Biryuu Enshoutan - Ch. 16

[Gogglesluxio]

The obvious direction of this prince guy is that he'll berate Mirio for not being thankful that he gets to have nothing, and that the royal family are heroes for reducing other peoples to slaves left to be subordinate to them for the rest of time

And then he'll get the sword, kill Mirio, and cuck him while he's on the brink of death. Obviously.

 

[EldritchNeko]

I can see why you'd think that with what he's saying, but it's not what he's really getting at. It's summed up in his "a giant can't be a giant-killer" line, obviously a giant can kill giants and technically be a giant-killer, but he wouldn't be sung of as one. The only ones who get called giant-killers are those who are thought of as being "beneath" giants, who it's an impressive feat for. The same is the case with him saying "a soldier killing a large beast is impressive, but a general killing a herd of them is just them doing their job", despite killing a herd being strictly a more impressive feat.

His point isn't that those of high status can never be successful at doing things, but that when they do, it won't be seen as "greatness", but just "what's expected".

In-story, this is probably him explaining his secret level of ability. This guy lets himself be seen as a layabout womanizer who's useless to the point of being called "decorative", but it's probably gonna turn out that he's the trope of a character who lets themselves be underestimated to hide their real power (like a fair chunk of isekai MCs out there).

Which, leading into speculation territory:



I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the "mysterious shining knight" and the "decorative general" are the same person. He takes the effort to act like a worthless general, but then keeps a hidden identity so that there can be a "mysterious" force that works for their army, but is still reliable enough that the other officer here knows he can expect him to "randomly" show up, while appearing to be not officially related.

The prince might be the "First Sage" instead. I'd say that fits his frame more.

 

[Salfaro]

The prince might be the "First Sage" instead. I'd say that fits his frame more.

I think that's less likely, because the sage is specifically introduced as "from the eight southern sages", which implies he's a known famous figure. Even if nobody knows what he looks like (since he's all bandaged/masked up), it would be harder for a single person to operate as two famous individuals with nobody finding out, than it would be if one of the identities was a mysterious nobody who just shows up and disappears randomly, like the knight.

If I'm getting real tinfoil conspiracy theory mode, we can see that the sage is not only in a wheelchair, but also has no arms (the sleeves are tied off), meaning he probably travels in the wheelchair via magic. And if we're accepting that, it could even be that the sage isn't even there at all, and it's actually just a puppet in a chair which the knight/general is pulling along as an excuse for when he lets out high-level magic, because keeping an ace up his sleeve (the fact that the knight himself can use magic) would be pretty in-character for the ruse. But it would also add more nuance to what the other officer says when he says "even for one of the eight sages, casting in these conditions won't have any effect", because rather than him being wrong, it'd show that he's probably actually right, but was just under the misunderstanding that the caster was actually one of the eight sages.

But again, that much is just me seeing how far I can stretch the logic here. But I still think he's more likely to be the knight than the sage.

 

[EldritchNeko]

I think that's less likely, because the sage is specifically introduced as "from the eight southern sages", which implies he's a known famous figure. Even if nobody knows what he looks like (since he's all bandaged/masked up), it would be harder for a single person to operate as two famous individuals with nobody finding out, than it would be if one of the identities was a mysterious nobody who just shows up and disappears randomly, like the knight.

If I'm getting real tinfoil conspiracy theory mode, we can see that the sage is not only in a wheelchair, but also has no arms (the sleeves are tied off), meaning he probably travels in the wheelchair via magic. And if we're accepting that, it could even be that the sage isn't even there at all, and it's actually just a puppet in a chair which the knight/general is pulling along as an excuse for when he lets out high-level magic, because keeping an ace up his sleeve (the fact that the knight himself can use magic) would be pretty in-character for the ruse. But it would also add more nuance to what the other officer says when he says "even for one of the eight sages, casting in these conditions won't have any effect", because rather than him being wrong, it'd show that he's probably actually right, but was just under the misunderstanding that the caster was actually one of the eight sages.

But again, that much is just me seeing how far I can stretch the logic here. But I still think he's more likely to be the knight than the sage.

You make a good point, though frankly I like your tinfoil hat better than your grad cap.

 

[Encyclopedium]

Hm so the price here is next in line for the sword? He's perfect. Loves women and has a hidden dark streak. Perfect for a mental torture opponent

 

[Encyclopedium]

, I also think that's what he's doing. It's just that the wordings he used was... weird. That's why I think that maybe the translator did a mistake. Or maybe the author.

Fuq it. I'll add my lyrics to this beat You all are taking it far, far too literally, "To be of low status" The social positions don't matter for the analogy. (Thought clumsy it may be) More than that, this is not a history analogy. This is a  STORYTELLING  analogy

Simply 2 things:
Shock Value
Reputation/ Expectation Management

He's talking about something observable even in everyday life.

A person held to be competent will be blamed if something goes bad and uncomplicated went things go well. A person who is seen as incompetent or formally incapable will be lauded when they achieve the same feat.
Stepping up to a responsibility is a lot cooler than merely filling it. -and if you fail people arent as hard on you.


So the hidden question is "how does one become famous?"
Answer: "By achieving great feats"
Then how does one become a legend more efficiently? - By lowering the bar you were thought to be capable of meeting
Therefore The best way to be a stand out individual is to be of low status. Because no one has any expectations of you, the break out will shatter their minds.

Your name will be on their lips and each and every other feat you pull will bring you higher


Doubling down the story telling bit, to make things more impactful don't storytellers exaggerate the story? Make the enemy force bigger, instead of the Hero and his 14 men, the Hero slew it alone, with one strike!

SO many examples, doesn't every American cooking show need a sad contestant backstory? "Started from the bottom now we're here" The lazy-prince-is-actually-super-strong/smart/OP/everyonegargleshisnads type manga story that's cheesed to death right now

Also the "serious" side of this story so far has been all about reputation, fame and the manipulation of the good parts of a story. The hero's sword and its brainwash properties. And this guy here seems to be aware of the properties on "how to tell a good reputation."

It's possible he made the beasts, the mage and the white knight, positioned himself as a foppish, useless flirt of a prince so that when he orchestrates wiping out the foes he set up, his low standing amongst the nobles (being seen as a menial chore to talk to) will skyrocket him faster than any of his peers. Maybe making him a big candidate for the future throne

 

[Fredinator]

A couple of bubbles are misaligned, making some of the text hard to read:

• Page 5: panel 2
• Page 7: panel 3
• Page 9: panel 3

Edit: Sorry, I meant to post this in the comment section for chapter 15.

I'm the one who comissioned them to pick this series up and noticed that too. I told them about it and they promised me that it won't happen again and if not I'll tell them

 

[Miku4L]

I kind of see his point, and I think that people are taking it to literally. He is right about people thinking more highly of those who surpass the expectations, and while historically those who have achieved greatness are typically men of some prior standing, their greatness is still a testament of the magnitude of their achievements.

It might have been “easier” for them to do so because of their status, but the feats themselves are what they are remembered for because of how great they were. Alternatively, if these men accomplished these same feats while starting with lower status their legend would likely be even greater.

I think the point is that while most kings will likely go down in history by virtue of their birth, a commoner accomplishing the feats of a king will go down in legend. After all, everyone loves a good underdog story.