Congrats! You sped through this volume! Do you think you’ll start volume 5 pretty soon, or give it a break?
I did not like Lufz’s father. 
Myne getting the 神官長 involved perhaps was overkill, but it was what the man needed to actually communicate his thoughts and feelings out loud. 
I took it that it’s supposed to be Dade but the anime subtitles rendered it Deid when I watched it with subtitles years ago.
Read vol. 5’s 冬支度についての話し合い tonight, but I’m so tired. @.@ No comments, just sleep…
Yeah, either on the weekend or next week. I’ll squeeze a chapter or two of Flesh&Blood in-between, and then I’m good to start.
So Myne’s running out of money, eh. I wonder if she’ll actually be able to sell as many books as she hopes for? She’ll need good word-of-mouth for those, and ベンノ’s basically her only in there.
I didn’t pause my audiobook while I was listening, but did Myne say they can’t reuse the original woodcuts because the ink dried in a bad way on them?
Finally, the white lion appears! We’ve now officially stepped our first step into the side of nobles (I feel like entering the church doesn’t count; Myne even points out she goes out of her way to avoid anything noble-related). Pretty neat to see what out-of-control トロンベ can do as well! I bet this is really neat in the anime!
And the more I read, the more I feel like the 神官長is terrible with children. Myne might overreact a little bit, but dude needs to remember he’s carting around a 6 year old to all these important events. 
If I keep up my pace of two chapters a day, I should be done this weekend!
Ah shoot. I meant to post my thoughts earlier today and completely forgot.
Finally. Finally. These three chapters were so exciting! I wanted to keep going into the epilogue, but it looks like it’s pretty long, and I was hungry, so that’ll be tomorrow’s adventure. 
Where to start… That whole “she can still do the ceremony if I cut out her eyes, right?” was a bit… ちょっと… I’m not sure if I should be impressed at the author really wanting to drive home that social gap or roll my eyes a bit at the pretty transparent way to get Myne to shine in that scene. I mean, didn’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it in conglomerate, but it did feel a bit over-the-top. I’m guessing this won’t be the last time we see that guy.
Interesting expansion of the magic system here, where the shadow magic absorbs magic, and how the knights have to commit to one type of magic weapon, as changing to another isn’t fast/convenient on the battlefield. I’m wondering if the gods are actually real or not in this world; hard to tell so far.
I’m betting there’s some juicy gossip as to why 神官長 had to leave the knights and join the church. I’m glad he stuck up for Myne here; I was really worried the 叱責 part of the chapter title was her getting chewed out, but thankfully no.
As to where I ended… So the 神官長 specifically requested the use of a magical device that can look through someone’s memories, eh? The only thing I can think of that might’ve freaked him out that much was Myne showing him the new children’s bible, but he kept that shock pretty under wraps, apparently. I wonder if it’s going to be effective on her, and if so, how effective. Could he just trace her memories back all the way to waking up as Myne? And then pop back one more day to see Urano reading a book and getting crushed under book cases?
He seemed somewhat confident he’d be able to see what she was dreaming, which makes sense if Myne can remember her “dreams” well enough to invent from them. But assuming he can’t see into Urano’s life, all he’ll see is normal eccentric Myne… Except for that conversation with ルッツ. 
Where she admits she isekai’d. Would it just be chance he gets there? How large of one? Man, this could go a lot of different ways.
I suppose the easiest way for him to accept her origins as a transmigrator is if he sees that fact in a way that’s completely negates any possibility of lying, like what we have here. So what’s the next step after this? I’m sure there are scheming nobles every 3 feet just outside of Myne’s notice, so I have a feeling things are about to get very, very messy for Myne.
There’s also the possibility of just doesn’t work on her for some reason, which would also be interesting, but I have no idea how you’d fill up an hour’s worth of audio narration with that, haha.
EDIT: oops, hadn’t meant this to be a reply to @eefara specifically
So one of the biggest differences between the anime and the light novels is that the anime opens season 1, episode 1 on this final scene before the volume 5 epilogue. It then transitions into the start of volume 1 and Ferdinand doesn’t show up again in the main body of the show until the end of season 1, which is the negotiations with ferdinand and 神殿長 from the end of volume 3. However, Ferdinand is the recap and preview narrator, and there are meta-segments of chibi-myne and chibi-ferdinand explaining the world or reflecting on episodes. Obviously this does take away some of the uncertainty about if Ferdinand is a friend or foe that late volume 3 tries to set up.
Apart from this adjustment, the anime lines up as:
Season 1: Volume 1-3 (minus side stories)
Season 2: Volume 4-5
Season 3: Volume 6-7
The Part 1 side stories also got put into OVAs between season 1 and 2
So that reordering mentioned in the previous block was the first big change I saw from the anime, but the second big change is just how much of 日本 that Ferdinand has seen in this epilogue. Like the anime version of this scene was basically the library, a brief view from skytree(?), Urano eating a meal her mom prepared, and Myne having a little regretful breakdown with Urano’s mom.
Actually, there is a second difference which is I’m pretty sure myne and Ferdinand saw that scene from third person, whereas in the book it felt like it was more of a lucid dream with Mynano in control. So anime!myne is having her breakdown watching anime!urano be oblivious, but ln!myne and ln!urano are much less distinct.
Anyway, I kinda feel like ferdinand seeing so much more in the LN has to come up. Like all the learning about electricity, gas cooking, plumbing was much more in depth than in the anime where it felt like he was mostly impressed by architecture and how easily they could print books.
I was also wondering if the childhood friend from part 1 would show up in the memories since he was omitted from the anime entirely, but it seems he was omitted in the LNs here too.
I don’t know about the anime, but the LN is indeed exactly that. The person looking in can somewhat force the person under investigation to show something specific, but I assume that with the proper training you could fake memories…
Otherwise, that’s it! We have reached the part where I started shipping those two! Specifically, the bath scene (where he got a good look of her former body) started me thinking that he has to take responsibility now, but also that he may consider her as an adult, not a kid, making the (potential) relationship way less creepy.
So volume 5 apparently has two side stories in it that are omitted entirely from the corresponding junior edition (likely because it would add too much to the page count? That long epilogue means it’s already the longest junior volume). I just thought I’d check as I’m planning to switch from the junior edition to the full edition for the next volume.
There are two side stories in the end of the regular volume 5, yes, if that’s what you’re looking for confirmation for.
So I was feeling lazy and read the side stories in English so I can just have my japanese progress tracking align on a complete volume. The first side story (Rosina POV) is nothing new really, and I think might also have been included in the manga as it felt very familiar, while the second side story from the chef POV has a few interesting insights into more of the ways the lower city looks at nobles and also really reinforces that this world is not great for women.
Haven’t dived in to reading yet, but it’s neat we’ve upgraded from a town map to a region (country?) map!
That perfectly round arc of a national border is interesting. Is this supposed ot be an incomplete map or are there some fantasy shenanigans going on I wonder.
I don’t have a ton to say, this ended on a cliffhanger and all, but I feel like this will end poorly for the 騎士団 guy.
Welp, as long as I’m not reading the adult edition, I don’t really need a break for this one.
Vol 5, let’s go~
Prologue was short and easier than the previous volume’s prologue.
悪阻 for morning sickness being both a usually kana word AND archaic is brutal.
(1) エーファ is pregnant! Wow I don’t want to think about childbirth in those conditions (2) カルラ literally proceeds to talk about マイン’s help in fixing their family situation next to the well. I really hope no one else was there. Jeez, woman.
Waiting for FIVE days to have a conversation with a person you work with every day is wild.
I guessed correctly that bedding is 100% inappropriate present for their relationship. Well, 神官長, how did you feel choosing it? What did フラン think? Give me more confusion, more!!
The ability to have kids only with the nobles sounds like an ultimate birth control. /A couple of pages later/ wow, I hate that noble society. Really, we’re considering her as a broodmare? What about being “noble”, nobles??
I can’t help but wonder what’s 神官長 in for. Is he really just being nice? He’s helping A LOT.
Also the whole singing & performing experience is not also part of some courting, a bit less forward than getting bedsheets? It seemed pretty captivating and would probably work on noble ladies.
It’s kind of working on me, especially because while I’m reading I don’t always remember how… tiny マイン is. We’ve covered that the age gap is acceptable even between ベンノand マイン, automatically meaning that from this point of view 神官長 is totally in.
Conflicted, but he is very pretty. Wait, that sounds like what I say reading any BL. LOL.
Give her a couple of years to build a library somehow and we’re set. Hehe.
I respect that in female leads. It allows me to trust the author not to make the MC love obsessed fool that can think only about ML all the time.
I’m finally starting volume 5’s epilogue after being busy for a few days, and I’m absolutely loving it so far. Myne being 100% onboard with the whole process and even getting distracted by her book is top notch stuff, and I’m loving the 神官長’s reactions to all this so far. “Is that madman supposed to be able to touch the books?” 
Alrighty, finished the epilogue! Just two short stories left in the book!
Wow, that was better than I could’ve imagined! I loved Myne’s excitement in re-experiencing her old world, and Ferdinand’s confuzzlement over all the unknown technology. Myne’s complete lack of shame in the bathtub was 
, and her apology to her mother had me tearing up a bit. 
Myne’s immediate “let’s do it again” is hopefully the wake-up call Ferdinand needs to realize how much danger he’s in now.
I was interested to see the 神官長 remarking on how Myne’s level of magic is abnormal even for those afflicted with 身食い; makes me wonder if there’s something else contributing to how powerful she is?
I’m so conflicted with this book. On one hand, the first 70% or so of the book was unmitigated, unapologetic SOL that, 300 pages in, I was ready to be done with. Yet the last 30% has been fun, interesting, and a good shove forward plot-wise that we haven’t seen since book three. It’s like…3.5 stars for me. The question is whether I round up or down for Natively… I’m not expecting the short stories to overly influence the score.
@Naphthalene, @basilsauce I’m afraid I don’t see the Mynex神官長 romance angle yet, at least just based on this book.
I’m pretty sure Myne has her Myne body during this dream, right? He comments about her dark blue hair when she ties it up with a hairband at some point, so I was imagining child!Myne in all this.
@shitsurei when do we want to plan to start volume 6?
Ok, this chapter was quite good.. like eefara was saying, the latter third of the book (minus the side stories, which I never read, so thanks @araigoshi for the quickie summary of those) was good in a frustrating way. If the rest of the book was like this, I’d be way more excited to read this series. On the other hand, the rest of the book is such a slog it’s hard for me to overlook that even for this type of chapter..
Anyway my actual feelings from this chapter:
Myne only having memories of books and Ferdinand having to prod her to remember things that were libraries, book stores, the library at her high school (that she picked bc of its book collection) were all great details.
That was also my impression. Plus she said something along the lines of that she takes a bath with her dad, or her dad has seen her bathe so it’s fine, and Ferdinand’s “but I’m different than your dad” reaction seemed a lot more in line with her child body than Urano’s body..
.. she’d still have been in high school and he’s like early twenties (?) so it’s still at least a little creepy even if it was her old body.
So yeah, I agree, I’m still def not shipping these two, but I can see how her hugging him after he’s been in her memories and got emotional can be the start of a different relationship that down the road could turn into something that I could ship..
I’m thinking maybe the beginning of March for book 6 start? I want to slot at least one other read w/ audiobook into rotation before we get back to this. And maybe by then @Kroki will have caught up to us. 
No, he only mentions that he is only used to see her tying her dark sky hair (as Myne) with a kanzashi, but that doesn’t mean she has those right now. Plus, this is her memory world, how could she have her current body here? On top of that, there’s no mention that her field of vision got lower (as she would be in a small child body).
(That being said, you did plant the seed of doubt in me, and now I am trying to look it up online, but I cannot find anything).
Incidentally, you making me re-read that part also confirmed that I really like their banter. 
There are many other moments in the series anyway.
Assuming she is taking the bath around the time of her death, she is 22, and he is in his early to mid 20s, so it’s pretty close.
Okay, I’m pretty sure I didn’t misread; here’s from the chapter:
マインは、「トロンベかぁ」と落ち込みながら、さらりと長い夜空の色の髪を後ろで無造作に結っていく。
It’s right after that sentence that Ferdinand remarks about only ever seeing her hair up with a 簪.
I thought their hug was very cute at least! 
Edit:
And just to be clear here, she was saying she’s lost all her shame due to Gunter forcibly dressing her when she didn’t know him yet within the first few days of her transmigration. (Which doesn’t make Ferdinand’s rebuttal any less hilarious, of course.)
