Interpreting 下手に俺を残して手柄を奪われても困ると判断した in this context

Question

The MC/魔術者 found out that their army was headed towards a trap/ambush and informed in commander about it. The MC proposed that the solution was to turn backwards/retreat and take out all the enemies that were setting up behind the the army by surprise.

The MC is asking the commander if he can part with the main army, to escort an injured party (that got injured discovering the trap with the MC) back to safety. Is it true that MC is very motivated to get recognized for 手柄. The Commander is very arrogant and self centered. The Commander probably wants 手柄 but that isn't clear.

Commander「そしてこれより我が軍は転進し、後方に潜む卑劣な手で仲間を傷つけた敵部隊を排除する！」

将軍の号令で騎士達は雄たけびを上げ、隊列を乱さぬよう転進する。

明らかに士気も上がっているこの手の人物はやはりこういう役回りには向いているな。

MC「閣下、私は軍に同行しなくてよろしいので？」

commander「貴公の言う通りなら、敵の手の内がわかった以上もはや勝ったも同然今更魔術など必要あるまい」

MC「なるほど・・・ごもっともです」

・・・下手に俺を残して手柄を奪われても困ると判断したか、あるいは伏兵処理に赴いた人間は全員退却させる事で部下思いの指揮官を演出したいのか。

いずれにせよ、将軍の言う通りタネが割れた以上は俺がいなくとももはや勝利は揺らぐまい。

MC「では、閣下のお言葉に甘えさせていただきます」

...

(this might make no sense depending on how off i am)

Did the commander determine his is troubled even though he can leave me in a inferior position by taking the credit (for this victory), or is it that he wants to act like he's the commander that the underlying think is the one who turned around an army that was heading into a trap?

...

1. Assuming this is done by the commander, should 手柄を奪われて be interpreted as the general honorific passive and not the passive voice?

2. If 手柄を奪われて is the general honorific passive and not the passive voice is 俺を残して also done by the commander? If so why was 俺を残して not passive?

3. Why was 困ると判断したか used over 困るか？ It definitely feels less natural, especially when ...と判断したか isn't really "parallel" with ...を演出したいのか in terms of tense and type of action.

4. The doer of ...指揮官を演出したい has to be the commander as well right? Or is it somehow the MC?

5. On basis did the MC make all of these 。。。か assumptions from? It seems completely out of the blue.

Thanks!

Answer 1

I am afraid you are misinterpreting some things that you did not ask about in your questions, so I will give you my translation first:

下手に俺を残して手柄を奪われても困ると判断したか
Did he (=the commander) figure that it would be annoying if he carelessly left me (in the main army) and got his credit stolen (by me)?

あるいは伏兵処理に赴いた人間は全員退却させる事で部下思いの指揮官を演出したいのか
Or is it that he wants to act like he is a commander who thinks dearly of his underlings by ordering all the soldiers who went to deal with the troops in ambush to retire?

• 下手に{へたに} means "carelessly", "thoughtlessly", or "ineptly".
• (指揮官が俺に)手柄を奪われる is an example of what is called the possessor passive. The active counterpart would be 俺が指揮官の手柄を奪う. See:
  • Does indirect passive allow for the を in “四方を海に囲まれる”
  • How is the passive form used with を?
  • What does やられてる mean in this sentence?
• ても does not mean "even though" here. You should translate it simply as "if".
• From your description, it seems 伏兵処理に赴いた人間 is referring to the soldiers that discovered the ambush and got injured.
• The は in 人間は全員退却させる is masking a を. That is, 人間 is the direct object of 退却させる. The は is implying that the commander will not make some other soldiers retreat.
• 部下思い is a no-adjective that describes a person who thinks dearly of his underlings and shows a lot of concern for them. Similar phrases include 親思い, 子供思い, 家族思い, etc.

Regarding your third question,

下手に俺を残して手柄を奪われても困るか、あるいは伏兵処理に赴いた人間は全員退却させる事で部下思いの指揮官を演出したいのか。

does not seem natural to me in this context. It would mean "Would he find it annoying if he carelessly left me (in the main army) and got his credit stolen?" It would be a question about the future, so it is hard to interpret it as a guess for the reason he did not make him go with the main army. However, it would be a little better if it were 困るのか, which would mean "Is it that he would find it annoying..." Similarly, I think the の in 演出したいのか is necessary.

Also, I do not think the questions need to be parallel in tense or type of action, either in Japanese or in English. The narrator is just asking himself why the commander did not make him go with the main army. He is just guessing, "Is it because A, or is it because B?"

Answer 2

1. No. 奪われて in 手柄を奪われても困る is the passive voice, not the honorific passive: The Commander does not want the MC to be credited with the victory. In other words, the Commander will feel uncomfortable (困る) if the credit for the victory is stolen by the MC (手柄を奪われても).

2. Yes. The Commander let the MC stay (俺を残して).

3. Hope someone has the answer.

4. Yes. The Commander himself/herself wants to act as if he/she is (演出したい) a commanding officer who pays attention to his subordinates (部下思いの指揮官).

5. No idea. I believe that the question is: On what basis does the MC think that the Commander's motivation to let him/her stay is 下手に俺を...演出したいのか? The answer depends on how the writer built the story: Readers may or may not get the answer.