A small leak will sink a great ship. II

**A small leak will sink a great ship. II** is the 12th episode of the second season of *The Ancient Magus Bride* anime.

## Synopsis

Chise and her group perform their duties in the Waste Tower, where the supposed teacher Fabio, is not all he seems to be. Lucy bonds with her brother Seth, and Alice tries to get Renfred to level with her emotions. Finally, Philomela's grandmother visits the College about her request to have her granddaughter withdrawal from school.

## Summary

Within the Waste Tower, Fabio leads Chise and the others to the gathering area where plants and gems can be found only around Hallowe'en. Amid this, Fabio holds up something that is seemingly invisible, but only Chise, Philomela, and Rían can see it. Hence, Fabio tasks Zoe and Isaac to collect the mineral gems, while Chise's group is to collect the plants, which pleases Fabio for their ability to see the plants. Curious to know what the condition is to see said plants, Philomela claims it's best left unknown, and Rían curtly orders Philomela not to hold them up as he walks away. Innerly, Chise notes how hard Rían was with Philomela.

Renfred walks down the hallway where a hooded assailant wielding a knife asks him, "Trick or Treat". Without hesitation, Renfred asks for a trick and gets kicked in his thigh for his troubles. The trickster, of course, was Alice, who unveiled and began to argue with him over wanting to protect him because of his missing left arm. On the other hand, Renfred downplayed Alice's request claiming it's unnecessary and she should do whatever she wants. Alice then argues about his parental responsibility to care for her; however, Renfred hoped that Alice would develop her own goal without his help. It raises the question of whether Alice hates Renfred for treating her like his daughter.

While alone, Zoe is approached by Chise, who asks if he's okay. Zoe claims he is, but has the sneaky suspicion that someone, not a Fae or Spirit, is watching them, and Chise confirms it. Curious if it's because of the holiday, Chise cannot confirm it and suggests they be careful. The two then head further into the tower together.

Elsewhere, Rían continues searching for the plants, and when he does find one, it turns out it's a beast that mimics the planet. Philomela then arrives and uses a fire rune to incinerate it. Rían then notes that Philomela wasn't up to par with how she was in the past, and Philomela claims that she's not good enough for her grandmother. However, Rían refutes her answer, saying he wants to know what she wants, but she refuses to answer. Unbeknownst to them, Isaac was watching the interaction.

Returning to Alice and Renfred, Alice claims that her father was awful, but Renfred is different. Still, Renfred insists that if she's ever in trouble, he will step in to help, claiming that's how he was raised himself by his father. As Renfred walks away from Alice, the two bicker over each other's concern for their eating habits. Upset that she could not get close to Renfred, Will o' The Wisp consoles Alice. Believing that Adolf may have some answers to her questions surrounding Renfred, which pleases Will o' The Wisp, as when Alice gets upset, the smell of fire emanates from her.

Collecting a mineral from a wall, Zoe realizes that he's lost Chise and hurries off in search of her. Amid this, he's ambushed by a Sorcerer with a bird for a head; it takes an interest in Zoe and is soon joined by another with roots for legs. Forced to show his ace in the hole, Zoe unleashes his gorgon abilities to defend himself and flee the scene.

At the infirmary, Lucy is held by her brother Seth; however, after a brief argument between them, Lucy leaves.

By herself, Chise searches for Zoe and soon runs into Fabio, who recognizes her as the newest student, a Sleigh Beggy. Alerted by this, Chise knocks away Fabio as someone that's not a teacher. Amused by the accusation, Fabio claims that he never said he was a teacher and exposed several bone tendrils from his body. However, when Fabio touches her, an apparition of Joseph scares Fabio away from Chise. Although shocked, Fabio tries negotiating with Chise to allow him to replace Elias, but she rejects the offer.

Not upset by the refusal, Fabio understands and explains that the plants she's been collecting can only be seen if she's killed someone. Just then, Zoe appears out of one of the tunnels nearby, and Fabio regroups with him, leaving Chise perplexed by what he had told him.

Back in the hallways, Alice laments that she couldn't speak with Adolf because he was on break until Lucy barges into her. Apologizing to Lucy for bumping into her, Alice notices that Lucy is crying her eyes out, and as a way to console her, Alice gives her costume to Lucy.

As Chise and the other students exit the Waste Tower, they're met by Sigrid and Ruth, who are surprised that they're all fine. Fabio then appears and informs Sigird that the students performed their task and collected enough materials to meet their quota. Sigrid threatened to report Fabio to their superiors, but Fabio brushed it off and claimed she had more significant problems to deal with in the College.

Seth and Lucy have a heart-to-heart where they reveal their personal thoughts and emotions surrounding each other. Lucy also proclaims her ambition to study sorcery and figure out the culprit who killed their family. Although Seth was concerned for Lucy, he accepted that his emotions surrounding their parent's murder differed from Lucy's. He still let her know that he'd be worried for her.

Chise and the others find Principal Liza and Elias. Liza wanted to ask Philomela something, but was interrupted by her grandmother Lizbeth communicating through her white owl that was with her Fae Alcyone. After some idle chit-chat, Lizbeth mentions her request for Philomela's withdrawal, which shocks the students, and Liza asks them to leave as it doesn't involve them. Lizbeth told Philomela to stay; however, Liza claims that Philomela should go with her students, further noting that any withdrawal based on family matters is immaterial if the student desires to stay.

This starts an argument with Lizbeth, who claims her granddaughter is a failure because she performs her duties. Wasting no time, Isaac pulls Philomela away from the scene and is followed by Chise and the others. Olivia, Rose Lynn, Camelia, and Florence then enter the scene and are all revealed to be Cait Sidhe. With Florence in her arms, Liza informs Lizbeth that the College will be sealed from there on out because of recent incidents surrounding the area. Just then, a barrier is erected, and one of the Cait Sidhes attacks the owl and severs Lizbeth's connection with Alcyone.

From the Sargant family home, Lizbeth is unfazed by the situation and claims that she now has more time to work with.

## Character Appearances

* Chise Hatori
* Philomela Sargant
* Fabio Zaccheroni
* Rían Scrimgeour
* Isaac Fowler
* Zoe Ivey
* Mikhail Renfred
* Alice Swayne
* Alice's Father *(mentioned)*
* Mikhail's Father *(mentioned)*
* Will o' The Wisp
* Adolf Stroud *(mentioned)*
* Lucy Webster
* Seth Noel
* Joseph
* Nucklavee *(flashback)*
* Sigrid Wachmann
* Ruth
* Seth and Lucy's Father *(flashback)*
* Elias Ainsworth
* Liza Quillyn
* Alcyone
* Lizbeth Sargant
* Florence
* Rose Lynn
* Olivia
* Camelia