By MIZUNA and Ruki. Released in Japan as “Yarikonda Otome Game no Akuyaku desu ga, Danzai wa Iya nano de Mattou ni Ikimasu” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by sachi salehi.

Ah, we’ve hit that difficult third album, I see. It was inevitable, given that the first two volumes of this series basically ended up being “this is better than I thought”, that I’d run into one that was on a level of exactly what I thought. In practice, this means that while this volume is for the most part enjoyable, it has a subplot that actively grates on me and which I found interminable. What’s worse, I worry it will crop up again – this seems the sort of author who would try to think of other ways to use that subplot in the future for “comedy” reasons. Sigh. Other than that, this basically wraps up the two-volume arc from last time, shows Reid simultaneously behaving like a prodigy and also having the emotional capacity of the child he is, and also giving us a cute dwarf girl to go with its cute elf girl. Though the dwarf is an adult.

After last time, Reid has impressed the dark elf king and helped to take down an evil noble, but he also showed off a bit TOO much, so his dad forbids him from going into town. This is a problem, as he has to find the herb that’s used in the medicine needed to cure his mother, one that’s supposed to be in the neighboring evil forest (yes, it’s called the Evil Forest, really). That said, his fiancee is not prohibited from visiting the town. So clearly Reid has to dress up as a maid in order to get around this. Hijinks, as you might guess, ensue. They come across a skilled dwarf brother-and-sister blacksmith shop, though they’re currently being threatened by a different evil noble. They also come across a guy who does know of the herb in question under a different name. But he’s ALSO being threatened by that evil noble. man, how many evil nobles does this series have?

So yes, everything about Reid dressed as a maid, and (inevitably) Prince Rhesis falling for “her” made me wince like I was hearing nails on a blackboard. Every single “gag” paid off like a pie to the face, and that’s not a good thing. I have no doubt we’ll see Reid in disguise as a maid again, even if I don’t want it. Other than that, this was pretty good. Reid gains a new butler/intelligence officer, who has a better gag in that he’s one of those “I don’t know how to smile properly as I am stoic as hell” types. That’s fun. This also, oddly, causes the dwarf girl to fall for him – since I’m not getting the hot gay bodyguard romance I want (due to them tragically not being gay), I guess this one is OK. I was also amused to see that Reid’s father is essentially a pushover when it comes to his family, and I have no doubt that, if this series ever lets anyone age, Farah will be able to manipulate Reid the same way.

That said, future volumes imply that this is not going to be a “two years passed” kind of series, but more “Volume 12, 5 days after Vol. 4”. I’ll keep up, but less wacky crossdressing hilarity, please.