Chapter 55: I Became a Swordsman in the Middle Ages

Direct Train to the Demon King’s Castle (3)

Cecilia headed to the engine room at a pace that was neither fast nor slow.

13 people trailed behind her in a single file like children playing train.

“Lady Cecilia, will everything really be over if we just destroy the dungeon core?”

“Hmm… probably not.”

Demon blood dripped from the tip of Cecilia’s lazily-dragged sword.

On the way here, she had sliced off every Dullahan’s arms and legs.

Just in case, each of the passengers now held a severed Dullahan arm in their hands.

“Seems like the dungeon is fully synchronized with the train. If the core is destroyed, the entire train disappears too.”

“T-That’s a problem!”

“Yup. So we’ll have to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“How?”

“Very well.”

“……”

‘Was that not funny…?’

It was her best punchline, but it apparently didn’t land.

“If we kill the Dullahans at the same time, it’ll break the narrative link.”

“Ah! So the dungeon is set up to explode the Dullahan the moment the core is destroyed! And there’s one in each car!”

‘Clever.’

Cecilia felt like a proud mother.

It was like watching a newborn baby take their first steps.

“But Lady Cecilia… if that’s the case, shouldn’t we have brought the Dullahans along? They’re spaced too far apart for simultaneous kills…”

“Impossible. If the Dullahan in any train car disappears, a new one spawns.”

The easiest method would have been to assign the twelve “ticketless” passengers to each car, weaken the Dullahans, and kill them all on cue.

But that had a fatal flaw.

You never knew what the mind-corrupted passengers might do.

So, the most “textbook” way to clear the dungeon was simple:

‘Kill everyone who has a ticket.’

‘Essentially, the dungeon was forcing you to choose between saving the train or saving the people.’

There was also the option of gathering everyone in the front car and sacrificing the rest of the train.

But Cecilia didn’t like either choice.

And if she didn’t like them—

Well, then she simply wouldn’t do it.

A very simple truth.

“No need to worry about that part. I have an idea.”

Cecilia stopped walking.

“So this is the engine room.”

She used a Dullahan’s arm to unlock the door.

Inside, a grotesque purple monster was wrapped tightly around the engineer.

Cecilia poked the monster with the tip of her sword.

Ping, ping.

‘Tough one.’

She blinked.

This would probably require using her Blessing.

But if she did that, she wouldn’t be able to take out the Dullahans.

After all, Cecilia only had one right arm.

“Lady Cecilia. He’s still breathing. Just unconscious,”

Beatrice said, after checking the engineer’s vitals.

Cecilia stared at Beatrice for a moment, then smiled faintly.

That strange smile gave Beatrice a very, very bad feeling.

“You can do it, right?”

“……Excuse me?”

“I believe in you, Betty.”

“Y-You can’t mean…”

Beatrice turned her head in a daze.

The grotesque purple monster let out a disturbing gurgle.

“Am I… supposed to cut that?”

“I have to take care of the Dullahans.”

“……!”

Beatrice swallowed hard.

Cautiously, she imbued her sword with her Blessing and tapped the dungeon core.

‘It’s harder than my blade.’

The moment she realized her own Sword Aura couldn’t even scratch it, she turned to look at Cecilia with a very embarrassed face.

“Betty has been training hard all this time.”

“……”

“Now it’s time to show it.”

‘I didn’t plan it this way, but it will be a good practical exam.’

“I believe in Betty.”

“I…”

Beatrice blinked wide, and then her gaze softened.

‘She’s putting this much trust in me…’

What had all that training been for?

To be of help to Cecilia.

And now—

That moment had come, sooner than expected.

“Yes. I’ll cut the dungeon’s core. No matter what.”

“Excellent.”

The newbie had made up her mind.

She was adorable. And Cecilia was proud.

So now it was time to teach her how to fly.

“Draw the clearest line you can imagine, Betty. A straight line that cuts through anything and everything in its path.”

Beatrice was too focused to respond.

Her entire being was locked on the sword and the core.

A perfect level of focus.

“Now manifest your Blessing. The purest form of the Light’s Blessing you’ve ever called upon. Pure light can pierce anything. And then—strike. With your current skill, you’ll be able to slice only the dungeon core cleanly.”

No further explanation was needed.

Cecilia leaned back against Beatrice and turned to face the rear car, raising her sword.

“The moment Betty cuts the core, I’ll pierce the Dullahan’s heart. Let me know when you’re ready.”

“…Lady Cecilia. May I ask one thing?”

‘Ugh, it was perfect until now…’

She’d just nailed the perfect cool-girl line.

Would’ve been great if they went straight to action from here.

Cecilia sighed regrettably but replied.

“Yeah?”

“How will you kill the Dullahan? What image are you thinking of?”

“Is that necessary for cutting the core?”

“Yes. I need certainty. About whom I learned the sword from.”

Cecilia smirked.

“I’m going to deploy a domain.”

‘I always wanted to try this line once.’

“I call it: Do-or-die 0.1-second Wind Shear.”

***

Meanwhile, at Theresia Northern Station—

Rude held up a photo to the sunlight with a pleased look.

In the picture, Cecilia had flipped a peace sign upside down.

“Huh? What’s that?”

“A typhoon?”

“Looks like someone’s drawing in the sky…”

Rude sensed a strange surge of mana and looked up.

Off in the distance, a storm raged across the sky.

And then the storm twisted into a shape.

> _ < !!

“…That looks like a very urgent expression.”

Cecilia, the little sister mascot of the Windsor Knights.

She might pull off ridiculous stunts now and then, but she’d never play around with something like this.

‘This is an emergency.’

Rude moved immediately—

Straight toward the supply route.

“That's far enough, you wretch.”

“Oh? How did you know I’d be here?”

“For a lowly vermin like you to dare step foot in the territory of us humans...”

Rude stared at the demon with clear disgust as he slipped a hand into his pocket.

“Kill yourself.”

“Pfft! What a dumb human. What are you, a dragon trying to act cool? Who the hell kills themselves just be—huh?”

The demon exploded its own neck.

A pathetic death for one of the Seven Deadly Sins—Pride, no less.

Rude the Mage.

The price of failing to recognize the Windsor Knights’ third-highest ranking member was death.

“You did well, Rude.”

“Eh, it was nothing. The one who really deserves the credit is Cecilia, for predicting this in advance.”

“…Indeed. I was wondering why she suddenly insisted on checking the train. So she foresaw this?”

With all forces focused on the North, more supplies were required than usual.

In such a situation, losing the supply route would be a major disaster.

Once it was cut off, it’d take three months to restore.

If they were invaded in the meantime, it’d be beyond catastrophic.

‘She just keeps proving herself, again and again…’

Kairon closed his eyes with a complicated feeling.

‘That place’… He never wanted to send her there.

Even if he did eventually let her go, he planned to follow her.

But Cecilia spoke through actions rather than words.

‘I’ve grown up enough. You don’t have to worry so much.’

That’s what she was saying.

“Knowing and stopping it ahead of time… how praiseworthy,” said Edward beside him.

“Shouldn’t you at least give her some praise when she returns?”

Kairon remained silent.

He just stared down the empty railway tracks, waiting for the train to arrive.

And after some time—

Rumble…

The train pulled into the station.

Chiiiik.

With a hiss of steam, it came to a halt.

The doors opened.

“Thank goodness. Looks like Lia pulled it off. The train’s barely damaged.”

The moment Edward's expression, who saw the intact train, clearly hardened—

Cecilia stepped off the train, supporting a completely unconscious Beatrice.

Cecilia’s crisp white uniform was soaked in blood.

And her expressionless eyes… were cold and lifeless.

“……!!”

“Cecilia!”

Kairon rushed over and grabbed her shoulders.

“I’m fine.”

“But that blood…!”

Cecilia's pupils sank low.

“It’s not mine.”

“Then…?”

“More importantly—Betty. She used too much mana.”

“Rude. Take her.”

“On it!”

Rude quickly lifted Beatrice and flew into the sky.

Kairon turned his eyes back to Cecilia.

“…Cecilia. What about the other passengers?”

“I… I’m sorry.”

Cecilia bit her lip tightly.

Kairon’s eyes widened.

That’s when Edward approached, unable to hide a smug smile.

He clapped Cecilia on the shoulder and said.

“So you chose the train over the passengers.”

“……”

“A very wise decision. Don’t let it get to you. You saved the supply line, which means you saved far more lives.”

“……?”

Cecilia tilted her head.

She straightened her slouched posture and blinked.

“They only fainted due to mental corruption. No one died.”

“…..What?”

Edward’s smirking lips slowly lost their shape.

“Then why…?”

“What if the unconscious passengers file for damages? I’m broke.”

“…Just go get some sleep.”

“Hug me.”

Without a word, Kairon picked Cecilia up and slung her over his shoulder.

As Cecilia dangled limply, she thought:

‘I’ve got a bump on my forehead. It hurts.’

She had managed to cut through the Dullahans with her reckless do-or-die 0.1-second Wind Shear.

But since it was a manual move, she couldn’t handle the speed and ended up crashing at the end.

This fact probably needs to be sealed away forever.

‘I was just a mere mortal…’

Sniff.

Cecilia was very sad.

***

“Hehe. Now I’ll just pick some easy peasy northern mission, go on a cozy little trip with Betty, and relax.”

But there was one thing Cecilia hadn’t accounted for.

Her recent achievement had massive ripple effects.

She’d stopped the demon’s supply route sabotage in advance.

Moreover, she succeeded perfectly without any casualties—not even a stale cracker had been lost.

The Windsor Knights prove their worth through ‘missions’.

Cecilia was now fully verified as a knight.

No longer just the youngest mascot or the most promising Sword Princess of the Windsor Knights—

She had reached a level where it was only natural to be entrusted with a major command.

“Cecilia. This is a top-classified mission. You are to be dispatched to the northern front for an expedition. Simultaneously, you will investigate and assess demon activity in the region. By command of Her Majesty the Queen, you are hereby appointed as Commander of the Northern Expeditionary Force.”

The reason why such a heavy responsibility was entrusted to the young Sword Princess, who was only 16 years old, was due to two major reasons.

First, the original leading candidate, Mage Rude, had depleted most of his mana and needed recovery time. (Rude’s fuel efficiency was notoriously bad.)

Second, the other strong candidate, Edward Windsor, strongly recommended her, saying, ‘Regretfully… in terms of reliability, Cecilia is superior. If the objective is to survey enemy movements without incurring major losses, she’s the most qualified.’

Abover all, the Queen welcomed the idea with open arms.

Even Kairon had accepted it after seeing the latest events unfold.

As a result, Cecilia didn’t even get the chance to utter the word “Hell no” before she was effectively abducted.

“???”

To the North.

“????”

Cecilia sat on the actual ‘Direct Train to the Demon King’s Castle’, glancing around in disbelief.

Beatrice, trying to soothe her, awkwardly smiled and quickly pulled out a pudding, offering her a spoonful.

“Here, have some…”

Cecilia ate it without thinking, still glancing around like a confused pigeon.

There were no regular passengers aboard—only gruff, scarred Windsor Knights.

And most of them looked… well-used.

This wasn’t some cheerful demon-slaying adventure with Betty.

This was a sweaty hiking trip with a bunch of uncles.

Cecilia couldn’t believe the reality.

Even when they arrived in the North—

“??”

Cecilia still stared blankly at the 24 knights standing in perfect formation before her, completely unfazed by the raging blizzard.

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