By Kuroakawa Hitsugi and Kushiro Kuki. Released in Japan as “Repeat Vice: Akuyaku Kizoku wa Shinitakunai node Shitennou ni Naru no wo Yamemashita” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by piyo.

While amusing, it can also be a pain in the ass when I decide what I’m going to base a large chunk of my review on and then have the author, in the afterword, say what I was going to and that they are well aware of it. So yeah, let’s just get this out of the way: for a harem series, Lilka has been getting a lot more attention than the rest of the girls. This is especially true in this book, where Fol and Yusurika are basically absent, and much of the book features Lofus and Lilka arguing like a couple that says they hate each other but will totally be married by the end of the book. That said, the author may not agree with me, and tries to stick a fork in this relationship by having Lofus point out that she’s not his type, and that he finds another kind of woman attractive. Which, fine, but the narrative disagrees. Also, still 13 years old, I believe.

We pick up where we left off, with Lofus, while being very grumpy about it, rushing to the rescue of Lilka and the rest of the sky pirates, who are about to be annihilated. As it turns out, they’re about to be annihilated by a monster that is FAR stronger than it was the first time Lilka went through her life. Fortunately, Lofus brought Raymond along, and so his able to, if not defeat the monster right away, at least slow it down. Unfortunately, he also runs into a guy named Lars, who. like Raymond, wants Lofus to join him, and goes on to explain how Lilka’s assumptions of what needs to happen are bullshit. Unfortunately for Lars, he’s a smug kind of guy, and Lofus naturally hates joining up with anyone anyway, so we get another big battle, this time involving the soul of a long-dead warrior. And after that they have to go rescue Lilka’s pirate ship, which involves meeting yet another heroine.

The thing I liked best here were the various perspective shifts. Lofus has his knowledge of the game, but that’s third-person, so when he’s asked why he specifically joined Raymond’s doomed rebellion he doesn’t really know. Lilka has her own perspective, but also died early in her first life, so doesn’t have access to everything. As for Raymond, when told about Lofus’ “dreams” and what he did in them, he’s just as puzzled as anyone else – if he wants to rule the world, why choose the worst possible way to do it? This, more than the Demon Lord shenanigans, are what makes me want to read more. Well, that and seeing Lofus and Lilka fight. I love 30s screwball comedies, and there’s a lot of that here, with Lilka finally admitting by the end of the book that she really has fallen in love, and while Lofus doesn’t feel the same, he is forced to admit that he actually cares for people quite a lot. Certainly more than his image can bear.

Also, I think we managed to get through a volume without something major ticking me off. This remains an underdog sort of book, the type that is more interesting than it sounds.