Just a few days after the death of her only ally, her grandmother (aka the Earl of Reine), Octavia is thrown out of her house. But Octavia is hardly torn up about this expected turn of events and heads to the capital to live in the mansion she inherited. There, she aims to follow in grandma’s footsteps and become a detective. But Octavia doesn’t head to the capital alone — she has the talking hat named Hat and Raven, the suspicious, charming young marquis she just met, joining her.
But her real challenge is not just to start a new life as a private investigator; it’s to gather mystical artifacts.
The Disowned Queen’s Consulting Detective Agency is listed in several places as the first volume, but from my understanding, this is the only volume, with no further web chapters released or eBook releases scheduled. At first glance, this seems like another villainess tale where the none-too-disappointed former noble young lady intends to have a simpler life elsewhere, but it quickly morphs into a magical girl tale in the vein of Phantom Thief Jeanne. Octavia and Hat, whose mouth and voice are only noticeable to Octavia, are charged with safeguarding the Imperial Heirlooms. Otherwise, they can go berserk as Demonic Heirlooms and drag everyone around into another realm. While they are illegal to own, a phantom thief known as Crow is targeting the magical tools.
Despite the cat-and-mouse and fantasy item hunt setup, the actual number of cases here is minimal. There is simply not enough time to send Octavia to the capital, encounter Raven and Crow, explain the lore of the world, and have several incidents in the course of a single volume. Especially since the author also revisits issues with Octavia’s family and tension among the royalty. The story is almost too ambitious for its own good.
As such, things are greatly condensed. For instance, there are a number of Heirlooms who have a variety of functions, ranging from weaponry like guns to enhanced everyday tools like pens that can write a message in midair. So there are almost limitless ways Heirlooms could have been incorporated as part of magical mysteries while exploring human greed, curiosity, and loneliness. We get an example of the latter in one of the novel’s three episodes, but I wanted more.
So it’s little surprise upon reaching the final pages, the novel features an open ending. Author Nagase expresses hope they’ll be able to continue the story, and according to their notes, this book version features many improvements over the web serialized version. But what the story really needed was more episodes. I can understand Octavia’s detective agency getting off to a slow start since she’s new and Imperial Heirlooms can invite unwanted attention, but this detailed setup seems ripe for a fun-filled adventure, and the adventure part just never materializes.
Plus, the characters here are the kind readers of this sort of story will really enjoy. Octavia is from a noble household, but she tends to be rather blunt — for better or for worse. Hat, who can transform, can nag or insult his mistress, but that’s a privilege just for him. (Think a less violent Ioryogi from Kobato.) Meanwhile, in between the main chapters, Raven becomes the star as we see him delight in Octavia’s suspicions of him and surprise when she doesn’t seem to be responding to his advances. Throw in the appearance of the mysterious thief, and, well, antics ensue.
Unfortunately, though, The Disowned Queen’s Consulting Detective Agency is one where the characters don’t get into enough antics. The setup touches my magical girl and phantom thief-loving heart, but I felt like I was being teased with only a fraction of the story, as if this were a sampler volume instead of the entire series. Even if Nagase were to eventually pen a volume 2 and I wouldn’t hesitate to pick it up, I will still feel like there should have been more escapades between Octavia’s introduction and the boss-level challenge issued by the queen.