- #1
The story is quite interesting, albeit underdeveloped. We have MC who is an ex-mercenary, who apparently survived after most of his comrades died in battle. However, he keeps saying later on that his group was disbanded, which is a bit confusing. What is refreshing here is that MC behaves like an adult for once. This is not the type of novel where everything is always fine and dandy. There is a lot of backstabbing, most people during every mission so far die and MC doesn't think twice about killing people who are his enemies or teach a lesson to annoying people who bug him. What is also refreshing is that no harem, no lolis and not tsunderes here. I hope it stays without tsunderes and lolis... On the other hand, MC's overall behavior does not correspond to his supposed character. He was an experienced mercenary, but he doesn't know anything. He doesn't make decisions and have no clue how to live by himself - he doesn't even know what country he is in. Supposedly it's because he was just a soldier and didn't need to know anything but just follow orders. I don't really buy that. You should pick things up by just living, so it doesn't make sense in many cases where he lacks the knowledge. Also, he is not proactive at all. There is this pattern so far that keeps repeating itself: he is being dragged in to do a mission by the girl he is with, the mission goes horribly wrong, he uses his "berserk mode" to fight and saves them, ends up unconscious because of it and in the hospital. It's an annoying pattern and I hope the author will break it soon.I like the chemistry between the girl and the MC. They are both pragmatic with a realistic outlook on things and are actually working well together. She wants to keep him by her side, but it doesn't seem to be malicious and she seems to actually like him. She helps him quite a bit: she gives him equipment that cost much more for a reduced price. So I don't really get the people who view her as evil and manipulative. It's not like she even hides anything she does from the MC and he can return the debt and leave if he really wants to. It's just because the storytelling is not that great, their situation is not as believable as it could be. Another thing is about this girl - the only thing we know about her is that she is a powerful demon with a seemingly large amount of resources and she can procure rare equipment easily. So she should have some background, but we are never told what it is so far.There is also this trend of not asking for information. For example, in the second arc, it is the most obvious how they have poor decision-making abilities. They found this girl in the forest, but no one seems to even ask how this girl ended up near their town. Also, the girl absorbs live energy and basically kills people by draining them within one day by just being near them. However, she was at the guild for several days and no one noticed? And after noticing that unexplained stuff is happening they chose to just go right ahead to their destination where it was obvious that the best choice of action would be coming back with the information and getting reinforcements.Overall other than a few things that I can overlook, I actually enjoy the novel. There hasn't been anything that irritates me too much. They only thing is that repeated pattern of ever-increasing debt, failed quests, and ending up in the hospital at the end of each arc.