本好きの下剋上: Volume 3, Week 9 discussion

[Naphthalene]

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Week 29

Start Date: Match 6th
Previous week: Week 28
Next week: Week 30

Reading:

Chapter 24/ Epilogue/ Story 1 (47 pages/ 12%)

Discussion Rules

• Please use spoiler tags for major events in the current chapter(s) and any content in future chapters.
• When asking for help, please mention the chapter and page number. Also mention what version of the book you are reading.
• Don’t be afraid of asking questions, even if they seem embarrassing at first. All of us are here to learn.
• To you lurkers out there: Join the conversation, it’s fun!

Participants

Mark your participation status by voting in this poll.

• I’m reading along
• I have finished this part
• I’m still reading the book but haven’t reached that part yet
• I’m skipping this book

[icefang97]

This week spoiler

I know I said it before but let me restate it here. When Mayne was choking the prest I was thinking:“Yes, do it. Let your anger control you. Anger is power. Unlimited power”(Lightning effects)

There is one thing I did not understand with the epilogue. Otto is talking about having a kid or wanting to have a kid and when Gunther found it he wonder how he found it. Gunther answered with:
「いや、お前の状態と、他の言うなという奥さんの言葉でわかるでしょう?」
considering your situation (and something about his wife/other people talking about/with his wife) it’s easy to understand right?
Can someone help me please? Thank you

I found the chapter with Korina super wholesome. I love to see the family react to Mayne’s huge amount of money. It’s funny they Tulie thinks she barely can do anything without getting a fever while Mayne just casually being friends with highly influential people.
“Mome I just made lots of money”
“Ha ha silly kid that can’t be true here go play in your room. Kids these days”
*proceeds to start investing in bitcoins or something

This is the impression I get. I know it’s not the true one but I found it funny.

Is it just me or the number of stories at the end is higher than usual?

[Redglare]

Summary

@icefang97

When Mayne was choking the prest I was thinking:“Yes, do it. Let your anger control you. Anger is power. Unlimited power”(Lightning effects)

omg, this is evil But to be fair, the priest was the one being evil towards them first, lol

@icefang97

他のに言うなという奥さんの言葉で

“From what she said about not telling anyone about this matter”
Gunther could easily tell they’re going to have a kid just from seeing how happy Otto was and the fact that Korina told him not to tell anyone.

@icefang97

the number of stories at the end is higher than usual?

Yes! So many extra stories! I’ve been enjoying them so far so I don’t mind that much, but at the same time I want to get started on the next volume soon

[Naphthalene]

Summary

@icefang97

When Mayne was choking the prest I was thinking:“Yes, do it. Let your anger control you. Anger is power. Unlimited power”(Lightning effects)

I was wondering how it could end well… Eventually she would run out of juice and get executed on the spot or something.
神官長 is the best

@icefang97

Is it just me or the number of stories at the end is higher than usual?

Yes, that’s always the case at the end of an arc. That makes it extra evil since that’s usually the time I want to know what happens next.

[icefang97]

Summary

@Naphthalene

I was wondering how it could end well… Eventually she would run out of juice and get executed on the spot or something.

Unless she becomes the senate then she IS the law.
Okay,
I will stop with the star wars references.

@Naphthalene

神官長 is the best

You mean the one that was about to let her be a slave and let her parent be arrested without protesting? He quickly changed his mind when he saw Mayne’s power but if she did not get berserk she would have prob end up dead and her parent in prison not talking about Tulie. He really is the best…

[Naphthalene]

Summary

@icefang97

You mean the one that was about to let her be a slave and let her parent be arrested without protesting?

Err, so you’re the kind of person who risks their life and livelihood for a random stranger? Because, in this situation, I don’t really know what else he could have done.
Also, it’s not like it would have killed her to become a grey priest (if you don’t know how frail she is).
When she got mad, though, which would lead to her and her family to get executed, he does get in harm’s way to save her (from herself, in that case).

[icefang97]

Summary

@Naphthalene

Err, so you’re the kind of person who risks their life and livelihood for a random stranger? Because, in this situation, I don’t really know what else he could have done

I know I wouldn’t just stay there watching it unfold that’s for sure.

@Naphthalene

When she got mad, though, which would lead to her and her family getting executed, he does get in harm’s way to save her (from herself, in that case).

More so to save the priest and himself in the process. There was a high chance he ws next if the priest get killed.

[Naphthalene]

Sadly, everything I want to reply would be spoilers, so I’ll wait for you to learn more I guess
It’s hard

[icefang97]

I already saw the anime so I know about him. Not saying he is bad just saying it wasn’t his best shot

[Naphthalene]

Edit: WAIT NEVERMIND I THINK SEASON 2 ONLY COVERS UP TO VOLUME 6.

[icefang97]

It’s not wrong.

I mean your colleague just tried to imprison someone’s parent and treat that person like a slave. You just stay there acting as an accomplice. Mayne figured out he knew what was going to happen because the head priest said that it was sad that she was a commoner. Basically, if she continues her rampage he was next. He has no choice but to try to appease her and they grow closer together the more they interact the more they become friendlier with one another

Oh the message change

[Naphthalene]

@icefang97

Basically, if she continues her rampage he was next

Wait, even without spoilers I can tell you that’s wrong. Obviously, he had the 余裕 to talk to her even under her gaze. If he was worried about his life, he could have just slapped her and make her lose her focus. Or, you know, just get out of the room 5 minutes until she burns out. He calmed her for her sake. You make me doubt myself, but I’m pretty sure he even tell her so.

[icefang97]

Maybe if he tried something like running away or slapping her he would have attracted too much attention. He did tell her that her family would get killed if she kills him. I remember that. I mostly disagree with him just silently staring at her family getting arrested and her being made into a slave/gray cloth. I’m sure he could have done something before the situation escalated. Let’s just put this into the classic “Icefang and Naphthalene disagree” I propose under the number 4873. He did say he wanted to help her after but this time violence was more optimal.

[Naphthalene]

@icefang97

I’m sure he could have done something before the situation escalated.

Like… what? The 神殿長 is his boss, and they are in front of people. He can’t even open his mouth uninvited… Now, sure, he could have broken the rules, but why would he do that? He has nothing to win from her getting blue rather than grey, and a lot to lose. It’s not rational; she’s just a random 身喰い at that point.

@icefang97

He did say he wanted to help her after but this time violence was more optimal.

I agree that it was more optimal here because マイン is so strong, but he had no way of knowing that. I really have no problem with his attitude. In fact, I wish スバル from Re:Zero was more like him, which is probably, as you said,

@icefang97

the classic “Icefang and Naphthalene disagree”

(Although it’s still baffling me how different our feelings of the same events are).

[icefang97]

We still don’t have a clear idea of the relationship between the head priest and the old priest so I’m not it’s that rigid.

In the anime(Spoiler)He seemed to have lots of leeways to help Mayne

I still found him to be really cold and distant. Yes it could be the setting yes he does not know Mayne, yes his job and social status but I still believe that he made a calculation mistake in his plan to help her. He wanted to help her in his way but it almost turned out to a dead or imprisonment + slave+ Tulie alone. Allow me to doubt his plan to help her.

@Naphthalene

(Although it’s still baffling me how different our feelings of the same events are).

I realized that some time ago. Lots of people react differently to one situation. For example, if someone gets robbed in front of you some people will ignore them, some will run away, some will help and some will call the police. It’s the same thing with books. We have different views on different characters. There are attitudes I really hate and some I like and the same for you. I can understand your point of view.
I like to argue with people about stuff so I experience an even bigger difference in perception from time to time. It’s interesting to see what people focus on during a time. Some people focus more on intention other on the action other on attitude. Arguing is fun because it allows you to see the world from another perspective.

Oups look at me doing a monologue alone.

Anyway, us disagreeing is now a meme to me. I will be surprised the day we agree on book-related things.

[Naphthalene]

@icefang97

He wanted to help her in his way but it almost turned out to a dead or imprisonment + slave+ Tulie alone. Allow me to doubt his plan to help her.

Well, to be fair, his decision on the spot (hardly a plan, he was just going along with the 神殿長’s mood swing) did not take into account the possibility of her parents saying “no”. Yet they did and everything went down the drain. So, sure, he made the wrong choice, but there was no way for him to guess the correct answer here.

@icefang97

In the anime(Spoiler)

Same level of spoiler: that’s only when the 神殿長 is not looking, and it always requires some convincing 建前. I don’t know if it’s in the anime, but there’s one time when he tells her something around the line “I want to help you, but you have to phrase it in a way that allows me to say yes”.

@icefang97

Anyway, us disagreeing is now a meme to me. I will be surprised the day we agree on book-related things.

100% a meme. We do agree on stuff from times to times, though.

[Starker]

@icefang97

I mean your colleague just tried to imprison someone’s parent and treat that person like a slave. You just stay there acting as an accomplice. Mayne figured out he knew what was going to happen because the head priest said that it was sad that she was a commoner. Basically, if she continues her rampage he was next. He has no choice but to try to appease her and they grow closer together the more they interact the more they become friendlier with one another

Firstly, in addition to the high bishop being his superior, there are political considerations as well that will be revealed in future books, but that alone is reason enough for him to let the high bishop take the lead. Him intervening earlier would have done little good and been seen as a power play.

FUTURE SPOILERS:

Secondly, this kind of thing (slavery, etc) is nothing out of the ordinary. Commoners are worth as much as cattle in this world and being abused by nobles, even to an extreme extent, is par for the course. In fact, the head priest willing to negotiate and resolve things peacefully is more out of the ordinary than the state-sanctioned violence that was about to unfold.

Thirdly, the head priest is a very calculating person. As it’s said in the chapter, he thought it would be the easiest and most straightforward way to get Myne’s mana for the temple. Because 10 times out of 10, that’s how it would have worked otherwise. Absolutely nobody dares to defy the nobles. And Myne is little more than a walking mana generator at this point. And he doesn’t intervene because he fears for his safety. He’s afraid of losing an extremely important and desperately needed resource due to there now being conflict he never expected there to be.

/FUTURE SPOILERS

[Naphthalene]

In before @icefang97 gets confused
high bishop → 神殿長
high priest → 神官長
(@icefang97 has been using high priest for the 神殿長)

Also, while I agree 100% with what you said, spoilers from future books are not okay, and should at the very list put into separate spoiler tags In particular, nothing is known of the 神官長’s background and personality at this point.

[icefang97]

@Naphthalene

In before @icefang97 gets confused
high bishop → 神殿長
high priest → 神官長

oh! It a bishop and a priest. I see. I will be careful next time.

[Starker]

Sorry, I thought this was clear from the chapter.