Episode 9 opens up with a flashback showing Sword Maiden and her party defeating two demons in some sort of dungeon. This scene doesn’t amount to much apart from a reminder that Sword Maiden would rather fight anything else besides goblins. These characters have a brief appearance in the OP and that makes me more stumped at how brief their actual screentime is here. Is this all we’re getting with these characters or will there be another flashback down the line?
We then return to the present, sometime after Forest Princess’s wedding. Goblin Slayer and co. accept a job to kill “sea goblins” attacking some fisheries, only to learn that it’s all a misunderstanding. The so-called sea goblins are just innocent gillmen and the one harassing the fisheries is a giant sea serpent (whoever made this quest is a stinking idiot). I find it hilarious that Goblin Slayer accepted the quest in the first place. You’d think he’d know if sea goblins are a thing or not. Then again, he’s always trying to stay up to date on his knowledge so maybe the quest piqued his curiosity. Naturally, Goblin Slayer wants to go home once he realizes the false alarm but funnily enough, his teammates pull some reverse psychology and convince him to finish the quest. The fight with the sea serpent is short but it’s a nice break from the usual goblin themed action, especially given the huge size of the monster.
Of course, since Goblin Slayer had to fight something that is not a goblin, the universe has to correct itself. Back in town, Sword Maiden visits Goblin Slayer personally to hire him as a bodyguard for her trip to the capital. She chooses Goblin Slayer because of reports of goblins attacking travelers on the route she needs to take. I think this is also an excuse for Sword Maiden to be around Goblin Slayer but to be fair, she could honestly use it. There’s only so many reasons for Goblin Slayer to stop by Water Town.
There’s a funny drawback to Sword Maiden hiring Goblin Slayer as the escort. Before leaving, Goblin Slayer has a quick chat with Cow Girl and Sword Maiden finds out that her crush’s relationship with the farmgirl. Poor Sword Maiden is finally realizing she has some stiff competition. Sorry miss but your prestige ain’t going to help you. You got to step up your game.
Hiring Goblin Slayer proves to be a good call as goblins do show up to ambush the carriage. This fight has an entertaining Uno reverse card sort of moment where the goblins surround the carriage so the team lures them in, using Priestess’s Protection spell to keep them safe, so that Lizard Priest can then circle around and surround them with his summons. An interesting detail is Sword Maiden staying put in her carriage. I would like to see her fight some more but this fight is admittedly not the right place for it. Given her trauma, I don’t know how she’d do here.
This episode leaves a bit of a hook where Goblin Slayer notices that all the goblins his party killed bear a tattoo of a clawed hand. He then speculates that they’re all part of the same tribe and that there are probably more of them lurking in the vicinity. I’m sure the show will address this later but that’ll probably have to wait until after the gang finishes their trip to the capital. Then again, maybe these two things are somehow connected.
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