Going the Extra Mile! When the Crimson Vow's newest job brings them up against not just a horde of beastmen but an elder dragon, Mile is forced to fight for her life in earnest, in what will become her greatest struggle yet! Can she dig deep and tap the combined power of her three selves to protect her friends?
Volume four covers the last one or two episodes of the anime, dealing with the ancient ruins and the fight with the elder dragons. It's a lot more complicated in the novel, but all the essential elements remain the same. I wouldn't like to say one version is better than the other, but Mile's 'conversation' with her two other selves is better in the anime (it basically doesn't happen in the novel).
This volume ends where the anime does, with the Crimson Vow setting off out of the country for new adventures. Hints in the afterword suggest that they'll encounter Marcella and the other girls from Ekland Academy. (Marcella is on track to becoming a princess, so that ought to be interesting...)
I've given this an extra star because it's a strong story all the way through (even if I didn't get several of the cultural references). And it has the poop bomb. The poop bomb is worth an extra star on its own. That was cruel, Mile. Just plain cruel.
After 2 weak volumes, this installment in the series restores my hope in its potential. A much more focused writing in the main story helps this series find back its footing and we finally get to see our heroine facing actual danger, even if she still brute-forced through it as usual.
The humour is a lot better in this volume as well, coming from a combination of the heroine's ingenuity and bad puns.
The story also heads towards a new arc as the heroine's party finds a new purpose at the end of the volume and hopefully the next volume is a lot more interesting.
Finally something challenging for Mile appears! Not that she doesn't do the OP MC thing anyway. Still an entertaining adventure book. Marcela's side story was also pretty fun, I hope we'll see more of her and the rest of the trio!
Definitely another final read and a really great addition to the series over all. I am looking forward to reading volume number five sometime in the future.
By far my favorite volume in this series! Not only do we see our Protag in real danger but we also see how far she will go to protect those closest to her!