The Selection of the Katana

The Selection of the Katana is the seventy-fourth chapter of The Rising of the Shield Hero manga adaptation.

Synopsis
In this flashback, Raphtalia and the otherworldly heroes have escaped their prison and are now on the run. Together, they find a city undergoing a mysterious ceremony and weapon which causes them trouble along the way.

Summary
After escaping the dangerous prison, L'Arc, Glass, Therese and Raphtalia find out that wanted posters of them have been created. They decide to put on disguises before they enter the enemy country's central city. On the road towards the dragon hourglass, Raphtalia levels up and slowly matures to her original form. The group bonds and Glass even spars with Raphtalia.

Upon reaching the central city, they find that it is conducting the Vassal Wielder selection process with their Vassal Katana. They see Trash #2 attempt to pick up the weapon. However, before he can touch it, the Vassal Weapon flies out of his grip right to Raphtalia. Furious, Trash II calls her a thief and commands the surrounding guards to capture her and her party. The group then hides in a nearby building while the city is shut down.

While the group hides in the building, copies of the White Tiger Guardian Beast prowls around searching for them. Raphtalia sadly notes that her slave crest - her connection to Naofumi - is also gone when she took the Katana. However, they don't have much time to rest as one of the tigers break through the wall to attack the group. It is quickly defeated and a small furry creature jumps in with the group. Outside, Naofumi, Kizuna and Rishia fight the monsters. Glass and Kizuna have a tearful reunion while Raphtalia jumps to Naofumi to confront Trash II with his hoards of beasts.

Characters

 * Glass
 * L'Arc Berg Sickle
 * Raphtalia
 * Therese Alexanderite
 * Kyo Ethnina (mentioned)
 * Filo
 * Naofumi Iwatani
 * Rishia Ivyred
 * Trash #2
 * Tsugumi
 * Trash #2's harem
 * Raph-chan
 * Kizuna Kazayama

Monsters

 * White Tiger Copy
 * Spirit Tortoise (mentioned)
 * Shikigami
 * Humming Fairy

Weapons

 * Vassal Fan
 * Vassal Scythe
 * Vassal Katana
 * Legendary Shield
 * Legendary Hunting Tool

Locations

 * Glass' World
 * Label (Vassal Katana Country)

Differences from Light Novel

 * In the light novel, this story was not covered through Raphtalia's perspective, but through a short explanation to Naofumi after their reunion.