Author: Faris
Editor: KnightAvenger
Studio: Kinema Citrus
Watch at: Crunchyroll

We start this episode off a couple of days after the fight, when Naofumi wakes up from his long sleep after being injured so much. He is supposed to rest for an entire month after what he went through. But that doesn’t last long, as he is summoned to the castle where a trial is held for the King and Myne for all the shit they put Naofumi through as well as attempting to kill the Cardinal Heroes and Melty, a member of royalty, all through their collusion with the Church.

The trial concludes, again, predictably, with both of them being pronounced guilty and sentenced to death. The sentence doesn’t go through; instead, they get stripped of their royal rank and get renamed to very degrading and humiliating names. King is renamed to Trash and Malty (Myne) to Bitch, as well as Slut as her adventurer name.

All of the questions I had since the first episode are mostly answered with this episode, about the structure of State, how the land can be a matriarchy and why the Queen had basically no power for the entire show until now. Due to King and Myne colluding with the Church but also being useful idiots, they stranded the Queen far away, fucked over other Kingdoms and generally, completely earned their sentences, both the original one but also the degrading names one.

It still doesn’t explain why the Pope was male, why most guards and people that seem to be in high positions of power are seemingly male since it’s supposed to be a matriarchal kingdom, but I am willing to let that slide on account of the Queen seemingly being revered and still having the highest authority surpassing any that all of those high ranking men have. It is also the reason I am not looking at the names Myne gets as misogynistic, as they are supposed to be a punishment which is meant to be degrading but still save the lives of King and Myne, and none of the other girls are treated in a degrading way, but in a very positive one.

All in all, episode 21 feels like a conclusion to a story. Despite there being four more episodes remaining until the end of the show, it feels like one story has ended. That is because it has, a story of Naofumi, his story of being summoned to this world and then completely humiliated but, in the end, having his name cleared. The show has already, to a large degree, fulfilled the “Rising” part of its name as Naofumi, the Shield Hero has risen. Now the fight against the waves remains.