By Hisaya Amagishi and Kei. Released in Japan as “Madougushi Dahlia wa Utsumukanai” by MF Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Osman Wong.

The fact that I still greatly enjoy this series despite it moving at a pace that would make a snail speed past it is testament to the good writing and strong characterization of the two leads. Last time I said that I didn’t feel Dahlia was quite mature enough to enter into a relationship, and that’s still true, but it has to be said that the exact same thing can be said about Volf. Plus, let’s face it, they’re essentially already married in how they act around each other every day. It just lacks the acknowledgement of attraction and desire. But boy, we’d really like to see that attraction and desire, huh? Volf is one slight step ahead of Dahlia in that he occasionally can admit his feelings (see his reaction when he hears Oswald has recommended Dahlia get a “large black-haired dog” to guard her at night. (Dahlia, of course, does not pick up on this at all, and starts asking about actual dogs.) Slow burn isn’t the word. Slow heating pad.

It’s a new volume, so we must be getting a new person who’s challenging Dahlia to verify that she’s not after Volf’s status or wealth and that she really is who she says she is. This time it’s Volf’s brother Guido, who tries to bribe Dahlia with a pile of cash, which works about as well as you’d expect. After this misunderstanding is cleared up (and Volf, who arrived late, expresses his displeasure at the whole thing), she bonds with Guido pretty quickly, as well as his bodyguard Jonas. She’s also becoming fast friends with her mentor Oswald, who is teaching her the proper, safe way to make tools (as opposed to the various not safe things she’s been doing to date), and giving her a protection bracelet made from precious materials. This triggers Volf’s jealousy… not that he’ll admit it. And she doesn’t notice it anyway.

Probably the most interesting part of the book is when Dahlia is convinced to actually outsource things so that she’ll have time to come up with new ideas. The problem with this is that the best company to outsource to is Orlando & Co., home of her ex. It is rather fitting how the company has fallen on hard times. At times you might think it’s a bit too much, and if you do I urge you to go back and read the first volume and see what Tobias did. Dahlia, of course, goes nowhere near the place, which is just as well, as she might be tempted to be too nice – indeed, she’s being too nice just subcontracting to them at all. Ivano’s scene with Ireneo is dark and chilling, both for his attitude towards the company and also for his ability to see that Tobias’ mother (who blames herself for everything that happens) is suicidal, and pauses things to make Ireneo stop her. This is a long way from “Dahlia and Volf drink and drink and drink some more”.

That said, rest assured we have that as well. (Also, have we even seen Tobias’ wife since she arrived to be the other woman? I will be 100% unsurprised if she did not bail as soon as the world turned against him.) Dahlia in Bloom remains a top-tier Heart title.

By Hisaya Amagishi and Kei. Released in Japan as “Madougushi Dahlia wa Utsumukanai” by MF Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Osman Wong.

If the first few books of this series are about how Dahlia is not ready to enter a new relationship so soon after the wounds of her old one, this new volume is about how she soon may not have much choice. Dahlia has rocketed to stardom almost overnight, and it’s not really a surprise that people are assuming that either a) she’s not a magical toolmaker at all but just a pretty face fronting for someone else, or b) her backers are financing her because they want access to her body. Neither one is true, of course, but you can see why someone who knows nothing about Dahlia might think that. Unfortunately, Dahlia is the sort to internalize any worries is stress that she has, so it’s very difficult to get her to kick back against this and take charge. Fortunately, when this does happen, it’s pretty awesome to watch. As for Volf, well, you get the impression that he will realize his feelings before she does, but they’re both still incredibly stubborn.

Since Dahlia is going to be selling stuff to royalty pretty soon, and Volf has frankly been avoiding interacting with them, both need a crash course in manners and etiquette. After this… and several scenes showing them eating and drinking, with a pile of descriptive pages discussing same, she’s ready to sell the new portable camp stove. She’s also figured out a way to make self-cooling fabric, which essentially runs wind through your clothing… a great boon to a town like this one where all the clothes are heavy and stuffy. Things are looking up, and she and Volf both plan to do deeds that might net them a barony. Unfortunately, before she can sell to the Order of Beast Hunters, she needs to get the approval of the treasury, which is casting a disparaging eye upon her.

We’ve seen this before in prior books, but it’s really hammered home here: Dahlia and Volf act like they’ve been married for some time, and when you combine that with their constant refrain of “we’re just good friends”, it sends the mother of all mixed signals. That’s fine for Volf, who mostly has to deal with sudden bouts of jealousy when she’s interacting with other men, but Dahlia can still be painfully naive when it comes to how she has presented herself, and it leads to bad assumptions. Fortunately, once she starts nerding out about magical inventions, no one can really doubt she is the genius she says she is. She’s also getting better at asking for help, and we meet another guild whose leader might become a regular in the future… provided he does not drug Ivano again. Honestly, Dahlia’s barony is likely going to happen sooner rather than later… and I get the feeling it may screw up any relationship between her and Volf rather than help it.

This was a very strong volume in the series, one of the better fantasies for female readers J-Novel Club is putting out. Its magic system is similar to others (slimes, etc.) without feeling like an RPG, and the leads are terrific. More, please.

By Hisaya Amagishi and Kei. Released in Japan as “Madougushi Dahliya wa Utsumukanai” by MF Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Nikolas Stirling.

I mentioned this in my review of the second volume, but it bears repeating: These two are a wonderful couple who absolutely should not get together at this point. Even the rest of the cast agrees with me. No one dares bring it up with Dahlia, who is still being treated with kid gloves, frankly (then again, it has only been a month since she was dumped by her fiance the day before her wedding), but everyone is planning for her business to be SO successful that she gets made a baroness, which would solve most of the issues with her marrying Volf. Not that she really has clued in to her own feelings yet. Volf has clued in to his own feelings, but his solution to the problem of class differences is terrible, as is fortunately pointed out to him by his older brother. Really, for the moment, they’re best as they are seen here: inventing new things, creating hilariously bad and terrifying magical swords, and eating and drinking a lot. A whole lot.

Much of this volume is spent with Dahlia trying to find a way to make the portable stove even smaller, so that it can be easily carried by knights when they go on their missions. We get into the nitty gritty of materials needed, cost, and how much to change – this book does not skimp on the business insights. That said, Dahlia is still showing off some painful naivete in this book. She’s trying to deal with the gossip about her and Volf, but it’s not something that you can just smile and hope it goes away. More concerning is the fact that she has so little self-worth that she gives away valuable creations at the drop of a hat, not realizing that she needs to convey a better idea of what she is as a proprietor rather than as a friend. As for Volf, well, his biggest concern is a monster that creates an illusion of a loved one – something Volf has never really had to deal with until now.

We already pretty much knew that Dahlia was having trouble dealing with the death of her father, and here we see that she’s also still having trouble dealing with her previous life in Japan, where she had a still living mother when she overworked herself to death. Honestly, she may have a similar fate here unless events conspire to get her and Volf together, as we see her lose track of the entire day working on another invention. She also says she plans to never get married, which is fine right now given that she and Volf are already acting like – and are mistaken for – a married couple. You can absolutely see where the rumors come from. The scene where they buy the matching glasses and amphora in order to have even better alcohol is really great, and shows that when they do manage to get past their own personal demons, they will be an amazing power couple.

But that’s for future Dahlia volumes. For now there is outside barbecue, a strong cider, and Dahlia’s vague feeling that she wants Volf to be by her side forever. Huh. Wonder what that’s about?