A Promise Made

A Promise Made (紡がれる約束) is the seventeenth episode of The Rising of the Shield Hero anime.

Synopsis
Fitoria tells Naofumi that she'll kill all Four Cardinal Heroes if they don't get back on the same page. She even takes Melty hostage, but Naofumi continues to refuse. Understanding where he's coming from, Fitoria instead proposes a one-on-one duel with Filo.

Plot
The next day at the Filolial Sanctuary, Naofumi is still bitter as he recaps Fitoria's harsh words about killing the Four Cardinal Heroes if they don't get along and unite against the Waves, though he still doesn't let it out to his companions. At the breakfast, Fitoria suddenly approaches Melty and traps her inside a magic wind prison, as she needs the Princess as her hostage. Once again, she obsessively demands Naofumi to reconcile with the other Heroes, because keeping them all united is honoring a promise made to the past Hero who had raised her, to which Naofumi refuses. The Shield Hero tells her to kill him if she wants to, but he won't go down without a fight. He tries to activate his Rage Shield but Fitoria again breaches the transformation. She wants proof that Naofumi's party is strong enough to deal with the Waves by themselves, so she demands a one-on-one fight with Filo in their respective human forms, in exchange for sparing Melty's and the Heroes's lives for the time being.

A magical barrier is erected so nothing can interfere in the duel. Filo charges to fight, but her blows are slow and ineffective against Fitoria. Naofumi tells her to think of a plan and regenerate her clothes with her own mana. Filo sends a tornado, only to be rebuked back by the queen's jamming magic according to Melty. As the two Filolials are busy fighting each other, Naofumi approaches Melty and tries to free her, but is struck by Fitoria's magic, powerful enough to easily bypass the Shield's protection and make Naofumi bleed. This enrages Filo, who keeps fighting and vows to become stronger and be more useful for the Shield Hero's party. Fitoria starts absorbing mana particles through the air. Naofumi tells Filo to watch her enemy's moves closely, and she's able to do it - upon hearing these words, Fitoria has a quick flashback of her own past, recalling these same words told to her by the past Legendary Hero. With new vigor, Filo attacks with her newfound Spiral Strike technique, which imitates a golden bird talon, effectively breaking Fitoria's defense. Exhausted, Filo reassures her vow to become stronger and protect her beloved ones. All of a sudden, Fitoria smiles and declares Filo winner, Melty and Naofumi are amazed at her progress.

Fitoria reveals that the duel was a judgment, for which Filo passed and was then declared successor and future Filolial Queen - she even gives her a beautiful crown as the sign of her triumph in the ordeal. The crown disappears and turns into a cowlick which grows out of Filo's hair, indicating she's officially in the succession line now. However, Filo didn't like the cowlick and ripped it out, only for it to regenerate instantly. A quick analysis through the Shield shows Naofumi that the cowlick has greatly increased Filo's stats, and more of them will spring out as she grows stronger. Fitoria heals Naofumi's wound and gives his Shield one of her own cowlicks, unlocking the Shield's Filolial Series. She still wants to discuss something in private with Naofumi, who reluctantly agrees. But first, she makes up for Melty's "kidnapping" by giving her a ride on her giant bird form. After lunchtime, the Filolials run in a stampede (taking Melty and Raphtalia along) to celebrate the appointment of their new Queen (much to Filo's dismay).

Later that night, as everyone sleeps peacefully, Fitoria once more asks Naofumi if he intends to make amends with the Heroes, or if he at least had tried to clear his name. Naofumi was taken back since he never tried to clear his name with the other Heroes, as he convinced that nobody would believe him at the time. Fitoria points out that not clearing his name makes him just as guilty as those accusing him. Fitoria tells him that she'll take them back to Melromarc, to the closest Hero so that he can talk it out. But she won't involve herself in the situation unless they prove her worth. She adds that fighting the Waves will be much harder if even one of the Cardinal Heroes is missing, and the world may require all life to be sacrificed - this will eventually force the Heroes to choose between saving either the world (which fulfills their duty at the cost of many innocent lives) or its people (which will be the hardest, but it is what the past Heroes would expect from their successors).

Fitoria explains that she regards Naofumi higher than the other Heroes not only because he raised Filo to be the next Queen but also because she trusts his ability to unite the Heroes again so they can all take part in future battles. Naofumi states he'll need his Wrath Shield more than ever, to which Fitoria grants him a spell to help contain (but not stop entirely) the Curse Series' dark influence. Naofumi tells Fitoria is actually nice - again, she flashes back to her past, the Legendary Hero saying exactly that to her. Naofumi then agrees to try to convince the Heroes, to which Fitoria sleeps on his lap, Naofumi asks if the Hero who raised her was the past Shield Hero, to which Fitoria explains that she had forgotten it, since Filolials have short memory span - however, with happy tears in her eyes, she can tell that the Hero had the same gentle nature and warm touch of Naofumi.

Back at Melromarc, Ren's and Itsuki's parties find a cave which leads to the burial site of the Four Cardinal Weapons. However, the tomb is revealed to be empty. Realizing it to be a trap, Itsuki warns them to get out of the cave but it's too late already, as they all get caught in a massive explosion.

Trivia

 * It is speculated that Fitoria's master was a previous Shield Hero.
 * Filolial queens grow a number of cowlicks based on their advancement.
 * Filo became Fitoria's successor and becomes the next in line queen of Filolial by passing the trial fight with Fitoria.
 * Fitoria hints that saving the world and saving the people of the world are two different things - the latter is a much more painful way but the correct one, according to the past Heroes.

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