In Volume 1, we met Laila, a commoner set adrift when her useless parents sell her off to slavers. She reconnects with a childhood friend, a noble who sponsors Laila to the Royal academy. Laila has the ability to adapt to any magic simply by mimicking what she sees and she quickly gains notoriety, both good and bad at school on account of being a commoner.
In Volume 2 of Heimin No Watashi Desu Ga Koushaku Reijou-sama o Taburakashite Ikite Imasu, Volume 2 (平民の私ですが公爵令嬢様をたぶらかして生きています), nobles continue to harass Laila, trying to drive her from the school. When religious extremists attack an innocent student, Martha, Laila and Touka, Laila becomes more friendly with Eva, a powerful noble and magician at school. Eva extends the protection of the ducal house of Mayer to Laila, angering her father and brother.
The King, concerned about religious fanaticism, declares a competition between the 4 ducal houses, meant to showcase the magical strength and ability at his side. Representatives of all 4 houses will compete, using their physical, mental and magic skills.On the day of the competition, House Mayer starts down 3 competitors and, facing sabotage at every turn must defend Laila’s right to compete, and Eva’s status as the most powerful magician at school.
I absolutely love this story. I’ve followed Kitao-sensei’s work for decades and generally adore her hapless butch characters, but Laila being confident and smart (and powerful doesn’t hurt) is fantastic. Laila’s honorable nature means that people who don’t like her can be persuaded to at least be her ally, like Touka, and her fighting skills means she doesn’t need protection, just friends.
It is important to note that only Volume 1 is available as a print manga. The remaining 4 volumes are digital only. I am comfortable with this, and indeed bought a new tablet for the specific function of reading digital manga this past year. I’m not in the habit of shilling for new tech, but it is absolutely outstanding being able to read a whole page at a time on this tablet. I really don’t use it for much else, but it has completely changed the way I consume digital media. (And, as I am reading more for ANN, I need to be able to quickly pull up a lot of PDFs.) So, if you, like me, are interested in Laila’s continued adventures, you’ll be reading it in digital format..
And, I am interested. I want Eva and the Mayer team to stick it to the other houses. I want Laila to find the allies and power she needs for some stability in her life. And if Laila and Eva can find happiness together, that would be very nice too. ^_^
Ratings:
Art – 9
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Service – Not much this time around, as genteel hostility was ramping up
Yuri – 4, who has time when everyone wants to fight you?
Overall – 9
