All the political complexity has returned to the episode, and as usual, things are getting more and more complicated for Akira and his village of goblins. We’ll see how this whole political web unravels in the end, but for now, let’s analyze today’s episode.
At the beginning, we see Eirene reveal one of her abilities to Akira: an ability called “Pheromones,” which she can use to create either a kind of poison or a medicine, depending on what she deems appropriate. This means she could be very dangerous in battle or could use it to heal villagers if they’re in danger.
Then we see that Prince Albert wants to meet with Akira, but he doesn’t want to visit the village, so he arranges for them to meet outside the forest. Eirene, knowing that Albert was the man who cornered the Demon King, wants to go with Akira to meet Albert. We get a glimpse of Eirene’s character; it’s clear she’s a calculating young woman with her own motives. I think Eirene will be a character who will be of great help to the Goblin Village in the future.
Then we see Akira’s meeting with Prince Albert, and I think things didn’t go quite as the prince had planned; right away, we see that the elf’s presence causes some concern for Albert. The proposal is to name Akira King of a goblin country; however, these aren’t Albert’s true intentions—we know this because Eirene uses an ability on the prince that forces him to reveal the whole truth. When Albert reveals his intentions, they are as follows: to be one step closer to making Akira the next Demon King. Akira is a goblin who can be reasoned with, and we never learn the other reason because Albert manages to use his “Reset” ability, which allows him to go back in time and undo his mistakes. I’m left wondering what Albert will do now that he knows the Elves are on Akira’s side and are even willing to help him; I wonder if he’ll go after them.
So, realizing he couldn’t come out of that situation unscathed, Albert looks for an excuse to leave, since Eirene’s presence jeopardizes the peace between humans and goblins—it could easily spark a war between them. We see that Akira is quite suspicious of Albert; he considers him a troublemaker. I find Akira’s attitude toward Albert curious—it’s completely different from how he treats Duke Simon. Perhaps it’s because he thinks he can manipulate Simon more easily, or because he genuinely believes Albert could launch an attack at any moment and he hasn’t been able to figure out how to counter his ability. Something I really liked about this chapter is that we learn a little more about the prince’s ability; This was something I wanted to know because I was worried they’d make it seem like he could use it however he pleased, but no—the ability also has its own conditions and restrictions. So it’ll be interesting to see what happens later on. Remember that Albert has already used his ability on Akira, and that ability is limited to a certain number of uses on a single person.
Following that, we see that the attacks by humans on goblins haven’t stopped; this time, Echigoya fell victim to a bandit who attacked him, and he wouldn’t have survived if not for Akira’s enhanced healing ability. This unleashes a rage in Akira, but we see that his anger isn’t uncontrolled—it’s measured and calculated, which makes him all the more fearsome. Truly, someone like Akira should be in charge of a country. The attack on Echigoya triggers a crisis in the city—after all, he is the one who supplies fine clothing to humans—so nobles and commoners alike, especially women, begin demanding that the clothing supply be restored, since Akira has cut off the shipment of garments made by Echigoya to the city. We see the concept of the Cold War in a subtle way. Akira knows he cannot attack humans directly, and humans know that a war against the goblins is very dangerous, since they have a brilliant strategist in every respect.
In his tireless quest to better understand his abilities, Akira studies the limits of the “Law of the Strongest”—an ability he inherited from the Demon King—and discovers its boundaries and just how far he can go in demanding obedience from the people he turns to stone. The minor crisis comes to an end when Karen advises Akira that he’s focusing too much on himself and losing his way; Akira sees her point and reaches an agreement with Duke Simon to create a shared zone between humans and goblins where there will be no attacks from either side and the lives of the other will be respected. A quick aside about Prince Albert—we’ve already seen that he’s working on something against Akira, and he also mentioned a certain “Demon Duke.” I wonder if he was referring to Simon. Is Simon perhaps a demon hiding his true face, or is it another character who hasn’t been revealed yet?
I thought this episode was wonderful—it was really good, very entertaining, and full of information that makes the plot much more complex. There was something I was expecting from this episode—and I don’t know why—but I was hoping for more fan service for Akira. Seriously, the guy works day and night for his village; it’s about time he relaxed a little. And he’s got plenty to choose from—the elves are really cute, he’s got Chloe, and he’s even got Karen. Seriously, they need to let Akira have a little fun. Okay, I’d better wrap up today’s post. Hugs.
