Nicola Traveling Around the Demon’s World Chapter 13
Nikora no Oyururi Makai Kikou chapter 13
ニコラのおゆるり魔界紀行 13

Spoiler Summary/Synopsis

Simon gets an invitation to a formal auction from Count (Earl) Prime. As such, he gets formal clothing for Nicola and himself. Nicola is happy to see Rosetta, and vice versa. The Count, Rosetta, Simon, and Nicola get the VIP seats. Nicola is bored, but when Rosetta mentions wanting to have fun, Nicola and Rosetta sneak out.

Nicola hears a noise and upon investigating, discovers a hidden hole in the wall. She and Rosetta enter, where they find the real auctioneers bound up. The creatures running the auction are thieves. They are discovered by some of the gang, so Nicola leads Rosetta to flee. Nicola ditches her dress shoes and the chase is on. However, Rosetta is unable to keep up.

Nicola has Rosetta hide and rest while she attempts to lead the thieves away. The frightened Rosetta has a chat with her doll Marie and finds the courage to help Nicola. She uses her doll as a weapon and begins beating the thieves like a possessed girl. A thief steals the doll, causing Rosetta to return to normal. Nicola steals it back and the two defeat the last thief, thanks to the doll.

Rosetta surprises Nicola by admitting her fear. She and Nicola return to the auction. The real auctioneers show up and the thieves are arrested. Simon notices Nicola’s dress is a mess. Rosetta quietly suggests to Nicola that they sneak out again, this time to get Nicola’s shoes.

Sometime later, Rosetta’s parents notice she’s engaged in combat training with her doll.

Thoughts/Review

You know, while I love wacky comedy titles like My Monster Secret or D-Frag, there’s also a lot to be said for a wholesome, heartwarming manga series. And Nicola Traveling Around the Demon’s World Chapter 13 is a wholesome, heartwarming delight.

Note: I didn’t blog chapters 11 and 12 as I covered that material in my review of volume 2.

Rosetta-ojousama

Rosetta first appeared in chapter 3 of the manga. As such, I’m glad to see Miyanaga-sensei have Rosetta return to the series in Nicola Traveling Around the Demon’s World Chapter 13. Things like this help strengthen the continuity elements of the series.

One thing I loved seeing was Rosetta’s growth as a character. In some regards, she’s still a shy, ojousama. On the other, she’s much more courageous, and much more able to use magic, thanks to her previous encounter with Nicola. So it is lovely to see a character grow like this.

And I love how Nicola and Rosetta get along as friends. Rosetta certainly has had an influence on Nicola. She does attempt to be a bit more lady-like as a result of Rosetta. However, Nicola has had the stronger influence on Rosetta. Even if Rosetta had an additional influence upon her (more on that in a bit), she still wants to be a stronger person in order to enjoy future adventures with Nicola. Which is why her engaged in combat training made me chuckle.

A Living Doll?

The interesting thing here was Rosetta’s doll, Mary (Marie). In Negima! and UQ Holder, Eva’s puppet-doll Chachazero is actually alive. And though Mary isn’t the same kind of doll, I got the feeling she may be alive. Initially, Mary’s actions could be played off as Rosetta controlling her. So the things Mary said were actually Rosetta speaking the words as part of normal doll play.

However, things aren’t so clear when Rosetta chats with Mary after Nicola goes to lead the thieves away. It could be seen as Rosetta talking with herself to muster her courage. But when Rosetta battles the thieves, she behaves as if possessed. Even this could be explained away. But when Nicola and Rosetta use Mary in the final attack, Mary is grinning, not smiling. And then when Rosetta breaks down and cries, confessing her fear, the doll winks.

As such, I think she’s a living doll. It would fit the “demon world” in which the story is set. Whether or not the doll was pseudo-possessing Mary, I couldn’t say. But at the very least, Rosetta drew massive courage (and more) from the doll.

I hope we see more of Rosetta and Mary in the future.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

In the end, Nicola Traveling Around the Demon’s World Chapter 13 was a fun, heartwarming, wholesome manga chapter that I completely enjoyed.