Anime Episode 18

"Seeing Snake Shadows in Every Cup" is the 18th episode of the "Genjitsu Shugi Yuusha no Oukoku Saikenki" Anime adaptation.

''Weathering a number of problems, Souma more or less finishes dealing with the aftermath of the war. However, he was set upon by an inexplicable anxiety, the distress and pressure only felt by those in authority. It was not something he could bear alone.''

Summary
Liscia visits Carla in the dungeons, who had already heard of Souma taking more wives. Liscia knew this was going to happen, however, she still felt pain in her heart. Liscia explains that she didn't visit Georg Carmine and was surprisingly calm when she heard of his death. She expected he to choose to perish along with the darkness that has pervaded the kingdom and Souma would have no choice but to accept it. It may pains and saddens her, but she must accept it too. Carla accepts the same fate, and states she cannot accept Liscia's intercession and she doesn't wish to be a burden to Liscia or her loved ones.

The trial of Castor Vargas and Carla by the king starts. Hakuya explains that Castor and Carla failed to recognize Souma's advancement to the throne and rose up in hostilities. They are charged with treason and the punishment of forfeiture of territory and property, as well as execution is considered fitting. Excel Walter explains that they didn't seek to take over the throne and that they loyalty to the previous king and friendship with Georg Carmine, is what led them astray. As there were no casualties at the Red Dragon City, Excel asks Souma if he could spare their lives at least. Souma asks Castor if there is anything he wishes to add and he states its all his fault and Carla only followed his order, and asks Souma to spare her life. However, Souma states that Carla led the air squadron, so he assumes she was prepared for the consequences of rebellion. As Carla doesn't have anything to say, Souma asks the council of nobles if they have anything to say. Two men, Piltory Saracen and Owen Jabana, speak in defence of Castor and Carla, explaining that they should be spared and that they have rare talent in leading the air squadrons and still could be useful to the kingdom. The rest of the council supports the king's decision and agree that they need to follow the law. Souma then gives an order to kill the council men.

Souma explains that Machiavelli's book "The Prince" has been called "the devil's book" and few hundred years later it come under attack by the Christian church. Specifically in Chapter VIII, Machiavelli talks about whether it is better to be loved than feared while ruling. He wonders if its possible for a person to take a country by nefarious means, and subsequently live a peaceful life without insurrection and he believes it was only possible because they were skilled in employing cruelties. The best use of cruelties is to perform them all at once, so as not to repeat them afterward. In Chapter XVII, he states its better for a ruler to be feared than loved. However, Machiavelli doesn't give any examples of cruelties or ruthlessness that a ruler must bear. He also doesn't say kill all your enemies and the few examples he gives, he actually targets his allies and not enemies, and says to purge the informers, the opportunists, and other treacherous insiders nested among your allies all at once.

All of the council men except Plitory and Owen are killed. Souma tells Liscia and Aisha to calm as those men are under his command. The leader of the men approaches and Liscia recognizes him as Georg, but Souma stops her before she says his name. Souma explains this is Kagetora, leader of the Black Cats, an intelligence unit the reports directly to him. Souma then orders Kategora to contact the members of the Forbidden Army standing by outside of their homes and seize the evidence. Piltory wonders what happened and Souma explains that the nobles of those 12 houses are connected to Amidonia and various other nations. While it may have been cruel, Souma had to cut the "disease" once and for all. While those houses were loyal to the Kingdom for a long time, they ended up easily betraying it and manipulated investigations to be safe. Souma didn't wish to have a regret that he didn't kill them when he had the chance. Souma again cites Machiavelli, explaining that while we can't prevent sudden changes of fate, if we prepare ahead of time, we can mitigate the course that fate takes. Hakuya explains that preceding heads of Piltory's and Owen's houses were also in leagues with the 12 other houses, however, both Piltory and Owen had previously cut ties with the other houses. Hakuya states that Piltory excels at military and literary arts, while Owen is a man of honesty and passion, and they will serve Souma with no hidden agenda.

Souma proceeds with Castor and Carla's trial. He charges Castor with treason, but can't dismiss his contribution for the kingdom and decides to spare his life. He remanded him over to Excel, but forbids him entering the former Duchy of Vargas and also forbids any contact with his son Carl and wife Accela. Souma charges Carla with treason, but cannot reduce her sentence due to not having long contribution history like her father. Castor starts begging for his daughter, but Souma orders the guards to take him away. Souma decides to spare Carla's life, but takes her status and turns her into slave for Souma and Liscia. Souma then gives her first order, to kill him if he ever go astray and become a tyrant. He fears that one day he may become drunk on power and become a tyrant, but doesn't believe that Liscia and the rest will have strength to stop him.

After the trial, Souma feels tired and heads to his room. Aisha states he looked like a soldier returning from his first mission and kill. Liscia wonder what they can do and Aisha states she heard they need to help him forget about it. Liscia then has an idea and asks Aisha to help her. Souma lies in bed thinking of what he did and if it was the right decision. Liscia and Aisha then show up in bathrobes and join him in bed, telling him they are trying to help him forget and that he can do whatever he wants. Souma feels embarrassed and they just end up lying in bed. Liscia and Aisha tells him that they are his queens and they will always support him in hard times.

Roroa Amidonia hears about the reparations that Amidonia has to pay and wonders if her brother is an idiot as the old people will suffer for those reparations. She believes it would have been better to leave Van to Elfrieden and avoid any post-war accountability. Sebastian states it may not have been quite simple. He also shares that while Souma looks ordinary, he seems to deeply care for those that are close to him. Roroa comments that he is opposite of her father, but that means they still have a chance and they should be taking a move.

Characters in Order of Appearance
Characters in italics debuted here.


 * Kazuya Souma
 * Liscia Elfrieden
 * Aisha Udgard
 * Hakuya Kwonmin
 * Excel Walter
 * Castor Vargas
 * Carla Vargas
 * Roroa Amidonia
 * Sebastian Silverdeer
 * Gatsby Colbert
 * Piltory Saracen
 * Owen Jabana
 * Kagetora

Trivia

 * This Episode Adapts from Light Novel Volume 03 Chapter 8 & Epilogue (A few pages)
 * The title is adapted from Chinese idiom, meaning fearing of something that does not exist. The original story comes from ancient Chinese literature Fengsu Tongyi.