Akuyaku Reijoutachi wa Yuruganai - Ch. 13

[Kinkaiser]

"The saintess forgets everything I tell her. This must be my sister's fault."

 

[BanzaiYuri]

the slow release of these chapters coupled with them being basically paired but different points of view makes it so fucking hard to keep up, I like the manga but it always take me a moment to remember who's who, why, how when where and whatnot.

Legit, start the chapter like "who tf?" Then the memories come back right at the end of the chapter and I'm left blue balled...

 

[Kaarme]

By the looks of it, Seraphina has 2 strong friends and confidantes/aides in Bernadette and Sandra. Meanwhile Prince has useless Orva and maybe 1/4 of a helpful person in Sauri, assuming Sauri gets his shit together and learns from his mistakes.

If he's planning to become a king and stay a king, he needs to fix such flaws and get skilled but trustworthy helpers. They won't necessarily appear out of thin air. He needs to recognise potential candidates, interact with them, test them, and keep them available. Of course he's in no particular hurry yet, unless his old man is planning to kick the bucket soon. But you never know what might happen.

 

[rozert]

the slow release of these chapters coupled with them being basically paired but different points of view makes it so fucking hard to keep up, I like the manga but it always take me a moment to remember who's who, why, how when where and whatnot.

It's more like translation is quite slow. There are already 3 or so more chapters in raws

 

[rozert]

If he's planning to become a king and stay a king, he needs to fix such flaws and get skilled but trustworthy helpers. They won't necessarily appear out of thin air. He needs to recognise potential candidates, interact with them, test them, and keep them available. Of course he's in no particular hurry yet, unless his old man is planning to kick the bucket soon. But you never know what might happen.

TBF I don't think he kept them near him as attendants. Orva was just a knight commander son that was like a bodyguard (quite good at that, but that's it)
Sauri was there just because of Saintes, he didn't seen them more than just a study material.
I don't think he consider anyone apart from his Fiance as a reliable companion

 

[AsteroidCreator99]

Idiot

 

[Knighto]

Looking forward to the prince’s POV. He called Aini the Saint a river weasel 😂

By the looks of it, Seraphina has 2 strong friends and confidantes/aides in Bernadette and Sandra. Meanwhile Prince has useless Orva and maybe 1/4 of a helpful person in Sauri, assuming Sauri gets his shit together and learns from his mistakes.

well Bernadette was smart but to shy, so without the incident she wasn't much of a good confidant to Seraphina, just someone to have an intelectual talk from time to time, unlike Sandra that was already on a good trail.
also the prince has a good confidant... Serpahina, remember they had met every other day on their tea parties, so for sure there's a confidant sense on them atp, their bond is strong. He still needs more people on his side that could help him though.

well - we saw that it was Sauri's mother that had a major hand in him turning out this way in the previous chapter's flashback scenes to when Sauri was a child. That was also when he first noticed that something was up with his older sister in an intellectual sense, but he was far too young to really parse the implications.
That said - we've not had either their mother or their father as a focus of the story yet, so there's no reason to believe that won't happen eventually. Especially as said confrontation would tie into Bernadetta's own narrative arc, wherein she has to fully prove that she can helm their House, convince her father of that fact, and take the position over Sauri himself. Sauri's mother will undoubtedly get involved at that point--likely with some form of behind-the-scenes manipulation to screw Bernadetta over, now that her actual value and potential makes it clear she's a better choice than Sauri to helm their House.

We're jumping to the Prince now, because he's the last "central character" directly tied to both Aini and Seraphina that we have. From there, the overall narrative of events after the "Big Incident" will start to pick back up, and we'll see the aftermath, and each character's own stories as they vie for and obtain their respective goals.

sadly I doubt we get much interaction from the rest of the stories as we're probably going to the end of the story, so prolly some conclusions to the cast in the future, like knowing if the got their "happily ever after", but at least for how the story has gave us so much, the prince POV is gonna be entertaining too.
ps: holy cow! I forgot we still need the POV of the saintess too hahaha

 

[GodKing46]

I see. He isn’t a bad man, just not that smart.

 

[Kaarme]

I don't think he consider anyone apart from his Fiance as a reliable companion

His fiancée is pretty scary. He should get someone unrelated to Seraphina as an ally. I'm not suggesting Seraphina would work against him, but there needs to be a balance in things. After all, Seraphina herself has allies that are more loyal to her personally than they would be to the prince/kingdom. The prince needs to copy such competence.

 

[beThereShortly]

Look at that. Lil' bro is a character after all.
He still sucks though, Bernadette is the MVP.

 

[Reader1138]

You are correct - he's an annoying character, and I think we as readers are meant to dislike him, but to feel some sympathy for how he's gotten to where he has. The fact he actually acknowledged that he's fucked up, means he has potential to get back on the right path. Hopefully with some chastisement and not blanket forgiveness, but allowed the opportunity to work hard and gain some measure of respect again.

We've been first presented by her own perspective of her situation which gives us a pretty bad impression of the brother. This is in part due to the story being filtered through her own bias. Now the author is giving her brother's perspective of the situation which I find is interesting. I believe without the first part from her viewpoint I think we'd all be concluding that shes a bit of a cold bitch at this point.

Some may point out that we saw a bit of her through the lens of the foreign exchange student in his story but even he admits he had little opportunity to actually get to know her (a chance meeting in the library, a tea party encounter, but outside of that she consistantly rejected his invitations). His image is mostly based on brief encounters and so remains mostly superficial.

Yes, she's is a genius; but that very intelligence makes it hard for her to accept that others do not have her eidetic memory. Without that empathy she's is a poor teacher because of it, not withstanding the saintess' own lacking. We saw it also with her own young brother so its not just a one off thing. We see her brother, without that eidetic talent, actually putting in the necessary work on his own to achieve his academic status, as story informs us that he is at the top of the class (until his sister stops gaming the grades to make her seem less threatening). Academically, its like a race between a bicyclist and runner. The bicyclist will usually win not because they are fitter but because they have the benefit of wheels under them. She will win the household title not just because she earned it but because she has those eidetic wheels to help carry her. In a way I hope he does win because I can't help but see him as the underdog in this story.

So who is the villain? Maybe neither. Its not unlike how people can hold widely divergent opinions of public figures based on their own personal bias and experiences.

 

[Andigo]

We've been first presented by her own perspective of her situation which gives us a pretty bad impression of the brother. This is in part due to the story being filtered through her own bias. Now the author is giving her brother's perspective of the situation which I find is interesting. I believe without the first part from her viewpoint I think we'd all be concluding that shes a bit of a cold bitch at this point.

That's too generous. This chapter breezed past the brother's ongoing pettiness. Superficial reasons underpin most cruelty, and are entirely out of scale with the cruelty. He was spooked by his sister, he felt he may be replaced, then he admittedly ignored the problem and pretended he was superior academically and at noble culture. Bernadetta was awkward, just awkward, not culpable like someone who actively chose to suppress someone else. Innate or benign ingrained traits. I can't gild childish responses to that like a lot of folks.

It wasn't pointless or anything. The brother recognizes he probably can't win, and even if he does there's no benefit in antagonizing his sister. It explained the last image we saw of him and Bernadetta in the timeline, it really was the best case for his character development. Not that I'd believe in that stance knowing the past was more emotionally complex than in this chapter.

If it's an athletic comparison between an eidetic bicyclist and runner, the runner cooperated on stealing the bicyclist's main toolkit and threw rocks at her.

Little bro is understandable, but not pitiful. He basically admitted that he didn't forget, he kept a suspicion and denial, and he acted on paranoia for years. The chapter dwelled on his discomfort yet packed his core thinking into a few lines... but we saw it play out more viciously already. A chapter that cuts out all the parts where he acted as a brat is not a fair scope of who he has been. Which devalues his arc imo

We don't need to see more ironic comeuppance for him. We could frame the storytelling as the chapter implying brother was forgiven of past actions with respect to how we see him act in the future; there could be personal or cultural reasons for such storytelling, and Bernadetta herself isn't lingering. Not my taste though. I strongly dislike how it was glossed over because without recalling or rereading the series it gives a false impression about the little brother's emotional motives; seeing him suffer is not seeing his motivation.

While this chapter may be necessary to build up Bernadetta's ambitious fight, and I was kind of looking forward to it, I think it's some of the weakest writing in the series. It felt like soft rebooting a character.

 

[Arkuses]

I'm glad this is over. The little brother arc annoyed me to no end.

They've had this type of character in other villainess manga, but I feel like this is one of the first to actually go "no you moron, you can't marry that bitch." And explain it too.

Also, the little brother finally understood, the saintess can't be trained/tamed, except we didn't punish him enough for it. Especially after he slanders his sister for saying she did a poor job teaching the saintess.


I wish there was a bit more from the family side when they realize the daughter was a genius. Felt tacked on at the end.

He's practically guaranteed to lose his chance at being head.

 

[UdenEmpati]

We've been first presented by her own perspective of her situation which gives us a pretty bad impression of the brother. This is in part due to the story being filtered through her own bias. Now the author is giving her brother's perspective of the situation which I find is interesting. I believe without the first part from her viewpoint I think we'd all be concluding that shes a bit of a cold bitch at this point.

Some may point out that we saw a bit of her through the lens of the foreign exchange student in his story but even he admits he had little opportunity to actually get to know her (a chance meeting in the library, a tea party encounter, but outside of that she consistantly rejected his invitations). His image is mostly based on brief encounters and so remains mostly superficial.

Yes, she's is a genius; but that very intelligence makes it hard for her to accept that others do not have her eidetic memory. Without that empathy she's is a poor teacher because of it, not withstanding the saintess' own lacking. We saw it also with her own young brother so its not just a one off thing. We see her brother, without that eidetic talent, actually putting in the necessary work on his own to achieve his academic status, as story informs us that he is at the top of the class (until his sister stops gaming the grades to make her seem less threatening). Academically, its like a race between a bicyclist and runner. The bicyclist will usually win not because they are fitter but because they have the benefit of wheels under them. She will win the household title not just because she earned it but because she has those eidetic wheels to help carry her. In a way I hope he does win because I can't help but see him as the underdog in this story.

So who is the villain? Maybe neither. Its not unlike how people can hold widely divergent opinions of public figures based on their own personal bias and experiences.

That's too generous. This chapter breezed past the brother's ongoing pettiness. Superficial reasons underpin most cruelty, and are entirely out of scale with the cruelty. He was spooked by his sister, he felt he may be replaced, then he admittedly ignored the problem and pretended he was superior academically and at noble culture. Bernadetta was awkward, just awkward, not culpable like someone who actively chose to suppress someone else. Innate or benign ingrained traits. I can't gild childish responses to that like a lot of folks.

It wasn't pointless or anything. The brother recognizes he probably can't win, and even if he does there's no benefit in antagonizing his sister. It explained the last image we saw of him and Bernadetta in the timeline, it really was the best case for his character development. Not that I'd believe in that stance knowing the past was more emotionally complex than in this chapter.

If it's an athletic comparison between an eidetic bicyclist and runner, the runner cooperated on stealing the bicyclist's main toolkit and threw rocks at her.

Little bro is understandable, but not pitiful. He basically admitted that he didn't forget, he kept a suspicion and denial, and he acted on paranoia for years. The chapter dwelled on his discomfort yet packed his core thinking into a few lines... but we saw it play out more viciously already. A chapter that cuts out all the parts where he acted as a brat is not a fair scope of who he has been. Which devalues his arc imo

We don't need to see more ironic comeuppance for him. We could frame the storytelling as the chapter implying brother was forgiven of past actions with respect to how we see him act in the future; there could be personal or cultural reasons for such storytelling, and Bernadetta herself isn't lingering. Not my taste though. I strongly dislike how it was glossed over because without recalling or rereading the series it gives a false impression about the little brother's emotional motives; seeing him suffer is not seeing his motivation.

While this chapter may be necessary to build up Bernadetta's ambitious fight, and I was kind of looking forward to it, I think it's some of the weakest writing in the series. It felt like soft rebooting a character.

Responding to you both simultaneously because it sorta touches on things you've both said.

I think that Sauri is meant to be more villainous than Bernadetta, by virtue of her being framed from the outset as part of Seraphina's "side", and she was framed at the outset as the one meant to stand in the way of Aini running roughshod over the nobles of the academy and upsetting the nature of both the culture, but also the political structure & future, of the upcoming generation of leaders of the country.
The framework of the series mirrors those "otome" games, even if this isn't a bonafide isekai with a reincarnator as the Saintess (though it's not been confirmed in either direction, and I presume the ambiguity is the point at this stage) - and in light of that, the Saintess is seens as the "protagonist character" who builds a soft/hard harem of male romance interests, sometimes involving "taking" them from their existing partners who otherwise torment or make bad fits for them as future wives.
We see that playing out in how Aini, a commoner, fearlessly approaches even the crown prince in a familiar manner and tone, disregarding "propriety" and trampling the common sense employed by everyone around her. By definition, upsetting the balance of things and the status quo.

But--and this is important--she's not our focus, at least from the outset. We instead get the framing of the partners of the capture targets as our first real foray into the story, meaning they're the ostensible antagonists. By way of being in opposition of the Saintess Apprentice, it would follow that they're the more sympathetic party, and thus the ones meant to prevail in the end in some significant manner over Aini.

To that end - Bernadetta is more "heroic" than Sauri, in terms of archetype and position in the narrative. That does not mean that Sauri is an actual, fully-realized villain; only that he is her opposition to achieving her goals.

That said, Sauri was very flat as a character at his introduction, precisely because he was the antagonistic force (one of several) to Bernadetta and her aims and goals. He needed to only be that at the outset, because it was Bernadetta's story, and her perspective, and so everything including the narrative obstacles to her arc were framed as broad concepts and not nuanced multifaceted personalities. (We still don't have the full scoop on the rest of her family, at least to the extent we now have of her little brother.)
Now in Sauri's defence, we have gotten a more well-rounded view of his character, and his motivations and history that explain how he has become the person he is in the present narrative. There can be some sympathy gained in this from the reader, because it's been made clear that Sauri has been manipulated on some level by his mother from early childhood, toward her own personal ambitions.
That doesn't absolve Sauri; even as a child, he could see that Bernadetta was different, and that she behaved in ways that didn't line up with what his mother was telling him. However, as @Andigo stated, he turned a blind eye to this, opting instead to believe his mother's praise for him and grow complacent in the surety of his future as head of their House. Rather than ensure he'd both get the position, and be competent, he coasted on his laurels and his being born a male heir.

And because he simply assumed, he forever fell behind Bernadetta in competency and capability, and it cost even before this chapter with all its revelations put upon him. We get Bernadetta pointing out all the women who'd lead their House in the past, citing her own claim to helm the House as precedented. But Sauri continued to ignore and admonish her, as had been done by their whole family for years.
He has only just now realized the full depth of his ignorance in all things related to his sister, and to his own future and capability. I think there's some merit in saying that it was rather abrupt; we can feel sympathy for him as a character, but he has to own his mistakes and transgressions.
Bernadetta, for her part, isn't particularly vindictive. The bigger worry would be his own mother's anger at him changing his tone with his sister, and depending on how long this story goes for, there could be conflict between them specifically in the future (independent of Bernadetta's reckoning with her family when she makes a play for the Head spot).
Sauri might become more cordial and polite, but I don't think I see him either suffering endlessly from this, or getting coddled & accepted by Bernadetta with open arms. He might end up actually looking up to her as an older sibling and inspiration, but he's her rival for what she wants, and she's gained the confidence to not back down, now.

So, I can't be certain, but I do not think he'll be fully forgiven of his past actions and simply "fight Bernadetta head-on". He certainly would lose in that scenario on an even playing field; Bernadetta was always ahead of him, and that gap has only widened in recent years going into the academy.
And Bernadetta is motivated in more ways than Sauri--she wishes to prove herself not only to her family, but to Seraphina, and be worthy of standing at her side & be of use once Seraphina ascends the throne.
The only way I could see Bernadetta not getting the position, is if the Foreign Prince returns and makes a successful bid & convinces her to become his fiance and move with him to his kingdom. If that does occur, I could see Sauri taking the Head of their house in her stead, but I think he'll be forever beholden to her--and best case, he'd be a subordinate "ally" to Bernadetta, seeking her guidance and council for some time. Otherwise, Bernadetta will take over the House, and Sauri will have to contend with whatever capacity he's given by her at that point, if he chooses to stay and remain in the Household in an official capacity.

But, I do think that reading this straight through without the pauses in between of chapters releasing, it works fairly well as a total arc for his character and the dynamic between the two siblings. We don't get his motivations repeated here, because they were already established. We got the "how did he get here", and this chapter is the conclusion of the buildup in the timeline to this point.
We also might be returning to this plot line in the future; there is still the rest of their family to contend with, either by Bernadetta or by Sauri, or by both. We're skipping lenses to the Prince, because overall timeline-wise we're still sitting around The Incident, and need his perspective to get the complete picture of what went on, and all that lead up to it.

Assuming that the series doesn't end there, we have the events that follow. Bernadetta's fight for her Household against her family is one of them, and we would necessarily get more insight into her changed dynamic with Sauri at that point.
For now, it might feel cutoff, but that's more the specific point in time that the chapter ends, than it is (I think) an actual resolution to the place in their ongoing story.

 

[ichypa]

Yesss, Prince arc, hopefully this means we'll also get a proper Seraphina arc!

 

[halcer]

I guess I should've expected it but was surprised to see we'll get the prince's POV! :O

 

[maddery]

It's nuts how in essentially the same thought process he
A) recognizes how much the Aini fails to understand important noble social cues
B) doesn't remember/selectively forgets those
same social cues despite he himself explaining it to her
C) blames his sister for failing to teach her, not realizing his rose tinted glasses prevent him from seeing that she's just that bad of a student.

Also wild that they just go out and say that the saintess is kinda just there to make babies (though honestly I'm not sure if even Aini understands that).

Excited to see the princes perspective soon.

To be fair, it was Bernadetta's job to educate the saintess, but she still failed in the end, hence why he blamed her. Mind you, Sauri tried stop Aini from causing more trouble, and even accompany her to every lunch with the crown prince for this purpose. Which worked, until the "date" with the crown prince, which happened while he was away. Heck, he even wanted to marry her so that she would stop bothering the crown prince, which his mother rejected. So your points are wrong.

As for the babies thing, maybe that will explain when we reach her chapter in the future (this chapter did mentioned that it was to pass the saintess' power to the future generation).

 

[Izzydee]

I am curious on what the CP’s thoughts are, so I’m excited for the next chapter

 

[looc64]

To be fair, it was Bernadetta's job to educate the saintess, but she still failed in the end, hence why he blamed her. Mind you, Sauri tried stop Aini from causing more trouble, and even accompany her to every lunch with the crown prince for this purpose. Which worked, until the "date" with the crown prince, which happened while he was away. Heck, he even wanted to marry her so that she would stop bothering the crown prince, which his mother rejected. So your points are wrong.

Sauri's the main reason she failed though. He continually undermined her attempts to teach Aini by criticizing her teaching style, acting like she was being mean when she pointed out all the stuff Aini was getting wrong, helping Aini skip lessons, etc.

Bernadetta's teaching style wasn't the best (because it was based on how quickly she learns things) but she took her responsibility as Aini's teacher seriously and noticed all the things Aini was getting wrong while they were still at home practicing. If Sauri had backed her up or even just stayed out of it the results would've been a lot better.

 

[looc64]

"The saintess, bears children to preserve a bloodline that may awaken to magic, and yet... Those children are raised by the church and not even permitted to enter their father's households."

Feel like this has some pretty major implications. Mainly:

If Aini becomes the second queen the church could use her kid to make a bid for the throne and establish them as a puppet ruler.

Aini's marriage can't be used to form a powerful political alliance but it could potentially be used to cut off the bloodline of someone powerful in an opposing faction. For example, Orva.

Seems like there's an enormous incentive for the church to pressure Aini to approach powerful members of the Royal faction.