Summary
Elder Sister Maid uses the ring during a meeting with Young Merchant, but
he sees through it right away. Hero takes over and teleports him to Gate City,
and reveals Demon Queen’s identity, though not her title. As far as most humans
know, Gate City was re-occupied by the demons, but that isn’t the case. Rather,
Queen has recognized it as neutral territory. Human merchants – including some
from the Alliance, are doing brisk business, and a third of the city council
members are humans. Hero believes that merchants, those who think in terms of
loss and gain, may be the first to see the things that can’t be expressed so.
If Young Merchant will show him that, he can join their cause.
Queen visits Mage at the Outer Library of the Demon Realm. What
transpires isn’t shown, but when she returns to the castle of the Demon Kings
she tells Head Maid she left a message. They descend into the vaults, where the
spirits of the past Demon Kings are growing restless. Before she enters, Queen
has Head Maid repeat her promise – if Queen returns no longer herself, Head
Maid will kill her.
Back at Winter’s Pass, Lady Knight offers her sword to Hero. She
accepts the relationship between him and Queen, but she wants to be part of
their cause. Offering herself to be his sworn sword is her way of helping. Hero
accepts. Meanwhile, Elder and Younger Sister Maid learn how grateful the
villagers are for everything Queen and Head Maid have done for them.
The Winter King receives an envoy from the Holy Capital. The Crimson
Scholar has been declared a heretic and must be handed over a once! The potato
is a demon crop, her new agricultural methods are against the Light Spirit’s
teachings, and her efforts don’t sufficiently involve the church.
The Winter King and Old Man personally visit Winter’s Pass. Together
with Hero and Knight, they devise a plan. Elder Sister, reluctantly, agrees to
wear the ring and be ‘arrested’ by the Winter King. Once she’s out of the
country, Hero will rescue her.
Thoughts
This is the sort of thing I was worried about when I first started
watching the show. So, um, crop rotation on a four-year instead of three-year
cycle is evil? Really? Episode 3 did things nicely, showing the Church as a
leading institution for learning and the dissemination of knowledge. This time
it’s the more stereotypical view of the medieval church as ultra-dogmatic moral
guardians who don’t like anything that strays from their own dogma. But this’s
the same thing as before – I don’t want to leap to conclusions because things
usually turn out to be not so simplistic. After all, despite supposedly having
the moral authority of being their god’s earthly representatives, the Church
still has to struggle to maintain its’ influence. Knight’s reaction when she
hears the news hints that this isn’t so much standard procedure as a
heavy-handed use of their power against someone whose actions might undermine
its’ position. Of course they’d try to act against something like that.
And if the Church knows the potato is from the demon realm, why does
nobody else? Or even all members of the Church, since none of the nuns at the
Lakeside Convent had any idea about it. No one’s ever said where it comes from,
so how did the Church find out? Then again, I suppose if it’s unknown in human
lands, it’s not much of a leap to assume it must come from there.
My constant concerns against this show becoming simplistic in ways it
never has aside, more and more bits from the opening and ending sequences are
starting to make sense. A lot of what’s about to happen is hinted at there,
albeit in a way that isn’t clear until right before it’s about to happen. Between
a glimpse of Queen sitting up on a pedestal surrounded by a red aura, then a
shot of Head Maid with an injured arm right after, I think we can safely assume
Queen’s trip into the catacombs isn’t to going to end well. But then, of course
it won’t – are you really gonna have Head Maid make a promise like that and
then not force her to face a
situation where she has to carry out such an unpleasant duty? This show isn’t
ironic in that way. As long as Queen is saved before she actually has to be
killed it’s bound to be more interesting that way anyway.
And what’s up with those two invisible girls with Mage? Are they split
personalities or something? Is anything ever gonna be done with Mage at all?
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