First impressions are the most lasting.

First impressions are the most lasting. (TBA, TBA) is the 5th episode of the second season of The Ancient Magus Bride anime.

Synopsis
Incidentally, Chise hears about the Webster Tragedy from Jasmine, making her curious about the tragedy. Afterward, Chise, Lucy, Isaac, Rian, and Philomela learn about Zoe's secret.

Summary
Chise briefly overhears Lucy having a contentious phone call within their dorm room, and when Chise enters it, Lucy ends the call. The two then talk, and despite Lucy's disdainful attitude toward Chise, she believes that Lucy is looking out for her. They then mutually relate how the other reminds them of someone they know, but it irritates Lucy, who then asks what's Chise's purpose for being at the College. Chise's vague response upsets Lucy, who then suggests they get ready for their classes and, before leaving, helps Chise find her lab coat for her next class.

Exiting her dorm room, Chise runs into Jasmine, and the two walk and talk toward their classroom about Lucy. Inadvertently, Jasmine mentions the Webster Tragedy and suggests that Chise forget what she said.

Later, Chise gets help from Rian cleaning up at the lab and heads to the cafeteria after this. There, they run into Isaac and Zoe, who once saw Chise, parted ways with Isaac, and Chise internally notes he is avoiding her. They then talk with Isaac and learn from him that Zoe is a transfer student, and he's learning from Isaac some information on sorcery. Isaac then explains the Seven Shields history as the founders of the College; as it turns out, some of the students are descended from the Seven Shields. One of them was Rian; however, he's no longer affiliated with his family business.

Changing the subject, Chise asks about the Webster Tragedy, prompting Rian to ask where she learned it from stoically, and after learning it was Jasmine, he ponders it. This prompts Isaac to chime in and suggests they, as commoners, not dig deeper into the matter. The school bell rings, and Rian and Isaac run off while Chise stays behind to finish her meal.

Chise runs into Lucy and Zoe by the stairway on her way to class and politely asks Zoe if she offended him somehow. On the other hand, Zoe doesn't answer and tries to run away. Hence Lucy snatches his headphones away from him and claims they were deafening his hearing as Chise asks him a question. In his defense, Zoe claims that Chise is a monster as he starts to wince in pain, and his hair transforms into snakes right as Isaac and Rian enter the scene.

Panic-stricken, Zoe flees, and Chise has Ruth pursue him. They all then learn from Isaac that Zoe wasn't wearing headphones, but earmuffs because of his high sensitivity to sound. Chise then decides to chase after Zoe, and as they do, Lucy reveals that Zoe is a Gorgon. Rian gives a brief background history of Gorgons and how they're an endangered race because of the valuable materials they produce.

Reaching the Private Gardens, Ruth reunites with the group, and with his help, they successfully locate Zoe. Once they do, Chise tries to console Zoe, and Lucy returns his earmuffs, allowing his hair to change back to normal. From there, Lucy asks about his reason for being at the College, and tearfully Zoe explains his family history, his need for earmuffs and goggles, and his reason for attending the College.

The subject then changes to why Chise was attending College, and she reveals that she recently received a Dragon's Curse, which she hopes to exorcise. Zoe then believes that his race's natural fear of Dragons made him weary of Chise.

As the conversation continues, it gets interrupted when Ruth catches Philomela trying to eavesdrop on the conversation. When Ruth demands answers about Philomela's motive, she responds it was practice, and Rian explains her family is known for their intelligence gathering. It's also revealed that Philomela is Rian's second cousin and that she heard everything about Chise and Zoe. Furthermore, Philomela cannot refuse to disclose information to anyone who asks her. To ensure Zoe's secret is kept safe, Rian oversees a Contract that will suffer consequences if anyone says or writes anything related to Zoe's secret.

Walking out of the Private Garden, Zoe apologizes to Chise for his previous actions toward her. Also, Lucy tells Philomela she doesn't trust her, claiming people like her caused the death of her family.

By dusk, Rian confronts Jasmine about mentioning the Webster Tragedy to Chise. A bit of a disagreement occurs between them, and Rian leaves Jasmine, who is soon consoled by Violet.

Trivia

 * During the scene with Chise and Rian in the Pharmacology lab, her left arm was incorrectly colored.