Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court (Light Novel) Vol. 5

ふつつかな悪女ではございますが ~雛宮蝶鼠とりかえ伝~ [Futsutsuka na Akujo dewa Gozaimasu ga: Suuguu Chouso Torikae Den] (Novel) #5

by Satsuki Nakamura, Kana Yuki (Illustrator)

TESTING THE MAIDENS' METTLE!

Three months have passed since the Harvest Festival, and the five Maidens now face the Rite of Reverence—the test that will set their hierarchy in stone. The pressure is on, and each girl has her own inner demons to contest with! Unconcerned with the rankings, Kou Reirin supports her nervous wreck of a friend, Shu Keigetsu...until the two get into a knock-down, drag-out fight! To make matters worse, an unknown force is out to sabotage Reirin. Does the indomitable Kou Maiden finally have her back to the wall?!

Genres: Light Novel, Fantasy

326 pages, Paperback

First published October 4, 2022

About the author

Japanese name: 中村颯希

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The more this series delves into the intricacies of friendship and how two people, who have for various reasons developed such maladaptive personalities in such contrasting ways, have this capacity to both completely enrich and devastatingly harm each other is simply fantastic. The limits and negative effects of Keigetsu’s constant catastrophizing and Reirin’s unnatural suppression of all her emotions were put on full display, with their friendship being tested for how much it can endure — and it physically hurt as a reader to go through these tense emotional moments and revelations with them, which is testament to how compelling these girls’ relationship and growth has become. After that scene at the frozen lake, I literally had to put the book down and take a moment to process everything — Keigetsu’s outburst really had me that shaken up.

It’s not just the core two either — the way politicking is done in the background between the established consorts and their successors is also captivating and, to be honest, also very sad. I wish to some extent that the world in which these girls live in, its limitations and cruelty towards being female in this clearly patriarchal society in which young girls compete to, in blatant terms, prove themselves as the “most worthy breeder” for the emperor is in itself a fascinating yet disturbing part of this whole story that hovers unspoken yet inescapable in the background.

But… that would probably be asking too much from a light novel series, and I’m already satisfied with all the progress it’s made from the beginning when it looked like romance would be the main focus. This story really shines when focusing on the platonic — positive and negative — relationships in the court, with some non-romantic males thrown in for good measure, like Reirin’s brothers, who add a good dose of comedy whenever they appear. Needless the say, I’m certainly diving right into the next volume to see through the conclusion of this heart wrenching arc.

[Erika · Rating 2 out of 5]

☆2～2.5。
メイン二人の入れ替わりとそれぞれのキャラ以外に1-4巻の内容をあまり覚えていないので、思わせぶりな描写が出てきても「あっそ」で終わる上に、どのキャラにも深みがなく、主役二人の会話もほとんど新鮮味がなく、今回は無理矢理お互い意地を張って喧嘩させてる感が強く、辟易してしまった。
あとがきで著者が「いつか喧嘩をさせたい、エモい喧嘩をさせたいと強く願っていた」と書いてて、本当にもはや内容がそれのみ。
他の後宮メンバーとその後ろ盾（詳細な名前とか忘れた）の様々な思惑やら画策やらも描かれるけれど、全く魅力に欠ける描かれ方なので、DNF寸前だった。
...というか、もうこのシリーズDNFでいいかな。

読後すぐはなんとなく☆３つにしてたけど、やはり時間を置くといかに内容の薄いものだったか気づいたので、☆２つに変更。
残念だな、友人お勧めだったし、シリーズはじめの方は結構楽しく読めたのに。
この著者、もう一つのシリーズ（「Indoor Antenna,白豚妃再来伝 後宮も二度目なら 一 (富士見L文庫):」）でも主人公はほぼ同じキャラだし、こういうキャラしか描けないんだろう。
（...へぇ、こっちも漫画化されてるんだ...）