Synopsis: Balsa continues to narrate Jiguro’s story; Chagum asks Balsa to train him.

When the remaining Spears found Jiguro and Balsa, Jiguro told them to sheathe their spears and return to Kanbal but they wouldn’t listen. Jiguro had no choice but to fight and kill them. One by one the assassins fell but Jiguro was wounded by one of them. Balsa would have helped but she was told by Jiguro to stay back. Eventually, Jiguro killed all the Spears.

Though he killed all of the assassins, it was as if Jiguro’s soul was lost along with their souls. These eight souls where the ones Balsa spoke of when the Second Empress asked her to protect Chagum. Though she and Jiguro lived a harsh life because of Rogsam, the eight warriors didn’t deserve to die either so Balsa vowed to save the same number of lives that Jiguro took in protecting her. Jiguro, however, advised her against it.

Chagum tells Balsa that if she hadn’t taken the vow, he would have been dead. Balsa tells him that at least she had that reason to save his life. Jiguro, on the other hand, had no reason to save her life other than the fact that her father was his close friend. Chagum asks why Jiguro killed his friends to save Balsa. Balsa says she doesn’t know. Jiguro had nothing to gain but had everything to lose. Chagum tells Balsa that he wants to know why. If he understood how Jiguro felt, he says he might be able to accept his situation a little more.

Tanda comes to Balsa and Chagum telling them it’s dinnertime. As they were dining, Chagum asks Balsa what she did after the fight with the Spears ended. Balsa says that she completed Jiguro’s training and was now skilled enough to be a match for any warrior. She was sixteen years old already then. She told Jiguro that they part ways. She told him that she can protect herself on her own. Jiguro saved her many times already so she told him to find happiness for himself. Jiguro told Balsa that she must feel indebted to him but she must not think of the past in such terms since it will only make her feel empty inside. Jiguro then told her that he liked her and the life they have together.

Balsa thinks that though Jiguro said he liked her, that wasn’t the case in the first place. Women tend to have maternal instincts but men don’t start off with something like that. Balsa says that she never found out what Jiguro was thinking when he took her.

Jiguro died when Balsa was twenty-one. It wasn’t an assassin that defeated him. He fell ill. Rogsam died by that time and they had nothing to fear anymore. Fifteen years had passed since they left Kanbal. As Jiguro lay dying, Balsa promised him that she will save eight lives to atone for those he had taken. Jiguro told her that it is more difficult to save lives than to take them. He asked Balsa if she is trying to become a hero. He said that people often want heroes who will make sacrifices for them and that trying to save a life is not a task one takes on lightly.

Balsa tells Chagum that she thinks Jiguro believed it’s wrong for one not to put their capabilities to use, even if there is nothing to be gained. To Jiguro, being a national hero and saving a nameless person were of equal merit. Balsa tells the Prince that she understood all of it when she saved him.

Torogai leaves the cave so she can go to a public bath. The next two months are the harshest winter months so if she doesn’t go, she’ll get snowed in. She says she doesn’t want to spend winter at the cave. She tells Tanda and Balsa that she’ll be back by the time the snow melts.

Chagum comes. Balsa notices that he is holding a rod. She asks him what it is for. Chagum asks Balsa to teach him martial arts. He says he will do what he can to protect the egg and himself. He says that if he is more fit, he might be able to escape even if the La Lunga attacks. Even if he dies, he might be able to make sure the egg hatches safely. Balsa agrees but she says she won’t let him die.

Tanda looks at his master and finds it unusual that she could show an affectionate expression. Anyway, Torogai agrees that Balsa train Chagum but she tells him not to be too hard on him. She says that Chagum, unlike Balsa, seems to lack talent.

While Chagum is sleeping, Tanda tells Balsa that he finds himself wishing that the winter would never end. Afterall, he could spend time with her and Chagum. Balsa tells him that they will have to say goodbye to the peaceful days. Tanda then tells Balsa that when everything is over, he’d like to live together with her and Chagum. Tanda says that he hesitated on saying it. He thought he should wait until she fulfills her vow but he tells Balsa that if he waited, she’d never notice. He says that life-or-death situations must be her lifeblood. Balsa is speechless for a moment. She says she doesn’t know what to do about it. She asks Tanda if he has a good cure for it. Tanda looks disappointed and tells Balsa that if she can’t think of him as the “cure”, then perhaps there’s no point in waiting. Tanda leaves the room. Chagum, who is actually awake, hears everything.

One night, while Chagum is washing his face, he feels something strange. He screams and Balsa rushes to him. Chagum looks scared. He says that he can’t see the ground. He tells Balsa that he is in a deep valley and that he is falling. Tanda comes and tells Balsa not to let Chagum drag her into it. He says that Chagum is being pulled to Nayug. Tanda tells Balsa that she must be his pillar to the ground. Tanda speaks to Chagum and tells him to calm down. He tells him that he is looking at a Nayug landscape and that his body is in Sagu. He tells Chagum to slowly feel Balsa’s arm around him. Tanda instructs Chagum to slowly bring back his spirit to where he actually is, in the Hunter’s Cave. Chagum returns. He faints. Balsa asks Tanda if it’s because of the egg. Tanda says that it’s nearly spring.

Meanwhile, at the court, Gakai continues to decipher the tomes. Shuga tells him that he found out the approximate location of the Place of Celebration. Gakai says that on their end, they are having a difficulty bringing up the remaining tablets because the deeper parts of the chamber is flooded. Unfortunately, many of those tablets contain crucial information. Shuga tells Gakai to get some rest. Gakai advises Shuga the same.

This was once again a great episode. I like the part when Tanda somehow confessed to Balsa, especially when he said about him being a cure. It’s nice how the series provided development between the two characters.