Akio’s family is cursed with illness, but they also have a protective guardian beast who will appear if summoned and grant a wish. Akio summons the beast—an amorous, wolfish sort whom he names Setsu—and wishes to be cured. After Setsu accomplishes this with his own brand of sexual healing, Akio finds he doesn’t want Setsu to disappear, so wishes for him to stick around. Now Akio is feeling a bit insecure, since he isn’t sure how Setsu feels about that request. Apparently, he can’t just come out and ask.
In this volume, we learn more about Setsu’s past. Once upon a time, he was a human named Shinra who encountered a magical creature called Bansho and merged with him (this is a bit of a pun, since shinrabanshou is a Japanese idiom meaning “all things in nature”). Initially, he had some control over Bansho, but relinquished this to save one of Akio’s ancestors, of whom he was very fond. Setsu is far more likable in these chapters than he ever is in the main story, where he can be very crude. The juxtaposition of his interesting backstory with a flashback chapter of some icky* more-or-less nonconsensual sex is particularly jarring.
Akio’s reluctance to simply ask Setsu questions is frustrating, as well, and one wonders on what basis he can possibly claim to love a creature he hardly knows. Still, I can’t help kind of liking this series, since it at least tries to have a plot and features an art style that doesn’t look like every other BL title in existence.
* Believe me, you’re glad I spared you the details.
Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.
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