The same great characters you love. No exciting life/death battles here, but so much character development that has been stewing for 5+ books now. The mythology expanded quite a bit as well. This was a cooldown book, setting us up for some big stuff I am certain. This truly moved the series forward in strides, and the ending promises more reveals to come.

After the adventures in Ente Isla and epic battles we've had for the past 3 books, this was a much needed respite. The characters have returned to their normal lives, and are dealing with the aftermath of the Ente Isla debacle. Maou is being a butthead to Emi... and Emi doesn't seem to mind. The trip changed her, and she's so grateful to everyone who helped her make it back and reunited her with Nord. It was nice to see all the characters interact -- Rika and Eme cracked me up, and Nord and Suzuno have that serious/outside bond going. I like how Nord just more/less goes with the flow. His journey seems so odd, I don't blame him at this point. And Miki Shiba -- I was shocked by her last minute arrival at the end of the last book, but she is truly a piece a of work. It's about time she's returned. She had just a looming presence in book 1, her absence was odd. The guys reaction to her is always priceless.

Spoiler

This book definitely was not the thrill ride that the last one was, but I felt there was much needed character development for both Emi and Maou. Especially Emi, though. She's been struggling with the news of her father being alive for quite some time, and that's seemed to throw her into an almost midlife crisis on whether or not to hate Maou. She's finally come to terms with it, and I love how her self-assuredness has come back in a new way. She's matured, while Maou is still... Maou. Their banter at MgRonald's was perfect. Once again Urushihara was missing, so I missed out on the Lucifer vs Suzuno laughs, but it seems we'll expect more from them in the next volume. More mythology was revealed, a lot at the end, but it's really a set up for the next volume. I mean, finally, after all these books, we meet one of the chess master of the series. The way Emi and Maou worked together to make that happen was perfect. Emi working at MgRonald's is a tremendous direction for the series, though I do think it is missing out on comedy gold by neglecting Suzuno. Just imagine her trying to understand the ins and outs of a fast food restaurant. Oh Suzuno! But that would take away from her harassing of Urushihara, which is my favorite part of the series. I like how it's acknowledged that Emi might even be better at her job than Maou is -- something I think rings true to the series in general. Maou is a hard worker and clever, but Emi skills outshine him every time.
What is going on with Maou's ancient, evil namesake? How does Urushihara fit into this? And what is Miki Shiba up to? Or Laila, I should probably be more focused on... Will we finally find out who mystery-astronaut-alien/recall-my-angels-home is? I'm hedging my bets on her/him being Laila's opponent, and the one who closed off the angelic realm after this latest failure. What mess did these angels make?
I don't know if I can wait 3 months for the answer! Such a short series, but so well-written with lovable characters and a vivid mythology!