The following contains spoilers for Episode 9 of Trapped in a Dating Sim, "She's a Doormat," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Trapped in a Dating Sim is a Spring 2022 isekai anime starring Leon Bartfort, an obnoxious but good-hearted hero who has a habit of making a lot of enemies with his wild antics. Leon tends to rub people the wrong way, and an early example was when he defended the himedere Angelica Redgrave from prince Julius and his team, including Brad and Greg.
Prince Julius and his four friends even rescinded their noble status to stay committed to Marie, but as Episodes 8 and 9 show, these boys are beginning to change their tune. Brad and Greg show real maturity by forgiving Leon for humiliating them in the giant robot combat arena, and in Episode 9 in particular, they establish themselves as Leon's friendly rivals instead. Perhaps the other three boys might follow suit later.
In Episode 9, the violet-haired Brad and the red-headed Greg form an awkward but solid truce with Leon Bartfort, and they even volunteer to help him fight the deadly sky pirates that the scheming Stephanie Offrey had hired to take Leon down. It's a noble gesture, even if Greg and Brad perform badly compared to Leon himself, and Leon graciously accepts their help, no matter his skepticism. In this episode, Brad even challenges Leon to a duel with wooden swords, which he loses. Brad isn't completely discouraged though -- friendly competition to take Leon down someday keeps him riled up, and even if Leon finds that annoying, it's better than how Brad and Greg behaved in earlier episodes.
It's too soon to tell, but this tentative friendly rivalry between the three boys might benefit them all and push them to new heights without resorting to dirty tricks or having hard feelings about it. They are no longer enemies but competitors, and Julius, Chris and Jilk could stand to follow their example. Already, Jilk was relatively gracious when he allowed Leon to race for him in previous episodes, so that just leaves Chris and Julius who need to make a friendlier gesture to Leon. None of them will become Leon's BFFs or abandon Marie for him, but this way, they can be much less of a headache in Leon's everyday life. He has enough enemies as it is.
On one hand, Brad and Greg's assistance to Leon shows how far they have come, and it cuts back on Leon's long list of enemies. On the other hand, this is a double-edged sword for Leon, as Leon complains to Luxion later in Episode 9. Greg and Brad are so impressed with Leon's courage and power that they speak to the royal court and arrange to have Leon promoted from lower rank 6 to upper rank 6 -- something that takes Leon by surprise. Then, the Atlee family thanks Leon by offering to have him promoted yet again after he graduates from school later on.
Anyone else would be delighted, but not Leon. Despite his newfound fame and reputation, Leon wants to live a quiet, relaxing life as a background "mob" character, and he finds it tiring to be a dark-horse protagonist like this. But Leon has no choice, since he has both the strength and resolve to confront this world's nastiest villains and win, and he can't just stop now. Meanwhile, the original heroine, Olivia, is in no shape to reclaim her position as protagonist and get the job done herself -- not yet, at least. Leon's new rivalry pushes him further along the path of the legendary hero, and he must learn to embrace what Brad and Greg have given him or succumb to despair.
