The Saint's Magic Power Is Omnipotent - Vol. 3 Ch. 10.4 - Appraisal

[nek0nek0]

@Kaarme In a romance, the drama typically lies elsewhere. The emotional journey vs rugged independence/seeking glory/friendship. Although this one is more slice of life so her emotional journey is slow/light. The stuff that's frustrating you, I swear it has made me ragequit many series. But this is what we have on the market unfortunately. At least she's not being abused and her humiliations so far have been minimal. I would say a good 50% of josei/shoujo readers don't mind those frustrating bits to the point of making excuses for them. I hope you don't see what I'm doing as glossing over a mistreated fmc.

Tbh the part I find the most frustrating, besides how dependent she is, is how her romantic interest is slickly winning her over without having to declare his feelings or be clear about his intentions. With the medieval setting and her lack of supporters who actually put her first over their various agendas... It's disturbing and predatory. But he's a nice guy so we're not supposed to notice how she's being made to fall for someone who is being kind of slick?

 

[Kaarme]

@nek0nek0 Yes, I certainly agree on that romantic aspect and how the story allows the dude to do it. It feels phoney. I actually appreciate the MC for her dedication to the craft, alchemy/magic, and not just mindlessly dreaming of men. I can't stomach to read pure romance stories, but I really like some other type of story, such as adventure, that has a solid romantic development on the side. This naturally requires the main character isn't just thinking of a certain someone all the time but is mostly concerned about their own interests, skills, goals, and ambitions. Sei does qualify in that sense in this story.

 

[tenshineko]

So, after telling them her level, Sei is considering writing a different level on the paper? Does she think they won’t notice? And the other two are astonished that Yuuri is ok with not having her self certify...which would be pointless since he can’t even check if it’s true...the logic of characters is pretty weak sometimes, in a way that seems contrived to give info (such as it being rare to let someone NOT record their level) that would be better revealed in a way that doesn’t make people seem dim.

I’m not sure why people feel she’s being exploited. I don’t think she’s required to work, she could have sat and done nothing but she was bored. She came from a life where she worked constant OT and was ruining her health and had no outside life. This is her hobby, and she’s experimenting and researching to her heart’s content. She’s basically taking it easy and having fun by her standards. I think they’ve tried to show that her work ethic is lacking in common sense (aka she’s a workaholic). It never goes into if/how she is compensated, though she seems to be able to get whatever she wants. As for not being compensated for the amount of work...at my job it doesn’t matter if I’m asked to do a lot or a little, I’m still paid the same. Is that not normal? As for the slick guy...she doesn’t *have* to fall for him, and he’s not being slick. He likes her and he’s courting her according to the customs of this world (which 2 people have already told her) and she is very dazzled by his looks...and he’s a nice guy. How is this different from real life? I mean...does a guy have to say “I’m interested in you,” straight out to not be considered as somehow taking advantage? He “casually” drops by to see her, asked her out, gave her a gift.. can he be more obvious? I also don’t characterize her as needing to be supervised and being restricted. They’re extremely interested in what she’s doing (because it’s odd) and she’s also in danger of being kidnapped for her power (which she’s not aware of) so it sounds like she has discreet bodyguards. No one said she couldn’t go to the city without an escort, she just hadn’t done it yet. Yes, she could go explore the world on her own, but she was told there were demons and bandits and she’d rather acclimate to this world in a place where she’s safe (like a sane person). How else could she learn about her magic? Going out to explore a new world with zero knowledge, resources, or connections is a great way to die, no matter how powerful you are.