No matter where you trace it back to, the subgenre of isekai where someone is reborn in the world of, specifically, an otome game, has become popular. It's not as well-loved (strictly in terms of popularity) as villainess or OP isekai, but there are enough stories that use it as a setting to make it deserving of its specific subgenre. It's got a bit more variety to it than some others, with the plots ranging from being reborn as the heroine (Obsessions of an Otome Gamer), as a side character (Past Life Countess, Present Life Otome Game NPC, Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs), or even as the boy who steals the male lead in a non-BL game (The Perfect Prince Loves Me, His Rival?!). Atekichi's Heroine? Saint? No, I'm an All-Works Maid (And Proud of It)! takes a different route: it throws a young woman with zero gaming experience or interest into the world of an otome game and keeps her completely oblivious to the fact that she's meant to be a heroine.

That would be Melody Wave. In her past life, she was Ritsuko Mizunami, a perfect prodigy who excelled at everything but who just really wanted to be a maid. When she's reborn after dying in a plane crash, she decides to make that dream a reality. Throwing off her noble heritage after her mother's death, she renames herself Melody Wave (based on the Japanese characters in her original name) and sets off. The catch? She has no idea what a maid of all work does. She didn't back when she was a Japanese woman, and she sure doesn't now. But you know what? Author Atekichi does know the difference between an anime maid and a real one, and once I figured that out, this book was a lot more fun.

This is, at its heart, a send-up of otoge isekai. Of the three people who died in a plane crash en route to England from Japan, two of them are fully aware that they're living in a game world and are trying desperately to play the game from within. The third? She just figures that she's finally getting to live her (faulty) Victorian maid dreams and is gleefully oblivious to being the heroine/saint. She bulldozes through the plot and events with nary a clue, and that's enough of a genre shake-up to make this a lot of fun. Meanwhile, the other two have been reborn as the villainess and the main love route, and they're very invested in making sure that things go the way they're supposed to. The main problem? They can't find the heroine, and it's driving them crazy. That leads them to end up following a more traditional villainess isekai pathway, but what's fun is that they're so busy running around like headless chickens that they don't even realize what they're doing.

This is all made even better with Atekichi's tongue-in-cheek observations about the world. They remark that it's a Medieval European land with Victorian maids and modern plumbing but no printing presses or running water (just flush toilets), and if that doesn't sum up the sorts of worlds these stories take place in perfectly, I don't know what does. Atekichi notes that the other two reincarnators think and act like everyone's a game character, which gets in their way. Meanwhile, Melody glides through what are important plot points with a handwave and a burning desire to be a maid version of Sebastian from Black Butler, minus the demonic heritage. This book knows its genre and anime maid basics and enjoys poking fun at both of them.

I didn't love this all the way through (Melody can get really annoying), but it's still a welcome spoof. Silly and intentionally ridiculous, Heroine? Saint? No, I'm an All-Works Maid (And Proud of It)! shakes up a moderately stale genre in the same way that I'd Rather Have a Cat than a Harem! does for villainess isekai novels – with a good heart and a solid sense of humor.

And yes, Atekichi does know that it's "maid of all work" and not "all-works maid." If you were wondering.