It's been an hour since you guys handed off the villains to the police, and now the party is following Melide and Monomasa down an underground passage connected to the first class Sengen business district. Akashi comments on how moldy it smells down there and asks where it is you guys are even going. Mokdai says you guys have gone down pretty far and notes it feels more like you guys are heading to a shelter rather than some secret organization's hideout. Melide says he's not that off base and explains that if an Observer doesn't have a way of blocking the Broker's supervision, they'll have to hide themselves as physically far from the sky as possible.
Sui asks who the Broker is since you guys keep mentioning him, and the only thing she's ever heard about him is that he harms Observers somehow. Akashi adds that he doesn't know much either aside from the Broker being the one to turn you into an Observer. You say that's not wrong, wonder how to explain it all, or say you don't know much either. Melide says that she thinks that's a good enough explanation for now, surreptitiously looking to you as she notes that it's true he's threatening you. You are surprised that Melide is aware of that, so she smiles as she says that there are plenty of ways for Observers to use their abilities that you don't know about yet. Knowing too much about that could impede your daily life though.
Huckle is quiet with a look on his face, which prompts Ryekie to ask him why he's doing that. Huckle says he knows a bunch of Observers who have met the Broker. He hasn't himself, but you have and even talked to him. He wonders what line separates those that have seen the Broker and those that haven't, and he wonders if it has something to do with the giant thing you said you saw. Melide says nothing, and Crowne says that it sounds like not meeting him is for the best. Having some inscrutable alien upending your life and throwing nasty requests at you can't possibly end well.
Huckle says that's true, but he points out that Crowne doesn't actually have a reason to tag along at this point. Everyone else was brought along for being an Observer or a hero, and given that she's neither at the moment she doesn't need to join in. Crowne says she's worried about what it is you guys are caught up in, and she's especially concerned about what sort of things you might be getting dragged into. She admits she might just be butting in where she's not wanted though. Huckle notes that while Crowne was casual about mentioning a dangerous request, it's pretty much confirmation that she did hear you guys talking about it before. Crowne apologizes for eavesdropping on something so serious, but now that she has she can't pretend to be uninvolved. Akashi tries to ask for an explanation, so you tell him you'll do that later. He's surprised, but doesn't press any further.
Ryekie suddenly reacts to something and stops moving, so Mokdai asks him if something is wrong. Ryekie says it's probably he imagination after a moment, but he thought he felt someone watching him. There's no sounds to support that idea though, so it just strikes him as weird. As it turns out though, Crowne Alter is down there with you guys stalking you all.
Time passes a bit to the part where you guys reach the end of the tunnel which is a slightly wider area. Monomasa was up front leading everyone, and once he gets there he gestures for everyone to stop as he's surprised that someone isn't there. You ask Monomasa who he's looking for when he starts looking around, and in that instant you feel some wind brush against the back of your neck. Akashi quickly jumps in to save you with a diving tackle, and the wall you were standing in front of suddenly gets impacted and releases a burst of smoke. Ryekie starts looking for whoever attacked, and Monomasa sighs about how there's so many hotheaded people around.
A voice says that was a decent display of instant explosiveness, and Yoshiori reveals himself as he waves the smoke away. He notes that you guys being able to see him must mean you guys are heroes and Observers, though he admits he's already aware about one of you being a hero. He glares at Ryekie, and Ryekie is surprised as he recognizes Yoshiori. You either ask Ryekie about knowing him, ask who he is, or ask Ryekie to set you two up saying Yoshiori's your type. C gets an extra line where Akashi wonders aloud whether he was better off letting you get dunked on.
Anyways, Ryekie says he does know who Yoshiori is. He's one of the strongest villains he's fought in his entire career, a freelance veteran that people have nicknamed as the Invisible Mercenary. The only thing known is that he'll help any villain for the right price, but anything else about him has remained an enigma no matter how much he was investigated. Mokdai is shocked as he's heard of the title and asks if he's the guy who was never caught on camera. Sui is shocked in turn at Mokdai's question and asks about what that even means. Yoshiori laughs and says he's happy Ryekie recognized him at a glance. He talks about how it's normal for cameras to not work on him and for investigations to find nothing on him since he's turned into someone who doesn't exist in the world.
You ask Yoshiori what he means by not existing in the world, and Crowne asks if he's saying he's some sort of ghost. Akashi freaks out and tries to deny the idea of spirits existing, so Huckle points out that's probably not what's going on. Yoshiori did just physically destroy a wall after all. Mokdai then guesses that Yoshiori is a youkai, leading Sui to point out that Yoshiori looks too human for that to be right. Yoshiori gets pissy at all the supernatural being comparisons and yells about fulfilling his duties, then looks at Melide. Melide sighs in resignation and complies, holding up a hand to him and transforming Yoshiori.
Light envelopes Yoshiori briefly, revealing him in his soldier form when it snaps off. His exposed right arm and stomach shine with a light color compared to the starry sky. You are either taken aback at the transformation or say you think Yoshiori looks cool, and Yoshiori prompts you guys to transform so he can test your powers and see if it's worth letting you guys see Exio. He then sticks his right arm into his stomach, shocking Akashi. Mokdai realizes Yoshiori is pulling something out, and that something turns out to be a machine gun and a belt of bullets for it.
You exclaim about Yoshiori pulling out a weapon and ask how he did it, but Yoshiori just taunts about taking everyone on himself. Ryekie turns to Huckle for opinions, so Huckle says you guys will have to fight him since he's unlikely to just let you guys go with no strings attached. Mokdai notes that there's still a signal available despite how far down you guys are, so a live is possible. Akashi isn't thrilled about how having to fight it out, and Sui sighs since you guys were supposedly invited down here. Everyone starts transforming and getting ready to fight, and Ryekie says they're ready to go whenever as he signals to you and Huckle. You respond back affirmatively, and Yoshiori laughs saying you guys shouldn't think this will be a normal battle. The episode battle starts as he says he'll show you guys why he's called 'invisible' when your view count starts getting affected by it. More story after that.
After the battle the story tunes back in midway to Yoshiori cackling about how well everyone is holding up. It's been ten minutes since everything started, and the party is starting to wear out. Sui points out that Yoshiori is still going on strong. Mokdai points out how strong Yoshiori is and says he'd have lost immediately if he were going alone against him. Huckle says the view count isn't going up at all and wonders why that is, and Crowne says there's comments coming in asking why everyone is fighting nothing.
You are surprised that the audience can't see anything, so Yoshiori brings back up that he said he's been rendered a non-entity for this world. There are no records of him and no one can see him, so what can you do to a guy like that? Akashi then asks for him to stop and asks why they can see him then. Mokdai starts theorizing Yoshiori has invisibility powers, but he discards the idea as unfitting. Ryekie hasn't figured it out either, but he notes that his battle ability is for real. It really is the sort of power you'd expect from a battlefield drifting villain, and Ryekie makes a special note of Yoshiori's stamina as not the thing you just get from sports and fighting.
Yoshiori is flattered by the comments and brags about his military tactical prowess as well. He decides that he's done enough warming up and declares he'll be going all out now, so Ryekie decides to challenge him to bring it. Mokdai however is highly concerned about this, and Akashi is worried about Ryekie being Like That. You either try to yell for the battle to stop, say someone will die if this keeps going, or start getting excited about the battle getting more intense. C gets an extra line from Crowne protesting that you're supposed to be trying to stop this.
Huckle says that Ryekie can at least keep going, but everyone else in the party can't. A voice interrupts and apologizes for doing so, but he says he can't have everyone exhausting themselves here and asks Yoshiori to stop. The voice echoes in the room, and Monomasa comments on them finally coming out saying he left things alone for too long. Exio then reveals himself, then says he had too much fun watching things play out.
Exio has come out of a hidden sliding door that leads further inside the underground passageway, and Yoshiori is surprised at being stopped but reluctantly obeys, putting his gun down and reverting to civilian form. Akashi awkwardly notes that things have stopped as well, and Mokdai sighs in relief as they follow suit in reverting. Sui and Ryekie do afterwards, and Ryekie asks if the man who just showed up is Exio. Exio apologizes for the sudden battle happening and says it's part of Yoshiori's job as the door guard. He looks over everyone in your group and eventually stares at Huckle.
Huckle asks if there's something up with him, so Exio says it's nothing and asks he pay it no mind. He makes a show of clearing his throat and putting his hand on his chest, then says it's a pleasure to meet most of you guys for the first time. He introduces himself as Exio Grant, an Observer. You either keep neutral and say it's been a while after a pause, say you'd have preferred to not see him, or say you're happy to see him. B gets an extra line with Exio being kinda disappointed and surprised as he says he wanted to see you. C gets a different extra line where he says it's an honor and feels the same way about you.
Anyways, Exio happily welcomes you, asking if your presence here means you're going to be cooperating with him. He then reveals that he's aware of the Broker ordering you to kill him as he asks if you're here for that instead, and Huckle gets suspicious of Exio over this. Akashi is shocked at the reveal and turns to you for an explanation, so you either protest that you don't know either or say he just told you to do it. Exio adds that the Broker is that kind of guy, the sort of man who gives zero craps as to what you think. To him, every living thing in the world is nothing more than consumable items. Sui remarks that the Broker sounds like a worse and worse person the more she hears about him. Crowne says he's the kinda guy who makes random people into Observers, so he can't be on the up and up.
Melide starts suggesting to Exio that they not stay out for too long, so Exio agrees as he says you never know who may be watching. He invites you guys to come in so you can talk some more over tea. Mokdai asks Huckle for his opinion since he's suspicious of everything overall. Huckle answers you guys came this far already, but if anything happens then they'll have to rely on Ryekie. Monomasa assures you guys that they have no further intentions of attacking any of you, and he explains that the area on the other side of the door allows you to do whatever you want except for fighting.
Melide concedes it may be difficult for you guys to trust them, but she says they don't plan on lying. Yoshiori grumbles about wanting a bit more slack, so Melide sternly tells him he's not supposed to go against his promise to Exio. He gives in, and the party follows Exio after resolving themselves to continue. Exio thinks to himself about how there's four heroes and two Observers among you. He notes that Huckle seems to be really weak as an Observer, then thinks to himself that it's strange he's getting a feeling on the back of the neck when you alone shouldn't cause that reaction. The door closes behind you guys, and elsewhere, Crowne Alter is still stalking you all.
Exio leads the party to what's described as a uniformly styled meeting area and sit on sofas at his urging. Akashi immediately cries out about sinking in further into his seat than he expected since he never sat on a sofa like that before, and it's actually making him uncomfortable. Mokdai comments on how weird the room is with the Middle Age Europe aesthetic going on, and Sui compares it to a meeting area for warriors you'd see in fantasy movies, though she also figures the furniture isn't made of real wood and stone.
Exio laughs at the comparison and says Sui is close enough. Ryekie is confused by this momentarily, then remembers that Melide mentioned wanting your help in particular. He asks if that's related to all this and if the warriors in the analogy refers to heroes here. Exio confirms as such, though he says it isn't quite that specific. If villains are willing to help out too, then he'll happily accept them. Huckle says he's starting to understand how things are connected, then asks Exio for more concrete details on what he wants from you. Exio is about to answer when he realizes he hasn't brought any tea out. It's already been made, so he asks you guys to have some before it gets bitter and says he'll pick up the topic after that.
Exio claps his hands, so a wolf mob pushes in a cart from further in. Crowne comments on there actually being waiters here and how fancy it makes the place. Everyone else in the party is curious as they watch the tea get poured, but you recognize the mob as the one who started the Raidark Tower attack incident that led to Mokdai joining as a hero. He's also the guy who tried to kill you after the fact and then got eaten by a Monster Exio sicced on him before dumping into a space hole. You go on guard at his presence, but the mob just keeps calmly pouring tea out and handing cups to everyone. When he gets to you, he asks if you want any milk or sugar in yours.
You are confused by the mob's behavior, and you can ask for some sugar or decline the offer. The mob proceeds to pour your tea out as requested, then bows before pushing the cart back out of the room. You wonder aloud if it's some sort of act or someone who just looked like that one guy, but Exio laughs at your surprise as he comments that you do remember who that guy is. Akashi is curious about this and asks if you know the mob, so you fumble to come up with an explanation.
Exio says he won't give the specifics, but he bluntly informs everyone that the mob had a misplaced grudge that led to them trying to kill you. Also, the mob has lost all his memories since a bit before he started hating you. Akashi is taken aback and far more concerned about the murder attempt, and Mokdai is shocked as he asks you if that's true. Sui is the one to ask about the wolf mob's amnesia since hating someone enough to try killing them is not something a person just forgets.
Melide answers that Monsters have the property to eat records and memories. So if you control what memories they eat and then stop them partway through, you can manipulate memories. You are surprised that it's possible to do such a thing by using monsters, so Exio explains that the guy just couldn't live as he was before anymore. As such, he used the Monsters' ability to move around by ignoring distance to a degree, had the thing eat the mob, then send them both to Melide. Huckle then asks if he had Melide control the monster to erase most of the guy's memories. Exio admits as much and says he unfortunately can't control them that well, but since Melide could he had her do it.
Akashi gets up shaking in indignation, calling it horribly cruel. He argues that as dangerous as the guy was, it is never okay to take away his memories and turn him into someone else. Mokdai is taken aback at how fervent Akashi is about this and tries getting him to calm down, but Akashi says he can't and asks if they ever felt how frightening it is to lose your memories. He then quickly argues they never had, or else they wouldn't be doing all this. You express concern for Akashi and note that it's hard to lose your memories.
Exio slowly asks Akashi if he thinks keeping your memories is something to be happy about. Akashi is surprised by the question and asks him to explain, so Exio brings up a hypothetical where the mob lives on with his memories intact. If he does, he might try to stab you again if he saw the chance to do so. The thought shocks Akashi, but he doesn't argue. Exio then brings up that the guy has committed certain serious crimes, so he'd have to pay for them to live in polite society. He admits it all started with what he told the guy. The guy misunderstood, lost his way in that back alley, and couldn't live as himself anymore. So, Exio made it so that the guy could live a more peaceful life. Exio cops to it being self-righteous to an extent, but he tried the best he could at the time.
Ryekie thinks on the idea about there being memories people might be better off not keeping, and Akashi attempts to argue. Melide observes that Akashi must have a lot of happy memories he wants to keep, then says she's jealous of him. She has tons of memories of her own she'd rather not remember, and she mentions that there are people who believe that getting rid of unhappy memories would be the best thing to do. Crowne seems to sympathize as she looks sadly at Melide, and Akashi looks conflicted as he balls up his fists before sitting back down again.
Exio says he does understand how you guys feel and comments that's why you guys can live where the sun shines. It just doesn't apply to everyone, and everyone has things that they'd rather not be looked at too closely. Those people get stuck having to live in the dark, and he says everyone that's there is like that. He brings up the rather specific example of someone crushed by the expectations and obligations forced upon him, so he chose to die. He then happened to meet a Monster that still had some sapience to it, then chose to surrender his body to it instead. Monomasa looks sad as he says nothing.
Exio then brings up another example, this time of a man who was eaten by a Monster on the battlefield. He survived, even if part of his body had vanished, but no one could see or hear him. Cut off from the world as he was, he was then forced to live in isolation. Yoshiori doesn't say anything to having his backstory blabbed to the party, and Exio says it's because there are people like that that he brings them over, hoping to help them. What he wants to do is to go up against the Broker, who had turned him into an Observer. He wants revenge on him for the sake of the minorities (re: Observers) in the world.
You ask about Exio's motive being his revenge on the Broker, so Exio says he didn't bring everyone over just to gain allies. He really does want to help save people because of the situation he's in. The people who reject the world, the people rejected by the world, the ones shunned by society, all of them are people he'll save because he wants to. If you want to abandon your past, you should do so. You already have the power you need right now to carve out your own future.
Ryekie comments on Exio's philosophy sounding like the most destructive type of justice where squaring things away with repentance is pointless. Exio straight up cops to that since that's what he believes is justice, then sips his tea. He suggests that Ryekie must have a past he'd rather not remember either, and he asks how he can keep hanging onto it while embracing the younger generations and holding them up as important. How can he keep calling himself a hero with a burden like that? Ryekie is shocked as he knows what Exio is hinting at and somehow knows himself.
Despite Ryekie clearly signalling that he wants to keep whatever Exio is referring to a secret, you and Mokdai turn to him and ask what Exio is talking about. Huckle sympathizes with him and doesn't speak of any details. Akashi picks up that Huckle must know too and asks him about it. Huckle admits he does, but he feels that it's Ryekie's story to tell if he ever feels like it. The most he will say is that it was the biggest taboo and biggest secret to Ryekie in terms of his hero identity. Exio apologizes for going on a tangent, then rerails the conversation back to what he actually wanted to talk to you guys about, then looks serious as he says it concerns the future of the city. On that note the episode ends.
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