Okay, first of all I have to give a spoiler warning - if you care about spoilers and plan to read the webnovel (or a translation of it really, since it's Korean) don't read any further.
Trash of the Count's Family is about a man who transmigrates into a minor character in a fantasy story. The character he becomes is a wealthy noble called 'trash' because he's known for getting drunk and breaking things. His name is Cale Henituse, and in the story he gets beat up by the protagonist for saying something awful about a village where everyone was murdered.
What you don't find out until much later is that our character came from an AU of the real world, too. An earthlike world where monsters suddenly appeared and created a bit of an apocalypse. Although that world doesn't have the agencies I mention, the way he acts makes me think of a CIA agent or intel officer who decides to change everything (so he can live a quiet and peaceful life, though he's not doing so well at achieving that).
It's fascinating. Both for the overarching themes (like the one I mentioned before, about good leaders taking care of their people, as well as hope and despair and found family and dragons and other things) and for the story itself. Which is complex and hard to explain.
It also makes me think about, well... politics and how we deal with people. Cale comes to the attention of the crown prince in his kingdom, who becomes one of his strongest allies, and there's quite a bit about how you can use political power to help your kingdom. I rather like it because it portrays the various nobles as... well, people. Some are good, some are bad, some are self-interested. And aside from some real villains most of them create the framework the crown prince and our character operate in. It offers some interesting examples of how to do that for good, as well as bad.
There are things I question about it too, though. The character tends to be very transactional, which I normally say with a very negative connotation. Ofc, that could be because I come from a farming family, even if it's my grandparents generation and not my own. My college class on social trust and cooperation says such families tend to be more cooperative. There's a sense that you have to help each other out, not because you know of any specific benefit for doing so, but because that's just what you do. (and it generally does pay out, because your neighbors may help you harvest your crops during a rough year, or other similar things).
Really, it's that 'pay it forward' mentality where you try to do lend a helping hand because we all need one at some point. (Like the guy who helped us out back in college when our car broke down.)
That's one of the things citizens like me find disturbing when we hear stories about the rich and powerful. That sense that they always have to ask 'what's in it for me?'. That they keep track of who owes who what.
It, frankly, sounds exhausting. I don't want to have to think about which friends will benefit me, or who will give me a leg up. I just want to spend time with the people I enjoy being around, whether they're going to help me get ahead or not.
But... the way this guy does it isn't all that bad. Some of it actually seems to help. Like a pair of orphaned siblings (Cat people. They can change into cats or look like human kids) that he takes under his wing. He tells them that they have to be useful, but it's almost more like a way of giving them something to be proud of. After all, they'd been kicked out of their tribe and told they were useless, and here's someone who wants them around and has things for them to do. (In age appropriate fashion. He's pretty good at taking care of the people under his wing, and trying not to put young kids into situations over their head.)
You can even see how nice it can be, in the sense that the people he comes to an agreement with are clear about what that agreement is, and what they're getting out of it. It's kind of sad that he doesn't seem to trust more altruistic people, and even finds it suspicious.
He's funny though. Doesn't seem to realize how the people around him grow to care for him, and talks about wanting that 'slacker' lifestyle while continuously putting himself in danger. (you later learn that the 'slacker lifestyle' he wants is basically one where there's world peace so he can freely be a slacker. Like, he's not going to run away from bad things so that he alone is fine... he wants to create a place where everyone is. Which I also relate to rather a lot... )
He reminds me a lot of the whole 'the best leader is smart and lazy', because he knows how to delegate and tends to get the people around him to get things done. Builds a good team. Tries to keep anyone from being put in situations where they feel they need to sacrifice themselves for the greater good.
It's interesting for a number of reasons. For example, at one point he ends up back in his past on earth. Right before some of the worst monster events happen. And you see him use the knowledge and skills he has to build people up to the point where they can handle the worst.
See, in his monster filled Korea people starting getting special abilities. And he makes a point that it's not just about finding the ones best able to fight. Some of those abilities are things like the ability to record everything they see. To watch and remember... an ability he has, and can use to analyze the threat and help come up with a better way of dealing with it. During that time he finds a use for everyone. Fighters. Analysts. Healers. Shields. Communication (some abilities let someone act like a megaphone, which he uses to share information during the fight.)
There's some parts where the translations are rough, and I really hope it gets popular enough to get a more professional translation. Also would love to see it animated.
I may or may not go into more detail here. I started reading it because some friends on discord got hooked, and I'll probably do more character analysis and scenario specific discussions there. But I encourage anyone who thinks they'd like it to go ahead and pick it up.
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