The titular hero and elf bride, Kaito and Lilia.
"Look, I hate to disappoint you, but I'm not really that great a hero. The best I can do is cheer everyone up by making some tasty pizza. So it'd make me very happy if you could just enjoy my cooking and not worry too much about the whole saving-the-world-thing."
— Kaito
Kaito, an average man from modern Japan, finds himself face-to-face with a goddess when he meets his untimely death at the hands (wheels?) of a pizza delivery moped. When he takes too long to decide between his reincarnation options — a swordsman, a magician, and a pizzaiolo — the first two are taken, and Kaito finds himself reincarnated into another world armed with the power of pizza! Kaito is eagerly greeted by the elves in his new country, and the headman's adorable daughter is quickly betrothed to him. Will he be able to save the world as the "High-Calorie Hero"?
The Hero and His Elf Bride Open a Pizza Parlor in Another World (勇者ですが異世界でエルフ嫁とピザ店始めます, Yūsha desu ga Isekai de Elf Yome to Pizza-ten Hajimemasu) is a single-volume light novel originally published in 2017, written by Kaya Kizaki and illustrated by Shirako Miso. The light novel was licensed for English release by Yen Press in 2018.
This series contains examples of:
- Arranged Marriage: Essentially what Kaito and Lilia are as a couple at first. Edmond, the headman of the village, and his wife, Fiona, are quick to force Lilia onto Kaito as his fiancé and more or less ignore any say he has in the matter — not helped by the fact that he's housing with them. Spending time with Lilia running his pizza parlor and developing genuine affection for her over time is what pushes their relationship beyond the initial Arranged Marriage.
- Balloon Belly: With a Dragon of all things.
- Big Eater: It isn't known if this is a trait of all elves inherently, or due to their staggeringly inefficient vegetarian diet. Special mention, however, goes to Lilia and the Queen Eleonora. Lilia tends to lose herself when around food she likes, and Eleonara put away a large pizza all on her own, and then ordered two of them for the next day.
- Cards of Power: Kaito's powers revolve around his cards; they provide skills to make pizza, as well as ingredients and equipment.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Lilia, the daughter of the headman of the village and Kaito's betrothed — whether he accepts it or not — has a tendency to act this way when Kaito ogles another woman. Her jealousy extends even to the Queen.
- Evolving Weapon: Kaito's special bag, given to him by the Goddess. As he continues to develop his pizza skills, he gains new cards and recipes as the need arises.
- Fat Idiot: Hans is not the most intellectual of the elves, clumsy to a fault, and the only fat elf, due to his love of honey.
- Impossibly Delicious Food: The reaction everyone has to Kaito's pizza. Given the fact that the food they eat is described as being about as delicious and nutritious to the body as grass, it's safe to assume they'd react this way to anything with even a modicum of flavour.
- Instant Expert: With his card, Pizza Skill 1, Kaito is granted the immediate knowledge of how to prepare pizza, sauce, and other assorted materials, as well as an extensive knowledge on the history of pizza.
- Intellectual Animal: The dragon is capable of understanding human speech.
- Jerkass Gods: The goddess that is in charge of Kaito's reincarnation is essentially this. She's curt, to the point, has generally no regard for Kaito's feelings about being dead, and otherwise treats like the whole thing like a very bored office worker who just wants to clock out. When Kaito doesn't manage to pick the first two options, she forces the third option onto him and coldly sends him on his way.
- Militaries Are Useless: Apparently, according to the village headman. When Kaito does finally need to appeal to the Queen for soldiers, she's only able to send two, and the duo are woefully illequipped for the situation — granted, said situation is a dragon attack.
- Obsessed with Food: Lilia, easily.
- Official Couple: It's in the title.
- One-Note Cook: Averted. Kaito, despite being gifted with the "power of pizza", has shown the ability to cook apple pies as well.
- Only One Name: The elves in this universe appear to run on this, as no one has ever revealed a surname. More oddly, however, is Kaito, who hails from real world Japan, yet we never find out his family name either. He only uses his given name throughout the story when introducing himself.
- Our Elves Are Different: These elves in particular are vegetarian, though not by choice — as their Queen is vegetarian, and thus they all have to be — and other foods beyond the vegetables and whatnot they can gather in their country are imported, and thus very expensive. The country they live in itself is a poor, weak country, though other elves from other countries exist; a seaside country with elves that wear considerably less clothing is confirmed to exist.
- Our Dragons Are Different: We've only seen one — and it was as hungry and emaciated as some of the elves — but it took quite a liking to pizza. The dragon is relatively harmless, and is capable of understanding human speech. At the end of the novel, it even pays Kaito for pizza with a golden sword.
- Relationship Upgrade: Kaito officially proposes to Lilia near the tail end of the light novel, after an entire book of shyly pussyfooting around.
- Shock and Awe: The magician class that Kaito missed an opportunity to take was called the "Lightning Wizard".
- Shotgun Wedding: What Lilia's parents attempt with Lilia and Kaito, but Kaito refutes it at first.
- Stock Light-Novel Hero: Kaito bears the overall appearance, dense to the feelings of his love interest, with the beginnings of a harem forming around him to the middle and end of the book.
- Something about a Rose: The swordsman class that Kaito missed an opportunity to take was called the "Holy Rose Knight".
- The Power of Creation: Kaito's powers function as a low-level version of this. With the cards he gained from the goddess prior to being thrown into this world, he can create equipment and ingredients for making pizza — as well as other items such as apple pie and cola. None of these are useful in a fight but they make running a pizza parlor a breeze.
- Tsundere: The Queen, Eleonora, but not for Kaito — until the last few pages — but for food itself, due to her pride and strict diet.
- What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?: Kaito's opinion on the "power of pizza". As he realises exactly how poor the food in his new nation is, and sees how happy his food makes everyone, however, he concludes that Heart Is an Awesome Power.
