Recaps

Chloe toured Castel’s factory with Gaia and began teaching Machine Souls to read, with Little Bu assigned as her assistant. The chapter ended with Gaia observing a group of underground people whose skilled, rapid work made them the factory’s most efficient workers.

• Gaia showed Chloe how Machine Souls had transformed factory production and explained that standardized rituals now awakened machines on the production line.
• Chloe and Gaia discussed Beatrice’s ability to produce Pollution and joked about using her as a self-propelled artillery operator.
• Gaia introduced Little Bu as Chloe’s teaching assistant, and Little Bu immediately grabbed and rapidly flipped through Chloe’s diary.
• Gaia left the workshop and saw underground people arguing over blueprints while working far more efficiently than the other factory workers.

Gaia recalled how the Untouchables learned Castel's advanced technology with astonishing speed and assembled a moving machine that resembled self-propelled artillery from scrap parts without triggering Cognitive Interference. Theus allowed them to continue studying at a new facility, and Gaia resolved to accept that knowledge could not be sealed away.

• Gaia remembered that the Untouchables quickly mastered knowledge and built a moving, steam-powered machine resembling self-propelled artillery from defective parts.
• Gaia evacuated the workers, summoned a Banshee emergency squad, and reported the machine, but it caused no Cognitive Interference.
• Theus explained that he had given the Untouchables access to Castel's latest research and weapons production to test their abilities.
• Gaia recalled Theus's answer, “Knowledge cannot be sealed away,” and resolved to stop resisting their access to knowledge.

Chloe explored the factory and discovered that Little Bu had taught herself engineering, mastered the library’s books, and possessed extraordinary practical skills. They began working together to improve the self-propelled artillery, but Little Bu admitted that designing anything new left her mind blank.

• Chloe questioned Little Bu about her education and learned that she had taught herself without attending literacy classes.
• Little Bu answered Chloe’s questions about mechanical principles and advanced mathematics, revealing that she had read every book in the library.
• Chloe tested Little Bu’s practical skills and watched her quickly assemble a working alarm clock from salvaged artillery parts.
• Chloe invited Little Bu to help improve the self-propelled artillery, but Little Bu said that although making things came easily, designing new ones did not.

Theus and Chloe discovered that the Untouchables could learn and apply existing knowledge but were completely unable to innovate, and they suspected this limitation prevented Cognitive Interference. Chloe then revealed that the Untouchables could still make things without understanding how, leaving Theus to question what enabled their creations.

• Chloe told Theus that none of the Untouchables could make even simple improvements or form new associations, despite understanding instructions and existing systems.
• Chloe explained that she tested every Untouchable with an alarm clock and several light sources, but none could figure out how to illuminate the clock.
• Theus and Chloe considered whether the Untouchables' inability to innovate was a curse or thought imprint, though their earlier observations had found no signs of one.
• Chloe asked why Theus thought rapid learning might be a curse, prompting him to realize that the Untouchables' inability to form associations could prevent Cognitive Interference.
• Chloe revealed that the Untouchables could create objects without forming associations or understanding their principles, as if the ability were an instinct etched into their bodies.

Theus realized the Untouchables’ instinctive manufacturing let them bypass Cognitive Interference and asked Chloe to investigate their history. He then showed Chloe that her acceptance of the Holy See’s Moon Candle ritual might reveal a Thought Imprint, leaving her shaken by the possibility that it persisted even in her soul state.

• Theus concluded that the Untouchables could manufacture machinery by instinct without conscious thought, bypassing Cognitive Interference.
• Theus tasked Chloe with investigating the Untouchables’ hidden history and said Ignati would cooperate with her.
• Theus explained that Moon Candles were made from believers’ brains, but Chloe initially saw the process as ordinary and focused on improving its machinery.
• Theus compared the ritual to doing the same thing to Ash, prompting Chloe to recognize its cruelty and question whether she had a Thought Imprint.
• Theus told Chloe that the imprint might persist even in her soul state, and she began to tremble.

Theus investigated why people’s perceptions of humans and gods differed, and wondered whether his own identity was tied to his memories of Blue Star. Chloe then revealed that she had found a way to control self-propelled artillery, inspiring Theus to sketch a Gundam and consider how ordinary people might operate Machine Souls.

• Theus tested Chloe’s understanding of making Moon Candles with Little Bu and found that Little Bu’s perceptions differed from hers.
• Little Bu described gods as powerful, omnipotent beings, prompting Theus to connect her understanding to the Banshees and question the world’s beliefs.
• Nini asked why Theus’s perceptions had not shifted like other humans’, and Theus wondered whether his Blue Star memories had been implanted.
• Theus said capturing Jules and taking the Rhine might help reveal the world’s mysteries.
• Chloe explained that she used directional commands to control Machine Souls while riding self-propelled artillery.
• Theus showed Chloe his Gundam sketch, and Chloe proposed that ordinary people might operate Machine Souls by writing commands.

Nora returned from the front lines, where she fought in a self-propelled artillery vehicle, and Helena took her from the Tis front to Castel for an unexplained reason. The chapter ended as Helena told Nora they were going to Nora's home.

• Nora handed her artillery vehicle to the maintenance team after returning from battle and went back to her dormitory.
• Nora watered the wildflower in her room, changed her hairpin, and left to meet Helena.
• Helena found Nora in the corridor, said she needed to take her back to Castel, and carried her to the train.
• Nora traveled with Helena from the Tis front to Castel, reflecting on the city's rapid growth and worrying she might be left behind.
• When Nora asked whether they were going to Theus's office, Helena told her they were going to Nora's home.

Nora lived in a small home in Castel Cathedral, where her friends gathered to surprise her with a birthday celebration. The chapter ended with Nora making a wish and blowing out the candles as everyone cheered.

• Nora chose a small, affordable home in Castel Cathedral and enjoyed its warm, close-knit atmosphere with her companions.
• Helena brought Nora to her room, where Monica, Gaia, Theus, Chloe, Gwen, Grisha, and their Burier companions waited with a birthday cake.
• Nora realized everyone had remembered her birthday and became flustered and moved by the surprise.
• Theus explained the birthday tradition, and Nora closed her eyes to make a wish before blowing out the candles.

Nora's companions celebrated her birthday and gave her a collection of unusual gifts. Chloe's self-propelled wheelchair was unveiled as the grand finale, leaving Nora's head perched atop a coffin-shaped machine.

• Theus gave Nora the fish-head cake, and she realized everyone had gathered to celebrate her birthday.
• Helena gave Nora flowers, Nini presented her collected publications, and Gaia brought multifunctional wine brewed with Nitroglycerin.
• Monica gifted Nora a statue made from her own scales that opened into protective armor, but Nora could not release herself because she had no hands.
• Chloe revealed a modified self-propelled artillery piece that served as a wheelchair and could be controlled with Nora's tongue.
• Nini placed Nora's head atop the boxy wheelchair, which looked like a coffin.

Chloe gave Nora a custom self-propelled wheelchair that looked like a coffin, and the group tested it using Gaia’s shampoo as fuel. Nora crashed into a wall on her first drive, and Chloe admitted she had used her as a test subject; the wheelchair was rescued, but its design flaws remained.

• Chloe and Theus presented Nora with a coffin-shaped mechanical wheelchair fitted with restraints, directional buttons, and an ejection function.
• Helena poured Gaia’s multipurpose shampoo into the fuel tank, and Nora connected with the Machine Soul to operate the wheelchair.
• Nora pressed the accelerator, shot across the room, and crashed into a concrete wall, jamming the hatch.
• Theus and the others freed Nora, who recovered and accused Chloe of trying to kill her.
• Chloe explained that she had copied a self-propelled artillery piece’s parameters and had used Nora in place of an experimental animal.

Nini repaired Nora’s self-propelled wheelchair, and Nora learned to steer it and water flowers before her companions celebrated her birthday. Nora stayed in Castel for several extra days, then explored the changed city with Monica.

• Nini softened and reshaped the wheelchair’s warped steel, adjusted its thrust with the Machine Soul, and secured Nora inside.
• Nora cautiously drove the wheelchair around her room, used its mechanical arm to water flowers, and received birthday wishes from Helena and the others.
• Children followed Nora through Castel, pretending she was leading them into battle, while Monica stepped aside when Nora drove toward her.
• Theus granted Nora extra days off, and Helena, Gaia, and the others persuaded her to remain in Castel rather than return to the front immediately.
• Monica told Nora about changes around Castel, including Bettis’s fish-and-chips shop and Nini’s editorial office, as they walked together at sunset.

Jules met with Lina, who warned him about Castel’s growing threat and demanded help finding her [father]. He restrained her, and she gave him the War Citadel’s second-form control method and a steam rifle manufacturing template, though she doubted the Holy See could defeat Castel.

• Hela reported that Castel’s self-propelled artillery was erasing the Holy See’s early advantage, but Jules chose to maintain the stalemate rather than deploy the War Fortress.
• Hela warned Jules that Lina might betray them, but he authorized her visit, and Lina appeared before him.
• Lina warned Jules that the world was in grave danger, but he showed that he already understood how Castel’s expansion had left the Candlelight Society surrounded.
• Jules told Lina he had found her [father], prompting her to attack him, but Hela pinned her down, and Lina recognized Hela as an Ancient One.
• Lina gave Jules the control method for the War Citadel’s second form and a steam rifle manufacturing template, then complained that the Holy See was too weak to beat Castel.

Jules told Lina that North Gwen was likely her [Father] in a female shell and that South Gwen was another shell, then gave her the Investigators’ reports. Lina killed Jules to keep him from revealing what he knew about [Father].

• Lina demanded that Jules assassinate Theus, but he said he had failed repeatedly and explained that he wanted to help her meet [Father].
• Jules claimed North Gwen was Lina’s [Father] in a female shell, citing her growth, her defeat of Bazel and the White Calamity, and reports of strange knowledge reaching people across the Empire.
• Jules also suspected South Gwen was another shell of [Father], and gave Lina several file boxes of intelligence gathered by his Investigators.
• Lina attacked Jules, but Hela blocked her; then Lina revealed herself as the Gear Sage and pierced Jules through the chest.
• Lina stomped Jules’s steel body to pieces and left with the Gear Sage, while Hela later stirred and sighed over his remains.

Alexei contacted Gwen by telephone to ask whether the White Calamity was fading, and she said it was receding gradually while she remained in the Northern Territory on the Lord’s orders. The call ended in static, and Alexei reviewed the latest products from Castel as the Northern Territory’s communications network remained limited.

• Alexei called Gwen and asked whether the White Calamity was about to dissipate completely.
• Gwen said she did not know the Lord’s plans, but the White Calamity was gradually receding and she would stay in the Northern Territory on an assigned task.
• Gwen remembered the other Gwen who had saved her and said she wanted to see her again.
• Alexei ended the call when static disrupted the line, then grounded the telephone to guard against polluted electrical waves.
• Alexei accepted a new product catalog from his assistant and noted that the Northern Territory had only one telephone line so far.

Alexei planned to use returning workers and merchant caravans to help develop the Northern Territory, welcoming former Resistance Army members home instead of trying to keep them in Castel and Blood Port. Rebecca and Old Vance's family returned to their hometown, leaving Alexei hopeful that people bringing experience from the great cities would change the region.

• Alexei reviewed a catalogue of Castel's goods and rejected his clerk's suggestion to control merchant caravans by restricting supplies.
• Alexei learned that Resistance Army resettlement personnel had arrived and went to the station to welcome them.
• Alexei reimbursed the returning personnel's travel expenses so they could go home to the Northern Territory.
• Alexei greeted Rebecca and Old Vance's family as they arrived with their luggage.
• Rebecca and her family left the station for their hometown, while Alexei hoped returning residents would bring fairness, civilization, and hope to the Northern Territory.

Old Vance and Rebecca returned to their Northern Territory hometown after settling in Blood Port, only to find the town filthy and largely unchanged. At their old carpentry shop, Karl welcomed them after seeing Rebecca’s wolfskin coat, though his earlier suspicion suggested he had feared they had come to reclaim the shop.

• Old Vance urged Rebecca to walk in front so their former neighbors would see her new wolfskin coat.
• The Vance family found their hometown much filthier than they remembered and noticed that the new railway had brought little visible change.
• Old Vance led his family to his old carpentry shop, where the deteriorating house stirred memories of their former life.
• Karl opened the door warily and accused Old Vance of returning to take the shop back.
• Karl spotted Rebecca’s coat, changed his attitude, and eagerly ushered the Vance family inside.

Rebecca and her family visited Karl and Bill in their impoverished Northern Territory home, where the contrast with life in Blood Port and Castel Island unsettled them. Rebecca learned that the locals feared the railway and believed everyone who traveled to Blood Port had been eaten by the train.

• Old Vance looked over Karl’s worn carpentry tools and reflected on how little his old life had offered compared with their home in Blood Port.
• Rebecca hesitated to drink the water, so Vance shared Castel Island Sweet Fruit Wine with the family, easing the awkward mood.
• Rebecca asked her aunt why so few people used the railway, and her aunt said locals feared the moving iron carriage because they thought it ate people.
• Rebecca pointed out that she and many others had ridden the train safely, but her aunt whispered that people believed everyone who went to Blood Port had been eaten.

Rebecca learned that Karl and his wife feared the Northern Territory would never improve, then grew alarmed when she discovered they worshipped something outside the established Churches. She found that they were followers of Nini’s comics, whose picture stories had spread even among people who could not read.

• Karl told Vance that the Northern Territory had lost many young people and that he and his wife would not live to see it prosper.
• Rebecca tried to reassure Karl and his wife by describing Governor Alexei’s plans to develop the region, but they remained doubtful.
• Rebecca realized Auntie worshipped gods and warned Karl that cults could exploit lonely, desperate people.
• Karl grew suspicious of Empire Truth after Rebecca described its unusual beliefs and practices, but softened when he learned its followers read Nini’s unofficial history.
• Karl showed Rebecca picture-based comics that neighbors could enjoy without reading, including a Monica Transmigration story about Monica hiding from Ash in a ruined church.

Rebecca investigated the faith that Old Karl and her aunt had adopted, hoping to identify its god before reporting the cult to the Expeditionary Force. She recognized the name of the god as Theus, but the chapter ended before she could leave and report what she had found.

• Rebecca learned that Old Karl had learned to read by listening to the god his aunt worshipped, and he insisted the knowledge was safe.
• Old Vance signaled Rebecca to escape, but she went to speak with her aunt instead.
• Rebecca's aunt explained that caravans had brought affordable goods to town before introducing the residents to the faith.
• Rebecca's aunt led her inside to see the god's statue, and Rebecca recognized the name as Theus.

Old Vance tried to report the powerful presence inside Rebecca to the Expeditionary Force, but Chloe arrived with Tribunal soldiers after Rebecca’s mother reported a suspected cult. Rebecca struggled to explain that the group worshipped Theus, leaving Chloe to investigate whether it counted as an evil cult.

• Rebecca emerged from the house in a daze, and Old Vance learned that the presence inside had denied being a god.
• Old Vance decided to report the situation to the Expeditionary Force, but found Chloe arriving outside in her electric coffin with armed soldiers.
• Rebecca’s mother told Chloe that Rebecca might have been bewitched by cultists, and Chloe vowed to deal with them.
• Rebecca recognized Chloe as the leader of Moth Chasing Flame and wondered why an evil cult leader was arresting cultists.
• Rebecca explained that the group worshipped Theus and said it might be an evil cult, though she did not consider Theus a wicked god.

Chloe investigated a suspected evil god cult and discovered its followers worshipped Theus. She brought the bewildered Rebecca and the cult’s records back to Castel, where Theus decided to crack down on the group.

• Chloe mistook Rebecca’s confusion for signs of corruption by an evil god and ordered the soldiers to guard her and record their cult-fighting procedures.
• Chloe entered the cult’s meeting room, discovered its members worshipped Theus, and became stuck against his statue in the cramped space.
• Chloe called Rebecca in to help free her, then reported the strange cult to Theus and collected the soldiers’ notebooks to prevent leaks.
• Theus saw his statue perched atop Chloe’s coffin, denied being a god, and decided to crack down on the cult because it worshipped him.

Theus reconsidered his plans to suppress cults after Chloe argued that faith offered comfort to people left behind by industrial change. He decided to counter cults by spreading Nini’s illustrated newspapers instead, while Chloe realized that cultural influence was becoming a new kind of weapon.

• Theus resolved to deal with cults, but Chloe argued that faith could help people who could not keep up with the changing Northern Territory.
• Chloe expected Theus to assign the work to her, but he said Nini would handle it.
• Rebecca explained that Nini’s illustrated unofficial histories had reached her illiterate relatives and helped them learn to read.
• Theus proposed using Nini’s newspapers to fill the emotional void cults might otherwise exploit and to expand her influence into the Empire.
• Chloe reflected that future conflicts might be fought through words and cognition, and Theus called it a cultural victory.

Nini opened Blood Port’s post office and managed its overwhelming civilian demand with ease, while the postal network began connecting the Northern Territory’s cities and villages. The chapter ended with the revelation that some mail carriers could also deliver letters into the Empire.

• Nini became the first Banshee to manage a non-combat department when she took charge of Castel’s post office.
• Crowds of Northern Territory refugees overwhelmed the post office on its first day, but Nini processed the work effortlessly with her six hands.
• The post office barred Duke Alvaray’s merchant caravans from spreading any faith and fined him for doing so.
• Mail carriers began delivering letters, packages, newspapers, comics, and novels throughout the Northern Territory, creating jobs and helping Alexei deliver government orders.
• Some mail carriers were able to carry letters into the Empire.

Little Gwen gained control of the White Calamity, restored her imaginary friends, and reunited with the armored girl she called Little Gwen. She then told Theus that the white mist was gone, leaving him excited at the prospect of her return.

• Little Gwen tested her newfound power and discovered she could crush a boulder with a skeletal claw.
• Little Gwen summoned her friends, who appeared solid and gathered to celebrate her.
• Little Gwen reunited with the armored girl, and they affirmed that they would always be friends despite their uncertain identities and pasts.
• Worker Theus noticed the white mist had vanished, and Little Gwen told him she had brought the White Calamity under control.
• Theus grew excited, hoping Little Gwen would finally return.

Little Gwen left the mist with Worker Theus and prepared to face Big Gwen, while Theus returned to Blood Port and tried to contact Alexei. The chapter ended with Alexei answering Theus’s call from the Northern Territory.

• Worker Theus told Little Gwen they would head south by train, then returned to his body and left her holding him in the mist.
• Little Gwen’s armored imaginary friend gave her a longsword, and Little Gwen confronted “[Named One] Lina” as the air distorted.
• In Blood Port, Theus learned Little Gwen had returned and decided to call Big Gwen over.
• Theus used Blood Port’s shielded telephone network and had Monica connect him to the Northern Territory.
• Theus explained that radio devices spread dangerous pollution, leaving wired telephones as the practical means of communication.
• Alexei answered Theus’s call and asked what he needed.