Herscherik has stalled on his investigation into the ultimate source of the drug problem, so he's now openly baiting his enemies. But his actions garner an unexpected response---Barbosse decides to engage his daughter to the young prince. In addition, the Church seems to be playing a game of its own, with the mysterious mage the prince befriends . . .
Shiro is so much fun. He ends up getting nicknamed by Hersh because he won't introduce himself, and then gets pulled into a lot of things because Hersh likes magic (despite not being able to use any), and Shiro is a mage with free time . . .
My only regret is that Shiro doesn't get as much focus as Octavian or Kuro in their introductory books, because probably half the book is focusing on the parallel plot with the whole engagement. Herscherik, who still thinks of himself as the woman he used to be, finds the whole situation difficult to handle, especially when he meets the young woman in question.
I think my favorite part, though, is how Hersh manages to break out of a particularly nasty illusion spell--the one thing that's "too good to be true" is hilarious.
Overall this continues to be a good series, with each book mostly standing alone but also advancing some of the overall themes. I rate this book Recommended.
One of my favourite light novel series to date. It just gets better, although it also gives me a lot of pain.
We are introduced to many characters, from the parties that seemed somewhat evil so far. We also get a lot more details about how magic works, as well as the motivations of the church. A few characters from previous volumes return too, and I was surprised to see them here. It's just nice to see them back, and see how they change from volume to volume.
I particularly liked how the other princes and princesses played into this, especially Eutel, shedding more light on their personalities and just overall giving the story more life. It does remind you that Hersch isn't alone in all of this— his siblings are there to help as well, working sometimes even independently of him. It makes things a bit less predictable, but well, the villains still have their "all according to keikaku" sort of thing, but Hersch knows the plan, but also not, sike, actually the keikaku is beyond that. Poor Eutel, now that I think about the whole thing.
We also get introduced to Barbosse's daughters, Vivi and Jeanne. They're both very nice, and I admitabbly was a little irked by Vivi in the beginning but... That's because I tend to forget that Hersch and her are 7. They both grow on you, I think, and so I liked them a lot. Especially Jeanne, yes, well. Well. That's how it is.
Shiro (again with Hersch's naming conventions) was a cat this whole volume basically! He doesn't get as much spotlight compared to Oran and Kuro in their own volumes, but it's understandable since we're introduced to more characters than before in this volume. I hope he gets more chances to shine in the future.
Oh, and Kusunoki is also really good at writing scenes about the reality in Japan. I felt almost sad at the point where the part where Hersch is trapped in an illusion ended. Of course, the fantasy setting of Gracis is also well-written, and I'd love to read about the side stories and adventures of the Prince of Light when this series ends. But the illusion scene really showed Ryoko's character and how she differs from Hersch, and it's interesting to see how they're... how Hersch has grown from his adventures so far.
I do want to know more about this Saint Ferris... I wonder if Hoeif really lost his mind? There's probably something more sinister lurking somewhere in the church, I think, but, well. That will have to wait for the next volume, I suppose.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
And The avengers team is now assembled! Hee hee, I hate Disney, but I liked everything until Thanos and all of his hijinks were taken care of. Anyway, the little princess now assembled his whole team! Each of the members is exceptional of what they do, it is very fun to watch them interact with each other, because there's lots of banter, they all respect each other, but they all don't exactly like each other either. Lol
This book does have some tragedy to it. Aside from the little Prince's ghost, we haven't really seen any death up until this point. Well it touches the little prince very personally in this book. I love all the characters, I especially loved one introduction because I love music. Also kind of love how the author just mentions after they describe things happening in the book, what the future is of that thing happening, or gives us a glimpse of what that person ends up doing with their life.
I also kind of love that the little prince has a play after him now That's adorable. Lol this series is a real winner. Definitely pick it up.
Why does this have to include another tragedy? And possibly the biggest one for Hersch? Once again, I managed to read this in one day. Not that I mind. I like it. It makes me stop checking my socials and going to Youtube for some sort of entertainment.