By Kiri Komori and Yamigo. Released in Japan as “Tensei Shitara Zetsumetsu Sunzen no Kishou Shuzokudeshita” on the Shōsetsuka ni Narō website. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Roman Lempert.
The danger of being a good-hearted, pure, perfect heroine is that apparently you are contractually obligated to walk into obvious traps. Tina, halfway through this book, is safely ensconced at the fort whose entire job is to stop her being kidnapped. Then, mysteriously, all of her important family and allies happen to be away from the fort at that moment. Then, mysteriously, a group of soldiers she’s never met before show up and beg her to help to save their grievously wounded colleagues, who they have not brought with them. The lead soldier is also holding a big sign that says ‘I AM NOT A TRAP HONEST”. (OK, not really.) What’s a Saint to do? Naturally, she selflessly goes off by herself with no guards to help the soldiers… you’ll never guess what happens next. If that paragraph fills you with rage, you may want to skip this one. If it merely makes you sigh, read on.
The start of the book is original to the light novel, not part of the webnovel, and is a nice return to the antics of the earlier volumes, as Tina is goaded into making a truth potion so that Shida and his father will open up to each other. She’s also really into creating fish sauce. Sadly, we then have to move on to the actual plot, which involves the aforementioned kidnapping. Tina then ends up meeting the ruler of Edesa Kura, who has grand twisted plans for the world that they’re both in. And, what’s more, the massive planetary disaster that has slowly been coming their way the last couple of books is finally here, and Tina and Renge still need to solve that problem with a minimum of lost lives. But the humans haven’t listened to any of their warnings at all!
The parts of this volume I enjoyed the most were the smaller, more character-driven bits. Tina and the court alchemist, Reiden, geeking out and bonding over the concept of magical vending machines is absolutely hilarious and wonderful, especially as it briefly stops the kidnapping plot dead for a few pages. I was also amused by Nakona, who all of a sudden has finally realized that she has at least four people in love with her, and is somewhat poleaxed by the idea. (Since she’s engaged, and later married, to Shida, she solves the problem in the best Nakona way – by beating the shit out of her other suitors.) Unfortunately, when the book broadens out to take on larger, more devastating problems, I was less interested. The revelation of the enemy ruler and what their deal is was interesting, but Renge remains a flat, boring boyfriend, and the resolution of this book pretty much hinges on him being even more powerful than everyone thought.
The author says there will be a 6th volume, but it sounds more like n epilogue than anything else, as the main plot is resolved here. In the end, this series was OK, but I liked it a lot more when Tina was back at the inn than when she was the Saint of the World.
Speak Your Mind