This is why this series SHOULD have been 24 episodes, not 12. The compression really hurt this particular episode's impact (which considering how good it was hopefully makes you realize how good it could have been). The animation budget limitations show here - though the "stained glass" art style fits the story nicely.
The conversation in the sewer when Horo is going to leave:
Lawrence has to reconcile the idea that the delightful person he has spent so much time with recently is also the Destroyer he just witnessed, even though she did it for him.
Having someone near you with that much power, most humans would feel a bit edgy.
Their conversation when she starts to leave is a bit of a game in itself. She doesn’t really want to leave, but she hates the feelings of him being frightened of her. He’s scared to death but wants her to stay. The “fiction” of the issue of the clothes was sufficient to allow each some wiggle room. I mean think about it…. like he could *actually* ever get his money back from her?
It is unfortunate the series is crammed into 12 episodes given the depth of the material. That tells me that the producers were really unsure that such a relationship with two relatively complex characters would be a hit with the otaku crowd in Japan.
I gave it a "9" on stand-alone storytelling because it didn't really convey Horo's side of the equation as well as it might (viewers might have trouble understanding why Horo returned). Great end to the first adventure though and one of the better *implicit* "I love you" endings I've come across.