunately, Luomen serves as an example of what happens to doctors who do surgery on imperial family, and everyone worries the reward will be execution even if they do succeed.

For those concerned that JinMao is not a factor in this book, fear not. Even though Jinshi doesn’t appear till about halfway through, the crux of the book is still the fact that he’s in love with Maomao. (And she with him, though that’s so understated one could argue it’s nonexistent… which has led to arguments on social media.) There’s a lot of people who would rather have Jinshi be Emperor after the current Emperor dies. But that would mean he’d have to have consorts, and visit them. And that brand he gave himself back in Book 8 (which dwells on Maomao’s mind constantly in this volume, which should reassure folks who saw my earlier statement that understated is NOT nonexistent) is vital to showing how much he does NOT want the job. If he gets it, he would rather give Maomao up forever than order her to be his consort, which she would have to acquiesce to. This gets back to discussions the series had back at the very start about the relationship between Maomao and Jinshi, and its evolution is important to them both. (Fortunately, the success of the surgery means this can be put off a while.)

All this plus Tianyu at his most irritating. Who could ask for anything more?

A Tale of the Secret Saint ZERO, Vol. 3

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By Touya and chibi. Released in Japan as “Tensei Sita Daiseijyo ha, Seijyo Dearuko Towohitakakusu ZERO” by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Sarah Burch. Adapted by Melanie Kardas.

I should be used to this by now from this series, as well as its parent. Both have a very bad habit of only being half a book and then padding it out with side stories. This volume is 244 pages digitally, but only 141 of them are the main storyline. And that’s not even getting into the fact that the main storyline is also a bit of a short story collection that’s interconnected somewhat. It makes it hard to review, as the side stories after the main content tend to be of the “free when you buy at this bookstore” variety, i.e. not all that impactful. This volume also has a character poll, and the results should not surprise anyone. (It’s a poll of both this and the main series.) Serafina/Fia may be the star, but this is a series written for women, and as such the handsome men are going to grab most of the votes. Which means they get stories from their POV. Which take up more pages.

Serafina and her knights are ready to return from their seaside adventure, but ideally they’d like to fix the climate problem that have plagued the region… unless, as it turns out, Serafina has fixed the problem by accidentally befriending the spirit whose grief was causing the problem in the first place. On their return, Serafina’s father is delighted to see her, but we’re reminded of her general reputation… as well as her knights’… when we meet her older three brothers, all of whom seem to despise and belittle her. Indeed, other knight brigades fight it out with Serafina’s, as no one knows the extent of her powers except a scant few. She then goes with her knight Mirach to his village, which turns out to grow its own medicinal herbs… and does not trust saints, which is why it’s likely good that she’s incognito. Well, as incognito as Serafina ever gets.

This is a prequel to the main series, and I’m not sure how much you’re meant to compare the characters in the past with the ones from the main series, except for the ones who are obvious reincarnations. Most of the knight herd tend to be a bit similar to the knight captains Fia knows, but that’s less because of potential reincarnation and mostly because they’re all soldiers, and thus tend to act the same way. It is interesting comparing Serafina here to the Fia in the main series. In the main series proper, Fia is definitely written as an “airhead” character, unthinking, reacting on instinct a lot, and missing connections a lot while also picking out connections others don’t catch. Serafina in this series is the same, but it’s not written as “airhead” but as “I am six years old”. As such, those who find Fia a but, shall we say, dumb as a bag of hammers might be better off just reading the prequel, which otherwise offers the same amount of fun.

If you don’t mind the fact that you’re only getting half a book’s worth of plot every book, this series remains a lot of fun.