The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter

In a distant, fantasy world, a magical blight threatens to destroy the land. Only the holy maiden, summoned with portal magic, can save them all. And this is the story of the overworked accountant that gets dragged through the portal with her. Kondou was just trying to help a young girl he thought was in danger, he was not meant to end up in this magical kingdom, but now that he is here he only wants one thing—to work in their accounting department! What follows is a surprisingly fun and funny story of overworked accountant Kondou unearthing corruption, falling in love, and saving a magical kingdom, one spreadsheet at a time.

If you’re thinking, who would want to read about fantasy accounting–the answer is me. I would. And you should too! Because, despite the premise hinging so strongly on math, this story ends up being fascinating, funny, and even heartfelt. Kondou is a workaholic, and it is this (over-committed) drive that allows him to analyze, understand, and fix the systematic problems with the kingdom. There is nothing I love more than a character that is exceptionally skilled at something very specific. And with this archetype as our main character, we get a fantastical world with grounded stakes. What begins as a fantasy story, becomes a fairly pragmatic look at everyday requirements of running a nation. But it also ends up being a story of Kondou finding an identity outside of corporate drudgery. This is, after all, also a romance. As Kondou works to fix the kingdom’s national budget, he also unintentionally catches the attention of the knight captain Aresh Indolark. As they get closer, and their relationship develops, we see both characters being to change and grow as individuals. And with these two story lines coming together, we get wonderfully entertaining romantasy BL with adventure and political intrigue. The series also has some beautiful art, fun side characters, and interesting world building. I would recommend this to anyone that likes Isekai subversion, BL romance, fantasy with medium world-building, and I suppose accounting.