"Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!" (bless this wonderful world!) volume 5 by Akatsuki Natsume. This wonderful fantasy world actually contains more otaku culture than previously expected.
Volume 4 ends with a bold proposal from Yunyun to Kazuma. If that wasn't enough to set the course for a romantic novel, the trauma in volume 5 where Kazuma is nearly raped by orcs certainly did. Kazuma just suddenly realized that his female party members are actually all very good looking, and might actually start to have a serious relationship with Megumin. There was a bit of this development with Dakness from volume 3, but there seem to be more progress with Megumin.
All these interpersonal development are pushed aside as the party deals with the demon lord's army attacking Kouma Village, with the goal of retrieving the ancient weapon that is found in the village's mysterious vault. As it turns out, that vault is protected by a "riddle" that many gamers will surely recognize. Furthermore, that weapon was created by the same designer who made the Destroyer in volume 2, and this designer gave rise to the Kouma clan on a whim. And this same designer made a homebrew version of Game Boy Game Girl (complete with Tetris Toterisu). This shocking revelation that connected all details scattered about prior chapters is exactly what made this novel series so enjoyable. At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if the demon lord was actually originally from Japan.
My personal favorite detail from this volume was actually this creature that Kazuma and crew found while en route to Kouma Village: a plant-type monster who takes the form of a injured girl, and one who would gain sympathy from adventurers until they eventually starve to death. It was a master of psychological attack, and puts on quite a performance when people are nearby. This monster was rather short lived and not essential to the developing plot, but she delivered the best spirit of this novel series: even enemies have elaborate personalities, but all personalities are flawed in a comical way.
The party managed to defeat yet another one of the demon lord's henchmen in this volume. It's steady progress toward defeating the demon lord despite the unwilling Kazuma. Looking forward to more accidental victories in the future.
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