* * *

After the Liberation Brigade's defeat, Li Qingyu was busy dealing with the aftermath, but she still made sure to eat regularly. It wasn't just for her health. Mealtimes were among the few opportunities she had to meet Limon and chat, even amid all the work.

In that sense, there was nothing unusual about her striking up a conversation over a meal.

"Sword Lord, do you remember what I told you before?"

"Which part?"

"That there might be a princess I could win over."

"Oh, that?"

Limon, who had been eating fries, immediately nodded. Both the importance of the matter and the unusual nature of the proposal made it far too memorable to forget after hearing it once.

But even as he nodded casually, Qingyu's next words brought a puzzled look to his face.

"Actually, I've sent that princess an invitation."

"Hmm? Why bother doing something so pointless?"

"I have to meet her before I can win her over."

"That's a perfectly sound argument, but inviting her won't do any good if she doesn't come."

Limon looked unimpressed. An invitation from someone else, in another country, for another purpose might have been a different story. But no princess would accept an invitation meant to win her over from Qingyu, his betrothed, in the country he had protected for centuries.

"That's why I'm only telling you now."

That was why, the moment he heard her answer, Limon looked openly astonished.

"She accepted?"

"Yes. She's already confirmed, and we're preparing her accommodations."

"Well, well. I never imagined there was another princess as brave as you."

He chuckled, recalling how Qingyu had come to see him alone and proposed marriage out of the blue. Then he picked up his cola and asked offhandedly,

"So, which one is it? If she accepted your invitation willingly, it must be either that money-grubber in the United States or the tyrant in Africa..."

"The Holy Alliance."

"... Where?"

"The White Dragon Princess of the Holy Alliance."

Limon thought it was a very good thing he hadn't been drinking his cola. Otherwise, he might have put on quite a spectacle by spraying it out of his nose. Qingyu's answer was that far beyond anything he had expected.

"You're saying the White Dragon Princess is on her way here?"

"Yes."

"That ultimate idiot of a princess who's spent the last few centuries running away so much that even I could barely catch a glimpse of her?"

"That's right."

"... Princess, what on earth did you do?"

Coercion, threats, blackmail... What sort of magic had she worked to make not just any princess, but the White Dragon Clan's princess, accept an invitation of her own accord? Qingyu smiled at Limon's gaze, filled one hundred percent with suspicion and trust.

"I sent her a little gift."

"A gift? That's all it took to get the White Dragon Princess to come?"

"Times have changed. This country is no longer forbidden ground for us."

"... You really do see everything if you live long enough."

Limon shook his head. Unlike in the past, the Seven Dragons Society was no longer openly hostile toward him, of course. Even so, the gathering of two princesses in this country, once called the Seven Dragons Society's execution ground, would once have been utterly unimaginable. All the more so when one of them was the White Dragon Princess.

"Well, she's accepted, so let's leave it at that. But are you sure this is all right?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm asking whether bringing those idiots in will cause problems."

He wasn't asking whether they could be won over, but whether they should be. For people who needed to gather all the Seven Dragons Society's strength, it was a rather delicate question.

But Qingyu was neither puzzled nor flustered. She simply took a big bite of the hamburger in her hand, chewed and swallowed, then answered calmly.

"There will be problems, certainly."

"So you think so too."

"Yes. But even taking that into account, the White Dragon Clan is worth bringing in."

Her answer was unequivocal. She continued with a serious expression.

"Their precognition will be a tremendous help in finding both the Liberation Brigade and the Seven Arcs."

Precognition, the power to read the future. It was the most mysterious of the seven psionic powers passed down within the Seven Dragons Society. As Qingyu explained the value of the White Dragon Clan, which inherited that power, Limon nodded.

"Yes. Depending on how it's used, precognition can certainly be quite useful."

Whether it concerned the Liberation Brigade or the Seven Arcs, they currently had far too little information to track either down properly.

But borrowing the White Dragon Princess's power would change things. She was the greatest of prophets, someone who could skip the entire process of gathering clues and know the answer.

With her foresight, they might not only pick up the trail of the well-hidden Liberation Brigade, but even find the Seven Arcs, whose whereabouts were unknown.

Even so, Limon didn't welcome her visit. He merely offered a solemn warning.

"But be careful, Princess."

"Do you mean, [Those who know the future are ruled by the future]?"

"Hmm? Where did you hear that?"

"From someone I used to know."

"Whoever it was, they were right."

Limon had met many prophets over his long life. That was why he knew how rarely those who relied on prophecy came to a good end. Most brought misfortune upon themselves by trying to change the future, or met their ruin through blind faith in a prophecy.

It was only natural. If prophecy were such a perfect power, the Seven Dragons Society wouldn't have suffered crushing defeats at his hands for centuries.

"You needn't worry about that. I know very well how dangerous it is to carelessly peer into the future."

"... Well, as long as you know."

Qingyu answered with a gentle smile. Limon studied her eyes, deeply somber despite her light tone, and finally shrugged. He might have worried about anyone else, but Qingyu could handle that much herself.

"And start eating proper meals. You're a princess of the Seven Dragons Society, for goodness' sake. What's this business of making do with hamburgers?"

"Time is money."

"Isn't that the Silver Dragon Clan's maxim?"

"It's still true."

"Even so, there are limits. Look at you. What a mess on that pretty face."

Perhaps she wasn't accustomed to eating hamburgers. Seeing the sauce at the corner of her mouth, Limon clicked his tongue and wiped it off with his finger.

Then he licked his finger to taste the sauce and murmured, "Well, it does taste good, being homemade and all. Did Yo U-in make this too?"

"..."

"Princess? What's wrong?"

"Oh... Well, I had something to ask you, Sword Lord."

"Hmm? What is it?"

For a moment, her eyes had gone round. Only when Limon spoke did she seem to snap back to her senses and answer automatically. She diverted his attention with a light cough, then turned her head slightly to hide her reddened ears and continued.

"That television program you mentioned before. Are the preparations going well?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I think showing it to the White Dragon Princess would make persuading her a little easier."

"... I know the current White Dragon Princess has an interest in that sort of thing, but would it really help persuade her?"

"Staking their lives on their hobbies is a White Dragon Clan tradition."

"That's true, but..."

Limon scratched his cheek. The program was meant to be watched in the first place, so adding one princess to the audience wouldn't pose a problem. Yet he trailed off, prompting a puzzled look from Qingyu.

"Is there a problem?"

"The producer tells me the game company sponsoring the show has withdrawn its investment."

"... Then is the program being canceled?"

"No. He says he'll scrape together the remaining budget and make it work somehow. The WIM Guild has agreed to help a little too."

For Kim Seung-jun, KTB's survival hung on this program. For Yeon-hwa, it was a chance to monopolize power within WIM. They could hardly cancel it over a bit of money at this point.

As a result, Kim Seung-jun was working so hard he looked ready to sell even the KTB president's golf clubs, while Yeon-hwa was siphoning off as much of WIM's slush funds as possible.

"It's just that I hear they're running things pretty haphazardly with the reduced budget. Are you sure you want to show her something like that?"

Limon's point was perfectly reasonable. The Seven Dragons Society's seven princesses were the wealthiest people in the world. A program hastily thrown together on a shoestring budget could hardly catch their interest.

But Qingyu wasn't disappointed. She simply tilted her head and asked, as though she couldn't see what the problem was,

"Doesn't that mean all you need is money?"

"..."

That was the moment the program, barely limping along for lack of funds, was guaranteed to race forward without hesitation like a tricycle fitted with rocket boosters.

* * *

"This is unexpected."

"Don't look around so much, Your Highness. It's undignified."

"Tata is looking around too. That is unconvincing."

"Tata is your nanny, bodyguard, and attendant. It's only natural for me to watch our surroundings."

"That is a cowardly excuse."

"Tata will be as cowardly as necessary to protect you, Your Highness!"

The girl paid little attention to what Tata was saying. She simply continued looking around and murmured expressionlessly.

"This is the Sword Lord's country. The Sword Tower is here too. Yet I see no one carrying a sword."

"Don't let your guard down, Your Highness. They say there were Sword Masters in the past who didn't use swords. These people may actually be hidden Masters too."

"I do not understand why they are Sword Masters without swords."

"If that fiend, the Sword Lord, acknowledged them as Sword Masters, then Sword Masters they are."

In this age, when even Limon had become a has-been, few remembered how terrifying he was. Ainsha and Tata were relative exceptions. They were among the very few insiders who knew about the world-peace plan, the cause of Limon's downfall.

Of course, they belonged to a different generation, and the White Dragon Clan hadn't fought Limon head-on for several centuries, so all they knew was secondhand. But even that was enough to make them wary of him. If even half of what they had heard was true, Limon was a monster who took pleasure in fighting the Seven Dragons Society.

That was why they had secretly arrived in this country several days ahead of schedule. They intended to scout it out covertly in case the Black Dragon Clan and Limon had laid a trap.

"Tata, this is strange. Everyone is looking at Tata."

"They're looking at you, Your Highness, not Tata."

"I covered my face. I concealed my presence and identity. That makes no sense."

"They must have recognized your majesty, which no disguise can conceal. So conduct yourself with regal confidence."

"Understood. Tata is wise indeed."

Of course, once she'd piled on a jacket, hat, overcoat, and various other layers to conceal her identity, any notion of being 'covert' had gone to hell. But Ainsha, entirely oblivious to that fact, roamed the streets with truly regal confidence.

As they walked, Ainsha asked expressionlessly,

"Tata, I need confirmation."

"About what?"

"As I understand it, this country's name is not KTB."

"Of course not."

"I do not think any of this country's powerful figures or religions had those initials either."

"Surnames beginning with K are common here, so I can't say for certain, but to the best of Tata's knowledge, none do."

Tata supplied each answer without hesitation. Admiring the wisdom of her dependable nanny, attendant, and bodyguard, Ainsha asked the question that puzzled her most.

"Then I would like to know why this country is covered in the letters KTB everywhere."

From the sides of passing cars to signs atop tall buildings, and even people's T-shirts and television screens, those three letters were everywhere. Once again, Tata offered a confident answer.

"Tata doesn't know either!"