It’s time for Kalta’s big Festival! It looks like it’s going to be a fun time for the whole village. There’s a stage, some tents, and Mina explains that there will even be a Hunting Festiva! I can’t see our dear Reiji participating in that, but maybe some other characters he’s met will decide to participate?
This was the episode I’ve been waiting for; I love elves. Their pointed faces and ears, their long flowing hair… I guess I’m a bit of a weirdo. When I used to play World of Warcraft I would always play as my main toon, which was a blood elf mage. Fun times. :3
The episode begins with Reiji being approached by the sister of Kalta’s famous elf, Kururu. Her name is Ririka and as her brother will be running the festival this year for the first time, she wants to improve her skills so she can show Kururu that she’s a good archer. What’s the catch? Her skills still need improving, hence why she was going to ask Reiji to make her a medicine that will improve her archery.
This scene was adorable because Ririka was flustered throughout, plus whenever she got in Reiji’s personal space he immediately turned a cute shade of pink too. ;D
Reiji tells Ririka that he must first assess her skill before he can make her any medicine. When he determines that Ririka’s stamina is low, he gives her one of his blue energy drinks. This immediately improves her performance but since the hunt will take place in the forest and with a moving target, Ririka’s progress is still not enough to win the hunt.
Poor Ririka’s spirit takes another hit when Noela picks up a bow and effortlessly shoots four bullseyes back to back! Whaaaat?! But how??
I appreciated that this episode tried to play with the usual fantasy stereotype of elves being good at archery. I mean if you’re going to think of an elf and you’re a 90s kid like me, is one of the first examples you think of not Legolas from the Lord of the Rings movies?
The Hunting Festival finally rolls around. Time for Ririka to show what she’s learned! Reiji’s contribution was to create some kind of scented liquid for Ririka, so I’m curious how that will be used.
Ririka has until sundown to kill as many beasts as she can. Her brother’s record was 16 so she definitely wants to kill at least that many.
It turns out that the liquid Reiji made was to be used as a lure. When Ririka opened the pouch he gave her, it released a scent that drew the beasts to her. Ririka would have a hard time with moving targets due to her low skill level, so by positioning herself in a space in the terrain where the monsters would be forced to approach Ririka in single file, she can pick them off one by one as soon as they came within range of her shortbow. A perfect idea! Except, maybe the lure works too well?? Hang in there Ririka! O_o
Sure enough, Ririka wins the event! But just as she’s in the middle of being celebrated by the townspeople, she runs off towards the pharmacy! Ririka wants to thank Reiji for his help but when he appears at the pharmacy’s front door, Ririka’s already gone. What’s this, another crush in the works? Are all his female admirers just going to line up at the end of the season and he has to pick one of them? xD
Part of the back half of the episode features Mina as Reiji’s customer! As I’d suspected earlier, Mina can’t leave the pharmacy for whatever reason. Anytime she tries to walk out the front door she is immediately transported back to the living room. Poor Mina! I’d be so claustrophobic if I were stuck in the space space for all eternityyyy~ x_X
But this was another episode I’d been waiting for! I think I said in my first or second review that I wanted to learn more about Mina’s backstory, and here we are! How did she die? And why can’t she leave the house?
Reiji theorizes that Mina’s being kept in the house because she’s tied to something in it. He invites over the local carpenter and upon giving the old man an energy drink, he whips up a trapdoor to the basement. I didn’t even know there was a basement! But the pharmacy was built in Mina’s former house, so seeing as it was once an ordinary residence, it makes sense that there’s a basement.
Reiji ventures downstairs to find an old sewing room. In a dresser drawer he finds a beautiful garnet brooch. Mina explains that it’s hers, and that her mother had been holding onto it for her.
After Reiji suggests that Mina wear the brooch, she’s suddenly able to leave the house again! She just can’t get too far from the jewelry or else she’ll be forcibly returned to its location. This change in her circumstances is wonderful news for Mina and it’s touching how happy she is to be able to live a full life like Reiji, Noela, and the other townspeople. She’s no longer forced to watch the shop alone for hours while Reiji and Noela get to do fun things outside.
In the episode’s last segment, Noela develops a stomachache after eating some nuts she found on the road. Mina theorizes that after Noela developed a love for rokushou nuts, she has now developed the habit of eating other things she finds on the road in order to see what they taste like. Hey hey Noela, remember that curiousity killed the cat!! >_<;; Don’t let it kill the werewolf too!
Reiji creates a medicine with “Bitter A” extract in it, and puts it in the medicine he makes for Noela to take after she gets a stomachache. It’s his way of punishing her for breaking the promise she made to him (to not eat anything she found on the ground outside). If Noela eats something she shouldn’t, Reiji gives her the medicine, which gets rid of her stomachache but makes anything she eats afterwards taste bitter. The idea is that if she feels better then resumes her old behavior, the bitterness will deter her and hopefully break her of that habit. Poor Noela, even her rokushou nuts taste gross after consuming Reiji’s medicine.
Man I’m enjoying this show so much more than I thought I would at the beginning of the series. It’s episodic, yes, but characters who’ve already showed up still make cameos in later episodes and that helps give Cheat Kusushi no Slow Life a sense of continuity. We only saw Ririka for about half the episode this week, so she’s one character I definitely hope we’ll see again.
Author’s Note: I will aim to get this series’ reviews out on Wednesdays, but it may not always be possible due to my work schedule. Please know that if I don’t have it out on the Wednesday, it will definitely be out on Thursday. Thank you for your understanding!
