I missed chapter 9 when it first came out, but now that I've read it I'm reminded of how tragic Soara's backstory is and how she hasn't really been allowed to move on from it, despite traveling with the dwarves and experiencing various fluffy things. A large part of the problem is that no one seems to acknowledge what she went through or what that means for her; they just moved on with their lives and expect her to fit into the new paradigm. Consequently, she hasn't had any chance at closure.

A particularly stark example of this was the introduction of the 3 generals. The dwarves react with, understandable, fear, but they also expect Soara to react the same way, rather than try to assure her that a fight isn't necessary or that they aren't here as enemies. I don't recall how much Soara has told the Dwarves about her past, so they may not know that she was specifically trained to defeat the Dark Lord, but at a minimum they should realize that she comes from a very deprived environment, is exceptionally powerful, and that her first reaction to danger or perceived hostility is to confront it. They just never seem to take that into account, except for when her strength is useful to them.

The picnic with the Dark Lord is even worse. He's the figure Soara has been raised to view as a hated enemy, someone thoroughly steeped in violence, without any claim to a peaceful life, just like her. However, unlike her, he's moved on and found a home that she has never allowed. Throughout the chapter, everyone treats Soara's distrust and unease as just her being quirky and weird, as if it's coming from out of nowhere, rather than a legitimate reaction; the dwarves even chastise her for being rude, but those are totally reasonable reactions for someone in her position and I hope her past gets addressed soon.

Speaking about baggage, that beautician who's doing Xiaoen's nails seems to come from some kind of bad emotional experience in his past. The dialogue between them is ambiguous, but that much seems clear.

If it wasn't for the context of the plot I would speculate he's gay. (Yes I know, typecasting male beauticians, sorry; but somehow his conversation scene with Xiaoen struck me as a gay man + female friend scene.) But in a small town, against the background of a homophobic society, him being gay would be an enormous issue and everyone would be talking about it, which is not the case.... so I must be wrong.

I was super busy yesterday, so I didn't get a chance to gush about Bai!! First impression is this is someone who's insightful—I'm glad Bai saw through Mu's words about Peachtown "not being good enough yet". I wonder if Mu was told that by someone she liked in the past?? She seems to really take it to heart, and while I think it's admirable that she's dedicated her daily life to improving her town, I really want to know what's motivating that connection so strongly.

Also, did anyone peep Shi's little neck tattoo?! So cute!! The silent longing and subtle distance between them was nice too, in its own way—very realistic for closeted sapphics.

Huh. Now you have me wondering if Xiaoen might be trying to make the town more accepting of ... less conforming people. She certainly seems to have a great deal of influence and it seems like something that would fit her personality. It also might explain the relatively positive reaction most of her staff had to her rather obvious crush.

Why does Chibi-Kana have a dot in the center of her forehead?

Also, could this be a hint that the moe blob is actually competent, when she's not getting everyone else to dote on her?

Mmm. Still prefer the ones with her and Ash's mom. We need more of those.

"it’s quite possible Evie would remember"

curious

Yeah. Remember what? What does Elsa know about Evie that even Evie herself doesn't??

My improbable guess is that Elsa also got isekaied and they were dating or knew each other on earth.

I'm pretty sure we've already seen some stuff that contradicts this theory, but I wouldn't have called it an improbably guess if I actually thought it was accurate.

I don't remember the football fish fiasco. Which chapter was that?

This may have been the first time I’ve seen the literal term “prince” used for a girl with long hair.

There have been plenty of long-haired “perfect” students whom everyone adores, of course, but usually people called “princes” have at least medium-length hair if not an androgynous short cut.

That’s maybe the only way this deviates from standard-issue tropes, but we shall see where it goes.

Utena was likened to a prince fairly frequently and had long, pink, hair.

2 I hope the transfer student noticed something beyond the looks to approach her so boldly, why are you so insistent that it has to be her? I would like to know.

I think what she noticed was "She looks lonely and you all are being super creepy."

Why would her first immediate thought be "this lady is crazy" and not "she must have some sort of illness"

To be fair, that wasn't the only odd part of her request. She was treating the MC like a famous voice actress or, at least, someone getting a lot of work and who's talents are in demand, when it would be clear to anyone who's heard of them that they're functionally a nobody. There's also the way she contacted the MC, out of the blue, and the collaboration portion of the request.

I like this manga with each chapter more =o)
thanks a lot for the translation!
but I've a question: in ch. 5, in page 12,
isn't the order of the list incorrect? not nude peoples are the hardest to draw, it's people in clothes that are the hardest to draw, because wrinkles are not easy to draw (depending on accuracy). at least that's my impression when I try to draw people ;o) and the teacher sounds somewhat similar in this chapter. but at the same time she tells him that he's doing it in the wrong order.... so maybe it's still right?

The folds and wrinkles in clothing are based on the underlying bone and muscle structure, but not all muscle groups and bones will meaningfully affect a clothed figure's appearance. For example, if you're drawing a person in a loose shirt, you don't need to worry about properly replicating their abs and ribs. I also suspect you can get away with more errors in clothing than you can a nude and still have it look mostly ok to a passing observer. Humans are just wired to be really good at noticing anything off about human bodies and that level of detailed observation doesn't carry over to other subjects nearly as well.

If anything, the fact that she was using a toy sword should make it more impressive.

Oh no, it's evil Yvonne, or as we in the business call them, Edgy Evie.

Umbreon?

Which Ace Attorney is this?

I know a couple of English ones that don't go in that direction, but they're also, at least partially, deconstructions.

I do like that they opened up on this flagrant berserker moment to have Obsidian foil it, though, because it establishes right off the bat that whoever Obsidian used to be, her post-amnesia self is undeniably a good person. Even if it takes a while for Xiao Yu to accept that, this incident isn't something she can just ignore, even if she'll absolutely try to at first.

I think I missed the bit about amnesia? I thought the implication was that either the event didn't happen the way Xiao Yu remembers it or something drastically different was going on and she missed it.

You'd think she would have learned after last time. Thyen again, she's not much better.

that sus face...

I don't see it

The forehead shadow, which could mean many things, including disgust, fear, deviousness, and more. It's interesting how it's slanted, though. You can see it also on the wall behind her, which could mean it's only from a banner casting an actual shadow. This creates a situation where it could very well end up being foreshadowing, or a total red herring meant to troll readers.

That could very well be for the purpose of a somber mood, that's how I saw it anyhow

True.. but would you be somber while smiling and no tears? The lack of sadness and remorse in her face and chat bubble is clearly sussy!

It was a televised interview. The lack of open emotion may be a result of already having grieved, preferring to grieve in private, or needing to present as resolute mask for business reasons. Just at a basic level, an interview where you're balling your eyes out is, probably, not going to be a good interview and a tier streaked face is both correctable with makeup and very counter to the image most idol groups try to project.

So, not to harp on the whole "The teacher isn't actually subversive and classical nudes are, well, classical." thing too much, but there's an interesting parallels between Gin's stated desires, at the start of this chapter, and the solution she presents him at the end.

Gin says "... still life art is monotonous because of how static it is." and later "What I want to draw is something that's not... Not this dull white. It's more like... Transparent. Something that does not move while also in the middle of motion. It's not exactly something you can draw with black pencil lines either."

To me, the obvious answer to that desire is Dreams, ideals, some sort of message or concept that's more than just a recreation of something in the physical world, and graffiti is almost the perfect medium for that type of thing. It's not black and white, at a minimum taking on the color and characteristic of whatever you're painting on; it can be heavily stylized and convey a sense of motion, without ever involving a subject that actually moves; and, oh yeah, it's not done with just a black pencil on canvas.

However, by the end of the chapter, he's taken by the art of Paul Delvaux, who's subjects are described as women who "gaze languidly into space, as if hypnotized." In other words, women who are depicted as lifeless, without motion or dynamism, effectively transmuting them into static still lives, that might as well have been plaster sculptures.

Now, that particular line comes from the T/N notes, so it might not be what the author was going for or as strongly present in the story. At the same time, those parallels are striking and this is also a chapter that showed the teacher getting rejected from an art competition and saying she always wanted to be an artist, not a teacher, perhaps hinting at serious flaws in her approach to art. It's probably not the case, but I'd love it if this set up an arc where Gin realizes that what his graffiti was actually missing was an intent or message and that the teacher's art has a similar flaw, despite being a different medium.

What makes you so sure they're spare panties?

I sort of got the impression she keeps a backup for her in case her exhibitionism goes too far and she needed an emergency pair.

Right, but reread Matama's line. She's not asking for a spare pair.

Also carrying around spare panties for your childhood homie is tight.

What makes you so sure they're spare panties?

So who do ya think is the "dog" in the title? The hottie who arrives at the end?

It could also be metaphorical and referring to the exorcist. E.g. A dog of the Church.

The last speech bubble on pg. 29 seems off and I can't tell if she's saying she's already solved the mystery or if she will solve it.

Hrrrm, I don't know. The villainess feels kinda generic, and the heroine ... actually as well. Even the sorta scenes ... of course the room was a mess, of course she'd work super-hard and then it'd be in perfect order (including sparkles, obviously). Very by rote.

So story presumably will be villainess is just misunderstood and blabla and actually not any sort of villain at all anyway.

I'm trying to hold out hope that the villainess will be over the top about her evil schemes and office lady will have to save her from the consequences of her actions but, sadly, stories like this hate having actually evil ladies as love interests

Now, when you say "over the top", are we talking Carmen Sandiego here, or straight up Bond villain, because I could be down to see either.

... Is being adopted supposed to be a bad thing?

... Are they playing strip roshambo?

for context, Apex Legends had a "Gaiden" event releasing skins based on animes. Wattson's was based on Naruto, hence the shadow clone jutsu

I was wondering why she looked like Naruto.