Yuri and Carol
He lived a listless life, no job, no purpose, no friends or family he cared about. One day, while walking home from shopping, he saw an elementary school aged girl carelessly fall into a river. He died drowning from exhaustion saving her.
He's then reborn as Yuri Ho, infant child of Rook and Satsuki Ho, a rancher family in another world. There is no system or levels, no magic, but there are still elements of fantasy. As ranchers, they care for and raise Plainsrunners, flightless birds, and Kingeagles, large flying Eagles, that can both be used as mounts. The Hos are citizens of the Kingdom of Shiyalta, a nation of Shanti. The Shanti are humanoids with well formed features, long ears with tufts of hair growing at the tips, and longer lifespans than the more familiar humans known as the Kulati; in other words, Elves.
Long ago, the Shanti empire was shattered by the Kulati and has been dying a slow death for the past 900 years. Witness the growth of a young boy, from the son of a rancher, to conquering hero, as he takes advantage of his modern day college of science education to change the world.
The Conqueror from a Dying Kingdom (Horobi no Kuni no Seifukusha: Maou wa Sekai wo Seifuku suru you desu) is a novel series written by Fudeorca, which started as a Web Serial Novel that was first released on Shousetsuka ni Narou in 2015. It was later published by Overlap as a series of Light Novels in 2020, with illustrations by toi8. A manga adaptation by Muraji began serialization in Comic Gardo in 2022. The novels are licensed in English by J-Novel Club as a digital-only release.
Tropes:
- Absurdly Divided School (Zigzagged): On one hand, Knights and Witches hold each other in contempt due to their conflicting cultures and because their families hate each other. On the other hand Knights are mostly young athletic men, Witches are mostly young women. Then again, the sexual tension seems to be something intentionally inspired by the Witches, as they have a culture of forcing young knights who impregnate one of their young witches to marry into their Witch families. Young Knights are taught to not become intimate with the women of the Cultural Academy precisely because of this.
- Act of True Love: Yuri carrying, protecting, and hiding a wounded Carol through enemy infested forests for over a week. He had to kill, mutilate, torture, and suffer injury through it all as she bore witness.
- Armor Is Useless (Inverted): Fighting enemies in plate armor is difficult and dangerous. Enemies in mail are tricky. Close range weapons do not magically pierce armor, and if a fighter forces the issue with skill or brute strength, they will find their weapon quickly becomes dull or damaged.
- Balcony Wooing Scene: Yuri throws a stick at Lily's window. He just wants to talk business with her in private. It's clear from her reaction that she's excited to see him and doesn't mind being seen with him in public.
- Bavarian Fire Drill: Yuri, during the 15th Crusade against the forces chasing him.
- Beautiful Dreamer: Carla watching Yuri sleep under a tree. Dolla watching Carol sleep. Carol watching Yuri sleep.
- Benevolent Boss: Yuri tries to be this for his Ho Company. Arguably, Caph is possibly a better fit.
- Big Man on Campus: Yuri is of high status, handsome and charming. He's a strong and skilled knight, perceived as intelligent and well educated, who is well on his way to graduating early in 5-7 years if it weren't for required age restrictions; 10-15 years is the norm. Famous and popular at school, the boys admire him, and the girls fawn over him from a distance, having unwritten rules about not getting too close to him.
- Bodyguard Babes: The Royal Swords of Shiyalta and Nightcloaks of Kilhina are Ninja Maids or Battle Butlers that protect the Royal family. They often wear pantsuits, but do not favor fighting directly out in the open. During the day, they are maids and servants of the Royal family while acting as nondescript bodyguards. At night, they are the Queen's spies and assassins.
- Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp": The Shanti are basically elves.
- Clueless Chick-Magnet: As the Big Man on Campus, bordering on School Idol if not an outright one, he's oblivious to just how popular he is with girls until the revelation catches him by surprise. He finds it strange that he would be so unaware, but he's informed that due to the past generation's stalkerish behavior, the female students now self regulate so his adoring fans do not make such a nuisance of themselves to the point that he notices. Things were different during his father's generation.
- Commitment Issues: Carol brings this up every once in a while. Yuri does not want to marry Carol. His main concern is political. He does not want the burden that comes with being her Prince Consort, and being tied to the Royal family. He has other goals and plans that require a certain degree of freedom.
- Crush Blush: At some point, almost all the girls who are interested in Yuri.
- Decadent Court: The Queen's government is filled to the brim with corrupt nobles that behave no differently from gangster thugs on the street. They abuse their power, embezzling government funds, accepting bribes, and maliciously neglect their duties, all for the pursuit of more wealth, power, and self indulgent decadence.
- Defector from Decadence: Myalo was born the talented grandchild of the Great Witch Luida. Raised as a noble, Myalo was steeped in their culture and saw nothing wrong with it. Only upon maturing at a young age due to family events and revelations did the scales fall from Myalo's eyes.
- The Dragonslayer: There's an in-story book that talks about flying lizards commonly known as dragons. Professor Ether explains that those who slay a dragon, especially the old fashioned way with sword and spear instead of gun and cannon, are lauded as heroes by the Dragon Empire and Dragon Kingdom.
- Eating the Eye Candy: Yuri whenever he sees Lily, or rather her chest. Yuri when he's having a romantic moment with Carol.
- Edible Theme Naming: Pina Colata. Carulginion Pestoparsley
- Enslaved Elves: Any Shanti outside of the Shanti kingdoms are slaves. Kulati only see Shanti in these terms. They've even considered what to do in the future when all the Shanti kingdoms are destroyed. Some Kulati are thinking of setting up breeding companies or ranches so there will be a continuing supply.
- Everyone Can See It: Yuri and Carol. Everyone can see how close they are. They're often seen arguing in public, doing favors, going out on dates that aren't dates according to the couple. The two of them deny it whenever it's brought up.
- Everyone Loves Blondes: Everyone who's blonde and blue eyed is of Royal Blood, either an actual Royal or descendant of Royalty. Shanti display deep respect to Royals, but foreign Kulati go slightly insane and seemingly lose their reason when they set eyes on one. They will send entire armies to capture and enslave a Shanti Royal.
- Firearms Are Revolutionary: The Crusades started using them decades ago, and they've only grown more numerous. The Shanti are politically and technologically isolated with no access to firearms or blackpowder. This makes each subsequent Crusade since their introduction, more and more lopsided, especially once artillery are introduced.
- First Day of School Episode: One each for both Yuri and Sham.
- First Girl Wins (highlighted): The trope is explicitly pointed out by Pina during a conversation.
- Forever War: The Crusades against the Shanti Empire, and later their successor Kingdoms, have been going on for over 900 years. The excuse for the wars are religious doctrine calling the Shanti demons or devils. The reality is that the Shanti are beautiful and highly desirable as slaves, making each successful Crusade an extremely lucrative ordeal as tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of Shantis are enslaved for profit, and their land taken.
- Horse of a Different Color: Plainsrunners and Kingeagles. Both are giant mountable birds, one flightless, the other flyable.
- Intrascholastic Rivalry: Knight vs Cultural Academy. Since they study completely different subjects, there's usually no real academic rivalry, but if there's a student that attends both schools, or there's an event that bridges the two schools, such as the Togi Tournament, this trope will rear its head. It's usually more of a Friendly Rivalry, despite how antagonistic the noble families may be.
- Kissing Cousins: Sham and Yuri are first cousins, their fathers, Gok and Rook, being brothers. As Lord Gok died without a male heir, his wife, Satsuki wishes for control to remain within the family by having her daughter, Sham, marry Lord Rook's son, Yuri. At some point, the two families start to live together and Sham definitely has something of a Big Brother Worship that slowly develops into a Big Brother Attraction that she is mostly successful in hiding.
- Knight in Shining Armor: Many examples, from in story fictional knights, frequent references on how an honorable knight should behave, to dashing knightly rescues.
- Lady and Knight: Yuri tries to set up Dolla and Carol as this, but Yuri ends up being the Knight to Carol's Lady. He first makes an implicit Declaration of Protection to the Queen, then later to Carol in private.
- Like Father, Like Son: Yuri and Rook were both skilled, respected knights while at school. They were also both intensely popular with the girls, with both of them featuring heavily in the fiction written by the Yaoi Fangirls.
- Mafia Princess: Myalo. Jula Lacramanus. Direct descendants and presumed heir to one of the Great Witch families.
- Matriarchy: The ruler of Shanti nations is always a woman, a Queen. By law and tradition, the bureacracy and Royal Army have women at the highest positions. The Royal Army may be filled with men, but the leader must be a woman. The nobility are divided between Knight and Witch families. Witch families are always ruled by women and sons are clearly seen as inferior and given lesser priority and status. Knight families are ruled by men, but women are expected to be able to keep control of the domain while the men are away at war.
- Memorial for the Antagonist: Yuri shrouds the ArcVillain's body and gives him his last rites to honor a worthy foe.
- Military Academy: The Knight Academy. Aspiring Knights learn the martial skills necessary to become a knight. This includes fighting with various weapons, how to ride Plainsrunners and Kingeagles, cultural and military history, tactics, strategy, logistics, etc.
- Nepotism: Yuri's father, Rook, encourages him to employ a cousin in his company. Subverted in that she's actually competent and trustworthy as she becomes the company's accountant.
- Official Kiss: When Yuri and Carol confess their feelings, this serves as the notice for their Relationship Upgrade.
- One Dialogue, Two Conversations / : Myalo and Liao. Myalo thinks Liao is milking her for information about Yuri. She purposely feeds him either misinformation or minimal truths. Liao makes a Love Confession to Myalo by praising her abilities and discussing his ideal partner, with Myalo perfectly fitting his bullet points. He tries to learn the truth of Myalo and Yuri's relationship and becomes irritated at anything that sounds like praise for Yuri. Myalo ends their conversation thinking she's successfully protected Yuri's secrets. Liao comes away thinking she's romantically available.
- Only in It for the Money: Despite Yuri's personal disgust of the subject matter, his company becomes the biggest publisher of yaoi smut in the kingdom. He tells himself this trope name repeatedly.
- Our Elves Are Different
- Inhumanly Beautiful Race: Even the most average appearing Shanti is still considered well formed or beautiful by the Kulati. Still, most Shanti are not called inhumanly beautiful.
- Dying Race: The Kulati are trying to kill all Shanti.
- Immortal Procreation Clause: The Shanti are unable to crossbreed with humans, and while not immortal, reproduce slowly.
- Long-Lived: Soim is over 120 years old and still quite spry for an old man.
- Medieval Stasis: Ever since the Shanti empire was shattered into the Shanti Kingdoms. They have not progressed in any significant way politically, culturally, or technologically, to their detriment, as the rest of the world pulls ahead.
- Pointy Ears: With hairy tufts at the pointy end.
- Proud Scholar Race: The Witch families
- Proud Warrior Race Guy: The Knight families
- Pervert Revenge Mode: Carol goes after Yuri after he tries to get Dolla to do something unforgivably perverted.
- Protection Racket: A classic example plays out when a store owner refuses to pay and has their shop trashed by gangsters owned by a Witch family.
- The Queenpin: Luida and the other Great Witches that rule over the seven Great Witch families.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Queen Shimone. It's hard to give examples that don't include the Protagonist, but in every conversation where accusations are made against him, she gives him room to defend himself, instead of instantly siding against him. Regarding Yuri's solutions to the Kingdom's largest problem, she of course dismisses them because they are dangerous and destructive.
- Divided We Fall is very much in effect. Power is not centralized with too many competing factions or families that cannot be ignored.
- Obstructive Bureaucrats fill the Royal court and bureaucracy, corrupting the government, hiding information from the Queen, and otherwise actively working against her goals.
- Reincarnate in Another World: From Earth, to an alternate Earth with similar but not exactly the same geography.
- Rescue Romance: Yuri saving Carol from a kidnapping when they were children. Again, when Yuri saves Carol from capture and escorts her through enemy territory. Both times, it serves to upgrade or improve their relationship.
- Revealing Hug: When Lily hugs Yuri, Shamo can clearly see Yuri's expression and condemns him.
- Romantic Ribbing: Yuri mostly does this to Carol when they're in public by being excessively polite, often in the Queen's presence. Carol jabs him right back by calling him out on it.
- Romantic Wingman: Lyrica Kuklillison sees an opportunity to earn a favor and swoops in with a timely assist.
- Royal Brat: Princess Carla. Probably Princess Tellur too, at least while she's young. Princess Carol to a much lesser degree that she quickly grows out of.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: What Princess Carol aspires to. Princesses normally only attend the Cultural Academy. She joins both the Knight Academy in addition to the other school. She actively seeks out the capital's slums to better assess the state of the downtrodden and poor, hoping she can help in some way. When war comes, she volunteers to bear witness, learn, and give her kingdom's young officers a chance to earn experience. Angela Sacramenta is similar. Angela Sacramenta aggressively educates herself and forces her way to participate in the 15th Crusade, making valued contributions.
- Politically-Active Princess: The Shanti Royal families are matriarchal, so this comes with the territory. Carol proactively chose to go to both schools and train as a knight, which is not traditional. She intends to choose her own husband suiting her own criteria. Both concessions she bargained for or won from her mother, the Queen. She is socially active and a source of leadership at the Cultural Academy. Angela Sacramenta is always spending time socializing with other nobles, both foreign and domestic, establishing connections and exchanging information.
- Warrior Princess: This seems to be Carol's goal, but the Queen appoints another as her commander during the 15th Crusade, so the trope is partially averted. She's still in a leadership position and participates in the war. Played straight with Angela Sacramenta, she's able to arrange a leadership position and fight on the front lines.
- Ruling Couple: The Queen and Prince Consort of Kilhina.
- Secret Relationship: Yuri and Carol. They hide it from everyone else as best they can.
- Sexy Flaw: Carol finds Yuri's scar incredibly attractive.
- Shed Armor, Gain Speed: Canka dumping the easily detachable parts of his armor to flee from the battle faster.
- Slow Life Fantasy: How the story begins, or how the protagonist wants his life to be. No Unique Protagonist Asset or other bonus. Tries to avoid any major adventures or political entanglements, although that doesn't truly work out because he's incapable of completely blinding himself to what he sees and people won't leave him alone.
- The Strategist: As Yuri matures, his formal military education shows itself during battles and wars, as he uses commonly known military knowledge to predict and subvert his enemy's strategies.
- Succession Crisis: Numerous, from domestic to foreign.
- Sweet Polly Oliver: Myalo. Women are not forbidden from being knights, but she seems to enjoy being treated as One of the Boys. It doesn't seem to be plot important to any of the other characters except for Yuri.
- Through His Stomach: Carol enjoys cooking or making tea for Yuri whenever she gets the chance.
- Tsundere: Carol is more of the classic example in that she starts prickly, but becomes more affectionate over time.
- The Usurper: Rakunu Ek makes a play for Lord Supreme. Much later on,Shiyalta's 2nd Princess becomes Queen when she poisons her mother and sister. The Vaticanus Minister of War imprisons the Pope and seizes power.
- Vice City: The Capital City of Sibiak always looks thriving and prosperous to those who visit for the first time, but to long time dwellers, it is rife with noble/Witch owned gangsters and impoverished refugees fleeing the war.
- War Is Hell: Yuri intentionally tries to play up this trope to dissuade the Queen from an adventurous military expedition. She is unmoved.
- Yaoi Fangirl: Carla and many of the other ladies in the Cultural Academy.
- You Must Be Cold: Yuri gives Carol an oil paper poncho to keep her warm. Eventually graduates to Intimate Healing.
- You Shall Not Pass!: Every time a rearguard is required.
- Zip Me Up: Yuri helps Carol with her buttons after a private liaison.
