Synopsis

Ekaterina has settled well into her new life as the not-so-villainous villainess of an otome game. Perhaps a little too well, in fact! On top of spending most of her time thinking about her dear brother, she’s become friends with the heroine, Flora, and the main love interest of the game, Prince Mikhail, whom she’d sworn never to approach. Ekaterina’s not too worried, though, because she’s on track to avoid the doom flags that threaten her family and the empire after successfully driving back the monster that attacked the academy. She’s ready to kick back and take it easy when Alexei drops a bomb on her: the imperial family is about to visit their residence. How is she supposed to prepare for that?! Not to mention, she has to deal with her grandmother’s remaining supporters and her first-ever exam season in this world! Forget about relaxation, Ekaterina has no time to spare! (Source: J-Novel Club)

A Bro-Con Encounters an Empress!

Fresh off of defending the academy from a monster attack, Goodbye, Overtime’s second instalment has the series’ titular bro-con villainess face an entirely new dilemma: a visit from the imperial family!

The latest chapter in Ekaterina’s saga starts strong, as the series introduces its readers to the most important family within the empire, the royal family. Making their way to the Yulnova Duchy for the annual Imperial Flower Viewing, this visit presents the perfect opportunity to showcase the Yulnova household in a wider context. Chief among those getting a closer look within this volume are the Yulnova servants.

With so little time having passed since the death of Ekaterina’s grandmother, there still exist servants loyal only to her—something Ekaterina is promptly reminded of at the start of this storyline. During preparation for the royal visit, Ekaterina ends up having a run-in with one of these servants, formerly in service to her grandmother. The inevitable conflict between the two serves as a grim reminder of the twisted views of Yulnova’s former matriarch. Furthermore, these moments force out a more serious side to Ekaterina, proving she has the foundations of what it takes to become a leader amongst the nobility.

Despite these setbacks, the visit from the royal family goes well, and Ekaterina even manages to make inroads with the current Empress.

As the novel progresses, the story moves away from more serious endeavours and more towards the series’ gimmick, Ekaterina’s bro-con nature. This storyline revolves around Alexei’s upcoming birthday and his dear sister agonising over what gift to give him.

Inevitably, this part of the volume ends up being the weaker of the two, as it is unable to keep up with the interesting conflict set up in the first half. What it does well, however, is create interesting storylines for the future. The best of these new plots comes from the perspective of Vladimir, one of the many love interests from the original Otome game. Through his perspective, we learn that his family is suffering under similar twisted views as brought forth by Yulnova’s former matriarch. With Vladimir’s father convinced that Alexei is committing dirty deeds, it seems like a fight between the two families is on the cards.

Despite a weaker second half, Goodbye, Overtime’s latest addition to the series still has plenty of strong moments to offer. Chief among these are Ekaterina’s conflicts with the servants formerly in service to her grandmother. It seems that the key to this series’ success will come from the continued problems the series will throw at Ekaterina.

I Give Goodbye, Overtime! Volume 2: 8/10