One night Ruti and Tisse visit Red and Rit to tell them that Cardinal Ljubo is looking for the demon lord’s airship (talk about a MacGuffin!). Red is fine with the Church taking the ship for good, but if that’s not the case, they’ll deal with it. The morning news also comes with a story about the “Masked Knight Escarlata” defeating one of the demon lord’s generals, Astra of the Water.
Red’s first priority is to make sure no one finds Ruti or learns that she’s forsaken her Hero’s Blessing. Part of that is making sure Ruti and Tisse have all the tools at their disposal to have a prosperous life growing and selling herbs. To that end, he agrees to be their first customer and will help Ruti learn the ropes of business.
While visiting Danan at the hospital, Red learns that the big lug wants to spar with him before he leaves. Red tells Rit he needs to train hard so he doesn’t embarrass himself, even though he’s certain Danan will win in the end: fighting is his Blessing, after all.
After Red declines to spar with Rit, a training camp is organized, with Red, Rit, Yarandrala (who is a lot more militarily accomplished than Rit thought), Ruti, Tisse, and … Danan. That’s right, the big guy can’t resist a training camp, and this one will have great food.
The training progresses well, during which time Danan assures Red that the “Escarlata” in the papers must be Theodora in disguise, and Ruti stands naked under a waterfall. Yarandrala and Danan reminisce, while Red and Rit get some couple time bathing in a spring.
Red tells Rit that fighting Danan isn’t about winning or losing, but simply getting Danan to understand—through his language of martial combat—the value of the life Red has chosen, and his resolve to continue living it. Rit hopes he’s able to make him understand.
Because this is Shin no Nakama, the actual sparring session is pretty underwhelming due to the dearth of animation. I’ll be charitable and say it gets the job done with very little in the way of style, elegance, or creativity. But I don’t watch this show for its fights, and never have. It’s the intent and the feelings behind the fight that matter, and those do come through in the end.
Red loses, as he knew he would. But he still succeeds, because while Danan still doesn’t understand the Slow Life and probably never will, he’s able to accept and respect Red thanks to the strength he demonstrated. He’s on a different path with a different kind of strength, and he wishes him well. Then Ruti challenges Danan to a sparring session and demolishes him in the blink of an eye—not doubt to avenge her dear “onii-sama-senpai.”
The group returns home to find Albert waiting for them, and he brings not-so-great news: a new Hero has appeared: Van of Flamberge. Theodora is with him, and they may well be headed to Zoltan. We then cut to Van witnessing a man kill another in a bar to satisfy his “Wrongdoer” Blessing.
Van doesn’t believe he needs to question, arrest, or try this man, but simply beheads them right there. Theodora, AKA Escalarta, tells him that human beings’ lives involve more than their Blessings’ urges, but she might as well be talking to a brick wall.
By killing the man, Van believes he helped fulfill the man’s role: a stepping stone for the Hero’s growth. The scariest part about Van is he has no ego; he’s simply a killing machine devoid of nuance or quarter … the last person you want in Zoltan, or anywhere near Ruti.
