Episode 20: The Beast-Lord Named Lilan
Summary:
At Kazalm’s library, Erin is busy reading a book on beast-lords. Yuuyan and Kashugan walk around in search of a book. They stumble upon Erin, and Yuuyan brings up how she is supposed to be picking up dung. Erin realizes she’s right and runs off; however, she suddenly returns and thanks them, saying how she’d been looking forward to it, then leaving.
In a beast-lord shed, Erin watches other students pull down a large wooden fence so that it may exit. As she gazes up at the beast-lord, she notices its sad expression. She wonders what feeling she’s experiencing when watching it. As they clean the dung, Erin notices her instructor’s mute whistle and he reinforces the fact that it paralyzes the beast-lords when necessary. He reminds her that beast-lords never befriend humans, and brings up a case where a careless student was eaten by one. Erin recalls her mother’s mute whistle and asks him about its range. He answers with roughly ten adult steps, adding that it’s the only tool that can control a beast-lord. Meanwhile, Nukku and Mokku are busy cleaning the laundry.
A dung fight eventually happens back in the shed. Tomura stops by on his way to take care of the baby beast-lord. The teacher asks him about the its condition and Tomura tells him that it’s difficult and he’s trying different things. He then notices Erin studying the dung, and the instructor tells him how she’s engrossed in anything involving the beast-lords. Erin thinks back on a time with her mother, where she gave her a lesson on how the appearance of an animal’s dung can describe it.
Later, as Yuuyan and the others are fixing a wall, Tomura informs them of a thundercloud. He tells them to watch the beast-lords while he tells the students in the sheds to hurry up. Urari recalls how beast-lords return to their sheds at the sound of thunder. When Tomura reaches Erin’s shed, he’s surprised to find them finishing things up by her suggestion. She had reached a similar conclusion like him, and he tells her that it was the right thing to do.
Outside, Kashugan notices a beast-lord running back towards the shed; unfortunately, he also spots Nukku and Mokku in its path. Back in the shed, the group is finished cleaning up but Kashugan informs them of Nukku and Mokku’s situation. Tomura runs out just in time to blow his mute whistle, stopping the beast-lord’s chase. Erin painfully watches as it collapses onto the ground. She walks over to Tomura and the beast-lord, and mutters her mother’s words of how beasts that are tamed by humans are pitiful. Tomura wonders what she’s talking about. She thinks about how wild beast-lords are so beautiful, yet she pities the ones here. Tomura instructs her to get back to the shed since it’ll wake up soon. When he grabs her arm to pull her away, Erin notices his mute whistle and thinks back to her mother, wondering if she felt the same way: a cold feeling, as if one’s heart is freezing; a feeling so great that it could kill a beast-lord’s heart.
The next day, Tomura reports to Esal on the previous day’s events. She asks him what he thinks of Erin. He thinks she’s smart, and Esal agrees. She is then heard asking him about Lilan, though further conversation is not disclosed.
Tomura emerges from the office and runs into Kashugan, who asks about the baby beast-lord. He wonders if things aren’t going so well, and Tomura somberly tells him how it doesn’t eat anything. No matter what he does, it only bears him fangs.
As Erin is watching the beast-lords in the field, she recalls the times with her mother and Touda. Esal approaches her as she mutters her pity remark and Esal wonders why she thinks that way. Erin tells her about the impressive, wild beast-lords, who outshine the ones here. Esal is amazed she was able to see one, for it is apparently a rare occurrence for non beast-lord rangers. She asks Erin to follow her to a building inhabited by Tomura.
Inside, Esal hands her a jug of benetrophic water, and she analyzes its components. Tomura wonders how she knows these things and Esal proceeds to let her analyze the dung, to which Erin points out how it’s lighter in color and smaller in quantity. She also notices the feathers in it. Impressed, Esal guides her to the area where the baby beast-lord is being held. She notices the wound on its left wing. Esal blows her whistle to detain it, allowing them to enter its den freely and treat it. She hands her the mute whistle and instructs her to blow it if it wakes up. Erin then notices that the baby has been eating itself, explaining the feathers in its dung. She asks Esal if it’s afraid because of the injury, and Esal tells her that’s not the case. Rather, it was captured as a gift to the Queen. The first time it saw humans was when it was being petrified by their mute whistles. She explains how it got its wound, and it turns out this baby beast-lord is the same one that was shot by the assassin during the Queen’s birthday. She further tells her about the Saigamuru and their principles.
Erin can relate to the baby’s feelings, knowing that it’s afraid because it was separated from its mother. Thinking back on her mom’s execution, Erin suddenly starts crying, and Esal wonders what’s wrong. She reconsiders the idea of Erin taking care of the baby, but Erin argues that she doesn’t believe accurate decisions come from just being cool-minded. She explains that there are things one cannot feel if he or she is far away; she believes she is the best person for the job since she can understand the baby’s feelings. After further discussion, Esal deems Erin as its new caretaker. She also recalls her mother’s words at Ake’s bath, and asks for permission to take care of the beast-lord in her own way. She further asserts that when it’s better, she wishes to continue looking after it. Esal agrees, but reminds her of an important rule: “beast-lords never befriend humans. You can never be the special one.” With that understanding, Esal informs Tomura that Erin will be taking care of Lilan, the baby beast-lord, from now on. He is apparently troubled by this turn of events, and Esal tries to reassure him by saying she is not blaming him, and that she’s not sure what to do either. He wonders why she chose Erin, since she is a new student. Esal reminds him that she’s smarter than her age, and says her time will be limited to a month. With that, Tomura reluctantly agrees.
When Esal departs, Tomura bitterly responds when Erin tries to take a look at Lilan. It turns out that “Lilan” in the ancient tongue also stands for “light.” Erin anticipates her time with Lilan, but does not yet know that their encounter would forever change her life.
Next Episode Preview:
My Thoughts:
Looks like Erin has made contact with a beast-lord! Talk about infiltrating the shed and taking Tomura’s position. It seems pretty coincidental that the baby beast-lord is the same one from the birthday bash, but sometimes things work out that way. I’m not sure whether to be concerned about Tomura. Everyone seems to idolize him, but with Erin replacing him I wonder if he’d try something underhanded. If that’s the case, Erin’s bond with her peers could be threatened. Yet, he doesn’t look too evil in the preview. It looks like he, along with Nukku and Mokku, will be lending a hand to Erin’s trial-by-fire. I’m glad to see she’s staying true to her ideals of not following the normal beastinarian practices. This shows some growth and take-away from the experience with her mother, which is good. I’m sure that her methods will most likely get the attention of many at Kazalm, and perhaps even the palace.
Also, with the constant mentioning of how beast-lords don’t befriend humans, it seems like Erin may just be the special case. This is especially possible since the narrator revealed their encounter would change her life forever. I’m curious to see what methods Erin will employ to help Lilan recover, but we’ll have to find out next time, won’t we? Indeed, we will. Hence, stay tuned for the next episode of Kemono no Souja Erin: “Extinguishing Light!”
Tags: anime, fantasy, heart-warming, Kemono no Souja Erin
