Poor diana, she looked real sad? emotion in the last panel. I’m honestly surprised at how big this love triangle thing seems to be. I thought it’d be like other ones in this same genre where the other party is just a side piece shown every once and a while but here this live triangle has kind of been at the forefront? I’m curious and how this will continue. That familiar was so cute

Also definitely think there’s a weird vibe with lapis. Maybe she sees her younger self in Diana who hasn’t lost “anything” (anyone) yet and wants to help her?

Also must say I disagree with the idea that Diana will become the villain. While that’d be interesting I think even her strangely combative attitude has come from a place of care. There is even the difference between how she attacked those girls, originally didn’t the princess have to step in to protect them but here although she destroyed the place, her magic didn’t seem to go out of control. And while her overprotectiveness or jealousy could lead to villainess acts I just don’t see it happening

last edited at Apr 15, 2023 9:15PM

Damn,so close to real bloodshed for those two.

But now Diana is accelerating faster then the original tale by a bit,and with THREE pillars of support for her.

Lapis and Diana fighting over Natori is the Princes' dream come true,he just doesn't know it yet.

I was NOT expecting a love triangle.

have you seen the art that ends every chapter

I know people are gonna comment something to me but I have a feeling that MAYBE, just MAYBE, that it’s possible that there’s gonna be battle between Lapis and Diana for Natori in the end of chapters. Now, this is just speculation and I would hope that I was wrong about this but I feel like Diana wanted to close to Natori to herself openly and this could create conflict with Lapis, who in deep down wanted to Natori for herself too, but very subtle way.

In my head, during this confict, Natori must choose herself between Lapis or Diana to stop conflict before they kill each other.

Yes, I expect people come at me at this too but I would prefer Diana and Natori tbh. Because she’s such a sweet girl and she plays as Shining Knight Armour for Natori, which I found interesting tbh, (bit yandereish, I know). Wouldn’t mind if the story went Poly tho.

That’s all my thought from latest chapter.

last edited at Apr 16, 2023 3:35AM

Oh Diana is getting a lot more complex that before. That's a little too much excitement in paying those girls back. I liked how she was cute and childish previously but I have to say the expressions in this one hint at stuff that's going to add some more layers

Where are you getting "Lapsis" from? Her name is Lapis, probably named after the blue semi-precious stone lapis lazuli

Oh shit that was a typo on my end; my bad bro. Also the first thing that came into my brain was the lapis lazuli in minecraft lmao

With Natori's penchant for standing around uselessly and getting attacked I fear her cover of having "precognition" becomes less and less believable if anyone were to scrutinize the scenarios she finds herself in. While not useful in combat per se, the idea that she would not predict a sneak attack or a certain turn of events makes her appear increasingly unreliable. Lapis at this point has not tried to rely on Natori's alleged abilities much at all either, mostly just accepting her other support qualities and wishing for her to self-actualize.

It would be fine just from a social bonding perspective as both Lapis and Diana like her regardless of her powers, but from a plot standpoint this should become an issue eventually. At the very least "fate" seems to keep the "plot" of the game mostly coherent even with Natori's meddling on the specifics. That way her long term knowledge of the plot will continue to be relevant. It would just be unfortunate if someone actually tried to rely on her imaginary powers in critical situations. And if the timeline keeps adjusting and railroading regardless of interference then it will be that much harder to change the ultimate outcome of the story.

last edited at May 19, 2023 4:00AM

Diana will lose Natori because she simply wants to protect Natori.

Lapis wants Natori to grow and to become a proper individual. She will protect her if she needs to but I think she's wanting Natori to be her own person. Natori, in theory, will eventually recognize that (as well as the fact that Lapis makes her heart race and that she, herself, wants Lapis to change and grow because she loves her).

It's not enough to want to treasure someone you love, which is what Diana wants currently, one has to be willing to encourage and push your beloved to better heights.

Diana will lose Natori because she simply wants to protect Natori.

Lapis wants Natori to grow and to become a proper individual. She will protect her if she needs to but I think she's wanting Natori to be her own person. Natori, in theory, will eventually recognize that (as well as the fact that Lapis makes her heart race and that she, herself, wants Lapis to change and grow because she loves her).

It's not enough to want to treasure someone you love, which is what Diana wants currently, one has to be willing to encourage and push your beloved to better heights.

It is somewhat ironic that the last two chapters are rather strong counter to this claim, at least in regards to Diana.
She has (much like Lapis) taken note of Natori's self-depreciating nature and actively wishes for her to acknowledge her own worth. You are correct that she plays a more active role and approaches problems in the way of a protector, but I think the most significant moment of their interactions until now was when she told Natori not to look down on herself.

In my view the difference between Diana and Lapis is their approach towards the same goal. Lapis sees Nator's virtues and tries to nurture them until she reaches her potential and sees her self-worth. Diana is far more straightforward and sees that Natori is already the great person she thinks she is, but doesn't realize it herself. Instead of trying to manipulate her into accepting herself, she directly asks why she feels the way she does and promises to help her.

It was mentioned by the comments above that their core philosophies seem to be active vs. passive interference. The protagonist is one who seeks to approach problems directly, reactionarily almost, while the villainness is the schemer who plays the long game and believes herself to be the outside force that reaps the benefits at the end. There is also the matter of image. Diana has no image, what you see is what you get. She can be direct, because she has nothing to lose beyond her own values. Lapis has created a persona for every person she interacts with and cannot overstep the boundaries she set for herself without letting the house of cards collapse. Her overarching plan is too big for her to show her true self unambiguously. Lapis holds more power and sway, but is more confined. Diana is a fish out of water on the back leg, but she is free.

Also, to finish off this uneccessary rant of mine, Diana has a prime advantage when it concerns Natori's heart: She was already favored by her. Natori sees Diana as her solace and someone she has grown fond of long before coming to this world. These two chapters had her react strongly with heart pounding and fierce flushing towards Diana's smile and attention. When she is with Lapis she sees her as an employer that makes her feel needed, with Diana she sees her idol and soulmate that makes her feel purified.
If looked at objectively this is far from a one-sided affair.

I want some Lapis POV next. What is she planning here?

Also, to finish off this uneccessary rant of mine, Diana has a prime advantage when it concerns Natori's heart: She was already favored by her. Natori sees Diana as her solace and someone she has grown fond of long before coming to this world. These two chapters had her react strongly with heart pounding and fierce flushing towards Diana's smile and attention. When she is with Lapis she sees her as an employer that makes her feel needed, with Diana she sees her idol and soulmate that makes her feel purified. If looked at objectively this is far from a one-sided affair.

Natori's feelings for Lapis have gone beyond employer/employee for quite some time. The "burning sensation" she described is one amongst many evidences of this. She describes her feelings as employer-based because she's been in denial. It's a common trope in these types of manga for the MC to avoid their feelings and explain them away in various manners. The end of chapter 5 has her actually verbalize this fear of accepting her potentially romantic feelings (the sensation). I'd also argue that Diana is like her "Oshi." She blushes in the way any character does in manga when someone presses them or flatters them but it's been platonic when compared to how she blushes for Lapis and how she's specifically thought about Lapis (the author also draws these situations differently indicating their intent). She treats Diana like a young naive girl to be doted on and protected. In fact she's actually referred to Diana as a small 15 year old girl. She's a fan of her, yes but there's been little indication that it's anything more than that yet. I don't think there's been any indication that Natori actually sees Diana romantically.

last edited at Apr 16, 2023 4:56PM

I'm not sure if we've seen more of Lapis or Diane on page recently, but I'm pretty sure Natori has been spending much more of her time with Lapis, doing employee stuff. Diana could push forward with more actual time together.

I NEED this to en up poly! Please!!!?

I'm not sure if we've seen more of Lapis or Diane on page recently, but I'm pretty sure Natori has been spending much more of her time with Lapis, doing employee stuff. Diana could push forward with more actual time together.

Definitely possible, although I don't know that she's actually spent more time with Lapis at the moment. Lapis seems constantly busy.

last edited at Apr 16, 2023 6:54PM

Natori's feelings for Lapis have gone beyond employer/employee for quite some time.

It was not my intention to imply Natori actually feels only a platonic employer/employee bond between them, but rather that she is capable of deluding herself into thinking such. By default she has created her own barrier that prevents her from accepting that it is anything else.

I'd also argue that Diana is like her "Oshi."

Hence why I said she is like her idol and solace...

She blushes in the way any character does in manga when someone presses them or flatters them but it's been platonic when compared to how she blushes for Lapis and how she's specifically thought about Lapis

...however like with most cases of idol obssession it is nearly always a delusion to claim it to be purely platonic. Especially when that idol suits your sexuality. To twist Natori's reaction to Diana into platonic territory would be the same as claiming her attraction to Lapis is purely employee/master platonic. In both cases one would have to purposefully ignore the intention.

She treats Diana like a young naive girl to be doted on and protected. In fact she's actually referred to Diana as a small 15 year old girl.

Lapis is in the same age range. They are both far younger than her. Naievete is not contra to feeling romantic affection anyway. The desire to protect a lover or dote on them is inherently natural. Natori has the same intentions for Lapis with the difference that she expresses it differently.
I think these two are far more similar cases than some people may want to admit.

These 3 will end together
I cast spell and now we wait

genuinely have no vlue where this is going tbh

It was not my intention to imply Natori actually feels only a platonic employer/employee bond between them, but rather that she is capable of deluding herself into thinking such. By default she has created her own barrier that prevents her from accepting that it is anything else.

She's created a (temporary) barrier out of fear that her feelings will cause trouble for Lapis and potentially push her away. Her barrier itself is centered around her growing feelings for Lapis. It's not a self focused barrier. It doubles down on her emotions for Lapis. She has shown no such barrier for Diana (no such "burning sensation"). For Diana, Natori has shown no such uncomfortable feelings to creater a barrier against, in the first place.

...however like with most cases of idol obssession it is nearly always a delusion to claim it to be purely platonic. Especially when that idol suits your sexuality. To twist Natori's reaction to Diana into platonic territory would be the same as claiming her attraction to Lapis is purely employee/master platonic. In both cases one would have to purposefully ignore the intention.

It's not a delusion when the work itself has presented no evidence of the fact. It can happen but that's not been represented on the page yet. The situation with Lapis however has explicitly been shown, drawn with common visual language and verbalized on the page. So it's not conjecture with Lapis, like it is with Diana. Diana's "romantic" interactions have been one-sided or should I say, from one point of view. Natori has not ruminated about Diana as she has about Lapis. Diana's interactions are always from her singular point of view. Her thoughts, her jealous face in the background, her visually flourished blushes on her own after talking with Natori etc. It has been positioned visually and contextually as a one sided affair so far. Contrast that with Lapis and Natori's relationship, which is shown from both POVs. Both of them thinking of the other or being left in scenes where they act based on deep thoughts of one another. The most Diana has is common blushes that even the soon to be king would probably get from Natori if he complimented her, with none of the same visual language to accompany it.

Lapis is in the same age range. They are both far younger than her. Naievete is not contra to feeling romantic affection anyway. The desire to protect a lover or dote on them is inherently natural. Natori has the same intentions for Lapis with the difference that she expresses it differently.

Yes, they are both about the same age; still, it's about perception, especially Natori's perception. She has not verbalized this same perception about Lapis. She views them differently, at the moment (for various reasons). She views Diana as the cute, young favorite character from the game who she is a fan of and likes being able to hang out with and look up to. Of course that does not prevent the growing of romantic feeling but romantic feeling hasn't been shown. I only discussed this because you or someone else argued that her being Natori's favorite character implies something more than it necessarily does (or has been shown to have done).

Things can change but for now Diana is not there. If she ever does I'm sure we'll get a scene where Natori is shocked because she clearly is not on her radar at the moment. In fact that's what I'd expect to happen and from my POV Diana is following the standard character type of the individual whose aggressive action eventually pushes the main couple together by forcing them out of their comfort zones (also known as barriers or even "shells"). With that I'd imagine that at some point Natori will see her romantically, in order for this to work, but I just don't see it yet. It would be more interesting if this pattern was evolved somewhat though so I'm not against it (or the less likely "Diana goes evil" thoughts some have floated).

last edited at Apr 17, 2023 8:39AM

is it just me or Diana start to give off yandere vibe ?

This mnaga had a kinda generic start but it became really damn good really really quickly. Even the love triangle, a thing I usually despise, is pretty interesting

I'm glad I read these two chapters back-to-back, because it really does work excellently as a two-parter. Chapter 6 established the original course of events, and then Chapter 7 shows the small but key differences; even if the destination is the same, the path there is distinctly not. It's interesting to me that while certainly incited to be angrier on Natori's behalf than her original self, after a certain point in the duel, Diana started to look like she was enjoying herself. Still angry, but kind of embracing it in a weird way.

At the same time, something else interesting to me is that other than Natori's presence, not a whole lot has actively changed leading up to this? If I recall correctly, what Natori said to Diana during that discussion of her magical strength was almost identical to what OG!Lapis said, just perhaps phrased a bit less eloquently outside of that one specific line? And like, being jelly of the prince instead of falling for him. On that note, the line near the end of Chapter 7, about how he has an active obligation to help problem students, gives me the vibe that that was his reason for tutoring Diana even in the OG timeline, even if it wasn't stated so explicitly there. In essence, while I do feel like yeah, she is most definitely more bloodthirsty-leaning in this timeline, she's still not actually as far off from her game version as one might think; it's as much a difference of framing as it is Natori's influence, particularly in the choice of showing the destruction to the courtyard that got glossed over in (Natori's recollections of) the game. Again, I really enjoy how this is putting that Might Makes Right attitude under the microscope, even as it furthers the possibility of a heroine/villainess role reversal.

Though I don't know if this is just poly bias on my part, but I'm not entirely sure this will be going for something that straightforward. It's interesting to me that the ending of chapter 7 made a point of showing Diana's response to Lapis wasn't envy, but almost regret? That, plus what she said to the prince about how despite her power, she couldn't meaningfully protect Natori. Like, yes, the manga is making a point to show her in a darker light than her original self, and this can further snowball into a full Corruption arc, given enough time, but they're also taking care to show the attributes that made her a good heroine in the first place. That, in combination with the still-extreme nature of what little of Lapis's plan has been revealed to us, makes me wonder if they won't actually go for a full reversal, but rather a much more muddied and grey take on the original course of events where neither party is fully in the right or wrong.

The brief direct interaction between Lapis and Diana toward the end of the chapter was also interesting. Partially from Lapis once again taking an opportunity to foist Natori off on the Prince, (this time more successfully than her first attempt, it would seem) which makes me suspicious there's a specific goal in that beyond just putting distance between them, but mostly in how she responded to Diana's frustrations. In pointing out how protection magic is more complicated than offensive, she shifts away most of the blame Diana's putting on herself, along with encouraging her to take this chance to fix that gap. It honestly doesn't feel that far off from how she then talks to Natori about her self-esteem issues. I think that rather than singling out Natori specifically, she's trying to get both of them to grow into better versions of themselves, which is interesting. However, this being Lapis, there is still a certain level of necessary questioning about if this is genuinely done for its own sake, or as a part of her big-picture plans. Still, it makes me feel like, from her perspective at least, both are equally important. Here's how Poly can still wi- shot

last edited at May 9, 2023 10:37PM

I saw in japanese polls that Diana is more popular than Lapis, it's not surprising since shes way more relatable and open with her feelings. The scary face she puts on when fighting is something else.

I still prefer Lapis, her expressions might be limited but they look absolutely gorgeous. Hopefully the story will shift back to Lapis and natori in the future chapter's. We need more character Growth for Lapis

is it just me or Diana start to give off yandere vibe ?

That would be quite a twist if she turns out to be the crazy one and not Lapis, even if that's an unlikely scenario :P

But yeah, she's clinging onto Natori a bit too much for my liking. She needs to back off sometime and give the poor lady some space to breathe. Maybe in the next chapter, she's too occupied training with the prince and Natori could sneak off to see Lapis for a moment.

As for Natori, she's becoming like a damsel in distress that needs rescuing all the time, which is kind of frustrating. She may be an ordinary person with no magical power but surely there has to be something she can actually do. Since she has knowledge of certain events, perhaps she should be actively finding ways to prevent Lapis's death. At least it's better than just standing around on the sideline and hoping things don't come to pass.

last edited at Apr 19, 2023 8:10PM

Surely there has to be something she can actually do

She can organize Lapis's files like they've never been organized before!

Surely there has to be something she can actually do

She can organize Lapis's files like they've never been organized before!

You may be saying that in jest, but modern paperwork organization techniques are no minor business. Double-entry bookkeeping, while a simple enough idea on the surface to us, was a game-changer in the 14th century -- a single idea that basically funded the Renaissance (okay, I exaggerate, but not too much). Efficient file organization is likewise boring, but it enables organizational coherence on a scale unseen in the pre-modern times the game seems to be emulating. Whatever Lapis is planning, if it involves more than a dozen people, good paperwork (and good codes) is going to make it happen much faster than any magical talent or precognition.