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Chapter 60: I Became a Swordsman in the Middle Ages
🕑 Added 2025-05-17 05:16:37 +0000 UTCNiflheim Landing Operation (1)
“You tied your hair up today...”
“Yup.”
Cecilia, now with her hair in a high ponytail, yawned and rubbed her eyes.
For some reason, she always found it especially hard to wake up whenever she was on deployment.
Stretching her arms wide, she let out a groggy sigh.
‘She looks like a cat…’
Beatrice tried to resist the urge to stare and awkwardly opened her mouth.
“Um… Lady Cecilia…”
In truth, Beatrice hadn’t slept well the night before.
The lingering effects of the “Muramasa” had her replaying her own rude behavior over and over in her mind.
‘Cecilia did all that for my sake, and yet I…’
Even though she’d gained incredible power thanks to her, she hadn’t recognized Cecilia’s intentions at the time and could only whine like a coward.
‘She probably hates me now…’
Beatrice clenched her fist tightly.
She was no longer a trainee knight.
The days of waiting for someone to protect and guide her were over.
‘Starting now, I have to step up. I need to properly apologize for yesterday.’
With newfound resolve, Beatrice mustered the courage to speak to Cecilia.
But the person who had been right beside her just moments ago was gone.
Panicking slightly, Beatrice finally found Cecilia in an open clearing.
Thud thud.
‘S-She’s suddenly shadowboxing?!’
Her actions were completely unpredictable, as usual.
Just then, Knight Roider, who looked as though he’d just taken a cold bath in the freezing morning air, spotted Cecilia and stopped.
He had a powerful build, long hair, and his body was covered with battle scars.
The real issue, though…
‘Did he seriously take a cold bath in this cold weather?!’
With a stern and serious face, he folded his arms and began giving unsolicited advice.
“Hmm. Your footwork’s a little off.”
“Rotate your shoulder more from there…”
Twitch.
Cecilia stopped mid-punch and raised an eyebrow.
“Wanna go?”
“Oh, fancy a warm-up spar?”
“Come at me.”
‘Why is it turning out like this?!’
And just like that, a boxing match was spontaneously declared.
The previously lethargic Windsor Knights suddenly snapped to attention and swarmed around.
“Roider! Crush her!”
“This is a matter of pride!”
“You can’t lose a brawl to a girl! That’s just wrong!”
“You’ve caught vodka fever, haven’t you?!”
“Seize the commander’s liquor stash!”
As the crowd grew larger, Cecilia casually upped the stakes with a little wager.
She bet Kairon’s precious champagne collection, saying she’d throw a grand party with it as soon as they returned to the capital.
If she lost, fine.
But if she won, Roider would be under a year-long abstinence from alcohol.
Almost a life-or-death duel!
The knights enthusiastically accepted the challenge and began cheering for Roider with everything they had.
Even Beatrice joined in, shouting timidly from the edge of the crowd.
“L-Lady Cecilia, you have to win…!”
Cecilia gave her a cool thumbs-up in response.
She stepped lightly into her stance, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
Roider, muscles rippling, approached with deliberate slowness.
“Are Blessings allowed?”
“Nope. Just mana.”
“Kehehe. Sounds good to me.”
Cecilia launched in immediately.
She feinted with her left and followed up with a clean right jab to the midsection.
Thunk!
Roider dropped his guard low to block.
Seeing his upper body exposed, Cecilia instantly aimed an uppercut, but he leaned back and avoided it cleanly.
Her punch sliced through empty air. Roider’s turn.
Cecilia retreated with a quick backstep.
“You see that? Your footwork’s too shallow. Makes your attacks predictable.”
Twitch, twitch.
Before he even finished speaking, Cecilia lunged in again.
Roider coolly kept his distance, dodging her punches with practiced ease.
It was starting to really piss her off.
“Uooohhh!!”
“She’s no match for him!”
“Is Lady Cecilia losing?”
Unable to hold back, Beatrice turned and asked the knight beside her.
“There’s way too much of a reach difference. Cecilia is small, how’s she supposed to land a punch?”
“…”
“And Roider’s the best at hand-to-hand combat in all of Windsor. Probably even high-ranking knights can’t beat him, aside from Sir Leoric, of course. Oh, not counting the Commander, too. He’s not human.”
The knight—clearly someone who had bet gold on Roider—grinned smugly.
“This match? Cecilia’s gonna lose.”
Wham!
Cecilia’s punch landed squarely on Roider. But he rolled with it using his shoulder, barely flinching.
On the other hand, Cecilia looked exhausted. She’d wasted her stamina with a flurry of ineffective combos—clearly thrown in frustration.
With a sword in hand, Cecilia was always calm and composed. But boxing was a different story.
Besides, when it came to close combat, Cecilia was more of a kicker than a puncher.
“Heh. You’re looking a bit winded, aren’t you?”
Having intentionally worn her down, Roider finally dropped his guard and readied himself.
Now it was his turn to attack.
Cecilia narrowed her eyes at the unfavorable situation.
“Here I come!”
“Finish it, Roider!”
“Don’t lose!”
Hardly anyone was cheering for Cecilia.
Maybe that’s why Beatrice’s fist clenched even harder.
“Y-You can’t lose…!”
Roider charged forward, closing the gap as Cecilia slowly retreated.
Snow flurried around him with every powerful step—he looked like a charging bear.
But Cecilia’s eyes glinted sharply.
She bounced on her toes. Her footwork suddenly alive again.
Roider smirked.
‘Going for a counter, huh?’
He had no intention of giving Cecilia any range in the first place.
Just as she entered his striking range, Roider threw a full-force punch.
At that moment—
Thwack—!
Cecilia spun into a brutal roundhouse kick that caught Roider square on the jaw!
He never saw that kick coming.
With a massive thud, Roider crumpled to the ground.
“W-Wasn’t this supposed to be boxing…?”
Beatrice was flustered.
But the other Windsor knights barely reacted.
“As always, cheap shot.”
“Yup. Still cheating.”
They weren’t particularly surprised.
It wasn’t exactly an unfamiliar sight, after all.
Still, this outcome had been fully anticipated by those who bet on Roider.
The knight acting as referee grabbed the unconscious and mouth-foaming Roider’s hand, raised it high into the air.
“Foul! Victory to Roider! Cecilia loses!”
Cecilia shrugged her shoulders.
‘Sorry, Kairon.’
…Though honestly, it wasn’t her champagne anyway, so not her problem.
***
Having finished her morning workout, Cecilia looked remarkably refreshed.
‘That suspicious mage from yesterday still bothers me, but… no big deal.’
There’d been a few close calls, but in the end, everything had played out just as she envisioned.
She’d gained just enough merit, avoided an all-out war, and best of all—no casualties.
All that remained now was to head to the “designated location.”
“Today, I’ll complete the mission,”
Cecilia announced, addressing the assembled knights.
The moment she uttered the word mission, the entire group instantly sharpened their stance.
“If it’s a mission… then we’re finally moving out?”
“Yup.”
Cecilia offered a faint smile.
“We’ve worked hard on the farm, so it’s time to reap the harvest.”
“Umm, Cecilia? Mind giving us a bit more explanation?”
Red Axe Herald blinked as he raised his hand.
“All we’ve done so far is a snowman-building contest, sumo matches, boxing duels, first-love confession circle, campfires, and slicing up some small fries—so, uh… what mission?”
“Haa.”
Cecilia let out a cold sigh.
The entire Windsor Knights squad turned and glared at Herald like they were about to kill him.
‘Did he really need to say that out loud?!’
‘Yeah, we don’t know either, but couldn’t he have kept his mouth shut to avoid losing face?!’
‘I knew it from the moment he started gluing snow to his own body when we were supposed to be making snowmen!’
Their expressions were somewhere between exasperated and betrayed.
Still, they were all curious—especially Beatrice, who had stars in her eyes.
‘There must be an incredible reason behind it all!’
Cecilia opened her mouth with a neutral expression.
“That was because…”
‘What, what excuse should I make?’
In fact, Cecilia was also in trouble!
The truth was, all the orders she had given them over the past week were merely… ‘stalling for time.’
She couldn’t just lie casually either. These knights weren’t fools.
…Well, some of them were, but not all of them.
If she made up something half-baked, they’d know immediately.
“That was because…”
Cecilia mumbled in a voice as small as a mouse:
“...Next time, at this hour.”
“…”
“…”
Three seconds later, the backlash erupted.
“Cecilia, get it together!”
“Are you seriously joking around on a battlefield?!”
“Could you please act serious for once?!”
“Ugh—ack—ow!”
A barrage of snowballs rained down!
Cecilia crouched down, clutching her head as the snow bombardment continued relentlessly.
“To suppress points A, B, C, and D and cut off enemy intel around the Rocky Mountains—was that not the objective?”
Cutting through the chaos of Windsor Knights bullying Cecilia, a figure in a gray robe stepped forward.
A knight who was molding his next snowball blinked.
“…And who the hell are you?”
“Nemesis, Commander of the Northern 1st Mage Division.”
“…!”
An unexpected big shot—!
The Windsor Knights tossed one final snowball at Cecilia for good measure, then stood at attention and saluted.
“Alright, now scram.”
“…Not exactly the kind of thing you should say while saluting politely, Sir Knight.”
Cecilia, eyes misty with tears from snow and humiliation, lit up when she saw the suspicious-looking mage.
See? The world doesn’t just abandon you…!
“But… what’s this about the Rocky Mountains?”
“The fact that none of you picked up on it after all the clues I gave… remarkably dimwitted, really,”
Nemesis said with a shrug.
‘What a jerk.’
‘Should we punch him once?’
‘Yeah, just one should be fine.’
‘But what if he dies?’
‘Oh well, can’t be helped.’
Such was the silent, mutual exchange of glances among the Windsor Knights.
‘C’mon… if things go south, I can just kill him. No biggie.’
Cecilia gave a bright smile.
“To think you figured it out… impressive.”
“Oh my! To be praised by the greatest military strategist in the history of mankind! What an honor for my humble bloodline!”
“…Would you be willing to explain? I’m curious if your interpretation matches my intent.”
Nemesis offered an exaggerated bow and stepped up beside Cecilia’s platform.
“But of course. Though before I explain, may I ask what command you intend to give them today?”
‘No hiding it now anyway…’
Cecilia silently prayed he’d interpret everything in the most flattering way possible as she spoke.
“Today, the Windsor Knights are heading to… Niflheim.”
“…!”
At the word “Niflheim,” the knights’ eyes widened.
There wasn’t a single person here who didn’t know the name.
It was far too famous.
The demonfolk city of Niflheim.
A legendary city, one no living human had ever set foot in.
“As expected, that’s what this was about! Of course! That’s what it was all along!”
Nemesis exclaimed in admiration.
‘What was all along?!’
Cecilia felt like she’d just swallowed 500 raw sweet potatoes.
“What was all along?”
Bless you, Herald!
Cecilia felt a satisfying relief as Herald said exactly what she’d wanted to scream herself.
“The destination is, of course…”
Worried her innocent plan might get derailed, Cecilia quickly jumped in.
“…We’ll be passing through the Rocky Mountains to get there.”
“Haha! Naturally. If anyone still hadn’t figured it out at this point, they must have lower intelligence than a goblin.”
Twenty-five knights—now officially dumber than goblins—glared coldly at Nemesis.
Of course, Cecilia was among them.
“The common trait of points A, B, C, and D is that they all lead toward the Rocky Mountains. In other words, Lady Cecilia had this entire strategy mapped out from the moment she set foot on the northern lands.”
Nemesis raised the corner of his mouth.
“This operation shall henceforth be known as: the Niflheim Landing Operation.”
“!”
“…!”
“!!”
The final exclamation mark belonged to Cecilia.
What a cool-sounding codename!
“Normally, the Rocky Mountains are considered a natural fortress. Which means no one would ever expect an army to cross them.”
“And above all, the demons’ history is a history of invasion. They’ve never once been invaded themselves. Especially not now—never in their wildest dreams would they imagine humans coming to Niflheim.”
Nemesis stepped forward.
Beatrice’s jaw dropped slightly after understanding everything.
‘I thought all she ever thought about was dessert… Turns out there was so much more! Such deep intentions!’
“In short, landing in Niflheim via the Rocky Mountains is the only way to catch the Demon King’s army off guard.”
“To make that happen, we executed operations A through D to cut off their intelligence network, secured hostages, and gathered insider knowledge on Niflheim. From start to finish, it was a flawlessly calculated plan!”
Just then, someone cut in.
“Wait a minute. Even if that’s the plan, can we actually break through the Rocky Mountains? I mean, if that route is really that lightly defended, it’s probably not easy to get through.”
“Lady Cecilia is a great strategist who devised this entire strategy within half a day of arriving in the north. Of course, she must have a countermeasure for that as well. Isn’t that right?”
All eyes turned to Cecilia.
She gave a small nod.
“Ooooh!”
“How did that little head of yours come up with such brilliance?”
“A landing op…! My heart’s already pounding!”
“Of course Lady Cecilia had it all planned!”
Cecilia blinked her eyes.
Wait… they’re all… praising me?
Instantly fired up, she drew her sword with flair and shouted:
“I, Cecilia Windsor, Commander of the Northern Expeditionary Force, hereby give the order!”
The entire Windsor Knights unit snapped to attention in perfect unison.
Each one radiated the presence of a finely honed blade.
These were the strongest elite force of the Lianen Kingdom: the Windsor Knights.
‘My chest… it’s swelling with pride…!’
“The Windsor Knights shall carry out Niflheim Landing Operation and complete the mission!”
