Moran is "officially" accepted by the crew of the Sylvana, albeit in a most interesting manner.

Sophia presents the chance for Claus and Lavi to enter the 8-Hour Endurance Race at Horizon Cave. They accept the challenge, so long as the Sylvana mechanics will help them out. At the event, Al is allowed to "pick" the vanship that they must repair and fly for the race. Tatiana and Alistia, however, have a mission during the race. They need to hit a specific point in the race at a specific time. Tatiana expresses her dislike of "amateurs" i.e.: Claus and Lavi, but Alex shuts her up.

Dio and Luciora show up, because Dio is with his sister, Daphne. Dio shows an interest in Claus, who doesn't return the fascination. Dio informs Claus that he is there to fly in the race with him.

While the race is going on, Alex is at an auction to purchase something rare. It turns out to be an EXILE item, and Alex's opening bid on it, is 10,000,000 Claudia. This shocks the man sitting next to him, who just

Claus reports to Alex that Disith has become uninhabitable and that he and Lavie can no longer return home to Norkia. Rumors circulate throughout the ship about Claus and Tatiana, making Lavie upset and unwilling to speak to Claus. However, Claus does not seem to understand her actions and wants her to come to better terms with Tatiana. Alister warns Tatiana not to read too much into Claus's care for her when they were in the desert. Meanwhile, Vincent is stripped of his command of the Urbanus after losing four battleships against the Silvana and is assigned to the fleet defending Norkia. The Emperor of Anatoray decides to take advantage of Disith's collapse and plans on escalating the war, to Prime Minister Marius's objections. When Marius learns that the Silvana has completed its repairs, he decides to keep the news from the Emperor. Dio reveals a photo of Claus's and Lavie's fathers in Alex's possession, prompting Claus to confront the captain. Alex confesses that he is the surviving pilot from the mission to deliver the peace proposal to Disith and the former owner of the vanship Claus and Lavie are flying. He recounts how his fiancée, Euris, and Claus's and Lavie's fathers died and the memory of seeing Delphine smiling when he flew away from the Grand Stream. Alex tells Claus that he is fighting to destroy Exile, which reinforces the Guild's authority in the world. After receiving a pigeon post from Marius warning of the Emperor's actions, Sophia reveals herself as the Princess of Anatoray. Conflicted between her responsibility to the throne and her desire to stay aboard the Silvana, Sophia is comforted by Claus. She suddenly kisses Claus as gratitude.

As the Silvana and the Urbanus continue their search for Exile, Sophia briefs the vanship pilots on their strategy to capture it. Sophia asks Dio to fly as Claus's navigator, but he refuses from fear of being found again by Delphine. At Horizon Cave, Nestor proposes that the Claudia unit capture plan be accelerated after the Guild recalls several units, but Duke Mad-thane appeases him to wait for the scheduled operation on Covenant Day. On the final day of the Guild's Birth Week, Alvis surprises Dio with a birthday party, much to his delight. After days of searching, the Silvana and the Urbanus locate Exile, and Dio agrees to fly as Claus's navigator to assist in its capture. The Guild locates Dio on board the Silvana, and Delphine orders Lucciola's brother Cicada to retrieve him at all costs. As the vanship squadron attempts to anchor cables onto Exile, the ship's defense system activates, but it is able to complete their objective after identifying an unprotected section of the hull, with Dio's help. Alex hands Marius's Mysterion to Sophia and tells her to return to the Urbanus. Just before Claus and Dio return to the Silvana, Guild fighters land on the flight deck.

Claus and Al escape with Luciola's help, but Dio fate is yet to be decided...