Please update your status accordingly whenever it changes.
Chapters
Chapter
eBook %
Physical
Chapter 1
%
p. 7
Chapter 2
%
p. 30
Chapter 3
%
p. 44
Chapter 4
%
p. 68
Chapter 5
%
p. 88
Chapter 6
%
p. 108
Chapter 7
%
p. 133
Chapter 8
%
p. 160
Chapter 9
%
p. 192
ăăšăă
%
p. 212-213
Discussion Rules
Discussing anything is fine, be it about language questions, about the contents or about real historic events! Please state clearly which chapter (or roughly which percentage) youâre referring to, and please hide spoilers. Also, donât forget the forum etiquette, of course.
Buying the Book
If youâre planning to buy the book on Bookwalker or Amazon and if youâre outside of Japan, you will need a VPN to buy them. Afterwards, you can download it to the app without the need for a VPN. I think you cannot read it in the browser without VPN, though.
The book mentions a lot of real (as far as we know ) historical figures and events. Here are some information resources on them. (Please be aware that if you want to go in 100% blind, these lists will contain some spoilers for you)
Please add Chapter, Page, if possible, when something is mentioned in the story.
Seems Matsuoka-sensei isnât going to dissolve the tension of the cliffhanger of last volume just yet. Instead, this chapter is a revisit of Jan and RaulâŠand just a couple of sentences in we dive right into a lemon. Raul seems to be getting all the good scenes.
Anyway, thereâs more of that banter and pull between Jan and Raul, which Iâm quite partial to. ^>^ Of course, first the third wheel needs to be gotten rid off. Raul is quite the vicious lay (donât forget the reach-around or else! ) I guess, Raul has the legal expertise to defend himself from any accusations? Seems pretty reckless all in all. ^^; lol how Jan is pretty much unfazed by it all. Now that I think of it, but this scene and others with Raul and Jan, are part of the reason I think of this series as 18+. Gratuitous bloodshed and murder while having sex, check! XD There is nothing safe or sane about these two. As I remember it, the karami was pretty excellent as well. ^^ + weâve got chapter art to go with this scene as well.
There is also a tiny bit of plot development for these two, lol, which is about their continued involvement with the side of the war being launched by the Duke of Parma, which historically went awry from the start. Apparently Raul plans to bring Jan along on a ship to see how things go up close?
There is even more plot development on the side of the duke of Parma and Raul and Jan. Now Matsuoka-sensei is going straight to business. Just as it was during the trial, Raul proves his worth as an advisor to the duke.
Reading all this strategizing is pretty dense reading. Iâm not sure I got all the bit and bobs about the planes laid out, but the main gist for sure. I kept wondering if fireworks was something that was actually used in navy battles at this time. Not sure about my reasoning here, since gunpowder existed, but when were fireworks invented or spread in Europe?
In any case, Jan is getting a big role here as the one to fire off the firework and explosives and betraying his allies. Poor guy just never gets a break. I can only hope that in the ensuing confusion somehow there will be Gloria and her crew there to save him once he gets into the water? And, the ship they intend to blow up, turns out to be Alonsoâs ship. The stage is set for some real dramatic events moving forward.
This chapter is Jeoffrey POV! Iâve missed his voice these past volumes. Since Walsingham had to leave the Star Chamber for his estate, the proceedings are put off for the time being. Thankfully, Elisabeth is intent on bringing Jeoffrey back to health and so orders the court physician to tend to him. Robert Cecil even manag to argue for even better treatment, letting Nigel see him once a week. Still, he looks like crap in the chapter art. I hate seeing Jeoffrey this weak and frail. Kaito, come save him soon!
I also feel like this chapter healed a lot of Jeoffreyâs and Nigelâs fraught relationship. In the end, theyâre the closest friends they have. I love the introspection from Jeoffrey here, how important it is for him, having Nigel there to support him.
Well, Jeoffrey is up to speed with the plan, but thereâs a lot hanging in the air now that Thomas is dead. Well, the new orders from the queen is helpful for sure. But, as for freeing Jeoffrey, thereâs quite a mountain for them to climb.
Chapter 4, thoughts
This chapter is checking in on how Marlow is doing and heâs received words to change locations and get to Drakeâs residence. Iâm honestly relieved to see he hasnât been caught. Kit muse over Walshinghamâs personality and how things will go. Since his thoughts touch on the certainty of Kaitoâs death, I guess, he doesnât know about his trip to the future? Also, when thinking it a miracle that he hasnât been found yet.
I feel like the full color art of Kit is made for this chapter, maybe? ^>^
I also think Nigel should give Kit a chance. He seems like fun company, and in many ways a good counterpoint to himself. They would make for a fun pairing! ^>^
In any case, this chapter is a deep dive into Kit as a character and I think it allows for some good character development for sure.
The the co-conspirators are all gathered at Drakeâs mansion, trying to figure out what to do about Kitâs situation. the good sensible plan of having him hide away at Lilyâs cottage until spring comes around and they can set out to sea again, and then for Nigel to bring Kit to France where he can hide awayâŠwell, Kit isnât interested in leaving England Nigel to Nigelâs immense frustration.
I feel like this fighting scene between Nigel and Kit was really cathartic. Nigel had to get it through his skull that Kit is serious about him, and he has no intention of living out his life alone in France, while his friends fight Spain. He want to be part of it, part of Nigelâs life and experiences. And Nigel can only concede that he has grown attached to Kit in turn.
in the end, Kit ends up hiding at Robert Cecilâs place.
Itâs hard to read about the horrid conditions Jeoffrey is suffering under, even as heâs no longer subjected to torture. Nigel is doing what he can to pay for improvements, but it sounds like even if you did back then, there were few guarantees that things would improve - it sounds like a completely rotten system. :C Reading about him feeding Jeoffrey whoâs too weak to even eat himself, really broke my heart. Even more so, when Jeoffrey starts asking Nigel to take care of things after his death. At the end, it seems Nigel is finally told the truth about Kaito?
Chapter 7 thoughts
Back for the second round of interrogation.Jeoffrey is more prepared this time, though his chances are bleak indeed. Still, he sets out explaining the weaknesses of the new type of Spanish ships and thereâs a lot of nautical technicalities in this chapter, oh boy!
Of course, even with all this helpful information and explaining done, Walshingham is still not backing down from his accusation about Jeoffreyâs disloyaly/betrayal against England. So, he has to come up with counter plans for the military even (surely the high command should do a bit of work themselves. ^^; ) And it seems to have worked. Itâs hard to think someone that works so hard for oneâs country, to see them as a traitor. Of course, thatâs when shit truly hits the fan - Walsingham is not finished with his accusations! >_>;;;;
He starts off with pointing out that Jeoffrey had not gotten permission for his rescue mission to Spain, then, obviously it was always going to boil down to this, the accusation of Jeoffreyâs lack of faith in God. And heâs also branded like Nigel and Kaito, in so, having already used up his chance of forgiveness. Things are about to get out of hand quickly as Nigel canât stand to listen anymore to this nonsense. In the end, there is not release for Jeoffrey. Even if they cleared his name of the accusation of betrayal, heâs still âguiltyâ in other ways. Elisabeth is clearly not pleased with the finale of this drama, and is torn about her final judgement. In the end, Jeoffrey is transferred to the Clink, which is a big improvement along with Nigel and Drake being able to visit + the court doctor is to have a look as well, BUT heâll remain locked up while having to wait for her final judgement. dun dun dun
The last order Nigel got from Jeoffrey, was to return to Plymouth to fulfill a promise he made during that prison visit. (it was never said what). And to see to Gloria and her crew. So, in this chapter, Nigel is back in town, taking care of business and Kit is with him (+ Joan).
Thereâs a sad melancholy feel to this chapter, but I enjoy Kit and Nigelâs banter and so this chapter as well. Well, after sorting things out with Rufus and Gloria, Nigel get Lily to come over to ask about sheltering Kit, but also about Kaito. I figured Jeoffrey would have said the truth here, but apparently not. XD Nigel were only told to seek Lily out for details. A bothersome role to take on for sure.
spoilers
I do enjoy this sort of thing though, the big reveal! XD More like, how characters react to it. Nigel and Kit are unsurprisingly surprised! of course, neither of them believe her at first. But, like Kaito, she can tell the future and Kit ask about himself. When Lily mentions him writing Doctor Faustus, and even quoting him (good job on your theatre studies there Lily! ) Kit has little choice but to believe it! it takes more of an emotional step for Nigel to also accept it - especially when knowing that Jeoffrey accepted Kaito fully.
Final chapter for this book. I was not expecting it, but it makes sense having read all of this, that the main character is very much not present in this volume. There were just too many things that had to take precedent and focus in the story before his arrival. I find that I donât mind it really. the last volumes were very Kaito-Kazuya focused, so it felt nice to have some counterbalance for the stories of Nigel, Kit and Jeoffrey as the main focus.
major spoilers
there a small time-skip here, from the end of winter and the beginning of spring. Which, puts us in the right timing for Kaito to make his time-jump. Nigel have been going to the Hoe every day it seems and tonight is the same timing as Lily appeared, so itâs the night to count on. Itâs such a relief when Kaito gets back there. Stunning chapter art for Nigel carrying Kaito. itâs like this huge release of emotion I felt. But, it only last for so long, as Kaito starts asking about Jeoffrey, reminding us of the urgency of getting him out of prison - or the day of his death will soon arrive.
Itâs also great to see that this is like a kick-off for major change in the flow of the story, Kaito not as the one having to be saved, but the one doing the saving! dun dun dun
Iâm kind of wanting to not read more, but Iâm also very compelled to keep on going. Maybe, Iâll see if I can check out of some of the extras? Weâll seeâŠ
The ones in the official ć€äŒ books I mentioned in the main thread are easily available and should all have a bit of meat on their bones if you want something substantial.
Chapter 2: Raul and Janâs meeting with the Duke of Parma. Theyâre pretty quick to set up a plan B, courtesy of Raul: theyâll sneak a Protestant onboard one of the Spanish ships, then have the guy set the ship on fire with the intent of the gunpowder stores exploding and causing havoc in the Spanish fleet, hopefully to be taken advantage of by Drake.
Whoâs the Protestant? Jan of course! And whoâs going to get blown to kingdom come? Alonso! As expected of Raul; heâs still mad that Vicente and Alonso managed to catch him. Apparently Raulâs got a plan for Vicente too, but didnât mention what it was. :\
Iâm curious how this is going to work out: Jan still needs to find where Manuelâs being kept (and at this point I would be more surprised if the kid was still alive, to be honest), but Raulâs going to be keeping a close eye on him until Janâs safely stowed away on a boat. Kaito sent a note to Vicente about Alonsoâs impending death, but that death is going to be far after this, so could preparations to avoid the historical death be enough to save Alonso here?
Chapter 3: Back to Nigel. Thereâs no word yet on whatâs going on with Walsinghamâs son, but while Walsingham gets that sorted out Geoffreyâs temporarily out of danger. He and Nigel get a chance to talk and compare notes, and it seems like Geoffreyâs got a good idea of what to do moving forward, given he can check the model Jan passed to Kaito in Spain. (Reminder for myself for later: the story theyâre going with is that Geoffrey saw a new kind of Spanish ship, Todos Santos, and the mixed-size armaments it was carrying, and heâs the only person who can give a detailed description.) I was glad to see a bit of will to live return to him at the end the of the chapter! You can do this, Geoffrey!
Chapter 4: We get a rare chapter from Kitâs perspective, but imo it was a bit boring. I think just because Iâve read her other short stories where Kit narrates, and this retreads his thoughts from there a bit. He jumps around quite a bit, but variously reflects on the plan sailing, his feelings for Nigel, his personal motivations, etc.
The Nigel bit is the hardest to read; as Iâve mentioned before Iâm not a fan of love triangles, and Iâm still not convinced the one with Nigel in the center is going to end to my satisfaction. Just go for the harem ending already Kaito; dooo iiit.
Chapter 5: Thatâs right! Two chapters in one update!! I was slightly bored with the previous chapter, so I had to read more. We swap back to Nigel; he, Kit, Sir Drake, Robert, and Sir John (Hawkins) are all meeting at Drakeâs place to plan what to do about Kit. They propose he flee to France and hide, but he refuses, and Nigel and Kit get into a fistfight. Kit declares that he wants to stay to help Geoffrey, and he wants to continue traveling with them to see the battle against the Armada. They eventually decide to have Kit hole up in Robertâs rooms for the moment.
This was a nice growth moment for Nigel, I thought: he recognizes that he has become closer to Kit, but heâs determined to stop the process as much as he can at this point. Good luck, Nigel, good luck.
Chapter 6: Finally we get a Nigel + Geoffrey chapter! Nigel gets a nice rundown of how ridiculously expensive prison is from a young carpenter named Fred, one of Hawkinsâ boys. Fredâs dream is to join a privateer ship, and he manages to convince Nigel to bring him on (or introduce him to a new ship) once the Armada stuff is over.
Once in jail, Nigel gets to work, paying for improved care from the jailor for Geoffrey, cleaning the cell, bringing in real food, etc. They talk about Kit a bit, then Blacky, then finally the good stuff: Geoffrey needs to talk to Nigel about Kaito. (Ah, also Nigel admits out loud that he knows Kaito likes Geoffrey romantically more than him, which is good. Wonder what stance heâs going to take once Kaito returnsâŠ)
Chapter 7: And here we go, the court showdown. Geoffreyâs able to prove his innocence of being a traitor by successfully pointing out design flaws in the new Spanish ship designs, as well as suggesting a new way to fight against them, pretty much winning over the entire court. Walsingham of course, however, added on that small, extra bit of Geoffrey being an atheist, so he isnât able to get off scott free. Heâs transferred to the Clink instead (where Kaito was formerly held), with the trial against his atheism put on hold for the moment. Thereâs still the concern that Walsinghamâs going to try to off him secretly in the meantime, but this is probably as good as weâre going to get for now. Geoffreyâs apparently made Nigel promise to return to Plymouth and get on with life in the meantime, so Iâm wondering if this is going to be our chance to see what Geoffrey told him about Kaito, if anything. I also wonder if Nigel is going to be there to welcome Kaito home? I hope soâŠ
Chapter 8: Finally! The chapter Iâve been waiting for! Nigel returns home to Plymouth a short time later, accompanied by Kit. They meet Joe at Nigelâs house, and Nigel has Joe go fetch Rufus. Rufus pretty easily accepts Nigel as the new captain; since Kitâs going to officially become a member of the crew, Nigel and Rufus get a nice moment preparing him for the rigors of ship life, haha. Apparently Joeâs going to be joining them on the campaign against the Spanish; he might be Nigelâs cabin boy.
Once thatâs taken care of, Nigel has Rufus pass Lily a message to visit him that night, and she does. And here we are, finally!! He demands answers about Kaito from Lily (as apparently Geoffrey pretty much just foisted that task off on her, haha), and she tells both Nigel and Kit about her and Kaitoâs true origins. Kit takes it surprisingly well, and while Nigel takes a little more convincing, ultimately he decides to believe her, and takes it upon himself to wait for Kaitoâs return, which should be no later than the summer solstice in preparation for the Armada invasion.
Chapter 9: This feels like a good bullet-point chapter, so I shall do so.
Time passes, and the crewmenâs children are born! Rufus had a daughter named Charlotte, and Ewanâs son is named Francis Geoffrey Nigel.
Nigelâs been going to the Hoe to check for Kaito on all the auspicious days, and today is one of them. Lily and Sam accompany him, and it turns out tonight is their lucky night, because Kaitoâs finally back!
Nigel finally gets to indulge a bit in hugging and kissing Kaito, and they have a nice moment where he tells Kaito he doesnât have to lie anymore.
Loved the chapter art here, speaking of.
Kaito is, understandable, panicked about Geoffrey, and tells Nigel that heâs fated die in the Clink if they donât get him out. Nigel recognizes Kaitoâs growth here, and his determination to be proactive in Geoffreyâs rescue.
Nigel seems to also have made a decision about his love for Kaito, but Iâm gonna need to see more before I understand what æŸćČĄć ç seems to be aiming for. Nigelâs determination reads more like friendship to me/what he feels for Geoffrey than anything else, but thinking about it, I didnât know if weâve really seen any other friendships of Nigelâs to compare to beyond his casual association with the sailors. Just feels a bit disappointing going from ârivals in loveâ to âI will always support youâ.
It took me almost two years, but I finally caught up with @ekg. Sorry for the wait! I wonât be immediately zooming into volume 19, as I want to read the bonus stories published in between volumes 18-19 and an unrelated palate-cleanser novel first. Hopefully Iâll be starting come June is the plan.
) historical figures and events. Here are some information resources on them. (Please be aware that if you want to go in 100% blind, these lists will contain some spoilers for you)
Raul seems to be getting all the good scenes. 
Raul is quite the vicious lay (donât forget the reach-around or else! 
) I guess, Raul has the legal expertise to defend himself from any accusations? Seems pretty reckless all in all. ^^; lol how Jan is pretty much unfazed by it all. Now that I think of it, but this scene and others with Raul and Jan, are part of the reason I think of this series as 18+. Gratuitous bloodshed and murder while having sex, check! XD There is nothing safe or sane about these two. As I remember it, the karami was pretty excellent as well. ^^ + weâve got chapter art to go with this scene as well. 
Iâve missed his voice these past volumes. Since Walsingham had to leave the Star Chamber for his estate, the proceedings are put off for the time being. Thankfully, Elisabeth is intent on bringing Jeoffrey back to health and so orders the court physician to tend to him. Robert Cecil even manag to argue for even better treatment, letting Nigel see him once a week. 
Still, he looks like crap in the chapter art. 
I hate seeing Jeoffrey this weak and frail. Kaito, come save him soon! 
Also, when thinking it a miracle that he hasnât been found yet. 
Well, after sorting things out with Rufus and Gloria, Nigel get Lily to come over to ask about sheltering Kit, but also about Kaito. I figured Jeoffrey would have said the truth here, but apparently not. XD Nigel were only told to seek Lily out for details. A bothersome role to take on for sure. 
) Kit has little choice but to believe it! 
it takes more of an emotional step for Nigel to also accept it - especially when knowing that Jeoffrey accepted Kaito fully. 
As expected of Raul; heâs still mad that Vicente and Alonso managed to catch him. Apparently Raulâs got a plan for Vicente too, but didnât mention what it was. :\
I think just because Iâve read her other short stories where Kit narrates, and this retreads his thoughts from there a bit. He jumps around quite a bit, but variously reflects on the plan sailing, his feelings for Nigel, his personal motivations, etc.
Good luck, Nigel, good luck.
