The Fall 2023 Light Novel Guide

The Retired Demon of the Maxed-Out Village

What's It About? 

After hearing there's a demon lurking in a village near the border, Albrea, the kingdom's strongest knight, sets out to slay the monster. When she arrives in town, however, she quickly discovers that all is not as it seems. It turns out the humble town of Montt has a lesser-known nickname—the Maxed-Out Village—and the mighty demon is a retired old man! Montt is also inhabited by a stew-loving demonic sword that likes to take the form of a young girl, a money-grubbing witch, and a drunken priest known as the Holy Fist... Just what are so many of the kingdom's greatest defenders doing in such a remote town?

Through her encounter with the kindly old demon and the rest of the Maxed-Out Village, Albrea will learn what it truly means to be a knight!

The Retired Demon of the Maxed-Out Village has a story by Akinosuke Nishiyama, with art by TAa. The English translation is Jarod Blackburn. Published by J-Novel Club; PublishDrive edition (September 25, 2023).

Is It Worth Reading?

Rebecca Silverman

Rating:

Imagine a story that's the inverse of Suppose a Kid From the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town, and you'll have a decent idea of what The Retired Demon of the Maxed-Out Village is like. The story takes place in a distant village entirely inhabited by the greatest heroes of the most recent fight against the Demon Lord, including a demon duke, a witch, a massively powerful monk, and the greatest dwarf warrior the world has ever known. They're just doing their thing, reinventing themselves as ordinary villagers, and trying to keep a pesky bard from bothering them. Into this comes the sixth princess of the kingdom, Albrea, thinking that she's going to save the world, only to realize that she's still fighting a lot of internal battles about being a lady knight rather than a princess. It's a self-realization story hidden inside a pretty textbook fantasy, and it's far more enjoyable than it feels like it ought to be.

Most of the joy comes from watching the eponymous demon and his sentient (and humanoid) sword gently guide Albrea along her way. Even though lady knights appear to be a thing in the story's world, Albrea gets a lot of grief about it back in her regular life, and she's also internalized a lot of bad habits in her sword training that is holding her back. As Albrea gets used to village life – which she's wholeheartedly welcomed into, especially by the children – she becomes a more comfortable version of herself, and that makes up for a lot of hypercompetent maid tropes and other light novel nonsense that it almost feels as if the book would be better without. The children are particularly well-written, too; they mostly sound like actual kids (or at least closer to it than a lot of authors get), and their interactions with Albrea are some of the best parts of the novel. The illustrations also bear mention, because whoever came up with the duke's design deserves a medal. That weirdly fluffy face on his buff bewinged body is pure genius, and I almost want to see this get an anime adaptation just to have his blue fur animated on the screen.

This may not be ground-breaking or anything all that new, but it is a really good time. The characters are solid, the story better than expected, and it's just a good way to unwind after a long day.