Review Summary
“My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer Vol 1” is a book that marries the chill vibes of a slice-of-life with the occasional frisson of fighting fantastical monsters. In this world of magic and supernatural phenomena both dangerous and wondrous, the father and daughter pair, Belgrieve and Angeline, live their own lives apart from each other — going on their respective adventures in order to protect their peaceful slice of life in their rural hometown.
If that sounds appealing to you, I highly recommend this.
After being maimed and forced into early retirement, the adventurer Belgrieve finds a baby girl in the wilderness and raises her as his own. His new ward, Angeline, soon becomes a legend in her own right but remains a daddy’s girl at heart.
The life of an adventurer isn’t always a glamorous one. Belgrieve finds this out the hard way when a deadly encounter robs him of his leg and the ability to pursue his dreams not long after setting off for fame and fortune. But fate isn’t finished with this retired adventurer! While gathering herbs in the wilderness, he discovers an abandoned baby girl and names her Angeline after deciding to raise her as his own. Angeline grows up to become a top-tier adventurer in her own right, yet after venturing out into the world and making a name for herself, fame, fortune, and power hold no allure for the accomplished S-rank adventurer: her heartfelt wish is for nothing more than to see her father again.
Summary from the store page on Bookwalker.
Before Proceeding
Disclaimer: At the time of writing, I have finished reading Volume 2. While this may colour my perception of this volume, this review is only about Volume 1.
Spoiler Warning: While I do avoid specifics, I will describe the general flow of the story and touch on the themes of this book.
Setting the Mood
Put in simple, contemporary terms: this volume is a whole mood.
Although there is a grand, overarching narrative that eventually looms in the distance, it is kept secondary to the daily lives of Belgrieve and his daughter, Angeline.
The premise is set up quickly and efficiently. Where some novels would throw cold water over the reader by cutting to the chase — sometimes with jarring effects — this light novel eases you in by running you through it at a measured pace. With focused guidance and deft flourishes, you are introduced to the characters, the world they inhabit, and the idiosyncrasies that make each thing memorable.
Within just eleven pages (depending on font size), you know the essentials and are intrigued by glimpses at the world’s mystique and hooked on the character’s future adventures — enough to keep turning the page.
Life in a Rural Village, Surrounded by Mountains, Forests, and Fields
With his daughter gone on adventures, Belgrieve stayed in the village of Turnera.
He protects the village from fiends, helps the farmhands, trains with his sword, and generally lends a hand whenever people need it.
Patrolling in the twilight hours of every morning, he scans for signs of monster activity and hunts down dangerous threats. Tilling the fields in spring, then harvesting the bounty in autumn, he follows the steady and gradual oscillations of the seasons as he helps with the miscellaneous duties around town.
He lives a fulfilling life of service and sword mastery.
It’s a slow life dictated by the whims of the weather and seasons.
When it’s sunny, Belgrieve goes out to hunt and forage, sometimes even taking the village’s children along so that they can do the same when they grow up. When it rains, Belgrieve has to be careful wandering out in the mud, owing to his prosthetic peg leg. When it’s winter, everyone stays indoors, unhurriedly working their hands whilst huddled around a crackling fire. And when autumn comes around, the whole village celebrates together, a community revelling in the bountiful fruits of their labour.
It’s an idyllic life that city folk would dream of when they imagine an ideal life in the countryside. Such is the relaxing atmosphere permeating this book. Even as the excitement of new and unusual events happen to the village, the tension will always relax into a comfortable equilibrium when all is said and done.
Belgrieve finds comfort here in Turnera, and readers will, too.
Even so, Belgrieve was once an adventurer; someone that once struck out on his own to make it big. While the devastating loss of his leg reminds him to take caution, he continuously tempers his body as he stokes the embers of his abandoned ambition — dreaming of what could have been.
A Whirlwind of Endless Work
With her father staying in Turnera, Angeline lives in the city of Orphen.
She protects the region from powerful fiends, rests during whatever free time she is afforded, and generally ends any threat that no one else can deal with.
As a preeminent, renowned adventurer of Orphen, she is bound by duty and contract to lay low any monster exceeding a certain rank. Giant insects, beasts, wyverns — such monsters pop up at any time and they appear with increasing frequency.
She lives only to fell fiends and she is absolutely sick of it.
Though her friends and her are rewarded with more money than she can spend — or precisely because of it — she longs for the idyllic life she spent pampered by her father.
She keeps at it, however. She reminds herself, with her nose to the grindstone, that these people need saving. She reminds herself of her ambition: to be an adventurer her father can be proud of. No matter how many foes stand between her and her vacation to Turnera, she refuses to quit her job.
Like Father, Like Daughter
This friction, this tension between Angeline’s conflicting desires is the main driving force of the narrative. Longing to enjoy peace and comfort, but needing to fight for that same peace.
Belgrieve is of a similar mind. He restlessly busies his hands around the village and dives into danger to protect it. He longs for adventure, but knows he must stay put to fight for peace.
Both of them have a common wish to stay together — and a common dream for adventure.
While Belgrieve stays behind but longs for adventure, Angeline sets out but longs to stay behind. Despite their wishes, they each do what they think is best and await the day when they may be reunited.
You can’t help but root for them. I certainly relate to them, on some level.
Belgrieve’s worry for his daughter’s safety can be keenly felt when he disrupts his daily rhythm, nervously waiting for her supposed return.
At the same time, Angeline’s roiling frustration boils vividly when her hallowed, hard-won vacation is snatched away by the appearance of yet another village-destroying monster.
It’s surprisingly gripping in spite of its simplicity, and it had me flipping through it voraciously in the hopes that I might see them finally reunited after five years.
Characters and Writing that Tie It All Together
By the end, I was surprised at how easily immersed I was in the world. At times, the book sparingly waxes poetic, painting a beautiful sketch of the landscape or setting the mood of a scene. At others, it uses prosaic sentences in order to get to the point — whether in pitched battle or a simple conversation.
It’s a judicious use of words that never breaks pace and I applaud the author, Mojikakiya, and translator, Roy Nukia, for that.
Whilst the tranquillity of the countryside and action of the city are occurring, hints of hidden evil appear — a sign of things to come.
In spite of these conflicting tones, the two main characters seamlessly tie together the cozy slice-of-life with the tension of epic battles and insidious machinations. Belgrieve and Angeline hold conflicting sides in themselves and nevertheless exist — because in order to enjoy their quaint countryside life, they take it upon themselves to slay the fiends that threaten that very life.
It remains a personal, character-focused story despite the nation-threatening monsters and I love it.
I Highly Recommend This
I’ve tried phrasing it in as many ways as I could: Volume 1 is an excellent combination of two conflicting tones. Whether it’s Belgrieve’s wistful ruminations or Angeline’s fiery determination, the story immerses you in the emotions of the characters and their adventures, big and small.
Dappled by the colours of a magical fantasy world, this lightweight read is thoroughly enjoyable.
I highly recommend “My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer Vol 1” for its relaxing mood and relatable struggles of the main characters. If all this sounds interesting to you, I don’t think you can go wrong trying out Volume 1.
Volume 2 is good too, but that’s for another time.
“My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer Vol 1” is digitally available on Bookwalker, J-Novel Club, and Amazon
A Space Carved from the Unrelenting World 