Reign of the Seven Spellblades, Vol. 12

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By Bokuto Uno and Miyuki Ruria. Released in Japan as “Nanatsu no Maken ga Shihai suru” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

I’ve talked before about how my desire to see the main six cast members live happily ever after is warring with the narrative, which keeps underlining how Oliver and Katie are doomed. With this episode, I get the feeling that we’re going to be adding everyone else to that list as well, and make this an All Or Nothing type of series. The two characters who have gotten the least focus get attention here, and while Pete is mostly setup for future volumes (with one huge exception which I’ll get to later), Guy’s arc is looking to be a lot more dangerous and potentially fatal. Generally speaking I’ve always thought of Guy and Chela as “the sensible ones”, and this book is here to throw that out the window and remind me that absolutely everyone in that group is weird as hell. Of course he survives – none of them will die till at least Oliver explains what he’s doing. But yikes, I don’t wish what he has to go through on anyone else… wait, absolutely the wrong way to put that.

Despite the fact that Guy and Pete get much more focus here, the publisher still knows who its big sellers are, so Oliver and Nanao are on the cover again, along with new teacher Rod Farquois, who will be taking over astronomy, is a reversi just like Pete, and absolutely no one knows what they’re up to – it’s very clear they’re not here at the school’s request. As for the main plot, half of it … again, we’re coming to it… but the last half of the book is a rescue arc, as Guy, Ursule Valois’ twin attendants, and forgotten first book teen bully Annie Mackley are trapped on the second floor of the labyrinth, which is dealing with someone consumed by the spell, and he’s turned the floor into his own cursed treehouse of horrors. Everyone will be going there to rescue Guy/the twins (sorry, Annie, no one really likes you), but can they do it before Guy makes an irreversible decision?

I hate to be a broken record, but my god this series is horny. It’s baked into the plot, as it’s hinted that one of the main reasons that our heroes are suffering so much right now is that they’re not banging each other on the regular. Pete, at least, takes care of that in one of the more startling scenes in the book, where he confronts Oliver in his female body and takes him to bed. Oliver, of course, is doing similar things with Nanao, and Chela helped him earlier. Katie loves Oliver, but knows he’s rejecting her, so is snuggling Guy every chance she gets. Guy likes Katie, so is helping her with this. Third-year Rita likes Guy too, and is angry at Katie. And we also meet Leoncio’s sister, a third year who is absolutely his distaff counterpart, and who seems to be constantly aroused. I don’t think that all Oliver’s problems would be solved with an orgy… unless?

This is another book that ends WHAM, no epilogue at all, so I’m not sure what happens next. The cover to Vol. 13 sure looks like a “Breaking of the fellowship” situation, though, huh? In any case, please read about these powerful and pent-up idiots.

Agents of the Four Seasons, Vol. 4

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By Kana Akatsuki and Suoh. Released in Japan as “Shunka Shūtō Daikōsha” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Sergio Avila.

Last time I mentioned that everyone in this book is an abuse survivor, and in this book it becomes even more clear that our heroes are all either children or traumatized when they were children, and the bad guys are adults who are seeking to manipulate them for their own ends. It even spells this out literally, with the leader of Doyen Turtle says how good it is that the Agents are young and easily manipulable. The kid we briefly saw in the last book is no exception, and the biggest plot twists revolve around making him have a complete nervous breakdown because of his powers and things he had no control over. Thankfully, the Agents and their Guards are all much better at this than the last arc,. and things actually go swimmingly… OK, partly as even the “good” adult characters are also manipulating everything behind the scenes. A lot of the main characters end up in romantic relationships, and there’s a reason for that – when you can only trust one or two people, you stick with them.

Picking up where we left off, the Agents of Summer are up on the mountain, and have met up with the Archer of Twilight. The other Agents and Guards are on their way there, but are being blocked by the usual insurgents and traitors, because we still have a battle between two organizations, one of whom wants (theoretically) to protect the agents and one who wants to “replace” them all. And then there’s Ruri and Ayame’s fiances, who are also on their way to the mountain… and it turns out Ruri’s fiancee is actually head of the “protect” organization. They both really love their fiancees, something they hope they can convey after all hell breaks loose. Oh yes, speaking of fiancees, Sakura gets a marriage proposal from Hinagiku’s brother, which would keep Hinagiku safe but make Sakura’s life a nightmare. She is, of course, considering it, because EVERYONE in this series hates themselves.

A lot of the back half of this is an action movie, so forgive me if I talk about the couples a bit more. We learn a lot more about Raicho here, who seems to be someone you would not want to trust. He’s never had a girlfriend longer than three months, and regards love as something he doesn’t want to bother with… till he meets Ruri. Ruri is his OTP, even if they get off on the wrong foot, and it brings out… not the best in him. There really aren’t any sweetness and light relationships in this series. But it does arouse his protective instincts. As for Eken, the cause of most of the “mountain” plot, he gets the plot twists, and they’re very good, forcing us to re-evaluate everything we’d been told – and then do it again later. He might be a bit annoying, but given that he’s been super traumatized and is having guns pointed at him, who can blame him?

So things are temporarily safe again, and Summer Is Icumen In, or at least getting married. The next book in the series is, finally, a stand alone, dealing with the other Archer, who we only briefly saw in this arc. Hopefully it will be less fraught. Please keep these poor kids happy, I beg you.

Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? On The Side: Sword Oratoria, Vol. 13

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By Fujino Omori and Kiyotaka Haimura. Released in Japan as “Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka? Gaiden – Sword Oratoria” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Dale DeLucia.

It’s been over four years since we last had a volume of Sword Oratoria, though thankfully the next two books in the series are out in Japan, so it shouldn’t be that long all the time. If the first six or so books in the series were an Aiz spinoff, the next six were, on and off, focused on Lefiya. She gets this one as well, serving as an epilogue to her arc, and showing how she’s dealing with Filvis’ death and her part in it. I will admit, I probably did myself a favor reading this book right after a volume of Tanya the Evil. That series, which it can be fascinating, is not one you read for great prose. It’s a military slog. This, on the other hand, absolutely flies by despite being almost 300 pages. Say what you will about Omori, they can write a well-paced volume. What’s more, this takes place at the same time as Vol. 19 in the main series. We’ve finally caught up.

We pick up shortly after the events of the last few books. Lefiya returns to Loki Familia, having cut her long hair short, and now equipping herself with Filvis’ sword. She needs training to get stronger so she can be a magical swordsman, she says, and she chooses to train with Bete, reasoning that he’s the only one who will beat the shit out of her till she gets stronger. Loki, realizing that Lefiya is headed down a dangerous path, instead has her go to the flying School District to scout new students for the Familia. After all, Lefiya came from that school originally. On arrival, interspersed with memories of her time as a student, she learns how to be a teacher, and also continues down her very dangerous path. Fortunately, she’s better at one of these things more than the other.

We do see Bell in this, and yes, Lefiya still hates him. (The Memoria Freese game that’s currently being mined for spinoffs suggests they go back a lot longer than either of them realize.) Lefiya and Bell have been compared and contrasted through the entire Sword Oratoria spinoff, and it’s even more clear here, as Lefiya absolutely throws herself into getting stronger so that she can carry on Filvis’ legacy. The flashbacks suggest that Lefiya lacks a goal, and that adventurers who lack goals end up dead adventurers. She’s honestly pretty terrifying in this, especially in the back half, as we realize that she’s essentially trying to commit suicide by destroying her own identity. Fortunately, the genuine teaching moments she gives to the students in her care (some of whom are older than she is) helps to save her in the end. Lefiya can’t be Filvis no matter how much she loved her (and she says it out loud here). She has to remain Lefiya. Now, at least, she can move forward.

As for the spinoff itself, the next volume moves backwards, and appears to finally show us how Finn, Gareth and Riveria ended up in Loki Familia. Till then, I will finally admit that I’ve stopped disliking Lefiya. She’s gotten good.