Yuusha-kei ni Shosu Ep.05 - That's the ninth goddess. Do they all want head pats?

Episode 5 of Sentenced to Be a Hero: The Prison Records of Penal Hero Unit 9004 continues with the first part of the siege battle against the approaching Demon Lord. It was mostly an episode dedicated to the setup of the defenses and showing off the threat posed by the incoming Demon Lord, with only a small amount of action near the end.

The preparations are pretty standard, focusing on gathering as many people as possible while setting up traps and choke points to control the incoming horde of enemies. I am puzzled by Xylo's reaction to the letter from a noble named Frenci Mastibolt, who offered to send thousands of soldiers to help.

Ninth goddess, she's also designed as a small girl. Considering they were built long long ago, was the form just a personal choice of the creator?

Whoa, that means she's not a noble, but way way higher up in this society. Why is she at the frontline fighting instead of chilling somewhere?

Xylo was extremely pissed off and didn't want their help or even to open the letter. Why is that? Is it related to his past as a knight and the death of the Goddess he was working for? I still feel that is relevant and may appear again next week, as perhaps they will come to help regardless. 

Venetim started to broach the topic with Xylo about the humans who are betraying their own to side with the Demon Lord. It was posed as a hypothetical question for now, but considering the gravity of the situation, I am sure it will become more relevant as the story progresses.

We also got the introduction of the Ninth Goddess, who seems to be, just as I expected in the previous episode, extremely similar to Teoritta in terms of design and needs. Both are small girls who are always in need of head pats and praise, to the point that it feels like a design choice from whoever created them long ago. The Ninth Goddess is a lot less chatty, I suppose.

The episode also confirms Xylo's suspicions about the ability of Demon Lords to corrupt anything, as we have seen the first humans who are corrupted yet still able to act like humans by using flaming arrows or riding monstrosities. This complicates things, as there is a real risk of having corrupted Goddesses on the enemy side.

...and this goddess also want head-pats and praises. Again seem like a design choice from the creator.

Kivia was ultra cool in this scene, really liking her more and more.

Considering this is a dark fantasy, I wonder if we are actually going to see the former Goddess who worked with Xylo as an enemy at some point in the future. He apparently killed her before she could be corrupted, but was that enough to prevent her assimilation by the Demon Lord?

Either way, it was quite an exciting episode, and I am looking forward to seeing the conclusion of this story arc next week. How will Xylo manage to turn this disastrous situation around and allow the fortress to remain intact while also killing the Demon Lord?