Follow TV Tropes

Following

Literature / May I Ask for One Final Thing?

Go To

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cover_1_small.png
During an important high-society ball, a young noblewoman named Scarlet El Vandimion, also known as "The Ice Rose", is unceremoniously dumped by her fiancé, the arrogant and shallow prince Kyle. Finding herself falsely accused by the prince and his new girlfriend Terenezza Hopkins, Scarlet quickly realizes that she's been set up from the beginning, and that everything she has done over the years to become a worthy bride to Kyle and perform her duty for the kingdom has been for nothing.

Realizing that she won't get anywhere by protesting, Scarlet simply asks for one final thing...

"May I send this stupid bitch flying?"

And she does.

Which she follows up by beating up every single corrupt noble present at the celebration.

As it turns out, Scarlet did have another alias - "the Mad Dog Princess", due to her habit of beating up people who pissed her off, ever since she was little. And both Prince Kyle and Terenezza have roused her ire.

What Scarlet doesn't know is that her actions have messed up the plans of several mysterious parties who don't exactly have the kingdom's best interests at heart, and she has painted quite a big target on her back. Just as well, though. That could be her chance to finally put paid to several despicable characters that she's always wanted to punch in the face.

May I Ask For One Final Thing? (Saigo ni Hitotsu dake Onegai shitemo Yoroshii deshou ka?) is a light novel series by Nana Otori. Both the Light Novel and manga adaptation are published by Alphapolis.


Provides examples of:

  • Action Girl: Scarlet. The first scene of the series has her beating the ever-living hell out of a room full of people that wronged her. She goes on to perform many other such feats, including but not limited to taming a dragon and demolishing a horde of two thousand monsters.
  • Aerith and Bob: Among the major human characters, there's Scarlet, Kyle, Julius, Leonardo, Diana, and Terenezza. Nobody ever remarks on how strange Terenezza's name is compared to the rest, either. Oddly, the person with the strangest name is the one from the "real" world.
  • Anti-Magic:
    • Prince Julius bears a ring that can override and suppress the magic of Pallistan nobles. Specifics and restrictions have yet to be explored, but it certainly surprised the clientele at the black market slave auction.
    • Scarlet's earrings nullify movement-restricting magic. How else could she guarantee getting into punching range?
  • Arranged Marriage: The marriage between Scarlet and Kyle had been decided by their families before they were even born, and Kyle treats Scarlet like an unpaid servant at best before they are even officially married. Then, Kyle breaches the marriage pact by heaping false accusations upon Scarlet, and promptly ends up wishing he hadn't.
  • Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Vankish handles line of succession based on martial skill. Alphreim's the current heir, but if he slips up and appears vulnerable someone else could legally challenge him.
  • Barrier Maiden: Pallistan's native religion, the Diana faith, centers around a succession of divinely empowered women who maintain a series of wards that repel invading monsters. Scarlet's longtime friend Sanya is the current lady Diana. And Scarlet is her backup.
  • Belligerent Sexual Tension: Scarlet and Julius have an interesting relationship: she desperately wants to beat the shit out of him most of the time and he teases and tells her to her face that he only thinks of her as an interesting toy. On the flip side, Julius also openly tells Scarlet that he loves her, and she clearly likes his attention and gets flustered when he is affectionate to her instead of teasing.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing:
    • At first blush, Terenezza Hopkins looks an awful lot like an otome game heroine—humble origins, innocent demeanor, slightly ditzy, etc.—but her true colors are profoundly sinister. She's a brainwashing, gun-toting agent provocateur sent on a mission by an obsessive goddess keen on destroying the nation of Pallistan so her divine superior will notice her.
    • Prince Julius is well regarded as a picture-perfect gentleman by people who haven't spent much time with him, and a capable-yet-smug amusement-seeking gadfly by most of those who have.
  • Blatant Lies: Just prior to the first chapter's soiree turning into a pugilism demonstration, Kyle tries to portray Terenezza as an innocent, simple young woman who's suffered greatly from Scarlet's queen bee-style bullying at school, none of which actually happened. The only reason he thought he could get away with making such groundless claims was because the party guests were all sycophants.
    • Also, despite Kyle's accusations of her bulling Terenezza, Scarlet points out she had never met Terenezza before the soiree.
  • Blood Knight: Scarlet loves brawling, though she hides it behind a Proper Lady façade. A flashback shows that she was this way even as a child and worked to suppress it in adolescence so she could marry the prince. When the prince annuls the engagement, she drops the façade.
  • Butt-Monkey: Leonardo Vandimion, Scarlet's elder brother. His role in the story is as the Straight Man as he suffers significant stress from the kind of scandals Scarlet's actions cause and the antics of Prince Julius who is effectively his direct superior.
  • Church Militant: Both the Diana and Palmia faiths maintain their own armed orders. As an interesting point of comparison, Diana's knights are a straightforward group of bodyguards for the living saint who powers the kingdom's anti-monster defenses, while their Palmian counterparts include a series of flamboyant lackeys who call themselves inquisitors.
  • The Comically Serious: Scarlet built up an excellent poker face over years of dealing with Kyle's abuse, and continues to remain straight-faced even when stating something that is overtly ridiculous to everyone else.
  • Cool Big Sis: Scarlet has this sort of dynamic with Diana, who absolutely adores and looks up to her; Scarlet, for her part, is more than happy to indulge the little girl.
  • Corrupt Church: The Palmia faith leadership is largely composed of opportunists and manipulators. They're fully on-board with their boss Terenezza supplanting Diana and collaborating with neighboring countries to invade their homeland of Pallistan. And their pope looks like a raccoon.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Julius outward friendliness highlights rather than hides his sharp wit, as he gleefully meets Scarlet's overt threats of physical harm with his quips on said threats (and her behavior overall).
  • Disinherited Child: Following the various crimes his supporters admitted to while trying to flee from Scarlet's fists of fury, Prince Kyle was removed from the royal succession and placed under house arrest.
  • Domestic Abuse: Although the plot kicks off with Scarlet getting out of the abusive relationship with Kyle, the flashback showing the six years of abuse she had to put up with is pure psychological horror. Kyle is cruel, petty, condescending, arrogant, lazy, idiotic, has a violent temper, and is always looking for reasons to be "insulted" so he can abuse people. Scarlet was his main target for all of that behaviour. He treated her like a literal slave for years, in full view of other people in order to humiliate her, and physically abused her to a certain extent as well. Scarlet, perfectly capable of physically kicking his ass, was helpless to fight back because of social constraints. She conducts herself with flawless dignity throughout the years, but her inner monologue makes her distress and pain clear. Really, Kyle "dumping" her was the kindest thing he ever did for Scarlet, and he's so deluded and full of himself that he honestly thought it would break her heart.
  • Double Agent: Dios, one of lady Diana's bodyguards, has been spying on the Diana faith for the Palmians. He's one of their inquisitors. He's also Diana's half-brother and totally fine with cutting ties to the Palmians for her sake.
  • Dragon Rider:
    • The neighboring kingdom of Vankish has a long tradition of martial excellence and domesticated giant flying reptiles. Their elite aerial cavalry, the Crimson Dragon Knights note , serve as premier representative of both.
    • After resolving the black market slave auction incident, Scarlet keeps Vankish prince Alphreim's dragon, Rex. She teaches him to shake and roll over, and later rides him into battle against the invading monster army.
  • Dude Looks Like a Lady: Nanaka, who was able to pass himself for a maid.
  • Enchanted Forest: Pallistan's northern neighbor, Falconia, is the heavily wooded homeland of beast men, elves, and some gnarly orcs and other monsters.
  • Establishing Character Moment: Scarlet takes out her frustration over years of silently putting up with her fiance Kyle's abuse going all to waste thanks to Kyle dumping her for another woman by beating the crap out of him, his new fiance, and all the corrupt nobles he has gathered.
  • Evil Chancellor: Prime Minister Godwin acts as the organizing influence of the corrupt aristocrats that comprise the second prince's political faction, providing the leadership and attention to reality that Kyle considers beneath him. He's directly involved with the slave trade—an illegal enterprise in Pallistan—and gleefully sells state information to the neighboring rival kingdom Vankish in hopes of securing a ministerial position there. Scarlet really wants to punch him in his potbelly gut.
  • Facepalm: Leonardo has a habit of covering his face when his sister and/or his liege are hip-deep in shenanigans.
  • Family Theme Naming: The royal family of Vankish have names adjacent to heat and fire; Emperor Burn, first prince Alphreim (possibly intended as Alflame), and second prince Flamme.
  • Farm Girl: Prior to inheriting the office of saintess, the current lady Diana lived in a small farming community until she was seven years old. She continues to struggle with her (deeply internalized) supposed lack of refinement.
  • Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling:
    • Leonardo is the responsible Vandimion sibling, being exasperated by Scarlet's well-meaning but impulsive actions.
    • Also seen in the two princes of the kingdom: Prince Julius is a responsible and level-headed leader, while Prince Kyle is a short-tempered idiot who cares more about his own gratification.
  • Forged by the Gods: Goddess Palmia has provided her chosen representative with a sacred weapon that resembles an ornate, multi-bladed glaive. Terenezza uses it to destroy the northern anchor for Pallistan's monster barrier.
  • Funny Background Event: In the first chapter, after Scarlet has finished rampaging through the other guests and is advancing on Kyle, Terenezza can be spotted escaping out a window behind him, presumably before Scarlet can decide to give her a second beating.
  • God Is Good: Chronos, the God of Time and the one whose blessing grants Scarlet some of her powers, is a kind and loving being. Her blessings to a Saintess help keep monsters out of the kingdom. And when Palmia, a jealous goddess who wants Chronos for herself, orchestrates the theft of the Saintess' power and her own agent causing havoc and destruction, Chronos empowers Scarlet further to handle the threat.
  • Good Old Fisticuffs: Scarlet's preferred way of fighting. She even has special gloves she puts on when she enters battle.
  • Half-Human Hybrid: Dios, one of lady Diana's bodyguards, is a half-elf with an elven mother.
  • Heel–Face Turn: Vankish—or at least Alphreim's part of it—sets aside their historical animosity with Pallistan to fend off the northern monster invasion.
  • Humanity Ensues: Rex changes his shape to human form to conserve mana when he starts to suffer from Lowland Sickness.
  • I Need a Freaking Drink: In response to the ulcer-inducing antics of his liege and his sister, Leonardo has taken to carrying a flask. It is filled with antacid stomach medicine, but the sentiment remains.
  • In Love with Your Carnage: Scarlet attracts two different men this way: Prince Julius, who regards her as the only interesting person in his life when he is otherwise surrounded by insincere and power-hungry nobles, and Prince Alphreim of the neighboring Vankish kingdom, who thinks that Scarlet is the perfect woman due to his more warrior-like ideals. Julius falls on the "morally ambiguous" side of things, while Alphreim has a more villainous role in the story as the prince of an enemy kingdom.
  • Jerkass Gods: The goddess Palmia is angry that her beloved Chronos is helping humans and has bestowed his power upon Scarlet and the saintess Diana; so she forcibly reincarnated a girl from Earth in the world where Scarlet lives (after killing said girl), and is now using the reincarnated girl, Terenezza, as a pawn to ruin Scarlet's kingdom. After getting to know the story from Chronos, Scarlet cannot help but call Palmia "a shitty goddess".
  • King Incognito: Julius attempts to disguise himself as a commoner to conduct investigative work. However, as Nanaka points out, he's still too clean and well-groomed to fit in and doesn't conduct himself like a working-class person, so while his subjects might not know he's the prince, they still recognize that he is not one of them. Scarlet has the same problem when she tries it as well.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: After years of mistreating Scarlet and treating her like dirt, when Prince Kyle breaks their engagement to be with another woman, tell lies about her and insults her, Kyle realizes too late Scarlet has never talked back or fought against him due to the wishes of her family who wanted to gain more power by marrying into the royal family. With their engagement now over, Scarlet has nothing to hold her back and proceeds to beat the hell out of him, his new lover and the rest of corrupt nobles who support him.
  • Lonely at the Top: Saintess Diana, or rather Sanya as she was originally called can be described as this. Once a normal farm girl that suddenly had been chosen to succeed the position and power of the previous Saintess following her death. Upon learning of this, her family and friends soon started to distance themselves from her, believing that she was too important of a person to be around them. When she was later taken away by the church to start her training, she soon discovered how lonely she had become. At present, Scarlet is the only one she can consider a family.
    Sanya: "I never said I wanted to become something like the Saintess. That I regular old Sanya would become such an important person. I don't have anyone anymore.
  • Lord Country: The ruling dynasty of the kingdom of Pallistan is named "von Pallistan."
  • The Mole:
    • Sigurd Forgrave was asked to infiltrate Prince Kyle's followers to keep an eye on him and gather evidence. Later, Prince Julius asks him to do the same with the Palmians.
    • Lady Diana herself passed along information to the Palmians (through Dios) in the wake of losing her unique magic.
  • My Fist Forgives You: Played rather sweetly when it's revealed that Sigurd was spying on Kyle the entire time and was only pretending to support Kyle's abuse of Scarlet to preserve his cover. Sigurd apologizes profusely to Scarlet for having to play the role and tells her that he'll accept her punch. Despite her brother's horror, Scarlet winds up and delivers a vicious punch... to the right of Sigurd's face, missing him entirely. Then she gently taps his cheek with her fist and declares them even. Sigurd is confused, but Scarlet points out that over the years he truly did his best to shield her without blowing his cover; he couldn't stop Kyle's abuse, but did actively prevent any of Kyle's cronies from abusing her.
  • New Life in Another World Bonus: As per portal fantasy tradition, Terenezza was granted a suite of abilities from her patron goddess upon reincarnating on Romancia. She can supernaturally sway men to her cause, and has managed to steal Diana's Repel magic.
  • Nun Too Holy: The saintess Diana is actually a mid-teens Bratty Half-Pint who doesn't act precisely like a holy person should. Lampshaded by Julius.
    Julius:: Is that really what a saintess should be saying? Your words reek of worldly desires.
  • Otherworldly and Sexually Ambiguous: Chronos, God of Time, possesses an androgynous appearance when Scarlet speaks to them in their divine realm. This provides interesting contrast to Palmia, who shares a face with her chosen agent Terenezza.
  • Our Elves Are Different: Ha, nah. Romancian elves are at most two steps away from the Tolkienian archetype: Pointy eared, long-lived, reclusive sylvan-dwellers with an emphasis on spirit magic.
  • Our Werebeasts Are Different: The race of beast folk (like Nanaka) can change between human and animal form. They're highly prized as slaves as a result.
  • Out of Focus: Despite the series kicking off with Kyle's boneheaded decision to annul his engagement with Scarlet, the second prince drops off the face of the planet and plot within two major arcs. This makes sense, as without the authority of his position or the backing of his faction of opportunistic upper-crust lampreys (and Terenezza) he has limited influence.
  • Power Fist: Scarlet's fighting gloves are effectively brass knuckles in glove form.
  • Prince Charmless: Kyle may be the son of the king, and handsome enough to look like a charming prince, but he acts like a demon; a shallow, self-centered, indulgent spoiled wastrel who lives entirely for his own amusement at the expense of others.
  • Questioning Title?: Comes from a question Scarlet asked in the first scene.
  • Rage Breaking Point: After she swallowed her pride for so many years, Scarlet's last straw snapped when Prince Kyle publicly dumped and humiliated her at the ball. Her catharsis was palpable.
  • "Reborn as Villainess" Story: The story opens with the standard introductory scene to such a plot: Noblewoman Scarlet finds herself accused of false charges by her Fiancee Prince Kyle, and her engagement ended at a royal ball filled with corrupt nobles, in favor of another woman. In fact, Kyle calls Scarlet a "villainess". Things take a turn, however, when she responds by asking, "May I ask for one final thing? May I send this stupid bitch flying?". Scarlet, who it turns out is a Blood Knight, then proceeds to send everyone in the entire ballroom Punched Across the Room, Kicking Ass in All Her Finery, and arresting them. Receiving help from the crown prince, her brother, and others, she proceeds to investigate corruption in the government and church, trying to solve all of her problems with a Talk to the Fist approach, while others try to convince her to be more subtle, with mixed results. However, Scarlet subverts the "Reborn" part as all indications are she is a true blue native of the world. It's Terenezza, the girl Scarlet was accused of bullying, who is the reincarnate.
  • Red Baron: Scarlet is known as both "The Ice Rose" and "The Mad Dog Princess". Each nickname refers to one aspect of her character. "The Ice Rose" is the polite lady facade she kept up while in school and engaged to Kyle. "Mad Dog Princess" is more indicative of her real self, the fight-loving Blood Knight.
    • Scarlet's later escapades earn her additional popular nicknames: "Bloody Princess" following the chapter one beatdown, and "Explosive Princess" after the black market slave auction.
    • Again after the monster invasion, and Prince Alphreim re-affirming his interest in public: the "Subjugating Princess" and "Hellfire Bride."
  • Reincarnate in Another World: It turns out that Terenezza is actually the reincarnation of a girl from another world (all but stated to be Earth) who was killed by a freak lightning bolt (actually, one conjured by the goddess Palmia) and was reincarnated in Scarlet's world in order to fulfill Palmia's plans to ruin the kingdom Scarlet lives in, all to spite the country's protector god Chronos.
  • Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Scarlet narrowly manages to "rescue" Prime Minister Godwin from suffering this at the hands of the Vankish Empire. If Godwin wasn't so absolutely full of himself, he might have considered earlier what a nation of Proud Warrior Race Guys would want with a traitorous noble who only excels in political trickery.
  • Rich in Dollars, Poor in Sense: Scarlet's Blood Knight tendencies aside, it's clear the first time we see her out in public she has no idea what she's doing. She's sold a lump of rock convinced it's mithril, thinks a home looks like an old ruin and wonders if she can punch out a chunk of it as a souvenir, and buys a meat and vegetable skewer unaware that it's rat meat and only interested in the unusual fragrance. Julius notes that, for all her attempts to blend in, Scarlet is very clearly a noble and just as obviously susceptible to a Snake Oil Salesman.
  • Royal Brat: Kyle is a spoiled and shallow little jerk, demanding that Scarlet act as his servant, resenting her for getting better grades than him, and generally acting as if the world revolves around him. Alas that he's also the second prince, and there's not much anyone can do about his bad attitude. At least until he publicly breaks his engagement with Scarlet and humiliates her, and she responds with a fist to Kyle's face.
  • Saintly Church: The Diana faith has yet to be shown engaging in anything shady or malicious, whether as part of their institutional role or otherwise, and actively supports a network of defenses that protect the people of Pallistan from monster attacks.
  • Shipper on Deck: Upon discovering that Sanya/Diana has developed a crush on Leonardo, Scarlet is all-in on playing Cupid.
  • Showy Invincible Hero: Not much can stand in Scarlet's way once she gets to the punching part. Yet it's still awesome to see her curbstomping jerk nobles and slavers.
  • Slavery Is a Special Kind of Evil: Corrupt nobles engage in slave trade, which is just as dehumanizing as it sounds. Scarlet takes part in a sting operation specifically to take down a black market slave auction, allowing Nanaka to be smuggled in as part of the merchandise.
  • Sophisticated as Hell: When accused of bullying Terenezza by Prince Kyle, Scarlet speaks politely and formally while refuting his charges. Then, after she's been allowed to ask for one final thing... she asks if she can "send that stupid bitch flying".
  • Super Mode: Prince Julius's blessing, "Tale of the Hero," grants him vastly increased physical and magical capabilities when specific circumstances are met.
  • Super-Senses: Leonardo has the blessing of Hysteria, God of the Hunt, which he can invoke for a bird's eye view of his surroundings to pursue his quarry.
  • Super-Toughness:
    • Prince Alphreim of Vankish has received the blessing of Meteor, God of Iron, which renders his body highly resistant to harm. So Scarlet gives him a concussion via repeated knee strikes to his face, Muay Thai-style. This encourages him.
    • The goddess Palmia distributes medallions that shield the wearer from damage. Scarlet seems to enjoy encountering these, since it means she can hit the wearers even harder before they go down.
  • Time Master: Scarlet's divine blessing from Chronos is versatile and powerful; she can accelerate herself (and things she throws), "rewind" magical slave brands out of existence, heal wounds, and even restore the magic stones that maintain Pallistan's anti-monster barrier.
  • Tough Spikes and Studs: Scarlet El Vandimion is the Action Girl protagonist of the story and is known as "The Mad Dog Princess" due to her love of fighting. She wears spiked fighting gloves which are effectively brass knuckles in glove form.
  • A Twinkle in the Sky: When Scarlet gets serious about ending a fight, it's not uncommon for her target to go blasting off to the horizon from one of her mighty punches. Team Rocket would be proud. Terenezza clears the lower atmosphere.
  • Undying Loyalty: After Scarlet frees Nanaka from slavery, he develops an unshakeable sense of loyalty towards her and is willing to go along with pretty much all of her ridiculous misadventures no matter the inconvenience to him.
  • Unknown Relative: Dios was quite surprised to find out that he had a younger half-sister by his father, and even moreso when she was revealed to be Sanya, the next lady Diana.
  • Unwitting Pawn: It's not clear how much, if anything, Terenezza knows of Palmia's plans, but she's being used by Palmia in order to spread disorder and misery in the world. The latter half of manga chapter 30 offers clarity. Terenezza is fully on board with Palmia's plans to destroy Pallistan as long as she gets to rule what's left.
  • Weapon-Based Characterization:
    • Scarlet is bold and direct; she wears a pair of studded gloves, but her real weapons are her punches. And kicks. And the occasional headbutt.
    • Prince Julius is refined, manipulative, and regal; he normally settles problems with his reputation or the authority of his position, but when called to answer personally, he employs a rapier.
    • Palmian inquisitor Isabella uses a whip; it fits her theme.
  • Yandere: Scarlet learns that the goddess Palmia is a raging yandere towards the god Chronos. Palmia wants Chronos to look at her to the point she orchestrates a girl in another world to die, to become a reincarnated person and bless the girl with Palmia's powers in order to destroy the humans Chronos loves and their kingdom.

Alternative Title(s): May I Ask For One Final Thing

Top