© 赤井まつり・オーバーラップ/暗殺者のステータスが勇者よりも強い製作委員会

I am so thankful for this episode. I was not looking forward to lamenting on this series’ pacing issues for a third week in a row. And luckily, this week, I have no complaints on that front. However, what’s interesting is that, rather than the pace slowing down, it’s more that the story shown in this episode is built to better fit the speed.

To put it another way, just as much happens in this episode as in the last one. We go to no less than three new locations, are introduced to several new, important characters, have three fight scenes, and get a big chunk of backstory for two characters. However, where the story succeeds is that all these things are not treated as equal. The focus is put on the more emotional beats of the episode, rather than the fighting, and is centered around three areas:

1. Amelia’s growing feelings for Akira—and her inferiority complex when compared to him.
2. Yoru’s tragic backstory and why she had a death wish until being bonded to Akira.
3. Crow’s tragic backstory and how it connects with Yoru’s and, at the same time, parallels Amelia’s.

Due to the way these all interconnect, they all have the room to breathe that’s often been so lacking in this series so far. Along the way, we also get some interesting tidbits on how both this world and this specific area work, which is always appreciated.

But, when it comes to both the world-building and the overarching plot of the series, the most interesting addition comes in the form of Aurum Tres. We were briefly introduced to him in Kilika’s flashback as the person who tricked her into summoning monsters she couldn’t defeat. It’s now that we learn his affiliation—that he is a demon working under the Demon King.

What makes him so interesting is that, up until now, we’ve not really had a bad impression of the Demon King. We know that his counterpart, the human king, is corrupt, which in turn leads us to wonder if the demons are not actually the bad guys they’re portrayed as being. The fact that the Demon King has been watching Akira’s journey through Yoru’s eyes and has made it clear he wants to meet Akira in person has only added to this assumption. However, Aurum, seemingly under the Demon King’s direct orders, not only attacks the city Akira is currently in, but also kidnaps Amelia.

There are two ways to take this information. One is that the Demon King, knowing that Akira is without his preferred weapon, chooses this time as the moment to take Akira out—removing a wildcard from play along with an enemy city. The other, and perhaps more likely interpretation, is that Akira and friends were at the wrong place at the wrong time—that the Demon King was already in the midst of attacking the city when Akira arrived and was unwilling to put his plans on hold. Then, trusting that Akira and Yoru would be able to survive the chaos without issue, he ordered Aurum to capture and protect the much weaker Amelia—fearing what would happen between him and Akira if she became collateral damage in the city’s destruction.

Of course, there is nothing to say that Aurum understands the reason for the Demon King’s orders. He may think she’s supposed to be a hostage to use against Akira or her people. Moreover, the Demon King may not have realized (or remembered) that Aurum is the one responsible for most of the pain in Amelia’s life. But either way, once Akira wakes up, he’s likely to be on the warpath—and that’s not even considering what Amelia may be willing to do to get her revenge.

• My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s is currently streaming on Crunchyroll. *