Our heroes are stuck in Valghia, which despite it's impressive stature on the outside is pretty much a squalor inside with a bunch of tenements and citizens subsisting on water rations that barely even count on water, and it's still not enough. No wonder they're so desperate for Atland's water
.
And...they're immediately robbed the moment they settle down. Although it ended up screwing over both the thieves as much as it did Kaina and company when they realize Chiru had Ririha's necklace
.
It takes a special kind of scumbag to threaten to kill a child just to draw someone out. But Ririha putting herself out there and risking her own life for the sake of Chiru seemed to endear her not only with the her siblings but the people of Valghia who saw the Princess of Atland risk herself for one of them
.
So Ririha knows Amelothee's deal? It definitely seems like she was forcibly conscripted into Valghian's army after they conquered her kingdom...maybe even a kingdom where she was the princess. Which adds another layer to Amelothee and her dynamic with Ririha
.
Nice teamwork from Kaina and Ririha! They didn't even outright state a plan, the two of them just worked in-tandem practically knowing what the other would do! Also kind of romantic
.
Huh, so Valghia not only conquers kingdoms but basically kidnaps the children to be soldiers or just the average citizen. It wasn't even always so "evil," because the fortress before was saving people when the water from the spires started drying up, but overpopulation and the drought seems to have driven Valghia into it's current state. Even Ririha seems to see that Valghia needs to be saved as much as her own kingdom does
.
I guess now the cast have an endgoal, getting a boat and finding the last Great Spire that might have enough water to solve the crisis. Although first they'll have to escape Valghia and maybe contend with the admiral's monster
!