This was such an interesting deviation from the previous stories, because it's got an on-going plot between volumes and a new bad guy to investigate, rather than a single story plot. The Variant Ruler is a magic user who is causing chaos and it's so interesting to see his impact.

Gil had to cut Lizel for magical reasons, and the way he hated it made him come across as such a softie! I can't wait to see where the series goes from here.