Isolde Cluel (イゾルテ・クルーエル) is the granddaughter of the late Water God, Reida Lia, trained in the Water God Style. Introduced initially as a Water King, she later on becomes a Water Emperor. By the events of Redundant Reincarnation, she becomes the next Water God, taking on the name of Reida Lia in accordance to the title's tradition.
Appearance[]
Isolde is a very beautiful woman with a round face and long, black (ultramarine) silky hair who appears to be in her twenties. She is noted to resemble her grandmother and is likened to a beautiful blue flower by her future husband, Doga. When Rudeus Greyrat saw her for the first time, he remarked that she is stunning in looks.[1] Later on, he says her smile is a beautiful thing to witness; she looks like the prim and proper type but there is a hint of allurement about her too. He surmised he could see her as "the sexy wife next door." [2] A few years later, Rudeus still considered her beautiful from her face to the way she holds herself after expressing gratitude for her assistance in battle.[3]
She is usually seen wearing the Asuran royal knight armor complete with helmet and carries a sword by her hip.
Personality[]
Isolde is highly loyal to her family and friends, defending them and easily becoming hostile to people who mistreat them. Isolde is also very proud of her sword style, looking with contempt at the Sword God Style users when she first entered their territory, but later coming to respect it. She is studious and open to improving her own battle skills, such as in Sword Sanctum and in the battle against the Fighting God, but also able to impart tactful advice to other swordsmen such as Nina Fallion and Eris Greyrat. Isolde is good at reading people, such as when she realized that Rudeus took good care of Eris Greyrat without him saying anything. She can also be a little bit manipulative, being able to pacify Eris' provocations in a way that makes Rudeus describe as "throwing a bone to a dog."
She is a Millis follower, having the conviction of one man and one woman when it comes to marriage and love, and thus was outraged when she found out Rudeus already had two wives in addition to considering taking her dear friend Eris as his third.
Isolde is morally good and righteous but can be shallow and is particularly picky about a man's looks when it comes to preferences. However, a person's personality and integrity is far more important and even makes a man look more attractive to her if they possess good qualities. Eventually, she chose Doga for his inherently good nature and love for her. As a married couple, Isolde calls Doga 'darling' when in private.
Background[]
Isolde is the granddaughter of the famous Water God Reida Lia. Her father had no surname due to Reida abandoning hers, and instead Isolde took up her mother's surname. Her parents had died at an early age, leaving her older brother Tantris to take care of her.
Possessing raw natural talent for swordsmanship, she eventually surpasses her older brother under the age of ten to become the next prized pupil of Reida Lia.
Power and Abilities[]
Isolde is a powerful swordsman trained in the Water God Style and serves as one of Asura's Seven Knights under the rulership of Ariel Anemoi Asura, the King's Greatshield. A prodigy from birth, she had more raw talent than her older brother Tantris Cluel, an upper-level swordsman in the Water God Style, and surpassed him under the age of 10.[4] As a Water King, she was able to easily defeat Eris Greyrat while training in the Sword Sanctum. As a Water Emperor, she was able to stall the Fighting God for an extended period of time. She was entrusted the future of Water God Style by her late grandmother and would later on become the next Water God as Reida Lia.
She also becomes a palace sword instructor and operates several dojos across Asura Kingdom as the next carrier of the Water God Style.
『Water God Style』[]
As an expert practitioner of the Water God Style, Isolde excels in reading the emotions of her opponents and using her surroundings for defensive and counter maneuvers, able to use elementary techniques such as Flow. She is able to do this with such elegance and finesse that would gain her the admiration of many nobles and swordsmen. Having surpassed the level of Advanced, she is also able to self-consciously use Battle Aura to enhance her physical attributes.
Upon introduction as a Water King, she is able to easily defeat Sword Saint Eris Greyrat in sparring, warding off everything Eris threw at her and answering with a bunch of sharp counters. Over the course of that bout, which had lasted less than 30 minutes, Eris would have "died" nearly a hundred times. [5]
Later on as Water Emperor, she is able to deflect all of the Fighting God's attacks against her and striking back with her own, moving with grace and precision. Her technique made the Fighting God's violent blows - any one of which could have been lethal - and turn them into something inconsequential like a child's tantrum. Rudeus notes that in a one-on-one battle, she may have been able to give the Fighting God a good fight (but still not win).[6]
In Redundant Reincarnation, she masters three of the five Water God Style's secret arts and becomes the next Water God Reida Lia at a young age.
Equipment[]
- Asuran royal knight armor
- Sword
Quotes[]
- Isolde: “Thank you as well, Eris."
- Eris: “…I’ll land one on you tomorrow.”
- Isolde: “I look forward to it.”
- “Oh, Eris… You were training so hard all these years for him? You poor, poor thing. Saint Millis, take pity on this girl…”
- Isolde: “What’s so weird? This is the official armor of the Asuran Royal knights… I thought it was rather impressive.”
- Eris: “Looks hard to move around in, though.”
- Isolde: “With the Water God Style, you don’t have to move very much. This suits me perfectly.”
- Isolde: “Please, Eris, don’t even joke about that. I have an obligation to protect the training halls of my style. The last thing I need is to suffer some lifelong injury fighting a crazed hellcat like you."
- Eris: “Who cares about a bunch of musty training halls, anyway?"
- Isolde: “I suppose it would seem odd to a girl who fled her house and her responsibilities. But for some of us, our obligations are very real.”
- Rudeus: "And thank you, Isolde. If you hadn't stood between me and the Fighting God, I'd be dead."
- Isolde: "Not at all! It was a highly educational battle. I should be thanking you."
Trivia[]
- Though it's stated in the novels that Isolde has black hair, Rifujin notes it's better off as ultramarine in color when done by an artist since black hair is rare in the setting.[7]
- Isolde became one of the Seven Knights of Asura known as the King's Greatshield.
- After her husband Doga "quitted" his position as Ariel's nightly bodyguard, Isolde became Ariel's own personal bodyguard with Doga protecting Isolde (all to the benefit of Ariel).
- Isolde's beauty is often commented by Rudeus, surmising that he could see her as "the sexy wife next door."
- When Isolde and Doga married, Rudeus thought that Isolde might have manipulated or tricked Doga into marrying her. Once he saw that the two were truly in love, he gave his blessings to the couple's marriage.
- By the events of Web Novel 17 (Light Novel 14), Reida had already mastered 2 out of the 5 secret arts of Water God Style.[7]
- Though there were others who had mastered 3 out of 5 secret arts of Water God Style by the time Isolde did, they either: 1) couldn't surpass her, 2) had various other reasons, 3) had a wife and kids, 4) acknowledged Isolde as the true Water God.[8]
Reference[]
- ↑ Light Novel 17, Chapter 7
- ↑ Light Novel 17, Chapter 12
- ↑ Light Novel 26, Chapter 4
- ↑ Light Novel Extra Edition Volume 1
- ↑ Light Novel Volume 13, Extra Chapter
- ↑ Light Novel Volume 26, Chapter 3
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Rifujin Q&A (187感想返し)
- ↑ Rifujin Q&A (感想返し20150804)