I have, in the past, referred to this series as being “isekai for grownups.” It's not a power fantasy. The protagonist isn't down on his luck, bullied, or otherwise deeply unhappy. He's a working adult, and not one particularly enraptured with pop culture or fiction. His story isn't about anything huge or world-shaking; it's about quietly making a place for himself. It's in line with other titles like Housekeeping Mage From Another World: Making Your Adventures Feel Like Home!, or, to a lesser extent, The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent.

That's a feature rather than a detriment, and protagonist Seiichirou Kondou is, for all his faults, a bit of a breath of fresh air in the genre space. He's not thrilled to be stuck in this other world, but he is determined to carry on his life, which in his case means importing modern accounting practices and oversight into his new land. But it also means that Seiichirou has to learn that there are some things better left in his past; namely, his Japanese work ethic, which, in a real sense, nearly kills him.

The story proper begins not with the summoning of teenage girl Yua to be the saint, but with Seiichirou's steadfast refusal to live off the state. He asks to be given work and ends up in the government's accounting department, where he quickly realizes that very little actual accounting is being done and that other departments are running roughshod over the accountants. In his zeal to get things back on a financial track, Seiichirou works himself to the bone, much to the horror of his new colleagues. They can't believe he won't take lunch and that he stays past working hours every day, and they quite rightly worry about his health. Seiichirou does recognize that he's overworking, but he turns to what he thinks is a modern solution to his problems: he begins binging what he thinks are energy drinks. But instead of caffeine, these potions are full of mana, and since his body isn't accustomed to it, he quickly becomes deathly ill.

This is where the story indulges in its most tropey behavior. Because Seiichirou needs to be slowly acclimated to mana and magicules (the base component of mana), he needs to be exposed to it slowly over time. And of course the best way to do that is through skin-to-skin contact or, preferably, an exchange of bodily fluids. And naturally the person in the best position to offer those services when Seiichirou collapses is a handsome young knight named Aresh Indolark, who has a reputation for being icy-hearted. Why yes, this is an excuse for Aresh and Seiichirou to begin a sexual relationship!

But before you roll your eyes too hard, the plot never leans too far into this. Yes, Aresh and Seiichirou's romance does form a central piece of the plot, but equally important is the way Seiichirou works to reform the kingdom's finances and, in so doing, figure out a way that they never have to summon another saint from another world again. Saving Yua is what landed him in this mess to begin with, and he never loses sight of that. Yua isn't particularly unhappy, but she is sad that she can't go back to Japan, and she's not entirely comfortable with the crown prince assuming that she'll be his bride. She's a kid, and Seiichirou never forgets that. If he can use his math skills to fix what he sees as multiple broken systems, he will.

Aresh is at least partially on board with this, although he's also very concerned about Seiichirou's ongoing health. Although he has a reputation for being heartless, the implication through the romance plotline is that he's likely demisexual and just hadn't met someone whom he felt sexual attraction to before. And although their relationship begins on a physical front, it's clear that Aresh soon develops an emotional attachment to Seiichirou as well. Where Seiichirou is embarrassed by the entire situation (at least in part because he's nearly thirty and Aresh is closer to twenty), Aresh is all-in, insisting on keeping Seiichirou close “for his health” while actually just wanting to spend time with the man he loves. From Seiichirou's perspective, Aresh can be a bit much; he does want them to share a bed at all times so he can hold Seiichirou under the guise of mild magicule acclimation. But Seiichirou is also remarkably terrible at taking care of himself, so it's hard to blame Aresh for being overprotective.

Underlying themes in this series are interesting when looking at the isekai genre as a whole. Seiichirou, who is largely unfamiliar with the genre, is the outsider who can only see the saint summoning ceremony as cruel and selfish, displacing a child to solve someone else's problem. He questions the entire practice, something no one else seems to have thought to do, and if he uses the guise of money management to effect change, well, he's killing two birds with one stone. There are some familiar elements to this, like when he hires someone to build him an abacus and then teaches everyone to use one, but for the most part, his goal is essentially taking down a staple of the genre. That he finds love with a rich younger man is just the icing on the cake.

So otherworlds, beware. Not only might you lose your most eligible bachelor to a stressed-out Japanese salaryman, but your entire foundation might be called into question. Because if Seiichirou has his way, the kids will be all right…and know how to do math with an abacus.