By Tamamaru and Kinta. Released in Japan as “Kajiya de Hajimeru Isekai Slow Life” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Linda Liu.
One thing that I’m not sure I say often enough here is that you don’t need a reason to like something. There are, of course, numerous reasons to NOT like something, but sometimes, let’s face it, you just vibe despite yourself. My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World is, on paper, something that hits a lot of the wrong buttons. Our hero has mad cheat skills. He constantly puts himself down at every opportunity, while everyone around insists he’s the best. He’s not just a blacksmith but a brilliant swordsman (which he will not admit). Last book he accumulated three women who like him, two of whom go so far as to move in with him. In this new book he meets a noble daughter (who moves in with him) and a cute elf. The women, or at least the ones who move in, are clearly in love with him, something he refuses to acknowledge. Oh, and it’s super long. This should be dire. Instead, it’s a great example of slow life.
There are two main plots in this volume. In the first, we find out why Eizo’s friend the gate guard suddenly vanished one day – he’s actually the third son of a noble family, and there’s a dispute over who takes over after the count and his eldest son die in mysterious circumstances. The 2nd son is from a mistress, so Marius is in line to take over, but second son does not like that at all. As part of all this, Diana, the daughter in the family, is sent to live with Eizo and company in hiding. That said, you know Eizo’s gonna get drawn into the throne war as well. After this, an elf named Lidy arrives with a broken mithril sword, which she asks Eizo to repair. This will be tricky, as the sword is also magical, so it can’t be reforged using normal means. Fortunately, it turns out that our hero has the ability to make magical swords too. Phew. Bullet dodged.
As with the first book, get ready for a lot of detailed description of forging swords, which, if removed from the book’s page count, would make this a normal sized light novel. That said, the forging is also what makes the slow life part happen, as for once this is a slow life book that really is slow life, rather than “I am trying to have a slow life but keep getting caught in life-threatening schemes”. And, let’s face it, looked at from the perspective of the women in the home watching Eizo smith, it’s seeing a handsome, kind, and sexy man show off his strong muscles and exquisite attention to detail. They are getting a full meal of eye candy every day. I will admit to being amused at the extra addition to the household, an wonder if this can be the light novel equivalent of the 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You. Well, probably not, Eizo will never try anything. The others might, though.
So yeah, does most things wrong, still quite good. Give it a shot.
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