Chapter Summaries

Summary of “Melon Training”

Key Plot Points and Events

• In a New Eridu dessert shop, Harumasa and Hoshimi Miyabi hold a “melon training” contest after Harumasa challenges Miyabi. Miyabi chooses melon parfaits as the test.
• Miyabi overwhelmingly wins, eating nineteen servings compared with Harumasa’s seven. She then reveals that Harumasa must pay the bill because she brought no money.
• Harumasa admits that he also has no money, having already tricked Soukaku out of her allowance. Miyabi jokingly suggests pawning her Demon Blade, but Harumasa rejects the idea.
• Tsukishiro Yanagi arrives and pays the enormous bill—10,086 Denny—before reprimanding both of them for skipping work and potentially trying to leave without paying.
• Yanagi orders Miyabi to return for an important meeting. Miyabi refuses, prompting an absurd imagined confrontation between the two women.
• Their argument escalates into a fantastical battle involving supernatural powers, anime references, ninja techniques, magical weapons, leave-request shuriken, exploding melons, and a mountain of paperwork.
• While Miyabi and Yanagi fight within an imagined “Thoughtless Barrier,” Harumasa and Soukaku wait in a milk tea shop. Realizing the battle may keep the adults occupied, they decide to escape and enjoy their vacation before work catches up with them.

Character Developments

• Miyabi is portrayed as extraordinarily gluttonous, eccentric, and unconcerned with ordinary responsibilities. She treats eating melon as serious “training” and responds to Yanagi’s authority with stubborn defiance.
• Harumasa demonstrates his usual mischievous and opportunistic nature. Although he loses the contest and cannot pay, he remains quick-thinking and encourages Soukaku to take advantage of the situation.
• Yanagi acts as the responsible adult of the group. She pays the bill, enforces workplace discipline, and represents order, paperwork, and overtime.
• Soukaku is innocent but easily influenced. After initially worrying about the adults’ fight, she readily agrees to abandon work and continue her vacation with Harumasa.
• The chapter emphasizes the contrast between Miyabi’s carefree absurdity, Yanagi’s strict responsibility, and Harumasa and Soukaku’s playful irresponsibility.

Significant Themes

• Responsibility versus freedom: Yanagi’s insistence on meetings, leave forms, and overtime clashes with Miyabi’s desire to indulge herself and avoid work.
• Workplace comedy: Bureaucracy is transformed into a literal weapon, making paperwork and unpaid bills central sources of humor.
• Escapism and leisure: The characters repeatedly seek ways to turn a workday into a vacation, even when consequences are imminent.
• Parody and exaggerated imagination: The battle borrows imagery from anime, ninja stories, fantasy epics, and other dramatic genres, turning a mundane argument into an apocalyptic spectacle.
• Found-family dynamics: Despite their frustration with one another, the characters function like a chaotic team, with Yanagi caring for the group while Harumasa and Soukaku behave like unruly younger members.

Character Interactions

• Harumasa and Miyabi share a teasing, competitive dynamic, with Miyabi effortlessly defeating him and forcing him to face the bill.
• Miyabi and Yanagi embody the chapter’s central conflict: Miyabi resists authority, while Yanagi attempts to restore order.
• Harumasa and Soukaku form a conspiratorial pair, bonding over their desire to avoid work and continue their vacation.
• Yanagi’s stern treatment of Miyabi and Harumasa suggests she regularly has to manage their irresponsibility, while Miyabi’s refusal and Harumasa’s evasions make her role even more difficult.

Plot and events

• After the Inferno Rider incident brings more visitors to Blazewood, Casa tries to turn his family restaurant, Cheesetopia, into an internet-famous attraction. Belle livestreams its strange decor for her viewers.
• Burnice offers Belle, Wise, and Griseo flaming “fuel drinks.” Belle recognizes the danger and rejects them, ordering pizza instead.
• Anby appears as a part-time server, explaining that the Cunning Hares agency has overspent after equipment broke. She mentions her past fast-food experience and joins the kitchen.
• Burnice decides to make one enormous pizza for convenience. She dumps flour into the mixer, adds ingredients by guesswork, and pours several bottles of tequila into the dough. Anby carefully chops vegetables while Burnice tries to roast sausages with her flamethrower.
• After nearly an hour without food, the group hears explosions and rushes to the kitchen, expecting an attack. Griseo raises a shield, Belle grabs a fire extinguisher, and Wise kicks open the door.
• A flour blast covers Belle and Wise. Inside, the kitchen is wrecked: the mixer has toppled, flour and ketchup have become sludge, and smoke fills the room. Burnice’s flames struck the smart alarm, while mishandled equipment and airborne flour caused the disaster.

Character developments and interactions

• Belle is enthusiastic on camera but practical and protective: she intercepts Burnice’s drinks and later prepares to fight a suspected intruder with a fire extinguisher.
• Wise takes charge when the kitchen sounds like it is under attack, coordinating with Belle and Griseo before opening the door.
• Griseo is hungry and fascinated by the flaming drinks, but proves quick-thinking by protecting herself with an Ether barrier.
• Anby remains composed and methodical, calmly explaining her temporary job and helping with food preparation—even as Burnice’s kitchen descends into chaos.
• Burnice is energetic and inventive, but her shortcuts and reckless use of alcohol, machinery, and flame turn pizza-making into a catastrophe. Her antics contrast with Anby’s precision and the visitors’ growing alarm.

Significant themes

• The chapter uses comic chaos and mistaken danger: the group assumes the explosions signal an attack, only to find a kitchen accident.
• It highlights improvisation versus competence. Burnice’s bold shortcuts fail spectacularly, while Anby’s steady work and the others’ quick reactions provide a counterpoint.
• The restaurant’s eccentric appearance and disastrous kitchen reflect the Outer Ring’s unconventional, rough-edged character.

Key plot points and events

• Casa returns to Cheesetopia expecting a successful day, only to find it wrecked: the kitchen is scorched, furniture is overturned, and food and fire suppressant cover the place.
• The disaster began when Burnice refused Wise and Belle entry to the kitchen and tried to make her “Flaming Meteor Pizza.” She poured tequila over charred meat and set it alight with a flamethrower, triggering a fireball.
• Casa faints at the sight of the damage. Anby praises Burnice’s “cooking,” while Belle—still livestreaming—turns the catastrophe into a chaotic advertisement for the restaurant.
• Burnice is tied up at Blazewood’s gates and put on trial by Lucy. With Anby and the smoking restaurant as evidence, Caesar and Lucy “punish” her with sweet potato leaves.
• Su examines the injured and shaken victims at camp. Casa will recover after resting, Belle is told to sleep more and exercise, and Wise is offered restorative prescriptions after Su calls him weak.

Character developments

• Casa goes from hopeful confidence about her new business to shock and grief over its destruction.
• Burnice remains exuberantly reckless and proud of her disastrous creation, even while facing punishment.
• Wise and Belle try to stop Burnice but are caught in the explosion. Belle keeps promoting the restaurant through her livestream; Wise is embarrassed by Su’s diagnosis before gratefully accepting help.
• Anby treats Burnice’s culinary failure as an achievement and earnestly declares her the strongest.
• Lucy and Caesar take their roles as judge and enforcer seriously, though the punishment becomes farcical.
• Belle is instantly captivated by Su, while Wise reacts with jealousy and wounded pride.

Significant themes

• The chapter uses slapstick chaos to turn a business disaster into comedy.
• Recklessness and consequences drive the plot: Burnice’s enthusiasm causes damage and puts others in danger, even as she remains unapologetic.
• Loyalty and dedication appear in Belle’s efforts to promote the restaurant despite being injured, and in the group’s attempts to help one another afterward.

Character interactions

• Wise and Belle plead with Burnice to stop, but she ignores them and treats them as an audience for her “specialty.”
• Belle uses the livestream to reassure viewers—while joking that customers should buy accident insurance—before Casa collapses.
• Lucy accuses Burnice, Caesar reluctantly carries out the punishment, and the arriving Nicole, Billy, and Nekomata look on in disbelief.
• Griseo asks Su to treat Casa and the others; Su reassures her, evaluates each patient, and inadvertently provokes Wise with his comments about Wise’s health.

Plot points and events

• In the Sons of Calydon camp at Blazewood, Perlman claims he was only a puppet in the Vision Bombing plot. He names Vision Corporation secretary Sarah and Public Security deputy commissioner Bringer as the real conspirators.
• The Cunning Hares realize that accusing a senior official could provoke a public backlash, but they decide they must pursue the case. Belle brings Griseo to verify Perlman’s claims.
• Perlman describes how Sarah took control of Vision Corporation and, under pressure from Nicole and Anby, reveals that he kept copies of signed resolutions, project proposals, emails, communication records, and financial transfers. Griseo confirms he is telling the truth.
• The evidence offers a path to bring Sarah and Bringer down legally, though the group worries that corruption may reach beyond them.
• Nicole boasts that she can call on powerful allies. The others learn her connection to Hoshimi Miyabi is less impressive than it sounds: Nicole once tried to recruit her, while Billy’s supposed fight with Miyabi was only a video-game match.
• In the closing scene, Miyabi receives Nicole’s message. She and Tsukishiro Yanagi are already headed to Blazewood on a mayoral assignment, which appears to overlap with the people Nicole wants investigated.

Character developments and interactions

• Perlman shifts from self-pitying accusation to useful cooperation, revealing evidence he had saved to protect himself.
• Nicole is wary of the political danger but determined to press forward; her confidence in her connections is undercut by Anby’s blunt clarification.
• Wise and Belle recognize that their investigation has reached the upper ranks of Public Security and that retreat may be dangerous.
• Griseo serves as the group’s truth-checker, while Anby helps pressure Perlman into giving a complete account.
• Miyabi and Yanagi are drawn into the unfolding case through their separate assignment, setting up a likely convergence with the Cunning Hares.

Significant themes

• Power and corruption: A high-ranking public official may be involved in serious crimes, raising fears that corruption runs deeper than one conspiracy.
• Evidence and accountability: Perlman’s records could make a lawful case possible, but exposing the truth carries political risks.
• Courage despite danger: The Cunning Hares choose to continue even after realizing they have provoked powerful enemies.
• Comic relief amid tension: The characters’ teasing—especially about Perlman’s sob story and Nicole’s “connections”—lightens an otherwise grave investigation.

• Key events: Piper drives the group to Blazewood, leaving most of Section 6 carsick. Nicole presents Perlman to Hoshimi Miyabi and her team, who interrogate him and learn details about the case. Section 6 then confronts the Cunning Hares and accuses Wise and Belle of being linked to a Proxy involved in several major incidents, demanding that the siblings come with them. The confrontation turns threatening: both groups reach for their weapons, and Nicole’s crew blocks Section 6. Miyabi begins to draw her Demon Blade, but a mysterious katana-wielding attacker appears behind her. She parries the lethal strike, though the attacker cuts her robe and draws blood. The stranger identifies herself as Setsuna Sakura.
• Character developments: Miyabi shifts from Nicole’s familiar, casual business partner into a formidable Void Hunter asserting her authority, while admitting Nicole once outsmarted her. Nicole, though frightened, stands her ground to protect Wise and Belle. Wise and Belle stay composed and discreetly prepare to respond. Anby quickly detects Section 6’s maneuvering and calls out the staged politeness; Harumasa drops his friendly act once tensions rise.
• Character interactions: Section 6 treats Perlman’s story as serious intelligence, while Nicole insists it implicates Bringer, the Public Security deputy commissioner. Yanagi cautions that there is not yet enough evidence to call him a criminal. Section 6’s suspicion then shifts toward Wise and Belle, placing Nicole, Anby, Billy, and Nekomata in opposition to Miyabi’s team.
• Themes: The chapter explores trust and evidence—testimony raises serious suspicions, but Section 6 still acknowledges the need for proof—and loyalty under pressure, as Nicole’s group protects the siblings despite the danger. Its tense, lighthearted opening gives way to institutional conflict and sudden violence, ending on a cliffhanger with the attacker’s arrival.

Plot points and events

• During tense negotiations in Blazewood, Miyabi approaches Nicole but is ambushed by Sakura, a pink-haired Fox Thiren whose lightning-fast katana strikes tear Miyabi’s robe and wound her.
• Yanagi detects powerful Ether Energy surrounding Sakura and warns the others. Miyabi spots Griseo behind Sakura, protecting Wise, Belle, and the Cunning Hares.
• The narration reveals that Griseo had been helping Su treat Blazewood residents. She rushed to the confrontation after Belle called for help and used the Signets of Setsuna to strike at extraordinary speed.
• Sakura tells Miyabi to leave. Miyabi, impressed by Sakura’s skill, asks why she fights through assassination and ambush rather than in an honorable contest.
• Sakura explains that even the swiftest fighter cannot cut away the malice in a villain’s heart. Miyabi understands the pain behind her words, but chooses to fight—partly from duty and partly because she loves testing herself against skilled martial artists.
• As Miyabi’s companions step back, Griseo channels her remaining Ether Energy into Sakura. Yanagi is alarmed by Sakura’s ability to hold such power outside a Hollow.
• Sakura identifies herself and Griseo as former members of the Flame-Chasers, calling them Setsuna and The Stars, then attacks Miyabi head-on.
• Miyabi’s counterstrike wounds Sakura, but Sakura reveals she is only a phantom and feels no pain. She warns that ordinary attacks will not harm her unless Miyabi unleashes her own hidden power. The fight remains unresolved as Sakura’s wound begins dissolving into Ether motes.

Character developments

• Miyabi shows courage, discipline, and curiosity about Sakura’s fighting style. She recognizes the experience behind Sakura’s methods and accepts the challenge despite being outmatched.
• Sakura is revealed as a lethal but sorrowful fighter. Her words suggest deep experience with entrenched evil, while her phantom nature makes her difficult to injure.
• Griseo acts decisively to protect her companions, using her stored Ether Energy to empower Sakura despite having little left.
• Yanagi shifts from concern about Miyabi’s wound to alarm at the scale and unusual nature of Sakura’s Ether Energy.

Significant themes

• Protection versus killing: Miyabi’s battlefield swordsmanship aims to protect, while Sakura’s art is designed to kill.
• The limits of force: Sakura argues that speed and skill cannot erase the malice within a villain.
• Honor and necessity: Miyabi questions Sakura’s reliance on ambush, but begins to understand that her approach has painful reasons.
• Power and identity: The Flame-Chaser names and Sakura’s phantom form hint at a history and nature beyond what the Section 6 team understands.

Character interactions

• Sakura protects Griseo and the Cunning Hares, then confronts Miyabi directly.
• Miyabi and Sakura exchange both blows and ideas, with mutual respect emerging despite their opposing combat philosophies.
• Griseo supports Sakura by transferring Ether Energy, while Yanagi monitors the dangerous escalation and Miyabi restrains her team from intervening.

Plot points

• Miyabi recognizes that Sakura has been holding back and realizes Sakura’s existence depends on Griseo’s Ether Energy. Since Griseo is nearly depleted, Miyabi believes she can win by enduring until Sakura fades.
• Miyabi unleashes more of Tailless’s power. Sakura attacks directly, but Miyabi’s Frost Armor blocks the strike and drains Sakura’s energy.
• The duel grows intense. Miyabi’s power increases, yet Sakura’s skill keeps wounding her. After dozens of exchanges, Miyabi knocks away Sakura’s sword and lands a second hit, while Sakura’s phantom form begins to break down.
• Sakura explains that she has been guiding Miyabi so she can master the Demon Blade. She urges Miyabi to face her past and break her family’s cycle.
• The two prepare their strongest techniques. Their final clash leaves Miyabi badly wounded and Sakura cracked and fading. Sakura declares Miyabi the winner, though Miyabi objects that she had the advantage—and that Sakura still held back.
• Sakura admits her lethal blade would have killed Miyabi if she had not restrained herself. She bids farewell to Griseo and disappears, while Miyabi thanks her for the lesson.

Character development and interactions

• Miyabi grows more capable of wielding Tailless, but acknowledges that she still cannot overcome the barrier tied to her family and past. Her respect for Sakura deepens, and she is reluctant to claim victory.
• Sakura shifts from opponent to mentor, deliberately testing Miyabi and offering guidance. Though she says her blade exists only to kill, she restrains herself out of respect and concern.
• Griseo supports Sakura’s presence with her Ether Energy and follows Sakura’s request to close her eyes during the fight. Their affectionate farewell underscores their bond.
• Yanagi, Harumasa, and Soukaku withdraw at Miyabi’s request, leaving the final duel to the two swordswomen.

Significant themes

• Mastery through challenge: Sakura uses the duel to help Miyabi improve.
• Facing the past: Miyabi must confront her family’s legacy to move forward.
• Restraint and respect: Sakura’s strength is defined not only by her lethal skill but by her choice to hold back.
• Victory and fairness: Miyabi technically wins, but questions the meaning of victory when circumstances favored her.

Plot points and events

• After defeating Sakura, Miyabi ends the test ordered by New Eridu’s mayor. Though badly wounded, she says she can continue and decides not to detain Griseo.
• Miyabi explains that her attack was a test of Griseo and the two Proxies. She offers a deal concerning their accusations against Officer Bringer: one Proxy must return to New Eridu, where they can be protected and join the investigation.
• Wise agrees to go in Belle’s place, while Belle is told to take Griseo into a Hollow to recover.
• Before they can leave peacefully, rebels launch a sudden, heavily armed ambush. Miyabi confirms the attackers are not her forces.
• The Sons of Calydon arrive and provide cover. Wise gives Nicole the Cunning Hares’ car keys and stays behind with Section 6, while Belle and Griseo escape in Piper’s truck.

Character developments and interactions

• Miyabi shows both resilience after her fight with Sakura and a willingness to negotiate. She acknowledges that her offer may look like taking a hostage, but promises Wise protection.
• Griseo is exhausted from spending her stored Ether Energy, but remains alert: she warns Belle just before the ambush begins.
• Wise takes responsibility by volunteering to return to New Eridu, protecting Belle and ensuring the investigation can proceed.
• Belle accepts her brother’s decision and helps Griseo escape.
• Nicole defends Griseo from Miyabi at first, then cooperates with the evacuation despite her distrust and objections.
• Miyabi and Section 6 coordinate with the Cunning Hares and the arriving Sons of Calydon once the attack begins.

Significant themes

• Trust and uneasy cooperation: Formerly opposing groups negotiate and work together against a greater threat.
• Protection and sacrifice: Wise stays behind so Belle and Griseo can escape; Miyabi offers to safeguard him.
• Sudden danger and uncertainty: The ambush overturns a fragile agreement and raises questions about who is targeting the group.

Plot points and events

• Section 6, the Cunning Hares, and the Sons of Calydon fight their way out of a rebel encirclement. Miyabi leads the retreat, while Yanagi coordinates the group and Harumasa disables a rocket-launcher wielder with a well-timed arrow.
• In the confusion, everyone forgets Perlman, who remains unconscious on the battlefield.
• Wise drives Miyabi’s van as rebels pursue them. Miyabi cuts off part of the van to fight, disables several motorcycles, and prepares to face the pursuers’ heavy weapons.
• Elsewhere, Griseo absorbs surrounding Ether Energy. Nicole’s group waits for the others, but Belle cannot contact Wise or Miyabi.
• Caesar and the others arrive at the hillside with rebels close behind. Griseo summons Aponia, whose Discipline Signet sends threads around the rebels and orders them to stop, resist no longer, and remain silent.

Character developments and interactions

• Miyabi is decisive and fiercely protective during the retreat, though her calm attitude toward damaging Nicole’s van leaves Wise startled. She and Wise share a brief exchange as he drives and she fights.
• Yanagi demonstrates battlefield awareness by directing Harumasa to stop a dangerous pursuer; the team cooperates smoothly under pressure.
• Soukaku’s fear shows her childlike vulnerability despite her courage in battle. Harumasa’s quick shot helps the group escape.
• Nicole reassures Belle that Wise is likely safe with Miyabi. Billy’s joking reaction to Aponia is quickly silenced by Anby and Nekomata, who recognize the danger.
• Griseo appears gentle and vulnerable, but her appeal to “Mother Aponia” reveals the formidable power behind her. Aponia responds protectively and imposes control over the rebels.

Significant themes

• Teamwork and sacrifice: The allies coordinate their fighting and retreats to protect one another.
• Power and vulnerability: Griseo seems like a child in need of help, yet can summon an overwhelming force; Soukaku similarly combines combat ability with fear.
• Escalating danger: The rebels’ pursuit grows more desperate, while the arrival of Aponia suggests the conflict is about to shift dramatically.
• Comic relief amid tension: Wise’s concern over the van, Billy’s ill-timed joke, and the closing sleep-related aside contrast with the battle’s intensity.

Plot points and events

• Aponia, the Flame-Chaser known as Discipline, intervenes when rebels pursue the group. She immobilizes everyone with golden threads, then judges them by reading their pasts.
• She spares those she considers innocent or helpless, but destroys those guilty of grave sins in ghostly purple flames. The pursuers vanish, leaving the onlookers horrified.
• Aponia introduces herself to Belle and asks the group to keep what happened secret, enforcing the request with Discipline.
• She touches Tsukishiro Yanagi’s forehead and uses blue threads to heal the vision problems caused by her Oni blood. Yanagi’s eyesight clears, and her blood’s power feels purer.
• Griseo leaves with Aponia to find Wise and another woman, while Belle and the others remain behind.

Character developments

• Aponia shows both overwhelming power and a compassionate, if severe, moral outlook. She sees humanity as capable of beauty but repeatedly disappointing, and her judgment reflects both pity and condemnation.
• Griseo confidently guides the group through the crisis and appears close to Aponia, who responds with visible affection.
• Yanagi stays composed despite recognizing the danger, takes responsibility for her companions, and receives an unexpected cure. She remains wary of Aponia’s power.
• Belle and the others are shaken by Aponia’s judgment; their fear reveals just how incomprehensible her abilities seem to them.

Significant themes

• Mercy and judgment: Aponia’s compassion does not prevent her from punishing those she deems irredeemably sinful.
• Humanity’s contradictions: People contain beauty and potential, yet are also capable of cruelty and wrongdoing.
• Power and restraint: Discipline can control, silence, heal, or destroy, leaving others little choice but to submit.
• Secrecy and trust: Aponia protects her presence by binding the witnesses to silence, even as she helps Yanagi.

Character interactions

• Griseo warns allies not to resist Aponia’s Discipline, then brings her to meet Belle.
• Aponia greets Belle warmly through her connection to Griseo, but imposes silence on Belle’s group about the encounter.
• Yanagi faces Aponia directly while Soukaku and Harumasa react protectively and anxiously.
• After Aponia leaves, Soukaku and Harumasa check on Yanagi, who watches Aponia and Griseo depart with lingering concern.

Plot points and events

• Griseo and Aponia search the Outer Ring Hollow for Wise and Hoshimi Miyabi, moving through Ethereals that die under Aponia’s power.
• Aponia reveals a fate-thread leading toward the person Griseo seeks. Though Griseo can glimpse it, she cannot perceive it as Aponia does: seeing fate has made Aponia feel bound by it.
• Griseo challenges Aponia’s belief that she is to blame for failing to save people. She points out that Aponia continually offers others help and light while condemning herself to darkness.
• Griseo asks what lies beyond Discipline, hoping to unseal the Signets of Salvation and True Self. Aponia hesitates, knowing Griseo may take on painful burdens, but agrees to explain.
• Aponia recounts her years caring for children and tending to the injured. Her memories shift from scenes of happiness and healing to illness, war, and the graves of those she could not save. She describes the contradiction of being able to influence or heal others while being unable to change the endings that mattered most.
• Aponia asks whether Griseo truly wants to hear the story Discipline has kept from True Self. Griseo says yes.

Character developments

• Griseo shows greater maturity and emotional insight, recognizing that Aponia’s compassion coexists with deep self-blame. She actively seeks a fuller understanding of the powers she carries.
• Aponia reveals her sorrow and guilt more openly. Though she accepts her fate as something she cannot escape, Griseo’s words make her confront how harshly she judges herself.

Significant themes

• Fate and freedom: Seeing fate can make a person feel imprisoned by it, while attempts to guide others may still end in ruin.
• Guilt and compassion: Aponia’s care for others does not erase her pain over those she could not save.
• Growth and inherited burdens: Griseo’s maturity prompts her to seek truths that may place heavy responsibilities on her.
• Light in darkness: Aponia gives hope to others but struggles to find it for herself.

Character interactions

• Griseo gently but directly disputes Aponia’s self-condemnation, speaking to her as a grown child addressing a beloved mother.
• Aponia responds with honesty, sharing painful memories and warning Griseo about the truth behind Discipline and True Self.
• Griseo remains determined, choosing to hear the story despite Aponia’s concern.

Key plot points and events

• Aponia recounts how Elysia, the Herrscher of Humanity, broke free of fate through her sacrifice, leaving behind the pink sea of stars and a renewed chance for humanity. Grieving Elysia’s loss, Aponia entered the Elysian Realm and chose to become a force that would deny threats to the future rather than keep trying to alter fate.
• Griseo asks whether Elysia was a Herrscher and whether Aponia regrets what happened. Aponia is unsure about regret, but emphasizes that Elysia is remembered for her love of everyone.
• Aponia asks Griseo not to become a symbol or bear a heavy duty: she should remain herself, “The Stars,” and rely on those who care for her.
• In the Outer Ring Hollow, Miyabi and Wise are separated from their companions after escaping rebel artillery by driving into an Ether Rift. Wise works to copy Carrot Data and plot an exit while Miyabi fights Ethereals.
• Miyabi’s wounds heal unusually slowly, and her Demon Blade, Tailless, grows increasingly unstable. It breaks loose in a surge of crimson Foxfire and seems to urge her to kill.
• Wise retrieves the scabbard and helps Miyabi seal the blade. Two golden threads appear between them, and two voices briefly reach Miyabi, helping her regain control. Once Tailless is sheathed, the Foxfire subsides.
• Miyabi wonders whether the second voice was real, since no one else is present.

Character developments and interactions

• Aponia expresses lasting grief for Elysia but has transformed it into a resolve to protect the future. Her tenderness toward Griseo shows that she values the child’s identity and well-being above any heroic role.
• Griseo accepts Aponia’s reassurance and promises to remain herself.
• Miyabi tries to conceal her deteriorating condition and struggles to control Tailless, revealing that even her strength has limits.
• Wise supports Miyabi practically and calmly, holding the scabbard steady despite the danger. Their cooperation helps bring her back from the blade’s influence.

Significant themes

• Fate and sacrifice: Elysia’s choice proves fate can be broken, though at a devastating cost.
• Identity over duty: Aponia urges Griseo not to define herself by inherited ideals or burdens.
• Connection and trust: Wise’s assistance—and the mysterious voices—help Miyabi resist Tailless.
• The cost of power: Miyabi’s unstable weapon and slow-healing wounds suggest that power may carry serious consequences.

Plot points

• Aponia explains to Griseo why she avoided intervening directly in Wise and Hoshimi Miyabi’s trial: changing one person’s fate can alter many others’ lives, and help can sometimes cause greater harm. She urges Griseo to support people without choosing their paths for them.
• Aponia admits that her own attempts to change fate have gone wrong. Still, she encourages Griseo to act according to her own judgment and promises to stand behind her.
• As Wise and Miyabi head toward the Hollow’s exit, Wise repeatedly tricks her into reacting to imaginary Foxfire. He uses her repeated mistakes to make her acknowledge that something is wrong.
• Miyabi reveals that her family’s Demon Blade carries a dangerous legacy: past wielders were eventually consumed by it. Though her father strengthened its seal before the mission, the blade has still gone out of control.
• Griseo asks whether Aponia could fix the blade. Aponia says she could, but won’t, because Miyabi must face her family’s fate herself. She sends Griseo to find out what happens as Aponia’s phantom fades away.
• The chapter ends with a comic “readers tomorrow” exchange mocking holiday homework and makeup workdays.

Character developments and interactions

• Aponia is portrayed as a cautious mentor shaped by regret. She accepts that fate cannot simply be overridden, but trusts Griseo’s compassion and gives her freedom to choose how to help.
• Griseo begins learning that fate is interconnected and that intervention has consequences. She is curious about Miyabi’s situation and is ultimately encouraged to witness it firsthand.
• Wise shifts from concern to playful provocation, using three false alarms to test Miyabi and prompt an honest admission.
• Miyabi is less cold toward Wise after he saved her. She responds to his teasing, then drops her defenses and confesses that something is wrong and explains the blade’s inherited danger.

Significant themes

• Fate and responsibility: Changing one life can reshape many others, so intervention requires care.
• Growth through hardship: Some challenges must be faced by the people whose lives they shape.
• Support without control: Aponia’s guidance is to protect and encourage others without living their choices for them.
• Hope and beauty: Even in a dark world, people can find or create beauty; Griseo is trusted to shape her own story.

Key plot points and events

• While escaping the Hollow, Miyabi senses a powerful Ether presence and prepares for an enemy. The approaching figure turns out to be Griseo, riding on Mr. Knight.
• Griseo heals Wise and Miyabi, then tells them that Belle and Miyabi’s companions are already safe outside the Hollow. Miyabi is startled by Griseo’s gentle, childlike appearance and healing ability, which clash with her suspicions about the girl.
• The group reunites outside. Miyabi’s wounds are mostly healed, and she learns Yanagi, Harumasa, and Soukaku are safe. Their attempts to explain Griseo’s abilities sound like absurd nonsense to Miyabi, leaving her to wonder whether she—or her companions—has been affected by the Hollow.
• Caesar reports that the rebels have withdrawn from Blazewood, likely taking Perlman with them. The Motor League plans to retaliate, while Wise and the others prepare to return to New Eridu.
• Nicole discovers that her car has been destroyed and reduced to worthless scrap. Devastated because she still owes money on it, she nearly faints; Anby revives her by reminding her that the Cunning Hares cannot afford medical bills.

Character developments and interactions

• Miyabi remains wary and duty-focused, but Griseo’s kindness challenges her assumptions. Her companions’ baffling explanations also reveal her confusion and dry skepticism.
• Griseo shows concern for others by searching for Wise and using her healing powers on him, Miyabi, and the injured companions.
• Wise and Belle are relieved to reunite with Griseo and each other. Wise’s concern about the group’s next steps contrasts with the lighter comic mood at the end.
• Caesar is angry about the attack on Blazewood and determined to defend the Outer Ring’s authority.
• Nicole, Billy, and Anby provide the chapter’s comic close: Billy breaks the news about the car, Anby bluntly calculates its negligible value, and Nicole’s financial desperation overwhelms her.

Significant themes

• Trust and mistaken assumptions: Miyabi’s view of Griseo shifts when the supposedly suspicious “target” proves compassionate.
• Solidarity amid conflict: Characters from different groups cooperate, heal one another, and regroup after the Hollow ordeal.
• The cost of survival: The rebels’ attack leaves real losses behind—most comically, Nicole’s car and unpaid loan—underscoring the Cunning Hares’ chronic lack of money.

Key plot points and events

• Bringer confronts Sarah over the disastrous losses among his followers, especially during the Outer Ring operation to capture Perlman and defeat Section 6. He suspects Sarah may be weakening his forces to prevent him from becoming the High Priest’s successor. Sarah dismisses his suspicions and insists that the plan’s outcome matters more than its steps.
• Wise and Belle learn that Perlman’s signal was detected in the Ballet Tower Hollow. Wise suspects Bringer’s plan is more complicated than simply silencing Perlman, since Bringer could have killed him earlier.
• Griseo falls into her recurring deep sleep. Though she has grown stronger after previous episodes, her absence leaves the siblings without their usual trump card.
• Wise resolves that he and Belle must rely on their own abilities rather than depend on Griseo. Just then, Fairy detects someone approaching, and the store’s power is tampered with, disabling the system.
• The siblings discover public security officers outside the video store, ostensibly conducting election patrols. Wise doubts they are Bringer’s assassins, but decides to answer the door while Belle stays with Fairy.

Character developments and interactions

• Bringer’s anger and insecurity surface: he challenges Sarah over the deaths of his followers and fears she may be undermining his rise to power.
• Sarah remains coldly pragmatic: she brushes off Bringer’s accusations and focuses on the next phase of the plan, including pursuing Section 6 and obtaining data on the Demon Blade.
• Wise and Belle become more self-reliant. Griseo’s sudden absence prompts them to recognize how much they have come to depend on her. They encourage one another to face the coming danger themselves.
• Wise takes charge when the store is threatened, sending Belle to protect Fairy while he handles the officers.

Significant themes

• Power struggles and mistrust: Bringer and Sarah share a cause but doubt each other’s motives.
• Plans versus human cost: Sarah prioritizes achieving the result, while Bringer is furious over the lives lost to get there.
• Self-reliance: Wise and Belle confront their dependence on Griseo and prepare to act without her.
• Uncertainty and manipulation: Perlman’s movements, the Ballet Tower Hollow, and the sudden interference at the store suggest that events are connected and may be steering the siblings toward a larger trap.

Key plot points and events

• Public Security officers conduct a surprise inspection of the video store. After clearing the upper floors and shop, the captain insists on searching the locked storeroom, where Belle is frantically working at the HDD system and Little 6 warns her that the officers are about to enter.
• Just as the captain opens the door, Zhu Yuan and Qingyi arrive with orders redirecting the patrol to another district and placing Sixth Street under their group’s jurisdiction. Their authority forces the officers to leave before Belle is discovered.
• The siblings recover from the scare. Wise welcomes Zhu Yuan and Qingyi into the back room, where Belle is pale and shaken. A misunderstanding over spilled tea prompts her to throw her cup at Wise.
• Zhu Yuan explains she was summoned by two similar messages: one from Fairy and another from a Municipal Government member. Fairy then connects Zhu Yuan and Qingyi to Hoshimi Miyabi, who begins to explain the situation.

Character developments and interactions

• Wise tries to keep the officers away from the storeroom, concealing his alarm behind polite smiles. Once they leave, his relief is obvious.
• Belle keeps typing despite the danger, but the pressure leaves her trembling and exhausted. She becomes furious when Wise mistakes spilled tea for a more embarrassing accident.
• Little 6 spots the imminent threat and tries to alert Belle.
• Zhu Yuan acts decisively, using her higher rank to end the inspection, then insists on hearing the full explanation.
• Qingyi remains relaxed and teasing, while recognizing that Fairy anticipated the danger and called for help.
• The siblings’ banter briefly breaks the tension, with Zhu Yuan trying to steer everyone back to business.

Significant themes

• Authority and power: Zhu Yuan’s rank immediately changes the officers’ behavior and saves the siblings from exposure.
• Loyalty and quick thinking: Little 6, Fairy, and the unexpected tip from a government official all help avert the crisis.
• Tension relieved by humor: The near-discovery is followed by sibling teasing, giving the scene a comic release.
• Mystery and escalation: The second message and Miyabi’s incoming explanation suggest the incident is connected to a wider problem.

Key plot points and events

• Hoshimi Miyabi reports the team’s recent Outer Ring mission to Zhu Yuan and Qingyi. Qingyi neatly summarizes the serious developments, though she and Miyabi briefly joke around.
• Wise and Belle confirm that they are veteran Proxies, despite insisting they remain law-abiding shopkeepers. Zhu Yuan is devastated—not by the revelation itself, but because she lost a bet with Qingyi and must pay for a month of premium tea. She then threatens to fine the siblings for employing Griseo, who is a child.
• Zhu Yuan says she cannot investigate Chief Bringer without a key witness and evidence, especially given his imminent rise to power. However, she agrees not to report the accusations yet and urges Wise to find proof quickly.
• In the Ballet Tower area of the Hollow, Wise guides Section 6 toward the captive Perlman using Fairy’s information. The rescue initially seems suspiciously easy.
• As Miyabi frees Perlman, the rebels trigger a large explosion and attack with unmanned mechs and heavy weapons. The team realizes they were lured into a trap. Fairy identifies a nearby spatial rift as their only escape, and the squad rushes toward it with Perlman.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhu Yuan struggles to reconcile the siblings’ secret Proxy work with her trust in them, while Qingyi reveals she had suspected them all along and treats the bet as settled.
• Despite her frustration, Zhu Yuan gives Wise a limited window to gather evidence against Bringer, showing both caution and a willingness to help.
• Harumasa teases Miyabi about her apparent change in attitude toward Wise. He is then comically thrown off when he learns Belle is occupied looking after Griseo.
• Under pressure, the Section 6 team coordinates quickly: Miyabi fights off the drones, Harumasa carries Perlman, Yanagi protects Eous, and Wise directs their escape.

Significant themes

• Trust and secrecy: The siblings’ hidden identities strain their relationship with Zhu Yuan, even as she continues to support them.
• Justice versus political power: Zhu Yuan’s inability to act without evidence highlights how difficult accountability becomes when an accused figure is powerful.
• Betrayal and deception: The apparent ease of Perlman’s rescue masks a carefully staged ambush.
• Urgency and teamwork: The chapter ends with the characters forced to rely on one another to escape a rapidly collapsing situation.

Chapter Summary: “Not Luring the Enemy Deep, but Inviting Them into the Trap”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After the rebels’ bombing causes Ballet Tower to collapse, Section 6 enters a spatial rift and emerges into an ambush. Deputy Public Security Commissioner Bringer and armed officers are waiting for them, along with Sarah.
• Bringer publicly accuses Perlman of being the fugitive from the Vision Corporation case and claims that Section 6 has been aiding him. He orders Miyabi and the others to return to Public Security for questioning.
• Yanagi attempts to protect her teammates by claiming that Section 6 was investigating Miyabi and had only accompanied Perlman as part of that investigation. Bringer sees through the deception.
• Miyabi realizes that surrendering herself may protect the others. While Yanagi distracts Bringer, Miyabi asks Perlman a nonsensical question, then kicks him into the Hollow when he gives the “wrong” answer. She pretends it was an impulsive mistake.
• Bringer uses the incident to justify arresting Miyabi for obstructing law enforcement, releasing Perlman, and endangering public safety. Miyabi sacrifices herself so her companions and Perlman can escape.
• Yanagi, Harumasa, and Soukaku return to the Hollow and recover Perlman. Zhu Yuan then reveals that Perlman has an implanted tracking chip, allowing Bringer to monitor him continuously.
• The group realizes Bringer could have arrested Perlman at any time but deliberately allowed him to move freely. Their original belief—that the mastermind wanted Perlman killed to hide the Vision Case evidence—was wrong.
• Wise suggests that Miyabi’s connection to the unstable Demon Blade may be the real reason she was targeted. Yanagi realizes that her plan to “sacrifice the pawn to save the king” may have helped Bringer isolate Miyabi.
• Qingyi arrives at the video store and helps organize a rescue operation. Since Miyabi is being transported in a police vehicle, her location can be tracked through Public Security’s system.
• The group splits into two teams: Zhu Yuan and the Proxy will pursue Miyabi, while Yanagi, Harumasa, Soukaku, and Perlman will confront Bringer. Qingyi remains behind to guard the video store.

Character Developments

• Hoshimi Miyabi: Demonstrates decisiveness and self-sacrifice by deliberately allowing herself to be arrested to protect her allies. Her mysterious connection to the Demon Blade becomes increasingly important.
• Tsukishiro Yanagi: Shows strategic thinking but later blames herself for unknowingly helping Bringer’s plan. She eventually regains her composure and accepts Qingyi’s operational plan.
• Harumasa: Abandons his usual careless persona and firmly takes command of the situation, recognizing that Yanagi is too emotionally involved to pursue Miyabi.
• Bringer: Reveals himself as a manipulative strategist who has been monitoring Perlman and engineering events rather than simply pursuing him.
• Zhu Yuan: Provides crucial evidence about Perlman’s tracking chip and quickly commits to rescuing Miyabi.
• Qingyi: Acts as a calm, experienced coordinator, dividing the group and transforming the crisis into a counteroperation.
• Wise: Connects Miyabi’s arrest to the Demon Blade incident and helps the group reconsider their assumptions.

Significant Themes

• Sacrifice and protection: Miyabi gives herself up to shield her allies, while the group struggles with the consequences of choosing who must be sacrificed.
• Manipulation and hidden agendas: Bringer’s ability to track Perlman shows that the apparent pursuit was part of a larger trap.
• Misjudgment and shifting assumptions: The team’s initial theory about Perlman being targeted for elimination is overturned, forcing them to reconsider Miyabi’s role in the conspiracy.
• Trust and teamwork: Despite confusion and self-blame, the characters cooperate quickly to rescue Miyabi and expose Bringer’s plan.
• Emotional control under pressure: Yanagi’s momentary loss of composure contrasts with Harumasa and Qingyi’s calm leadership.

Character Interactions

• Bringer confronts Miyabi, Yanagi, Harumasa, and Perlman while attempting to frame Section 6 as accomplices.
• Yanagi tries to negotiate with Bringer, but Miyabi uses the distraction to save the others.
• Zhu Yuan communicates with Yanagi through the HDD system and reveals the tracking chip, changing everyone’s understanding of Bringer’s actions.
• Yanagi blames herself, but Wise reassures her that her decision was reasonable under the circumstances.
• Harumasa challenges Yanagi’s emotional reaction and insists that she is unsuited to pursue Miyabi.
• Qingyi takes control of the crisis, assigning teams and setting the rescue plan in motion.

Plot points and events

• Following Qingyi’s plan, the group splits up: Zhu Yuan pursues the prison van carrying Hoshimi Miyabi, while Yanagi, Harumasa, and Soukaku head to Bringer’s speech. Qingyi stays behind to guard the crystal.
• Qingyi visits Belle and the sleeping Griseo. She senses an unusual aura around Griseo—pure and sacred, yet not distant—and wonders what it means.
• In the van, Sarah reveals that the Hoshimi family’s Demon Blade contains a blood-sacrifice seal that has killed previous family heads. She explains that the conspirators’ schemes have all been aimed at copying Miyabi’s peak strength by combining data about her and the blade.
• Sarah draws power from the blade using a crystal, triggering Miyabi’s loss of control. The plan is to make Miyabi appear to slaughter civilians, turning the Void Hunter into a public menace.
• Zhu Yuan arrives to find Miyabi surrounded by blue flames and scarlet energy, struggling to control the Demon Blade. With civilians nearby and Bringer watching from his speech, Zhu Yuan rushes to stop her.

Character developments and interactions

• Qingyi shows curiosity and concern for Griseo, whose aura is unlike anything she has encountered before.
• Belle explains that Griseo tends to awaken stronger after deep sleep, though the timing of this episode is dangerous.
• Miyabi remains composed despite her restraints and confidently assesses her odds against Sarah, but Sarah’s mention of her mother and the blade’s power shakes her.
• Sarah reveals herself as a calculating, obsessive antagonist who intends to weaponize Miyabi’s strength and frame her as a danger to the public.
• Zhu Yuan acts urgently to protect civilians, while Wise helps her identify Miyabi’s condition through Eous.

Significant themes

• Power and corruption: The Demon Blade grants strength but exacts a lethal cost.
• Manipulation and reputation: The conspirators aim not merely to defeat Miyabi, but to make the public fear her.
• Inherited identity versus personal ability: Miyabi’s talent is her own, unlike the power attributed to her family’s blade.
• Uncertainty and foreshadowing: Griseo’s mysterious aura hints at an important role still to come.

Plot points and events

• Harumasa, Tsukishiro Yanagi, and Soukaku bring Perlman to Bringer’s public address, intending to expose him as a conspirator in the Vision Case.
• Yanagi publicly announces Bringer’s arrest and presents Perlman as a witness. Perlman accuses Bringer and his secretary, Sarah, of masterminding the case, claiming he has records to prove it.
• Rather than deny the charges, Bringer admits they are true and reveals his fanatical belief in Primus, declaring that New Eridu must be “remolded.”
• Bringer’s allies set off a chain of coordinated explosions: police vehicles, the prison transport carrying Hoshimi Miyabi, and canisters of concentrated Violent Ether near Dead End Hollow. The resulting Ether surge drives the Hollow’s boundary toward the square, endangering the crowd.
• Bringer forces the officers into an impossible choice: save Miyabi, protect civilians, or stop him. He injects himself with a golden substance and calls on Primus to remold him.
• The Ether transforms Bringer into a Sacrificial Ghost and draws Dead End Hollow’s stored energy into him. He is attempting to become the Hollow’s new lord.

Character developments and interactions

• Yanagi remains composed under public scrutiny, confronts Bringer directly, and tries to arrest him with Perlman’s testimony.
• Perlman overcomes his fear enough to accuse Bringer before the crowd, claiming he preserved evidence of their conspiracy.
• Bringer’s polished public persona collapses into open fanaticism. He embraces destruction as an offering to Primus and sacrifices himself in pursuit of power.
• Harumasa and Soukaku back Yanagi’s confrontation, while Bringer’s sudden confession and the attacks leave all three officers stunned and facing urgent choices.
• Miyabi is freed from her transport when Sarah releases the Demon Blade Seal, but Crimson Frost threatens to break loose.

Significant themes

• Public image versus reality: Bringer’s evasive speech and respectable role conceal a criminal conspiracy and religious extremism.
• Sacrifice and fanaticism: Bringer treats mass destruction and his own transformation as sacred offerings.
• Moral dilemmas: The officers are forced to choose between protecting civilians, rescuing Miyabi, and stopping Bringer.
• Power through destruction: The explosions exploit the Hollow’s Ether to accelerate Bringer’s transformation and his bid for supremacy.