Welp, that commenter was right: Naofumi is now framed for kidnapping Melty. But does this conspiracy actually hold up? Well, let’s see.
— So apparently, the bad guys can use magic to doctor the “footage.” Wait, there’s such a thing as footage in this world? You can record video? I guess so. The soldiers then proceed to travel across the land to give everyone a screening of Naofumi’s evil deed.
— Look, why can’t the official princess just clear this up by issuing some kind of official decree? If the bad guys can doctor footage, why can’t the good guys release their own footage? Shrug, I guess they just don’t have access to this magic for whatever reason.
— So okay, why can’t she just waltz into the capital and say that she’s fine? People are still out to kill her? I mean, for this premise to work, I have to believe that the entire army is out to kill Melty on sight. I have to somehow assume that she can’t find herself a single company of soldiers within the entire kingdom who would help the second princess safely deliver the word to her father that she is okay. But why would nobody help her? Have they really all been ordered to kill her? ‘Cause that’s how it works. When you sign up for the army, and they tell you to kill the beloved second princess, you just do it. Every single one of them. The entire army. There isn’t a single captain, general or whatever who is like, “What, why are we doing this?”
— Even then, Melty has loyal followers, right? Like that lady we see every so often.
— Alright, fine. Let’s assume that even if the second princess tells some random company of soldiers that she’s fine, they would A) try to kill her or B) be unable to protect her from the evil conspirators. Why not go to her mother then? Shrug, this suggestion is never considered by any of the protagonists.
— At one point, Naofumi tries to grill a captured soldier for some answers, and he gets a clue to work with when the soldier spits out that he won’t listen to the devil. Fittingly enough, the major religion here only worships the other three heroes. Okay, so lemme get this straight. Bad pope man goes to the army and tells them that the Shield Hero is evil. I mean, something like that must have happened. So these soldiers are like, “Ugh, we gotta do something about this evil heretic!” Then someone — maybe Malty, the bad pope man again, or both of them — suggested, “Yo, you know what you should do? Frame him for kidnapping the second princess, then spread the word! And if the second princess goes, ‘Nuh-uh, that’s not what happened,’ you kill her!” And the army just agreed to this? Like how does this shit work? You can argue that people are being deluded into hating Naofumi, but their logical thought process still doesn’t make sense. Let’s get rid of the devil by… hurting our beloved second princess! Wait, what?
— Our hero still thinks he’s being framed by the king, but Melty continues to wholeheartedly defend her father. She just doesn’t bother to offer up any actual supporting evidence for why she thinks her father is innocent. Look, I bet he isn’t one of the main conspirators behind this frame job either (he seems like a dumbass), but you can’t just insist that you’re right and expect people to come to your side. But instead of a proper argument, I get to hear her shrill, whiny cries. WHY CAN’T YOU TWO JUST UNDERSTAAAAAAAND?! Oh well, this is what you get when every supporting character is an immature loli.
— In order to avoid roads and checkpoints full of imperial soldiers, Naofumi and his girls have to cross the mountains on foot. This also means they have to abandon their wagon. Welp.
— They’re headed for a place called Siltvelt. Naofumi notices that the army is trying really hard to keep them from going there, so it must be the place to go! And at no point during this trip does Melty mention, “Hey, we should go to my mother! She will know what to do!” Well, even if she did, Naofumi would probably just counter her suggestion with, “UGH YOUR MOM IS ROYALTY SO SHE’S SHIT TOO!” But hey, you gotta at least try.
— Hell, they even start talking about her mother. We learn that she has more power than her husband. Great, then she can help clear this whole mess up! But of course, at no point does anybody consider going to the queen for assistance. Instead, Naofumi just giggles over the fact that the king married into the royal family. Um, alright. I guess that’s funny to someone.
— Naofumi is eventually cornered by the other three heroes. Now’s our chance to see what happens when Melty tries to defend him!
— Of fucking course. And no one even questions it. I expect Spear Dick to be this dumb, but no one else? No one? This is so stupid. If Naofumi could brainwash a bunch of lolis, wouldn’t it make more sense to brainwash himself an army to do his bidding? What the fuck is brainwashing a loli going to get you?
— Sword Jerk wants Naofumi to prove that he’s innocent. I wanna say that the burden of proof obviously lies with the prosecution, but this is Japan. That country has a mind-boggling conviction rate over 99% so yeah… draw whatever conclusions you want.
— Sword Jerk promises to protect Melty if she returns with them, but the second princess doesn’t think he can. She believes that her sister will kill her the instant that the other heroes turn their back. As a result, Naofumi has to look bad by refusing to turn her over. He accuses Malty of conspiring to kill her own sister, but obviously, no one is going to believe that without any evidence. Y’see, proof of innocence only applies to him, because…
— The group tries to escape on Filo, but Spear Dick slaps something on her ankle that knocks the fat chicken right out of the air. Nice throw. Spear Dick then shows us that he’s a huge ass creep.
— When Melty attacks Spear Dick with a spell to try and get Filo back, Malty retaliates with a spell of her own. Hmmmmmmm.
— But it doesn’t matter, because there isn’t a single soldier present who questions Malty’s orders. At the end of the day, this show relies too hard on people being stupid in order to advance the plot. Either that or every single soldier here has been brainwashed.
— In the end, the good guys manage to escape anyway. How? First, Raphtalia somehow manages to sneak behind Malty and interrupt a spellcast. Heh, nothing personnel, kid!
— So why not just kill her outright? Well, I guess you wouldn’t want to add yet another crime to her master’s ever-growing list of offenses.
— Meanwhile, Naofumi holds off all of the soldiers on his own. I was told at the start of the season that this isekai hero wouldn’t be overpowered because he wouldn’t have any offense capabilities. Right.
— So what are the other three heroes doing? Well, Sword and Bow Jerks are too confused to do anything. As for Spear Dick, he gets a bit of comeuppance at the hands of Filo.
— As Naofumi departs with his lolis, he tells Sword Jerk to get to the bottom of the conspiracy. Maybe we’ll get to finally see one of the other three heroes finally get some screentime. Probably not, though.
— When our heroes get the chance to take a breather, Melty’s follower, i.e. one of the queen’s Shadows, finally shows up. And with her, we finally get the suggestion to pay the queen a visit.
— As a side note, this follower loves to finish every sentence with “de gozaru.” The last time I heard this phrase being used this often was when I followed Rurouni Kenshin. And speaking of Rurouni Kenshin, its author was infamously caught with possessing pornography of underaged girls. And look, Naofumi is guilty of possessing underaged girls! I’m sure it’s all just a coincidence, but a hilarious one nonetheless.
— Unfortunately, our hero still wants to escape to Siltvelt. And instead of trying to convince him otherwise, Melty whines that he keeps referring to her as the second princess. Instead, she wants the of them to be on a first name basis. Yeah, ’cause that’s the most important thing to worry about right now.
— Elsewhere, we hear Malty cackle evilly as she sets fire to a patch of forest. Why? Shrug. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
— If Melty’s Shadow is here, then word about this whole mess must have gotten back to the queen, right? Hopefully, someone with some brain cells will clear up this whole mess… but then we wouldn’t have a braindead isekai to watch, so don’t hold your breath.