Tenes is the unwanted, illegitimate child of the Lumel family. He is kept functionally imprisoned in the family home in case he becomes useful. At 16, the Oracle gives him the Job of “Hermit,” labeling him abandoned by God, so the family exiles him. His sister takes over as family heir as a war of succession begins for the role of Holy Emperor. From the shadows, Tenes vows to protect his family. He gathers a team of extraordinary women to pull strings from behind the scenes.

Guild Handyman? More like Mastermind! Using My Hidden Skills in the Shadows has a story by Sakaku Hishikawa and art by Yu-nit. English translation is done by Amanogawa Tenri. Published by J-Novel Club. (October 8, 2025).

Erica Friedman
Rating:

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of magic skills in a fantasy light novel will know five types of women: The receptionist at the adventurer's guild, a sister with an unhealthy obsession about him, an automaton maid swordswoman, a beastkin criminal master thief, and a legendary Dark Elf.

This story and its ongoing disagreement with the illustrations induced cognitive dissonance. For instance, here is a description of the Level 10 master beastkin thief.

“She had messy, reddish-brown hair and eyes the color of a roaring flame. Her limbs were all cuffed, and sharp claws protruded from her hands and feet. Her beastly ears twitched atop her head, seemingly attempting to pick up sensations from her surroundings.”

Good description, right? You get a feel for the furriness and animal-like instincts. Then we are shown an illustration of a girl in a bikini with—if we look really hard—slightly filed fingernails. Tenes himself is randomly described as pretty enough to be a girl, but the artist does not seem to have been made aware of that.

The thing is, at the center of this, it is a terrible story. The unwanted child wants to protect his family anyway, despite everything, and to do that, he will clearly have to kill God. Even some of the details are not terrible, as he discovers and uses new skills in creative ways. But, as one reads, it becomes increasingly apparent that the author, artist, and maybe much of the audience simply have no women in their lives, and they have no idea how they speak, act, or dress.

Even with the sad little boy approach to female characters, this still might have been a decent book. I'm honestly sorry it wasn't.