Chapter 49: I Became a Swordsman in the Middle Ages

Vacation (2)

Even after that, Cecilia continued dragging Beatrice around from place to place.

“Proper lessons start tomorrow. I need to prepare a few things too.”

“Y-Yes, ma’am...”

Beatrice was confused — what could Cecilia possibly need besides wooden swords for sword lessons? But she didn’t ask.

Frankly, she didn’t have the mental energy to care about such details anymore.

“Cecilia, that’s a slave auction house! Minors aren’t allowed in there!”

“There’s no such thing as an all-purpose magic stone! Mister, why are you trying to scam a child?”

“Dragon tails don’t exist! Dragons have been extinct for ages!”

“A pair of knee socks for 10 gold? That’s ridiculous!”

By the time night fell, Beatrice was utterly worn out.

“I had fun today. It’s almost curfew, so I have to head back now.”

Of course, Cecilia had enjoyed the day thoroughly.

***

Meanwhile, at the same time Cecilia and Beatrice parted ways—

The lights in the vice-commander’s office were still on.

— Top Secret

— Potential threat to the kingdom due to the death of the Demon King

Edward, who had been writing reports for a while, glanced at the clock and finally set his quill down.

“It’s that time already.”

He silently rose from his seat and opened the window.

Cold wind swept into the room, but he didn’t seem to mind.

Tonight was the night when a lost cat would inevitably come in, due to his carelessness.

“You’re here.”

“Yes.”

As soon as he sat back down, a voice greeted him. The cold wind ceased, the window shut, and a shadow had appeared in the room, kneeling low in silence.

Without even glancing over, Edward asked:

“How was she today?”

“She seemed to be in good spirits. She had three strawberry parfaits and a lemonade.”

Edward frowned.

“How does all of those fit in that tiny stomach?”

“No. She only ate the strawberries on top.”

“…How extravagant.”

“It’s a growing trend among young ladies lately. Cecilia is the top trendsetter in the capital, after all. Thanks to her, sales will likely go up.”

The figure lifted her head. The moonlight shifted just enough to reveal her face —

She was a server from Golden Honeycomb, Cecilia’s favorite dessert shop.

And at the same time, one of the key figures in Theresia’s criminal underworld.

“Continue your report.”

“Yes. Though it seems the lemonade was too sour, since she only drank half of it. I believe we should increase the syrup in the recipe just a bit—”

Edward lifted his head and stared at her.

“…Are you kidding me?”

Incidentally, Golden Honeycomb was established by Edward himself — solely to gather intelligence on Cecilia.

Meaning Reina, aka the employee of Golden Honeycomb, was simply giving her boss a proper report.

Although Reina had a few internal complaints, she held her tongue and continued:

“…My apologies. It seems the newly appointed knight, Beatrice, made quite the impression on her.”

“So I’ve noticed. They’ve been unusually close ever since. What did they do after that?”

Reina recited Cecilia’s movements for the day in detail.

There were eyes everywhere in the backstreets — even around the brightest flame in Theresia.

“She went into a lingerie shop, then looked really down when she realized her size hadn’t changed…”

…Though the report itself was somewhat trivial — only because Cecilia had done trivial things.

Edward rubbed his forehead and raised a hand.

“You don’t have to report that kind of thing. Anyway, no special incidents, right?”

“Correct.”

‘Strange,’ he thought.

Cecilia wasn’t the type to just let things slide.

He had been sure she would make a move somehow.

‘Is she still waiting for the right opportunity? Should I show her a little more opening? No… if I lower my guard any further, others might start noticing too.’

But she just remained quiet. Today as well, she had just wandered around the capital like she usually did.

‘Cecilia… whose side are you really on?’

The question only grew heavier. If it had been anyone else, the obvious solution would have been elimination.

But Cecilia was worth the risk.

If he could make her his ally — then his ‘wish’ could definitely be fulfilled.

“But there was one notable thing today.”

“Notable?”

“Yes. She invited Beatrice to her mansion, saying she’d teach her swordsmanship. It’s a little odd that she chose the Commander’s estate as the training ground.”

Edward replied immediately.

“It’s only natural. For a knight, swordsmanship is more important than life. You don’t teach something that valuable where everyone can see.”

Rather, Cecilia’s evaluation only rose in Edward’s mind.

‘Even offering training during her vacation? …Highly efficient indeed.’

Of course, it could be part of a scheme, but Beatrice’s background had already been thoroughly vetted.

There were no red flags, and she had no previous connections to Cecilia.

“That’s all for the report.”

“…You forgot one thing. What about the slave trader who dared eye Cecilia?”

Reina answered as if it was obvious.

“Dealt with.”

“Does it even make sense for a slave trader to walk around the royal capital with dignity in the first place? Disgusting. Clean them all up.”

“……”

Reina looked at Edward with a somewhat strange expression.

“I’ve been wondering about this for a while.”

“What?”

“What exactly… does the ‘Dark Lord’ think of Lady Cecilia?”

Edward raised an eyebrow.

“A genius.”

‘No… That’s not what I meant though,’ Reina thought, slightly dissatisfied but unable to show it. She simply bowed deeply and said.

“I’ll take my leave.”

“Come again at this time tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir.”

After Reina disappeared, Edward became engrossed in his work again.

How much time had passed?

When perfect darkness had settled over the capital, Edward stood up and walked out to the balcony.

He looked up at the sky, recalling the conversation from earlier.

“Dark Lord… what a ridiculous title. If I become king, does that make me the Dark King?”

He chuckled while gazing at the moon.

“Well… it’s not entirely wrong.”

***

“Hehe.”

Cecilia rolled around on her bed, hugging her bunny plushie.

Today had been the best outing ever!

The strawberry parfait had been so delicious she ate three of them. Beatrice had really liked “Golden Honeycomb” too.

'It's really a sensible store. The design, the atmosphere, the staffs’ mood, and the taste are beyond words……'

Everything about it had been right up Cecilia’s alley!

‘I owe you, boss. I’ll boost your sales like crazy.’

She would definitely take future newbies there as well.

But above all, the biggest success of the day is without a doubt—

— Starting tomorrow, come to my place. I’ll teach you swordsmanship.

— Thank you! Thank you so much, Lady Cecilia!

Swordsmanship training date at home with a newbie!

Oh my god! That had been wish number #1 on her bucket list since the day she arrived here.

“What a precious and adorable newbie. I knew it from the start, you know?”

Grinning with happiness, Cecilia rolled around and tumbled off the bed, hitting her head.

“Ow.”

Still — it was worth it!

She rolled around on the floor with her bunny plushie, then crawled back up onto the bed.

Lying flat on her back and stretching out, she stared up at the ceiling.

Maybe it was because she'd just checked off a major bucket list item?

Maybe because she'd finally started putting her long-held ideas into action?

Suddenly, it all began to feel real.

“There’s really not much time left, huh…”

It had already been 10 years since she arrived here.

Cecilia was still human, after all. And living in a medieval world as a modern person was anything but easy.

To level up, you had to put your life on the line.

She deliberately chose the most dangerous hunting grounds just for the higher EXP.

She had lost count of how many times she almost died.

Cecilia was absolutely a hardcore veteran.

But only when it came to Another World.

While there were a lot of similarities, there were just as many things that were different.

Above all, this wasn’t a game. This was reality.

VR games had filters that toned down the gore. But this world had no such mercy.

She couldn’t drink water for 5 days after her first kill.

She didn’t remember how much she dry-heaved and retched.

Still, she had desperately endured and pushed through with grim determination.

All because she wanted to be a guide for the newbies who will end up in this world.

To do that, she had to be ahead of everyone — to walk all the paths first, so others wouldn’t stumble where she had.

'Newbies die off so easily…’

How would an ordinary person react if they are summoned here and handed a sword with the command: "Fight"?

If they were Korean, surely they'd fight to the death without hesitation — Cecilia was full of national pride — but unfortunately, it doesn't work with just willpower.

‘I have to help them. If I don’t, 90% of them will die.’

So, at the very least before the official launch, there were two things she needed to prepare:

A stable environment where they could grow.

A system to support that growth.

And most importantly...

"I have to be their motivation. Because I’m this pretty."

Cecilia stretched her hand into the air, grabbing the moonlight streaming in through the window.

That alone… that alone was the one value she could never compromise.

Snooze...

As she drifted off to sleep, looking forward to tomorrow and the future to come, Cecilia had a truly beautiful dream.

A dream where she and the newbies defeated the Demon King together.

A dream where she gave a rousing speech, united everyone, and took down the Demon God.

A dream where, after the victory, she told the cheering newbies, "I’m not actually an NPC."

Then built a new country on the demon lands with their enthusiastic support:

The Great Cecilia Empire.

And then, world domination!

Supplying every household with Cecilia merchandise!

Solving global warming!

—Bzzz.

Suddenly, her dream was cut short by a vibration.

Half-opening her eyes, Cecilia fumbled beneath her pillow. A small crystal orb was glowing.

“Ugh, that was the best part…”

— I-I’m sorry!!

It was Ferna, now decently presentable with her pink hair, bowing deeply.

“Did the demons start moving already…?”

Still groggy, Cecilia asked.

Ferna said urgently.

— Th-the results from Walpurgis just came in, that’s why I’m contacting you!

“Who won…?”

— The radical faction!

Ferna’s voice was frantic, as if her tail was literally on fire.

But Cecilia remained indifferent.

She assumed this was just the natural progression of the "main story arc." A large-scale invasion wouldn’t start until next year.

— They said, since everyone’s already gathered, they’ll begin the invasion in an hour!

“…They really are radical.”

Cecilia’s sleep vanished in an instant.

“Trying to plow the fields before the game even officially launches, huh?”

Invasion → Emergency status → Vacation canceled → No more sweet sword-training dates with Betty…?

Her decision was swift.

“I’m coming now. Wash your neck and wait for me.”

— W-what does ‘wash my neck’ mean?!

Cecilia’s mission was clear.

She had to protect this vacation at all costs.

Next Chapter

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