Sora and Shiro leave Elkia's political responsibilities to Stephanie until she is challenged to a game by nobles who refuse the reform. She challenges Sora to blackjack in hopes of binding him to the Pledges to perform his duties; she attempts to use false shuffling but loses due to card counting. Understanding her predicament, Sora trumps the nobles and uses the previous game to have Stephanie act like a dog. Stephanie tries several more games on Sora to take responsibility as Elkia's king but fails. Sora and Shiro reveal they were not slacking, but are researching ways to conquer the other nations; in response Stephanie redirects them to Elkia's library which is owned by the flügel Jibril.