By Natsume Akatsuki and Kurone Mishima. Released in Japan as “Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Bakuen wo!” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Alex Wetnight.

After three volumes that act as a prequel to the main series, and two volumes that give us the further adventures of Megumin trying to adventure with a different group of characters, we have finally come to the end of her spinoff. There are, of course, still a number of KonoSuba spinoffs out there, albeit unlicensed. Heck, even in Japan it’s hard to keep up with the source – one story in this volume has the author apologize in the afterword, as it brings back an antagonist from a preorder bonus story. So it’s not just English speakers who can’t keep up. More to the point, rejoice! This volume takes place after Book 14, meaning that for once, we’re getting a spinoff volume exactly where it should be. As for the premise? Well, I mean, wacky Megumin antics, for the most part, what do you expect? But mostly it’s about Megumin realizing that, much as she has fun with her side story adventuring party, there’s no party quite like home.

Megumin wants to go out and adventure, but it’s the rainy season, and Kazuma, Aqua and Darkness really don’t want to. Particularly Kazuma, which annoys her, as they’re supposed to be a couple. Clearly it’s time to get the side character band back together: Yunyun, who may be the next chief of the Crimson Magic Clan but still will walk down a suspicious dark alley with three burly dudes if they say they’ll be her friend; Iris, who is determined to go out and be a hero even though the slightest thing harming her will mean execution for the rest of the party; and Cecily, who… ugh, must we? They meet an eccentric scholar with a passion for rare monsters and a desire to impress the woman he likes, and so try to defeat a King Toad (much larger than the toads we’ve seen before) and a poison slime (which is not Cecily’s fault technically, but let’s blame her anyway) before Kazuma finally shows up with the rest of the team and they take on a Crystal Liger, its magpie tendencies, and its poop.

First, the most important part of any KonoSuba book: the book is quite funny, with a lot of good gags. As always, Megumin and Yunyun trade off the position of “the only one with common sense” throughout the book, though more accurately Yunyun has it 75% of the time. She and Iris manage to take down a wyvern on their own, though we don’t see it, and I think she’s going to be a powerhouse once she gets over her pathetic insecurities about friends. Getting away from Megumin might also help. As for the title character, as I noted above, this book serves to show to her that it’s most fun back with Kazuma, Aqua, and Darkness. More to the point, she finds she does not like being the leader of a party, and feels sympathy for Kazuma… though I assume that will vanish when she gets to go back to being the loose cannon we know and love.

So that’s it for the spinoff. Fortunately, we have more of the main series coming in the fall. Till then, Megumin fans should enjoy this.