diff --git a/scripts/check-init-service-contract.mjs b/scripts/check-init-service-contract.mjs
index cfd16b4eca..fe7638a779 100644
--- a/scripts/check-init-service-contract.mjs
+++ b/scripts/check-init-service-contract.mjs
@@ -974,7 +974,15 @@ function selfTest() {
     process.exit(1);
   }
 
-  console.log('✓ self-test: 19 cases');
+  // The verdict DERIVES its number from `batterySeen` — the very ledger the floor
+  // above just evaluated — so the printed count and the floor can never disagree.
+  // What "cases" counts here is BATTERIES that actually ran (the named
+  // scenarios), not `assert(` call sites: the floor above guarantees
+  // `batterySeen.size` equals `declaredBatteries.length` by this point, so
+  // reading it off the runtime ledger rather than the static roster is a
+  // distinction without a difference — and it is the ledger, not the roster,
+  // that a stopped-running battery would actually shrink (#16664).
+  console.log(`✓ self-test: ${batterySeen.size} cases`);
 
   return SELF_TEST_VERDICT;
 }
diff --git a/scripts/check-kernel-hook-pairs.mjs b/scripts/check-kernel-hook-pairs.mjs
index 9d913a0eb3..316adf4d16 100644
--- a/scripts/check-kernel-hook-pairs.mjs
+++ b/scripts/check-kernel-hook-pairs.mjs
@@ -557,7 +557,15 @@ function selfTest() {
     }
     assert(!floorBreached, floorMessages.join('\n     '));
 
-    console.log('✓ self-test: 10 cases');
+    // The verdict DERIVES its number from `batterySeen` — the very ledger the
+    // floor above just evaluated — so the printed count and the floor can never
+    // disagree. What "cases" counts here is BATTERIES that actually ran (the
+    // named scenarios), not `check(` call sites: the floor above guarantees
+    // `batterySeen.size` equals `declaredBatteries.length` by this point, so
+    // reading it off the runtime ledger rather than the static roster is a
+    // distinction without a difference — and it is the ledger, not the roster,
+    // that a stopped-running battery would actually shrink (#16664).
+    console.log(`✓ self-test: ${batterySeen.size} cases`);
 
     return SELF_TEST_VERDICT;
 }
diff --git a/scripts/check-quick-reference-counts.mjs b/scripts/check-quick-reference-counts.mjs
index ce2b2de37f..19d42057d3 100644
--- a/scripts/check-quick-reference-counts.mjs
+++ b/scripts/check-quick-reference-counts.mjs
@@ -925,7 +925,15 @@ function selfTest() {
     for (const f of failures) console.error(f);
     process.exit(1);
   }
-  console.log('✓ check-quick-reference-counts self-test: 22 cases pass.');
+  // The verdict DERIVES its number from `batterySeen` — the very ledger the
+  // floor above just evaluated — so the printed count and the floor can never
+  // disagree. What "cases" counts here is BATTERIES that actually ran (the
+  // named scenarios), not `expect(` call sites: the floor above guarantees
+  // `batterySeen.size` equals `declaredBatteries.length` by this point, so
+  // reading it off the runtime ledger rather than the static roster is a
+  // distinction without a difference — and it is the ledger, not the roster,
+  // that a stopped-running battery would actually shrink (#16664).
+  console.log(`✓ check-quick-reference-counts self-test: ${batterySeen.size} cases pass.`);
   selfTestReachedVerdict = true;
 }
 
diff --git a/scripts/check-spec-parsed-alias.mjs b/scripts/check-spec-parsed-alias.mjs
index 353f8d4fe7..f0943acc4c 100644
--- a/scripts/check-spec-parsed-alias.mjs
+++ b/scripts/check-spec-parsed-alias.mjs
@@ -558,7 +558,18 @@ export type Iso0 = Assert<Eq< z.input< typeof M0.ColourSchema >, z.infer< typeof
     for (const f of failures) console.error('  - ' + f);
     process.exit(1);
   }
-  console.log('check-spec-parsed-alias --self-test: 18 assertions passed');
+  // The verdict DERIVES its number from `batterySeen` — the very ledger the
+  // floor above just evaluated — so the printed count and the floor can never
+  // disagree, and a block that stops running shrinks the number instead of
+  // leaving a transcribed literal standing (#16664). Unlike the other three
+  // files in this class, this roster holds a SINGLE battery, and what it
+  // counts is assertions that actually RAN this run (every `check(` call), not
+  // `check(` call sites in the source — those are two different facts, and
+  // only the first one is measured here. Summing the whole ledger is exact
+  // because reaching this line means every battery that registered is a
+  // declared one — the set difference above reds otherwise.
+  const assertionsRun = [...batterySeen.values()].reduce((total, count) => total + count, 0);
+  console.log(`check-spec-parsed-alias --self-test: ${assertionsRun} assertions passed`);
 
   return SELF_TEST_VERDICT;
 }