The following contains spoilers for Season 2, Episode 9 of The Rising of the Shield Hero, "Humming Fairy," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Recent story arcs have seen The Rising of the Shield Hero greatly expand the scope of its narrative, as multiple nations and worlds are firmly locked in a desperate battle for survival in this isekai universe. Back in Season 1, for example, enemy Heroes served as boss battles during the Waves, and they had the stated goal of destroying this world to save their own.
Now, in Episode 9 of Season 2, Naofumi realizes the tables may have turned. When he and his new friend Kizuna the Hunter Hero arrive in Sikul, the officials there react with shock and horror upon learning that Naofumi is the Shield Hero from another world. It seems he is this world's own L'Arc or Glass -- but is he going to do something about it?
In Episode 9, Kizuna uses the incredible power of the dragon hourglass artifact to teleport the party to Sikul's capital, where she is respected as a Cardinal Hero of this world. Kizuna graciously introduces her new Shield Hero friend to the assembled officials in the royal court, only for them to gasp with shock and dismay. To them, Naofumi is a monster from another realm, a villain certain to destroy their own world and everyone in it. Naofumi can't yet think of anything to say or do to prove his innocence as a world-hopping hero.
In a way, Naofumi is back to square one when he was hated as the "Shield devil" thanks to the king's and princess Malty's conspiracy against him. At the time he was forced to survive alone as a resourceful rogue hero with limited resources, and the same may be true here. He's the Shield devil all over again, the fated destroyer of the world, and only a few characters such as Kizuna and the new character Ethnobalt will trust and support him.
Fortunately, Naofumi has experience achieving great results with limited funding and supplies, so he can do it again -- and he's even got two other Heroes on his side in addition to Rishia the mage and Raphtalia's shikigami. Despite the odds, things could still be worse for Shield Hero's protagonist.
Naofumi's unexpected status as world destroyer also means that he is the L'Arc Berg of this realm, a foreign guest who has no ties of loyalty. In Shield Hero Season 1, L'Arc and his friends arrived with the Waves with the stated goal of destroying the kingdom of Melromarc's world to save their own, suggesting that these two worlds are at odds. Neither can survive while the other exists, though it is not yet clear why. Perhaps both will literally collide and one must be destroyed to make room for the other, or they are competing for a near-exhausted supply of resources, either mundane or magical.
Of course, Naofumi has no intention of destroying the world in which Mikakage and Sikul are found -- his goals are more personal than that, as Episode 9's rescue mission of Filo the filolial shows. But perhaps Shield Hero will eventually compel Naofumi and the other three Cardinal Heroes to destroy this world so Melromarc's own may survive.
Should that happen, Naofumi might refuse as he doesn't just fight, but aims to win on his own terms. Naofumi has never been the type to just follow anyone's command or act according to destiny or prophecies, and if anyone tells him to destroy this world to save Melromarc's own, he is sure to find his own solution instead. If anyone else feels the same way, they should be free to join him.