- #1
I tend to agree with Kietai (another reviewer). The novel feels fantastic until around chapter 110, despite some pacing issues, and then it's just bullsh*t (especially the contrived plot). The main character is inconsistent and delusional. That aside, the characters and their interactions are very fun (females in particular, because this is a harem story), the world building is enough to understand what's going even if it's not particularly original. Though, having "executive managers" in a medieval fantasy story? I have to laugh.The MC, Carl, has always been complaining about his situation, but at the beginning he still seemed smart and competent. I mean, his real thoughts never matched his words but it could be explained away, especially as he founds ways to make things fine in the end. The setting presents him as the strongest in the empire, hardworking (the perfect s*ave, really) and smart (he goes toe-to-toe with ministers etc..). He's kinda selfish, but he wants to do his job right above all.Then the novel became about absurd rationalizations of the MC's actions. For the past 20 chapters, I've been actually wondering if Carl is in fact delusional, if he's an unreliable narrator. I'm serious: half the cast [especially at work] is unable to speak plainly and he must make ridiculous interpretations of their words; when he's off duty, he becomes dense as hell; he's not trying to find solutions to his personal problems. It's like he's given up on being a person, and becomes an empty vessel to make the story happen.I am very disappointed.