The chapter opens with a brief description of the fight that took place between the guards and the officers of the foreign visitors' bureau. The chapter ends with a discussion of the importance of the meeting of the congress, which is to be held the following day. The audience learns that the congress is being held in secrecy, and that the army has been trying to interfere with the meeting. The director of the sacred swords, a member of the army intelligence service, enters and tells the audience that he has come to ask permission to question the corporal about the dead body. He tells the protagonist that it would be best if he could ask the woman's permission face-to-face, and to have a chat with her while they are at it. The protagonist is surprised to learn that the director is from the army's intelligence service. He wonders why the army would want to interfere in the affairs of a congress that is supposed to take place in secrecy.