Akuyaku Kizoku to shite Hitsuyou na Sore - Vol. 4 Ch. 16 - What It Means To Be Evil

[Shad24772]

time to rest

 

[AmethystLord]

Wait... his dad's name is Villain? WTF is wrong with the author's naming sense

 

[kahoshi]

Hurting the lolis is a death sentance.

 

[titundo]

oh, hey, it's discount Shadow.

 

[Substitution]

"I kill bad people. That makes me Evil."
No? That definitionally makes you Good.

 

[spectacure]

dropping.

i think at some point we forgot what evil actually means, because i was actually enjoying at the start with mc having no filter, but now he's just a shity hero, nothing at all he's doing can be remotely considered villainous, plus i just hate stories that try to portray mc in a better light by bringing down other people, especially supposed heroes. and this one is even worse because author just can't decide if he wants to make absolute good or bad... it's just a mess man.

but no matter what, i'm always thankful for new chapters, thanks for tl birdy

 

[Blackspace_2]

thank you random discord user 🙏🙏🙏🙏

 

[Slingerman]

So he's got a guilt complex on top of having magic and a reputation that makes people fear him. But of course, the guys with the most red flags attract the most women, as we see here.

Thanks for the translation asphyxiav2, it's good except for one thing on page 24, it should say "we've got ties with other foreign nations too...".

 

[Ricyn]

"I kill bad people. That makes me Evil."
No? That definitionally makes you Good.

How does that work?
Does it compensate for other bad actions, or is it more of a morally neutral action to kill bad people?

I assume you don't become a good person for killing bad people who are trying to stop you from doing bad stuff, or killing bad people on orders from bad people.
If viewed as a morally neutral action to kill "bad" people on orders by the state it makes more sense. There could be an argument made in that situation also that you are a doing a societal good, though I'm not sure that necessarily makes you a good person, especially if done for either enjoyment, or personal gain.

I think it is fair of him to view "I kill people on other people's orders to maintain my lifestyle" as an evil act, especially since he isn't a soldier in a war situation, and these are people who haven't gone through any sort of legal process as far as we know. Also, if he has recurring dreams where "he" ruthlessly kills people, that would probably colour his impression of himself.

 

[nobody2002]

Professionals have standards.

Thanks for the upload.

 

[jmgaling0924]

Bro is releasing his inner cid kagenou

 

[Seetee]

Thank you for the translation!

Is it just me who wishes for Alicia to be the new main character?

 

[MrTurtleMan]

I know Shadow isn't the most original character but holy shit that's a shameless rip off.

 

[Slingerman]

Wait... his dad's name is Villain? WTF is wrong with the author's naming sense

It's theme naming, making things foreign and exotic.

In the original Tomb Raider videogame, St. Francis Folly had areas dedicated to gods from different mythologies, some of them mixing Greek naming with Roman naming, which could never happen in an actual ruin. But it was just something exotic added for flavor.

One Isekai I remember actually talked about the languages and how the Isekai language was actually closer to a European language than Japanese, and a lot of characters from the other world had European names. Most authors don't think that far.

 

[titundo]

It's theme naming, making things foreign and exotic.

In the original Tomb Raider videogame, St. Francis Folly had areas dedicated to gods from different mythologies, some of them mixing Greek naming with Roman naming, which could never happen in an actual ruin. But it was just something exotic added for flavor.

A character in another isekai manga is called "Duke" in a setting with nobility. I've also seen the "Child Of God", Kris the Phoenix Dragon, and the great Prince Stale Royal Ivy. I don't think these mangakas speak the slightest lick of English, LOL.

One Isekai I remember actually talked about the languages and how the Isekai language was actually closer to a European language than Japanese, and a lot of characters from the other world had European names. Most authors don't think that far.

Come to think of it, do any of the people in mangas where people from Japan are transported to another world with distinctively European settings talk about the fact that they should stand out because they are of an entirely different ethnicity? Either that or a whole bunch of world just have kingdoms full of Asians wearing European clothing and sporting odd names.

 

[Substitution]

I think it is fair of him to view "I kill people on other people's orders to maintain my lifestyle" as an evil act, especially since he isn't a soldier in a war situation, and these are people who haven't gone through any sort of legal process as far as we know.

A legal process confers nothing Good inherently. It is, occasionally, a useful method to proceduralize Just resolutions to an altercation.

Tolerating Evil and letting it persist is denying Justice to its victims. Seeking and destroying it is the opposite.

I agree he oversells his own evil due to his dreams, that's an intentional joke of the manga where Absolute goes from hyper-aware to blind-spot naive with comedic timing, then insists on being "Evil" while the author shows him saving the innocent while removing thieves and corrupt nobles who have violated their responsibilities and loyalty to their people.

 

[orangerain7734]

I think what Ark is trying to convey that a lot of people here don't get is that, even if he's killing those who have committed crimes, it's still an act of murder on a person, and murder, no matter the intention, is one of life's greatest sins, and it would take a lot for one to repent for committing it, but even after that, that doesn't automatically make you 'good'. You will still have to carry the weight the sin brought you for the rest of your days, and Arc knows that heavily.

Anyone who says they are 'killing for the sake of good' are ignorant, prideful, and have more reason to not be trusted than those who committed sin while knowing the consequences behind it.

 

[Ricyn]

A legal process confers nothing Good inherently. It is, occasionally, a useful method to proceduralize Just resolutions to an altercation.

Tolerating Evil and letting it persist is denying Justice to its victims. Seeking and destroying it is the opposite.

I agree he oversells his own evil due to his dreams, that's an intentional joke of the manga where Absolute goes from hyper-aware to blind-spot naive with comedic timing, then insists on being "Evil" while the author shows him saving the innocent while removing thieves and corrupt nobles who have violated their responsibilities and loyalty to their people.

A lack of a legal process does make the killing quite arbitrary though.

As we were specifically talking about killing, "destroying" becomes too vague a term. I think most people would agree that destroying injustice and evil are good things. What destroying means though, varies greatly from person to person, and it doesn't necessarily follow that you are a good person for destroying evil.
A criminal organisation presenting evidence to the police to destroy a rival could be argued to be a good thing.
A criminal organisation using violence to destroy a rival would probably be a bad thing.
Neither would make the criminal organisation a good organisation though, and both probably share several problems, as either could lead to escalation of violence, harm to bystanders, and end with either organisation strengthened.
It is of course assumed that both the criminal organisations are bad in this example, and not outlawed for any controversial reason. Let's say that they, for fun, kidnap and drug people who they sell into slavery, and that all members joined out of their free will because they enjoy it.

This is even more pronounced when it comes to killing, which was the point. If you arbitrarily kill evildoers, when other remedies are available within reason, especially if it benefits you in some way, this is not necessarily a good act. It seems like the type of thinking that would risk creating vendettas.

I would also like to add that legal processes tend to also establish guilt, so that innocent aren't punished as that isn't just, which I think we all can agree on. I'm not saying though that all legal systems everywhere are perfectly functioning machines of flawless justice, in fact probably none are, but pretty much removing them entirely, or having people set up their own, is not very likely to increase justice.

 

[Slingerman]

Come to think of it, do any of the people in mangas where people from Japan are transported to another world with distinctively European settings talk about the fact that they should stand out because they are of an entirely different ethnicity? Either that or a whole bunch of world just have kingdoms full of Asians wearing European clothing and sporting odd names.

Well, the same one I mentioned earlier with the language thing. Black hair with dark brown eyes is rare and conspicuous. Black hair in the setting is associated with dark arts, and the only natives with it are an oppressed minority in a distant land. The association can go both ways: Fearful bystanders wonder if the other isekaid people are the protagonist, but also, those other people being sheltered teenagers create the reputation that 'black haired people abandon their jobs mid-way and are mooches'.

That isekai is Life as a Cheat Magician that Began with a False Judgment.

 

[Ricyn]

I think what Ark is trying to convey that a lot of people here don't get is that, even if he's killing those who have committed crimes, it's still an act of murder on a person, and murder, no matter the intention, is one of life's greatest sins, and it would take a lot for one to repent for committing it, but even after that, that doesn't automatically make you 'good'. You will still have to carry the weight the sin brought you for the rest of your days, and Arc knows that heavily.

Anyone who says they are 'killing for the sake of good' are ignorant, prideful, and have more reason to not be trusted than those who committed sin while knowing the consequences behind it.

I would say that him killing the people who he is killing could be seen as societally justified, and perhaps a good for society as a whole in the specific world of the story. It is still, as you say, extremely morally dubious, and I would say at best it could be seen as morally neutral, on some abstract level, since he is performing a job dictated to him by the country.

Though, what need there is to use secret methods to kill people who kidnap children is a good question, as it would seem like something that could be punished quite openly without much resistance. He also seems like he is quite powerful enough to be able to capture most criminals, which the people sending him should know, so it does seem quite suspect, and he is benefiting quite a lot from being a royal hitman.

I think it might be important to differentiate between "killing for the sake of good", and "killing for a good sake". Since the latter could be fighting in a war to protect people you care about, in such a case the killing is a result of wanting to do good for people you care about, while the former case the killing is the method. So I'm not saying that you are wrong, I just wanted to clarify the difference between murder as a method, and murder as an unwanted result.

Finally, I would like to add that I entirely agree that killing anyone for any reason would most likely weigh heavily on the person forever, if they are sane, even if they found a way morally justify it. Him saying "I am evil, that is my role" makes sense as I way to cope with this.