This series of books has so far been lighthearted literary junk food, which made some of the more immature writing choices forgivable. School arc? Sure, why not? National leadership as accessible as your next door neighbor? Go for it. For this book though, it seems like the author decided it was about time to kill off half the cast with no payoff. This is very much the Akame ga Kill anime adaptation of literature, a cautionary tale and ready counterexample to the argument dour tone=deep plot. It’s a sudden shift for this series into a very different branch of the fantasy genre; one in which this book does not compare favorably.