One of the risks you take going into a light novel adaptation these days is whether or not the anime is just going to end up as a glorified commercial for the books. Y'all know what I mean; it's when you have cool characters in a great story that run smack into a cliffhanger that may not ever be resolved with another season, which means that your only options are to seek out the books (and that's if you're lucky enough to have localized versions of the books to turn to). All of this is to say that I never expected the ending of The Executioner and Her Way of Life to feel especially conclusive, but I sure was preparing myself to at least be underwhelmed. Thankfully, the anime does a great job of wrapping up the current storyline while still leaving room for lots more intrigue and tragedy down the road, which is basically everything you could ask for in a finale for a season that may or may not ever get a proper follow up.
I'll be honest: I have a really hard time getting into light novels, since I've never been impressed with the writing in any of the ones that I've read before, and I haven't heard great things about the quality of Executioner's prose, specifically. Still, it says something that I liked the anime version of The Executioner and Her Way of Life enough that I'm halfway considering giving the novels a shot anyways. It wasn't a perfect series, but it's fascinating characters and world were wrapped up in a genuinely compelling story, and that's more than enough to earn my seal of approval. All we can do now is pray that there is just a little bit of justice in this world. If a godforsaken curse like The Fruit of Evolution can get a second season, then there is no reason that Executioner can't get one as well.
