By Nora Kohigashi and Wasabi. Released in Japan as “Watashi wa Succubus Ja Arimasen” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Roy Nukia.

(This review assumes you want to be spoiled about the last third of the book.)

I will always love the fact that this series is “come for the horny, stay for the funny”. And rest assured, this is still a very horny series. But there are several points in this volume where it appears that the book is finally going to take a bit of a serious bent, and then it absolutely takes a wild leap back into the broadest comedy. And that’s good, as this is one of the few light novel series that does broad comedy really well. Even the horny – especially the horny – works so well because it’s so over the top that you can’t really kinkshame it. So yes, Liz really will where those panties with the magic-infused elephant trunk that can act like a real penis, because it means the artist will have to draw art of it, and make it funnier. And thus, when we resolve the cliffhanger from the last book, with the new hero menacing everyone, it turns out to be hysterical.

Dia the new hero, shows up and proceeds to not only give Cain a serious wound, but also kidnap Liz. That said, once Liz finds out what’s going on, she realizes that not only is Dia not nearly as villainous as previously advertised, but she’s also a cute young catgirl, which sets Liz’s heart throbbing, though she’s not quite sure why. Liz is rescued soon enough, but finds herself teleporting back to Dia’s location (basically figuring out a teleportation spell on the fly and instantly doing it perfectly, which reminds you how powerful this horny succubus really is), where she finds that Dia not only does the bare minimum of cooking and cleaning, but wears… bloomers! With holes in them! And no bra! This will not stand! It’s time for a lingerie shopping trip!

I ended up trying to overthink this. Yes, as it turns out, Dia’s story about her having the “real” hero sword and Cain’s being a suspicious fake does in fact turn out to possibly be the case but that’s not what drives the climax. The entire climax is driven by the scene where Cain walks into the lingerie shop and sees not only Liz but also Dia, and we realize that he already knows the new hero very well. Once all the identities are revealed, this gets even funnier… at least until we get to the fight to the “death”, which, of course, Cain wins. Again, this should be a dramatic scene, either tear-jerking or heartwarming, and it’s 100% undercut by Liz literally holding up cue cards for the reluctant Cain to read aloud to resolve things properly. Hell, even the sad finale where she leaves to find herself is ruined by Liz, albeit unconsciously. The main reason they want Liz’s memory back is so that when they punish her she actually a) knows why, and b) enjoys it again.

Again, I don’t recommend this to anyone who is not ready for our heroine to be dressed in panties with a working penis shaped like an elephant trunk on the front. But if you are, this remains 10% cool, 10% heartwarming, 30% sex-obsessed, and 50% LOL.