Ore Igai Dare mo Saishu Dekinai Sozai na no ni "Sozai Saishuritsu ga Hikui" to Pawahara suru Osananajimi Renkinjutsushi to Zetsuen shita Senzoku Mado…

[TophatKiyaki]

The backstory doesn't really change anything though. The reason she was angry with him was that he reminded her of her poor background. And that's not an excuse to treat him the way she does.

That's not it. She's not ashamed of being poor. She's enraged at the world for looking down on her, abusing her and dismissing her for completely arbitrary reasons. Unlike most of these "my asshole old friend/superior didn't recognize me as being the literal greatest thing ever" stories, Ruby is clearly not just a poser. She's a genius. She was able to recognize the process of the crown Ezekiel made and effortlessly alter it to her needs, all from watching it get made once, from a distance. She IS genuinely the kingdom's best alchemist.

Her problem is that she's grown ego-obsessed. She spent her childhood being looked down on, and has devoted her life to "revenge" by putting herself in a position to look down on everyone else who ever might've looked down on her. All the way there she continued to be exploited, as shown by the Alchemist taking advantage of a very benign mistake to rip the two of them off and them having no choice but to just sit and take it because they had no influence.
She turned on Lloyd because she thought he was her "partner" through it all. That he shared in her overwhelming spite for this world that had been kicking them while they were down almost their entire lives.

That moment with him cooking made her realize that he didn't. That he was normal, and just happy to live comfortably. She won't stop until the entire world is effectively forced to grovel at her feet for what it put her through. He just wants to live a content life.

That shattered her worldview and ego because he was likely the only person in the entire world she actually trusted. The only one who had been there with her through thick and thin. She couldn't possibly comprehend how he couldn't have the same level of spite for everyone who put them through what they went through as she did, and to her, the pot-au-feu was like the tangible embodiment of that spite. A dish that she hated and was forced to eat because it was a donation from those with power lording it over them.

The point of this flashback was clearly not to try and make us "forgive" Ruby like apparently a whole of people here are stupidly concluding. It was to show that there's some actual depth to her. She isn't just some abusive little shit, she's a product of a short lifetime of being kicked while she was down. But, where that lifetime made Lloyd become a kind, capable and reliable person, it turned Ruby into someone who wants to kick everyone else in retaliation for the way people kicked her. And deep down, she's bitter that the only friend she had doesn't want to share in that goal with her...and the fact that he so easily was able to just befriend others while she was ONLY ever willing to share her life with him, probably hurts all the more.

 

[7goat]

The two idiots' backstory in a nutshell

 

[HickaruIchijyo]

That ain't even a sad backstory. If anything, it made her worse.

 

[MegaXL]

Yeah, nothing redeeming this bitch.

 

[altersen]

So she was always a bitch

 

[Kaito57]

Wow… So basically she was a manipulative brat from the beginning ! Well played, Author-san : you destroyed any chance to feel sympathies for her lol

 

[DeadintheWater]

I can't blame people for thinking this was a flashback into understanding when they just did that with the demon priestess, but that is also a point with this and probably part of why the saintess is trying to get them to stop. The former demon lord has been dragged around half dead as a trophy by the person who got the same treatment as Lloyd. That is not a healthy way to cope with being abused by your superior.

 

[SSRBReader]

Wait, what? This arc will still be ongoing?

Come on, Saint—why did you stop them? Let them duke it out! The MC would’ve beaten the inferiority complex out of her.

Don’t interfere. I doubt either of them would’ve died.

 

[dokidoki]

That's not it. She's not ashamed of being poor. She's enraged at the world for looking down on her, abusing her and dismissing her for completely arbitrary reasons. Unlike most of these "my asshole old friend/superior didn't recognize me as being the literal greatest thing ever" stories, Ruby is clearly not just a poser. She's a genius. She was able to recognize the process of the crown Ezekiel made and effortlessly alter it to her needs, all from watching it get made once, from a distance. She IS genuinely the kingdom's best alchemist.

Her problem is that she's grown ego-obsessed. She spent her childhood being looked down on, and has devoted her life to "revenge" by putting herself in a position to look down on everyone else who ever might've looked down on her. All the way there she continued to be exploited, as shown by the Alchemist taking advantage of a very benign mistake to rip the two of them off and them having no choice but to just sit and take it because they had no influence.
She turned on Lloyd because she thought he was her "partner" through it all. That he shared in her overwhelming spite for this world that had been kicking them while they were down almost their entire lives.

That moment with him cooking made her realize that he didn't. That he was normal, and just happy to live comfortably. She won't stop until the entire world is effectively forced to grovel at her feet for what it put her through. He just wants to live a content life.

That shattered her worldview and ego because he was likely the only person in the entire world she actually trusted. The only one who had been there with her through thick and thin. She couldn't possibly comprehend how he couldn't have the same level of spite for everyone who put them through what they went through as she did, and to her, the pot-au-feu was like the tangible embodiment of that spite. A dish that she hated and was forced to eat because it was a donation from those with power lording it over them.

The point of this flashback was clearly not to try and make us "forgive" Ruby like apparently a whole of people here are stupidly concluding. It was to show that there's some actual depth to her. She isn't just some abusive little shit, she's a product of a short lifetime of being kicked while she was down. But, where that lifetime made Lloyd become a kind, capable and reliable person, it turned Ruby into someone who wants to kick everyone else in retaliation for the way people kicked her. And deep down, she's bitter that the only friend she had doesn't want to share in that goal with her...and the fact that he so easily was able to just befriend others while she was ONLY ever willing to share her life with him, probably hurts all the more.

Pretty much, its actually quite amazing how many people just turn off their brains and are like wow shit arc I don't care for this girl she's still a bitch(as if they ever did) because of blah blah blah when in reality she's more sad then a horrible person, its like seeing a neglected child throw a tantrum because they are being neglected and no one gives a fuck about it

And in a way MC is a jerk because this is a conversation they should have had years ago ever since she crashed out on him when he cooked that peasant food she always hated but instead it seems like they just sweeped it under the rug and hence they just ended up bitter about one another till it exploded this arc with them beating the fuck out of one another, this is the first time MC has hit her and they should've done it ages ago, people become closer when they fist fight so they say

 

[LoliNecromancer]

Buu hooo I let my inferiority/superiority complex contorol my life Still a trashbag kill it with hellfire

 

[LARGames]

Yeah.. people are misunderstanding this. This isn't showing a sad backstory. Frustratingly enough, this is just showing that she's just always been rotten. And I honestly hate that. I'd been hoping she'd have a redemption over time. But the author since the start never intended that. He just wanted her to be bad.

I also suspect the author thinks flat chests are evil.

 

[electro_neanderthal]

This story is the first isekai-like fantasy manga to get the misunderstanding right. Now, that statement might not make sense at first, so let me back it up by responding to this comment.

To EggMiner, I apologize in advance, as I liked your comment and thought it was a good springboard. This is not meant to call you out or say you're opinion is bad. I've hit the like button as some form of recompense.

The backstory doesn't really change anything though. The reason she was angry with him was that he reminded her of her poor background. And that's not an excuse to treat him the way she does.

It wasn't just that. It was that she felt the only person she ever loved (familial and possibly romantic) and trusted didn't see what bothered her the most and kept bringing it up to her.

Imagine you have something that you hate, and every person close to you keeps bringing it up. That turns into a feeling of rejection that cuts deep.

Now, that clearly doesn't excuse her for not plainly telling him how much it hurt her—I'm certain if she did, Lloyd would realize and not do it. She's known him how long and doesn't realize he's not a mind reader? But I get it. I get why she's driven so far. She has no one else and that person keeps unintentionally bringing up the things that cut her heart.

Overall, I think this is the first isekai-like fantasy I've ever seen get this kind of misunderstanding right. People IRL expect others to just get them when they don't make things clear enough and then react badly when they don't. Heck, last Christmas, my parents got me a gift that made me feel like they didn't 'get me' and it hurt. Even though they got it because they thought I would like it, and despite the issue being resolved (they really do love me and I have no doubt about that) it took a few days for the emotions to go away.

If I extrapolate that into me only having that kind of love and trust with one person, and that one person regularly bringing up something that cuts... I feel her reaction was plausible, and it's only the magic system in this story that made it possible for things to get physically ridiculous.