Jobless Reincarnation: Live Seriously Even Without Transfer Events

"what?"

"You hit Lord Herbert... that's your fault!"

With her eyes tightly closed, she had already imagined what kind of ending she would have, such as being punched to death or kicked away.

"Big brother, no, did Albert send you?"

"No, that's not true!"

Noren raised his voice as high as he could, tears welling in his eyes, looking like he was about to cry.

"Lord Albert always thinks of you, but how have you treated him?"

"So, that's the tone you're going to use to talk to me?"

Alice's expression turned grim, and Norren was so frightened that he burst into tears, covering his face tightly as he prepared to face his fate.

"Waaaaah... What... What are you going to do..."

She slowly squatted down, looking at Norren's face, her mood undergoing a subtle change. Norren's scolding of her now reminded her of her first meeting with Rudeus, who was younger than her but lectured her. She slapped Rudeus as a lesson, but Rudeus slapped her back.

"That's really impressive, just like Rudeus."

"Ok?"

Noren tentatively opened his eyes, then touched the top of his head to make sure he hadn't been attacked before letting out a sigh of relief.

"Rudeus told me not to bully children, but you're really brave. You just want me to go back, right? For Rudeus's sake, I'll go back this once."

Partial plot outline

Jobless Reincarnation Fanfic: Live Seriously Even Without Transfer Events: A Summary of Some Plot Routes

Abstract: The fanfiction "Mushoku Tensei: Even Without Transfer Events, I Will Still Live Seriously" has reached 45 words and nearly 50% of the plot has been completed. The story unfolds through the interaction of two main storylines—the changing relationship between Sylphie and Rudeus and the political direction within the Kingdom of Asura—as well as several other subplots, which serve as the pathways connecting the two main storylines.

Keywords: Sylphie and Rudius, Kingdom Politics, Succession Struggle

Introduction: The story has now reached a transitional phase, and the Royal Government arc is about to begin. Therefore, we will begin to explain and clarify some of the plot that has already unfolded, in order to facilitate readers' understanding of the upcoming events.

I. The emotional connection between Sylphie and Rudeus

1. Rudy's bewilderment before returning home

On Rudy's tenth birthday, Silphi was fortunate enough to attend Rudy's birthday party, but instead of giving Rudy the amulet she had prepared as planned, she chose to give him a kiss.

There's a reason for this. Alice first gave Rudy the expensive Arrogant Water Dragon King, making the amulet she prepared for him seem insignificant in comparison. Furthermore, in the prologue, I also wrote about Sylphie's concerns about Rudy's future.

[Rudy's not here, and I'm so lonely with no one to play with. I wonder if Rudy will make friends with other girls in his new place... I overheard Rudy talking to Uncle Paul, and it seems Rudy has a dream of building a harem all over the world.]

Although I don't know what "harem" means, it seems to refer to a lot, lots, lots, lots of girls. Hmph ╯^╰ Rudy the womanizer.

Therefore, Hilfi gave him a kiss, which can be considered as successfully making Rudy leave a certain place in her heart.

As Alice's mother, Hilda saw other girls kissing Rudeus and, for Alice's sake, naturally wanted to win Rudeus over. So she showed Rudeus all her love at the birthday party and later, together with Philip, she brought Rudeus and Alice together.

However, Rudius harbored feelings for Sylphie for the next few years because of a kiss from her, and even had doubts before his engagement to Alice.

"Rudeus, I ask you, do you like Alice?" Hilda said, taking a sip of soup and then elegantly wiping her mouth with a handkerchief.

"Yes... there is a little..." This question made me very embarrassed, because I already have Silphie.

But for Alice...

"I understand. You wouldn't be so hung up on that little girl from Buyena Village that you're not considering Alice, would you?"

Hilda lifted my chin with her fingers and said.

This move was tricky, forcing me to look Hilda directly in the eyes, so that any thoughts of lying would be seen through.

"I do like Sylphie..."

This hesitation paved the way for the subsequent bilateral storyline.

2. The emotional changes between Rudy and Sylphy during their studies after Rudy returns home.

Firstly, under the double blow of the attack on Sylphie's house and Rudeus's engagement, Sylphie's mind began to show some signs of illness. For example, she had nightmares about breaking through walls at night; Rudeus's thoughtless words made her want to offer herself in gratitude, and she fainted again after failing to do so. These were all caused by Sylphie's pathological dependence on Rudeus after being stimulated, thus laying the foundation for Sylphie's feelings for Rudeus - Rudeus is everything, Rudeus wants me, that's all that matters.

Secondly, on Rudy and Sylvie's journey to La Noah Magic University, Sylvie's morbid dependence on Rudy eased somewhat. This was mainly due to Rudy losing his arm to a wolf-like monster while protecting her, and his subsequent killing spree during the Dark City incident. The Dark City incident, in particular, caused Rudy to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to some extent, leading to a certain dependence on Sylvie. This made Sylvie realize that relying solely on Rudy was insufficient; she needed to step up and become someone Rudy could rely on. This was a healthy dependence, an inseparable bond, but Sylvie's emotional foundation for Rudy remained centered on Rudy, even possessive of him, and this possessiveness created a degree of exclusivity.

During this period, Rudeus developed a certain dependence on Sylphie, which also made him feel that he had become attached to her, foreshadowing his confession to Sylphie when he first arrived at the academy.

3. Sylphie's emotional strategy towards Rudeus in the Academy arc

After arriving at La Noa Magic University, Sylphie's feelings for Rudeus changed due to Rude's attacks and their interactions during their time at the university. Her thoughts about Rudeus went beyond simply wishing he wouldn't abandon her; she began to address the root cause—eliminating the possibility that Rudeus would abandon her.

From this moment on, Silphie is playing a long game; what she wants is to completely control Rudeus, so that, theoretically, Rudeus cannot belong to anyone else.

Sylphie's thoughts stemmed primarily from her inferiority complex:

[It was supposed to be given to Rudy on his tenth birthday.]

But that day, I said I wasn't prepared.

Compared to the staff that Miss Alice gave Rudy, which was so expensive that our family could never afford it in our lifetime, the replica I made based on my father's amulet was completely incomparable.

I had to do something to make up for the gap, so I kissed Rudy.

Looking back now, when I think about the reactions of Miss Alice and the noblewoman behind her who seemed like her mother, I sometimes feel a surge of exhilaration, and even revel in it.

Rudy can't leave me; my world revolves around Rudy.

I want to be with Rudy, but I hate who I am now.

I tried to seduce Rudy with my body time and again, even though my figure wouldn't attract any man at all.

I admit there was an element of gambling involved, but I won the bet.

Rudy always managed to control himself and didn't lay a hand on me, but I knew he was firmly under my control.

Rudy confessed his feelings to me, but I pretended to reject him.

Even so, it's not enough; we still need to use some tricks.

Rudy is oblivious; sometimes he'll unconsciously notice other girls, and even unintentional things make me feel uneasy.

I don't have that kind of enviable physique.

But I'm so stingy that I can't even let Rudy look at anyone else.

I disappeared without a word, watching Rudy frantically searching for me. But instead of being worried about Rudy's condition, I was secretly pleased, thinking that Rudy still liked me.

Finally, he reappears when Rudy is about to give up, uttering sweet words he has already prepared.

Time and again, I despicably took advantage of Rudy's sincerity and his obtuseness, coercing him, all for the sake of possessing him.

Even though he told me many times how much he liked me, I remember Rudy once asked me if there was anything I wanted to do, and I said to Rudy very seriously: "Rudy, I want to marry you."

I don't remember Rudy's reaction, I only remember him saying, "That's not what I wanted to ask."

Rudy didn't mean to say that, but it still reminded me that Rudy was engaged. His fiancée was Miss Alice, the daughter of the lord of the Fituia territory and the daughter of the Boreas family.

My parents said something similar: they said Rudy might become a high-ranking official in the capital in the future, and he wouldn't be interested in a girl like me from the village of Buena.

I never believed that because I believed Rudy.

But reality reminded me time and again, why should Rudy choose me?

The denial of her own conditions, as well as the influence of factors such as material possessions and class, caused Silphie to feel insecure in her feelings for Rudeus. Silphie began to physically possess Rudeus and demanded a psychological exchange. When she was not entirely confident in winning Rudeus over, Silphie chose to play the long game, which explains why she chose to reject Rudeus's confession.

However, Rudius and Merlin did not inform her of their trip to the Duchy of Basheland, causing Sylphie to doubt herself once again, and her already unstable sense of security was further eroded.

4. Lilith suddenly appears, putting Rudeus and Sylphie in a difficult situation.

In Silphie's blueprint for Rudeus's dream, Silphie planned to play the long game, catch a big fish, and proceed step by step. She would use the seven years at the Magic University to complete the psychological swap with Rudeus, which would also be her only bargaining chip when facing Alice in the future.

However, Lilith's appearance disrupted Hilfi's plans. Lilith's offensive was fierce and swift. When Lilith and Rudeus returned from the Duchy of Basheland, Hilfi and Rudeus had an information gap, so Hilfi misunderstood Rudeus: Lilith treated Rudeus's arm, and Merlin had passed away. Lilith comforted Rudeus, and the two began dating.

With such preconceived notions, Sylphie already harbored doubts about herself, and she was also in close communication with Cosette and Mulgore, members of the galoring family with whom she had a grudge, for some of her own academy purposes.

Feeling guilty and inferior, coupled with Cosette's forceful instigation, directly led to the opening of the White Album mini-drama.

During this period, due to Rudeus and Lilith's "frank communication" and Lilith's explanation of realistic considerations to Rudeus, Rudeus also recovered from his psychological trauma, and his dependence on Sylphie gradually disappeared. He began to question the feelings he once had for Sylphie.

What right do I have to hug her?

A scumbag like me, already engaged yet still insatiable, claiming to love her but sleeping with other women, someone like me is not worthy of Silphie's affection.

When I first enrolled, I confessed my feelings to Silphie and asked her to date me, thankfully she rejected me.

"Do you think Miss Hilfiet is the kind of person who could be a concubine? Not to mention whether Alice would accept her, at least your uncle and aunt certainly wouldn't."

"..."

She was indeed pointing out a real problem, one I couldn't answer. Sylphie's identity and my engagement with Alice might not be so simple. Although I don't care about those things, some people do, about the so-called "marrying someone of equal social standing"...

"If you want to think about Miss Hilfiet and Lord Rudeus, then let's just remain ordinary friends. If you cross the line, neither of you will likely end up well."

"Just friends... is that right..."

From this point on, Rudeus and Silphie entered a phase of mismatch in information, psychology, and lifestyle. However, due to Rudeus's continued guilt towards Silphie and Silphie's mindset, the two did not reach an irreconcilable point.

During this phase, Silphie abandoned her plan to psychologically switch places with Rudeus, and instead returned to the first phase to some extent—a phase centered on Rudeus and where Rudeus was the sole focus. However, due to Lilith's presence, Silphie did not have the time or space to communicate with Rudeus consistently, and her subservient feelings towards Rudeus remained somewhat exclusive.

This later provided Cosette with leverage to persuade Sylphie, who began to suspect Rudeus and those around him, including but not limited to Loki and Lilith.

Later, Lilith successfully controlled Rudeus with her body and emotions, making him her pawn. Rudeus, in turn, used Sylphie and Lilith to pave the way for his own growth.

5. Rudyus's change in mentality

Before meeting Lilith, Rudeus developed deep feelings for Sylphie because of his reliance on her. However, when Mulgore appeared and wanted to pursue Sylphie, Rudeus showed obvious resistance.

However, Lilith's control over Rudeus gradually deepened, and Rudeus began to tacitly allow Mulgore to pursue Sylphie.

[Refer to chapters 162 to 178. PS: There's too much content to extract here, so please read it at your own pace. I think it's quite detailed.]

At the same time, Rudeus was also worried about Sylphie's psychological changes. Sylphie was an unstable factor with extremely high combat power, and she was very likely to do something extreme because of Rudeus. Therefore, Rudeus was threatened by Cosette while worrying about his safety.

At this stage, Rudeus had already tacitly approved of Mulgore's pursuit of Sylphie, and even used Mulgore's pursuit of Sylphie to achieve his own goals.

At this point, Rudeus no longer felt any attachment to Sylphie, which was also related to the changes in Rudeus himself; Rudeus was developing in the direction of becoming a politician who stripped people of their humanity.

II. Basic Structure Analysis of the Chapter on Royal Governance

1. The political system of the Kingdom of Asura

As a Western fantasy isekai reincarnation light novel, Mushoku Tensei focuses on the Kingdom of Asura as the main setting of the royal government arc. The first step is to understand the political system of the Kingdom of Asura.

However, before we begin this discussion, we must first determine the nature of the Kingdom of Asura. According to the world view in the original text, the Kingdom of Asura was a traditional feudal agricultural country.

Based on this, we will discuss Asura's state system from two aspects: the central and local governments, and the power of the monarch and the power of the ministers.

In terms of the relationship between the central government and the local governments, the Kingdom of Asra consists of the royal domain and four territories ruled by four enfeoffed lords: the Donadi Territory, the Fituia Territory, the Milpotz Territory, and the Usl Territory. These four territories exercise independent political power.

This bears a striking resemblance to the traditional feudal system in Western Europe.

Taking the Frankish dynasty as an example, a special lord-vassal relationship was formed among feudal lords, and a feudal system adapted to the lord-vassal system was developed. After the decline of central power, each feudal lord had independent political power within their respective territories, including administrative, judicial, taxation, and minting powers.

In the Kingdom of Asura, apart from the fact that the minting of coins uses the common currency of the Kingdom of Asura, the powers of the four lords are not explained in detail. However, these four territories all have considerable independent power, so whether the central power of Asura has declined is a question worth considering.

When interpreting the central power structure of the Kingdom of Asura with this question in mind, it is not difficult to find that the four major clans in the Kingdom of Asura, with the Grerat family as the main body, not only served as local lords, but were also connected in the central power system.

However, such an interconnected power system inevitably leads to the monopoly of power. Once the channels for social mobility are blocked, the top aristocracy will divide up the central power, to the point that the central government becomes a mere shell. There are numerous examples of feudal empires splitting up as a result, such as the Wei, Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties under the Nine-Rank System in Chinese history.

Interestingly, the Kingdom of Asura showed no tendency towards division. Throughout its thousand-year history, the four major lords always centered around the King of Asura, and there are no descriptions of any division within the kingdom in the original texts. This may be related to the hierarchical power structure of the Kingdom of Asura.

In simple terms, it is the relationship between the power of the monarch and the power of the ministers.

The central power of the Kingdom of Asura is divided into three levels, mainly composed of ministers: lower, middle, and upper.

This three-tiered system provided room for advancement among lower-ranking officials, which to some extent prevented the Kingdom of Asra from moving towards a nine-rank system, but the effect may not be significant. This is because the Grerat family, led by the four major lords of the Kingdom of Asra, had essentially already secured the positions of high-ranking ministers. However, other clans also existed in this tier, such as Darius, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Asra and the Yerosnek family, who controlled the kingdom's treasury.

In other words, the central power structure of the Kingdom of Asra is divided into three levels: upper, middle, and lower. At the top of the national power structure, there are four lords of the Grerat family, the prime minister representing the power of the prime minister, and the Yerosnek family representing the power of finance, who act as a check and balance.

This leads to the question of what position the king must occupy within such a system in order to prevent the empire from splitting and powerful ministers from usurping the throne.

In other words, the king must possess supreme power that can check and balance the power system above, and participate in the checks and balances of power. The only power that can accomplish this task is military power.

Based on the principle of making bold assumptions and carefully verifying hypotheses, the above analysis suggests that the Asura Kingdom's structure was a relatively loose yet somewhat centralized feudal system at both the central and local levels; and a system of separation and checks and balances of power between the monarch and his subjects.

[Author's rant: It's supposed to be about bold hypotheses and careful verification, but where the hell am I supposed to verify this?!]

Therefore, for the monarch of the Kingdom of Asura to become an ideal state like the one described by Li Bujin, the following conditions must be met: ① Fundamental control over the power of the prime minister, financial power, and military power that is outside the central authority. ② Possessing a high level of national governance ability, capable of maintaining stability in the five major territories, including the royal domain, while also preventing the rise of separatist forces.

[Author's comment: That's true, but looking at Asura as depicted by Li Bujin, it's hard to describe. Whether it's Ariel or Gravel, both characters he created seem somewhat incompetent. And yet, they're supposed to be more enlightened than previous rulers. It's fair to say that Asura truly exists as an idealistic utopia.]

2. The setup for the Royal Government arc: the factional deployment of the three princes and princesses.

As the story progresses, the royal court arc has already laid a certain foundation, such as the power struggle between Prince Gravel, Prince Halphas, and Princess Ariel.