It’s the countdown the next wave and this week focused on expanding the team and tying up some unresolved conflicts in regards Naofumi having to clean up the mess his fellow Heroes has left behind. But first, it starts off with Naofumi learning and the girls are ready for a class upgrade, only to be straight up denied (after attempting to CLEARLY rip him off with the outrageous cost!) from accessing it due to the King’s imperial order.
At this point, it looks like the King (probably advised by Myne) is just straight up looking for ways to have Naofumi killed off now (what a freaking idiot). While they have been informed thanks to the slave master about being able to access the Class Upgrade from different countries outside of the King’s jurisdiction— which frankly, Naofumi would be better off doing at this point since the King and Myne insists on screwing him over in any way he can. (Unfortunately for Melty, it seems she will have an even more tricky time getting through to him!)
But on the bright side this episode wasn’t about Naofumi being screwed over, in fact is was more about him cautiously opening up to strangers. The young soldier (Ake) who had chased after Naofumi last week came back with friends who wish to support him during the Wave. It turns out they are all from Lute Village, and because they are thankful for him fighting to protect their town, they wish to fight alongside him. Naofumi however was skeptical because the last time someone volunteered to join him, he was betrayed, big time which resulted him in his current predicament. So he decided to challenge them by telling them they must buy his leftover accessory for 150 silver pieces, and they managed to scrap the money together. Besides having them show him that they were willing to put in the effort to gather the money, he also did that so they would be able to purchase reliable armour so they won’t drop like flies. And I have to say, that was a really clever idea. Naofumi also made it extremely clear, if they try to do anything stupid aka betray him, there will be hell to pay.
We also saw Raphtalia having to face with the fact Naofumi expects to one day return to his home world. It was why he wanted her to pick her class upgrade on her own so she could determine what would be best for her future. However Raphtalia doesn’t want to be separated from him, and she later even straight up asked him if she could go with him. The matter was shelved though when Filo got upset thinking she was trying to kiss him. Regardless, it’s a sad situation all the same, since even if Naofumi were to eventually return to his world, I don’t think she would be able to join him.
Another highlight of the episode was Naofumi confronting Ren and Itsuki about their mess he had to clean up. Although the timing of of this confrontation couldn’t be worse (given the Wave is about the transpire in just a matter of hours), I am glad that he told them about the consequences of their actions. Someone had to, or else they would never know about it unless they were return to the places they have impacted. But what was the most interesting was the difference in response between Ren and Itsuki. The one who refused to acknowledge his error in judgement was Itsuki, who was responsible for leading a revolution that turned a bad situation into something worse. In fact he denies it so much, he insists Naofumi must be lying.
However when Naofumi called Ren out about the Dragon corpse, unlike Itsuki, he was deeply disturbed by the consequences of his actions. He was genuinely shocked, showed remorse and owned up to it. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but I have a lot more respect him for acknowledging his mistakes. However at the same time, the fact Ren is looks to be capable to grow and learn from his past mistakes makes me worried this might be a death flag. It is always frustrating when a character like Ren who finally shows room to grow wounds up being killed off before they get the chance to.
So here’s to hoping Ren survives this next wave, because the way they have been building up the tension for the next wave is making me worried about the sheer scale and the difficulties they will be facing this time round. Additionally, a mysterious woman appears to be leading the pack, which makes me curious to who she is, and how she’s connected to the wave!
