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tripleaamin

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The Kept Man of the Princess Knight Volume 2

Truly a fantastic follow-up volume. Really one of the most promising new fantasy series. Even the manga adaptation of the first 3 chapters of volume 1 was pretty solid with have solid art.

A big focus in this volume was regarding Arwin's party, Aegis. To put it simply, they have been more and more issues since Lewster left. Mostly highlighting the fact that while the party revolves around Arwin, she isn't a leader at the moment. A new addition to the party was Noelle, Lewster's niece. She is essentially Arwin's childhood friend of sorts. She ends up bribing Matthew to leave Arwin, but an interesting point is that she is conflicted. Essentially, she hears from Arwin how important Matthew is. This is where she separates herself from her uncle. Ideally, the bribe was more a test for Matthew and given Arwin's praise, there is no reason he needs to go away. Big headline Noelle, unlike her uncle, cares for Arwin number 1. Lewster cared for about her image in comparison. The other concern with Noelle is how she fits in with the party. She is a naive girl, who was spoiled in how she trained. While her strength is to be respected, it's more so the practical aspect that she lacks. In which Arwin has gotten accustomed to since teaming up with Matthew. Overall, it's mostly growing pains, but it is not going to help in the now. While the leader aspect is still an issue, having each member tackle an aspect of the team needs is the right direction.

Matthew teaches Noelle a valuable lesson in that how you approach something is key. Instead of pointing out they are cheating, which would cause them to be hostile. Instead, perform an action that makes them think you are on to them. Not a big risk, but you get your point across. Arwin beating Oswald in a drinking game really brought the party together. Despite Arwin being completely wasted. Though at the end of the night they meet up with Vanessa's brother Vincent. Who is trying to find the person who killed Vanessa. Which we know it is Matthew.

We all know that Matthew killed Vanessa in terms of his duty to protect Arwin's release addiction secret. We know he is guilty. But Matthew is smart in the fact that he hid his tracks and made it so proving his guilt extremely hard. Vincent tries to use the Temporary Sun as the reason why Matthew would kill Vanessa when he was interrogating him. The main issue is clear finding the reason why Matthew is guilty is the hardest part, though Vincent was on the right track. Ultimately, Vincent was going to pin the blame on Matthew no matter what. If it wasn't when the message to April had the Grandmaster contact Arwin to come back up, it is likely that Matthew would have been executed for a crime he did commit, but there wasn't enough proof. Arwin brought papers that proved that the Temporary Sun was a gift from Vanessa to Matthew. Thus, the one evidence Vincent was hoping for turned out to be a dud. Logically, it would make sense for Matthew to want to take out Vincent. The issue is doing that would imply his guilt since he killed him not long after he was released. Which is the main reason Matthew ends up saving Vincent from the Paladins that were around before he arrived. This shows the depth to Matthew as a kept man. In the sense, not everything has a clear solution to it. Having Vincent around is definitely not something going for him, but killing him would just make things harder for Arwin.

We are introduced to the new appraiser whose name was Gloria. Dez mentioning her former nickname was Crazy Gloria should have set a few false alarms. She asks Matthew to find the Shroud of Bereni. He is able to locate Cody who had it, but he ran from a headless knight chasing him for it. Matthew got him to transfer the Shroud to the guild. Of course an issue is that Justin Rubinstin from the Church of Earth Mother also wanted the Shroud. Though he couldn't cause a scene, so he intended to buy it from the guild. But it went missing. He figured Gloria was behind it given the dangerous task she gave April. That set Matthew off. Matthew is a PoS, but putting kids in danger was some low he couldn't stand. We learn that Gloria likes to collect valuable counterfeits. She tries to fight Matthew, but is no match for his abnormal strength thanks to the temporary sun. Although the irony of the situation is that the shroud was stolen again.

One important conversation is that Matthew mentions that once Aegis conquers the dungeon, him and Arwin would move on their separate ways. Him leaving the town would be needed, and we all know his personality does not fit with royalty. Arwin finds notes that mention your sins and trying to be a hero. Which has her shaken. So Matthew suggests her to take the day off. During their outing, Matthew meets up with April and repairs his relationship with her after their incident. As Arwin wasn't much help to picking out clothes for her, Matthew was a big help on the other hand. Also, it really showed how much he does for Arwin and nobody really notices. On their way home, Matthew found a 2nd note, and luckily, this time Arwin didn't find it first. It was mentioning an addict makes it even more nerve-racking.

On the next day, Arwin planned to head back to the dungeon and forgot her release candy, so Matthew tried to chase her to give it to her. Unfortunately, he saw her in an argument with Beatrice that the guild assigned them a collaboration where Aegis would only earn 10% of the spoils. Noelle started fighting Beatrice, which led Cecilia to beat up Noelle. Meanwhile, Arwin went after Cecilia. Luckily, the fight got broken up, but even Matthew could tell something was not right with Arwin. Basically, she was on her 2nd day of not taking release. Essentially, Matthew's words of him leaving her after they conquer the dungeon got to her. She has a sense of guilt about how much Matthew does for her and thinking of the need to prepare for when that day arrives. And how would she deal with her addiction? But not only is that date well in the future, but just suddenly stopping taking the release candy would make things worse for her body.

We got some information regarding Arwin and her relationship with her mother. Arwin being the only child and a girl in that manner made things difficult since a woman being next in line for the throne would have people concerned. Arwin wanted to be a knight to fill in a role that a son would have. But her mother really did not like that idea. The sad part is they have a big fight where Arwin said she never wants to be like you, and they never had a chance to makeup then the Kingdom got attacked. A sad reality where that ended up being the last words she said to her. Matthew found a 3rd note, which made it clear these were addressed to him since this note mentioned the Sun God, which Arwin has no history with. Matthew found the one responsible and took care of him without having to lift a finger.

As Matthew was helping April with guild work, we learned what a stampede is. Essentially is a massive swarm of monsters and when a stampede occurs in the Dungeon, it can feel like an earthquake for those on top. The worst-case scenario is what happens if the monsters reached the surface. The biggest issue is not if the monsters can escape the city, but rather how can the people escape since the officials were too cheap to create an escape avenue. We also learn that the Kingdom of Mactrode was wiped out by a stampede. Although the weirdest thing is that the monsters haven't left the kingdom. It is clear that there is someone or something keeping them around.

It seemed like the Armored Knight wanted to lure a stampede since that would make getting the Astral Crystal easier. Justin then proposed to pay Matthew to go after the armored knight. Matthew teamed up with Vincent to look for a lost noble named Nicholas, they found him in the basement of the tavern next to the Earth Mother church. As they found the noble, it is learned that Justin betrayed the Earth Mother church for the Sun God and sought to kill Nicholas. Like Roland, he turned into a monster thanks to release. It was a tough battle for Matthew, but was able to hold on until Vincent came back after securing Nicholas's safety. The ironic thing in this fight was Matthew got help from the rain rather than the sun when he really needed it. It gave him an opening with the Temporary Sun to take care of Justin.

Nicholas was actually the Shroud of Bereni. A big reveal is when Nicholas mentioned he was the one who created release for the Church of the Sun God. Showing how terrible that church is, they forced him to create more against his will until he committed suicide. On one hand, Nicholas's goal of obtaining the Astral Crystal goes against Arwin saving her kingdom. However, Matthew having him research if there could be a cure for release for would be a big help. So at the very least, for now, their alliance seems like a good one. Bad news reached of a major stampede in the dungeon and with Arwin caught up in it, Matthew makes no hesitation to go save Arwin.


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tripleaamin

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Much of this volume centers around Yuta helping Saki find ways to elevate her study skills in preparation of her retest in modern Japanese. It is really highlighted that Saki is a very logical thinker. Modern Japanese isn't a subject suited towards those with very zero minded logical thinkers. Having to analyze a character's emotions is hard for Saki. This is a subject Yuta does well since he reads a good number of novels. Overall, Saki has higher grades than Yuta despite this one weakness.

The main goal is figuring out how to help Saki study. Yomiuri recommends Lofi Hip-Hop as it is more relaxing. It turned to be a big help for her. The big strategy was to approach Modern Japanese with a logic mindset of understanding the timeline these novels are based on. As Yuta and Narasaka help her, it really gives her the push she needs. She is able to do well in her retest, but she comes off short in her goal of reaching Yuta's score in modern Japanese.

The other big feature of this volume was how Stoic has developed the feeling of jealously. This is where both Yomiuri and Narasaka noticed things with Saki. Yomiuri noticing that when the topic of Yuta was brought up how she reacted so differently. With more emotion. Narasaka, on the other hand, noticed her coming to school with perfume. Clear signs of her wanting someone to notice her. Ultimately, it stems from the feeling of jealously that Saki felt towards Yomiuri. From her perspective, he went to her for help with the Lofi Hip-Hop recommendation, and they hung out to see a movie late one night. She clearly wants to have a closer relationship with Yuta. How far those feelings go is a mystery.

Given the fact that she was willing to start reading novels and work at the same bookstore during the summer implies there is more to these feelings.

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tripleaamin

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Much more of this volume is how Yuta and Saki ultimately start to develop feelings for each other. Unsurprising given they are high school students who met each other when they were introduced as step siblings.

The start of it was when Maru heard that Maaya was having a get-together with a bunch of her friends at the pool. Supposedly Yuta was among the invited and he was unaware. Interesting that Maru and Yomiuri are implied to be buddies that exchanged anime merchandise, but it is only implied. When Yuta does bring up the pool party to Saki, she is not really interested in going. Granted, part of it was because Yuta himself was disinterested. One thing that is really interesting is how Akiko and Saki's desires for the other goes against what the other one's interest. Akiko feels guilty for taking time from Saki from being like a kid and making her grow up too fast. Meanwhile, Saki feels like she has to grow up to repay her mom. Since she went beyond what is expected of a single mother. It is a sad reality. Akiko's request to Yuta to help Saki wind down felt very sincere and partially of guilt.

The next day, Saki mentions she reconsidered, which eventually led to her changing her mind. By the time the pool party started they had fun. Most notably during as Saki praises her and as she smiles, he develops feelings for her. No surprise he felt conflicted. As they walk home, Saki calls Yuta Oni-chan. We know Saki didn't want to call him her brother because it would imply depending on him. But since she called him that it is clear their bond has truly strengthened. The issue is that Saki is Yuta's stepsister, so it makes for a tricky situation. Especially on the next day when their parents hear Saki call Yuta Oni-chan. They have their ideal family that Taichi and Akiko always wanted since they got divorced. Both Yuta and Saki decide they must hide their feelings. Which is interesting going forward. Saki taking the extra mile to get a haircut further adds to them doing just that.

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tripleaamin

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Overall, it was a very fun volume. Yuki being the shyt starter usual. A dive in Sayaka's personality where her otaku interests are even more extreme than Yuki. We got a highlight on Nonoa and how she can be very manipulative given who she is with. She looks out for her siblings, allowing them to be themselves, but showing her true self out at home. Her gang that worships her, she has them believe she is under a different personality and uses them as the situation arises. It more so points out how important her friendship is with Sayaka since she calls her out from time to time. Also, seeing Alya and Ayano developing a friendship was very wholesome.

The chapter which focused on Masachika and Yuki's dad was excellent. As we can see, their dad is a great man and kind. It really makes you wonder what went wrong in their marriage with their mom. And how much the Suou grandfather is to blame. It is a shame he is working over the course of this series for the most part. It is interesting the connection he made, and I am interested in seeing if the girl that Masachika sends anime merch ever visits. Outside the fun moments, the focus on the Kujou sister was the most notable part of the side stories.

While Masha immensely cares for her sister, at the same time she has longing feelings for her boyfriend. There are various hints since she is Masachika's childhood friend that she really doesn't have a boyfriend. She mostly refers to Masachika as that person. Does she have longing feelings or if their friendship is what she cherishes? As we see Alya being more open with her feelings with Masachika, we see Masachika struggles with his feelings. He wants to protect her like she did with his childhood friend. But we see that outside of the Suou family he has another scar. He believes his childhood friend left him, which is obviously not the case. Curious how he overcomes.

Currently, this series has 3 roadblocks. First is Alya winning the student council election as we have seen Masachika supporting her. The 2nd is how Masachika gets past his childhood friend, which seems to be the likely topic of the next volume. Lastly, his trauma with his mother and Suou grandfather, which would give Alya a moment to be there for him much like he was there for her in the early parts of the novel.

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tripleaamin

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Overall this was a pretty solid volume.

The big reveal to Masachika at the end of the volume is that Masha is his Russian childhood friend from his past. One thing is for certain, she still has feelings for him even if she knew who he was since they met. Given that he stood up for her when they first met made that clear. While this series does move into a love triangle, it does it in a more elegant way. As Masha and Masachika know that Alya would back down on her feelings if Masha told her about them. She is putting the ball in Masachika's court. At this point, given his family trauma, the election and now the stuff with Masha that he has a lot on his plate. At the very least, Masha is shown to have high character as Alya is as important to her as Masachika is.

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In response to this, Yuki gives Masachika a nice pet talk. As he has a bad habit of putting himself down in why the Kujou sisters have feelings for him. She openly admits to him that he shouldn't feel guilty as she holds nothing against him, and he loves him. It shows that beneath her crazy personality she still loves her brother.

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We get a surprising focus on Masachika's friends Hikaru and Takeshi. Essentially with their band, there was a relationship drama that got started because of a girl liking Hikaru, but Hikaru's past experiences made him against going into a relationship. Basically, Takeshi asked Masachika to help out. This got him to get Alya, Sayaka and Nonoa to temporarily join the band. We also got a focus on Sayaka as it was surprising she has experience playing the bass and even more so for helping Masachika get Alya experience as the team leader. It shows that these two have very similar thinking minds with the differences Sayaka had a loving family. Regarding the band, the focus was on Alya being the leader since she wanted to become Student Council President. Alya worked hard along with the other members so that their performance can be great and leave an impression.

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Much of this volume centered around a big growth for Alya. Her confidence was seen in a much stronger light. As she ends up teasing Masachika a good amount. The biggest thing was Alya ability to act as a team leader and be able to work well with others. She demonstrated well in this role and even was on friendly terms with the guys. Masachika was happy to see this improvement out of Alya although for the first time he got jealous. After all, he used to be Alya's only friend. We see more teasing out of Alya once she figured out that Masachika was jealous, but everything got resolved since the band decided wanted everyone to be on friendly terms. Nonoa and Sayaka being friendly with Masachika was odd. In comparison to that, we are introduced to Yuushou, who seems like he could be another candidate running for student council president.

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As Alya wanted to prove that she can stand next to Masachika beating Yuki in the quiz competition would be how to do it. The Quiz had its up and downs. People were inspired that Alya was putting her heart on the line and was willing to prove herself. Not wanting Masachika to do all the work. While for Yuki showcasing her nobles standing by wanting to beat Alya fair and square. While for Masachika being able to help Alya in a way most wouldn't have thought. People thought Ayano figured out how the pointing system with the audience worked. It was a contest that in reality they all won.

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Overall, this volume really showcased how Alya was pushing forward and now was inspiring Masachika even more than before. The words of her shining as star demonstrates this. For her, she is pushing forward to her goals. While in comparison, Masachika is still stuck in his past and can't let it go. For he still has to deal with his family issues and his answer to Masha. Stuff that might hold him back from standing by side with Alya. Now that Alya has pushed forward. Will she be able to be able to guide Masachika to help him catch up with her?

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winb83

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Failure Frame is dope. Glad I picked this up after the anime. Read 4 volumes since then and it constantly improves each one.
 

twan83

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Failure Frame is dope. Glad I picked this up after the anime. Read 4 volumes since then and it constantly improves each one.
I’m on vol 4 now saw some of the anime :snoop: :trash: good lord quality bad and adaptation is whatever not as bad as arifureta adaptation s1 but i had to drop
My anime patience is gone nowadays I rather read shyt and if it’s at least solid I’ll try to finish show
Bad thing is some anime maybe great reading but bad to watch and u won’t know unless you read it or hope the premise sways you enough cuz of the adaptation being trash
 

winb83

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I’m on vol 4 now saw some of the anime :snoop: :trash: good lord quality bad and adaptation is whatever not as bad as arifureta adaptation s1 but i had to drop
My anime patience is gone nowadays I rather read shyt and if it’s at least solid I’ll try to finish show
Bad thing is some anime maybe great reading but bad to watch and u won’t know unless you read it or hope the premise sways you enough cuz of the adaptation being trash
Yeah that anime was rough but I saw enough promise to want to read it.

I've also learned that a lot of these mediocre anime are much better reads. I love Spy Classroom the novel series but dropped the anime inside a few episodes.

Couldn't finish the Reign of the Seven Spellblades anime either but the novels are great. Same with Classroom of the Elite.
 

tripleaamin

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I’m on vol 4 now saw some of the anime :snoop: :trash: good lord quality bad and adaptation is whatever not as bad as arifureta adaptation s1 but i had to drop
My anime patience is gone nowadays I rather read shyt and if it’s at least solid I’ll try to finish show
Bad thing is some anime maybe great reading but bad to watch and u won’t know unless you read it or hope the premise sways you enough cuz of the adaptation being trash
Tbh with anime adaptations staff & studio are much more important then what is actually being adapted. Especially director because if they mess up the pacing it’s a wrap.
 

tripleaamin

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Damn reading this volume this series keeps impressing for a great Dark Fantasy :wow:

This is the first volume where it really dug deep into what the dungeon is. The dungeon itself can be seen as a higher lifeform know as the Astral Beast. It absorbs magic for where it is, the Astral Crystal serves as its heart and the entrance is its ventilation. Curious what happens if the entrance were sealed? Would the dungeon go and enforce monsters to open it up? As it enforces monsters and traps to protect the Astral Crystal. Would it do the same in this scenario? It is pretty fukked up that the dungeon consumes dead adventures. The fact your former allies would turn into ghosts or zombies is incredibly sad. The fact that the lower levels have guardians really enforces the idea that conquering the dungeon is a marathon and not a spring.

There is no surprise that with Arwin's status could be up in the air, there is no surprise that Matthew would make sure he would be joining the rescue party which the Maretto Sisters, Beatrice & Cecilia oversaw. Of course, Nicholas was joining Matthew, since it was logically the Sun God had some involvement. Pretty interesting to know that adventurers use repelling stones near the entrance of the dungeon to keep a safety path maintained, but obviously, with the stampede that much wasn't present.

An interesting point is how nations would conquer the dungeon. After all, possessing the Astral Crystal could be a great benefit as we see with Arwin. However, the dungeon is more suited for smaller parties of around 5 members rather than including a massive army. It seems that over time, nations stopped sending their forces as they would lose more than whatever they could gain. Part of it was that coexisting with the dungeon had benefits to a nation that outweighed the loss of the dungeon consuming the surrounding land. Then you also had nations forming adventure guilds and having them form parties to take down the dungeon. Conquering the dungeon or coexisting the dungeon has its own merits depending on the nation.

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It is interesting to see how Matthew and Cecilia analyze each other. Matthew sees that Cecilia is more capable than her sister Beatrice, but also Matthew has much more experience than he lets on. More than likely she can tell Arwin doesn't have to be a leader. Though Matthew running off when he hears Arwin starts seeing those in Aegis wounded. A foe that Arwin was having trouble with was knows as the Preacher who was involved with the Sun God's cult of Sol Magni. Nicholas mentioned that it was borrowing the Sun God's power as the sun clearly didn't reach the dungeon. It is curious it was part of the reason for the stampede, but why was it wanting it speed it up so it attacks the surface?

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Unfortunately, the Preacher wasn't a foe Matthew was prepared for as Arwin gets stabbed and killed. Now, for much of this series, everything Matthew has done has been for Arwin and the goals of bringing back her lost kingdom. At this point one would think Arwin has struggled enough, but Matthew made a selfish request for the first time. At the time, it is hard to say if it was his feelings for Arwin, or he didn't want to believe that the people he killed would account for nothing if Arwin died. So as Matthew begs Nicholas to save her, no matter what it takes. This led Nicholas to seal Arwin's would with his flesh and using the Shroud Of Bereni as the catalyst. Now the Shroud being inside her meant that Arwin was involved with the Sun God whether Matthew liked it or not. Though the real issue became as Nicholas mentioned that while Arwin's life was saved, it doesn't hide the fact that she literally died. Just the experience of death was enough for Matthew to figure out as her Kept Man. She clearly has dungeon sickness and has it bad.

It seems clear that the role of suffers was to explore the dungeon for the Sun God. Did the power that existed from the Astral Crystal was something the Sun God desired? This obviously wasn't on Matthew or the parties minds at the moment. Though an interesting note to Matthew on Noelle having poison to be used. She was worried if using poison would hurt Arwin's reputation while Matthew obviously knew she cared more for results.

Now after the events, Gregory closed the dungeon as he was left with two shytty options. They weren't equipped if a stampede happened again, but of course, adventurers would leave, which makes sense for them. Essentially, things turned for the worst for the guild. To make matters worse, the news of Arwin getting dungeon sickness spread, which meant living there was not safe for her and Matthew. After all, the temporary sun can only do so much for him. Luckily, an adventurer who is fond of Arwin known as Fiona was able to get Cecilia to help them before they were killed by Reggie and TRI-Hydra.

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The similarities between Matthew and Cecilia are closer than one would expect. Much like how she accused Matthew of being the leader of Aegis, he proclaimed that Cecilia was the true leader of Medusa. She cleared the air with a little story of her past. Despite being the more talented of the sisters, she was chosen as a sacrifice when a fortune-teller came into town. Her mother just told her to do it, which, after the Fortune Teller was found to be a fraud, ruined their family. Beatrice was the strong one which reached out for her sister's hand, and they began their journey as adventurers. Essentially, Beatrice saved Cecilia in many ways that most could miss. As Cecilia was talented, Beatrice had the guts, will and determination that was needed to be a leader for Medusa. Perhaps this story would spark something regarding Arwin and Matthew relationship? Though Arwin was just an average girl at this point and was hardly considered to be a knight while suffering through dungeon sickness?

With Dez finally back, Matthew gives him the big breakdown to what happened. Dez was meeting with Natalie's old man. Natalie being one of the members of Million Blades. Sadly, was cursed much like Matthew and Dez. Her curse was losing all strength in her left arm. So she essentially lost her arm. As she was the best swords user on the continent, losing an arm was a mighty blow. She needed both hands. The saddest part is that the sword that she made her name in she cut her own throat. To add insult to injury, one of the swords in Natalie's possession belonged to the cursed Sun God. This sword in particular, once the chant was stated, would use the user's life force as fuel. Clearly not a sword you would want lying around.

Matthew's plan, which could be seen as inspired by Cecilia, was to visit Mactarode. Given that, maybe visiting Arwin's homeland and where it stands right now could inspire her in some ways. It is an insane plan given the kingdom is overrun with monsters. Obviously, desperate times call for desperate measure. The reason for Dez's assistance was because it would take over a month to travel to Mactarode. While using the Dragon Hall, which was an underground tunnel that the dwarves created to make travel much faster. Despite the reports that the Dragon Hall was destroyed when the humans wanted to use it and the dwarves wanted no part of that. Though as Matthew is well-informed, he learned that there were parts of the Dragon Hall still running. To add more to it there was a path to Mactarode that would significantly reduce their travel time.

Before leaving, as Matthew was making preparations, he asked Gloria where he could get warding mums and blackseed weed. But during their conversation she makes the claim that Arwin is a fake. Not to misunderstand that what Arwin is doing is impressive as hell. But Arwin for what she is doing is more in sake of obligation that something she is passionate about. Which Matthew can't quite disagree with. Even more trouble as Noelle mentions to Matthew that her uncle won't be sending replacements for the 3 fallen Aegis members who fell during the stampede. To make a reunion depressing, Noelle was the last line of help that would be given to Arwin. So despite how happy Noelle was to be reunited with Arwin, the shock in Arwin's eyes was because it was then she realized nobody else would be coming from this point on. Though he tried to cheer Noelle up, knowing that there are things that only she can do for Arwin. As they set off, much to Matthew's displeasure, Ralph joined them.
 

tripleaamin

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Though Matthew's fears of Ralph joining them came to light. As he was able to spend time with Arwin persuading her to go back so they can conquer the dungeon. Of course, Arwin dealing with dungeon sickness was in the right state of mind. The fact she was clinging to Matthew so treated him as like a babysitter then a Kept Man. Matthew notes once again that Ralph just won't understand Arwin. He has done nothing and for a good reason, Ralph accomplished his dream of being alongside Arwin. Of course, this is just the same party, but I doubt he could consider to be doing any better for himself. Now that Arwin's condition is what it is he thought it would be better to intimidate him to leave Arwin for good. In all honestly Matthew might have killed him since he thought it would be for the better of the party, but Dez stopped him. More than likely, Dez realized that Matthew's emotions got the best of him and as long as Ralph is willing to go along on the journey, him swinging his sword adds more benefit than Matthew did. In a surprising twist, Ralph rejoins everyone as they continue to the Dragon Hall.

When they arrived there, cooperation with the dwarves was not an easy thing to achieve. As the hatred when the humans who wanted to forcefully use the Dragon Hall angers them still to this day. If Dez want known as the hero of the dwarves they most likely would never consider letting them use it. Unfortunately, Matthew had to take several blows and a lost arm to let them use it. The warding mums and blackseed weed that he got from Gloria's advice came in clutch because these items could path up even the most fatal wounds. Though that was the reason why they were so expensive.

Once they arrived in Mactarode they encountered a wyvern whom would have killed them if the Giant Ants didn't kill it first and didn't notice them. Really showcasing how dangerous Mactarode has become. Eventually, they arrived at the Village of Yuulia, which was barely holding on because it used a magical barrier for protection. However, at some point it would break, meaning that the village had its days numbered. At the very least, it was somewhere Arwin could stay while Matthew scouted out the kingdom with Noelle. As Matthew slept in the same room as Arwin, it was really showcased how fukked up Arwin's mental was. She had nightmares of being in a coffin, which more than likely is what the dungeon sickness had associated with feeling the embrace of death for real. She was at a point that she was tying her fate to the Tree of Cameron which Matthew wanted to seek out was depressing. As it is very unlikely the tree is still doing well in the kingdom's sake, and it is foolish to tie one's fate to that tree.

Before Matthew and Noelle went their separate ways when they reached the Kingdom, Noelle asked him how he was so close to Arwin and why she trusted him so much. Given that she is a retainer for Arwin they will naturally close, but there would always be a gap in their relationship. More than likely, when they are communicating, Noelle is mostly the one doing the talking and Arwin was listening. His advice is to ask and simply listen. For Arwin to trust Noelle more requires her to open up beyond the retainer relationship Noelle has for her. Hearing her concerns would allow her to gain more of Arwin's trust. But more so as a friend rather than a retainer, which is what Noelle wants.

As Matthew traveled through the base of the kingdom he had to deal with so many monsters and needed to depend on the Sun so that he didn't rely on the Temporary Sun too much. He eventually reached the Tree of Cameron, but the tree was partially dead and hearing that would break Arwin's heart. Though he was able to dig and find a shortsword alongside a white cloth. That shortsword is most likely one that Arwin dug underneath given her goal of becoming a knight. Sadly, on his way back he lost possession of the shortsword as a golem that he was being attacked by and stepped on it. In frustration, Matthew punched the golem which landed a blow on the dragon chasing him. It only left the white cloth as what he could bring back to Arwin. As he made it back with Noelle, she was able to find a great big sword that her uncle possessed. Also, she aided their escape from the goblins by using Sentry Spider Thread, which is a beyond sticky content and forcefully removing it cane damage the skin.

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When they arrived back at the Village of Yuulia they received the worst news that they could get. The barrier that was protecting the village was gone, and it didn't run out, but it was destroyed by Arwin. Arwin's dungeon sickness and her wanting Matthew's company had her causing chaos and the worst that could happen just had to happen. As Matthew checks up on Arwin, she begged for him not to leave her or at the very least escape with his life. Thinking of what can he do for Arwin and at that moment he kisses her and proclaims his love for her. Essentially, Arwin was the light that saved Matthew when the Sun God cursed him. Arwin inspired him when he was at his lowest. The gift he gave to Arwin that he received when he visited the Tree of Cameron was the white cloth which held a jewelry Box that Arwin had when she was seven.

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Arwin's last memories of her mother was her saying “If you don’t forget that desire of yours, you will find out one day if I changed my mind.” This basically gave Arwin as a kid that her mom was rejecting her dream, but rather she was telling her you will find out one day if I accept what you choose as your dream which you sought to become a knight. She hid the white cloth where Arwin kept the shortsword knowing that if Arwin fully is determined to follow her dream, she will seek that shortsword where she will find the jewelry box as well. Unfortunately, the kingdom was overrun by monsters and Arwin's mom would never see her daughter's dream realized. As Arwin felt obligated to restore her kingdom, he at least knew that Arwin's dream to become a knight to protect her mother was true. As she reads the note written by her mother, she learns her mother was always supportive of her dreams. Despite their last conversation ending on bad terms, which really allows treasuring her mother for who she was. As Arwin is awed at how Matthew is able to keep going on and how he is so strong as she deals with dungeon sickness and is at her lowest. The funny part if the same was for Matthew. Arwin despite dealing with urgency to restore the kingdom, still sought out to help out those in need. Like she sought to reunite Melinda and Sarah. That was the true strength that Matthew was alluding to and which inspired him.

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As Matthew returned to the surface, Noelle mentioned she made contact with her uncle to help transport the village out of the country sooner than expected. Despite the mass number of monsters, two dragons appeared. It seems the golem that Matthew hit which landed on the dragon was a female dragon. It seemed she brought her husband to extract revenge. Despite Dez being a monster in terms of strength, it would be too much to ask him to deal with two dragons. So the plan was for him to tackle the husband and Matthew to tackle the wife along with Noelle and Ralph. Matthew knew how dangerous the dragon lance could be, but his plan alongside Noelle was to force its mouth to be shut when it launches that attack. Noelle was able to accomplish this with the Sentry Spider Thread. But even being hit by the dragon lance, the wife was still capable of moving even after Ralph used Merciful Rain, which was the heavy sword Noelle retrieved.

More than likely, Arwin came out to see what was happening in the battle and was freaking out that Matthew, Noelle and Ralph were about to die. She came out with the cursed sword Dawnblade, but it was ineffective without the enchantment. She was able to use Merciful Rain to land some big blows until it landed out of her hands. With just Dawnblade Arwin used two spell enchantments, the first would to protect her from the wife's mouth and the other would give it power to launch a decisive blow to the dragon. It seemed that despite it being the situation being as dire as you could think it could be, she was able to conquer her dungeon sickness. Apparently, the chant was written on Dawnblade which Dez failed to mention. On the other side it seemed Dez had no issues taking down the husband dragon.

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On their way back, Matthew had to point out to Ralph that Arwin didn't completely conquer her dungeon sickness. It is something that could come back one of these days, especially considering Arwin would be tackling the dungeon once again. At the very least, it was best to prepare for the upcoming rematch with the Preacher and how to take it down because there was no reviving Arwin for a second time. Though one concern thing which Dez brought up to Matthew was what was in the Dragon's eyes. They had the sigil of the Sun God, which implied that these creatures were sufferers as well. So clearly, if these dragons were part of what overran Mactarode then the Sun God was involved Matthew's long term enemy might just be Arwin's enemy as well.

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As Arwin was feeling better and better, she was finding it difficult to believe that Matthew went into the capital and survived. After all, the Matthew that Arwin has seen isn't strong or impressive in a fight. Matthew had a clear struggle on whether he wanted to tell Arwin the truth. The issue is that after Arwin recovered from dungeon sickness she was massively indebted to him, and he feared about adding more to her burden. After all, dungeon sickness is something that could come back. But still, he had to make it clear that he could not join Aegis or the dungeon. So Matthew continued his playboy self and tried his best to deter Arwin from pressing him for more information. Though as they returned to Gray Neighborhood the atmosphere felt uncomfortable. Despite the recent stampede, people were returning to their everyday lives and even celebrating a recent festival. Which didn't seem right at all. More than likely, the preacher that killed Arwin was involved.
 

tripleaamin

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Started reading this after watching the anime 2 years ago. The first volume was well adapted all things considered. With just some notes.

You get more sense of how crazy Kaya is. The novel makes it more apparent Yurie is worried about Miyo. Miyo's father is given a much worse portrayal in the novel compared to the anime for me.Miyo's first nightmare was in volume 1 and not after volume 1's content, so seems like the anime pushed it back unless I am forgetting something
 
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