Chapter 42: I Became a Swordsman in the Middle Ages

Ancient Ruins Exploration (1)

Edward’s hypothesis was a sound one.

Cecilia agreed. If four of the Demon Realm’s Dukes had begun to move, that could only mean one thing—

For some reason, the Demon King was dead, and the major powers were gathering to fill the void.

Still, one big question remained...

‘How the heck does he know?’

Edward had claimed the intel came from the Empire, but that didn’t make sense.

The Demon Dukes resided near the Demon King’s castle, and while its location was known, placing spies near it was basically impossible.

In the first place, humanity had never succeeded in reaching that far into enemy territory.

Not even the Empire, a nation several times larger than the Kingdom, could pull that off.

There was also this weird assumption in medieval settings that “Empires can do anything.”

But Cecilia was certain of one simple truth.

It wasn't possible for Empire to have some incredible powerhouse that can pull it off.

Because…

“The strongest one” is already right here? (implying herself)

In other words, Cecilia thought it was impossible for others to know something that she herself didn't know.

‘The only logical explanation… is that Edward has an informant among the demons. Though if that’s true, why did he lie about it?’

Cecilia came to a halt, blinking.

[Golden Honeycomb]

Ding-a-ling.

“Welcome!”

Come to think of it, that did sound like something a two-faced schemer like Edward would do.

He was the type to sneakily brush the cheek of a beautiful Sword Princess…

He even grabbed her wrist and dragged her away without permission last time.

He was absolutely the shady golden sun type of sunbae (senior).

And let’s not forget, he even had blond hair too!

Oh my god...

“Miss?”

“Yeah?”

“This is a treat from the gentleman over there. A fresh strawberry parfait.”

As the waiter handed her the dessert with a polite smile, Cecilia turned her head.

Edward was sitting across the cafe, grinning while waving with that signature twinkle in his eye.

“!”

He had been in the Vice-Commander’s office just minutes ago!

And yet here he was?!

Cecilia had walked around the capital three times by now!

This is dangerous!

He’s definitely stalking her!

‘If Edward turns out to be the true villain mastermind... No wait, if a civil war breaks out during a Demon King succession, we’ll face a massive invasion first. I have to prioritize preparing for that...’

Cecilia’s thoughts spun in dizzying circles, until her eyes fell on the parfait.

It was practically screaming: Eat me!

That was when she reached her conclusion.

‘Who cares. Not my problem.’

There was still a year left before the main story arc begins anyway.

Whatever Edward was up to… that would be part of the newbies’ precious main quest.

Until then, none of it mattered.

Nom nom.

Desserts in the Lianen Kingdom were always delicious.

Clearly, this world hadn’t been based on medieval England.

***

Meanwhile—

‘She’s probably suspicious of me.’

Edward stared intently at Cecilia with a subtle smile.

Given how sharp her little head was, she had likely jumped to some sort of suspicion.

Which was exactly what he’d intended for when leaking the intel.

‘But she won’t have any concrete proof.’

Even if the source was shady, the value of the information was undeniable.

Whether it is demon or human, the easiest way to quell internal turmoil was to redirect attention toward a common enemy.

If she focused on the source, Edward looked like a traitor to humanity.

But if she focused on the content of the intel, he was a valuable ally.

What mattered was which side she prioritized.

‘So Cecilia, am I an enemy of humanity, or its ally? Either way, the only thing for sure is I’m not on your side.”

What kind of conclusion would Cecilia reach?

Watching her reach it was also a part of the amusement.

“They say noblewomen from the royal capital have a different aura…”

“She definitely knows she’s pretty. So aloof.”

“I wonder what kind of face she makes in bed?”

“You think she’s of high status?”

“Look closely. She had no attendants. So it can’t be that high.”

“…Should we try cornering her somewhere quiet and secluded?”

Edward’s expression darkened instantly.

Cecilia the Sword Princess.

In the royal capital, especially anywhere near the Sacred Flame, there were few who didn’t recognize her face.

Not only was she visually unforgettable, but she was also the only female knight in the Windsor Order.

Even her uniform alone was enough to confirm her identity as the rumored Sword Princess.

But it was different for outsiders, such as these men.

They didn’t know her face, and she was dressed in casual clothes today.

Their crude comments were enough to provoke Edward’s fury.

‘This is why I told her to wear her uniform when walking around the capital…’

Cecilia was strictly his biggest obstacle and political rival, after all—

She was the adopted daughter of Commander Kairon, who opposed Edward at every turn.

But this had nothing to do with politics.

To Edward, it was revolting to hear worthless insects spew filth about her.

“You two. Mind stepping aside with me for a moment? I’ve something discreet to discuss.”

From that day on, those two barons were never seen again in the capital.

***

Back at the training ground, Cecilia doubled down on the recruit training.

After all, the scheming prince had just dropped the bombshell that the Demon King might be dead—

Meaning it was only a matter of time before reconnaissance missions were dispatched.

Until then, she had to maximize the skills of the new knights as much as possible.

Because…

‘Only I get to lick them!’

Of course, the most mobile member of the Order—Cecilia—would be the obvious candidate to send on reconnaissance.

In the mean time, the training of the new knights couldn’t be delayed. Therefore, if she were gone…

Someone else might get assigned to train the newbies in her absence.

Which would also mean…

Dungeon date and bonding events with the newbies would be stolen from her!

‘No. Absolutely not!’

Their first dungeon, their first time, etc—all of them must belong to her only.

She couldn't let anyone else steal the glory of their first sortie that would be the most memorable.

So, Cecilia needed to lay the groundwork fast. She had to bring the newbies up to the necessary level herself…

Then kidnap them for a field mission.

“Looks like everyone’s adapted to polar survival to some extent.”

With that in mind, Cecilia skipped a bunch of standard drills.

‘The essence of training isn’t to waste time, it’s to amplify what’s essential in a short period.’

After about a week, the newbies had begun to adjust to the harsh cold.

Those with heat-type blessings learned to regulate body temperature.

They even set rotating night watches, anticipating sneak attacks from Cecilia.

Their food supply situation was still a bit shaky, but the most important skill, which was using Blessings in extreme conditions, had become passable.

Now that they had passed the first hurdle…

It was time to move on to the next.

“That’s it for cold-weather training.”

The recruits sighed in relief.

Then turned pale at her next words.

“Next is stamina training.”

The infamous military-style obstacle course was about to begin.

***

The outline of the stamina training was simple.

Climb to the top of the mountain.

The catch?

The mountains surrounding Windsor Training Ground 72 were essentially sheer cliffs.

In other words, rock climbing was the only way up.

“Now this... this one’s actually necessary.”

Even Rude, who usually supported anything Cecilia did without question, found himself thinking ‘Okay, this is a bit much…’ about the vicious training.

But he couldn’t deny its value.

“This builds stamina and decision-making skills.”

The cliff was tall and smooth.

The only viable method was to manifest a mass of solidified mana, slam it into the cliffside, and use it as a foothold to climb.

If the blessing was too strong, the cliff would collapse.

If it was too weak, the foothold would break.

Worse still, the recruits were running on nearly empty mana reserves after the previous training sessions.

To climb the cliff, they’d have to regenerate enough mana, but waiting too long would slow them down, and rushing with insufficient mana would cause them to fail.

In short, this climb tested: Blessing control, Mana allocation and Strategic pacing.

“This is brilliant. I’m stealing this for later.”

Just then, the safety supervisors who have come to help with the training—Rude’s squad—had turned pale.

“Hah?! Don’t tell me you guys can’t even do this much?”

When Rude glared sharply, his knights shook their heads so fast they nearly snapped their necks.

“Pfft, it’s a piece of cake!”

“We’ve totally got this!”

“Right answer.”

Nodding smugly, Rude subtly leaned on Cecilia.

Kairon, with hands on his hips, raised an eyebrow.

“Back off.”

“...Huh?”

“Before I toss you off the cliff.”

“Yes...”

Rude snapped back to attention like a soldier at roll call.

Cecilia stomped her foot playfully as she looked down the cliff at the recruits.

‘Please, please flop horribly…’

She was brimming with anxiety.

She hadn’t expected Kairon to show up this soon.

— The demons are withdrawing from the dungeons one by one, so we’re planning a large-scale purge to gather intelligence.

Too focused on the stalking Edward, Cecilia had let her guard down!

Kairon, who heard that the training had moved on to the next stage, was here right now—eyeing her precious newbies and saying he wanted to pick out a few useful ones for the operation.

‘No! You can’t have even one! They’re all mine!’

There was no way she would let him take them away.

The problem was…

“You’ve done well, Cecilia. I see many promising ones here.”

Kairon was looking at Cecilia’s newbies with the eyes of a woman who had come shopping for designer bags.

And the new knights were climbing the cliff steadily, as if proving that their training had not been in vain.

They made up for their lack of mana with cooperation.

The fact that they were coordinating with each other so well made Cecilia, a born solo player, tremble with shame.

‘That… I didn’t see that coming.’

“Creating stable blessing structures with minimal mana... This is impressive. There's almost no waste.”

Two hours in—

The first few finally reached the summit.

Cecilia narrowed her eyes and—

Whooooosh—!

A gust of wind suddenly blew from nowhere.

“WAAAAAHH—!”

Screams echoed down the cliffs as knights plummeted.

“……”

Everyone stared at the back of Cecilia’s small head.

Cecilia desperately looked away.

“Q-Quite a windy day, huh?”

“Cecilia.”

Kairon’s chilling voice made her flinch.

‘He’s mad… I’m gonna get scolded…’

Cecilia wilted, shrinking in place.

Rude, sensing disaster, rushed to cover for her.

“H-Hey now, this is part of the training too, right, Commander? Don’t be too hard on her.”

“……”

“I mean, if it’s too easy, it won’t build any real stamina!”

Kairon sighed and nodded, clearly restraining himself.

Cecilia, who had been sullen, now rejuvenated, whipped up even more powerful wind gusts with fiery eyes.

But—

“Now, Betty!”

Beatrice, Riharten, and Dessen—the trainee trio—managed to succeed despite the powerful wind.

Riharten blocked a blast of wind.

Dessen threw Beatrice upward.

And Beatrice used her Blessing of Light to form a radiant rope, tying the two together and hoisting them up with her.

‘No… not Betty…!’

Watching her most beloved newbie, Beatrice, reach the top made Cecilia feel like her heart had leapt out of her chest.

“At that level, their chances of dying in the field are slim.”

Kairon made a calm, ruthless decision:

Those three would join the subjugation force.

“I-I want to go too.”

“Denied. Your focus is training for now.”

“…But I wanna go!”

Tsk.

Cecilia widened her eyes, then lowered her head.

Sniffle, sniffle.

She blinked rapidly, trying to hold back tears.

Her quivering, pouting lips made her look unbearably pitiful.

Rude looked panicked, unsure what to do.

But Kairon remained firm this time.

‘I have to somehow keep Cecilia away from the Queen’s gaze.’

Given Cecilia's personality, she wouldn't do any task half-heartedly.

Even the smallest trace could lead her to uncover something massive.

Therefore, if she were assigned this subjugation mission, the Queen would place even greater expectations on her.

She’s still a young child.

Kairon knew he couldn’t protect her forever, but he wanted to delay that day as much as possible.

“Commander. She wants to go that badly, don’t you think refusing her this strongly is a bit overprotective?”

Kairon turned around slowly with a hardened expression.

Walking up with his hands in his pockets, Edward wore a crooked smile.

“Therefore, Cecilia will also be joining the subjugation force.”

“What?”

“It is Her Majesty the Queen's order. The task is to subjugate the ‘Ancient King’s Ruins’, which we failed to conquer last time, with Sword Princess Cecilia as the spearhead.”

‘So this was all… part of his plan.’

Pretend to help Cecilia.

Lower everyone’s guard.

Then move in secret to make his plan a success.

Edward had orchestrated the whole thing from the start.

“Since the Commander was away, I had no choice but to approve it myself. You got no problem with that, right?”

‘…I’ve been had.’

Kairon closed his eyes.

Meanwhile—

‘The Vice-Commander is a god!’

Cecilia beamed with joy.

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