By Yuka Tachibana and Yasuyuki Syuri. Released in Japan as “Seijo no Maryoku wa Bannou desu” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Julie Goniwich.
The Saint’s Magic Power Is Omnipotent may be an atypical light novel in some ways, but it is still an isekai when you get right down to it, and that means that the isekai cliches are still there to be walked into. Our heroine has ended up in the fantasy equivalent of medieval Europe, as is typical for these sorts of books. She really misses the taste of home, with good old fashioned rice and miso, as is also typical. Generally these sorts of books fall into two types: either our isekai’d Japanese person tries to make rice and miso and the like themselves in the kingdom or they hear about a country far across the ocean that just happens to have the exact foods they’ve been looking for (and sometimes samurai, but hopefully the Saint series isn’t going there). We get the latter here, as Sei happens upon a slow boat from China – or its fantasy version – that gives her the meals she’s been craving for so long.
After discovering not only that her cooking can deliver magical power ups to those who consume it, but also that Turkish Coffee is being imported nearby, Sei is on a cooking tip. She also has to do something about her cosmetics company, which has become so popular that the nobles are taking *too* much interest in it. As a result, she has a new umbrella company founded for future Saint developments. Disguising herself as the daughter of said company’s head (which is, in reality, her) she travels with Johan to a nearby port town to track down the rice she’s wanted to find for so long. Getting a hold of this proves to be an adventure in itself, and features Sei almost giving away who she really is multiple times. Then, back at the capital, she has an even more dangerous event lying in wait… her debutante ball.
After waiting nine months between books 3 and 4, the wait between books 4 and 5 hasn’t even been one month. Which means I have a bit less to say than I normally do, as I just talked about all this. I will note that Sei’s aversion to romance is starting to not only get on people’s nerves, but to be a genuine problem. Albert is trying to be aware of her feelings and courting her at the speed of a glacier, but she’s the Saint, and is also very much of marriageable age. She can’t simply stay in the back of the research lab and make potions for the next ten years. She manages to get through the ball designed to introduce her to society, but is terrified of dancing with any men she doesn’t know. Fortunately, the palace agrees with her – they certainly don’t want other nobles getting a chance to woo her. Given the author does not really seem to care much about the romance in this series, I’m not sure where this plot will go, but it’s what is interesting me most at the moment.
All this plus Sei teaches Aira how to make a magical Coleman Stove. Thankfully, Vol. 6 of The Saint’s Magic Power Is Omnipotent is not coming out in December. That said, I’m still interested.
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