Chapter 56 - The Bluebird in the Cage

After standing there blankly for a moment, Limon slowly turned his head. He looked all around him, then spoke.

"Princess, didn't you ask me to come because you needed me for something?"

"I did."

"Then what's all this?" Limon asked Li Qingyu, the black-haired girl beside him, his expression growing even more dubious.

"An inspection."

"An inspection?"

"Yes. There are things you can't learn from paperwork alone."

"No, I understand that, but..."

Limon scratched his cheek. He was a man of action rather than theory himself. He believed swinging a sword once was better than reading a swordsmanship book a hundred times, so he could understand her point. What bothered him was the location.

"What I'm asking is why you brought me along to inspect an amusement park."

A roller coaster that looked worn out at a glance. A haunted house that looked like an actual abandoned house. A magic hall as shabby as a warehouse. A sparse scattering of shops. The amusement park was large, but it looked at least thirty years old—less quaint than archaeological. Limon stared at it in disbelief, then glanced around and added, "And you brought the kids, too."

Indeed, Li Qingyu and Limon hadn't come alone. They had a mountain of companions—delightful company, to put it kindly, or a pack of unnecessary hangers-on, to put it bluntly.

"A carousel! A carousel! I've never seen one before!"

"Wow. I never thought we'd actually get to go to an amusement park."

"You can thank me for this! We came because my birthday's next month!"

"But my birthday's today."

"Huh? It is?"

Those hangers-on were the children. All twenty-three from Hanbit Orphanage were running around the park in excitement. Limon had tagged along without much thought, only to be practically abducted and brought here with them. No wonder he looked dubious. Li Qingyu answered him with perfect composure.

"Because you and the children are why I came to this amusement park, Sword Lord."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You said before that, if possible, you wanted the place where Yu Na-gyeong died turned into somewhere the children could come to play."

"Oh, that? What about it?"

Perhaps because he'd said it so casually in passing, Limon needed a moment for it to load. Only then did he remember that she meant the cleared site of the Liberation Brigade's former headquarters. He tilted his head. Li Qingyu's answer was simple.

"The more I thought about it, the more an amusement park seemed like somewhere the children would enjoy visiting."

The problem was that what she meant by it wasn't simple at all.

Her answer was so unexpected that Limon practically had a question mark floating over his head. Then his expression turned incredulous.

"... So you came to inspect another amusement park before building one there? For ideas?"

"It's only sensible to consider whether a venture will succeed before starting it."

"The moment you decided to build an amusement park on that empty lot just because I said so, I'd say its chances of success dropped to about zero."

"It's fine. The Seven Dragons Society's policy is to make things work when they don't."

With the Seven Dragons Society's power behind it, even a venture bound to fail could easily be made a success. Li Qingyu said it without batting an eye. Seeing Limon's conflicted reaction to this statement, which sounded absurdly like a joke despite being true, she smiled and added, "Of course, I'm also using it as an excuse to go on a date with you and earn a few points."

"Was that the real reason?!"

"I'm doing both. Both."

"From where I'm standing, it looks less like 'both' and more like you've got your priorities backward..."

Limon's expression grew complicated. Taking twenty-three children around an amusement park would be hard work, as anyone who had raised even one child could imagine. And she expected to inspect the place at the same time? It was hard to see this as anything but self-interest.

"So you don't want to?" Li Qingyu asked with a smile, as if she'd read his mind. Limon studied her face for a moment, then turned to the children. They were bickering over which ride to go on first and had finally settled it with rock-paper-scissors. He let out a small chuckle.

"I didn't say that."

Enjoying an amusement park with his bride-to-be and the children. His plans for the day had become almost absurdly wholesome. Granted, his bride-to-be was several hundred years younger than him, and there were twenty-three children—considerable departures from the average family. But Limon paid no mind to such minor details. He simply stepped into the children's circle as though he belonged there and thrust out his fist.

"Rock, paper, scissors! Rock, paper, scissors! There, I won, so I pick where we go today. No complaints, right?"

"What? You can't just barge in like that!"

"Grandpa Limon, you cheated!"

"Grandpa, no fair! No fair!"

RAP-RAP-RAP!

"Waaah!"

"No complaints now, right? Fair warning: anyone who wanders off had better be ready for a hundred flicks to the forehead."

Experience, strength, reflexes, and sheer shamelessness—Limon had overwhelmed them on every front to win rock-paper-scissors. Chuckling, he led the children around the park. A few who had wanted to roam more freely puffed out their cheeks in protest, but not for long. As they made their way through the attractions, those cheeks gradually deflated and bright smiles took their place. It was only natural. With Hanbit Orphanage's limited means, this was most of the children's first visit to an amusement park, or their first in a long time. It also helped that Limon was surprisingly good at guiding them.

"Grandpa, bumper cars! Bumper cars!"

"Bumper cars? Hmm. The line's half an hour long right now, so let's go somewhere else first."

"But I want to ride the bumper cars..."

"I told you, I'll take you later. And you can have a red one, Eun-su, your favorite."

"Really?"

"Want me to swear it on my sword?"

Coaxing children was the least of it. He kept their time in lines to a minimum while finding moments to get them balloons, take pictures with costumed characters, buy them ice cream, and more. He was so adept at guiding them that he could have worked at this park for ten years. As they walked, Limon glanced back at the children's flushed faces, clapped his hands, and announced, "Right, thirty-minute break here."

"Aww!"

"We don't want a break! Let's keep playing!"

"Come on, you lot. Stop making a fuss. An old man like me needs regular breaks."

Of course, Limon wasn't tired. He was looking out for the children as their energy began to flag. Watching him call a break at the café at just the right time and buy them drinks, Li Qingyu smiled.

"You're very good with children."

"Well, I've had plenty of years to practice."

"Age doesn't necessarily make someone good with children."

"Those people aren't Sword Masters."

"Does becoming a Sword Master make you good at raising children?"

"No, but you can play with them all day without your back hurting."

Limon chuckled. Li Qingyu nodded, looking impressed.

"So a master excels at everything."

"... Don't take a joke so seriously. Unlike the masters in your Seven Dragons Society, I'm just a man who swings a sword."

Now Limon felt awkward. The Seven Dragons Society's masters were extraordinarily versatile. Depending on their innate psionics and the advanced arts they'd trained in, they possessed not only combat abilities rivaling high-level players but superhuman talents in all sorts of fields. That was how the Seven Dragons Society had endured for centuries.

A politician who could read minds. An actor with an uncanny allure. A chef of astonishing skill. A businessperson who could see mineral veins beneath the earth. A veterinarian who could talk to animals. With their psionic powers, the Society's masters distinguished themselves in any field. They did not operate openly, of course, but many people had still sought out the Seven Dragons Society in hopes of gaining access to that power. The foundations built over those centuries had allowed the Society to emerge into the open and survive even in this Iron Age.

That was psionics: the enduring strength of a power that had once ruled the world, passed down from the seven dragons who had even devoured gods. To hear the Society's princess say such a thing to him, when all he knew was how to wield a sword, was almost embarrassing.

"Are you sure about that?"

That was why Limon looked puzzled when Li Qingyu tilted her head.

"What do you mean?"

"I just wonder whether it's fair to call a Sword Master 'just a man who swings a sword.'"

"What's so special about a Sword Master? Just a swordsman who's good with a blade and won't croak of old age."

"I wonder..."

Li Qingyu gave him a strange look. Coming from the man who had cut down even the Demon God and attained eternal youth and life, his words were hardly convincing.

Limon made no effort to convince her. Instead, he took another look at her.

"Come to think of it, you wear clothes like that?"

"Don't they suit me?"

"No, they do, if you ask me... They're just not what I'd expect a princess to wear."

Shorts that showed off her slender legs. A slightly oversized boxy T-shirt. A baseball cap to top it off. Seeing Li Qingyu in casual clothes rather than the Eastern-style dresses she usually favored was so unexpected that she looked like a different person. That wasn't to say the outfit looked bad on her. With her natural beauty, she was as cute as any popular idol. Some things never changed, no matter what you put on.

"Hehe. Even I feel like wearing something different sometimes. Though it does serve as a disguise, too."

"I'm not sure how well a disguise will work when you've come with me..."

Perhaps being told the outfit suited her had put her in a good mood. She was smiling more brightly than usual, and Limon was scratching his cheek at her remark when a girl with eyes as lifeless as a corpse's approached them.

"Are you done talking?"

"Why? Is there something else you want to eat?"

"No. Our break's almost over."

"Oh, is it?"

At Sia's words, Limon looked back at the children, scratched the back of his head, and stood. He unfolded a map of the amusement park and asked, "Where were we going next?"

"The place where they lock up cute-looking, empty-headed creatures and sell them to customers to make money off their bodies."

"... Just say 'the zoo.' Don't make people get the wrong idea by putting it like that."

"It's true, though."

"It's a truth the little ones don't need to know."

Grumbling at Sia's answer, Limon gathered the children and led them to the zoo.

Perhaps it was the park's age, but the zoo was as shabby as the other facilities. Only a few ordinary animals lounged here and there behind bars.

"Wow, a lion! A lion!"

"Lion, look over here!"

"Grandpa, can I give the lion a snack?"

"Nope."

Even that handful of animals delighted the children.

They argued over whether one creature was a mouse or a squirrel, only to be shocked when they learned it was a monkey. One tried to sneak an animal some food, got caught, and took a flick to the forehead. Another frightened the animals by staring steadily at them without a change of expression, eyes like a dead fish's. They were enjoying themselves so much that Limon felt guilty for not bringing them to an amusement park sooner.

'If Na-gyeong were here too, this place would be in an uproar.'

Maybe it was because they came from the same orphanage. Or maybe they'd learned it from Yu Na-gyeong. Limon smiled ruefully at the children, so full of energy they looked downright silly.

"Grandpa. Bird, bird."

"What, you need to pee?"

"No! Bluebird, bluebird!"

"Hmm?"

Limon followed the child's outstretched finger. In a nest at the center of a large cage sat a single baby bird, all alone. He gave it an odd look.

Its down was as blue as an autumn sky, with a little white feather sticking up from the crown of its head. Its small size made it look newly hatched. The baby bird was cute in every respect and stood out even among the zoo's few other birds. But something else had caught Limon's attention.

'How can a baby bird look so exhausted?'

As though it had grown tired of being stared at, the baby bird had turned its back on the visitors entirely and let both wings droop. It looked so listless that, without its fluffy down, it might have passed for an old bird at the end of a long, eventful life.

"Grandpa, I want that one!"

"Hey, kid. The zoo animals aren't for sale."

Perhaps the child had shouted loudly enough to catch its attention. Without moving from its nest or turning its body, the baby bird tilted its head slightly. It glanced at Limon and the children, then began to turn back with apparent indifference—only to whip its head around again in alarm.

The movement was so violent that its plump neck looked ready to snap. The baby bird didn't seem to care. As if showing off the flexibility of its youth, it jerked its head this way and that, frantically looking over all twenty-three children. Its eyes widened with each face it checked. Finally, its gaze passed over Sia and landed on Limon, and its beak fell open.

SQUEAK?!

A cry of shock tore through the air.