We’re back again prepping for the battle at Renril and Fushi still seems to want to take care of this situation all by himself. Personally, I know this is some growth that he needs to go through, but sometimes I just want to shake him by the shoulders and tell him not to try to do everything by himself. It’s okay to let people help you!! It’s okay to let humans make their own decisions. Will they be bad decisions? Probably! But not allowing them that autonomy is probably worse than whatever outcome they will have!
This week we get to learn a little bit more about Messar and Hairo. Ultimately, I really enjoyed learning more about both of them because they have interesting things to bring to this battle. Messar has connections to Alme, the princess of Renril although their true relationship isn’t revealed until the end. Initially, they seem to have been childhood friends that ended up losing their relationship just due to their circumstances. Messar is the bastard child of the King, but that isn’t information that Alme is aware of. In fact, no one else is aware of this until he reveals it after he beat her in a game. Fushi straight up describes Messar as being stuck in the friendzone which,,, is technically correct. I’m interested to know if they will talk more about Messar’s feelings towards the princess – my hope is that he just cares for her a lot as a childhood friend and sibling, but there is always the possibility for romance… but if I know anything about this series, I don’t know if he’ll be alive for the second option to come to fruition.
Hairo on the other hand has a backstory that is an absolute doozy. Every episode I’m reminded just how bad the Church of Bennett is and I’m getting ready to square up with the clergy myself. He’s an orphan boy confined to a room and tracked by an “adoptive mother”, Tasette. Tasette appears to be a nun for the church and does her best to take care of Hairo, while still making sure that he is brought up in the teachings of the church (and simultaneously removed from society as they believe him to be possessed by a demon). Of course, this is the only life Hairo knows so really the world doesn’t seem too bad to him. I mean, he got to go outside once a week! Hairo appears to have an inability to feel pain. As a child, the church would remove every single one of his teeth without an explanation, leaving him to just eat soft and wet foods. But that only makes it all the more impactful when Tasette gives him teeth, bread, and cheese for his birthday (and then of course they never see each other again). And now as an adult, he does appear to be an apt fighter because he isn’t pulled down by the feelings of pain. Fushi watches him as he dislocates his arm while fighting, but Hairo only acts as if he’s injured rather than feeling true pain. At first, I thought that he might have had a prosthetic arm or something, but no. That’s just a thing that happens. But! I do think that is an interesting experience!! His body is still very much human, so it bruises and breaks just like any other. He just can’t feel it, so haha imagine the future battles that could occur with this!
One thing that I really liked about Hairo’s story is that we also pick up Kamu. While it can be argued that the people currently in Fushi’s party are all human, most of them don’t have anything that they are trying to stay human for. Bon, arguably, has already “died” once. He’s still tied to his family in Uralis (but I think he would be more than okay to perish defending Fushi). Kahaku really only exists for Fushi, Kai has already lost his remaining family, and Hairo doesn’t really have any family to fight for. Messar has a little more connection because he wants to be able to protect Princess Alme, but again I think he is more than willing to die for her safety. Kamu on the other hand is really just your average citizen of Renril. He’s training to be a soldier, but he’s probably the one who represents the view of the Renril people the best. I also like that he basically calls Fushi’s behavior out by stating that he’s acting like a mother to all of them. His line, “Let us be the ones to protect the people we want to protect” is pretty strong and I am so glad someone has told this to Fushi. He cannot be a hero to everyone and him trying to be that really opens up a dangerous path down the line. So, Kamu, I hope nothing bad happens to you. I really appreciate your presence in this episode!!
Next week looks to be another episode to prepare for the war, but there may be a rift among the people of Renril with Fushi’s identity truly revealed. I think it was going to need to happen eventually, but I really hope all the progress we’ve made so far doesn’t go down the drain. But hmmmm I’m getting worried about learning so much about all these characters, I suppose I should start preparing for the absolute devastation that is inevitably going to come.
