Chapter 50: I Became a Swordsman in the Middle Ages

Vacation (3)

Cecilia, still in her pajamas, was walking through a dungeon.

‘Not the boss room.’

Seeing those poorly scribbled words, it was clear that Ferna had to be inside.

When she opened the door, there was the pink-haired demon, kneeling and prostrating.

“W-welcome to my humble—”

“Truly a humble dump.”

The dungeon was really just a large cave. Fortunately, mana stones were growing here and there, which meant at least the resources were good.

“I-I’m working really hard on it...”

Ferna pouted with a gloomy expression as she spoke, but Cecilia coolly ignored her and said:

“Explain. Properly.”

Ferna launched into a long explanation. She wasn't particularly eloquent, so Cecilia couldn’t understand half of it, but she got the important part.

And it was absurd.

“So, you misunderstood ‘invade as soon as possible’ as ‘invade in an hour’?”

Ferna tilted her head like a chicken and replied:

“Why are you saying the same thing twice?”

Cecilia clutched her throbbing head.

‘This is my fault.’

Should she feel relieved that the demons weren’t that insane?

Or mourn the fact that Ferna might actually be dumber than a chicken?

She couldn’t decide. Her lips twitched as she bit down hard in frustration.

“Thanks to you, I wasted my early morning doing nothing.”

Clueless as ever, Ferna scratched her head and smiled.

“Ahaha… That’s no big deal!”

Cecilia smiled sweetly.

Then grabbed both of Ferna’s pigtails with one hand—convenient handles, as if designed for easy killing.

“Wanna die?”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

Cecilia seriously considered it for three seconds before letting her go.

‘I had to be patient. After all, the custom design came out really well.’

Especially those little swirly eyes, they weren’t easy to replicate.

“Well, at least you’re useful to me.”

“I’ll work really hard...!”

“But how do I know I can trust you?”

Ferna lowered her head even further and answered.

“I... I used to be mocked by other demons for being ugly. But when I went to Walpurgis this time, everyone said I was pretty.”

‘Well, of course they did.’

Cecilia took her customization very seriously.

Even for demons—if you're going to fix something up, might as well make it pretty, right?

“I was… I was really happy. Lady Cecilia, you’re the savior of my entire demon life! There’s no way I’d betray you!”

Ferna sniffled as she expressed her gratitude.

‘If only she weren’t so dumb… Anyway…’

Regardless, the important point remained: the demon invasion was going to start sooner.

The exact date was unclear, but with radicals in charge, it wouldn’t take long.

At the earliest, two weeks, or at the latest, within a month, there would be movement.

‘That’s troublesome.’

The newbies hadn’t even arrived yet.

And already the double EXP event was kicking in?

The wider the power gap between NPCs and new players, the worse the newbie persecution would be.

And what worried her most was—

‘What if the Great Invasion ends up pushing the players summoning decision forward?’

Cecilia was a devout newbie lover.

But in truth, preparations to welcome them were still far from ready.

Summoning them now would be a disaster.

For many reasons, it would be best to prevent this invasion if at all possible.

To do that—

“...First, I need information.”

Cecilia spoke dryly.

“Cain Baltazarion.”

“...!”

“You know him?”

Tears welling in her eyes, Ferna nodded.

“Was he at this Walpurgis?”

“N-no…”

‘Just as I thought. This whole incident stems from the Demon King's weakening control.’

There was only one remaining possibility:

If someone with Demon King–level power, like the Demon Duke Cain Baltazarion, was secretly leading the radicals.

That theory had just been ruled out.

“Then why? Why, with all that power, is he still just a duke…?”

It wasn't that he didn't want to become a Demon King, because in their last conversation, he had said.

‘Not yet.’

In other words, he did harbor some desire for the Demon King’s throne. Then what was holding him back? He should have enough power to do that.

As Cecilia murmured to herself, Ferna perked up.

“If you’re curious, would you like to buy some information?”

“...You can buy that?”

“Yes!”

Ferna beamed proudly as if she’d just scored big.

“You can buy one question to the Demon God for 200,000 Terra!”

‘That’s a total cheat code…!’

Cecilia’s eyes sparkled.

“Then buy it.”

“I don’t have any money!”

“...”

“I spent it all on research. Hehe~”

And then came the wide-eyed, innocent look of expectation.

The kind that clearly said:

‘The supreme, most noble Cecilia-sama will definitely sponsor me, right?’

Sorry to disappoint, but Cecilia was broke too. And she didn’t carry demon currency anyway.

But there was a way.

Cecilia leaned to one side, hand in her pajama pocket.

The classic delinquent pose: Iljin Cecilia. (TL: If you know, you know)

“Get a loan.”

“!”

***

Whoosh—

A violet orb floated in the center of Ferna’s dungeon.

Ferna nervously tapped it.

Once dimensional access was authorized, the orb burst with a pop.

And just like that, a demon in a bright red suit bowed deeply before them.

“It is an honor to meet you. O great Sin of Envy. I am Cocoon, merchant of the Demon Realm.”

His disgustingly black eyes flickered unsettlingly.

Ferna stuttered.

“Ah, h-hi.”

“Oh ho! A new residence, I see. This place reeks of fresh dungeon.”

Cocoon sniffed around curiously.

Then something caught his eye.

Cecilia, standing idly with a bored expression.

Cocoon’s curiosity piqued. He walked over.

“Ooh—! Is this the guardian you created yourself, Lady Envy? Quite powerful-looking!”

“Y-yeah.”

“At last, you’ve secured the ‘True Butcher’ for yourself!”

Cocoon dramatically gestured as he cautiously poked Cecilia’s cheek.

“Hooh... It even feels real. But why did you dress it in such a tacky pajama set?”

Cecilia’s face twitched subtly. Her eyes shifted.

Those transparent silver pupils were now brimming with murderous intent.

“Hyeek!”

Cocoon stumbled backward, trembling.

“I-I swear her eyes just moved…”

“T-That’s just part of the gimmick!”

Ferna said, cold sweat rolling down her forehead.

Cecilia thought, ‘Was this too much?’ and instinctively prepared to draw her sword.

Cocoon, however, let out a deep gasp.

“An exquisite gimmick! Just the sight would make most humans wet themselves! Might I ask you to share the brilliance behind this grand achievement?”

Ferna breathed a sigh of relief and began explaining.

Cecilia relaxed a little, though she still felt vaguely irritated.

As Cocoon listened, he grinned ominously.

“Kuhuhu… Using Windsor Knight to take down Windsor Knights... Now that is a fitting plan for one of the Seven Deadly Sins.”

“Right?”

Ferna smiled brightly, having completely forgotten that this was the real Cecilia.

But she felt a stinging sensation on the back of her head and remembered what she had to do.

“By the way, since we’ve got a successful result, lend me some money!”

“A loan, is it! Our Demon Merchant Guild offers cross-dimensional services with a competitive annual interest rate of 40%!”

“Give me 200,000 Terra!”

“A substantial amount! Then, with a Sin Discount applied, I can give you a generous rate of 29% interest!”

‘Whoa, a discount.’

Cecilia thought it wasn’t a bad offer.

Actually, it was a steal. A deal that must be closed.

But Ferna smiled brightly and raised her hand to object.

“29% is too high! Make it 19%!”

“Ah, my apologies, but 19% for such a large sum is…”

“Then forget it.”

“!”

Ferna turned her head away in a pout.

Loans were a great moneymaker for merchants. And for 200,000 Terra, just the interest alone was juicy.

The demon merchant Cocoon scrambled to appease her. Ferna, acting like she was being generous, said:

“I’ll consider it if you drop it to 15%.”

“...I suppose I have no choice.”

Cocoon nodded with a tinge of regret.

‘She’s amazing…’

Cecilia was genuinely impressed.

Even a worm knows how to wiggle when needed, huh?

“Then I’ll make sure to deliver the 200,000 Terra as soon as possible. Anything else you require?”

“I want to ask the Demon God a question.”

“...!”

Cocoon took a step back.

“A question for the Demon God? Are you serious?”

“Ferna’s always serious.”

Ferna puffed up proudly. Cocoon rubbed his hands together.

‘The ‘One-Time Demon God Question Ticket’…’

Its true nature?

It wasn’t the Demon God.

It was just a random staff in the merchant guild answering the question.

If it was something they knew, they’d just tell you. If not, they’d make something up.

Did that justify the 200,000 Terra price?

No. Honestly, if you just slipped a regular merchant 10,000 Terra, they’d dig up the same info for you.

‘Well… looks like I don’t have to worry about this month’s sales quota.’

Cocoon’s mouth split open all the way to his ears—not figuratively, literally.

And from that mouth emerged a black bead.

The bead was covered in saliva.

‘Gross...’

Cecilia felt nauseated but held it in.

“This is the magical artifact that allows you to pose a question to the Supreme Being!”

“Wow!”

“You’ll get an answer that makes the 200,000 Terra totally worth it!”

Hooray!

Ferna raised her hands to the sky in delight.

‘Truly, having a handler with low intelligence is a blessing.’

Cocoon gave a greasy smile and a bow before stepping back.

The moment he disappeared, Ferna reverently offered the bead to Cecilia.

“Lady Cecilia! I did it!”

“Hmm…”

Cecilia, ever prone to being scammed, was suspicious even by her own standards.

That demon merchant just now... didn’t exactly radiate trustworthiness.

Still, what she planned to ask wasn’t especially sensitive—any demon with inside knowledge might know it, no need for the Demon God.

“My question is simple. If the current Demon King dies, who becomes the next Demon King?”

“!”

Ferna’s jaw dropped. Cecilia tilted her head with a calm expression.

Trembling, Ferna knelt in front of the magical artifact. Her knees were already red from kneeling all day.

She drops to her knees so easily, thought Cecilia, resting her chin on her hand. I’d prefer if she only knelt in front of me.

“O-O Great One, if the Demon King were to die, who would be the next ruler?”

As soon as she asked, a single word lit up in the crystal ball:

— Beelzebub

Ping!

Then the bead shattered instantly.

Ferna turned to look at Cecilia like a broken puppet.

“Beelzebub? Who’s that? One of the Four Heavenly Kings?”

“He’s... the head of the radical faction. Really, really scary!”

Cecilia blinked.

“Scarier than me?”

Ferna hesitated, then shook her head.

“No…”

‘So he ranks below Cain, huh. She’s never shown more fear than she has toward Cain.’

Cecilia ran the math briefly in her head.

Whether to kill the Demon King or not.

Rapid-fire calculations of possibilities raced through her mind, but in the end, she chose the direction her heart leaned toward.

“I want Cain to become the Demon King.”

“Huh? Huh?? Ehh?”

A cute and pretty Sword Princess NPC who lives to avenge the fallen by slaying the Demon King!

What a compelling character arc.

And she wasn’t even lying.

Cecilia genuinely bore a grudge against Cain.

For breaking an event item that a village kid had given her.

“Perfect.”

Cecilia nodded with satisfaction.

Kill the current Demon King.

Make Cain Baltazarion the next Demon King.

But not right now. The timing for killing the Demon King had to follow the main story schedule.

“I’ll kill the Demon King after my vacation ends. In the meantime, go suck up to Cain for me, tell him to get in line in advance.”

Vacation was precious, after all.

“Huh?”

Ferna tilted her head in confusion long after Cecilia vanished from sight.

She was broken.

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