Slaine spends his days living as a humble commoner in the quiet Kingdom of Hasenvalia—until the royal family is wiped out in a palace fire.

In the aftermath, Slaine discovers a secret kept from him all his life: He's the king's illegitimate son and now the sole surviving heir to the throne! Thrust into power with no training and precious few allies, Slaine must navigate court politics, earn the trust of wary nobles, and learn how to rule a kingdom he never thought would be his.

With his sharp-witted and fiercely loyal aide-de-camp Monica at his side, Slaine begins to grow into his role. But not everyone is pleased to see a commoner rising to the top. While some welcome the new king with cautious hope, others hide their true intentions behind polite smiles. As threats lurk in the shadows, young Slaine must rise to the challenge—or risk losing the crown before he ever gets to wear it.

The Crown of Rutile Quartz has art by Tai and story by Surume Enoki. English translation is done by Jessica Speed and lettering by Vladyslav Lukashevych. Published by J-Novel Club (September 10, 2025). Rated 12+.

Rebecca Silverman
Rating:

A lot of kids dream about discovering one day that they're really the child of a ruler. For Slaine, that was never on his radar; he was perfectly happy living a quiet rural life with his mom. But after her sudden death due to illness, a strange man shows up at his door and whisks him away to the capital city…and yes, it turns out that Slaine is, in fact, the only surviving child of the recently deceased king.

This isn't too much of a power fantasy, though. Slaine is completely overwhelmed by his change in circumstances, even if he is smart enough to figure out what's going on long before they actually arrive at the palace. His mother used to tell him that his intelligence might be a boon to the kingdom someday, but this is emphatically not how he saw that happening…and he's not all that sure he wants to take over for a king who was, essentially, a deadbeat dad. A piece of him understands that the king couldn't actually be a father to him, but he's still hurt, and that's one of the strongest aspects of the story. Slaine isn't ready to go all-in on being crown prince; he's genuinely conflicted about his social status and the reason why he is who (and how) he is.

The rest of the volume is a bit more pedestrian. Slaine is given an attractive woman for an aide-de-camp and teacher, a lot of nobles spend a lot of time discussing the fact that he's going to be their king, and politicians go to various lengths to disguise their feelings on the subject. What largely saves this is Slaine's own earnestness – he's honestly trying to do his best, whatever that means, and an early scene showing him huddled in a tiny corner of his opulent new room is evocative, if not entirely unexpected. The art can't quite make up for lengthy scenes of explication (framed as Slaine learning about the kingdom), but The Crown of Rutile Quartz is nicely middle of the road. It's good enough to read, and good enough to give a second volume.

Erica Friedman
Rating:

There are many different kinds of power fantasies, from revenge to redemption, and a lot of stages in between, but in Crown of Rutile Quartz, the relatively common fantasy of a commoner becoming a powerful noble is presented from the point of view not of gaining power, but of being chained to duty.

Slaine is a commoner through circumstance. He is a hard worker, smart, and determined. You know from the beginning that he will make a good ruler if given the support of the people around him. So it is gratifying that in this volume Slaine receives sincere, if not always gentle or kind, support from those powerful people.

Additionally, this volume has something I have rarely seen – female characters treated with something approaching complete equity. Female characters are fully clothed, presented as equal partners in the kingdom's rule, and the tiredly inevitable moment as Slaine falls prone upon his supine aide-de-camp is presented only as a silly joke that is laughed off and moved on from immediately.

Slaine is very far out of his depth, of course, so while we are sure right from the beginning that he will rise to become the ruler his kingdom needs, I also appreciated his panic when first confronted with the fact that these nobles will look to him for decisive words and actions.

Of course, this is a fantasy, in more than one way. Slaine will receive support and tools to help him achieve his goals; the obstacles he will face will be within his ability to handle (the first obstacle did not have identifying evil eyebrows, but he radiated insincerity and ambition, even through the merely adequate art). A commoner who becomes king is a fantasy, for sure, but it might be even more fantastic that the commoner made it to the palace alive and received the fealty of his nobles at all. Palace intrigue aside, being set up for success is itself a powerful power fantasy.

Kevin Cormack
Rating:

Although for once this isn't yet another isekai with a self-insert protagonist from our world reincarnating into a fantasy land, The Crown of Rutile Quartz does still explore some very familiar plot beats. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though, as this is an enjoyable fish-out-of-water fantasy. In Game of Thrones style, most of the more overt fantastical elements of the setting are kept in the background, so this is a relatively grounded story about a poor commoner who finds himself elevated to the position of king by right of his bloodline. Slaine readily admits he has no idea what he's doing, is immature and naive, yet he's also clever, willing to learn, and to admit to his mistakes. He's an easy protagonist to root for and admire.

Slaine is given the dashing female knight Monica as his close personal aide, and there's definitely more than a little romantic tension there that I expect will develop in further volumes. She helps him with every aspect of his new monarchical life, including sword-fighting lessons. “I'm here to support you in body and soul,” she intones, perhaps suggestively. Not that there's any sex or explicit material in this volume – it's not that much like G. R. R. Martin's magnum opus.

The path to his kingdom's prosperity and stability looks rocky indeed, considering Slaine's overly trusting nature and lack of experience at statecraft. His journey is a compelling one, however, as he endeavors to memorize the names and personalities of every neighboring kingdom's leaders and ambassadors. Like any human thrust into such an immediately alien environment, he struggles and makes mistakes, but is always relatable.

Although the art isn't amazing, it does the job well enough. I do wish it were a little rougher, more detailed, and organic, to suit what should be a gritty, down-to-earth setting. I guess not every grounded fantasy epic can look like Berserk, sadly. I'm intrigued enough by Slaine's story to want to read more, especially as the volume ends on a rather cruel cliffhanger.