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Episode 10: The Princess’s Request

Impressions:

Well, from this episode, we can conclude (almost) two pretty important things:

1. Louise is a VOID element mage, which means she uses the VOID element. I repeat, Louise is a VOID mage, something that has not appeared since 6000 years ago, or so it seems.

Proof – Colbert confirms that a Gundolf (Gandalfr) is the familiar of a void user. The rune on Saito’s hand, Delfringer pairing with him and the Holy Spirit being able to tell he was one all point to the fact that he is a GUNDOLF. Which means Louise must be a void mage. Btw, the void element is the element of nothingness. Remember how Louise managed to break the seal on the tower which Fouquet was not able to break while trying to steal the Staff of Destruction? (There’s also the fact that the last episode is called “Louise the Void” – oops was that a spoiler?)

2. Ward is Cromwell and an affiliate of Fouquet.

Proof – while there is no hard evidence in the Anime so far, it is quite obvious. They look exactly the same and Fouquet smirking while Ward was leading Louise into his room was kind of a giveaway. And we all know Ward is trying to trick Louise, but in the end Saito will come and save her and she will realise her true feelings for Saito.

Now that I have explained all that, onto my thoughts about the episode. I thought it was one of the better ones, though the duel at the end could have been longer. I wasn’t expecting it to be that much longer though, as Saito and Ward are obviously going to fight again later on. And Louise has really bad taste. Maybe when Ward was younger, her lust for him would be understandable, but at that age she wouldn’t have even reached puberty (come to think of it, has she even reached that yet…? lol). And now, Ward is just old – far too mature for someone like Louise – and that beard! How can she possibly fall for someone like him? I guess…maybe natural charisma? Ah well, doesn’t concern me. I just want to see this series get more complex, if that is possible with three more episodes to go.

Summary:

Princess Henrietta has come to Louise and Saito seeking for some aid. She explains that she has decided to marry Germanian royalty to protect her own small kingdom, Tristain. Louise is shocked to hear this, but knows it is for the best. This doesn’t stop her from getting mad when Saito interrupts though. As for the request, Henrietta wants Louise and Saito to retrieve a letter given to the Prince of Wales of the Albion Kingdom from her. She is worried that if the public learns of this letter, the alliance between them and Tristain will be broken. Furthermore, Albion is in unrest and near anarchy. The Princess gets teary-eyed and Louise quickly kneels down beside her and accepts the request. Just as this happens, Guiche shows himself, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation. He says that he had heard the entire conversation and wishes to help as well. After introducing himself to the Princess, he is recognised as Admiral Gramont’s son. In the end, it is decided that all three will go.

Afterwards, it seems that Saito accidentally tears Louise’s panties (or not… doesn’t seem torn) as he is washing the laundry. He is approached by Siesta, who now knows that the love potion ordeal was true. She apologises for accusing Saito of lying and such. Thinking back to when Saito had been given the tears by the Holy Spirit and called a Gundolf, he asks Siesta about anyone in the school who is knowledgeable in history.

Saito is directed to Mr Colbert – the bold teacher – and asks him about the Gundolf. To inform Saito about this topic, he first goes into some magic history. It seems that long ago, there not only existed four elements, but five. The fifth one is something called the Void (the element of nothingness), which also means it was possible for there to be Pentagon-class mages (mages who could use all five elements). However, there is no proof that that fifth element exists right now. Moving on, Colbert explains that the person who had the ability to wield this mysterious element was the legendary Void Sorcerer. It turns out that Gundolf was his ‘ultimate’ familiar. The runes that appeared on Saito’s hand are similar to that of the Gundolf, but this can’t be confirmed.

While in the teacher’s office, Saito notices some strange smelling liquid. It turns out to be the blood of some never-before-seen dragon. Colbert explains that he is trying to resurrect one of such dragons.

Before going to bed, Louise expresses her concern that someone as incompetent as her in magic might not be able to complete the task set on her by the Princess. She is quite startled when Saito cups his hands on her shoulders and reassures her they can get through this. To top it off, just as Louise gets into bed, he tells her that if anything happens, he will protect her. And Louise goes red…

The next day before dawn, Saito, Louise and Guiche await their escort outside the school grounds. Louise recalls the night before when Henrietta had given her own water ruby ring to her. Back in reality, Guiche’s Belldandy surfaces from underground and lunges on Louise, eager to eat her ring. As Guiche is engrossed in his own thoughts and Saito is just being plain ignorant to Louise’s struggles, a gust of sand and wind knocks Belldandy off Louise. Emerging from the fog is a middle aged man riding on a griffin. It is revealed that not only is this man a powerful knight and mage as well as the captain of the Griffin Squadron – Ward – he is also Louise’s fiancé. Quite shocking indeed.

While Guiche is extremely impressed by his presence, Saito spends the journey to a town called La Rochelle agitating over how Ward is Louise’s fiancé. As they are unpacking when they get there, Louise gets into an argument with Saito over her relationship with Ward. When Louise storms off, Delfringer (his sword) mocks for having a crush on Louise. He denies this and says the only reason he is upset is because he thinks he shouldn’t have told Louise he would protect her, now that Ward is here. When they settle in a hotel and enjoy dinner in the diner downstairs, Ward asks about truth behind Saito’s endeavours, such as beating Guiche in a duel and capturing Fouquet with the Staff of Destruction. After hearing the truth behind this, Ward challenges Saito to a duel, which he accepts. He gets up to leave and also takes Louise with him to his room. All the while, Wards affiliate Fouquet is listening…

As Guiche runs off to greet some girl he saw earlier, Saito asks Delfringer whether he knows what a Gundolf is. It turns out that his partner 6000 years ago was also a Gundolf, which means Saito must be one as well.

Now we go to a flashback of a time when a younger Ward had comforted a child Louise when she was scolded by her father. Presently, Ward tells Louise that he had felt she had a special aura when he met her that time. He goes on to proposing to her then trying to seduce her. However, when Louise utters Saito’s name just before their lips touch, Ward refrains himself and moves to another room.

The next day, Saito and Ward have their duel. Saito uses everything he has, including the power from his rune and Gundolf heritage, but ends up being defeated by an attack spell from Ward. After the duel, Ward tells him that he is not strong enough to defeat a real mage, and therefore cannot protect Saito. This gets him mad…And Louise is not sure as to whose side she is on.

Preview:

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