By Hyogo Amagasa and Kyouichi. Released in Japan as “Akatsuki no Majo Lacey wa Jiyū ni Ikitai” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Amanogawa Tenri.

This one snuck up on me. I was sort of gently mocking the book as I went through the first half, which is very much on the “low-key life” part of the title. Lacey invents oven mitts. Lacey invents a camera. But then it turns out that all of this, as well as the previous two books, are important as Lacey is asked to come back to the capital. And, while there’s a lot of backsliding and introverted panicking, the difference between the Lacey of the start of the first book and the one we see in this volume is night and day. She’s an incredibly powerful witch, and everyone and their brother want to use her. But while she does want to bring the kingdom happiness, she also wants the privilege of choosing how she is used. And people are taking notice. Best of all, Lacey finally cottons on to what her feelings for Wayne actually are. She’s not quite ready to do anything yet, but the feelings are recognized.

Wayne shows up at the village again, and this time he’s here for a full month, though he doesn’t say why. We see Lacey helping Cedric, who turns out to have a daughter who is getting married, and he wants to bake something special for the wedding but can’t figure out what. After the wedding, discussion of how the kids are having trouble remembering what the dress looked like makes Lacey want to create photography, which she does through a wonderful series of trial and error and the help of her phoenix. Finally, though, Wayne reveals why he’s there. The princess (you know, the one who cheated with Lacey’s fiancee in Book 1) is getting married, but has locked herself in her room right before the wedding. The king is asking Lacey to help do something about that. But why is the princess there in the first place?

After getting a fairly typical “evil noble” in the last book, the most refreshing part of this one is seeing how it handles the prior antagonists. The King is mindboggled by how much Lacey has changed from just a year away from saving the world and being the Dawn Witch. Alicia, the princess, already fully regrets her philandering, but being married off to a foreign prince (who’s fine, at least) has her lonely and homesick before she even leaves. Heck, we even get a side story showing that Raymond, whose fault all of this really is, has gotten used to life on the farm where he’s been exiled too, and is even coming through with delicious vegetables. If there’s a weak spot in the series, it continues to be Wayne, who I sort of but not really wish would be found to have a dark side, or a secret he hasn’t revealed. He’s just this bland guy.

But we’re not here for him, we’re here for Lacey, and she’s fun. She also reminds me of Monica, so Silent Witch fans should also get this. The next volume, which should wrap the series up, is not out in Japan yet.

By Hyogo Amagasa and Kyouichi. Released in Japan as “Akatsuki no Majo Lacey wa Jiyū ni Ikitai” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Alex Honton.

This book leans very, very strongly into Lacey’s introversion and tendency to rebuff all praise, and it’s the better for it, because the premise of the series is not really “will she get together with Wayne?” – this isn’t a romance, though there’s elements – but rather it’s “will she learn to love herself and accept that she’s a genius who comes up with amazing ideas no one else could think of?” And by no one else, I mean no one else in the magical land she’s a part of, living in a small village. Because honestly, scented sachets and insulated bags to keep things cool are things that seem obvious to us, a modern reader. But they take the country by storm – which is possibly not a good thing, as they’re getting far too much attention, and for someone whose wish to the king was that she wanted to be free, that’s bad news. Lacey is going to have to fight for freedom rather than just long for it.

Lacey’s opened her “Anything” shop, but she’s having trouble getting customers, mostly as the village saw the superpowers she used in the last book and don’t want to bother her with things that aren’t all that much. That said, when she hears Allen’s family talking about how they want cold drinks in the heat of summer, she comes up with an insulated bag to keep cool things cool and warm things warm. After this, her former party member Dana drops by, both to reconnect with Lacey and to consult her on the muscle and head pain she’s got from dealing with nobles too much. (The answer is: sleep.) Unfortunately, one of those nobles is rather desperate to get a hold of the creator of these super-popular inventions, and he’s not above kidnapping people – or, for that matter, murdering people – to get what he wants.

Lacey’s journey to self-confidence is slow, and still a work in progress, but she makes tremendous strides here. She’s helped by Wayne, who’s probably the weak point of the book – he’s basically the perfect boyfriend, patiently waiting for her to figure it out, and also helping her behind the scenes to make sure she’s happy. I wish he had more flaws. Lacey has plenty of those, as she constantly denies her own cleverness by pointing out how much everyone else contributed to her idea, and of course is still hiding her true identity because she feels she can’t live up to the Dawn Witch in everyone’s head. The running theme in this book is seeing her crouch down on the ground and pull her huge witch’s hat over her head to hide from anything that overwhelms her. By the end of the book, having stood up for herself and those she’s now vowed to protect, she doesn’t need the hat anymore, and it symbolically blows away in a scene that is (chef’s kiss).

So definitely still enjoying this. But I think the third volume only recently came out in Japan, so it might be a bit before we get more. Recommended for introverts who love to painfully identify with the heroine.

By Hyogo Amagasa and Kyouichi. Released in Japan as “Akatsuki no Majo Lacey wa Jiyū ni Ikitai” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Alex Honton.

One of the more popular genres recently, which I read a couple of but in general I’m not a fan, is the “thrown out of the party” genre of fantasy. In this genre, our protagonist, who tends to either be overly specialized, too competent, or just in the way, is either told they aren’t needed anymore and abandoned (the “good” kind) or attempted murdered (the “bad” kind). Inevitably, things don’t go well for the party afterwards. I am very relieved to tell you that Lacey Longs for Freedom is almost the polar opposite of this genre. Here we have a party of misfits, each one overpowered but weird except for the hero who binds them all together, defeating the demon lord, parting company… and staying good friends who have each other’s backs. It’s just wonderful to see. It’s also something of a relief, as our heroine is the sort where, if she were abandoned by the hero’s party, would just quietly lie on the side of the road till she died. Yup, another OP introvert.

The Demon King has been defeated and our heroes have returned to the kingdom. They all get one wish, anything they want. But their mage, Lacey, doesn’t use her wish. She already knows her future. She’s engaged to be married to the son of a duke, and will spend the rest of her time being expected to give birth to other powerful mages. She seems depressingly okay with this, even though she’s aware that her fiance doesn’t like her. However, when she sees her fiance cheating on her with the princess of the country – right after she’d seen him cheating with yet another woman – she stands up for herself a bit. And is promptly screamed at by the traditional appalling fiance these books have. Fortunately, the hero is on her side, and is able to help her get what she really wants – not to be tied down to anyone.

For the most part, this is a very good book, especially once we get past the obligatory engagement guff at the start. Lacey is magically super-powered but socially inept, and has to be reminded to eat and sleep. She wants to improve, though, and over the course of the book, as she settles into a nearby village and sets up a shop where she’ll do anything, anytime, anywhere (sadly, though she’s as short as Bill Oddie, there’s not much else similar to the Goodies), she comes out of her shell a bit and can interact with folks – especially when there’s a problem that needs solving. That said, she’s clearly in love with Wayne, the hero, but unaware of it, determined instead to become independent of him taking care of her. Amusingly, Wayne, who is clearly besotted with Lacey, also has not quite hit the point where he’s ready to admit it’s romantic love – he frames it, as she does, as taking care of her as he worries she’ll just fall over dead if he looks away. They reach an understanding at the end of the book, but aren’t quite a couple yet.

This is a good series to read if you like seeing painfully shy girls who can change the weather, heal life-threatening injuries in seconds, and tame magical phoenixes. I think we all like that, really.