The Rising of the Shield Hero Episode 14

The Rising of the Shield Hero Episode 14

Everlasting Memory

Once again, the plan has changed. It was originally hinted that Naofumi and his party would be heading to Shieldfreeden, then it was decided they would make their way to Siltvelt, and now it turns out they’re actually going to visit the queen of Melromarc.

I’m sure we’ll learn a lot of interesting information from the meeting with the queen, but I’m more interested in seeing what the other countries are like. I want to know why Siltvelt, a demi-human nation which is anti-human, would be welcoming to the Shield Hero.

But, we may have gotten a slight hint as to why this would be the case in today’s episode. In fact, we may have also been given a hint as to why the king and Myne hate the Shield Hero so much, and why the Shield is the only hero not worshiped in the kingdom.

After learning that the Shield Hero escaped from Myne with Melty, the king mentions that the Shield Hero is destroying his family again. Naofumi hasn’t really done anything to harm the royal family before, unless the king is referring to the allegations of sexual assault put forth by Myne, so we can assume this goes farther back than him.

Did the previous Shield Hero do something to the royal family, and is that why the Shield is no longer worshiped in Melromarc? Or, since we know that the king married into the royal family, did the previous Shield Hero do something to his ancestors in particular, and when he came to power he brought his prejudices with him?

I’m leaning toward the latter. Especially since the king has a number of policies which it appears his wife and Melty don’t agree with. One of these policies which has been brought to the forefront thanks to this recent episode is the treatment of demi-humans as slaves.

Lord Van Reichnott

However, not everyone in the kingdom, including the nobility, believe that demi-humans should be used as slaves. Elhart, the blacksmith, is just one example of this, as he doesn’t discriminate against Raphtalia or Filo. In fact, he seems to be quite fond of them.

But, Elhart’s opinion of demi-humans doesn’t really matter. After all, he’s not in any sort of position of power, so who really cares what he thinks?

As I mentioned, there are members of the nobility who share Elharts sentiments though. One such person is Lord Van Reichnott, a friend of the royal family and Melty in particular. On his lands, demi-humans are considered free, although as we see they still appear to be restricted to manual labor jobs.

And, since he’s a friend of Melty and a demi-human sympathizer, Lord Van Reichnott is a Shield Hero sympathizer by default. Later on in the episode we see that he refuses to give up the location of the Shield Hero even while being tortured by another lord.

Lord Van Reichnott from the anime series The Rising of the Shield Hero
Lord Van Reichnott

The land which Lord Van Reichnott now owns was once the property of another demi-human sympathizing lord. However, that lord was killed shortly after wave zero in what was reported as an angry mob attack.

This wave is referred to as the first wave in the anime, but since it happened before the heroes are summoned, and every other wave is titled from the heroes’ point of view, I’ll call it wave zero to avoid there being two first waves.

This land that’s now controlled by Lord Van Reichnott was also where Raphtalia’s family lived under the previous lord. And, from Raphtalia we learn about the death of the previous lord and the horrors which unfolded afterwards.

Raphtalia’s Past

After losing her parents to wave zero, Raphtalia also lost her home and her freedom. When we’re first introduced to her, she was a piece of merchandise owned by the slave trader, but just how did she get to this point? What happened between losing her family and her being purchased by Naofumi?

Well, as she explains, the previous lord of the land wasn’t actually killed by an angry mob of demi-humans as the official statement claimed. Instead, he was killed by Melromarc soldiers who attacked his lands shortly after the wave concluded.

For now it’s unclear whether these soldiers were under the direct control of the royal family, or if they served under one of the other lords, like Lord Idol Rabier. But, regardless of who sent the soldiers, the outcome was the same.

Once the lord was dead, the demi-humans were rounded up and taken as prisoners to Lord Idol Rabier’s land. We can also assume that those who refused to cooperate were killed considering there didn’t seem to be much worry about the well-being of the demi-humans.

And, many of those who survived the initial roundup were later tortured and killed in the end anyway. It’s this period of her life that often haunts Raphtalia in her dreams, especially the loss of one of her friends. However, my assumption is that said friend actually survived and that we’ll meet her later on.

Lord Idol Rabier

Lord Idol Rabier, the lord of the lands neighboring those of Lord Van Reichnott is likely the one who ordered the attack on the lands inhabited by the demi-humans. However, this also probably wouldn’t have been allowed without the royal family’s permission, so either way both parties were involved.

But, why would the royal family allow for one of their lords to attack the lands of another lord? It all comes down to politics, secret deals, and prejudice against demi-humans.

We know that both the king and Lord Idol Rabier dislike demi-humans, and as we learn in this episode, they once fought together. It was likely during their time together on a campaign that their mutual hatred of demi-humans was either discovered or formed.

And, since the previous lord was a demi-human sympathizer, he was someone who both men would have wanted out of the picture. By killing him, the two men could blame his death on a demi-human uprising, thus getting rid of the problem and framing and vilifying the demi-humans at the same time.

Next, the demi-humans who were captured were handed over to Lord Idol Rabier to do with as he pleased. As a sadist, he undoubtedly wanted people he could torture and kill. And if they were demi-humans who were recently framed for the death of a lord, then nobody would come looking for them.

Raphtalia and Lord Idol Rabier from the anime series The Rising of the Shield Hero
Raphtalia and Lord Idol Rabier

It’s unclear exactly how Raphtalia escaped from Lord Idol Rabier alive, but it’s likely that she was simply sold off. Perhaps the lord needed more money to finance his torturous hobbies, or perhaps she was sold off because she was sickly. Either way, she can be considered one of the lucky ones.

From how the episode ends, it’s clear that Raphtalia wants to get revenge not only for herself, but also for all the demi-humans who suffered and died due to Lord Idol Rabier. However, I don’t see her killing him. Raphtalia doesn’t seem like the kind of person to actually follow through with something like that, though it’s unclear if Naofumi would stop her or not.

Conclusion

So, what did you think of this week’s episode of The Rising of the Shield Hero? Do you think that the previous Shield Hero really did something to the king’s family? Do you think Raphtalia is going to kill Lord Idol Rabier? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of the next episode is available here.

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