The Rising of the Shield Hero is a popular series that is set to be adapted into a two-season anime series starting in January 2019. The story follows the protagonist, Iwatani, who is summoned as the Shield Hero and truly rises to power. The man who appears to be the king of the place where the protagonists are summoned is Orthoclay Melromarc 32nd. He seems to dislike the Shield Hero and unfortunately is often called trash. In this article, we will introduce Orthoclay Melromarc 32nd.
Who is Orthoclay Melromarc 32nd?
Source: The Rising of the Shield Hero © Aneko Yusagi / KADOKAWA / The Rising of the Shield Hero Production Committee
Orthoclay Melromarc 32, with his beard, behaves like a king. However, he is not actually a king. He is a member of the royal family, but he is permanently banished from royal status midway through the story. Orthoclay generally stays indoors. We don't really know what he's doing, but what we do know is that he's not doing anything good. When his daughter Myne framed the Shield Hero and he interfered in the duel, it's not shown whether he knew everything or just pretended not to know, but he sides with his daughter and treats the Shield Hero as a nuisance. Simply put, he's scum.
The Acting King: Orthoclay Melromarc 32nd
Source: The Rising of the Shield Hero © Aneko Yusagi / KADOKAWA / The Rising of the Shield Hero Production Committee
In fact, Orthoclay Melromarc 32nd is not the official king. Melromarc has been a queendom for generations. The queen doesn't appear early in the story. What on earth is she doing? In fact, it all started when the Church of the Three Heroes took the initiative and summoned the Four Holy Heroes without permission. In reality, they shouldn't have done so on their own. If they had done so, it would have led to war with other countries. For this reason, the Queen has been devoting herself exclusively to diplomacy. And Ortcray is the Queen's husband, and acting king. Unfortunately, he cannot ascend to the throne of this country.
Why Orthoclay Melromarc 32nd Despises the Shield Hero
Source: The Rising of the Shield Hero © Aneko Yusagi / KADOKAWA / The Shield Hero Production Committee
Why does Acting King Orthoclay Melromarc 32nd despise the Shield Hero so much? Rather than the acting king hating him, the Shield Hero is generally shunned in this country. In fact, this is the fault of the Shield Hero from several generations ago. In this world, demi-humans and humans have an incompatible relationship. Demi-humans are treated as slaves, and it seems that humans are discriminated against in the demi-human country as well. It all started when this Shield Hero from several generations ago sided with the demi-humans. This is why the Shield Hero has become shunned in the human country. In fact, just as the Church of the Three Heroes exists in the human country and is gaining influence, there is something like a Shield Church in the demi-human country that worships the Shield Hero.
The Day Orthoclay Melromarc 32 Was Called Trash
Source: The Rising of the Shield Hero © Aneko Yusagi / KADOKAWA / The Shield Hero Production Committee
The acting king, Orthoclay Melromarc 32, is constantly called a scumbag by the Shield Hero. Orthoclay made sarcastic remarks to the Shield Hero, the man who had done the greatest good in calming the waves, without even trying to thank him. However, when he told the Shield Hero to kneel down, he was called scum worse than monkeys. Then, an incident occurred in which the Church of the Three Heroes attempted to assassinate the heroes. At this point, the Queen returned after completing diplomacy, exposed all of the wrongdoings of the acting king and first princess, and was no longer a member of the royal family. He was then forced to change his name to Shield Hero, but that name was trash. And so, in the end, he kneeled down to the Shield Hero in front of the people.
Orthocray Melromarc 32 and Myne Sphere
Source: The Rising of the Shield Hero © Aneko Yusagi / KADOKAWA / The Shield Hero Production Committee
Perhaps it's better to describe their relationship as that of a bitch and a scumbag. In fact, the two were originally good friends and did similar things. While they distance themselves from the Shield Hero as a villain, they still have him pursue his mission of eliminating the Waves. However, a gap gradually opens up in their relationship. Bitch switches sides from the Spear Hero to the Bow Hero. Bitch crosses over to the other side of the waves. On the other hand, there is Scum who regrets what has happened up to now, and Bitch who continues to make a fool of herself. Scum is regretful of the mistakes he has made in the past, and pushes Bitch away when she goes too far in her evil deeds. His own father has even told him it's okay to kill her if the opportunity arises. But Scum's father worries that if he were to take action himself, he might go easy on her.
Orthoclay Melromarc 32 and Queen Mirellia
Source: The Rising of the Shield Hero © Aneko Yusagi / KADOKAWA / The Rising of the Shield Hero Production Committee
The two are married, but the queen seems to hold a completely superior position. We don't see any private conversations between the two, so we don't know what their daily lives are like. Queen Mirellia forces the acting proxy king to change his name and makes the Shield Hero kneel down in front of the people, showing no mercy even to her husband and daughter. In one scene, Mirellia mutters, "If only I were the old you..." It seems that Orthoclay was a talented person in the past. Will we ever look back on Orthoclay's past? It's an interesting topic.
Orthoclay Melromarc 32: The Finale
Source: The Rising of the Shield Hero © Aneko Yusagi / KADOKAWA / The Shield Hero Production Committee
While we look forward to Orthoclay's future exploits, we're also curious about his younger days. What will his relationship with the Shield Hero be like? What will his relationship be with the Bow, Spear, and Sword Heroes? Although he is not a central character in the story, he is still an intriguing character. I am looking forward to seeing how this reformed scum will become involved in the story! I hope that he will one day return to the royal family.
