Alchemy is a fitting term to use where Mahoutsukai no Yome is concerned, but it’s interesting the way some episodes work better for you than others.  Fundamentally this was quite akin to the previous school episodes, which broadly speaking haven’t floated my boat.  But I quite liked this one, for whatever reason.  It felt like the Mahoutsukai I know, despite the setting.  The tone was right, thematically it was on-point.  Very subtle changes can obviously make a big difference in the final product.

With only one ep left the season, the “Testament of Carnamagos” mystery doesn’t seem on the brink of being solved.  Elias can’t track the user, and Marielle says there’s no way to do so unless they catch them in the act.  As neither Simeon or Lucy are especially heavy with magic, there’s no obvious reason why they should have been targeted.  But Elias stated for being vested – not just because Chise is involved, but because Simeon “might become a friend” – certainly catch Chise’s interest.  That’s not a term Elias has used about anyone else as as she’s aware.

Chise’s interest in the thorn rune certainly suggests it might be important – possibly in the foiling of the Carnamogos plot.  Meanwhile  Zoe is all of a sudden very interested in Lucy’s condition.  Maybe there’s been something sparking there and I just missed it, but this thing came out of left field for me.  The two of them were flirting ridiculously hard there, especially given that Lucy is in the hospital.  I don’t know what the special meaning Zoe refers to when it comes to petting his snakes is, but I can make a pretty educated guess.

In many ways, that conversation between Chise and Hazel was the centerpiece of the episode.  That’s not necessarily the guy you’d expect Chise to get that sort of lecture from (“neither a parent or a friend”), but it’s one I’d say was long overdue.  Chise kind of skates by on instinct – which is invariably selfless – but sooner or later you’d think her luck has to run out.  That stunt with the wolf woman was really reckless.  Hazel is absolutely right – what happens if instead of sheep, those beasts demand human flesh?  Her flesh?  This is the thing about so-called selfish people – their self-harming behavior is actually quite selfish, because they’re causing pain to those who care about them.

Finally, we have the Waste Tower incident – and with it another new character, Fabio Zaccheroni.  The Tower is full of mysteries like failed experiments and spells, and Lucy is scheduled for a practicum there collecting magical remnants.  Zoe and Chise put the kibosh on that and go in her place, with Rian and Isaac in tow.  There they meed the aforementioned Fabio (who seems as dodgy as it gets) and Philomena (who’s apparently withdrawing from school), who warns Chise to be careful around him.  Between the tower of remnants and Chise’s rune, the key to unlocking the Carnamagos mystery might be buried in there somewhere.