Episode 18

Betting on a Moment (刹那に賭ける) is the eighteenth episode of the The Eminence in Shadow anime adaptation.

Synopsis
Cid and Claire receive an invitation to a tournament. At the festivities, Cid receives more attention than a background character desires.

Summary
Claire chokes Cid, explaining that she was getting more and more angry each second she was waiting for him. She is also angry that he keeps breaking his promises, but hands him a ticket to the Bushin Festival, telling him be there and watch her as she is replacing Princess Rose.

Cid goes to the Bushin Festival, and finds out that the ticket his sister gave him isn't an ordinary reserved seat ticket, but a hyper VIP seating. Going to his seat, he sees Iris Midgar and assumes he got it wrong. Iris realizes he is Claire's brother and tells him he is in the correct seat, while also explaining she plans taking Claire to her personal order when she graduates. Iris also apologizes to Cid for the Zenon Griffey incident. That draws people's attention, which worries Cid as its not normal for a background character like him.

Some students ask Iris if some competitor caught her eye and Iris explains its Annerose, but Iris herself still intends to win the tournament. Cid wonders if there is someone else who caught her eye, suggesting Mundane Mann, but the two students explain that he is just fast and lucky, with no skill. Cid gets excited that he cultivated Mundane's reputation to perfection. Iris explains that there is one more person who got her eye, an elf who was also the first Bushin Festival champion, although she won't be competing. The two students realize Iris is talking about Beatrix, but note that she haven't showed her face in public in over a decade. Cid recalls Beatrix and that he knew she was strong, but didn't knew she was famous.

Cid then excuses himself and leaves. He feels the presence of someone strong, but is unable to reveal he knows it as he is currently a background character. Beatrix then shows after him and Cid acts surprised. Beatrix wonders if he was ignoring her, but Cid denies it. She asks him if he ran into an elf that looks like her, but Cid denies it. Beatrix hoped she can find the one she is looking for as there are a lot of people coming to the festival. Beatrix has brought too many burgers and gives one to Cid. To return the favor, Cid gives one of his burgers to her.

Perv Asshat takes Cid's seat and explains that his king will be attending the festival tomorrow. He wonders about Iris father, Klaus Midgar and Iris explains that he will be also watching from tomorrow. Perv then sees Annerose coming out in the arena. He heard that she is in the middle of a training pilgrimage, and would love to invite her to work for his kingdom. Iris also states that a fencer of her caliber would be in use for her kingdom as well. Perv asks her what she thinks of Annerose opponent, Mundane Mann. Iris states she sees him for the first time, but he doesn't look very strong. However, she isn't sure of Annerose's win as Mundane is a little unnerving and there is no uncertainty in his eyes, which isn't typical for a weak fighter.

The fight between Mundane Mann and Annerose start. Annerose immediately closes the distance and starts attacking, but Mundane parries or dodges her attacks. She sees a chance to defeat him and slashes him, but Mundane appears behind her and tells her that was just an after image. Mundane then quickly overpowers her and Annerose realizes that her only choice is to try and counterattack when he attacks. She waits for him to attack and attempts to counterattack, but Mundane dodges, which makes her realize he was still matching his attack to her and not the opposite. Mundane then slashes and defeats Annerose.

Perv states that Iris was right. Iris is surprised that someone as strong as Mundane was unnoticed for that long. Perv states the next round would be Iris versus Mundane and wonders if she is confident that she can beat him. Iris states she can't match his beauty of swordplay, but it's not beauty that determines the winner. If this is all Mundane can do, then he won't be a match for her, however there is a good chance that he is hiding something, which is why he disguised his stance and technique through the tournament.

After leaving, Perv tells his man to investigate Mundane, noting it could be a problem if he is backed by the Lawless City. His man wonders if he is part of Shadow Garden, but Perv dismisses it, because he is a man and also doubts that Shadow Garden have a reason to make a scene at the Bushin Festival. Elsewhere, Annerose tells Mundane that she was completely defeated and explains that she left her country to become stronger and thanks him for the lesson. She wonders how he became that strong and Mundane states he abandoned everything in pursuit of strength.

Cid had accomplished 70% of his plan at the Bushin Festival. He then wonders on how to finish it and after defeating Iris to just disappear, stating his work is done. Or he wonders if he should get the evil route and act like an assassin from a shadowy organization. He returns home, but finds Claire waiting for him again and wondering if he had fun watching her match. Cid then guesses he is dead.