Tags: Adventure, Fantasy, Comedy, Slice of Life, School Life, Isekai

Sub-Tags: Cute, Heartwarming, Otome, OP, Misunderstandings

Mary’s Trip to the Dark Isle!

A Turbulent Journey

After successfully stopping troubles at the school tournament, the latest volume of The Invincible Little Lady sees the series go for a change of pace. Released from the school setting, the third volume of the story has Mary and her friends causing havoc on holiday in the Dark Isle.

Invited on a trip by the Dark Isle’s princess, Emilia, perhaps it was rather naïve of Mary to think that this would be an uneventful and relaxing holiday. Even before arriving at their destination, the crew are hoisted into a dangerous situation, having to sort out a familial issue between Kraken.

Eventually, arriving at their destination, the story makes a great diversion to focus on Emilia and her family. Emilia has never been shy to express how much of a free spirit she is, and the same can be said of her family. Each has their own unique quirks, and there’s always fun to be had reading the one straight man in the bunch, Elizabeth, trying to wrangle them all together.

The story quickly gets the family dynamic down, and it’s clear from the outset that Lady Elizabeth is the one who wears the trousers in the family.

Political Strife on the Dark Isle

Family antics aside, it isn’t long before the main characters are introduced to the dark side of the Dark Isle.

Malicious forces sensing that something troublesome has arrived and could scupper their plans, they decide to move their machinations up a notch. This starts with the attempted kidnapping of Tutte and the Relirex housemaids, and if Mary ever wanted to stay out of the limelight, it all went out the window when she decided to portray a one-man army to rescue her beloved maid.

The resulting investigation leads Mary and her friends toward the local mayor. A leader turned traitor, he’s been using enslaved divine beasts and a captured blacksmith to achieve a terrible end – creating a mechanical beast that can destroy the Dark Isle.

Upon discovering these devious deeds, Mary manages to team up with one of the divine beasts that have escaped their conditioning. A snow leopard aptly named Snow, Mary is the only one who can hear her voice and her cries to save her younger sister. Whilst everyone believes her to be mad at first, Mary eventually convinces them that she hasn’t just started to hear voices.

As a result, Mary and Snow set off and defeat the mechanical monster, saving both Snow’s younger sister and the nation. Unfortunately for Mary, this act makes her a hero in the eyes of the Dark Isle, and once again, her endeavours of remaining low-key are mercilessly dashed!

Overall, The Invincible Little Lady’s third volume breathes fresh life into the series with a refreshing change of scenery. Getting mixed up in the madness of the Relirex royal family provides plenty of laughs, with both Emilia and Elizabeth becoming some of my favourite characters in the series so far.

Furthermore, the main arc of the volume has legs. With a political storyline having ramifications throughout the continent, there’s certainly more to explore when it comes to the Papacy and its reach.