Sora remains tied to a beam in a warehouse in Oosant while the men holding her whisper and take positions, clearly preparing for an incoming confrontation.

The barmaid and the barmaid’s father relay what they have been told: a king’s guard and three men are coming to take Sora because she is supposedly a royal courtesan, and those men also have Aeri. Realizing this is meant to lure Mikail and the others, Sora panics because she cannot warn them.

Trapped and unable to loosen the expertly tied knots, Sora studies the room and counts the forces stacked against her team. She notes seventeen men inside—ten visible in a circle and seven hidden—plus two guarding the back door, two scouts on the roof, and the three original attackers expected to return, totaling twenty-four.

Sora calculates that even with Mikail and Royo’s experience, six people cannot reasonably defeat so many armed men, and she doubts Aeri, Tiyung, and Euyn can turn the odds. As a knock sounds at the door and the gang snaps into place, Sora holds her breath, searching for any way to help before the trap closes.