The Fearsome Witch Teaches in Another World: Behold the Growth of My Students

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By Mitsuru Inoue and Suzuno. Released in Japan as “Isekai Teni Shite Kyoushi ni Natta ga, Majo to Osorerarete Iru Ken” by Earth Star Luna. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Gierrlon Dunn.

It’s not a secret that this series definitely has an Agenda with a capital A. The most obvious part is trying to convey how to teach people, how to talk with kids and understand their own varied issues, etc. That certainly applies here as well, but the author also seems determined to kick back against all the cliches that you seem to see in light novels in this sort of world. Getting an arranged marriage without your consent to someone decades older than you? No you’re not. Country determined to prove that Magic A Is Magic A? No it’s not. Are those nobles who insist only those of the upper class can use magic and that filthy commoners should know their place? We’ll put a stop to that. Oh look, those dwarfs only care about magical weapons rather than using magic itself? Not gonna happen. Aoi is here to drag everyone into modern times with the best magic, and she will beat up the world to do so.

As with Tearmoon Empire, this series has trouble figuring out where to end a book. The first third of the book wraps up the trip to the Holy Maple Leaf Empire, as Aoi has to travel to Shenley’s home because her father has decided to pull her out of school. Naturally this pisses Aoi off, especially when she discovers a) he’s ignoring all her other accomplishments, b) he’s ignoring Aoi, and c) he’s marrying Shenley off to the one guy who didn’t grow to love her magic in the 2nd book. Needless to say, “Aoi Being Very Aoi” solves all these problems. The larger part of the book is essentially this world’s version of the culture festival, only it’s an international event, with the world leaders coming to see what cool magic tricks Fiddich Academy has come up with now. As such, it’s mostly the teachers who are stressed about presentations. No worries, though, Aoi is here to help.

There’s a lot of family stuff in this book. Once Shenley’s dad is given a talking to, he travels to the academy to see exactly what Shenley has been going through, and ends up sympathizing far more with her. (It helps that under Aoi’s tutelage she’s becoming a genius.) Dean’s mother is the classic “education mama” for whom no amount of good things is enough, you can always do better. (Admittedly, that plot will have to be resolved in Book 4, because we’re ending in the middle of an arc again.) Felter’s dad is, unsurprisingly, a guy who lives only for battle, and essentially comes every year to beat his son up and is now intrigued at this tiny powerful woman. And there’s even the commoner kid who Aoi teaches magic to show that it has nothing to do with breeding, whose dad may help pave the way for her to spread magic even further. Aoi may beat up a lot of her problems, but she’s also good at negotiation, bartering, and everything except common sense and facial expressions.

As ever, if you hate OP folks who win easily all the time, avoid avoid avoid. Otherwise, this series remains a lot of fun, and Aoi is ridiculous.

Sister Mafioso: O God, Let This Lie Stand

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By Adachi and Kyozip. Released in Japan as “Gisou Shi Shita Moto Mafia Reijou, Nidome no Jinsei wa Zettai ni Ikinobimasu ~Kamisama, Douka Kono Uso dake wa Minogashite Kudasai~” by Dre Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Emily Hemphill.

It’s been a while since we’ve had a straight up thriller light novel. Oh sure, this is in the Heart imprint, and the romance is there, but the romance is not why you read this. You read this worrying that our heroine is about to die, and you do so for almost 300 pages. There’s lots of lies and deception, there’s a truly horrible family that does some truly horrible things (woe to the woman who poses as our heroine, you don’t want to know how she turns out), there is a very high body count, and there’s a lot of people who hate themselves. And of course, as the title might tell you, when I say family I mean “Family”. Like the Hotel California, our heroine discovers that you can check out any time you want (figuratively), but you can never leave.

In a remote nunnery, Novice Sister Dina Tosca has been there for ten years, being a pious young nun in training. Unfortunately, a ne’er-do-well comes looking for a Dina Ferletti, a blonde daughter of a mafia don who went missing ten years ago and was presumed dead. Now, Dina Tosca is not blonde, and she’s a year younger than the other Dina is supposed to be, but that’s good enough for the Ferletti family, who kidnap her and drag her back to the current head of the family, Aurelio… and if it tursns out not to work, well, they can always kill her. Fortunately, there’s a mole in the Forletti family who’s trying to take them down, and he wants to help Dina. Though to do so she’ll have to pose as Dina Ferletti. Which should not be hard, as well, she really *is* Dina Ferletti, and she really doesn’t want to tell her new ally as he may just kill her.

There’s some good intrigue here, much of it nasty. Dina’s dinner with her brother and his lover turns out to be “do you remember the right way to eat to avoid being poisoned?”, and when another “Dina Ferletti” shows up, our Dina worries that, even if she is the real deal, she may not be real enough. The romantic leads are both good, but my favorite character may be Luca, a member of the family who brought Dina there and who doesn’t like Teodoro… and the feeling is mutual. He’s the classic “I am mostly a terrible person, but I am also attracted to the main heroine” sort, and I was delighted by his character arc. Let’s also say that he and Teodoro are very lucky this is the Heart line and not the Knight line. If there’s a weakness it’s Aurelio, whose backstory didn’t really resonate for me, as well as a bit TOO much “are they really poisoned this time” set pieces.

This is very much told in a single volume… but it’s Drecom, so you know they were asked to write another, and it’s coming. If you like a good dark action thriller, this is right up your alley.

The Too-Perfect Saint: Tossed Aside by My Fiancé and Sold to Another Kingdom, Vol. 6

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By Fuyutsuki Koki and Masami. Released in Japan as “Kanpeki Sugite Kawaige ga Nai to Konyaku Haki Sareta Seijo wa Ringoku ni Urareru” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Amelia Mason. Adapted by Shaenon K. Garrity.

I suppose if you’re going to have a romantic age-gap romance, you might as well lean right away into the fact that it’s very problematic. From the moment that Philia hears about Lena’s engagement to the knight Elmhardt, an engagement that was arranged right after Lena was born, and when Elmhardt was already a young man, her reaction is essentially the reader’s: what the heck? As it turns out, the engagement mostly comes down to a whole heaping helping of guilt from almost all parties – even Lena, whose innocent question to her fiance several years ago led to him just giving up and avoiding her. But Lena’s an adult now, at least by the standards of this world, and the book makes it very clear that everyone’s been going around doing things without asking what she wants. Fortunately, Philia, who is learning about this strange thing called friendship, is different.

Despite the fact that things are still fraught after the events of the last book, there’s a pilgrimage coming up, and Osvalt is in charge of it. The neighboring country of Alectron journeys there for religious reasons. Unfortunately, Philia also hears that assassins are plotting to kill her – again. So they’re adding lots of extra security, including knight (and friend of Leonardo) Elmhardt, who it turns out is Lena’s fiance. Though both of them seem very uncomfortable about it. After an attack on Philia (maybe?) by monsters, it turns out that the assassin is using a magical tool that’s been stolen from the kingdom’s vaults… a tool that was also used years ago, when there was a coup attempt. Which also involved the current king of Alectron. And Elmhardt.

I mentioned the friendship thing earlier, and it may be my favorite moment of the book. Lena’s been around from the start, but she’s basically been fulfilling a “maid/bodyguard” role. Philia has her mother and sister, she has other saints who are more like disciples, and she also has Erza, but she hasn’t been around for a while. More importantly, Philia is still having to deal with normal human emotions after repressing them for her entire life, so the idea that she cares about Lena and wants what’s best for her is more important than it normally would be. There’s also a convoluted plot and backstory here, which mostly checks out fine, though it feels like an excuse for romantic conflict more than anything else. If there’s a flaw here it’s probably Lena, who’s simply too nice about the whole thing – yes, even when she’s furiously attacking near the end – and who I wish would at least kick back a little against a setup she’s had since birth.

Still, overall this was solid. And next time we have Mia’s wedding. Which I’m sure will be trouble-free and totally boring. Right.