Shin no Nakama ja Nai to Yuusha no Party wo Oidasareta node, Henkyou de Slow Life suru Koto ni Shimashita – 10

「これは勇者を救う物語」 (Kore wa Yuusha o Sukuu Monogatari)
“Saving the Hero”

Episode 10 might appear to soften things up by having Ruti use her newfound freedom to move into Zoltan, and join Rit and Red as they live the slow life. But her role as a Hero is put to the test when the strides she takes to avoid returning to that life involve abusing drugs and harboring a drug-creator to keep her supplied and addicted to the one thing that could free her from her responsibilities.

I WANT A NEW DRUG

Ruti’s a bit of an odd character. She yearns for a time where she can be doted on by Gideon, but rather than being entirely fixated on the Red that he would become, she still aims to live vicariously in the past. It feels weird to talk about a fantasy anime and mention the Hero being addicted to drugs, and self-medicating to escape from the cruddy hand life dealt her. But that’s how this anime’s drugs come into play as they allow Ruti to block her blessing and live normally with her big brother.

But even that won’t stop her from dipping into self-pity as she’s come to accept that she’s been doomed to never be happy. Even when she’s reached a place she wants to be in, she can only do so temporarily through the power of drugs and holding a criminal captive. It’s not a situation that will end pretty unless absolutely no one finds out that Ruti has been avoiding her responsibilities by getting high and freeing her supplier from jail.

Additionally, she can’t help but envy Rit merely by the virtue that she doesn’t have the Hero’s blessing and has the freedom to build a deeper connection with Gideon. I was expecting things to be tenser between Rit and Ruti, but Ruti is far too much of a tragic character to stay focused on her envy. Not when Ruti has no idea what she wants other than to recapture the innocence she once had hanging out with her big brother as a kid.

But as she gets older and he has his own life to lead, she has a hard time letting go of this past, and can’t seem to find the spark that she once had by being close to her brother. Rather than seeing her reunion as a new door open before her to pick up where she left off, she feels like she’s gazing at a door that’s already been slammed shut in her face with no hope of opening ever again.

WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE…

The one person who could keep her grounded, Tisse Garland, admires her too much to defy her. She’s been a fun character to follow as someone who hides a cheerier disposition underneath her cold backstory as an assassin. Through her time in Zoltan, she’s designated herself as a “Public Bath Reviewer”, and lets her pet Mr. Crawly Wally join her as she takes a stroll around town. But because she’s tied up with having to handle the supplier, she also has no idea whether it’d be morally right to let Ruti break the law for a temporary solution to her angst.

Ares being left to his own devices is also a crucial mistake as he’s having his own fun working with Albert. With his own plans to have Albert’s hand restored, the finale is shaping up to be a Blues Brothers-esque pile-up where every antagonist gets together to mash together, each with their own personal goals to either spread drugs, make Zoltan a military state, or stick it to Red for outclassing them.