Chapter 78 - Time to Make a Move

The penthouse of the Leviathan Hotel. Hidden within one of the most luxurious places in the world was an unusual room: a secret chamber containing nothing but seven chairs around a round table carved with a dragon. On one of those chairs, made entirely of black crystal, sat a beautiful young woman wearing glasses.

"No." The young woman spoke softly. Li Qingyu, the Black Dragon Princess, turned her gaze slightly. Looking past the six empty chairs to the one made of pure silver, she continued, "I believe I told you. I have no particular ulterior motive."

The words came out of nowhere. Anyone who heard her would have thought she was talking to herself. But behind her clear lenses, Li Qingyu's eyes, dark and still as obsidian, were fixed unmistakably on the person she was addressing.

"Of course, I understand why you can't trust me. I'm a princess of the Black Dragon Clan, after all." Humble but not servile. Enigmatic but not suspect. Firm but not rigid. The face that always wore a cheerful smile before Limon now bore one both deep and cool.

"But aren't you forgetting something?" It was the manner of someone speaking to an equal. Through her glasses, Li Qingyu regarded one of the very few people who could claim to be the equal of a Black Dragon Clan princess and went on. "When we of the Black Dragon Clan agreed to shoulder the burden of the world-peace plan, this became my rightful prerogative."

Had she struck a nerve? The other party fell silent at once. But the silence did not last. Li Qingyu turned her gaze to the golden chair.

"Are you serious?" Whatever she had heard, the moment she asked in surprise, a crushing pressure filled the room. Even under the mountainlike weight and deep intimidation reaching her across the distance, Li Qingyu did not shift from her composed posture. She merely smiled. "I see. My apologies. That was certainly a rude question to ask of the Gold Dragon Clan, who never speak falsely."

Perhaps that appeased them. The pressure dispersed, and in the quiet room Li Qingyu spoke lightly again. "Unfortunately, I'll have to decline the offer."

...

"Why? It's simple."

...

"I have no intention of selling my rights that cheaply."

Perhaps the answer was so unexpected that the room fell silent again. This time, Li Qingyu looked toward a chair of vivid scarlet ruby. "Regret it?" She smiled as though she had heard something truly absurd. Yet it did not look like mockery. Was that because of her refined bearing, or the inscrutable shadow in her smile? "Yes, perhaps I will regret it." But she gave the other party no time to read her thoughts, continuing with perfect composure. "So if I do come to regret it someday, would you make me the offer again then?"

That was the end of it. As if realizing there was nothing more to discuss, the unseen people beyond the chairs disappeared one by one. The lights came on, driving out the darkness, and Li Qingyu took off her glasses. "Still uncomfortable." Setting them on the round table, she muttered, this time truly to herself. "I understand why they're wary of my psionics, but they needn't waste money on something like a virtual conferencing system."

Li Qingyu shook her head slightly. Of course, she knew why the Silver Dragon Clan had supplied the system with hacking software installed. But everyone had already discovered and removed the program. Continuing to use the virtual conferencing system after that could only be called stubbornness. 'Though the Silver Dragon Clan aren't the only ones who are difficult to deal with.' Thinking of the six people the system had displayed until moments ago, she let out a soft sigh.

Ever since proposing to Limon, she had kept herself frantically busy with all manner of affairs. Yet that brief conversation of a few dozen minutes had exhausted her more than all the work she had handled over the past several dozen days. 'It really is too soon to bring the other clans in.' Suspicion, greed, anger, indifference... Recalling the emotions in those six pairs of differently colored eyes, Li Qingyu felt a pang of disappointment.

Today, she had managed to get through the situation by securing their nonintervention. But they had made no secret of their intention to intervene if the opportunity arose. And there was very little chance such intervention would benefit the Black Dragon Clan, herself, or, above all, Limon. 'If I could bring even one of them over, or preferably two, things would be better than they are now.' She smiled bitterly. She had yet to win the full support of even the Black Dragon Clan and was relying on Limon's help. She knew better than anyone how far-fetched it was to make allies of the other clans now.

That was when a knock came at the door.

KNOCK, KNOCK.

"Hey, Princess. Got a minute?" Puzzled by a knock that should never have come here, Li Qingyu looked up. When she saw the white-haired man leaning against the doorway, she smiled.

"If the Sword Lord needs me, I'll make time even if I have none to spare."

"It's not that important."

"To me, the chance to see you even once more is more important than anything."

"... You make me sound like some wastrel husband who's always out and never comes home."

"You have been going out a lot lately, haven't you?" She chuckled playfully, then rose from her seat and asked, "So what brings you here?"

"Nothing all that special." Ordinarily, he would have passed a message through Wei Ling or simply called. Curious why he had come in person, Li Qingyu looked at him expectantly. Limon shrugged. "I figured it was about time I made a move too." Her eyes widened.

* * *

After they left the secret chamber, Li Qingyu poured Limon a cup of tea she had brewed herself. She listened to the broad outline and nodded. "I see. Your training has entered its next stage?"

"More of a detour, if you want to call it something."

"Either way, it sounds as though you'll have time to spare now."

"Yeah. From here on, it's not a problem I can solve just by putting in more hours." Limon shook his head.

If it were merely a technical problem, that would be one thing. But what held him back now lay beyond technique. With the right opportunity, he might reach an understanding in a day; without it, ten years of playing would not solve the problem. Continuing to perform with Eugene might teach him something, but he had no intention of devoting every hour of the day to it. "I'll keep practicing regularly. I just think it's about time I put work first."

"And that's why you came to see me?"

"If I step into the spotlight, it'll have all sorts of consequences." The Black Dragon Clan had been thrown into an uproar by a single day of his rampage through its subsidiaries. If he began operating in earnest, there was no telling how far the repercussions would reach or what form they would take. "And the more active I am, the more pressure the other clans will put on you."

"Did you hear?"

"Huh? Hear what?" Limon looked as if she had said something out of the blue. Realizing from his reaction that he had not heard the virtual meeting, Li Qingyu blinked. "Then how did you know I was under pressure?"

"Because no assassins, spies, or negotiators from the other clans have come looking for me yet."

"... So you noticed what should have arrived hadn't, and concluded I was holding them off."

"At my age, you learn to tell when rain's coming just by the smell."

As if the Seven Dragons Society would simply leave him alone. Chuckling, Limon drained the tea she had poured him and got to his feet. "You've got plenty to think about, so I'll be off. I'll watch how things unfold for now. Call me once you've made up your mind."

"Yes, Sword Lord." Li Qingyu rose after him, then suddenly asked, "Sword Lord, may I ask you one thing?"

"What is it?"

"What sort of power did you gain from the constellation you can now control?"

She was asking about the power he had gained when the fragments of starlight dissolved after his performance with Eugene. For a moment, Limon wore an odd expression. After a brief pause to consider, he answered. "More trouble than it's worth."

"What?"

"Let's just say it isn't a power I need."

"...?"

After Limon left her with that cryptic answer, Li Qingyu saw him off politely. Replaying their conversation, she smiled ruefully despite herself. 'I can't face Chao after this.' It had been only recently that she had told Wei Ling not to underestimate Limon. Now she had to admit that she herself had underestimated the old veteran's experience. Still, she considered how to use this unexpected stroke of good fortune. She had been moving quietly only to avoid disturbing Limon's training. Now that he could take a more active role, she could pursue matters more boldly.

"Your Highness, there's a problem."

"What kind of problem?" Unfortunately, she did not get to finish thinking it through. Before Li Qingyu could devise a new plan, Yo U-in came to her with a grim face. As the Leviathan Hotel's general manager, he was not easily shaken, and his grave expression puzzled her. But once she heard his report, her own face grew just as grim. "One of our subsidiaries has been attacked."

* * *

"Oh, come on, cousin. I told you not to tangle with a mad dog. Why'd you have to get clever and bring trouble on yourself again?" At Black Dragon Construction, the company Limon had turned upside down, a man who resembled Wang Gi-neung was nursing a headache. Without a mustache, though, he looked much more sober. His name was Wang Gi-seong. He was the younger cousin of Wang Gi-neung, Black Dragon Construction's East Asia director, and was currently serving as acting director in his place. "A master-level martial artist laid up so badly he can't even work. What a disgrace." Wang Gi-seong sighed heavily. Not, of course, because he felt sorry for his cousin, who was groaning in a sickbed. One reason was the enormous workload he had inherited by becoming his cousin's stand-in. The other was the standing of the Wang family of Shanghai, which had not merely hit rock bottom over the affair but drilled all the way down to the mantle.

"The Wang family of Shanghai had a bad reputation to begin with. Are we really going to lose our place among the distinguished clans over this?" The Black Dragon Clan had already fallen far enough. If the Wang family lost its distinguished standing even within the clan, its members would never be able to hold their heads up anywhere in the Seven Dragons Society. "Ugh. If I'd known this would happen, I'd have married into some other family as a live-in son-in-law. Why'd I go and get married so early..." Grumbling, Wang Gi-seong kept working through the paperwork. Worrying about the future was one thing, but to feed his wife and daughter, he had to keep Black Dragon Construction running. The Wang family held a large stake in it.

Just as he was trying to focus on his work, Wang Gi-seong stopped his pen. "... Who's there?" It was a strange thing to do out of nowhere. He was alone in the office; there was no one to answer him. Yet his question was not pointless. "Comrade, did he spot us?"

"If he hadn't, d'you think that bastard would be talkin' to himself?"

"Hmm. The Seven Dragons Society's experts really do have exceptional senses."

THUD!

A hole suddenly opened in the ceiling. Amid a shower of falling debris, three figures appeared: a blonde woman carrying a large load, a narrow-eyed young man in work clothes, and a braided-haired man with his hands in his pockets. They smirked at Wang Gi-seong, who sat at his desk glaring coldly at them. "Though if he noticed us coming and stayed put instead of running, he's a hopeless dumbass all the same."