Sisilia's Normalization (1)
“Are you planning to kill all the users, Sisilia?! Dispatch the knights right now!”
The Eternal Tomb. Among the secret dungeons Edward possessed, it was the highest-tier one—a place that required at least one Windsor Knights high knight to clear. Sending users there was no different from telling them to die.
That's why Edward had freaked out and tried to rally the knights. And understandably so. Though he was occasionally misunderstood, when it came to the kingdom's safety, he was utterly sincere.
The users were a massive project that even the queen cared about. If they all got wiped out here—
Wait a second. No matter what, Sisilia wouldn't just let the users die.
Edward halted his steps to assemble the knights as a sudden idea flashed through his mind.
“……Safety is guaranteed. She's a bit off lately, but she always protects the most important values in the end.”
Why choose a demon's dungeon called Eternal, of all places? If she just needed a tough dungeon, she didn't have to steal one from Edward's office. The answer probably lay in the theme itself—the theme of eternity.
Edward quickly grasped Sisilia's intention.
“Impressive. You're always so innovative, Sisilia. That setup would definitely skyrocket the users' skills in a short time. But—”
Edward's lips curled up.
“It'll take quite a while, won't it?”
In truth, Sisilia's recent behavior had been grating on Edward's nerves. The once-perfect Sisilia had been acting like a ditzy cat with a screw loose.
Of course, if I ordered her strongly, she'd have to obey.
But handling her that way would sour their relationship, and that wasn't what Edward wanted—not when he was scheming to swallow the Windsor Knights whole. Sisilia was a headache in many ways.
The best approach here was to gently coax her without provoking her too much.
……The problem was that Edward himself might explode first.
“If I play this right, I can bend Sisilia to my will without any risk.”
Edward immediately set his scheme in motion.
Which was—doing absolutely nothing.
“The demon 'Rakan' sealed in the south is starting to stir. Maybe that's why powerful monsters are swarming.”
“Who's handling that?”
“Vice-Captain Sisilia.”
Sisilia, vice-captain of the Windsor Knights. A powerhouse who rose to high knight in record time and became the youngest vice-captain. She'd done a ton already and had even more on her plate. Even in a ceasefire, her absence was a big gap.
And the side effects were starting to show.
“Factions forming among the newbies?”
“Eh, it happens. The noble knights are subtly looking down on them.”
“Tsk tsk. Since when did the Windsor Knights care about that? Discipline slipping?”
“Well—normally the vice-captain handles it, but Lady Sisilia's been away—”
And on top of that—Sisilia was no longer just a high knight; she was vice-captain. Naturally, her workload had exploded with new responsibilities.
Mostly incentive calculations. Assessing each knight's contributions and doling out appropriate praise—that was solely the vice-captain's role. Something Beatrice had shouldered before.
She was excellent at it, too. Logically, there was no issue.
“No, no! You should've considered my situation here!”
“Why's my mission eval like this? Why am I lower than Jerryway?!”
But the Windsor Knights had egos stronger than any knight order in the world. Having their adjutant Beatrice handle mission evals meant no clear hierarchy.
“I carried us! That guy just rode the carriage!”
“What?! Think you could've soloed it? We won because of my brilliance!”
“Without me, you'd have died the second you entered the boss room!”
Other issues abounded too. No vice-captain to issue orders meant fumbling in subjugations—or lacking someone to execute the captain's words precisely, leading to abysmal efficiency.
Minor problems got brute-forced with raw power, but the knights' dissatisfaction was skyrocketing.
In short, the current Windsor Knights vibe? A total clusterfuck.
Eventually, the pissed-off knights swarmed Chiron's mansion.
“If this were wartime, it'd be a disaster. What's wrong with the chain of command?!”
“If you can't do it, shut up—it's worse when you can but won't!”
“Isn't this a family upbringing issue?!”
“Right! Chiron, awaken!”
“Awaken!”
“…….”
Chiron's face turned ashen.
And so—after just a week of Sisilia's absence.
“How is it? The captain's office after so long. Probably hasn't changed much.”
Chiron stepped into Windsor Knights HQ. In a suit, no less.
Edward greeted him warmly, serving tea with both hands.
“……I've heard my daughter has caused several issues.”
“She's not causing problems. The problem is she's doing nothing.”
“I see.”
Chiron gripped the warm teacup.
“I've given her plenty of advice. She should've understood it all. But to think she'd act like this……”
“Oh dear, you've underestimated Sisilia.”
Edward's smile wouldn't fade. The flower in his head—usually only blooming around Sisilia—had fully blossomed.
“Since you retired, Sir Chiron, no one can rein her in.”
“…….”
“She's strutting around like she owns the place. Want to see the vice-captain's office? Though you can't even enter with all the papers she dumped.”
Crash!
The teacup in Chiron's hand shattered to pieces.
Normally, neat-freak Edward would frown, but right now, he beamed with joy.
“Where is Sisilia now?”
“Probably enjoying a dungeon picnic with the users. I can still picture her grinning ear to ear before leaving.”
“……Edward, you free?”
“My time's always short, but for the former captain, I'll make some.”
“Lead the way.”
“Gladly.”
And so they headed to Sisilia's location: the Eternal Tomb.
“What'll you do? Might have to wait a while.”
“Destroy it.”
At Chiron's word, Edward drew his sword and obliterated the entire dungeon with an Extreme Art.
And thus—
“What the hell did you do, Captain?!”
Sisilia, utterly clueless, glared coldly at Edward.
“Wow, color me impressed. I suspected, but—didn't think you'd actually be enjoying it here.”
Her newbie date properly ruined, Sisilia was a bit heated.
“One second slower, and everyone here dies. No matter how much you hate my actions, this is……”
“I ordered it. If you're mad, take it out on me.”
Sisilia flinched. Then slowly turned.
Chiron approached with a fearsome scowl.
“And if your sword's so dull you can't even block that, quit as vice-captain right now.”
Edward turned away, barely holding back laughter.
Sisilia's silver eyes spun wildly.
“Good thing your skills are fine. So your current issue is that attitude, then.”
The bold Sisilia before Edward was just a meek lamb before Chiron.
Sisilia panicked, sweat pouring.
“D-Dad.”
Even calling him “Dad” didn't help; Chiron radiated chill.
“Sisilia.”
It was Chiron truly furious—something Sisilia had never seen.
Right before exploding, he spotted the trembling users and barely held back.
“We'll talk back home first.”
**
The moment they entered the mansion, Sisilia got 20 spanks on the butt.
“Hic, snif.”
“Hands up straight!”
Sisilia sobbed pitifully, standing punished in Chiron's office with hands raised.
“I-I'm sorry. Snif, hic.”
Usually strategic tears, but these were real. Chiron's genuine anger had reduced her to a mess.
“Vice-captain of the Windsor Knights is a vital post—millions of lives hang on it.”
Seeing her true remorse softened Chiron a bit.
“Remember this, Sisilia. Rights come with responsibilities. You can act foolish sometimes, lose all your money—fine.”
Windsor knights were looser on discipline than most. Boozers, womanizers, even gamblers and drug users existed.
They caused big incidents, did un-knightly things.
Yet—light punishments only. Why?
“But you must never shirk your duties.”
Because they delivered when it counted.
Windsor knights could be playful, un-knightly off-duty.
But when needed, they stepped up.
“Everything you want, everything you love—do it after fulfilling your duties. Got it?”
“Y-Yes, yes! I get it. I'll do it right from next time—forgive me!”
Chiron finally smiled softly, stroking her head.
“Good. You've done well so far—forgiven this once.”
“Hug me.”
Sisilia buried into Chiron, sobbing.
He patted her back with a faint smile.
Fragile child. He'd scolded harshly, but her heart was probably worrying over the users fresh from another world.
To let Sisilia work freely, I need to guide those users well.
Chiron steeled himself.
**
Early morning.
Beatrice rubbed her eyes at the bizarre sight upon arriving.
Still half-asleep……?
“Good morning, Betty.”
Sisilia basked in the warm sunlight, handling work.
“Wh-when did you get here?”
“'Bout an hour ago?”
“L-Lady Sisilia, capable of waking this early……?”
“What a joke. I always clocked in at this time.”
“……Pardon?”
Her conscience was still MIA, apparently.
“Grab those files? This one's a bit much for you, Betty.”
Still, an unbelievable scene.
Sisilia—working!
She always bolted with ridiculous excuses at this hour!
Just a fleeting whim. By afternoon, as always……
But the whim Beatrice thought temporary persisted.
“Heard some gripe about contributions?”
“Eh, n-no way—me?”
“Come in relaxed.”
First, Sisilia sought out dissatisfied knights, politely notifying them.
“Beat me, and I'll revise your eval positively. Of course.”
The Windsor Knights quickly learned her style.
Edward solved conflicts with cold logic.
Sisilia—
“You'll have to stake your life on it.”
Pure madness.
“If you feel unequal to commoners, can't be helped. I'll wipe your clan. Any complaints? Hands up.”
“N-none!”
Newbie knights especially quaked at the true PK maniac.
And so—two days of Sisilia acting normal.
“Knew it, but seeing it firsthand is ridiculous.”
“…….”
“Newbie factions fixed in two days. And contributions……”
Beatrice was a capable adjutant, but evals weren't her forte. Distributing based on reports alone wasn't easy.
But Sisilia's deduction was unmatched.
She pierced the truth from reports alone.
“Perfect.”
Perfect. Beyond words—utterly irrefutable evals.
“Why not do this sooner if you could? Doesn't make sense.”
“Then I'll head to my next task.”
But Edward eyed Sisilia suspiciously.
No matter how scary Chiron was, could someone change overnight?
He said dryly,
“Fine.”
“Roger.”
Sisilia saluted crisply and turned sharply.
Expressionless.
Screech—
But the instant she left the captain's office, Sisilia smirked meaningfully.
—Everything you want, everything you love—do it after fulfilling your duties.
So, finish a week's work in one day—leaves six days to lick newbies?
And thus—
“Hehe.”
Sisilia scheming to squeeze in newbie time,
and
“Hmm. Yeah, she's probably thinking that right now.”
Edward, dead serious about leashing her—
their fierce battle of wits began.