Author said in a previous afterwords that there isn't much romance in this series, and it's definitely not focused on that, but the ship between Gwinn and Melty was plenty.
For the second part, the action was good and Lutz is definitely stronger than I thought in battle. Donaldo was handled well as a character, with a good redemption arc, and I liked how Claudia was able to acknowledge his atonement while still not wanting to forge a connection with him.

I liked this story overall and looked forward to the weekly releases. I really liked the reveal while Tao was listening. However, I think it could be improved with a bit more attention to the characters. I thought Aurelio was inconsistent - I would have liked for him to be a complex character with a consistent story line to back up his actions. The shocking violent banquet was good but felt a bit out of place, as there wasn't a lead up to it in Luca's or Aurelio's point of view. The end felt rushed and incomplete, with a story line that was interesting but went too far beyond the main events at the estate. It could have been a good cliffhanger. I think there are some great things here that would benefit from a more detailed story and with some sections retold from another main character's point of view.

@gomily Thanks! Ahh good looks like the series is healthily releasing new volumes. So we should get a good chance at major story lines being introduced and concluded.

On Amazon I couldnt even find the light novel in the Author section, let alone the recommended associated titles.

v11 is coming out in Japan in June, by the way.

Yes Aoi, it is that weird that you want to pet their ears and tail. If they win, can they pet your chest?

Nice volume. It would be great if at the end Rouga could end together with his ex party member, maybe after they save her sister.
Speaking of sisters, curious to see the last one and how the story will proceed when all of them will be "defeated ".

that was a nice send off for Jean. He did terrible things and all, but he really got the short end of the succession stick.

What an excellent illustration of Helen and Diana preparing to fight Cromwell and his flunkies. The expression of glee on Helen's face is priceless. Kudos to the illustrator.

alt text

@zwabbit

It's a good list.

I'd add

1b) Udajima's connections
Udajima talked to someone in Zegelt city. Udajima has a lot to gain from getting rid of Akira. Maybe his allies do too.

5b) Tiol
Tiol was the one making Akira fakes before. Though this seems a bit sophisticated for him.

7a) Nationalists
Akira has thwarted them a few times.

7b) One of the Big Five
Whichever competitor was messing with the Sakashita transport may want to get rid of Akira too.

7c) Carol's enemies
She hired a bodyguard because she was scared. We may not have met the scariest people after her yet.

7d) Alpha's enemies
Most people have not figured out the connection between Alpha and Akira, but if someone did, they might want to thwart her. The method seems indirect but maybe it's less traceable that way.

I have a feeling it will turn out to be a combination of interest. Like Udajima plus one of the Big Five, or Mizuha plus Nationalists, or an AI and one of the hunter groups. For the plan to go smoothly it helps to have both city connections and people who can take shady action.

I wonder who cares about the Kuzusuhara depths. There must be vested interests for and against exploring them. As readers we don't have a lot of information about the politics of that. It seems like it is a big deal if the Big Five are fighting each other over it.

Argh. Too bad I can't read Japanese... Book 8 came out in Japan back in October, and it hasn't started here yet.

They're probably waiting for me to spend the last of my credits, then post the start 3 days later, like last time.

I'm happy that Seika was able to meet his mother and form a good relationship with her. She might not appear again in the story, but that gave me some closure, even if I feel a bit bad for her not k owing her son actually has a reincarnated soul.
The origin of the hero was interesting, although as people mentioned it left us with other questions that hopefully will be answered in the next volumes. There is also the matter with the emperor, that might turn out to be the final boss depending on what he's planning.

I'm enjoying more than I expected this stint with Anriette as the main heroine. Of course I don't believe they're going to stay in this world, and regardless there is no way Allen will be able to live doing anything so it I'll inevitably end as the previous one. The question is how much of an antagonist Riese is going to be and if the other characters will oppose Allen too.

@zeji13 To be more precise, my guess is they had school lessons on programming, not college or university modules on programming.

The trend seems to be that the more advanced the topic, the less accurate/detailed its coverage - e.g. the programming basics lesson in the middle of the book was decent (even if I still think it was pitched too basic for someone actively jobhunting in the field), but the smart frames were almost pure jargon and the All-RaWi system is kept very vague.

In all, it makes me think the author has had education only to around the level they themselves can fully describe - that is, the basics you'd teach a schoolkid in their IT class.

And no, I don't get where the idea that programmers think/say "hello world" came from, either.

Nice volume, and with the protagonist already having sex with three girls it's kinda hard to believe this is the same author of Zero believers.
After this big battle against a giant monster, I'm a bit worried that a school festival arc will feel a bit brand in comparison.

When you fast-forward through the sex and through the fights, the book really zips along. It’s not one of the better titles here, but it goes quickly.

There hasn't been any new chapters posted to the WN since Nov 2024.

There's just enough material remaining to publish a volume 7, which will finish the current school arc. So even if the series doesn't continue, at least it won't end on a cliffhanger.

@Hylebos Could be Dozran, the fact that he waited till the final charge indicates to me that the plan was to have the spider kill either the emperor or Duke Raul, considering Volk took the place of Duke Raul to keep up the pretense of that objective hiding the fact that it was actually artilleryman #22. who killed Duke Raul

I would not be surprised if it ends up being someone in the Eins group.

I wonder if the spider is someone that Volk has successfully gotten under his thread thing that is close to Carmine as well.

Question about Ernesta considering the Mountain Capital.

I don't remember her backstory, but is she adopted or are side effects of heralding random? I mean - Karen's mother forgot about her, but did Ernesta's also? Cause her current banished mother doen't seem to.

Speaking of insane, where is the afterword?

A great volume. Sadly during the years after the anime aired I got some spoilers for what was going to happen, but I didn't know all the details and the climatic battle was still exciting to read. Given that Stella got a huge power up in the previous volume it was only fair that Ikki got his upgrade too. I wonder if he now has the potential to reach rank A himself, although given the theme of the series I don't think it's going to be easy and he'll still be the underdog in the future. Also, I'm always happy when the main couple is allowed to have sex.