Back in the desert and no, Kazuhiro and Marie don’t explore the labyrinth just yet. I’m starting to think the fantasy side of Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! might actually be stuck there for the entire cour. Frankly, it feels like more progress has been done in Japan than the fantasy land. That’s definitely an issue with the show’s pacing. It’s slow to begin with and it feels even slower since it has to go back and forth between its two settings.
In this episode, the local government assembles all adventurers interested in exploring the labyrinth, with the expedition commencing real soon. Marie decides to ask a veteran adventurer named Aja for intel. Right off the bat, Aja figures out that Kazuhiro is from another world and that the boy is actually older than he appears. Honestly, you don’t really learn anything new from this scene. It is nevertheless a charming one. I chuckle that Aja immediately assumes Kazuhiro and Marie are a couple and a good chunk of his conversation with them is just teasing them about their very obvious feelings for one another.
Aja introduces Kazuhiro and Marie to Hakam, the leader of the expedition, who provides the two with an exploration permit. Marie still needs to get clearance from the Sorcerer’s Guild but having the permit just in case should come in handy. Hakam is later revealed to be the one taking care of Mewi and he invites Kazuhiro and Marie to pay him a visit and help with the boy’s language lessons. I feel bad for Mewi as Marie makes him ends his sentences with “meow” like any other cat character in anime. I don’t believe much time has passed since the last episode but it sure feels like Marie has watched too much anime with Kaoruko. Kazuhiro asks Mewi appraise the dragon scale and blood crystal. It seems a bit of a stretch that these count as magic stones but Mewi is able to determine that these items are full of magical energy, so much so that they can’t be refined into something else like a regular magic stone. Towards the end of the conversation, everyone notices the stones are losing their glow, leading Kazuhiro and Marie to return to the Arkdragon and make sure she’s okay.
As it turns out, the Arkdragon is perfectly fine. She’s just exhausted from raising her three newborns. I laughed pretty hard when the Arkdragon ponders where her husband is. I was wondering who the father was and apparently, he does exist but go figure, he seems to have gone off to milk store. Much like last time Kazuhiro and Marie visited, the Arkdragon assumes the two have a spare lunch to gift her. Unfortunately for her, Kazuhiro kind of forgot about that custom and he and Marie have already eaten all the good food.
Desperate to calm the dragon lady down, Kazuhiro impulsively invites her to the hot spring trip in Japan. At first, I figured the Arkdragon would just complain that she can’t go but apparently, she can send her humanoid self to the trip while part of her soul still controls the dragon self to look after her kids. How convenient and not at all weird. Also, if this is something dragons can do, you really have to wonder where the Arkdragon’s husband went. I’m starting to think those two need couple’s therapy. Definitely the best joke in this entire episode is Marie getting upset that Kazuhiro invited the Arkdragon to the hot spring trip. It’s completely fair in general but it’s very funny to think that Marie subconsciously saw the trip as a date and now, she’ll have to deal with a third wheel. Now that I think about it, getting the dragon to Japan is going to be very awkward. Like, are they all going to huddle together before going to sleep?
While all this is going on, we see the Sorcerer’s Guild discuss whether or not to allow Marie to explore the labyrinth. One of the highest ranking members, Sven, volunteers to explore in Marie’s stead and it’s implied that he’s pressured almost everyone else to back down. Marie’s mentor Ludry strongly objects, believing the experience will be a good opportunity for Marie. Later in the episode, we see Sven and his creepy underling spy on Kazuhiro and Marie as they head into the Arkdragon’s lair to take her to Earth. The guy is definitely plotting something to get Marie out of the expedition. I’m really hoping the Arkdragon’s dragon self will beat the crap out of him because that’d be a really funny thing to do while everyone else is enjoying a hot spring.
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