Chapter Summaries

Lina was acquitted and released at her closed trial as the new regulations took effect. Meanwhile, Number Seven abducted factory director Goff and went undercover at the 516 Military Uniform Factory to investigate the Southern Women's Mutual Aid Association, despite having no concrete evidence against it.

• Number One watched the crowds celebrating Lina's trial from Giantwood Tower, then left to inspect a factory.
• Lina saw Charles, Stelle, and March 7th in the courtroom, but understood Kafka and Silver Wolf were away handling another matter.
• The judge declared Lina's actions self-defense and acquitted her, allowing her to regain her freedom.
• Number Seven brought the cuffed and gagged Goff to the 516 Military Uniform Factory and accused the Southern Women's Mutual Aid Association of organizing the unrest.
• Number Seven removed Goff's restraints, ordered him to take her to the workshop, and disguised herself as a factory worker.

Number Seven infiltrated the factory to investigate the Mutual Aid Association, but discovered that Factory Director Goff had betrayed her and Kafka and Silver Wolf had trapped her. Kafka revealed that the Association had come to rescue Herta, Chu Mu, and Lina, leaving Number Seven to reconsider what the group was really fighting for.

• Number Seven searched the factory’s empty workshops and realized the workers had left only recently.
• Number Seven entered a workshop and surrendered when Kafka and Silver Wolf aimed their guns at her.
• Goff admitted he had brought Number Seven in so she could not escape, and Kafka greeted her as an honored guest.
• Kafka argued that the Lina incident had exposed tensions already building within the Alliance, rather than creating them.
• Kafka told Number Seven that the Association’s goal was to rescue Herta and Chu Mu, while also rescuing Lina.
• Silver Wolf revealed that Chu Mu and Herta had been imprisoned for an evil breeding program, and Kafka said Number Seven would witness three people regain their freedom.

Number Seven questioned the order that had deprived her brother of freedom and chose to join Kafka’s operation to rescue him. The group infiltrated Giantwood Tower amid a massive crowd gathered to support Lina, and they prepared to confront a guard as the elevator doors opened.

• Number Seven reflected on how those in power violated the order they claimed to uphold, then told Kafka she wanted to join the rescue operation for her brother.
• Kafka welcomed Number Seven, and the group traveled with a convoy carrying workers from the Military Uniform Factory toward Giantwood Tower.
• The convoy passed Number One’s official cars, and Kafka decided they would leave Giantwood City after the rescue rather than return to the factory.
• Kafka and her companions entered the tower disguised as cleaners while Goff caused a public disturbance to draw security and reporters away.
• The group descended by elevator, and Kafka warned them to prepare to fight the guard waiting downstairs.

Kafka, Silver Wolf, and Number Seven infiltrated the facility and found Chu Mu with Herta, who claimed she had been reading to him. Kafka briefly embraced Chu Mu and said she was glad he was back by her side as they prepared to leave.

• Number Seven disarmed and restrained the security officer while Kafka and Silver Wolf headed toward the monitoring room.
• Silver Wolf failed to kick down the monitoring-room door, so Kafka shot its lock and forced it open.
• Kafka and Silver Wolf learned that one monitoring operator had gone upstairs, then left Number Seven to guard the remaining operator.
• Kafka and Silver Wolf entered Chu Mu and Herta’s room, where Herta hastily explained that she had been reading to him.
• Chu Mu recognized Kafka by her footsteps, and Silver Wolf teased Herta before urging everyone to leave with Number Seven.
• Kafka hugged Chu Mu and told him she was glad he was back, while Silver Wolf demanded that he stay and play games with her.

Goff escaped the courthouse crowd and joined the convoy heading toward the Southern Region. Number Seven vowed to keep Chu Mu from being taken back across the Border, while Chu Mu remained unsure how to relate to his newly reunited sister.

• Goff watched Kafka and the others leave, then spat at the crowd and shouted that he was contagious to make them scatter.
• Goff searched the cheering crowd for the cleaners, and a familiar female factory worker gave him blue work clothes and pointed him toward an escape route.
• Reporters learned that Lina and her party had left through a side door, but the crowd outside kept them from finding her.
• The convoy drove toward the Southern Region, and Goff suggested traveling through his hometown near the Border with a circus troupe.
• Number Seven urged the group to hurry before the Border was sealed and promised Chu Mu she would not let anyone take him back.
• Chu Mu accepted Number Seven's concern but privately felt uncertain about their relationship and hoped she would not cling to him.

Number One realized that Number Seven’s group had infiltrated Giantwood Tower and escaped with Chu Mu, then tried to intercept them as they fled toward the Southern Region. On the truck, March 7th said she wanted Chu Mu to be happy, while teasing over who had come first turned into a dispute that Kafka interrupted to announce the night’s arrangements.

• Number One found the 516 Military Uniform Factory deserted, suspected a plot, and hurried to Giantwood Tower after getting trapped in a traffic jam.
• Number One found the room in the tower’s basement empty, concluded an absent guard had helped the intruder, and recognized Number Seven’s role.
• As the truck headed toward the Border, the news announced stricter entry and exit controls, and Number Seven realized Number One had anticipated their route.
• March 7th said she wanted Chu Mu to be happy, prompting Stelle to tease her about her feelings for him.
• Stelle suggested Herta might have been with Chu Mu first, Silver Wolf objected, and Kafka interrupted the argument to explain the night’s arrangements.

Kafka taught Stelle to drive and discussed her choices and uncertain future with her. As the group traveled beneath a clear starry sky, Chu Mu noticed his vision might be improving, while Silver Wolf teased him about Kafka and then argued with Herta.

• Kafka took Stelle into the truck cab to teach her to drive and warned her not to taunt enemies who were too powerful.
• Stelle asked Kafka about her future, whether they had known each other before, and whether she and Chu Mu worried Kafka; Kafka called them the best.
• The travelers admired the stars, and Charles remembered watching them with his wife before their lives grew harder.
• Chu Mu told Silver Wolf that his vision seemed clearer after he skipped Number One's medicine, and Silver Wolf suggested he save his first clear look for Kafka.
• Silver Wolf accidentally implied Kafka had raised a child alone, then denied that she meant Kafka had married or had a baby.
• Herta challenged Silver Wolf for whispering with Chu Mu, and Silver Wolf told Herta not to be so full of herself.

Number Seven convinced Chu Mu that his looks made him popular with girls, while Herta fell asleep and dreamed of a bloody uprising in the Northern Region. In the dream, Herta realized she had helped engineer the unrest, and Chu Mu accused her of deceiving him before she woke.

• Number Seven asked March 7th, Herta, Silver Wolf, Stelle, and Kafka whether Chu Mu was handsome, and they all confirmed it in their own ways.
• The group settled down to sleep in the vehicle, and Herta eventually drifted off despite trying to stay awake.
• Herta dreamed of a snow-covered city where workers surged through gunfire and Giantwood Tower burned as she and Chu Mu were escorted toward the Southern Region.
• Herta learned in the dream that Lina had detonated a bomb at the courthouse after her father was shot, sparking a violent uprising that left countless people dead.
• Herta realized her dream self was a Southern Region strategist who had deliberately stirred up the unrest, and Chu Mu accused her of lying and said his freedom was only another cage.

Herta was teased over allegedly stealing Chu Mu’s blanket until she revealed that her hands were tied to the headboard while sleeping with him, and Chu Mu clarified that it was only to keep her from hogging the blanket. He then discovered that his eyesight was beginning to recover after he stopped taking Number One’s medicine, leaving everyone hopeful that he might soon see clearly.

• Silver Wolf, Stelle, and Kafka teased Herta about stealing Chu Mu’s blanket, but Chu Mu insisted she had not done so.
• Herta claimed her hands were tied to the headboard when she slept with Chu Mu, provoking scandalized reactions from Silver Wolf, Kafka, and Stelle.
• Chu Mu explained that the restraints were only meant to prevent Herta from taking the blanket, and Silver Wolf praised him for holding out.
• Chu Mu told everyone that his eyesight had started recovering after he stopped taking the medicine Number One gave him.
• Silver Wolf confirmed that Chu Mu’s pupils responded to changes in light, and Chu Mu reassured Kafka that she would always be beautiful to him.

Goff returned to his hometown and reunited with his parents, who agreed to flee with him to the Southern Region. Traveling with a smugglers’ convoy led by his old classmate Daisy, Goff reminisced about the summer when they were young, while Number Seven envied the warmth of his family.

• Goff secretly returned to his hometown and told his parents he had to flee to the Southern Region.
• Goff’s parents agreed to leave with him, and his father contacted smugglers preparing to head south.
• Goff, his parents, and the truck joined the smugglers’ convoy outside town the next morning.
• Number Seven watched Goff’s parents support him and envied their family warmth.
• The group met Daisy, the convoy’s towering leader and Goff’s former classmate.
• While the group shared a meal, Goff reminisced with Daisy about their childhood dreams and the summer they traveled with the Circus.

After the banquet, Daisy told Kafka how smuggling had shaped her life and kept her from Goff, while Kafka encouraged her to face her past and consider a future with him. Daisy learned that Goff’s supposed wife was actually much older and his child was his stepson, and she laughed as the others teased each other before sharing grilled meat.

• After Goff’s parents helped their drunken son to the car, Kafka and Daisy talked beside the bonfire, and Daisy recounted joining smugglers to afford her father’s medicine and avoiding Goff for more than ten years.
• Daisy told Kafka that her father died after discovering her smuggling, and that she could not leave the dangerous work or imagine starting an ordinary family.
• Kafka shared how finding a family had changed her outlook and urged Daisy to consider Goff, revealing that he still cared for her.
• Daisy said she had heard Goff was married and had a child, but Kafka clarified that his wife was nearing sixty and his stepson was about his age, making Daisy laugh and call him a clown.
• March 7th, Silver Wolf, Number Seven, and Herta traded jokes about Goff and “leftover rice,” before Stelle and Lina arrived with grilled meat for a late-night snack.

After Goff woke up in Daisy’s vehicle and learned nothing had happened, he realized he might have romantic feelings for his best buddy and decided to pursue her. By the time the convoy left the desert, they were inseparable, while Silver Wolf noticed Chu Mu and Herta had developed an unusually effortless understanding.

• Goff woke up in Daisy’s vehicle and worried that he had done something to her, but Daisy told him nothing had happened.
• Goff’s parents apologized for steering him away from the circus, and his mother urged him to pursue Daisy after he admitted he would feel awful if she married someone else.
• Goff decided to pursue Daisy, and the smugglers watched in disbelief as Daisy welcomed his attentions and let him sit beside her in the convoy.
• Goff and Daisy became inseparable by the time the convoy left the Great Desert, while Silver Wolf observed Chu Mu and Herta communicating with uncanny ease.

The convoy traveled south through the Southern Region, where Chu Mu and the others learned how the Redemption Army had weakened slavery and were now fighting the Logging Association. After Daisy delivered her weapons shipment to the Redemption Army, an excited figure welcomed Herta back as their great strategist.

• Herta quietly helped Chu Mu with his morning routine, prompting Silver Wolf to complain to Kafka and threaten to upgrade Faf.
• The convoy entered the Southern Region, where March 7th tried local bananas and Lina cooked them into dishes for the group.
• Charles learned that the Redemption Army had freed slaves and forced farm owners to abandon shackles and fences.
• Daisy told Goff that the Redemption Army had ordered her weapons shipment and suggested they settle on a farm near the sea after the delivery.
• The convoy crossed war-torn territory and brought its weapons to the Redemption Army, where someone excitedly greeted Herta as their great strategist.

Herta realized that her dreams cast her as a Redemption Army strategist, and she struggled to reconcile the dream world's tragedies with the happier life she experienced while awake. At the Redemption Army headquarters, Ena explained that he had fomented unrest in the Northern Region to prepare for a possible Alliance invasion.

• Ena praised Herta's operation in the Northern Region, and Herta recognized her role in the dreams as the Redemption Army's strategist.
• Herta recalled how the dream timeline diverged from reality, with Goff and Daisy executed and herself fleeing across the Northern Region.
• Herta kept her dreams secret from Chu Mu because she feared that learning painful memories could harm him.
• Herta left Ena's company coldly, while Number Seven challenged him over the Redemption Army's plot against the Alliance.
• Ena told Number Seven that the Alliance was arming both sides and said he had sparked Northern Region unrest to protect the Southern Region from a future invasion.

Number Seven challenged Ena over the Redemption Army’s ideals, then discovered she and Chu Mu were confined in the camp. Kafka reassured her that his faction supported the Alliance and revealed that Ena came from the Northern Region.

• Number Seven argued with Ena, who described his plan for a society of equal farming households without industry and accepted that many people would die in war.
• Ena implied he knew Number Seven’s family, and Number Seven realized she and Chu Mu could not leave the camp because soldiers had surrounded them and taken their weapons.
• Kafka told Number Seven that his Strategist Faction favored the Northern Region and had disobeyed Ena’s orders, easing her suspicion of him.
• Kafka suggested Ena might know Number Seven because he had encountered her family before, then revealed that Ena came from the Northern Region and secretly led the Redemption Army.

Kafka and Number Seven assessed Ena as a dangerous revolutionary who kept them under guard, while Herta persuaded him to move them to a southern island. After reaching Nameless Island and restoring its villa, the group settled in, leaving Silver Wolf missing her former sleeping arrangement with Herta.

• Number Seven and Kafka discussed Ena’s ambition and agreed that he was dangerous despite his appeal to the slaves.
• Ena repeatedly delayed the group’s departure, keeping them in the camp for a week.
• Herta feigned a rash and asked to recuperate on the southern coast, and Ena agreed to send them to an island.
• The group traveled south and arrived at Nameless Island, where Charles and Goff repaired the villa while the women cleaned it.
• After settling into the villa, Herta was glad to have her own room, while Silver Wolf struggled to sleep without sharing a room with her.

While the group settled into a comfortable life under house arrest, they named their island Melon Melon Island and March 7th declared herself its ruler. Kafka reassured Number Seven about the lonely path of the child back home, encouraging her to stay by his side and remain optimistic.

• Number Seven worried that Ena might eventually have them killed, but Kafka persuaded her to relax while he focused on the war and recovering his eyesight.
• Number Seven, Charles, and the others cleared the garden and planted fruit and melon seeds, which Charles said would mature in about eighty days.
• March 7th proposed naming the island Melon Melon Island, and Kafka and the others agreed as Stelle teased March 7th about being a silly melon-head.
• Kafka told Number Seven that the child back home had been forced to mature too early and advised her to stay with him, believe in him, and remain calm.
• Number Seven told Kafka she was good with children and suggested that her care explained Stelle's optimism.

Number Seven reflected on how an unhappy childhood had affected her family while Kafka comforted her. Upstairs, Chu Mu played board games with Herta and Silver Wolf, then lost a blindfold match to Herta, who felt he understood her.

• Kafka told Number Seven that a happy childhood could heal someone for a lifetime, and Number Seven mused that everyone in her family had an unhappy childhood.
• Herta placed stones according to Chu Mu’s instructions as he played Silver Wolf, who finally won a round and bragged about beating them both.
• Silver Wolf fled when Herta challenged her to a game, then joined March 7th and Stelle in their beach water fight.
• Chu Mu told Herta his eyesight was still recovering slowly and that he had no new memories or discomfort.
• Herta and Chu Mu played blindfold, and Herta won after Chu Mu lasted many moves.
• Herta was pleased that Chu Mu praised her by name, and Chu Mu said he had deliberately lost to preserve the fun of winning and losing.

Chu Mu and Herta grew closer through blindfold chess as Chu Mu explained that he found happiness in caring for others. Meanwhile, reports showed the Redemption Army nearing victory in the Southern Region, while Charles told March 7th the melons on Melon Melon Island would soon be ready.

• Chu Mu told Herta that other people's happiness brought him joy, and Herta insisted on vetting any women he might meet in the future.
• Chu Mu and Herta made blindfold chess a daily exercise, and Chu Mu gradually learned to hold out against her for more turns.
• News reports revealed that the Redemption Army defeated the Logging Association's coalition after its slave troops switched sides, leaving the Association unable to field a major army.
• Wealthy refugees from the Southern Region arrived in Giantwood City, where a series of vicious home invasions targeted them.
• Charles told March 7th that the melons would bear fruit soon and suggested Lina stir-fry the leftover rinds.

Charles died peacefully on Melon Melon Island, prompting Herta to reconsider whether the Simulated Universe’s people were merely copies. As the group prepared for uncertain days ahead, Kafka and Number Seven began swimming lessons for those who could not swim.

• Charles died in his sleep, and Lina saw him off at his funeral without crying.
• Herta wondered whether the Simulated Universe’s Charles was a copy, then considered that his new life had fulfilled the regrets of his past one.
• March 7th numbered and guarded Charles’s growing melons while Silver Wolf and Stelle teased her about the supposed melon-stealing zha.
• Herta told March 7th that Kafka was starting swimming practice because the group might have to leave the island and needed to be ready for emergencies.
• Kafka and Number Seven brought Chu Mu to the lesson, where Kafka planned to teach him how to stay afloat rather than become a strong swimmer.