Yuusha-kei ni Shosu Ep.03 - That was really close. Norgalle was a real hero!
Episode 3 of Sentenced to Be a Hero: The Prison Records of Penal Hero Unit 9004 continues from where we left off last week. Xylo, Norgalle, and Tatsuya go deeper into the tunnels to try and save the few miners survivors still trapped there, while the knights and the goddess remain outside.
This is essentially a suicide mission, considering there are only three of them with little equipment or preparation, while a full-fledged demon lord (who apparently is a huge plant) awaits inside. In fact, things go south shortly after they find the survivors. They were only saved by Teoritta, who snuck away from the knights to come to their aid.
The episode is rich with initial signs of development for the three main characters. Teoritta is slowly learning more about Xylo after he mentions not to "sacrifice your life for praise" (a reference to the death of his previous goddess). While she still thinks she wants to help him, she is now more willing to compromise with a "you protect me then" approach.
Xylo is also being influenced by Teoritta and the little girl who gave him flowers after he rescued her dad. Being thanked in this horrible world where everyone looks down on Penal Heroes restores at least a bit of his humanity. It won't make him happy all of a sudden (at least until he gets his revenge), but it is definitely going to move him toward being more accepting of Teoritta.
Kivia (the female knight captain) is also internally reevaluating Xylo's character. In the first episode, she was completely against his very existence due to the crime he is accused of committing. However, now that she has started seeing him in action, she is moving toward tolerating him or even praising him for his efforts.
Now the question is, what will happen once they return to the base? The official said he wanted to punish them, but I am not sure he will be able to considering Kivia is on Xylo's side. Will they just move on to another mission, or is there going to be more development regarding the overarching revenge story?
Norgalle is apparently getting revived and "repaired," so we will probably see the first example of memory loss caused by death. What will he forget, and how will this affect Teoritta, who is currently unaware of or at least inexperienced with this side effect of being a Penal Hero?
