The Isle of Paramounts: Reborn into a Slow Life Among the Strongest in the World, Vol. 2

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By Heiseiowari and Noy. Released in Japan as “Tenseishitara Saikyou Shu-tachi ga Sumau Shima deshita. Kono Shima de Slow Life wo Tanoshimimasu” by SQEX Novel. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Alex Castor.

The general theme of this book seems to be that everyone has a certain amount of stress in their lives, and that the best way to get rid of it is to totally relax in a place where your work can’t get to you. The two mages who were sent to check on Reina, and don’t really like her much, by the end of the book are just another part of the extended family being built up here. Of course, it helps when everyone on the island is so ludicrously powerful that there’s no point in stressing – you’ll just die if you don’t relax. Above everyone else is Arata, who gets annoyed every time someone implies he’s not human but by the end of the book is starting to get why they say it. As far as we can tell so far, he’s literally omnipotent. Even the vampire, who is able to take anyone else out no trouble, has issues dealing with him. He is OP Guy personified.

Arata and Reina have gotten completely settled in on this island (and are essentially acting like husband and wife, though his cluelessness and her shyness means they’re not really going much further than “we’re really good friends”). They’re also getting new visitors: as I noted above, two of Reina’s fellow mages wind up washed ashore on the island, and are quickly forced to get used to what life is like here. (Notably, they both specialize in an element and are jealous Reina can use all of them, while she’s jealous they’re really strong in one of them, calling herself a jack-of-all-trades.) We also meet the ancient dragons and ogres… or at least their teenage versions, who are fighting for supremacy but refuse to let Tailtiu join… not because she’s a girl, but because she’s too strong.

There’s a glorious scene midway through the book where, I thought at first, Arata had been yeeted to a completely different light novel to solve their problem and then yeeted right back. As it turns out that’s not true – while the Saint and the Hero were trying to summon someone to solve their problem, they exist in this world as well, and as it turns out Arata can solve the killer dragon problem but can’t help with church politics. I get the feeling we’ll see them again. I’m also not sure if this series is going to go polyamory, and if it does how many wives Arata will get. Reina is a given, of course, but Tailtiu, who is currently in the “little sister” role, does not look as if she’s prepared to stay there, especially as, once again, Arata solves all her personal issues by punching a few people till they understand. That said, give his “no, no, mustn’t have sexual thoughts about anybody” attitude, I doubt I need to worry for a while.

This is sort of a slow life series, even if the life is hanging around on what is basically the island where the gods live. I enjoy it.

Royal Spirits Are a Royal Pain! Give Me a Regular Romance, Vol. 2

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By Rei Kazama and Fujiazuki. Released in Japan as “Tensei Reijō wa Seirei ni Aisarete Saikyō Desu…… Dakedo Futsū ni Koi Shitai)” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by okaykei.

Last time I described the events in this series as being “a political hotbed”, and if anything I feel bad now for underselling it. I joked online that TO Books waylaid JNC after it had licensed Trials and Tribulations of My Next Life as a Noblewoman and sold them this series, like Sheldon Leonard’s tout trying to sell Jack Benny a horse. (Never let it be said I don’t provide modern references for the youth of today.) This book starts out with Deirdre and company getting involved in major rivalries, then moves to finding out that half those rivalries were not what they were told about at all, and ends in… well, I’ll talk about the last quarter or so of the book later. It’s absolute dynamite, though. The writer knows that light novels are drenched with 6-year-olds who talk like they’re middle-aged women, and so decides to weaponize it, with everyone not in her family seeing Deirdre as a terrifying creature.

Deirdre is six years old now, meaning her parents are finally letting her out of the house so that she can have destined encounters with dusky pretty boys… destined encounters that she totally ignores, of course. She’s also going around to various domains and trying to patch things up between the rulers and the royal spirits, who have made it perfectly clear that if they have to choose between destroying the entire nation and Deirdre, the nation will lose. Unfortunately, things are still very bad with the Empress and her family. What’s more, the faction that was supposedly opposing our heroine and her family… may not be after all? It turns out there’s another family in this race behind the scenes manipulating things. Oh, and there’s also an Evil Religion. It *is* a reincarnation book, after all.

Let’s talk about the last quarter of this book, which is when I started to compare it to T&T. It certainly racked up a hefty body count, and not the bodies that I was expecting. I had wondered whatever happened to the magical Wikipedia that Deirdre used in the first book, but it comes back with a vengeance here, as it’s a great way to summarize all of the backstabbing and manipulation that’s been happening to either keep the empress on the throne or get her off of it. Even Andrew, the closest thing in the Royal Family they have to an ally, doesn’t fully trust Deirdre and her family as they’re simply too powerful, too eccentric, and do not remotely care about power or the throne. Deirdre is here as a spirit guide. That said, she is quietly amassing a badass group of young girls who will presumably grow up to be a badass group of young women. Assuming they get to grow up.

The epilogue of this book shows us Deirdre about to turn ten, and I am assuming by the cover of the third book we’re headed off to the academy that always happens in these sorts of books. That said, I’m sure politics will not go away. Also, the thirteenth volume that just came out in Japan is the final one, so while we have a long way to go there’s at least an end point.

Once Upon a Witch’s Death: Celebration Rings Over Crystal Waters

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By Saka and Chorefuji. Released in Japan as “Aru Majo ga Shinu Made: Aokiumi ni Shukufuku no Kane wa Narihibiku” by DENGEKI no Shin Bungei. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Megan Turner.

When I reviewed the first book in this series, it was the only book in this series, and I wondered in the review if there would be any more of it. Since then, of course, we’ve had three more volumes (the fourth of which seems to be the final one). And an anime, which was not particularly popular here but was well received by the few who watched it. Fortunately, almost two years later, we finally have the second volume, with the third scheduled for the summer. Of course, I watched the anime as well, which leads to the problem that I broke one of my rules, which is “try not to watch an anime that passes where you’ve read”. This second volume contains the bulk of the back half of the anime, so folks who watched it know what’s going to happen. Fortunately, the story is still well-told, and honestly, we read this for Meg being a freakish gremlin in any case.

While technically not a short story volume, this book can be rather neatly divided into four sections. 1) Meg goes with Faust and Sophie to a giant witch convention that only happens every twenty years, and while there runs into a young girl who seems to be lost and also is more than she seems… and also a terrifying witch who has another bad prophecy for Meg. 2) Meg notices that a young girl… and later, her mother… have a dark mark on their necks that no one else can see. Faust says it’s a sign they’re going to be a sacrifice to Satan, and warns Meg not to get involved. Meg gets involved. 3) The huge tree in the town is overfloweing with magic and needs to be destroyed… but Meg has made friends with the spirit inside the tree, who is also getting corrupted. 4) After the events of Story 3, Meg has a broken leg, and goes to the city of Aquamarine to get treatment from a powerful medical witch. While there, she also learns about her past.

The first book was there to introduce us to Meg as a goofy little ball of energy who talks and acts like a dirty old man, has a big heart full of compassion, and seems to think she’s just an ordinary minor apprentice to a witch. This second volume is here to remind you that her master is possibly the second most powerful witch in the world, she’s best friends with the third most powerful, wants to intern with the fourth most powerful, and also is habitually achieving the impossible seemingly every single day, especially in the back half of the book. We see Meg basically invent her own magic here, twice, and most of it has to do with the fact that society has tried to math up magic to the point where it’s forgotten about the feelings. Since Meg is zero logic and all feelings, it’s no wonder she’s destroying all the common sense laws of how to cast spells.

This reads breezily, has a great main character voice, and some surprisingly dark horror within its pages. it’s a winner. Also, you can sing the title to the opening line of Secret Love by Doris Day.