Credit where credit is due: I certainly did not expect that the story was going to turn into a high school romance hidden identity drama! I actually quite like it, I thought that Monica’s shyness was a bit overdone and gimmicky as a character trait, but now it turns into a massive liability.
Also she risks the death penalty if she fails?! A bit extreme but ok.
Generally Louis is mighty sus and probably scheming something. I mean, apparently he’s not even a supporter of the prince, it wouldn’t surprise me if he made up the entire assignment thing. I get that Monica is super shy and awkward but given the stakes does it really make sense that she would accept all of that on Louis’s word alone? Well I guess she got a romance book for practice too. Seems airtight.
There’s also the thing where Danica thinks that Louis was the first choice for a new recruit and she was the 2nd choice (I forgot the details, I read that last week…). I expect that she’s wrong and she was the 1st choice given her obvious skills, and Louis knows it and feels like he needs to get rid of her competition.
Did I understand correctly that she doesn’t know what the prince looks like, and given that he’s under a fake identity as well she risks not identifying him? That seems a bit crazy and easily solved by asking Louis for help but we’ll see where it goes.
Yes, I know that that I said that this is super hard, which doesn’t seem compatible with “finished almost all of the first chapter in a single day”, but… hear me out. There is no good place to stop in there! And it’s fun to read! So yes, I spent a really long time today reading this
Chapter notes
ほら、この美貌。どんなに変装しても隠しきれるものではないでしょう？
Ah, the burden of being too beautiful for a mission. Not even a disguise could contain it!
Monica is simultaneously the absolute best and the absolute worst choice for this job, haha. Her skills and appearance make her perfectly suited for it, and it seems an extremely skilled magician is really needed considering the magical tool broke. But… someone with extreme social anxiety has to go back to SCHOOL of all places? And interact with high society? I feel for her.
(And I have the sneaking suspicion that Louis knows all of that and enjoys it a bit too much.)
I don’t think Monica needs a reference book on being bullied. She’s getting experience right at this very second
And there’s イザベル from the prologue! Nice. So far the author has done a pretty good job of tying things together. Every time I was like “Will this play a role?” the answer has been “Yes”
「……わたし、面接で……緊張しすぎて、過呼吸になっちゃって」
She can even pass an interview without speaking! Sasuga ni 〈沈黙の魔女〉!
On the plus side it means that she wouldn’t need to worry about all this school / bodyguard nonsense anymore.
Seriously though, on one hand I think that Louis just came up with that to motivate her and/or because he thought it would be fun to make up. On the other hand, failing might mean that a member of the royal family dies, so… maybe that’s actually a real thing that might happen.
Yeah, but I don’t see what a fake identity has to do with that. Knowing what the prince looks like would be helpful in guarding him, and since it’s assumed to be exceedingly common knowledge it’s not something she can easily ask without looking really stupid. She’d probably find out sooner or later somehow, but it’s not like he’s going to carry around a nameplate.
Beats looking dead because you failed your mission I suppose… I just assumed that it meant that there was no easy way to ascertain who the prince is because otherwise it seems like a very minor hurdle but we’ll see.
I also thought it would make sense to enroll the prince under a false identity for security purposes and to let him have a more normal school experience.
This week had some sections I found way more tricky than the weeks before, but I think I got the gist.
Monica's cover story
Was the person who adopted “Monica” Isabelle’s grandmother? And if so, was it implied that she’s an illegitimate daughter of Isabelle’s grandfather, since she supposedly looked like him?
Probably romcom, too. What with the comedic potential of a side character who’s way too into her role as an evil stepsister.
I agree with Louise one one thing: it is a waste for such a top magician to be shut in the hut in the middle of nowhere without applying her skills like with this dragons story.
When Louis explains the cover story, he starts at the point where someone he calls the “former count consort” of Kelbeck adopts the girl Monica is supposed to impersonate. We know that her husband died, so this can’t be Isabelle’s mother, since her father is still alive. That’s why I asked if she’s supposed to be her grandmother. Her reason for adopting “Monica” was that she found her cute and she reminded her of her late husband, that’s why I asked if she’s supposed to be his illegitimate child.
I can’t believe it’s the third week and I’m still keeping up! This is definitely as far as I’ve ever come in an intermediate book club.
This is also my favorite week so far. I’m very excited about this week’s developments, and can’t wait to see how it goes. The only thing I’m a little concerned about is … as cover stories go … doesn’t something lifted verbatim out of a popular author’s most recent novel seem a bit … easily seen through?
Same! And at this point I can’t see myself dropping it anymore unless it suddenly becomes massively harder or a lot less interesting. Maybe I’ll actually finish an IBC?!
Hey, at least the prince also potentially has the script, so he might know what role to play
I’m only… 3 days late. But I finally finished the first chapter, and it feels like a smol achievement!!
I feel like this LN is great for someone at my level who’s trying to learn the language and improve their reading stamina. Not sure if I’d enjoy reading it in English, though, because it does get a bit repetitive at times.
1st chapter
I love how emotionally available and caring the cat is lol - I totally want one for myself that can talk me into calming down like that
I’m excited to see where all of this is going, and I’m definitely suspicious of Louis. The whole “guard the second prince and sneak into the school” thing feels like a minor task tied to something much bigger at play… Or maybe it’s just a fun lil book about Monica finding her people, slaying dragons, and overcoming social anxiety? idk idk
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