* * *

Moon Cheon-yeop swallowed hard.

Ruining the careers of musicians who rubbed him the wrong way, finding his rivals’ weaknesses and bringing them down—he had stopped at nothing to become the power behind the WIM Guild. But all of that had merely been an extension of business.

He had never dabbled in truly dangerous crimes. Compared to what he could gain from committing them, he had far too much to lose if he got caught.

That was why he could not hide his nervousness now.

"I brought what I promised."

"Do you want to die?"

"W-what?"

"Then stop talking needlessly. Just hand over what you owe and leave."

"...!"

Moon Cheon-yeop clenched his teeth. As the power behind the WIM Guild, he had always been the one looking down on others, never the one being looked down upon. This humiliation was hard to bear.

But he did not dare lose his temper. He was, after all, a high-level player. He could tell that those words were no idle threat, and that he had to swallow his anger for now.

So he handed over the briefcase he had brought, then abruptly rose from his seat.

"I kept my promise. Make sure you do the job properly, too!"

Tata, the woman whose thick coat and scarf covered everything but her eyes, did not answer. She merely regarded him coldly.

Flinching under her gaze, Moon Cheon-yeop left the bar, doing his best to look confident.

'Damn it, you're just a lackey for a bunch of deranged criminal bastards! How dare you? Do you even know who I am?'

The moment he stepped out of the bar, he hurried out of the alley as though fleeing, inwardly heaping curses on Tata for daring to humiliate him.

'Just you wait. If you don't do this properly, I'll make sure you don't die an easy death either, you bitch—!'

THUD!

"Gah?!"

It happened in an instant. An empty bottle rolled under his hastily moving feet. Too rushed to watch his surroundings, he stepped on it, fell backward, and struck the back of his head.

Of course, he was a high-level player. He could quickly recover from something as minor as a fall, but...

CRUNCH!

"Urgh?!"

A flowerpot that happened to fall from somewhere struck Moon Cheon-yeop square in the face, finally knocking him unconscious.

Two figures approached him as he lay there, blood streaming from his nose.

"Hmm, what do you think? That looked like a pretty natural way to get knocked out."

"... There was nothing natural about it."

"Don't sweat the little things. Everyone falls backward and breaks their nose at least once in life."

Limon crouched down and began rummaging through Moon Cheon-yeop’s clothes. Watching expressionlessly, Ainsha spoke softly.

"I did not know you were a robber, Lee."

"Huh? What nonsense is that?"

"If you are not a robber, I would like to know why you knocked someone unconscious and are searching his clothes."

"Why else? It's an investigation."

"You have no investigative authority, Lee. I have never heard of this investigative method, either."

"What else can I do? We went to all the trouble of tailing her and barely learned anything. I've got to look for clues somehow."

Limon grumbled. Hoping Tata’s meeting with Moon Cheon-yeop might provide a lead, he had listened intently, even employing his Sword Master senses. But they had parted with barely a word, leaving him with little to show for it.

Why else would he have resorted to this?

Of course, the fact that his target was Moon Cheon-yeop, leaving him with few qualms, had also played a part.

"Huh? This is..."

Perhaps his efforts had paid off. After thoroughly searching Moon Cheon-yeop, Limon finally found the clue he wanted in his wallet: a business card hidden inside a slit cut into its lining.

The moment he saw it, his expression hardened. Ainsha tilted her head at him.

"I would like to know whether it is surprising that this man has a business card for an adult establishment."

"... Does this look like a sex parlor's business card to you?"

"It only has a telephone number. Nine times out of ten, that means it is a business card for a shady establishment."

"A shady establishment... Yes. You're not wrong."

Limon frowned as Ainsha proudly explained, her face expressionless, that Tata had taught her that. Her utterly unselfconscious manner alone told him she knew nothing about this card.

Feeling a headache coming on as the situation grew more complicated, he glared at the simple business card, its background black as night and dotted with just a few stars.

"It's true that nothing is shadier than the Liberation Brigade."

* * *

The Liberation Brigade committed all manner of crimes without hesitation, but surprisingly seldom operated openly. They were a criminal organization, after all. If they came out into the light, they would inevitably be crushed.

Thus, they burrowed deeper into the shadows, more often committing crimes individually than operating as a group.

Yet their notoriety remained great. Even if they did not act openly, they provided all kinds of criminal services behind the scenes.

Sometimes they accepted criminal commissions. Sometimes they connected accomplices. Sometimes they arranged places to hide.

For a suitable fee, the Liberation Brigade spared no effort in providing assistance, and criminals became all the more loyal to them as a result.

In a sense, they were little different from other players and guilds. There was merely the crucial distinction that all their activities and functions were geared toward illegal crimes.

One of their favored methods of providing those criminal services was the business card: a pass to the Liberation Brigade’s services, with a completely untraceable number created separately for each recipient.

["... In short, are you saying this Moon Cheon-yeop was a member of the Liberation Brigade?"]

"No. A real member wouldn't have kept his card so carelessly. He probably got hold of one they handed out somewhere as bait."

["Bait?"]

"Sometimes they give cards to prospective clients, or bastards they'd like to recruit."

["I see... So that is how the Liberation Brigade operates these days."]

After murmuring calmly for a moment, as though she had learned something important, Li Qingyu added a remark as if it had suddenly occurred to her.

["Then that man from the Infinity Guild, Park Hyeon-gun, might also have connected with the Liberation Brigade through a card like that."]

"Well, I couldn't say. Those bastards use far more than one or two methods."

Limon shook his head. With so many different criminal players at their disposal, the Liberation Brigade had plenty of methods that defied imagination. Some people even claimed to have made contact with them in dreams, or to have been spoken to by a bird.

In that sense, using a business card so openly also meant it was bait of so little importance that they did not care whether it was discovered.

"Moon Cheon-yeop isn't the problem."

["... You mean Tata."]

"Yes."

Moon Cheon-yeop had lost his backing anyway. He was merely a high-level player who had lost both his connection to Midas and his power in WIM.

Limon had beaten him half to death even when he had been at his best. There was no reason to worry now just because he had a connection to the Liberation Brigade.

Tata, however, was a different matter.

"The White Dragon Princess saw a future where I kill her nanny, and that nanny met a bastard connected to the Liberation Brigade. Do you think that's a coincidence?"

["Well, with another clan, it might simply be a coincidence. But..."]

"There's no such thing as coincidence in what the White Dragon Clan does."

["More precisely, even coincidences cease to be coincidences."]

Li Qingyu sighed, and Limon clicked his tongue in response. He had prepared himself for trouble the moment prophecy became involved, but this went far beyond mere trouble.

Recognizing how difficult the situation had become as well, Li Qingyu calmly posed a question—not to Limon, but to the girl standing silently beside him, her face expressionless.

["What do you think, Ainsha?"]

"I would like to know what you mean by that question."

["Do you have any idea why your nanny contacted an associate of the Liberation Brigade, or what she intended?"]

"No."

["Have you had any visions that might provide a clue?"]

"No."

Her replies went beyond bluntness, almost sounding indifferent. But Li Qingyu knew they reflected Ainsha’s honest feelings, so she was not disappointed. She simply asked one last question.

["Then do you think it is possible that Tata is a member of the Liberation Brigade, or has joined forces with them?"]

"That is impossible."

"You say you haven't got any idea what's going on, but you can be certain of that?"

"Of course. I am certain. I stake my name on it."

Her face remained just as expressionless as ever. But unlike before, Ainsha answered firmly, then continued in her blunt manner.

"Tata is not merely a nanny."

The youngest elder of the White Dragon Clan. A close aide who had served three generations of princesses. Ainsha’s only family, who had taught and supported her since childhood.

A woman whose unparalleled abilities within the clan allowed her to control even the council of elders, yet who remained content with the position of nanny and attendant.

Ainsha declared that such a woman could never have joined forces with the Liberation Brigade.

Limon frowned.

"... Wait. Doesn't that mean this Tata girl is practically your clan's second-in-command? Actually, from the sound of it, she holds more real power than you do."

"Of course. Tata is the wisest person in our clan. That is why the clan follows her judgment."

"What about your judgment as princess?"

"That does not matter."

As Ainsha explained expressionlessly that Tata was smarter than she was, so it was better to follow her judgment, Limon’s expression grew still more grave.

"Princess, did you know about this?"

["I knew that she held the real power in the White Dragon Clan, at least."]

"This goes beyond holding the real power. I could practically learn a thing or two from her."

["Hmm... Your positions certainly have much in common, Sword Lord."]

Limon and Tata were in similar positions: as a princess’s consort or close aide, each wielded power with her wholehearted support. The difference was that Limon received Li Qingyu’s support, whereas Tata seemed to have Ainsha under her thumb.

That was why Limon frowned. Experience had taught him just how dangerous such a close aide could become if they developed ulterior motives—and how easily they could be tempted.

"A second-in-command who can treat the leader like a puppet is always going to face temptation."

["Surely not. You know that a princess's power is absolute in the Seven Dragons Society, Sword Lord."]

"Looking at you, I'm not so sure. Besides, the Liberation Brigade already got its claws into the ten great guilds. We can't guarantee the Seven Dragons Society is safe either."

["That is..."]

Li Qingyu trailed off awkwardly. Even allowing for the fact that she had brought her clan to ruin, her standing within it had been abysmal until recently. She had no rebuttal, however certain she might be that it could never happen.

Instead, Ainsha objected.

"That is baseless speculation. A false accusation. I protest."

"You're going to trust your nanny to the bitter end?"

"Of course I trust her."

"Really? Then call her."

"...?"

"Tell your nanny to come here. Let's meet her and hear her explanation in person."

"Very well."

Clearly quite confident, Ainsha nodded and immediately called Tata.

["Your Highness? You should still be on your date. What is the matter?"]

"Tata, something has happened. I would like you to come immediately."

["... Right now?"]

"Yes."

["..."]

"Tata?"

Normally, a confident "Tata will be right there!" would have come bursting out. As Ainsha wondered why that answer had not come, a voice rang through the air.

["You should have simply enjoyed your date. Instead, you have stirred up unnecessary trouble."]

"... Tata?"

["Your Highness."]

It was not her usual bold, uninhibited voice, but a cold, flat one. As Ainsha blinked blankly at a voice that sounded so familiar yet so alien, Tata quietly declared:

["I am terribly sorry, but it seems Tata must betray you now, Your Highness."]