"It's Definitely Rinokis's Delusion (lol)" Fans React to Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden End Card Showing Two Characters Holding Hands

On the official X account for the anime Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden, the end card illustration for Episode 2, "Work in the Royal Capital," has been released and is generating a lot of buzz among fans. The image features Nia (voiced by Honoka Inoue) and her maid Rinokis Funk (voiced by Fuka Izumi), but many fans have responded with the same teasing remark.

The anime Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden is based on the light novel of the same name by Umikaze Minamino, which has passed 80 million cumulative views on Shōsetsuka ni Narō and 2.4 million copies sold across the series. It is an invincible-hero fantasy in which a hero who once even slew a god is reborn as the sickly young noblewoman Nia and throws herself happily into battle in her second life, still seeking out strong opponents. The anime began airing in October 2026.

The released image shows Nia and Rinokis smiling and pressing their hands together by a window bathed in soft sunlight. Wrapped in a gentle gradient of pale pink and orange, the two lovely figures gazing at each other with their hands joined make for a scene that is both warm and dreamlike, but...

Some fans responded to the post with delight, saying "What a happy space" and "It's so lovely! I can't wait to see this scene lol," but even more comments came in with a teasing tone, such as "Is this Rinokis's delusion?", "It's definitely Rinokis's delusion (lol)," and "A lovely illustration that makes you think, 'This is totally Rinokis's delusion...'" Illustrator Susumu Maeya, who drew the end card, also quoted the post and looked back on the episode, saying, "That was an episode where Rinokis's funny side really came through!"

(C)南野海風・ホビージャパン/凶乱令嬢ニア・リストン製作委員会