You know what you're in for when reading a book by Emoto-sensei, and this is basically more of the same. Mell and the squad keep getting sent on repeat missions, and more people and creatures keep getting added to the family. This was probably the coziest book yet in this series. The majority of the book is focused on a) cooking, b) funny drama, and c) slice of life.Â
This time around, there's a retired legendary hero who ends up wanting to stick around to learn more survival skills (despite his myriad skills, he is absolutely clueless when it comes to butchering a rabbit!). The interactions with him and a cute daikon fairy are ridiculously sweet and wholesome.
The other theme for this book was marriage! Captain Ludtink and Garr are both engaged, and they keep teasing Zara about it as well. I've generally enjoyed the fact that although it's clear that Zara and Mell have a (very slowly) growing relationship, and they've even moved in together, they're still platonic for now. It's super heartwarming to see Mell start to warm up to the idea of a relationship, and I think this ship will set sail for real in the next volume.Â
I've already requested the next book from the library!