Chapter 54: I Became a Swordsman in the Middle Ages

Direct Train to the Demon King's Castle (2)

“Demon King’s Castle?”

“What’s going on?”

“Is Her Majesty pulling another prank?”

The cabin buzzed with murmurs.

Beatrice looked to her side in panic.

“Lady Cecilia! Th-That announcement just now…”

But Cecilia sat perfectly still, not a single hair out of place.

As if this sort of thing was routine.

‘Of course. It’s Lady Cecilia.’

As expected, even this didn’t faze her.

How fitting for the untouchable mascot and Sword Princess of the Windsor Knights.

Thanks to her composure, Beatrice also began to calm down.

Of course.

‘I-I-I really let my guard down!’

Cecilia was, in fact, the most panicked person in the entire train.

‘No, what the hell?! The Demon King’s Castle?!’

“Betty. Keep everyone here safe. I’ll go check the engine room.”

Even so, she did what needed to be done.

First, she left the cabin in Beatrice’s care to go gather information.

‘Looks like the entire train’s turning into a dungeon. Trying to cut off our supply lines?’

At the very least, she had to protect the people on board.

You can build another train, but not another person’s life.

Ideally, she could stop the dugeon transformation before it was fully completed.

Cecilia rushed to the door.

But it wouldn’t open.

‘Let’s break it.’

She threw her shoulder into it with force.

Thunk! A loud impact was heard, but the door didn’t break.

“Lady Cecilia!”

“Yeah?”

“T-There's a crack in the wall…”

Beatrice pointed to the wall with a worried look. There was a large crack in it.

“So… no property damage allowed, huh.”

If she kept going, the entire train might collapse.

Cecilia had to give up on brute force.

If the train broke apart midair, Beatrice might survive, but no one else would.

“Knight lady… y-you’ll keep us safe, right?”

“Waaah! Waaah!”

A nearby mother awkwardly smiled while holding her crying baby.

The child cried as if sensing the ominousness, and the expressions of the other people were just as uneasy.

“There’s nothing to worry about. I’m Cecilia Windsor, the kingdom’s number one pretty girl. I have never had a single civilian casualty in any of the missions I've undertaken.”

“Ooooh!”

“That’s our Sword Princess!”

Cecilia returned to her seat with her usual expressionless face.

The Sword Princess’s unwavering demeanor brought great relief to the passengers.

Meanwhile, the back of Cecilia’s neck was already drenched in sweat.

‘W-What do I do?’

At least she’d successfully acted like she had a plan.

But this situation was far more dangerous than she expected.

No breaking things. Physical force restricted. Movement restricted.

The magical engineering train had a total of 12 cars.

Assuming there were at least 10 people per car, that was 120 passengers.

Moreover, most of the first-class cabin was filled with nobles.

If even one of them died, this would be a full-blown catastrophe.

‘My spotless career…!’

How hard had she worked to build that perfect record?

This incident, if handled poorly, could leave a major stain on it.

A true, once-in-a-lifetime crisis.

‘Right. Betty’s smart. She’ll think of something.’

Beatrice had read the newbie must-read guide.

She had nearly the same foundational knowledge as Cecilia!

This time, Cecilia would rely on her.

“I’m really glad you’re here, Lady Cecilia. If I got caught up in something like this alone… just imagining it makes me dizzy. Whew…”

“….”

Cecilia glared at Beatrice.

Startled, Beatrice flinched as Cecilia grabbed her cheek and pulled hard.

“Wh-Why are you doing this… It hurts…!”

“Betty needs to be punished. Gimme your arm.”

Cecilia grabbed her arm and bit down.

Only once she released her stress by chewing on Beatrice did she finally regain her composure.

“Tasty.”

“I’m not some portable food…”

Beatrice stroked the arm now covered in Cecilia’s teeth marks, her eyes brimming with tears.

Perhaps because her newbie snack was particularly delicious today, Cecilia’s brain—which had stopped briefly—began working again.

She slightly unsheathed her sword and murmured:

“Tempest.”

Kugugugung—!

“Wow! Mom, look!”

“Twin tornadoes? How odd. I didn’t think warm weather like this in the capital would bring a typhoon.”

“Darn, I forgot my umbrella. What a pain.”

A typhoon whipped up under a clear sky.

Beatrice stopped crying and gaped.

“Did… Did you do that, Lady Cecilia…?”

“To request reinforcements. There’s no trace of demons in here.”

‘Must be a diversion.’

Only ‘named demons’ can forcibly manifest dungeons in random places.

And the stronger their presence, the harder it is to conceal.

Seeing as even Cecilia couldn’t sense anything, then there really weren’t any demons on the train.

That meant the dungeon was only a facade—

The real target was likely somewhere else.

Probably the supply line. Maybe they’d set it on fire?

If so, Rude would handle it.

Cecilia decided to trust him on that front.

“All we have to do now is wait quietly. There’ll be an announcement soon.”

“An announcement?”

“Yeah. Demons are required to declare the rules of their dungeons. Remember this.”

[Dear passengers, we will now begin ticket verification. Those without tickets will, regrettably, be disposed of.]

“There’s no such thing as an unbeatable dungeon.”

Cecilia resolved to clear this one by the book.

She didn’t see any clear solution yet, but—

The demon who created the dungeon was required to include a “perfect solution.”

That was what gave their “rules” stronger power, and it was also a matter of demon’s pride.

Click—

“Gasp…”

“Eek…”

The door slid open.

A train attendant entered.

He was holding his own head in his arms.

A Dullahan.

“Sir, may I see your ticket?”

The Dullahan asked politely with a bright smile.

Blood dripped from his neck and splattered onto the face of the head in his hands. Its eyelids kept fluttering eerily.

The terrified man trembled, glancing at Beatrice.

She was already leaking killing intent, sword nearly drawn.

“Not yet.”

Cecilia gently pushed her hand against Beatrice’s sword.

“H-Here…”

The man shakily pulled out his ticket from the pocket.

The Dullahan politely accepted it and examined it closely.

“This says the final stop is the Northern Command. But there is only one final destination for this train. The Demon King's Castle.”

“It was correct! The route just got changed suddenly! This is a valid ticket!”

“Then why don’t you disembark and take a different train?”

“F-Fine! I’ll get off! Just drop me at the next station!”

“I’m sorry, but there are no exits on this train. In any case, the conclusion is that… you don’t have a ticket, correct?”

The Dullahan smiled.

The man jumped to his feet and shouted at Cecilia.

“H-Hey! Help me! You’re a Windsor, aren’t you?! You can kill some demon like this in no time!”

“Oh dear… So not only are you riding without a ticket, now you’re threatening a train attendant?”

“……!”

Cecilia calmly glanced around with a nonchalant gaze.

All the passengers’ eyes were turning red.

“Isn’t that guy way out of line?”

“Indeed. How can anyone be so rude?”

“Not only did he board the train without a ticket, but he's also threatening people. Tsk, tsk.”

“What are the Windsor knights doing? Someone should kill that shameless bastard already!”

‘Illusion magic, huh…’

Cecilia furrowed her brow. That was a troublesome authority.

Demons who use that kind of magic are typically cowards, avoiding head-on confrontation at all costs.

In the worst-case scenario, they’d even manipulate civilians into attacking.

And for someone like Cecilia, whose motto was "Minimize all casualties", those demons were her least favorite kind.

It needed to be eliminated as soon as possible.

“Betty. Listen to me very carefully. From this moment on, every action matters—if you mess up even once…”

Cecilia turned to instruct Beatrice.

“Lady Cecilia, that’s too evil. How can you threaten such an innocent employee like that?”

“…….”

Beatrice’s eyes had turned red, too.

Cecilia’s lips twitched.

Without hesitation, she immediately smacked Beatrice hard on the head.

Pow!

A thunderous crack (?) echoed. Beatrice clutched her head and shrank back.

“Th-That was too much!”

Beatrice looked up, eyes watery.

But one glance at Cecilia’s narrowed eyes made her flinch.

“Betty… you're seriously pathetic.”

“I’m sorry……”

“You and I, we’re going to have a talk after this.”

Beatrice quietly sobbed, unable to defend herself.

“No ticket? Then he deserves to die!”

“Exactly!”

“How could someone be so shameless? Outrageous!”

“W-What is this…”

The man looked around in disbelief, watching the crowd turn against him.

He then shouted back.

“You all don’t have tickets to the Demon King’s Castle either!”

“What?”

“Is that true?”

The Dullahan turned his body. The head in his hand darted around suspiciously, scanning the passengers.

“I've never seen such an absurd person! How dare he assume we're like him! Of course we have tickets!”

“Hmph, he thinks just because he’s a penniless bum, everyone else is too!”

“Check my ticket, sir! We should get rid of trash like that immediately! It's offensive to breathe the same air!”

One after another, the passengers proudly offered up their tickets.

Cecilia leaned over and snatched the ticket from the person next to her to confirm something.

“What are you doing—”

“Betty.”

At Cecilia’s sharp voice, Beatrice quickly moved and knocked the civilian unconscious with a chop to the neck.

[Destination: Demon King’s Castle]

“…So that’s the gimmick.”

The tickets had been  changed.

Cecilia snapped her fingers and produced a pen and paper.

“W-What are you doing?”

“Writing a report.”

“…Excuse me?”

“You’ve got to take care of these things early. It’s a pain if you don’t.”

“I-I see…”

“I’m only telling you because you’re Betty. Normally, I wouldn’t share such pro tips…”

“……”

[Direct Train to the Demon King’s Castle – Very Hard]

— A normal train suddenly changes route toward the Demon King’s Castle.

— A Dullahan acts as a train conductor checking tickets.

— Naturally, no ticket has the updated destination, so the person sitting at the front is labeled the "sacrifice".

— The surrounding passengers are influenced and begin to support the decision. Their minds become corrupted.

— Once corrupted, their tickets automatically transform into “Demon King’s Castle” tickets.

“Betty. Check your ticket.”

“Y-Yes.”

Beatrice held up her ticket and widened her eyes.

“It’s changed to the Demon King’s Castle...”

For the record, Cecilia’s ticket had not changed.

— Only high-ranking knights or those designated as the sacrifice can resist the illusion.

— The real danger begins with the conflict between those who do and don’t have tickets.

— There is a high possibility that people suffering from mental corruption will attack.

‘In other words, as long as I step away, no one’s going to die.’

Everyone else already had Demon King’s Castle tickets anyway.

“My, stealing an honest passenger’s ticket? I’m afraid you’ll need to be ‘disposed of’ as well.”

The Dullahan reappeared in front of Cecilia as she diligently wrote her report.

Beatrice reflexively drew her sword, about to attack.

Cecilia kicked her in the shin.

“Ow…!”

Beatrice crouched, clutching her shin in pain.

“Excuse me, customer?”

With no response, the Dullahan raised an eyebrow.

Regardless, Cecilia kept scribbling until she’d written down the final clear strategy, and then smiled in satisfaction.

Looking at Beatrice still rubbing her shin, Cecilia said:

“Betty. Let’s go destroy the dungeon’s core. It’ll be in the engine room.”

“Y-Yes! Can I attack now…?”

“Nope. If you do, the key item will turn to ash.”

“Excuse me! Customer! I am still talking to you right no—!”

Swoosh—!

The Dullahan raised his arm, clearly irritated.

But it didn’t move. Or rather, it couldn’t.

Clunk.

The Dullahan’s head rolled toward the restroom.

Straining to look up, he saw Cecilia holding his severed arm, already standing by the door.

“You can’t open this door without the Dullahan’s arm.”

“Oh…! You’re right… How did you know that?”

“……If your IQ were even 5 points higher than a rat’s, you could’ve figured it out.”

“That’s… way too mean…”

Beatrice sulked, sniffling.

Cecilia then turned to the man who had nearly fainted from shock and smiled sweetly.

“You too, Watermelon-Head Guy. Come over here. You’ll die if you stay there.”

“Y-Yes, ma’am!!”

The man quickly came to his sense and followed after her.

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