The killer had finally been captured alive. News of it spread through every Black Dragon Clan subsidiary overnight, along with the rumor that Wang Gi-neung, head of the Wang family of Shanghai, had caught him.

"Family Head Wang has overplayed his hand."

"Shall we issue a statement denying it?"

"I'm not sure." Li Qingyu tilted her head slightly and asked with genuine curiosity, "If I said Wei Ling caught the killer, how many clansmen would believe me? And how many would suspect the Sword Lord of stealing Family Head Wang's credit?"

"The CCTV footage clearly shows Wei Ling arriving first."

"But few would believe she caught the killer who even murdered Master Wang, all by herself." Li Qingyu paused, then lifted a janggi piece with her slender fingers and moved it. "They'd be even less likely to believe she managed it with advice from the Sword Lord."

"... You're right." Yo U-in smiled bitterly. Even he, a martial artist from an earlier age, found the claim that the Sword Lord had helped capture the killer merely by giving advice over the phone almost absurd. The clansmen had never experienced Limon's abilities for themselves, and now they harbored only resentment toward him. There was no chance they would believe it, especially while the Wang family of Shanghai was spreading its rumor as though its life depended on it.

"Spreading it as a rumor is so like Family Head Wang."

"If he made the claim officially, we could simply make the truth known."

"Which is why he's content to keep it an unofficial rumor. Sometimes a vague rumor carries more weight than gold, jewels, or a fief."

"A cunning ploy."

For the Wang family of Shanghai, which already had ample wealth and power, spreading rumors quietly was clever indeed. If the truth never came out, they could claim the honor and restore their family's standing. Even if things went wrong and word got out that they had taken the killer from someone else, they would not have to answer for a rumor.

Low risk, high reward. Much to gain and little to lose: exactly the sort of ploy Wang Gi-neung, ever alert to profit and loss, would devise.

"Honestly, I couldn't care less about that."

"You mean you won't take any particular action?"

"It isn't worth it."

Li Qingyu dismissed Wang Gi-neung's efforts as a waste. The fate of his family might hinge on it, but to her, it was too trivial to bother with.

Yo U-in asked her cautiously, "Won't the Sword Lord be disappointed?"

"The Sword Lord?" As though she had heard an amusing joke, Li Qingyu chuckled and asked with a playful smile, "Do you think he'd regret losing credit so small that even I consider it trivial? A man who doesn't even care about the honor of saving the world?"

"... It seems I worried for nothing."

"Not for nothing. The Sword Lord may not miss the credit, but he will find this regrettable."

"Will he?"

"Yes. That's why I said Family Head Wang overplayed his hand." Li Qingyu smiled.

If Wang Gi-neung had politely asked to take custody of the killer, Limon would have handed him over, however reluctantly. Instead, Wang had practically wrested the killer away, crossing the line of what Limon was willing to concede. Wang judged everything in terms of profit and loss, and had mistakenly assumed Limon would never give up credit for the capture.

"If all Family Head Wang gained in exchange for falling out of the Sword Lord's favor was that much, can you really call it a gain?"

For now, perhaps it was. But one thing must not be forgotten: Limon was an immortal Sword Master, a superhuman who could obstruct the Wang family of Shanghai at every turn for centuries to come. Remembering the losses the Seven Dragons Society had suffered because of Limon alone over the past several hundred years, Yo U-in found himself pitying Wang Gi-neung.

"... Family Head Wang has sacrificed the greater gain for the lesser."

"He's had a great deal to contend with lately. Anyone can make a poor decision when they're impatient."

It sounded as though she was defending Wang Gi-neung. But Yo U-in could tell there was not the slightest suggestion that she intended to broker a reconciliation. He could also tell that Limon was not the only person Wang Gi-neung had made an enemy of. He had made an enemy of their princess, too.

'I'd better sell off my shares in companies connected to the Wang family of Shanghai.'

Despite his swelling sympathy, Yo U-in made a cool-headed decision as the Leviathan's general manager. Li Qingyu said to him calmly, "There's no need to worry about Family Head Wang, really. The problem lies outside the clan."

CLACK

As she spoke, she moved a janggi piece. Looking at the map on which pieces made of gold, silver, ruby, sapphire, emerald, white jade, and obsidian were arranged, Yo U-in asked quietly, "... You mean the other clans?"

"Yes. Frankly, if they decide to act, a headache will be the least of our troubles."

"Even the other clans wouldn't dare openly provoke ours."

"But they could act without showing their hand. And unfortunately, we don't have the strength to prevent them from interfering."

Yo U-in could not bring himself to deny her words, spoken with a sigh.

The Gold Dragon Clan controlled the wealth of the United States. The Silver Dragon Clan were the great khans of the Russian Khanate. The Blue Dragon Clan ruled the British Empire. The White Dragon Clan formed one pillar of the Holy Alliance. The Red Dragon Clan headed Africa's military government. And the Green Dragon Clan had swallowed the South American cartels.

Though all seven clans belonged to the Seven Dragon Group, the Black Dragon Clan's power was meager compared with the other six. In fact, there were many countries even within the Seventy-Seven Federated States of China where another clan held more influence. East Asia was the Black Dragon Clan's home territory, which meant that, of all the Seven Dragons Society, it had clashed with Limon most often and paid the heaviest price.

Now Li Qingyu was trying to become engaged to Limon, the man who could be called the cause of the Black Dragon Clan's decline. The other clans would hardly sit by and watch.

"How do you think they'll act?"

"Each clan will have its own ideas." Recalling what she had seen and heard at the recent meetings, Li Qingyu continued softly. "The Gold Dragon Clan seems intent on slapping me across the face with gold, and the Red Dragon Clan is stepping up its threats."

"That much is fortunate."

"Yes. At least they won't act immediately. But the other clans... I can't say what they'll do."

Those who had made their intentions clear were easier to deal with. She could predict when and how they might act, and prepare accordingly. Those who had not revealed their positions were harder to predict and harder to prepare for.

"Do you think another clan might be involved in these attacks?"

"I doubt it. They'd sooner wage an all-out war. They have nothing to gain by making little attacks like these."

"It could be reconnaissance."

"Perhaps. But would they really do it this way?" Li Qingyu tilted her head slightly.

It was not because she trusted the other clans to be friendly. The Seven Dragons Society had always been less a single organization than an alliance of seven clans. Even when the whole world had been their enemy, they had never been particularly united. Now that they operated openly, they were entirely capable of committing terrorist attacks for reconnaissance. Nevertheless, Li Qingyu had a reason for considering it unlikely.

"If I were them, I wouldn't conduct reconnaissance this way. I'd quietly plant a spy inside, or simply try to contact the Sword Lord myself."

"Surely you don't think the other princesses would get involved personally?"

"I suspect they would."

The Seven Dragons Society had fought Limon more fiercely than any other organization. Its members knew better than anyone what he had once been. Times might have changed, but if the other princesses remembered even half of his former stature, it would be no surprise for them to act personally. Li Qingyu herself had sought Limon out and proposed to him, after all.

"They probably haven't acted yet because the Sword Lord's reputation has been steadily worsening since our engagement."

"... Is that why you, in particular, haven't been protecting his reputation, Your Highness?"

"It's one reason. If his reputation improves again, the other princesses will move that much sooner."

Yo U-in understood. That explained why Li Qingyu had watched Limon's reputation decline without concern.

"I'll keep a closer eye on the other clans' movements."

"No. Focus on security within our own ranks instead, especially among the Leviathan's staff."

"You mean we needn't guard against direct interference?"

"If they decide to move secretly, we have no way to stop them anyway." Li Qingyu shook her head. Studying the arrangement of pieces on the map, she said softly, "One of the princesses may already have begun making contact with the Sword Lord."

"Surely that couldn't happen."

"It could." She dismissed Yo U-in's incredulous objection and added, "If they knew how well the Sword Lord plays, at least two of them would come flying here at once, wouldn't they?"

"Well..." Yo U-in trailed off. Having heard Limon play, he knew that regardless of whether Limon was a Sword Master, his musical ability stood in a class of its own. And as Li Qingyu had said, some of the Seven Dragons Society's seven princesses would come from the ends of the earth if they heard him: the very embodiment of possessiveness, who could not bear to leave anything she wanted unclaimed, or the princess who considered singing her life and traveled the world for its sake.

"... They won't have a chance to hear him play."

"I hope you're right."

Yo U-in thought Li Qingyu was worrying too much. Even within the Black Dragon Clan, only Li Qingyu, Wei Ling, and he had heard Limon play. How would those princesses hear him? And even if, by some remote chance, they did, princesses who each wielded power surpassing that of a nation's king would hardly act so rashly.

* * *

"Hmm. Well, now."

"What's wrong, partner?"

"What do you think? It's you."

"What about me?"

Limon clicked his tongue at Eugene, who tilted his head as if he had no idea what Limon meant.

"When you said you were going to work, I thought you'd found a respectable job."

"This is a perfectly respectable job."

"As a waitress?"

Limon clicked his tongue again at the sight of Eugene serving tables, tray in hand and dressed in uniform. Eugene, however, was unfazed. He merely shrugged and set down the juice he had brought.

"Why not? I earn money, get food, and sometimes get to sing. It's the perfect job."

"... That last part isn't usually a waitress's job, is it?"

"Partner, you shouldn't be so rigid. It's hard to find work these days if you can't be flexible and think on your feet." Eugene wagged a finger from side to side as though Limon knew nothing about how the world worked. Limon was giving him a look he couldn't quite put into words when—

"Hahaha! Eugene is right. There's nothing wrong with a waitress singing now and then. No, nothing at all."