Chapter 24: I Became a Swordsman in the Middle Ages

Long Business Trip (2)

The scenery flowing past the train window shimmered with clarity under the warm sunlight.

The compartment's walls were finished in dark walnut, exuding a sense of old-world elegance, and the carpet beneath her feet—emblazoned with aristocratic patterns—felt soft and luxurious.

“…Well, at least they gave me the most expensive room.”

Cecilia sighed.

“What a ridiculous world. Trains in the Middle Ages?”

If technology like this exists, shouldn’t there also be cars? Or guns?

Staring blankly out the window, Cecilia drifted into thought.

A sudden realization struck her.

‘This... kind of feels like exile, doesn’t it?’

‘Save the endangered Gartane Frontier.’

Gartane—one of the most isolated regions in the western front.

If they sent an SOS from a place like that, it meant things were really bad…

‘And yet, they wanted me to go alone?’

Beyond the simple dread of being sent there, how was she supposed to show her face to the Marquis of Gartane without dying of embarrassment?

‘I am the entire Windsor reinforcements!’

As romantic as that sounded, war wasn’t child’s play.

“……Maybe I should run away.”

Cecilia sulked.

But no matter how she looked at it, there was no way to defy a royal decree—especially one issued personally by the Queen.

She had even begged for at least 10 ordinary knights to accompany her, but that too had been denied.

In the end, she was practically booted out with nothing but a travel case, onto the “Westbound Train.”

She didn’t even remember how she’d packed her things and got out.

“Sigh…”

Faced with an unsolvable situation, all she could do was sigh.

‘…Three days just to get to the West and back. And stabilizing the front? Even with my stats as the Sword Princess, it’ll take a year.’

Cecilia calmly did the math.

‘Nope. Not happening… Guess I’ll secretly use Sword Sovereign mode. I can probably wrap this up within a week.’

She fired up her optimism circuits to the max.

After all, if she just got this mission over with quickly, she’d have some free time afterward.

Surely no one would dare overwork a cute lady knight who just returned from the battlefield.

Especially since Kairon had looked like he was about to storm the royal palace when she left.

Now that her calculations were done, Cecilia quietly closed her eyes.

Might as well get some good sleep before arriving.

And once she gets there, she’ll clear this "war dungeon" in record time.

***

“Ticket inspection, please.”

The conductor politely addressed the passengers as he opened the door to Cabin 6.

Inside sat a dignified middle-aged man and a rather young-looking girl.

The man, his gaze fixed on a book, pulled out his identification and ticket from inside his jacket.

After briefly checking the match, the conductor returned the ID with a bow.

He then checked the girl’s ID, bowed again, and left the cabin.

“A knight of Windsor, are you?”

The man, still reading his book, suddenly spoke.

The girl, who’d been spacing out, flinched.

“Ah, I—I’m just a trainee…”

The man closed his book, thoughtfully stroked his beard, then extended his hand.

The girl, caught off guard, instinctively took it.

“You’ve had it rough.”

“Th-Thank you…”

“I’m Baron Belgast, commander of Gartane’s frontier defense.”

The girl jerked up in surprise and stood at attention.

“B-Beatrice Schwarzfeder!”

Belgast casually received the salute and crossed his legs.

“To think I’d run into a Windsor here. On your way to the western front?”

‘What do I do? I missed my chance to explain.’

Beatrice swallowed hard.

After her mission with Cecilia, Beatrice had realized—with soul-crushing clarity—that this path wasn’t for her.

She was on her way home to help with her parents’ farm.

Most likely, the baron had mistaken her for a Windsor knight because of her uniform.

The problem was she’d blurted out that she was a trainee out of sheer panic.

She had only just officially withdrawn from the corps this morning and was still mentally scrambled.

‘It’s too late to correct him now… It should be fine, right? Gartane’s much more remote than my territory anyway.’

“No, I’ll be getting off a bit before that. At the Schwarz territory.”

“Ah, so you're heading home. On vacation, is it?”

“Y-Yes… something like that.”

Beatrice’s pale cheeks flushed a bit pink.

It was embarrassing to admit she had quit because she couldn’t even handle being an apprentice knight.

“That’s quite fortunate, then.”

“…Excuse me?”

“I don’t particularly mind if a Windsor is on this train, but sharing the same cabin would’ve been a bit… troublesome.”

“…?”

“Now then—let’s keep it quiet, shall we?”

Beatrice’s eyes widened. She tried to conjure a light barrier with her Blessing—

But she was a step too late.

“…!”

The man’s staff had already struck her knee.

“Y-You’re…”

“You chose your cabin well. Lucky you—you’ll be the last to die on this train.”

***

Fast asleep, Cecilia slowly opened her eyes.

‘A scent of incident…’

She had a hunch that something was about to go down.

“…Let’s go back to sleep.”

But she closed her eyes again.

Crippling lethargy!

Ever since she’d been robbed of her one joy in life (newbies) Cecilia had lost all motivation for anything!

‘I’m sure the train staff will handle it…’

After all, every conductor aboard this train was an elite mage.

Surely there was no need for her to intervene.

Just as she lay there like a withered weed—

Sniff sniff.

…What’s this sultry scent?

“…”

Her half-dead pupils locked on to something. Around row 4, cabin 6, someone had activated a Blessing and then quickly canceled it.

“Light… Blessing?”

A glimmer of hope returned to her lifeless eyes.

‘A newbie!’

Thump!

She jolted upright.

She flung open the door and rushed out.

God hasn’t forsaken her after all!

With energy fully restored, Cecilia strode down the hallway with a cheerful gait.

“E-Excuse me, it’s unsafe to move while the train is—guh!”

Suspicious-looking passengers were uppercut without hesitation. Normally she’d interrogate them, but she had priorities, so knocking them out would have to do.

[Room 406]

Thump.

Cecilia swallowed hard. The Blessing’s presence was coming from this room.

She carefully opened the door.

“Eek.”

There, staring at her with a face that looked ready to pass out, was the very cute, very adorable Beatrice.

‘…Thank goodness. There really was one.’

Cecilia, deeply moved, wiped a tear from her eye and turned to look at the man sitting across from Beatrice.

Unlike the warm look she had just given the girl, her gaze instantly turned cold.

“Boyfriend?”

“No, no he’s not…!”

Cecilia softened her expression again. Belgast gave her a once-over, then replied with a faint smile.

“Truly a fortunate day. To see not just one, but two knights from the Windsor Knight Order serving the kingdom. I am Baron Belgast, commander of Gartane's frontier defenses.”

A front-line commander.

Though his noble rank was merely a baron, his title was no small matter.

In Windsor terms, his position was just above that of a high-ranking knight.

That’s why Beatrice had leapt up and saluted in such a panic.

Cecilia, on the other hand, didn’t bat an eye.

Instead, she looked down at the man with calm scrutiny.

“…Is something wrong?”

“You picked the wrong target.”

“Hm?”

“The western front is quite unstable at the moment.”

“Haha. Seems you’re not very well-informed. Gartane may be in the west, but it’s fairly isolated. That’s why I, the defense commander, can afford to attend a central noble council.”

“What a coincidence. I’m heading to Gartane because I heard it was in danger.”

Of course, even if that weren’t true, Cecilia would’ve already realized he was the villain.

The name “Belgast” hadn’t appeared on the central noble meeting list.

Soon after, Belgast shed his mask and grinned cruelly.

“Is that so? I didn’t know that. This kingdom may seem sloppy, but intel like that never leaks.”

He jerked his chin toward Beatrice.

“Still, once you figured it out, you should’ve gone for the surprise. Tried to break my guard. Or were you afraid of losing this knight? If you’d like, I could swap out the hostage…”

“Would you mind switching seats with me?”

“…What?”

Belgast looked dumbfounded.

“My seat’s in first class. It’s much nicer than this one.”

It was true.

Cecilia tried to appeal sincerely—

—but unfortunately, the other party was too rude to understand the gesture.

“You crazy bitch. Die—!”

Belgast’s magic staff burst into flames. He had no doubt Cecilia would be reduced to ashes.

‘Tch. I don’t usually show this technique to just anyone.’

With a leisurely expression, Cecilia reached her hand toward the fireball heading straight for her.

‘But since I’m in a good mood today, I’ll make an exception. Just for Beatrice.’

It was the classic sign of a seasoned Dark Souls player: Parrying.

Yes, even in this world, such a skill existed.

But Cecilia’s method of parrying was unique.

First, she calculated the fireball’s acceleration and intensity.

Then, she visualized her wind blessing surrounding it with the perfect shape and pressure.

Once fully manifested, she extended her hand—

No more, no less—at the exact right moment.

Tap.

“…!”

Cecilia casually caught the fireball with her bare hand.

The flames writhed desperately, trying to escape her pale fist.

But on the inside, Cecilia didn’t feel even a trace of heat.

Her perfectly manifested Wind Blessing encased the flame completely.

She even showed off by adjusting the blessing dynamically—stretching and contracting in real-time—to match the flickering of the fire.

A flawless, show-stealing parry.

"Wh… What…?"

But this wasn’t enough.

By nature, a parry must have a follow-up advantage.

Without any kind of payoff, no matter how flashy or difficult the move is, it loses all appeal.

“An explosive-type Blessing, huh? That’s a rare one. Not a bad talent at all.”

First, Cecilia praised him to lower his guard.

‘Now.’

She twisted her ankle and dashed forward at lightning speed.

The key detail here was the magic she still held in her hand.

It felt like running with an egg yolk in your palm—

Too much pressure, and it bursts.

Too little, and it slips through your fingers.

But Cecilia never made rookie mistakes.

“Thanks for the show. Here—take it back.”

Still holding the compressed fireball, Cecilia shoved it cleanly into Belgast’s mouth.

Gulp—!

“No, no, no—!”

Belgast gagged, trying desperately to spit it out, but it was too late.

The spell had already seeped deep into his lungs.

Phew.

Cecilia turned confidently to Beatrice.

‘Did you see that? That’s me.’

But Beatrice was deathly pale. Not a trace of admiration in her expression.

Just pure horror.

‘Wait… no way…’

It hit Cecilia like a freight train.

Had she made a critical mistake?

She had been so blinded by the single ray of excitement in her otherwise joyless assignment that she’d made a move she normally never would.

‘Is she doubting my judgment for killing a crucial witness…?’

Yes. That’s what Belgast was.

At best a suspicious person, potentially a national threat, but not yet confirmed.

And Cecilia had tried to deal with him using modern logic—a little too literally.

Realizing this, Cecilia hurriedly drew her sword again.

“I surrender!”

“…Huh?”

“I-I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything! So please, please spare me!”

Belgast was now flat on the floor, groveling like his life depended on it.

Cecilia’s brow twitched in frustration.

‘Why now? Why’d he have to flop onto the floor and mess up my angle?’

Annoyed, she gave him a solid kick and flipped her sword in a smooth flourish before piercing him at the diaphragm.

Thud—!

Cecilia felt the precise feedback of her sword slipping in deep.

Right then, she snuffed out the unstable magic surging inside him.

She grabbed him by the collar, checked the trajectory slightly sideways—

Yup. Magic defused successfully.

Then, she slammed Belgast to the floor and flicked the blood from her blade with a swing.

Perfection.

Feeling proud of herself, Cecilia turned to Beatrice.

Her eyes said it all:

‘See? I handled it perfectly. What do you think?’

And yet...

“H-Hiccup…”

Beatrice looked even paler than before.

She even collapsed onto the floor, trembling violently.

‘Is it cold in here?’

Cecilia tilted her head in confusion.

‘Maybe I should take her to my room and bring her a blanket later.’

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