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.

First of all, I feel the need to apologize to Karla, who I clearly jinxed in my last review. Thanks to her family, not only is she no longer a candidate for Prince Andrew’s hand, she’s barely in the book at all. She’s not particularly happy about this of course, and I think is quietly trying to get herself disowned as well. In the meantime, this is good news for Monica and Susanna, the other two candidates. First of all, because hey, Andrew is a catch and you get to be Empress, but also because the “loser” in the wife wars gets Chris, who is himself just as much of a catch. Of course, there’s also the elephant in the room, which is who Deirdre is going to marry. The longer she waits, the worse her options get, and the political kudzu that is her home nation means that there’s a limited number of partners available there. Fortunately, there is one obvious option.

Just as everyone learns about House Johannes blowing up Karla’s social status, the spirits come to take folks to Kohaku’s domain, so that the spirits can meet Andrew properly. This actually ends up defusing another small crisis, as the second prince, Eldred, has been feeling so guilt-ridden over what happened in previous books that he wants to leave the royal family altogether. Elsewhere, Deirdre is busy with her various projects, such as a book – one for children, one for young adults – about how to care for and raise spirits; getting a decent edible chocolate, with the help of Kamil and his country; watch how her other brother proves to be far more romantically adept that her and Chris will ever be; and also meet the spirits of other nations, who quickly get involved in a bidding war for her favor that promises to turn nasty in future volumes.

I appreciate the fact that, by the end of this volume, Deirdre has acknowledged her own ineptness when it comes to perceiving romantic interest, and she’s rapidly also coming to realize that her choice of potential partners who will not somehow make her life a misery is down to one. It was pretty clear in the third book that she and Kamil would be endgame, and it’s made crystal clear here. That said, the combination of Deirdre’s reluctance to get engaged at the age of ten, and her own discomfort with the fact that she’s not only an adult in a child’s body, but an immature adult n a child’s body, lead her to kick the can down the road. Fortunately, a road trip in the next book may help there. As for the rest of the book, there are a few dark suggestions of Deirdre’s future in the story of another woman who was found to be beloved by spirits, and possibly a reincarnator, who ended up killing herself out of depression. Let’s avoid that Bad End, please.

We’ve got a ways to go, though (this is book 4 of 13), so I’m sure there will be drama a-plenty before Deirdre gets both old enough and politically savvy enough to tie the knot. In the meantime, this is a great deal of fun.