Tags: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Isekai

Using Manure to Save a Village!

It’s been a long while since I last read this series and I’m slowly concluding that putting multiple series on a backlog can be dangerous. Lucky, June has left me with little new series to review and I can finally get to some of the series I’d neglected. I’ve already reviewed both volumes for Private Tutor and now I can move on to this series, Fushi no Kami.

Volume 4 of the series starts with Ash at a bit of a loss. After successfully showcasing the model plane, he’s come to a bit of a sticking point when it comes to preserving food. Ash won’t be able to rest on his laurels for long, however, as his work at the Territory Reform Promotion Office brings to attention the village of Ajole, which has been suffering from constant crop failure and is now on the verge of extinction.

With a new task to occupy his mind, Ash sets to work on testing his manure, which should allow for crops to grow in greater numbers. Unfortunately, things aren’t always so simple as he’ll not only have to deal with a parasitic village chief but a group of Trenant demons as well.

Fushi no Kami’s story in the fourth novel is one of the best in the series so far as it seeks to develop Ash’s civilisation plans to a wider area in Sacula and has Ash at his most determined to find a solution before the village extinction takes place. Determination can also be a character weakness for Ash as he turns to more unethical means to allow for his manure to be tested as well as the rather tough love approach he takes when showing the villagers the cultivation techniques.

Of course, Ash’s more extreme methods as compared to other volumes are all a result of his kindness. He wants to save this village not only to prove his methods work but to also mend the relationship between Renge and Suiren. This is all the more evident as he faces off against Suiren’s parasite of a father and as he does everything in his power to fend off the demons that surround the village at the end of the volume.

I will note, however, that alongside some of Ash’s behaviours, his perspective is also one of the weaker parts of the story mainly claiming ignorance of his behaviour and is instead overshadowed by others who undergo important development in the novel.

Maika’s, Renge and Suiren’s perspective parts are important standouts that really add to the depth of the story. Renge and Suiren’s are obviously overlapping as they both try to overcome learning and emotional hurdles to come to a point of being able to forgive each other after an event that ended their friendship. Maika’s perspective is always a good way to tell how others view Ash’s actions and how to curtail them from going too far. For most of this volume, it’s clear to see just how much she loves Ash and the actions she’s taking to catch up to him. This all pays off at the end of the volume as she comes up with a way to relocate the Ajole villagers proving that she has the beginnings of what it takes to be with Ash.

Overall, the fourth volume is a great continuance for the series developing Ash’s plans on a wider and more desperate scale. As we move forward to the fifth volume, the stage has been set for the romance aspect to make an appearance. With Maika making plans to go on the attack and Lord Itsuki moving the pieces into place for an engagement between the two, Ash may have to deal with something much more difficult than inventions, his feelings.