Episode 28

The Dragon's Tears (龍の涙) is the eighth episode of the second season, and the twenty-eighth episode of The Eminence in Shadow anime adaptation.

Synopsis

 * -|English= With Cid missing and things getting hot, the Shadow Garden springs into action. At the Mitsugoshi Hot Springs Land that is!
 * -|Japanese= ヒョロとジャガから「ミツゴシ温泉ランド」に誘われたニュー. シャドウの作戦だと察知した七陰は、任務という名のグループデートに意気込む. メンバーに選ばれたのは…….

Summary
Skel and Po go to Cid's dorm room to invite him to accompany them to Mitsugoshi to hit on the employees. However, they find Cid missing but discover six premium tickets for Mitsugoshi Hotsprings Land. They decide to use the tickets to boost their chances of meeting ladies. They head over to Mitsugoshi, where they show Nu the tickets and ask her to join them. She is surprised by this, so she takes them inside Mitsugoshi's offices to interrogate them. She asks how they acquired the tickets, as they were only given to a chosen few. They tell her that they got them from their friend, Cid, and that he asked them to invite Mitsugoshi employees. She asks to confirm which Cid they are talking about. She surmises that Cid gave the tickets to his classmates, using them to gather The Numbers. She asks if Cid will be present in the hot spring, to which they affirm.

Nu conveyed this information to the Seven Shadows and the rest of the Named Numbers. They convened to deliberate on the motive behind Cid's cryptic message. Eta proceeds to explain the origin of Mitsugoshi Hotsprings Land. In their earlier years, after completing a mission to quell the cult, a dying adversary whispered to Shadow that he would never possess the dragon’s golden tears. Intrigued, Shadow inquired with the other members, and Gamma recalled a reference to the dragon's tears in a regional fable. Prompted by Shadow, the group started digging throughout the region for these elusive tears. After three days of digging, Shadow abruptly departed, leaving the girls to continue the excavation. During this process, Eta stumbled upon a hotspring. The Mitsugoshi Hotsprings Land was subsequently established at that very location. Despite their efforts, they failed to detect any trace of dragon magic in the area. Hence, the impending trip to the hotsprings was seen as an opportunity to uncover new information. As they debated on who would attend the hotsprings excursion, a resolution was reached through a game of rock-paper-scissors. Consequently, Beta, Zeta, and Delta emerged as the chosen trio to embark on this quest for answers.

At Mitsugoshi Hotsprings Land, the trio encounters Skel and Po, but their anticipation is dampened by the absence of Cid. Po offers reassurance, asserting that Cid is merely running late, alleviating their concerns. Despite the setback, they forge ahead with their 'date,' attempting to apply insights gleaned from the book "World's Best Love Tips: Your Heart-Pounding First Hotsprings Date Edition" by Count Virgin Boy, albeit with little success. In the meantime, Alpha speculates that Shadow's mission might have been to encourage them to unwind. Just as this notion circulates, Eta arrives with a report, disclosing the detection of an anomalous magical signature underground.

In the females-only bath, Zeta contemplates the purpose of their mission and the significance of the dragon's tears. Lambda, sensing her musings, proceeds to narrate the legend behind the dragon's tears: Once upon a time there lived in the land a kind and gentle princess. One day the princess rescued a small dragon that had been separated from it's clutch. The princess and the dragon became friends and grew up together. But their peaceful and happy days were ended with a war breaking out. The dragon fought to protect the princess, fending off a hundred thousand soldiers despite being afflicted by deep wounds. But when the dragon returned to find the princess, the capital was in ruins. As the princess was about to breathe her last, the dragon said to her, ‘Your Highness, please open your eyes. Let us soar through the skies together once more.’ Then a tear fell from the princess’ lifeless body. The dragon then began to weep uncontrollably. Hot tears flooded the land, covering the entire kingdom. The princess awoke to find a mysterious spring of warm water, filled with the essence of life. But the dragon was nowhere to be seen. The princess called the dragon's name, but received no response.

In the midst of the contemplative atmosphere within the females-only bath, Zeta speculates that the key to Shadow's objective may be concealed within the allegorical tale. Meanwhile, Skel and Po attempt to discreetly observe the ladies' bath. Eta sprays their eyes with an eye irritant. The unexpected result occurs when their tears, falling into the hotspring, trigger a surge in magical energy. Subsequent attempts to replicate the effect prove fruitless. Connecting the legend to the princess's tears, Zeta formulates a hypothesis. Eta, seizing on this revelation, decides to employ Beta, the self-proclaimed lovely elven princess, as the source of tears. Employing a less-than-dignified tactic, Eta goads Beta until she succumbs to tears. As Beta's tears mingle with the hotspring, a seismic tremor courses through the land. The water in the Mitsugoshi Hotsprings Land pool takes on a form of a dragon, prompting chaos. Gamma swiftly commands the Mitsugoshi employees to safely evacuate the guests. Adapting to the circumstances, the Shadows don white attire instead of their customary black, concealing their true identities as members of the Shadow Garden. The dragon is confronted and defeated, and as a result, golden magic cascades from the sky, infusing the hotspring water with enchanting properties that improve health, beauty, constipation, high blood pressure etc. While Beta continues to shed tears, the dragon tenderly licks them from her eyes before ascending into the sky. As they witness this ethereal spectacle, Alpha discerns Shadow's true intent—to rescue the dragon's soul—which had led him to dispatch them on this unforeseen mission.

After that the guests come back and the day continues as usual. Skel and Po head home with no recollection of what happened.

Trivia

 * This is the first anime original episode of The Eminence in Shadow.