Risou no Himo Seikatsu

[tomydenger]

Really not sure, why people kept thinking that this wouldn't be a Harem Series?
I mean, it's a Series with a setting based on Royal Politics, with the focused Royal Family having very few members that it can collapse quite easily.

If MC doesn't marry more Women and increase the Size of the Royal Family, it would be the end of the Royal Family.

It's not like the Queen can just become a breeding machine, and keep chugging out babies one after another, when she has to also do her work as a Ruler of her nation.

And i am sure that people would have complained about that fact as well, on how the main Female is being used like that.

If you don't really want to read a possible Harem series, then you just check on the tags, as it's been listed that this series is one for a long time now.
There are countless non-Harem Series out there to read, which are also political based.

When I started reading this, there was yet no harem tag.
I continued because the MC was opposed, and firm about keeping it that way. Which was and is still rare for an isekai with at least or more than 2/3 of the protagonists which are girls.
On top, it had good political intrigues and urban / kingdom development without being too OP.
And about the queen having to be a breeding machine, well no. the protagonist is still OP, he literally took objects from his world on top of having some of the knowledge. The kingdom wouldn't need too much babies on the short run.

 

[tomydenger]

bruh I was trying to find this Manga again thinking the dark skin girl would be in the thumbnail almao, who even is this new girl?

crappy princess from neighboring kingdom which forced herself to be a concubine.

 

[Morose]

When I started reading this, there was yet no harem tag.
I continued because the MC was opposed, and firm about keeping it that way. Which was and is still rare for an isekai with at least or more than 2/3 of the protagonists which are girls.
On top, it had good political intrigues and urban / kingdom development without being too OP.
And about the queen having to be a breeding machine, well no. the protagonist is still OP, he literally took objects from his world on top of having some of the knowledge. The kingdom wouldn't need too much babies on the short run.

Just because a series doesn't have a Harem tag doesn't mean it wouldn't become one in the future, since the tag is being placed by those who manage this site, based on the plot so far in the story. I have seen the Harem tag for this Series on many site before they even introduced the plot of it in the Manga, because they tagged it based on the Light Novel.

Also, if you focus on the plot, it had been pretty clear since start that it would go Harem route whether the Author showcased MC agreeing or not, and it does.
MC being against the notion isn't that different from all those countless Harem series where MC doesn't want to engage in relationship with Women (even-though they women want to) until the very end, or MC is an Airhead when it comes to feelings so he ignores it all.

Just to inform, the Manga started in 2017 in Japan, but it was already clarified in LN Vol.6 (released in 2014 in Japan), that Freya is getting married to MC (in Manga that would be Chapter 35-36), and she only needed permission from her family to finalize it.

As for the political aspect, most of it isn't that big, as they revolve around the Queen and the power she holds. But the key one is always about MC and expansion of his bloodline.

For urban/kingdom development, other than the few initial ones like the fixing design issue of Water Wheel (they already had the tech in that world, but it had design flaws), or working on Glass development (because it gives advantage in many sectors), or the accounting aspect, there haven't been anything else major yet unlike other series with similar plot style.
And most of the minor development had been focused around the food and maybe some random stuff like the introduction of 4-hole flat buttons, majority of which are all restricted to the Palace for now.
The upgrade of the message sending system in the Twin Kingdom, wasn't really a case of development, but rather a way to sell the tech to avoid problem (it is again restricted tech for the rich and powerful).

And what knowledge got to do with the babies issues?
Knowledge doesn't solve everything if there isn't a proper answer to the problem.

The current problem for Queen Aura is that, her Royal family doesn't have sufficient members, which forces her to either consolidate all power to herself (which is a problem itself as other outcry of her being a tyrant), or give key positions to non-family members which could give rise to future political instability.

There is also the fact that, her Kingdom is originally a patriarchal.
The only reason she is able to rule her Kingdom is because she is the only surviving Royal.
Getting non-family members in power position is going to cost her dearly (which is why she was trying to avoid marrying the other two potential before MC), if her own side isn't strong, and the only solution to that is have having more members by giving birth and increasing the size of the Royal family by creating Branch Families.

As for a Royal family to work properly, they not only need to maintain a Main Family with enough members, but also several Branch Families to directly help the Royal, without taking in help from some external source, which could weaken the position of the current Royal members.

So, you shouldn't be fixed on the notion that they don't need to increase their families size just because they have earth knowledge (which incidentally haven't been used much), when the series clearly presents that it is really important and big issue, that needs to be rectified for both short and long run.

 

[Morose]

crappy princess from neighboring kingdom which forced herself to be a concubine.

Not sure who you are referring to, since if it's Freya, she isn't a Princess from a neighboring kingdom, unless your geography is weak and don't know what neighbor means.

And if it's the Blonde ponytail girl, she isn't a Princess.

Nor is the Blonde with the long hair.

Brown hair is a Princess, but she isn't a concubine, yet.

 

[ryuu83]

I'm following this manga thinking it's just a one-on-one pure+loyal relationship between MC and female lead, now... All I can see is too many female characters want to get inside MC pants, I have no problem with harem but there's just too much of this trope and storyline where it ends up being a harem, despite in the beginning it's just a regular hetero couple

Still, I'm going to follow this but decide to rate it down to 8/10 (it's still high but since my initial rating was 10 this is just me being generous)

 

[Greedygreen]

Too much politics. Can't trust nobody, everything must be calculated.
It was fine in the beginning but the further I read the more stuffy this manga becomes.
Like everyone behaves in such a strange manner that they don't even feel human.

 

[Nargodian]

Wow this is intense, Non! Stop! Sofa! Meetings! Can you even handle this level of meetings?! Look I'm all for a little intrigue but if your gonna adapt for a manga ya really gonna need some stuff to visually happen.

Now I like tell-don't-show as much as the next person but I don't even remember what the hell they were talking about between releases.... trading marbles for something? are they talking to the crown prince or his brother now? or is it the king i don't know... Were we meant to be invested in side pony lady who is she even again?! Honestly, not all WN/LNs should be Manga.

Also dear author, constant layered fakeouts will make readers numb to the dialogue like why bother reading too hard, its probably gonna be revealed as bs a few scenes later.

 

[Othymit]

A country with metallurgy, furnaces, and plenty of sand has somehow not discovered how to make glass is kinda silly

 

[MRain]

MC drive is his love for Aura, yet author doesn't show that love to us? What's the point of the series? It's like if all the suffering Guts endure was all off-screen, and then he blabs about how much hardship he had to endure, it's a complete and utter bs.

Why was love even established in the first place? 9/10 MC is more like a business partner to her than anything else? Why even make love a factor? Most of them time when Aura is on-screen it's literally "Okay I have something you need to do". Is MC just a god forbid sigma male that love women who rarely even exist in their life that only focus on that grind?

Also, I really love the part where she said "I need to do my part as the queen and teach him royal stuff" and then the next chapter she sent him off to the hotpot that is twin kingdom again, like did she forget the last chapter? He was out of his depth, why did she send him to this kingdom again? And wow, look he is out of his depth... again.

This manga genuinely need downtime, not every chapter need a conspiracy, the character just needs to branch out, adding new character doesn't help that the maincast suck ass.

 

[Septazia]

MC drive is his love for Aura, yet author doesn't show that love to us? What's the point of the series? It's like if all the suffering Guts endure was all off-screen, and then he blabs about how much hardship he had to endure, it's a complete and utter bs.

Why was love even established in the first place? 9/10 MC is more like a business partner to her than anything else? Why even make love a factor? Most of them time when Aura is on-screen it's literally "Okay I have something you need to do". Is MC just a god forbid sigma male that love women who rarely even exist in their life that only focus on that grind?

Also, I really love the part where she said "I need to do my part as the queen and teach him royal stuff" and then the next chapter she sent him off to the hotpot that is twin kingdom again, like did she forget the last chapter? He was out of his depth, why did she send him to this kingdom again? And wow, look he is out of his depth... again.

This manga genuinely need downtime, not every chapter need a conspiracy, the character just needs to branch out, adding new character doesn't help that the maincast suck ass.

Reading this past page made me quite sad, I started reading it and stopped because I was getting confused by all the politics, but I thought I just needed to wait until it was over so I could read it at my pace and get acquainted with the politics, but now I am just stumped by how much the story seems to put the two main characters away from each other, it feels like you guys are talking about a different story altogether.

 

[AbruptWord7619]

Really not sure, why people kept thinking that this wouldn't be a Harem Series?
I mean, it's a Series with a setting based on Royal Politics, with the focused Royal Family having very few members that it can collapse quite easily.

If MC doesn't marry more Women and increase the Size of the Royal Family, it would be the end of the Royal Family.

It's not like the Queen can just become a breeding machine, and keep chugging out babies one after another, when she has to also do her work as a Ruler of her nation.

And i am sure that people would have complained about that fact as well, on how the main Female is being used like that.

If you don't really want to read a possible Harem series, then you just check on the tags, as it's been listed that this series is one for a long time now.
There are countless non-Harem Series out there to read, which are also political based.

When I read it, there was no harem tag, the MC was adamantly against having a harem, I had found this on a list that included no harems, and the harem was basically forced onto the MC and he folded.

 

[Morose]

When I read it, there was no harem tag, the MC was adamantly against having a harem, I had found this on a list that included no harems, and the harem was basically forced onto the MC and he folded.

From what i remember, this series had Harem tag since start (because the LN had already covered the sort-off engagement with the 2nd one by then).

Problem was, during that time people didn't want to believe it, while some claimed that it was a Spoiler.
I don't know the reason, but the tag was removed at that time by the Mods of the Site.

As for the plot itself, while the MC was adamant, that doesn't really qualify as whether he would take one or not.
You are also conveniently forgetting that Aura had always mentioned to MC that she would even force MC to take more wives/concubines if/when needed, as she is the Ruler of her Kingdom and she has to take into consideration what's best for her Kingdom, even if personally she might not like it.

You have to remember that this is a Politics related series (not a Shounen battle series), so what a character wants might not be what the situation demands.

 

[RonBWL]

MC drive is his love for Aura, yet author doesn't show that love to us? What's the point of the series? It's like if all the suffering Guts endure was all off-screen, and then he blabs about how much hardship he had to endure, it's a complete and utter bs.

Why was love even established in the first place? 9/10 MC is more like a business partner to her than anything else? Why even make love a factor? Most of them time when Aura is on-screen it's literally "Okay I have something you need to do". Is MC just a god forbid sigma male that love women who rarely even exist in their life that only focus on that grind?

Also, I really love the part where she said "I need to do my part as the queen and teach him royal stuff" and then the next chapter she sent him off to the hotpot that is twin kingdom again, like did she forget the last chapter? He was out of his depth, why did she send him to this kingdom again? And wow, look he is out of his depth... again.

This manga genuinely need downtime, not every chapter need a conspiracy, the character just needs to branch out, adding new character doesn't help that the maincast suck ass.

Here's the thing. Zenjirou's first and foremost goal is get away from his corporate slave life in Japan, and he took the opportunity of marrying Aura after careful calculation of risk & reward. From the start, he already knew that there was little chance he could stay shut-in forever, and he'd have to eventually do Royal stuff.

His love for Aura didn't come into place much later on, AFTER their first child was born. The problem is, just like in the real word, family comes with responsibility, and he has to up his game to protect his wife & kid. Which, in this world, means more politics and whatnots.

The only reason this series hasn't become cookie-cutter Isekai with OPed protagonist ruling the world with his modern knowledge, is because Zenjirou is an average salaryman, with limited knowledge on his end that he utilizes every now and then to help the situation. Even then, he is tiptoeing around to avoid making himself the potential (puppet) king, as this is not what he signed up for (And of course, he loves Aura and won't let her dethroned).

Every volume has some sort of downtime, such as the previous chapter that has them sitting back and repeat what they learned from the trip. More developments need time to execute, so we gotta take one step at a time.

 

[Tsukikira]

So Seven Seas announced that they're licensing the manga as "An Ideal Sponger Life." So, you know, support the official release and all that.

I mean, I do, but the fansubs don't censor Freya's crass jokes out of existence, while the offical translation does. So you might still want to read this version.

 

[Tsukikira]

Here's the thing. Zenjirou's first and foremost goal is get away from his corporate slave life in Japan, and he took the opportunity of marrying Aura after careful calculation of risk & reward. From the start, he already knew that there was little chance he could stay shut-in forever, and he'd have to eventually do Royal stuff.

His love for Aura didn't come into place much later on, AFTER their first child was born. The problem is, just like in the real word, family comes with responsibility, and he has to up his game to protect his wife & kid. Which, in this world, means more politics and whatnots.

The only reason this series hasn't become cookie-cutter Isekai with OPed protagonist ruling the world with his modern knowledge, is because Zenjirou is an average salaryman, with limited knowledge on his end that he utilizes every now and then to help the situation. Even then, he is tiptoeing around to avoid making himself the potential (puppet) king, as this is not what he signed up for (And of course, he loves Aura and won't let her dethroned).

Every volume has some sort of downtime, such as the previous chapter that has them sitting back and repeat what they learned from the trip. More developments need time to execute, so we gotta take one step at a time.

Zenjirou's lust was also a key factor - Aura checked all of his boxes as well. As he noted, if the woman that had shown up was Octavia instead of Aura, he wouldn't have accepted the deal.

And in terms of Love for Aura, Zenjirou only had eyes for her from the start, and was outwardly willing to commit from the start. It was Aura whom felt guilty about making a Wedding vow and waited until after the first born child to redo the Wedding pledge, and it was because she avoided making such a pledge because she didn't love him at that point in time. In fact, the problem with the whole Harem is Zenjirou still wants to commit to one woman, and is selfishly trying to avoid any concubines.

Zenjirou's increased politics was not after the child was born; it was because Aura was suffering from bad fatigue and dizziness during her first pregnancy that he volunteered to step in, and he did so very competently, so the nobility was unwilling to let him cut back once Aura was no longer badly impacted by pregnancy. He also proved to be so capable of serving as Aura's stand-in that she essentially thought of him as a convenient support, enough that her advisor kept stressing how much she was using him to make her feel guilt.

I'd add the real reason this series hasn't become cookie-cutter Isekai with OPed protagonist is because there's no magic OPness bestowed on Zenjirou - there are three things that extend from Zenjirou as special: Spacetime magic (Also owned by Aura), blood containing sleeping Bestowal Magic, and enough knowledge to know of advanced technologies. Which include glass, which makes itself as a useful plot point. Zenjirou had to train for years to get to use Spacetime, which has not been kind to his free time since diplomacy with teleportation is useful. Also, Zenjirou wasn't portrayed as having any special talent with crafting, as much as he was a salesman - and what he brought as materials were realistic. It was a show about making glass that presumed enough technologies that one couldn't actually make glass from scratch. I'd say the glass marbling thing is something most people wouldn't have, per se, but that's very little.

 

[Kreate]

Absolutely one of the best mangas out there. A well written and thought out political drama with great character work and world building.
Highly recommended.