We’re down to the final four episodes of the season, and finally Mahoutsukai no Yome is bringing on the plot. It’s been a slow burn to get to this point, and I’m not sure I’d call this an explosion – if it is, it’s ANFO rather than C4. But things are moving, that’s for sure, and while the emotional stakes of what seems to be the season’s main crisis aren’t that high yet (I don’t really feel like I have any skin in the game) there’s still time for that to change.
As we rejoin the fray Lucy has been out cold for ten days, and Chise has apparently been keeping a bedside vigil for that entire time. We’d been told that Lucy’s entire family was killed in the “Webster tragedy”, but that’s not literally true. There’s one survivor, and it’s Seth – a familiar face from all the way back to the very first episode. He was apparently cut off from the family because of an inability to use magic (which I assume is the reason Lucy later calls him a loser), but next of kin is next of kin.
Chise brought back more baggage from that trip than she left with, that’s for sure. She’s so freaked out about her murderous power-up that she seeks out Joseph’s advice as someone who has some experience in this area. He’s cagey, as ever, and sends Chise on her way with some non-committal platitudes, but he seems pretty confident he knows what that voice in her head is – a dragon gone mad after cursing a human. That doesn’t sound like a particularly healthy situation.
The big development however is that stolen book from the college. It was obviously what was used to steal Lucy’s magic power in the Highlands, and the librarians have only now noticed it was missing. “The Testament of Carnamagos” is a tome Elias has some familiarity with (the actual name comes from a book referenced in Cthulhu mythology back in the 30’s). Raising the dead, creating immortals, (of course) stealing magical energy – its not too surprising this was in the restricted section. It’s later used again to steal the magic of a certain centaur professor who Elias took a shining to.
The main question now is who stole it, and why? Presumably it’s connected with these fellows, who give us an on-screen murder (a real rarity in this series historically). As I said I don’t really feel emotionally invested in this yes, but hopefully that will change as Mahoutsukai starts to flesh out the details next week. Given the book’s connected with the Webster clan, it seems very likely Lucy and Seth are going to be directly involved in that process.
Nicc
June 3, 2023 at 6:10 amYes, it does look like things are moving along. There’s a minor time skip as we learn that Lucy is still unconscious after ten days. Whatever happened took a whole lot out of her. So, Lucy has a brother. I couldn’t remember who he was at first… Oh yeah, the auctioneer. Man, that was a pretty long time ago. Lucy isn’t happy to see him, maybe she’ll warm up to him later. She’s prickly by default anyways.
Chise pays a visit to Cartaphilus regarding her dragon arm, but he doesn’t tell her much. Now, she has to live a arm that’s trying to give her murderous thoughts. There’s a faculty meeting where they talk about the stolen book which Elias knows a few things about. It’s not known who stole it, let alone used it, but it looks like the perpetrators are closer to home than expected as the centaur professor seems to get his energy drained too. In the meantime, outside the college are two hooded fellows. They aren’t human and they’re looking for somebody. The next episode preview suggests that they’re werewolves? It looks like the next episode is going to be a busy one.