Chapter Summaries

Richard discussed several philosophical schools with Joker, who was deeply affected by the ideas and asked whether they explained Richard’s actions. Richard dodged the question, and Joker left; afterward, Richard attacked the White Raven watching from a rooftop and warned it that he would not cooperate blindly.

• Richard explained the Cynic school’s rejection of material desires and told Joker the story of Diogenes and Alexander.
• Richard described Epicurean philosophy as actively pursuing pleasure and enduring happiness, prompting Joker to reflect on its principles.
• Richard outlined the Mysticism School’s belief that people could find meaning and ultimate happiness by merging with a greater self.
• Joker asked whether Richard acted to seek that greater self, but Richard said answering would require discussing many other philosophical schools.
• Richard reminded Joker of his original question, and Joker left, saying they could talk another time.
• Richard spotted the White Raven on a rooftop, fired Ice Shard at it, and warned that he would not obediently cooperate.

Richard watched the circus finish its performance, then left the village alone after speaking with Joker. Delays brought him to a small town at dusk, where he found the circus already setting up and met Joker again.

• The circus performed a grand play in which Tyne defeated a lion monster and rescued Amy, then collected money and packed up.
• Richard rested without sleeping through the night, questioned Joker about his mask, and said he would travel alone.
• Joker wished Richard a smooth journey, and Richard rode out of the village.
• Richard reached a well-defended town at dusk and discovered the circus preparing another performance in the center.
• Joker explained that the circus had reached town first by taking a shortcut, and Richard replied noncommittally.

Joker invited Richard to play Joker Chess, a complicated game he had invented, and explained its elaborate rules. Richard agreed to play, and Joker took the first move as they began their psychological contest.

• Richard asked whether Joker would invite him to watch the circus again, and Joker said the performance was unchanged before offering him a game.
• Joker set up a chessboard filled with human and animal pieces, then explained the rules of Joker Chess at length.
• Richard memorized enough of the rules to play and accepted Joker's invitation.
• Joker said the player on the west moved first and offered Richard the chance to switch places, but Richard let Joker begin.
• Joker moved first, and Richard followed.

Richard played three rounds of Joker Chess with Joker, winning one round after exploiting a Small Beast Tide but losing the overall match. When Joker claimed he had deliberately allowed Richard’s win, Richard revealed that he had known.

• Joker won the first round, and Richard asked to play again.
• Richard deliberately triggered a Small Beast Tide to isolate Joker’s forces and capture Joker’s piece, tying the score at one win each.
• Joker played seriously in the third round, defeated Richard, and won the match two to one.
• Joker advised Richard to be humble, then claimed he had deliberately lost the second round and could never be surpassed at Joker Chess.
• Richard told Joker he had known the second-round loss was deliberate.

Richard challenged Mister Joker to Five-in-a-Row and repeatedly defeated him, revealing that Mister Joker could not win while wearing his mask. Mister Joker kept demanding rematches as the games continued.

• Richard explained Five-in-a-Row and set a rule that the player wearing a joker mask could not take the black pieces.
• Mister Joker chose white and lost the first game when Richard showed how two intersecting lines of three guaranteed a win.
• Mister Joker played a second game and lost again to the same kind of trap.
• Mister Joker lost a third game, then repeatedly demanded more rematches as Richard continued winning.

Richard showed Joker that he could guarantee victory in Five-in-a-Row and a take-the-pieces game through mathematical strategies, while Joker had the advantage in Joker Chess. Joker ended their match to perform at the Wooden Stage, leaving Richard wondering whether they would speak again.

• Richard explained that unrestricted Five-in-a-Row favored the first player and challenged Joker to a take-the-pieces game.
• Richard took five pieces from the pile of nine, then used his moves to leave Joker facing losing configurations.
• Richard explained how binary sums let the first player create and restore balanced states, and Joker tested the method for himself.
• Richard told Joker that their victories depended on their different areas of expertise and recalled Joker's earlier statement.
• Joker ended the game to perform at the Wooden Stage and said they might talk again.

Richard left town after learning the circus had departed, but found its members arguing on the road over Oliver’s missing money. Joker asked Richard to identify the thief, but Richard refused to get involved.

• Richard learned that Mister Joker's circus had left town after its performance and rode north.
• Richard found the circus members arguing because Oliver’s money had disappeared.
• Joker, Tyne, Mackey, Tolls, and Amy each responded to Oliver’s suspicions, and Oliver revealed he had hidden the money in his pillow.
• Joker asked Richard to solve the theft, but Richard said he had no reason to get involved.

Richard was forced to answer for the circus leader Oliver’s missing money, so he claimed to have stolen it and paid Oliver with a hundred gold coins before riding away. The circus members turned on one another after he left, and by dusk Richard reached Black Castle.

• Oliver accused Richard of stealing his money and refused to let him leave until the thief was found.
• Richard claimed he had taken the money, estimated Oliver’s likely savings, and gave him a hundred gold coins as compensation.
• Richard rode away while Oliver gathered the coins, and Tyne stabbed Oliver before Mackey accidentally stabbed Tyne in the thigh.
• Joker suspected that Richard had intended to provoke the circus members into revealing themselves, while Richard rode on and considered whether Joker alone was unusual.
• At dusk, Richard reached the gates of Black Castle, and his horse resisted approaching it.

Richard confronted Joker about the events arranged around him, and Joker explained that his organization had tested Richard because he was investigating secrets of the former Black Spirit Empire. Joker concluded that Richard was so exceptional he could not be measured by any system of evaluation.

• Joker revealed that he had staged the castle-gate scare to surprise Richard, and they acknowledged that they both knew their meeting was arranged.
• Joker recounted the circus deaths: Tyne killed Oliver, Mackey killed Tyne, Tolls released his lion and died after Amy bit him, and the lion killed Amy.
• Richard asked whether Joker had truly belonged to the circus and whether his organization was connected to the Sacred Mountain, but Joker refused to disclose those answers.
• Joker said his organization had tested Richard because he was investigating secrets of the former Black Spirit Empire and they needed to ensure he was not an enemy.
• Joker explained that Richard’s performance in three trials surpassed his highest expectations and said Richard could not be evaluated by any system.

The Joker declared that Richard had passed his three tests and could continue investigating the secrets of the Black Spirit Empire, then vanished along with the surrounding illusion. Richard returned to the site of the circus encounter and found no trace of it, leaving him unsure whether the circus and his earlier experiences had also been illusions.

• The Joker explained how Richard had disrupted his debate, Joker Chess, and theft tests, and told Richard he had passed and could explore the Black Spirit Empire's secrets without further obstruction.
• The Joker warned Richard that many others had failed to uncover the empire's dangerous secrets and said he had hidden a special gift for Richard to find.
• The Joker removed his mask to reveal nothing beneath it, then vanished as the castle and surrounding scenery collapsed into an empty road and wilderness.
• Richard rode back to the place where he had met the circus and found only the hundred gold coins, with no tracks or other signs that anyone had been there.
• Richard gathered the coins and rode off, troubled by the possibility that the circus and other events had been illusions.

Richard found that the town where he had stayed was actually a ruin and questioned whether his memories were caught in an illusion. He tested Pandora by making her recite the Nine-Nine Table, then left to search for something she sensed he had lost.

• Richard returned to the town where he had stayed and found its streets and inn in ruins, despite recognizing signs of his visit.
• Richard wondered whether an illusion had distorted his experiences or trapped him in another layer of the Yellow-Clothed Old Man's magic.
• Richard summoned Pandora and asked her to recite the Nine-Nine Table, using her mistakes as evidence that she was truly herself.
• Pandora told Richard that he seemed to have lost something important and pointed him toward a place about a day's journey away.
• Richard put away the Space Suitcase, mounted his horse, and rode in the direction Pandora had indicated.

Richard returned to the place where he had first seen the White Raven, learned from Joker that his earlier experiences had taken place in the Mind World, and received a White Raven's Feather. After his exhausted horse died, he encountered Captain Bade and Harvey traveling with a caravan.

• Richard rode back through the night, and his exhausted horse collapsed and died beside the road.
• Richard found Joker hiding near the tree where he had first seen the White Raven and asked whether the world and his past experiences were real.
• Joker explained that Richard had experienced the Mind World, then transformed into a White Raven and flew away.
• A White Raven's Feather fell from the sky, and Richard retrieved it and tucked it into his clothes.
• Richard saw a caravan approaching and recognized Captain Bade and Harvey in its lead carriage.

Richard spent the long journey north reviewing the treasure’s books, investigating Pandora’s unreliable prophetic ability, and testing Joker’s White Feather without discovering its purpose. As the Bernicla neared Moore Port, the lookout announced that the ship was about to enter another Sea God Zone.

• After the Blue Feather Merchant Group regrouped, Bade invited Richard to travel with them, and Richard agreed.
• Richard traveled with the merchant group to Naga Port, then boarded the Bernicla while the group continued toward Bing Ya aboard the Bruske.
• During the voyage, Richard studied books from the Undead Island treasure and concluded that Pandora’s new ability was connected to prophecy but could not be trusted completely.
• Richard repeatedly tested Joker’s White Feather but found no way to explain its changes in weight and temperature.
• As the Bernicla neared Moore Port, the lookout reported that the seawater ahead had changed and the ship was entering another Sea God Zone.

Richard questioned Captain Figgis as the sailors prepared offerings for the sea gods, and learned that Figgis worshipped every sea god by changing his clothes and sacrifices to match each sea’s domain. As the Bernicla approached a sharp boundary between differently colored waters near Moore Port, Figgis called it Sea God Allen’s territory, while Richard recognized it as an ocean front.

• Figgis changed his clothes and ornaments, then gathered the sailors to prepare offerings for Sea God Aiya.
• Richard asked why Figgis worshipped Sea God Aiya after previously claiming to worship Sea God Rulaux.
• Figgis explained that he worshipped every sea god and adjusted his clothing and offerings to suit each god’s domain.
• Richard asked how Figgis identified sea-god territories, and Figgis pointed out that changes in water color marked their boundaries.
• Figgis said the Bernicla was about to enter Sea God Allen’s domain near Moore Port, while Richard recognized the boundary as an ocean front.

Richard refused Captain Figgis's offer to worship Sea God Aiya, then reached the rural castle where Cat Slave Girl Hai Di's relatives lived. The deserted, weed-choked castle resembled the Black Castle from Joker's Mind World, and Richard entered its silent Main Castle to investigate.

• Richard declined Figgis's pendant and postponed deciding whether to worship the Sea God.
• Figgis and the Bernicla's crew prayed and offered food to Sea God Aiya while crossing into a new sea region.
• Richard disembarked at Moore Port and traveled by carriage for three days to the address in Hai Di's letter.
• Richard found a castle resembling the Black Castle from Joker's Mind World, with open gates and no guards.
• Richard entered the castle grounds, called out without receiving an answer, and pushed open the Main Castle's door.

Richard explored the abandoned Main Castle to learn what had happened to Cat Slave Girl Hai Di, and the White Feather revealed a subtle illusion covering the castle. Pandora’s punch uncovered a hidden letter, which Richard began reading in the hall.

• Richard searched the Main Castle and found cat fur in a room where Cat Slave Girl Hai Di and her cat Mi Qi had apparently lived.
• The White Feather glowed and dispelled a subtle illusion that had concealed something about the castle.
• Richard summoned Pandora and asked her to find an unknown clue in the room.
• Pandora punched the floor, breaking a concealed compartment and revealing a letter.
• Richard took the letter and began reading it in the hall.

Hai Di was summoned by Mary, who told her that worsening chaos outside made the castle unsafe and that they would leave that night. Hai Di returned to pack, with only ten minutes before their departure.

• Eugene told Hai Di that Mary wanted to see her in the hall.
• Mary asked Hai Di about wanting to leave the castle and explained that danger around the White Stone Tower had kept her from going outside.
• Mary told Hai Di they had to leave the castle that night because the chaos outside had worsened.
• Mary ordered Hai Di to pack her luggage within ten minutes, and Hai Di hurried back to her room.

Hai Di left the castle with Madam Mary after hiding a letter for Richard, who later found it and learned that a strange symbol might help him locate her. Outside the castle, Richard chased a frightened old man to A Lu Ba Ke Village, where he and Pandora stopped at the man’s hut for tea.

• Hai Di hid a letter in a secret wall compartment, telling Richard not to worry and leaving him a strange symbol connected to Madam Mary.
• Hai Di left the castle with Madam Mary and Mi Qi, and the castle’s lights went out behind them.
• Richard found Hai Di’s letter in the castle, memorized the symbol, and decided to search for a place to settle down before looking for her.
• Richard spotted an old man fleeing through a field, pursued him, and Pandora followed.
• At the old man’s hut in A Lu Ba Ke Village, Richard declined to drink the hot tea while Pandora gulped it down and complained that it was not sweet.

Richard questioned the village chief about the supposedly haunted castle, then realized the old man had known he was searching for someone and had tried to mislead him. Richard returned to confront him, and the chief revealed a sinister aura before attacking with black mist.

• The village chief told Richard that people who entered the castle had never returned, and suggested he search for clues in Aja City, Duer City, or Morton City.
• Richard thanked the chief with a silver coin and left with Pandora, while the chief realized he had misspoken and crushed the coin in his hand.
• Richard recognized that he had never told the chief he was looking for someone and suspected the man knew the castle's secrets and was misleading him.
• Richard returned to the Thatched Hut and confronted the chief, who admitted he had deceived him.
• The chief straightened, revealed an icy aura, and attacked Richard by summoning black mist.

Richard and Pandora defeated the old man who had enslaved Arubak Village, but he killed himself before Richard could learn about the castle. The villagers revealed that the castle’s occupants had left westward over a month earlier, toward the city of Floren.

• Richard used the White Feather to destroy the old man’s black-mist attack, while his Non-Newtonian Fluid armor and Pandora withstood the old man’s ice spikes.
• Richard questioned the old man about his identity and the castle, but the old man refused to talk and made himself explode.
• Richard protected Pandora with his Fourth Form Shield and survived the destruction of the Thatched Hut, confirming the old man was dead.
• The villagers approached Richard and thanked him for freeing them from the old man, whom they called a demon.
• The former village chief told Richard that the old man had enslaved the villagers for about three years and that other castle residents had left by carriage over a month earlier.
• The former village chief said the carriages had gone west toward Floren, which he identified as the largest city in the world.