By Rhythm Aida and nauribon. Released in Japan as “Buta Koushaku ni Tensei shita kara, Kondo wa Kimi ni Suki to Iitai” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Zihan Gao.

There’s a bit if a soft reset with this volume, if not in terms of plot than in terms of tropes, and I must admit that I found the first half of the book quite irritating because of it. Slowe is trying his best to stop the anime plot and to manage to confess his feelings to Charlotte, but he does NOT want to be a hero, and the world seems determined to put him in that slot. As does Charlotte, much to his chagrin. It’s frustrating and you sympathize with him… but going home and eating himself back to nearly his original weight is not a good response to that problem, and you feel even more for Charlotte and the others who have to deal with him running away from his problems. Even when he gets back to the academy, things are mostly “why does no one understand how I feel” for seventy-odd pages. Because you don’t tell them being the answer Slowe does not want to acknowledge.

Having asked to think about the Queen’s request for him to be a Guardian Knight, Slowe then returns back to the Denning domain… which proves to be a mistake, as everyone is assuming that he will naturally accept it. Including Charlotte. After trying to overeat his way out of the problem, he manages to strike a deal to return to the academy… but everyone else there (except maybe the headmaster) expects him to accept it as well. There’s also a new teacher (this school goes through teachers like Seven Spellblades) who has a chip on her shoulder and seems to despise Slowe. Meanwhile, to the shock of nearly everyone, Nanatrij has called off her war with the South after events in the previous two books. Unfortunately, some of her subordinates are not willing to accept this.

The main reason that Slowe is dragging his feet only comes out halfway through the book, which is the fact that Guardian Knights are meant to be celibate. (Presumably as they’re guarding the royal family, and you want to avoid “situations” with the Queen and princesses.) Indeed, the current Guardian Knight had a lover he had to abandon. So to Slowe, hearing Charlotte’s enthusiasm for his taking the position is like a knife to his heart. Of course, it’s his own damn fault, as he knows quite well. He’s too cowardly to confess his feelings, and he has not actually told Charlotte what being a Guardian Knight entails. He actually gets close to a confession this time around… but sadly the plot messes it up. As for the new teacher, well, I was also annoyed at her a lot of the time too, to be honest. She was far too much of a sucker.

So yeah, this wasn’t bad, but I had a sort of low-grade irritation while I was reading it. We’ll see what happens next with the Guardian Knight thing when the next book comes out.