Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute! Episode 18 Recap & Characters (Spoiler-Free)

Episode Summary

Betting on a Moment

Claire chokes Cid and gives him a hyper-VIP ticket, demanding he watch her compete as Princess Rose's replacement. Alexia finds Beta gone and vows to stop pitying herself. At the Bushin Festival, Cid is seated beside Iris, who plans to recruit Claire, and after he leaves, Perv takes his seat. Mundane Mann defeats Annerose in the arena by reading her counterattack and using speed without magic. Cid and Beatrix share burgers and part ways. Annerose thanks Mundane for the lesson, Skel gambles away a friend's freedom, Iris wins her match, and Rose Oriana prepares herself at the closed Midgar Academy.

• Opening confrontations

  Claire chokes Cid and hands him a VIP ticket while demanding he watch her compete. Alexia finds Beta has left a dossier and vows to stop pitying herself.

• Festival day in the arena

  Cid leaves his seat beside Iris and trades burgers with Beatrix, while Perv takes his empty seat and analyzes Mundane's win over Annerose with Iris.

• Aftermath and next steps

  Annerose concedes and thanks Mundane, and Iris wins her match. Rose Oriana readies herself at the closed academy for what she must do next.

Recent Timeline

• Cid infiltrates the Bushin Festival as Mundane Mann (Episode 15)

  Gamma and her staff build a realistic slime face mask with Eta's machine, letting Cid take on the persona of Mundane Mann, a lazy, disowned Dark Knight, to enter the Bushin Festival unseen under a weak appearance.

  Quinton, who had told Mundane to quit the festival, is angered by his taunts and drags him into an alley to beat him. He stops only when Annerose orders it, after Cid chose to take the beating rather than fight yet.

  Rose stabs her fiancé Perv Asshat before fleeing, shocking Cid, who had just been told she would meet her father to be introduced to that fiancé. In the preliminary bout, Gonzales Machom falls within a second and Mundane is announced winner, disappointing the crowd while Annerose notices Mundane land two quick punches to the chin.

• Mundane defeats Goldy and Quinton (Episode 16)

  Goldy rushes Mundane and swings his sword, but Mundane dodges by cracking his neck. Goldy briefly imagines being cut, then conjures a golden dragon and charges again, only to be blown away, dragon and all, by a sneeze from Mundane. Annerose observes that his speed exceeds normal human limits, which makes the win significant.

  The day after, Mundane easily beats Quinton, who had been pursuing him over his unseen tactics. Together with his mysterious entry and dark-horse odds, the result draws attention across the tournament.

• Rose's escape and Perv's ultimatum (Episode 17)

  After Rose attacks Perv and the guards brand her mad, Perv orders her to turn herself in before the Bushin Festival or he will have her father kill one of his guests. Rose weighs surrendering to avoid war.

  After Shadow heals Rose of her possession and leaves, several Cult assassins attack, and Rose easily defeats them with her newly evolved power. The event marks her shift from fleeing to actively fighting the Cult.

  Rose defeats Alexia in the tunnels under the Royal Capital and flees, refusing to explain her actions so as not to drag Alexia into the conflict. Beta lets her go, hoping their ideals may be the same and that they will meet again before long.

• Mundane defeats Annerose (Episode 18)

  Annerose attacks Mundane at the Bushin Festival, but he dodges and parries her strikes, overpowers her without magic, and wins by slashing her after she realizes he was matching his attacks to hers. Left defeated, she later thanks him for the lesson, and Mundane reveals he once abandoned everything for strength.

• Iris wins with a crater impact (Episode 18)

  Iris resumes the Bushin Festival tournament and one-sidedly defeats her opponent by impacting him into a crater. The overflow of magic afterward disintegrates her sword.

Character Graph

Alpha

Shadow Garden

An elf girl Cid freed from possession and renamed, who now leads Shadow Garden against the Cult of Diablos and shares the face of the hero Olivier. When Beatrix says she is searching for her late sister's daughter, Cid is reminded of Alpha but denies knowing anyone like that.

• Role

  Recruits for the organization and leads the search for the hideout

• Operations

  Observes the progress of the Shadow Garden raid and oversees the operation's roles.

• Olivier's face

  Revealed to have the same face as the hero Olivier, who is shown as an elf woman in a statue.

• Cid Kagenou (Hierarchy, Colleague, Affinity)

  Leader who renamed her and whom she serves

  Visits Cid in his dorm to update him and watches over him, trusting him to trust their efforts.

Aurora (the Demon Diablos)

Imprisoned in the Sanctuary · Demon

The Witch of Calamity, a woman imprisoned in the Sanctuary, whose other name Epsilon's report confirms to be the demon Diablos. She teamed up with Cid to escape, and after he destroyed the Sanctuary she admitted she had called him there, thanked him, and faded away.

• Arena fight

  Fights Shadow and is defeated by a single slash, then disappears into light.

• Escape plan

  Explains the Sanctuary is a memory prison and that its magical core must be destroyed to leave; plans to vanish into nothing once free.

• Identity revealed

  Epsilon confirms the theory that Aurora was the demon Diablos, and that she had another name.

• Final farewell

  Before fading completely, Aurora tells Cid what to do if he ever met the real her.

• Cid Kagenou (Colleague, Friend, Affinity)

  Fellow escapee who agreed to work together to leave; Aurora sees Cid as the strongest of those in her incomplete memories and a gallant knight.

  Aurora called Cid into the Sanctuary, confessed to having lied about other things, and thanked him for a memory she did not want to forget; Cid accepted this.

Quinton

Bushin Festival contestant

A veteran Bushin Festival contestant who looks down on weaker fighters and beat Mundane Mann in an alley until Annerose stopped him. In the tournament, he then loses easily to Mundane.

• Behavior

  Talks a big game and tells weaklings to go home.

• Annerose Nichtsehen (Hierarchy, Neutral)

  Stops fighting when she tells him to.

Beta (Natsume Kafka)

Shadow Garden

One of Shadow Garden's Seven Shadows, who allied with Alexia and Rose while posing as the bestselling author Natsume Kafka. She has since moved out of her lodgings, claiming research abroad, and left Alexia a dossier on the ties between the Oriana Kingdom, the Church and major enterprises.

• Role

  Gathers intelligence and identifies the secret hideout

• Infiltration of princesses

  Reported by Epsilon to be working with the princesses, likely to infiltrate their inner circles.

• Current focus

  Directs monitoring of Rose's movements and orders more intel on Perv Asshat.

• Cult investigation

  Working the case of Rose's hiding place and suspecting Perv Asshat's ties to the Cult.

• Cid Kagenou (Colleague, Affinity)

  Fellow member who reports to him on the investigation

• Alexia Midgar (Other, Colleague, Affinity)

  Looks down on Alexia with superiority and is secretly annoyed at how Alexia used Cid; believes Alexia is corrupt inside.

  Shares information and goes into the tunnels together; her alliance with Alexia is reconsidered as a good idea.

• Rose Oriana (Colleague, Affinity)

  Joins Rose and Alexia in forming a team and pooling resources.

Alexia Midgar (Alexia)

Midgar royal family · Royal · Crimson Knights · Midgar

Princess of Midgar and Iris's younger sister, who once used Cid as a fake boyfriend and has since sworn an alliance with Rose and Natsume (Beta). Beaten by Rose and then left with only a dossier on Oriana, the Church and major enterprises when Natsume moved out, she refuses anyone's pity and vows to stop pitying herself.

• Fencing reputation

  Known as The Fencing Ordinaire; has always wanted to be as good as her sister.

• Cid relationship

  Asked Cid whether he was interested in continuing their pretend relationship; Cid refused, and she slashed him.

• Audit

  Was investigating the previous archbishop, and the audit is cancelled by the new acting archbishop Jack Nelson.

• Current stance

  Refuses pity from Natsume and vows not to pity herself any longer.

• Cid Kagenou (Pact, Other, Neutral)

  Fake boyfriend she chose as a low-class aristocrat she could easily control, so she could get out of her engagement.

  Former partner in a pretend relationship that was arranged for specific reasons and has since ended.

• Beta (Other, Friend, Mixed)

  Antagonism begins at the Trial when Alexia stomps on Natsume's foot; Alexia sees Natsume as corrupt on the inside.

  Finds Beta had left a dossier and resents receiving details rather than being present.

Annerose Nichtsehen (Annerose)

Bushin Festival contestant · Tournament participant · Velgalta

A swordswoman from Velgalta who left home on a training journey to grow stronger and entered the Bushin Festival. Mundane Mann beats her without using magic; she thanks him for the lesson and offers him a post in Velgalta, which he declines. She plans to resume her journey the next day.

• Trial

  Summoned an ancient warrior at the Goddess's Trial.

• Challenge to Mundane

  Confronts Mundane in the tunnel and warns she has seen all his moves.

• Training journey

  Left her country to become stronger; resumes her journey the next day.

• Quinton (Hierarchy, Colleague, Neutral)

  Admonished him to stop the attack, and he complied.

  Fellow observer who discusses Mundane's fights with her and rivals him.

Beatrix

Elf · Former Champion

An elf known as the War Goddess and the first Bushin Festival champion, who had not appeared in public for over a decade. Searching for her late sister's daughter, who resembles her, she runs into Cid again at the festival and trades burgers with him, and later offers one to Iris.

• Festival

  Attends the Bushin Festival, shares burgers with Cid, and offers one to Iris.

• Cid Kagenou (Other, Neutral)

  Probes Cid about whether he ran into a similar elf and shares burgers with him.

• Iris Midgar (Other, Affinity)

  Meets Iris after her match and offers her a burger.

Claire Kagenou (Claire)

Kagenou family · Midgar Academy

Cid's older sister, a gifted student at Midgar Academy who keeps a tight, possessive grip on her younger brother. Furious at his broken promises, she chokes him and hands him a VIP ticket so he will watch her represent the school in Rose's place, while Iris hopes to recruit her into her knight order.

• Abduction

  Taken from her room on the day she was to leave; held in magic-sealed chains

• Festival role

  Expects to replace Princess Rose representing the school and to become the next champion.

• Cid Kagenou (Family, Mixed)

  Younger brother she trains with; she protects him fiercely

  Chokes him over broken promises and gives him a VIP ticket to watch her compete.

• Iris Midgar (Hierarchy, Affinity)

  Recruitment target for Iris's personal knight order after graduation.

Cid Kagenou (Cid)

Kagenou family · Shadow Garden · Midgar academy student · Academy · Midgar Academy for Dark Knights · Tournament participant · Midgar Academy

Reborn in another world, he dreams of being the Eminence in Shadow and leads Shadow Garden as the masked Shadow while posing as an unremarkable Midgar Academy student. As Mundane Mann he defeats Annerose without using any magic, drawing Iris's wary attention, while as Cid he watches from the VIP seat Claire gave him and plays the harmless bystander. His next opponent is Iris herself.

• Hidden strength

  Trains in secret while posing as a background character at school; a skilled fighter who uses crowbars and other improvised weapons as clubs.

• Sanctuary entry

  Pulled into the Sanctuary after a magical door appeared above the water he stood upon, and entered after failing to avoid it.

• Encounter with Beatrix

  Beatrix suspects he knows an elf and tests him with a sword strike, then leaves praising his potential.

• Hidden identity

  Keeps his Shadow identity concealed while at the festival and feigns surprise at Beatrix.

• Alpha (Hierarchy, Colleague, Affinity)

  Girl he freed from possession and renamed; she pledged to join and punish the guilty

  Shadow Garden member who visits his dorm and reports on the organization's progress; he owes her a tuna sandwich.

• Beta (Colleague, Affinity)

  Member who reports to him and works the investigation with him

• Claire Kagenou (Family, Mixed)

  Older sister he spars with; she is abducted on her departure day

  Cid's sister; she gives him a VIP ticket and expects him to watch her match.

• Alexia Midgar (Pact, Other, Neutral)

  Fake boyfriend who agreed to continue the act until Zenon gives up.

  Met again at the hot springs in Lindwurm; she apologized for slashing him, and he ignores her gaze while she is flustered and then puzzled by his riddle about the sword.

• Skel Etal (Friend, Affinity)

  Friend who confronted him about his dating progress.

• Rose Oriana (Other, Neutral)

  Opponent in the qualifying match who now remembers his name.

  Rose secretly entered Cid into the Trial to show off his worth, and Cid decides how to appear in response.

• Aurora (Colleague, Affinity)

  Works with Aurora to escape the Sanctuary; she regards him as a gallant knight.

• Beatrix (Other, Neutral)

  War Goddess who tests Cid with a sword strike and predicts he will become a strong warrior.

  Shares burgers with her and deflects her probing questions.

Perv Asshat (Perv)

Oriana Kingdom

Son of an Oriana Kingdom duke and Rose's fiancé, whom she stabbed before fleeing. Suspected of working with the Cult, he takes Cid's empty seat beside Iris at the Bushin Festival and shows interest in recruiting Annerose to Oriana. Uneasy about the mysterious Mundane Mann, he has his men look into him.

• Position

  Son of an Oriana Kingdom duke; the kingdom wants the matter handled domestically.

• Swordsmanship

  Has some proficiency with a blade despite Oriana's disdain for sword arts.

• Iris Midgar (Other, Pact, Mixed)

  Discusses festival security with her; she is irritated by the Chancellor's smug assurance.

  Teases Iris about an engagement and jests about Midgar's avarice; Iris reminds him of their alliance.

• Annerose Nichtsehen (Other, Affinity)

  Wants to invite her to Oriana after seeing her in the tournament.

Iris Midgar (Iris)

Midgar Kingdom · Royalty

First Princess of Midgar and daughter of King Klaus, who leads the Crimson Order and has won the Bushin Festival before. Aiming to win again, she crushes her own opponent into a crater, but grows wary of the hidden skill Mundane Mann showed in beating Annerose. She also hopes to recruit Claire into her knight order after graduation.

• Festival ambition

  Intends to win the Bushin Festival tournament and regards Mundane Mann as an unknown threat with hidden skill.

• Claire Kagenou (Hierarchy, Affinity)

  Plans to recruit Claire into her personal knight order upon graduation.

• Perv Asshat (Pact, Mixed)

  Scolds him for intruding into the VIP aisle and for his teasing about Rose's relationship; reminds him of their alliance.

Rose Oriana (Rose)

Student Council President · Oriana Kingdom · princess · knight

Princess of the Oriana Kingdom and Student Council President of Midgar Academy, regarded as its finest swordswoman, who took up the sword after a boy rescued her as a child. Healed of her possession and given power by Shadow, she has broken away from Alexia to keep her out of the conflict. She now shelters in the closed Midgar Academy, steeling herself for what she must do next.

• Engagement

  Engaged to Perv Asshat, whom her father is set to introduce.

• Fugitive status

  Her father's vacant stare and the guards' sinister smiles led her to attack Perv; she was ordered by Perv to turn herself in before the Bushin Festival or a guest would be killed by her father.

• Possession

  Suffering from Possession, she was healed by Shadow and now refuses to explain her actions to Alexia.

• Current state

  Taking shelter at the closed Midgar Academy and motivating herself in a broken mirror.

• Cid Kagenou (Other, Friend, Affinity)

  Opponent in the qualifying match; underestimated him at first, then got serious and was impressed by his determination.

  Her time with Cid is recalled with regret; she feels that marrying and living with him would have been a dream.

• Perv Asshat (Pact, Hostility)

  Fiancé; she stabbed him before running away.

Skel Etal (Skel)

Lower nobility · Bushin Festival spectator

Cid's friend, a low-ranking noble at Midgar Academy, who has sunk into gambling during the Bushin Festival. After piling up debts and even betting his friend's freedom on another wager, he is dragged off by stadium security.

• Betting

  Gathers data for better bets and begs Cid for savings to wager on Goldy.

• Gambling

  Continues feeding a gambling addiction and writes to Po for funds, which Po denies.

• Debt

  Accrued debt at the stadium and bartered his friend's freedom for another chance to wager.

• Cid Kagenou (Friend, Affinity)

  Close friend from the bottom of the noble ranks; they confront Cid about his dating progress.

  Friend who keeps refusing to fund his bets.

World Memo

• Heroes' descendants cursed as possessed

  The Three Heroes who slew the demon Diablos were cursed by its dying breath, and their bloodlines were marked as possessed; history was later altered to make the descendants objects of scorn.

  The royal family carries a higher concentration of hero's blood in their veins than others, which is why the Cult targets their blood

• Cult sect faction hideouts

  The Cult is divided into sect factions, with the Fenrir sect faction maintaining hideouts spread across the capital

• Royal capital underground tunnels

  Beneath the royal capital lie underground tunnels and sewers that can be used for combat and that can crack under heavy blows.

  The underground passages beneath the Royal Capital form a maze, so a route in is not a reliable route out and people must retrace their path to leave.

• Cult entrenched in the kingdom

  The Cult's roots within the Oriana Kingdom run deep enough that removing one member does not end its influence, and its presence threatens the kingdom's politics and its delicate ties with the church.

Clue Board

• Claire's abduction culprit (Episode 2)

  Claire was taken by Viscount Grease, a high-ranking Cult of Diablos member. Beta's map analysis showed the cryptograms were a bluff and revealed a secret hideout at the spot Cid had marked, where Claire was found.

• Suspected healing of Claire's possession (Episode 2)

  Grease has heard rumors that Cid healed Claire's possession and suspects he may need to be looked into. Claire denies that anyone could heal her, so the question remains open.

• Sherry's secret vow (Episode 9)

  Sherry keeps secret what she needs to do after leaving the academy and swears a vow as she parts from Cid.

• Shadow's concealed identity (Episode 11)

  Shadow hides his true name, and Zenon's demand to learn it goes unanswered; Shadow only declares that Shadow Garden lurks in darkness.

  Nu marvels at Cid's deep thinking, which she calls Shadow's Wisdom, hinting that Cid's identity connects to the hidden Shadow Garden

  Cid enters the trial as Shadow under a distracting light, and the crowd is fixated on Shadow and forgets Cid, so his identity stays hidden while people wonder who Shadow is.

• Cid's right eye and core-immune magic (Episode 13)

  Cid's right eye, kept closed since he found Aurora, opens and its magic circuit lines flare with magic unaffected by the Sanctuary core; the source and meaning of this remain unexplained.

• Alexia's reason for entering the Sanctuary (Episode 14)

  Iris wonders why Alexia entered the Sanctuary, since she had only authorized auditing the archbishop, and Alexia evades the question.

• Hidden hand behind Rose affair (Episode 16)

  Alexia and Beta sense someone is pulling strings behind the Oriana matter, which Oriana wants handled as a domestic issue without Midgar's interference.

• Perv suspected of working with the Cult (Episode 17)

  Beta suspects Perv Asshat is working with the Cult, and Alexia wants hard evidence of his involvement given the political stakes with the church.

• Surrender demand before the festival (Episode 17)

  Perv ordered Rose to turn herself in before the Bushin Festival, threatening that her father would have one of his guests killed otherwise; Rose wonders whether turning herself in is best, since it may avoid a war.

• Beatrix search for late sister's daughter (Episode 18)

  Beatrix is searching for the daughter of her late sister and asks Cid whether he has seen someone who resembles her. Cid is reminded of Alpha but denies it.

  Beatrix asks Cid whether he met an elf who resembles her and hopes to find that person among the festival crowds; Cid denies seeing anyone.

• Mundane's unseen speed (Episode 18)

  Mundane defeated Gonzales Machom and Goldy Gilded in ways spectators could not follow. In the Gonzales bout, Annerose saw only his right hand move, and she judges it a speed no normal human could have, but the mechanism remains unconfirmed.

  Iris suspects Mundane disguised his stance and technique throughout the tournament to hide a secret; Mundane says this was the first time he had to remove his shackles, and his reason for holding back remains unknown.

Battle Record

Iris wins her tournament match one-sidedly on the resumed festival day.

Tunnel clash with Cult assassins

Royal Capital tunnels · Episode 17

Location: Tunnels under the Royal Capital

Trigger: Cult assassins arrive after Shadow leaves Rose

Rose vs Cult assassins, then a separate duel with Alexia

• Rose Oriana — fighter: Rose Oriana
• Cult assassins and, separately, Alexia — assassins: Cult assassins / duelist (separate fight): Alexia Midgar

Outcome: Rose defeats the assassins and Alexia, then leaves Alexia to Beta and flees

Aftermath

• Rose flees the tunnels
• Alexia is left to Beta

Annerose vs Mundane bout

Bushin Festival tournament · Episode 18

Location: Bushin Festival arena

Trigger: Bushin Festival tournament match

Bout

• Annerose — combatant: Annerose Nichtsehen
• Mundane — combatant: Mundane Mann

Outcome: Mundane defeats Annerose without using magic power.

Aftermath

• Annerose admits her defeat, thanks Mundane for the lesson, and plans to resume her journey.
• Mundane says he had to remove his shackles for the first time and declines her offer of government service.

Iris tournament bout

Bushin Festival tournament · Episode 18

Location: Bushin Festival stadium

Trigger: Bushin Festival tournament match

Bout

• Iris — combatant: Princess Iris Midgar
• Opponent — combatant: unnamed opponent

Outcome: Iris wins one-sidedly, impacting the opponent into a crater.

Aftermath

• The overflow of Iris's magic disintegrates her sword afterward.

Ability Table

Music Releases

• HIGHEST (OP)
• Darling in the Night (Delta ver.) (ED)
• Darling in the Night (Alpha ver.) (ED)