Refuge at the Tower
Six months inside the Tower: a life traded for a life, a duel in the courtyard, and a love no one intended.
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Flight and bargain
Satomi Hikari and Yumi Raijin reach the Tower wounded while Arata's Black Hand follows. Zero's barrier stops the assassins. Shun refuses immediate involvement until Yumi offers anything for Satomi's life; he accepts her service, and Mimi heals both women.
Six months of preparation
Satomi uses the refuge to rebuild a defeated cause through maps, supply lines, messages, and Kenji Osore's recruitment. Yumi recovers and trains daily with Shun. Their hostile first encounters gradually become trust, music beneath the Grand Tree, and love visible to Satomi.
End of the refuge
When Kenji reports twenty thousand troops ready near the forest, Satomi decides to leave secretly. She asks Shun to keep Yumi behind, believing separation will protect her knight from the coming war. The decision ends the refuge by turning sanctuary into a conflict over loyalty and choice.
Published-story boundary
This article includes information published through Volume II, Chapter 17, “Love & Loyalty.” Events from Chapter 18 onward remain undisclosed.