That was an altogether fun episode, a nice mix of action (first half) and character comedy (second half). Oriana certainly proved herself to be a mistress of double entendres in addition to dressing like a slutty jungle explorer. She’s a damn fine wizard, though – sidelining Tsuchimikado rather easily just as she had Stiyl in the last episode. That left it up to Touma and “Falcon Punch” to put her in her place, but not until after Oriana led the boys on quite a merry chase through the city. Her constant shifting from spell to spell proved a challenge even for Imagine Breaker, but eventually Touma got P.O.’d enough to break through her defenses and land a solid blow to the left cheek. Orinana flees, but unfortunately her “stab sword” bundle turns out to be an ice cream sign.

“I got all wet down there…”

The stab sword thing seems to have been a McGuffin altogether, with the British Museum wag stating that it probably doesn’t exist. In it’s place, though, the plot device get an upgrade into something even more dangerous – “St. Peter’s Cross”. Supposedly the original cross from Peter’s grave, fallen into the wrong hands it will somehow, through quasi-mystical means, allow the Roman Catholics to rule the world while everyone else just says “Thank you Sir, may I have another?”

The real meat of the episode, as always, was some priceless interaction with Touma, Index and Mikoto. Crisis mode temporarily on hiatus, our whole gang – including Touma’s parents in a welcome return – end up at the same lunch restaurant. A hilarious war of words between Biri-biri and Index (still dressed as the most kawaii cheerleader ever) ensues, with each girl doing a terrible job hiding their jealous suspicion of the other. Let the shipping wars commence!

Interestingly next ep is titled “Stab Sword” so maybe it isn’t a total McGuffin. The big reveal at the close this week was that Mikoto’s companion was actually her mother, which gets quite a rise out of Touma. With both girls’ talons firmly entrenched in Touma and both mothers at the table, things promise to get very interesting indeed.