Chapter Summaries

Inanna found Jin'en, a starving runaway whose wrist crack threatened to tear apart space, and offered to take him to Red Letter. Jin'en followed her to Red Letter’s mansion, where he could learn to control it.

• Jin'en hid in an abandoned apartment after fleeing the orphanage, afraid that the crack on his wrist would hurt someone.
• Inanna found Jin'en and used a gentle touch to stop the crack from widening.
• Inanna told Jin'en that the crack was deteriorating and could become uncontrollable within three months.
• Inanna offered to take Jin'en to Red Letter, where people could help him control the crack.
• Jin'en followed Inanna out of the apartment and rode with her to Red Letter’s mansion.

Jin'en arrived at the Scarlet Letter Mansion, where Inanna warned him to keep the spatial cracks on his wrist under control. At breakfast, he met the girls—including Daffodil and Broken Rainbow—and learned that Daffodil bore a similar crack and could see things others could not.

• Inanna led Jin'en through the mansion and assigned him a room, warning him not to let his power damage the house.
• Jin'en dreamed of a corridor and woke to find the cracks on his wrist unchanged.
• At breakfast, Daffodil introduced herself and Broken Rainbow, while the other girls watched Jin'en as the mansion's first boy.
• Broken Rainbow gave Jin'en food and chocolate, called him her big brother, and noticed silver light shining from his wrist.
• Daffodil watched Jin'en from the west wing and recalled how her own crack appeared after a blade strike swallowed a wooden post.

Jin'en explored the mansion, learned more about its girls, and kept his damaged wrist hidden beneath an oversized coat. Broken Rainbow sought him out again and asked whether he thought she was strange.

• Broken Rainbow found Jin'en lost in the corridor, showed him the way, and said Daffodil had visited him while he slept.
• Jin'en returned to his room, checked that the crack in his wrist seemed quiet, and put on a large coat to conceal it.
• Flora visited Jin'en's doorway with personal questions, and Unica intervened and gave him directions to the dining room.
• Jin'en followed Unica's directions, reflected on Inanna's adopted girls and his place as the mansion's only boy, then ate breakfast alone.
• Broken Rainbow joined Jin'en and described how other girls avoided or feared her before asking if he thought she was strange.

Jin'en watched Daffodil and Broken Rainbow train in Inanna's underground training ground, where Inanna ordered him to begin learning control over his unstable Space Manipulation the next day. After Jin'en's wrist fissure began spreading while he slept, Daffodil revealed that she had a similar, fading mark and offered to practice with him.

• Broken Rainbow took Jin'en to the underground training ground, where he watched Daffodil make precise, repeated cuts with her blade.
• Broken Rainbow told Jin'en that Daffodil's wrist had once been badly injured during training and that Inanna had made her keep practicing without treatment.
• Inanna ordered Daffodil to repeat a hundred cuts and told Jin'en that he would begin control training the next day.
• Jin'en rested in the training ground, where his wrist fissure began glowing and distorting the space around it; Daffodil said she had cleared everyone else out and stayed beside him.
• Daffodil showed Jin'en a similar, nearly faded crack on her hand and said she would practice with him because Inanna would only tell him when to stop.

Jin'en trained with Daffodil to control the spatial rifts in his right hand, but repeated attempts to close them made the rifts grow more dangerous. When one surged out of control, Daffodil approached and urged him to stop pressing it shut, leaving Jin'en trying to release his hold on it.

• Jin'en noticed the silver markings on his wrist had brightened again as Inanna's suppression weakened, then learned that Daffodil had left Broken Rainbow in the training room.
• Daffodil set out stone shards for Jin'en to practice on while she trained with her blade, and Jin'en split a shard with a small spatial rift.
• Jin'en repeatedly tried to close the rifts and suffered numbness and pain as they sprang open again; Daffodil brought him water and chocolate from Broken Rainbow.
• Daffodil told Jin'en she had begun blade practice after arriving at the mansion and had once blocked a strike that broke three bones in her left wrist.
• Jin'en's rift expanded across his palm, cracked the floor, and cut a rusty chain into pieces, while Daffodil stepped close despite his warning.
• Daffodil realized Jin'en was trying to shield her with his left hand and told him to stop pressing the rift shut; Jin'en tentatively released his force as the rift remained open.

Jin'en learned that his rift grew worse when he panicked and practiced letting it remain without forcing it closed. After Daffodil explained what she feared and admitted she did not know whether she wanted to stop training, she awkwardly called him “Bro” for the first time.

• Daffodil explained that Jin'en's rift had stayed stable while he slept and expanded when fear made him press it back, so she ended his training and took him to eat.
• Over breakfast, Daffodil told Jin'en that his real practice was controlling his fear, and he returned to the training ground to sit with the rift without forcing it.
• Daffodil joined Jin'en and shared a compressed biscuit, then admitted she feared her blade stopping because Mother would be unhappy.
• Jin'en asked whether Daffodil wanted to stop training, and she said she did not know.
• Daffodil said the rules meant she should call Jin'en big brother, then awkwardly called him “Bro,” and Jin'en answered her.

Jin'en helped Broken Rainbow hide from Inanna and bandaged her badly injured arm after Inanna punished her for skipping footwork. When Daffodil returned, she treated Broken Rainbow’s wounds and took her to her room, leaving Jin'en with a new measure of trust between them.

• After Daffodil left on a mission, Flora guided Jin'en through the mansion and warned him not to touch the bare tree in the courtyard.
• Broken Rainbow came to Jin'en’s room to hide from Inanna, and Jin'en bandaged the fresh lash wound on her wrist.
• Inanna found Broken Rainbow hiding, ordered her to complete eight sets of footwork, and sent her to the training ground.
• Jin'en saw Broken Rainbow return with three bleeding whip wounds and brought her back to his room to disinfect and bandage her arm.
• Broken Rainbow told Jin'en she agreed with Daffodil about training but still did not want to train.
• Daffodil returned, redressed Broken Rainbow’s wounds, thanked Jin'en, and took her to her room after learning Inanna had gone out.

Jin'en visited Broken Rainbow after her confinement, and she tested how far his rift could pull an object before demonstrating that her illusion ability could briefly disrupt his vision. The chapter ended with Broken Rainbow admitting she had been thinking about Jin'en, leaving him startled.

• Jin'en learned from Flora that Broken Rainbow had been confined to her room for three days and waited until her confinement ended to see her.
• Daffodil brought Jin'en to Broken Rainbow, who asked him to help test the range of his rift with a rope and stone.
• Jin'en opened his rift, and Broken Rainbow measured how far it pulled the stone before praising his progress.
• Broken Rainbow snapped her fingers and briefly made Jin'en's vision flicker, explaining that she had tested whether her illusion ability affected him.
• Jin'en asked what Broken Rainbow had thought about during confinement, and she said she had thought about him.

Broken Rainbow tested her illusion ability on Jin'en, trapping him in a vision of Inanna and a featureless room. Jin'en spotted a flaw and broke free, while Broken Rainbow explained her ability and compared his reaction with Daffodil's.

• Broken Rainbow teased Jin'en, then asked to test how far he could control his silver rift.
• As Jin'en opened the rift, Broken Rainbow used an illusion to make the room disappear and summoned a vision of Inanna.
• Jin'en noticed the illusion's version of Broken Rainbow had an uncovered right eye, causing the illusion to shatter.
• Broken Rainbow said the illusion had lasted about forty-seven seconds and admitted she wanted to see whether Jin'en would get scared.
• Broken Rainbow told Jin'en that Daffodil had once broken her illusion with a single slash, and she noticed Jin'en's almost-smile.

Jin'en saw Inanna gently caring for Daffodil and Broken Rainbow, complicating his belief that she treated them only as weapons. After Daffodil returned from a mission and rested in Inanna's study, she resumed her usual training plans with Jin'en, who remained unsettled by what he had witnessed.

• Jin'en asked Broken Rainbow about her illusions, then left her room and read the warning beside the bare tree in the courtyard.
• Daffodil missed training and lunch because she had returned from a mission and was resting, while Broken Rainbow went to see her sister.
• Jin'en saw Inanna holding sleeping Daffodil and Broken Rainbow in her study and stroking their hair, then noticed his silver wrist markings flash.
• Daffodil told Jin'en that she had slept in Inanna's study, and said she would meet him for training the next morning.
• Jin'en and Daffodil arrived together at the dining hall, where Broken Rainbow noticed them.

Ten years after arriving at Red Letter, Jin'en joined Inanna and Daffodil on a mission to watch an auction in Miguel District. Inanna told him to avoid acting unless there was no other choice, leaving his role in any unexpected situation unresolved.

• Jin'en woke in the training room and assessed his spatial-control ability as eight out of ten.
• Inanna told Jin'en that he and Daffodil would watch the floor at an auction while she handled negotiations.
• Jin'en prepared his concealed fishing rod and dagger, then learned from Daffodil that the auction was at the underground White Whale venue in Miguel District.
• Daffodil warned Jin'en not to use his fishing rod in the crowded auction, since his rift could trap everyone nearby.
• Jin'en rode with Inanna and Daffodil to the auction, and Inanna told him to stand visibly without acting unless necessary.

Jin'en and Daffodil attended the White Whale Auction House to watch Inanna acquire an anomaly space anchoring diagram. After Jin'en's spatial ability resonated with several lots, Daffodil revealed that Inanna had arranged the auction visit to teach him to sit still.

• Jin'en and Daffodil entered the White Whale auction and took seats in a dark corner while the auctioneer sold anomaly items.
• Jin'en spotted a Bureau agent in the audience, and Daffodil warned him not to cause trouble.
• Jin'en's wrist markings glowed when the bronze mirror was displayed, and Daffodil said it resonated with his spatial ability.
• Inanna arrived and won the final lot, an anomaly space anchoring diagram, for five hundred thousand fons.
• Inanna acknowledged Daffodil and Jin'en before they left, and Daffodil explained that the auction visit was practice because Inanna knew his ability had resonated with the mirror and diagram.

Jin'en discovered Daffodil had stabbed Inanna and followed her out of the mansion. He gave Daffodil money and helped her escape, leaving their parting at the garden before dawn.

• Jin'en overheard Daffodil confront Inanna about her parents' deaths and the abuse she had endured, then heard Daffodil stab her.
• Jin'en found Inanna alive and discovered a metal heart-protecting mirror had blocked the blade.
• Jin'en used Spatial Folding to follow Daffodil to the garden outside the mansion.
• Daffodil admitted she had known Inanna survived, and Jin'en told her there was no place for her in Red Letter anymore.
• Jin'en gave Daffodil his saved Fons and urged her to leave for the Bridge District before dawn.

Daffodil left Red Letter after Jin'en gave her money and promised the organization would not pursue her. Inanna agreed to let Jin'en take over Daffodil’s assignments and intelligence networks, leaving him poised to step out from behind the scenes.

• Daffodil hugged Jin'en, told him she accepted him, and left without looking back.
• Broken Rainbow told Jin'en that Daffodil’s soul had brightened when she hugged him and agreed that Red Letter was not where Daffodil belonged.
• Jin'en confronted Inanna about her plan to let Daffodil leave, explained that he had promised Red Letter would not pursue her, and said he wanted her vacant position.
• Inanna agreed to give Jin'en Daffodil’s assignments, files, and intelligence networks, but warned him that his spatial rifts were harder to control than Daffodil’s blades.
• Broken Rainbow reminded Jin'en that Daffodil was not only a blade but also the little sister he had acknowledged.

Jin'en carried out his first assassination with a modified fishing rod, and Inanna brought Porsette, a watchful young girl, into Red Letter's mansion. That night, Porsette tried to leave, but Broken Rainbow caught her at the stairs and challenged her excuse.

• Jin'en used a thin spatial rift extended along a fishing rod to kill a smuggling merchant without alerting his bodyguards.
• Inanna praised Jin'en's first mission but warned that he was slower than Daffodil had been.
• Inanna brought Porsette home and introduced her as a new addition to Red Letter's garden.
• Broken Rainbow told Jin'en that she would be responsible for bringing Porsette back if the girl ran away.
• Jin'en noticed Porsette sneaking downstairs at night, and Broken Rainbow caught her near the front hall and questioned her claim that she was lost.

Broken Rainbow confronted Porsette about secretly scouting escape routes, but Jin'en intervened and Porsette clung to him until he comforted her. After revealing that he knew about her escape plans, Jin'en watched Porsette drop her timid act, and she noticed the silver markings on his hand glowing.

• Broken Rainbow accused Porsette of pretending to be scared and plotting an escape, but Jin'en arrived and stopped her from pressing Porsette further.
• Porsette hugged Jin'en tightly and refused to let go until he promised not to tell Mother about her escape plans.
• Jin'en explained that Porsette's routes through the Scarlet Letter Mansion would not work because the back alley exit was locked.
• Porsette dropped her timid demeanor and observed that Jin'en watched people's habits, while he questioned her age and explained why he had intervened.
• Porsette noticed the silver markings beneath Jin'en's cuff glowing and pointed them out to him.

Jin'en noticed Porsette’s silver markings and her habit of watching escape routes, while Porsette tested calling him “big brother.” The next morning, she avoided footwork training and hid behind Jin'en when Broken Rainbow came looking for her, leaving him to tell her to return Flora’s slipper and go train with Broken Rainbow.

• Porsette described the silver glow on Jin'en’s wrist as moving like water, and Jin'en explained how he had noticed her trying the back-alley lock.
• Porsette called Jin'en “big brother” and asked to find him again, but he told her she was scheduled for footwork training the next day.
• Flora reported that Porsette had run off wearing her left slipper, and Jin'en explained that Porsette had been walking barefoot.
• Porsette hid behind Jin'en to avoid Broken Rainbow and said she did not want to train because the hard floor hurt her feet.
• Jin'en refused to move aside, and Broken Rainbow left after telling Porsette to return Flora’s slipper.
• Porsette took off the slipper, and Jin'en told her to return it and train with Broken Rainbow before asking whether she truly wanted to call him her big brother or wanted someone to back her up.

Porsette followed a mysterious staircase that appeared in the Scarlet Letter Mansion and encountered a blank-faced girl connected to doors bearing the names of girls whose trials had failed. She returned safely, but Broken Rainbow warned her to avoid the east wing corridors and stairs at night.

• Porsette found a dark staircase where the east-wing corridor should have turned and descended it, discovering a pair of small white cloth shoes.
• Porsette reached an impossible gray corridor where doors appeared with the names and failed-trial dates of girls including Mila and Lina.
• Porsette encountered a blank-faced girl wearing the white shoes, recognized that the girl feared her, and promised not to tell Mother about her.
• The girl vanished, the doors disappeared, and Porsette climbed back to the mansion corridor with concrete dust on her gloves.
• The next morning, Broken Rainbow noticed signs that Porsette had gone out and quietly warned her to avoid the east wing corridors, especially places with stairs.

Jin'en took Porsette to the training ground and taught her basic footwork after Broken Rainbow was called away on a mission. The lesson ended with Porsette keeping her balance inside a chain circle for the first time.

• Porsette asked Jin'en about becoming his little sister, and he told her that Broken Rainbow had become his big sister after apologizing to him.
• Unica told Porsette that Flora wanted her slipper back and that Inanna expected her at the training ground; Jin'en helped Porsette return the slipper and gave her socks.
• Broken Rainbow said she had to leave for a mission and told Jin'en to teach Porsette, recalling how he had taught her to sense unstable space when she was young.
• Jin'en told Porsette that her footwork should help her keep from slipping, then had her practice standing inside a chain circle.
• After Porsette stumbled or fell through six attempts, Jin'en pushed her from behind and to the right, and she moved her left foot first and stayed inside the circle.

Broken Rainbow returned from a fake mission and questioned Jin'en about his careful training of Porsette. She revealed that Porsette’s soul color was transparent, leaving Jin'en to consider what that meant as Broken Rainbow insisted she was confronting him because he had been acting strangely.

• Broken Rainbow returned to the training ground after discovering that the mission message was fake and found Jin'en teaching Porsette.
• Jin'en corrected Porsette’s stance and gave her carved sticks to use for support while practicing.
• Broken Rainbow pulled Jin'en aside and challenged him about protecting Porsette and teaching her more carefully than he had taught Daffodil.
• Jin'en reminded Broken Rainbow that she had described Daffodil’s soul as a white, unburning flame and asked about Porsette’s soul color.
• Broken Rainbow said Porsette’s soul was transparent, making her a vessel that could take on any color poured into her.
• When Jin'en asked why she was blocking him, Broken Rainbow said he had been acting strangely.