Ok, so it seems that the Elsa was kidnapped plot line is over and everybody has moved on. Now we are continuing the rescue Marc plot line. This is a pretty dialog-heavy episode with a lot more political discussion. I found this one a bit easier to follow than before though, probably because it just isn't that complicated a situation. I feel like they could have condensed parts of this down to move things along quicker, but perhaps this is all important later.
We also finally got to see his neighbor girl again (very briefly) this episode. You know, the girl that is literally in the center of the poster for the series along with Sasaki but has hardly done anything or appeared in the show at all:
We better get more of her before the end of the season, or what was the point?
I guess Sasaki has some kind of scheme to free Marc and appease this calculating noble. But, that is going to have to wait until next episode.
One final thing I wanted to leave here because I feel like I needed to share with somebody. This mouse at the beginning of the episode absolutely cracked me the hell up. I can't pinpoint what I find so funny about it, but the way it is animated is hilarious: