Carl spends a long remote fan-signing session at CrawlCon beside Dmitri and Maxim Popov while a nervous soother handler named Effex manages the merchandise. Fans question the Popovs about whether Dmitri deliberately chose a race that trapped both brothers in one body, and Carl notices that nearly everyone wants comments about his public interview with Beatrice or his attack on Vrah. Carl avoids giving new information, saying only that Vrah will be dealt with and that everything about Beatrice was already said in the interview.

The signing shows Carl how widely his recent actions are being discussed. Fans arrive dressed like Carl, Hekla, Quan Ch, and even the Popovs, and Carl is repeatedly asked about the gnoll child’s drawing while the Popovs are pressed about their split with team Cichociemni and Bogdon Ro’s death. Maxim answers bluntly that Bogdon got what he deserved, and the exhausting session runs for more than three hours before the final premium guest arrives.

The last fan, Jenn’ifer, appears mostly human except for a tentacled symbiote named Maggie growing from the back of her head. Jenn’ifer wears an anti-cocker-spaniel shirt and explains that she leads a chapter of the Princess Posse; acting on Donut’s suggestion, the group has filed a lawsuit to stop the Syndicate from reintroducing preserved cocker spaniels and other canines into compatible biomes. Carl learns that Donut’s influence outside the dungeon is large enough to raise serious donations, but before he can ask more, Effex rushes Jenn’ifer away and the press conference begins.

Reporters appear immediately, and Borant announces that Carl’s replacement sponsor is The Plenty, represented briefly by a massive black goat-like figure; the deal also gives Carl a gold benefactor box to open later in the dungeon. The moment is overshadowed when the naga reporter Nihit aggressively accuses Carl and Donut of cheating, receiving illegal help, and working with Odette in possible system sedition. Carl mocks Nihit, refuses to be intimidated, and when Nihit threatens him from the safety of the inner system, Carl drives the signing pen into Nihit’s projected neck. The magical pen shatters, but the attack makes the reporter bleed and collapse, abruptly ending the event in stunned silence.