The following contains spoilers for Episode 9 of KonoSuba Season 3, "A Talking-To for This Runaway Crusader!," now streaming on Crunchyroll.

The newest episode of KonoSuba Season 3 finally gets into the meat of this particular Darkness-centric story arc. Darkness has left the party, though her reasons for doing so are still unknown. Holed up inside the Dustiness mansion, Darkness refuses to talk to or explain herself to the party, and her stubbornness is clearly annoying to Kazuma.

While this episode of KonoSuba certainly focuses on pushing forward the plot, it is also an incredibly funny episode that amps up the humor like no one else. In a season that has been on point when it comes to humor, this episode absolutely takes it up to the next level and proves that, even after a multiple-year hiatus, the show hasn't lost its touch one bit.

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A Quick Diversion

The Woes Of A Side Character

Kazuma and the others attempt to convince Darkness to come out of the mansion, but are ultimately chased away by the guards. Irritated by Darkness's stubbornness, Kazuma decides to go recruit a new frontliner for the party, only to be sabotaged by Megumin, who clearly does not want to replace Darkness. While arguing with Megumin, Kazuma is approached by fellow adventurer Dust, who asks him for his help. Kazuma, surprised by Dust's show of concern, decides to help him out for a bit.

Dust explains that a member of his party, Rin, has been sort of distant lately, and he thinks that she's been seduced by a strange person. He and Kazuma decide to follow Rin into an inn, where she was seen meeting with a suspicious man. The two listen in on their conversation and come away with the conclusion that the noble is in love with Rin, but Rin tries to dissuade the noble due to their difference in status. The noble seems to agree, but insists on getting at least one very lascivious photo, which enrages Dust. When the two leave the room, Dust and Kazuma sneak in to find a pair of lingerie and a fancy camera inside. Dust decides to play a prank on the noble by having Kazuma take pictures of him in the lingerie.

The two get carried away, taking tons of pictures of Dust in a variety of silly and seductive poses. They forget where they are and end up being found by Rin and the noble. Irritated, Rin leaves the room with Kazuma, leaving the noble alone with Dust. Rin reveals to Kazuma that Dust was the one that the noble was interested in, and she was trying to scare him off. As Dust is forced to reap what he has sowed, Rin tells Kazuma that she has heard rumors that Darkness is being forced to marry Alderp.

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Infiltrating The Mansion

Kazuma Puts His Various Skills To Use

Now that he knows why Darkness left the party without a word, Kazuma is motivated to help her out. Before he can do anything, however, he needs to talk to her face to face, so he decides to infiltrate the Dustiness mansion on his own. He receives a variety of buffs from Aqua beforehand, including a seemingly useless one that makes him good at party tricks. Kazuma infiltrates the mansion, but finds it difficult to figure out exactly where Darkness's room is. He soon realizes that he can perfectly mimic other people's voices thanks to Aqua's buff, and uses that ability to get to Darkness's room. Kazuma pretends to be a guard and tricks Darkness into throwing open her door, getting into her room.

Though he gets into her room, Darkness immediately calls for the guards, forcing Kazuma to mimic her voice and chase the guards away by pretending to be engaging in lewd activities. With the guards gone, Darkness finally admits that she is marrying Alderp in order to settle a debt between their families. Darkness stops Kazuma before he can attempt to offer to pay off her debt, claiming that she wouldn't let a civilian protect her when her duty as a noble is to protect them. Even so, Kazuma can tell that Darkness doesn't want this marriage to happen.

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Darkness' Resolve

A Quiet Meeting With The Father

Despite having resolved to marry Alderp, Darkness still has some reservations about the whole situation. Alone with Kazuma in a dark room, she suggestively offers her first time to him, but Kazuma ruins the atmosphere, unable to take how serious things have gotten. Furious, Darkness calls for the guards once again, and this time, Kazuma can't trick them using her voice this time. Kazuma hides inside the mansion while Darkness hunts for him, and he sneaks around until he finds what he imagines to be an empty room. While attempting to escape through the window, he is stopped by Darkness's father, who happens to be resting in that very room.

Kazuma has a short talk about Darkness's situation, and while he does not want to explain the situation, he does ask Kazuma to run away with Darkness. Kazuma refuses, since he knows exactly what Darkness is like, but he now knows that the situation surrounding Darkness's marriage is complex. Darkness barges in and demands Kazuma surrender, but Kazuma chastises Darkness for being stubborn and tells her he won't help unless she asks for it. Kazuma attempts to make a daring escape through a window, but the window is stronger than he expected. He ends up falling to the ground and embarrassing himself in front of Darkness, and ultimately runs off to Aqua to get healed up.

KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on this Wonderful World!

Based on Natsume Akatsuki's novel and light novel series, KonoSuba parodies the isekai genre by following a party of "heroes" who are the definition of dysfunctional.