Naofumi gets a deal from the slavetrader and buys himself a slave as a party-member. her name is Raphtalia, a young, sick demihuman tanuki girl. Having experienced trauma from the first wave killing her family, she must learn to move past that if she and the Shield Hero have any hopes of surviving until the next wave.
Tropes for this episode include:
- Afraid of Blood: Raphtalia hesitates in killing the rabbit monster because she has a fear of blood.
- Appeal to Force: Naofumi threatens an innkeeper with a balloon monster clinging to him into given him and Raphtalia a room.
- Cowardly Lion: While Raphtalia's fear of blood keeps her from killing the rabbit at first, she goes through with it when it is revealed that the whole reason why Naofumi bought and trained her was because he needed her help against the Waves of Catastrophe. She later swallows her fear against the two-headed dog-monster when he tries getting her to escape when it was clear that she couldn't kill it.
- Germans Love David Hasselhoff: In-Universe. Raphtalia learning of her new owner Naofumi Iwatani as The Shield Hero is left in awe as she remembers a conversation she had with her parents about The Four Cardinal Heroes, with the Shield Hero in-particular being the Hero that always stood beside and protected the Demi-Humans in the past.
- Hellhound: The monster that killed Raphtalia's parents was a three-headed dog-beast. She and Naofumi encounter a two-headed version as they farm for ore in the cave.
- "It" Is Dehumanizing: Inverted. Normally when your hero says that "slaves aren't people" (let alone the fact that they are buying slaves in the first place), things get problematic. However, since he has since come to the conclusion that Humans Are Bastards, he has since turned off with the idea of entrusting his life to a citizen of Melromarc. The fact that he doesn't acknowledge Raphtalia as a "person" might be the closest thing to a compliment he intends on giving anyone.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Discussed. When Elhart sees how callous he is to Raphtalia, he remarks that "[he's] not going to die a painless death."
- Pet the Dog: While Naofumi remains a Jerkass, it becomes pretty clear to Raphtalia that he doesn't see her as an object; tending to her illness, feeding her, ensuring that she can defend herself, giving her a haircut and even buying her a toy when she sees a group of children playing with one.
- Training Montage: Most of the episode is Naofumi and Raphtalia killing low-level monsters for Experience Points.
- Unscrupulous Hero: Justified. Naofumi buying a slave and trying to turn her into a Tyke Bomb makes a lot of sense in-context. With Naofumi's non-existent attack power and inability to use offensive weapons, he has no means of leveling up himself. With all of his money stolen and all support that should have been given to him revoked, Raphtalia is the only one he can afford. No one is willing to team up with him because he is a Hero with Bad Publicity, and he has since given up all faith in humanity due to his Trauma Conga Line. Buying a slave with a magical crest that will prevent that slave from lying to him or stabbing him in the back is the most sensible option at this point.
