"Gasp!"

A miniskirt and boots that allowed easy movement, a coat with a slightly longer hem, and a sword at her waist. The neatly dressed woman looked as though she wore a lighter, more stylish version of an old knight's uniform.

Her slender, willowy figure did not look threatening in the least. Yet the thief recoiled as though he had seen a ghost and swung his wand.

BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG!

Five streaks of 『Impact Arrow』 burst from his wand at once. Even one could knock a grown man unconscious; all five could threaten his life.

The woman's response was simple. She merely waved one hand calmly. That alone sent the incoming 『Impact Arrows』 zigzagging through the air, twisting around to fly back at the thief.

BOOM!

"Gah!"

Struck by his own attack, the thief was sent flying. Perhaps one of the goods he had stolen from the stall was a defensive item: a shield activated just in time, barely keeping him from being knocked unconscious. Abandoning even his wand, he grabbed the broom that happened to be lying nearby and took to the air again to escape.

SHING.

The woman did not bother chasing him. She simply drew her sword from the sheath at her waist and swung it in the direction he had fled.

It looked like an absurd swipe at empty air, but it was far from pointless. At the very moment she swung, the broom beneath the thief split in two.

"Aaaagh?!"

Suddenly deprived of his broom, the thief plunged headfirst toward the ground. Just before his head struck it, the woman vanished from her spot and appeared behind him as though materializing out of nowhere, catching him by the belt.

She flipped him around, set him down on both feet, and spoke politely.

"Further resistance is pointless. Please submit to arrest."

"U-ugh..."

Whether the near miss with having his skull cracked had shaken him or he had realized there was no escape, the thief dropped heavily onto his backside.

The woman was putting handcuffs on him when a voice rang out.

"Oh! Countess Rose?"

The street vendor finally came hurrying after the thief. His face lit up at the sight of the woman holding him.

"You caught the scoundrel, my lady! Thank you so much!"

"Please don't thank me."

"Pardon?"

"I merely assisted. I am not the one who caught him. If you wish to offer your thanks, please direct them to that gentleman."

"Er... I-is that so?"

The vendor's delight vanished, replaced by sudden dismay at the reply from the woman he had called Countess Rose.

He looked helplessly from Rose to Limon, whom she had indicated, then down at the ground. Seemingly guessing why, Rose followed his gaze around their surroundings and nodded at the goods strewn across the pavement.

"It appears a considerable amount of merchandise was damaged in the course of the arrest."

"Yes, my lady. If these were my own goods, it wouldn't matter, but..."

"Are you selling on someone else's behalf?"

"I'm sorry. I live from day to day, so I take goods from a guild and sell them."

"There is no need to be ashamed. Supporting your family with money earned through your own hard work is something you have every right to take pride in."

"... I don't have a family. I'm still a bachelor."

As the vendor spoke with an embarrassed expression, Rose continued solemnly.

"Then take all the more pride in it. You face this difficult world alone, and you deserve to do so."

"My lady...!"

The vendor looked deeply moved. Rose gave him a faint smile.

"As a gesture of respect for the life you lead, I would like my house to reimburse you for the goods damaged today. Would that be acceptable?"

"Oh, more than acceptable! I'll never forget your kindness, my lady!"

"You need not think of it as a favor. Simply continue to live as steadfastly as you do now."

Only after offering words of encouragement and a check to the vendor, who looked several times more moved than before, did Rose approach Limon.

For some reason, she gazed steadily at his face before belatedly addressing him with courtesy.

"Allow me to offer my overdue thanks for your assistance in keeping London safe."

"... Well, I don't see why you should be the one thanking me."

At that moment, the atmosphere in the street froze.

Not only the vendor, who had been grinning over his check, but the surrounding onlookers stared at Limon as though he had said something unthinkable. The vendor recovered first and shouted indignantly.

"You there! What kind of way is that to speak? Do you know who this lady is—!"

"My apologies. I have neglected to introduce myself."

Rose stopped the vendor. Placing one hand over her chest, she bowed her head slightly and introduced herself.

"I am Rose Seaserpent, head of House Seaserpent, which is currently responsible for public safety in London."

As the person responsible for London's safety, it was only natural that she should pay her respects to Limon for helping apprehend a thief.

Having explained this with impeccable formality and courtesy, the blue-haired woman looked straight at him with eyes as blue as a lake and quietly added,

"If you are from abroad, perhaps my position as chairwoman of Jǫrmungandr would be more familiar to you."

The owner of Jǫrmungandr, the world's foremost transport corporation in shipping, aviation, logistics, and distribution, and one of the pillars of the Seven Dragon Group.

In other words, the Blue Dragon Princess, one of the Seven Dragons Society's seven princesses. Looking at her, Limon could only furrow his brow.

* * *

["... This is a little unexpected."]

"What is?"

["Her, I mean."]

Yu Na-gyeong stretched out one wing. Watching Rose hand the thief over to the knights who had appeared before they knew it, then personally help tidy the disrupted street, she muttered dubiously.

["I never imagined someone as important as the Blue Dragon Princess would do this sort of thing herself."]

Of course, Yu Na-gyeong knew that the Blue Dragon Princess was Countess Seaserpent, the power behind the British Empire. But she had expected a young lady elegantly issuing orders over tea, not a lady knight who patrolled the streets catching petty thieves.

And now the princess was even rolling up her sleeves and sweeping!

Having only seen Li Qingyu immersed in paperwork or Ainsha performing as the world's greatest singer, Yu Na-gyeong had never imagined such a scene. Even setting aside her status as a princess of the Seven Dragons Society, this was hardly how one of the world's richest people behaved.

Limon's reply, however, was indifferent.

"You find the strangest things surprising."

["If this isn't surprising, what is it?"]

"What else? Perfectly natural."

["A princess of the Seven Dragons Society not just helping clean up, but playing with children too?"]

Rose had been sweeping only moments earlier. Now she was handing out sweets to children who had come running from somewhere. Yu Na-gyeong watched her with an even more dubious expression.

Limon told her calmly,

"Apparently, she volunteers at orphanages and places like that every weekend. She must be fairly used to dealing with children."

["... By volunteering at orphanages, you mean that thing where they drag the kids out for smiling photo ops, right?"]

Perhaps because she had grown up in an orphanage, Yu Na-gyeong looked suspicious the instant she heard about an important person's volunteer work. Limon shook his head at her question.

"No, I hear she actually works on roofs with a hammer and changes the kids' diapers."

["Really?!"]

"And apparently she makes generous donations to places in financial difficulty."

["What the heck? I'm jealous! What kind of princess is that down-to-earth? No, more importantly, is she really a princess of the Seven Dragons Society?!"]

"... I understand how you feel, but not everyone in the Seven Dragons Society is like the Black Dragon Clan."

Perhaps it was all too unreal for her to take in. Watching Yu Na-gyeong look as though she was on the verge of a mental breakdown, Limon clicked his tongue.

"They inherited different powers from different founders and operated separately in completely different cultural spheres. How could all seven clans possibly be the same?"

The seven dragons themselves had been that way. Whether because of a trait of their species or for some other reason, their temperaments differed so drastically that they ruled the world with strictly divided spheres of influence.

That was also what had allowed the Sword Emperor to defeat the seven dragons one by one.

With origins like those, it was only natural that each clan of the Seven Dragons Society developed an entirely different disposition. The Black Dragon Clan, gifted in telepathy, specialized in scheming, while the White Dragon Clan's precognition had led it to adopt a simple way of thinking.

"They may all be called the Seven Dragons Society, but you should think of the seven clans as completely separate organizations. Especially the Blue Dragon Clan."

["What do you mean by 'especially'?"]

"I mean they're the clan furthest removed from the Seven Dragons Society as a criminal organization."

["Furthest... Even more than the White Dragon Clan?"]

"Yes."

Yu Na-gyeong looked incredulous. Having already met Ainsha, she could not understand how anyone could be cleaner than the endearingly airheaded White Dragon Clan.

But when she heard the reason, she could hardly believe her ears.

"They're the most 'merciful' and 'just' clan in the Seven Dragons Society."

["... Um, I think I misheard something just now."]

"You heard me correctly."

Limon calmly pointed out that, naturally, the furthest thing from a negative was not zero, but a positive.

Yu Na-gyeong was aghast.

["How does that make any sense?!"]

"It makes perfect sense."

["Why? This is the Seven Dragons Society we're talking about! The world's largest criminal organization, the one once called the Demonic Cult!"]

Whether because of all the time she had spent with him or because she had seen too much of the Black Dragon Clan while living at Leviathan, Yu Na-gyeong's argument overflowed with hostile prejudice toward the Seven Dragons Society.

Limon did not particularly deny her prejudice. He merely pointed out one fact.

"You seem to have forgotten, but the Seven Dragons Society was originally a governing organization that ruled the world as the seven dragons' hands and feet."

The Seven Dragons Society had become a criminal organization only after the seven dragons fell, when it lost its power and turned into a secret society bent on restoring the world to its former state.

Until then, its members had been the ruling classes of their respective regions, like royalty and nobility. And even in the most hellish country, there were always one or two just and merciful nobles.

["... So you're saying the Blue Dragon Clan retained the strongest traces of that benevolent-ruler mentality?"]

"Something like that. They've been that way since the Bronze Age."

Even when they were called the Demonic Cult, the Blue Dragon Clan had insisted on justice and mercy, going so far as to act as righteous outlaws. They were also responsible for inspiring countless romantic fantasies in Europe about noble outlaws, secret orders of knights, and princesses on white horses.

After quietly explaining this and leaving Yu Na-gyeong's beak hanging open, Limon suddenly wore a cold, mocking smile.

"Which is why my master, the Sword Emperor, found them the most revolting clan of all."

["Huh? Why?"]

"Because while the Blue Dragon Clan is the most just and merciful clan in the Seven Dragons Society, they were also the most terrible rulers during the Bronze Age."

["...?"]

Yu Na-gyeong blinked at those baffling words, but Limon paid her no mind. He merely watched Rose, who waved goodbye to the children with a faint smile before resuming her patrol, and muttered quietly.

"And that's also one of the reasons they're the prime suspects in the witch murders."