Episode 38: The Queen, Harumiya
Summary:
At the palace, Damiya helps plan the Queen’s trip to Kazalm. They decide to head there through the hills but return by river; Damiya seems overly anxious. On the day of their departure, the Queen looks out to see many of her followers bowing in respect. At the Grand Duke’s palace, Shunan informs his father of her trip, and he is annoyed that they failed to inform them.
Meanwhile, at Kazalm, Esal-sensei asks the other teachers to be careful that the Queen doesn’t see Erin; likewise, she tells Erin not to show herself. Karisa presents students with special clothing for the Queen’s visit. Ial and Kyle arrive beforehand to scout out the area. He hands Kyle pictures of those presiding over the school. Kiriku arrives to show them around, but Ial says he’d like to tour the area himself. At one point, he notices Erin talking with students in a room. She notices him as well, right after he stops looking at her.
Once the Queen arrives, she is treated to a song by the students with Nukku and Mokku dancing around. Shiron presents her with a jar of flowers. Esal-sensei greets her, and the Queen politely asks to see the beast-lords. They are first shown the regular beast-lords, but then are directed towards Lilan’s family. One of her escorts, Ouri, mentions how it’s so far and wonders why they didn’t keep them in the shed; Esal-sensei says they would start a tantrum on such a nice day, hence injuring themselves by slamming themselves against the walls. The Queen asks to get closer, and hesitation sweeps through all the teachers, including a hidden Erin. Esal-sensei warns her how beast-lords don’t befriend humans, and it would be dangerous to get close. Ouri mentions how they’d just need to blow the mute whistle, but Esal-sensei argues it would put too much stress on Owl. However, pressure is added when Damiya chimes in with how they’ll be careful. Esal-sensei gives in and takes them closer. A worried Erin is aware of what could happen.
They enter the fields and Lilan and Eku rise up cautiously. Erin tries to get closer, but is stopped by Nukku and Mokku, who remind her that she shouldn’t stand out. She fights past when she realizes things may end horribly. The Queen marvels at them and moves even closer despite Esal-sensei’s warnings; Damiya reasons why this beast-lord, who was a gift to her, would harm the Queen. Lilan grows more hostile and Esal-sensei tries to get Ial to stop them. Lilan advances to attack, and an alarmed Ial instructs them to blow the mute whistle; Erin fortunately steps forward in time with her harp. The Queen and her group are surprised by her manner of calming Lilan down. Afterwards, Erin asks the Queen to step back, and she finally concedes. Damiya stares at Erin with evil intentions.
Back in the building, the Queen says this is the first time she’s seen a beast-lord calmed with a harp, and wonders if this is normal practice in a care center. Esal-sensei tells her no, but explains that Lilan grew up like that. The Queen wishes to talk to Erin, but Esal-sensei tells her that she’s feverish right now. Damiya excuses himself, and Kiriku offers to show him around. Outside, it’s confirmed he’s in cahoots with Damiya. He presumably tells him about the situation. Damiya approaches Erin while she’s in the shed and expresses his surprise. He reminds her of the Beast-Lord imperatives and says that it’s a crime to not follow them.
Back in the building, the Queen wishes to see Lilan’s family again, and Esal-sensei hesitantly permits it. Meanwhile, Damiya continues to talk and wonders what would happen if others at the palace found out about her violation, then noting her green eyes. He recalls Soyon from Ake Village and gets closer to her. He compliments her eyes: ones that may seem as though they hide every secret. He then grabs her hand, and tells her he’ll protect her. Lilan growls as he expresses interest in transferring them to Lazal. Erin tells Lilan everything is okay, and asks him to let go. Damiya reflects on his defeat, and they are interrupted by a disappointed Queen and the others. She had apparently been listening for awhile, though it’s not specifically revealed when.
She apologizes for Damiya’s behavior, but Erin says she was rude herself, politely bowing. Owl then asks for food, and Erin proceeds to feed them. They watch as she enters the cage and drops them a meal. Ouri is again surprised at the absence of a mute whistle, and Esal-sensei explains how Erin had saved Lilan when was close to dying; she rationalizes this must be why Lilan is attracted to her. The Queen watches in wonder, and again brings up the topic of Lazal. She reflects on her unique ability to calm beast-lords without a mute whistle and says she doesn’t particularly like the tool herself, surprising everyone. Ouri protests, but the Queen argues that it would be better if beast-lords could be raised without one: perhaps then the confined beast-lords would produce more babies. This surprises Erin since it was Je who wrote the imperatives to prevent future tragedy. Erin then answers that she would like to stay here for now, and the Queen puts the offer on hold. They leave and spend the night at Sir Kazalm’s estate.
In her office, Esal-sensei reflects on the day and Erin apologizes for her intervention. She wonders why the Queen mentioned her opinion about the mute whistle, and Esal-sensei is unsure, wondering if she was testing them or simply held a different belief. Erin says it didn’t seem like the Queen knew about the secret of the imperatives, and Esal-sensei agrees. Anxiety fills them as they think back on her words.
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My Thoughts:
It was bound to happen eventually. What story would be exciting if a secret was never revealed to those with influence? The Queen deserved to be attacked, considering how she was acting like a child and recklessly approached Lilan’s family. More annoying was how Damiya seemed like a father to the Queen, in those instances when she looked to him on refusals and smiled happily when he argued on her behalf. He told her that she was ruling the beautiful kingdom, but I find it difficult to believe with her behavior. Her escort, Ouri, also seems like a punk. It was creepy when Damiya confronted Erin alone and mentioned protecting her. She should have just let Lilan eat him instead of telling her to calm down. I didn’t like how she apologized for her “rude behavior.” Erin wasn’t being disrespectful; she was simply defending her personal space from a creepy invader. One other point is that the Queen is most likely not aware of her ancestor’s intentions for writing the Beast-Lord Imperatives. I can see this being an issue should the palace ask Erin to raise beast-lords like Lilan, and eventually use them to defend against the supposed Saigamul.
One minor note is that Ial is confirmed to be the head honcho of the Sezans now. I figured as much, but it was never really mentioned (they never really had a good time to) in previous episodes. Also, as thought, Kiriku is in cahoots with Damiya. I wonder why he didn’t tell him about the beast-lords and Erin (based on Damiya’s surprise)? Maybe he’s actually not that bad of a guy. I still wouldn’t eat anything from him though.
It seems like Damiya is up to something by planning the Queen’s route, and we may see it come to fruition in the next episode. It looks like Touda will be attacking and that brings up the rhetorical question: how will they be stopped? Erin and Lilan, of course! We’re entering the final chapter of this series, and I’m sure Damiya will try to abuse Erin’s ability when he sees her flying on Lilan. I also wonder if Lilan will turn berserk (it looks like it in the preview), and, if so, what will become of her? We’ll have to see what happens. Next time, watch the Queen’s company get attacked, on Kemono no Souja Erin: “Attack of the Touda!”
Tags: anime, fantasy, heart-warming, Kemono no Souja Erin
