By Chidori Hama and Wan Hachipisu. Released in Japan as “Akuyaku Reijō, Brocon ni Job Change Shimasu” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Rymane Tsouria.
We’ve now caught up with the series in Japan, for the most part (I think the new volume comes out there this month), so it’s worth checking to see if this series is anywhere near a conclusion. The trouble is, if I’m being honest, the series could end anytime, but can also be stretched to 45 books. The conflict is “these two are so brocon/siscon that they will never allow anyone else to be a romantic partner”, with a side order of obliviousness on Ekaterina’s part. Once someone sits them down and says that they need to actually make a decision, and no, they can’t just marry each other, then the series will resolve itself. The only other real romantic conflict is the fact that Flora is also in love with Ekaterina, and, like most series with a Maria Campbell in them that’s a bit less yuri than Bakarina, it’s not really that much of a conflict. That said, none of that happens here, so we move on.
Despite all her best efforts, Ekaterina has been amazing again and attracted the attention of the entire school and empire. That said, the festival must go on. With a little bit of politics, as we meet Vladimir’s little sister, who is adorable and also has a brother complex… as well as a very different description of what Vladimir is like than the one Ekaterina has been fed. Interesting. In other festival news, Mikhail’s cooking is so popular that it’s impossible to get through the line without claiming noble privilege, which Ekaterina would rather not do. And then there’s the closing ceremonies, where the voting determines who was the best class and also the best person at the festival. Take a wild guess. With all this going on, with Ekaterina still have time to go to the ball with her big brother, rather than making an actual decision to affect her future?
If I sound like I’m getting a bit bored with the premise, it’s because I am. I appreciate the author not giving this any incest subtext, but I also would like the two siblings to actually marry other people, and I’m not confident the author wants to pull 6that trigger yet, so we wait. Certainly the narrative is aware of it. Ekaterina’s narrative voice occasionally slips into future tense, where she points out how she could never have knows what the consequences would be, or castigating herself for being oblivious. I did like the final chapter, where they go to visit Flora’s adopted parents and we get some backstory again. What’s seen by our heroine as “my grandmother was bullying people again!” turns out to have been far darker and more twisted, as I think when you are arranging a marriage for the girl you don’t like to a man known for beating his wife to death, it has passed bullying and moved to psychopathy.
In any case, this gives everyone who enjoys this series what they want, but not more than what they want.
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