The Eminence in Shadow (Volume 4) – Battles Are Like a Conversation
Cid defeated Lutheran Barnett but decided against telling Sherry that he killed her mother. He had more pressing issues to deal with when Alpha left him a letter telling him to go to Lindwurm, the Sacred Land!
The Eminence in Shadow (Volume 4) – Battles Are Like a Conversation
What happened?
It turned out that Sherry’s foster father, Lutheran Barnett was the one behind the terrorist attack on the school. He did it to unit the Eye of Avarice which Sherry had been able to complete. Cid confronted him, revealing that he normally tries not to concern himself with anything other than his initial goals. However, this time, he was pretty annoyed about what Lutheran did to Sherry’s mother. Lutheran attacked, forcing Cid into the flames. That was when Shadow appeared and quickly took care of him. Lutheran told him that Shadow Garden would take the blame for what happened. Shadow didn’t care. He was prepared to take on all the world’s sins in order to complete his mission. Sherry burst into the room as he walked away from Lutheran’s body. He decided not to tell her what Lutheran did.
Later, Cid received a letter from Alpha telling him to come to Lindwurm. He considered running there but decided to go the normie way and catch a coach. That was when Rose Oriana spotted him and gave him a ride in her carriage. She spoke about their future and the Goddess’ Trial. How they will face objections because of his standing in society. Cid wondered if he should have run there. However, Rose put him up in a fancy hotel so that made up for the troubles. In Lindwurm, he found Beta selling books that she had written based on the stories she told her from his past life. She passed him a coded note, but he couldn’t read it. At the Goddess’ Trial, much to his surprise, Cid’s name was called. If he went in and a powerful spirit was summoned, it would blow his cover, so he entered as Shadow. Aurora, the Witch of Calamity answered his call!
What did you think?
It gets harder and harder to tell if Cid is aware of what he’s saying or whether he’s just saying what he thinks will sound cool. The fact that usually, it’s just him and his opponent makes it that much harder. He had no idea Alpha was listening to him. I’m glad that the manga told us who entered Cid into the Goddess’ Trial. I had my suspicions that it was Rose, but it could have equally been Alpha. Either way, that told us a little more about Rose and how she feels about Cid. Too bad, he’s completely oblivious to things like that or rather he just doesn’t care.
There were two big fights in this volume and while both were entertaining, they didn’t match up to the anime. That’s clearly where the anime has the advantage and we’ve seen it with stories like Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. Animation tends to bring these events to life, but manga can take its time to reveal more. That’s the reason I feel compelled to watch the anime and read the manga. This volume ends somewhere between episodes 11 and 12 of the anime. There are currently three more volumes so it’s going to be interesting to see just how far it goes. I’m looking forward to learning more about the story.
Volume highlights
Other posts in the series
Series Information
| English Title | The Eminence in Shadow |
| Japanese Title | Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute! |
| Genres | Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Isekai, Magic |
| Demographic | Seinen |
Anime
Season One
| Season | Season One |
| Released | Fall 2022 |
| Animation Studios | Nexus |
| Episodes | 20 |
Bonus Posts
| Analysis | How Much Does Cid Know? |
| Lists | Five Best Fights |
Season Two
| Season | Season Two |
| Released | Fall 2023 |
| Animation Studios | Nexus |
| Episodes | 12 |
| 21 | The Lawless City |
| 22 | The Haven |
| 23 | The Hour of Awakening |
| 24 | The Mask of Falsehood |
| 25 | He Who Pulls the Strings |
| 26 | John Smith |
| 27 | Something Precious |
| 28 | The Dragon’s Tears |
| 29 | The Key |
| 30 | Caged Bird |
| 31 | Determination |
| 32 | Highest |
Manga
| Series | The Eminence in Shadow | |
| Author | Daisuke Aizawa | |
| Artist | Anri Sakano | |
| Volumes | Ongoing | Chapters |
| 1 | We Lurk in the Darkness and Hunt Down Shadows | 1-4 |
| 2 | I Am Atomic! | 5-8 |
| 3 | Hidden Normie Technique | 9-12 |
| 4 | Battles Are Like a Conversation | 13-16 |
| 5 | A Memory I Never Want to Lose | 17-21 |
| 6 | What Beautiful Swordplay… | 22-25 |
| 7 | A Fancy Bandit Slayer | 26-29 |
| 8 | The True Aberration!!! | 30-33 |
| 9 | He Who Destroys All and Rebuilds It Anew! | 34-37 |
| 10 | You Stole What I Hold Most Dear! | 38-41 |
