Mission Complete
"Good work, everyone."
The dungeon dissolved into a shower of light. It felt like waking from a long, vivid dream. If not for Sisilia standing there with a polite bow, he might have thought it was all some illusion spell.
A clone that recognized itself as a demon and chose suicide. Given how convincingly it was rendered, it was easy to guess it wasn't much different from the real thing. In other words, if something like that happened to Sisilia, she would have offered her own neck without hesitation.
The moment she instinctively realized she was no longer on the side of humans.
And the new recruits—all of them—now understood. Even if the order fell to them, they would have to make the same choice.
"You are all now proud Windsor Knights. Your basic trainee orientation ends here."
That was the fundamental mindset every Windsor Knight had to possess.
"Ah."
Beatrice hurriedly dabbed at her eyes. Tears had welled up without her noticing. The image of young Sisilia calmly slitting her own throat kept replaying in her mind. Her final emotion had surely been sorrow. She definitely hadn't wanted to die.
**
"Lady Sisilia."
On the way back—Sisilia harboring her lecherous inner thoughts of 'Once we're back in the capital, I'll take leave and make sure to lick Betty all over—'—Beatrice spoke up.
"Yeah?"
"...The little Sisilia—no, the clone from the dungeon gimmick—had a message for you."
'So the 'object of fear' was me, after all.' Just as Sisilia had expected from the start. The surprise was that the victorious side was the little version. And that she had a message to relay.
'Maybe she recommended tonight's dinner menu?'
Sisilia stared blankly, and Beatrice murmured wistfully.
"'Don't lose your初心.'"
"...!"
Sisilia's usually impassive eyes widened. Seeing her reaction, Beatrice was convinced.
'That rumor was true.'
There were many famous rumors about Sisilia. The most legendary one in the capital was 'that incident,' now the stuff of myth.
At age six. A ragged noble girl from a fallen house walked through the streets, clutching a demon's severed head to her chest. She headed straight for the Windsor Knights' headquarters. Upon arrival, tears streaming down her face, she reportedly said:
—"Please take me in. I don't need pay—as long as I can kill demons."
The unprecedented genius, the Sword Princess Sisilia's path to enlistment. An ordinary girl who lost her parents to demons, awakened her Aura on the spot, exacted revenge, and sought out the Windsor Knights. Her singular obsession after losing everything: the extermination of every demon in the world.
But that was...
'It's just too sad, Lady Sisilia.'
"...Betty."
Sisilia stared at the ground and asked quietly.
"Who won?"
"Your child self, Lady Sisilia."
Sisilia seemed lost in thought. Beatrice wanted to comfort her. But she couldn't. The sorrow of losing her parents at six and having no choice but to join the Windsor Knights—it was beyond her grasp. Even offering solace felt like hypocrisy.
'What do I do?'
As Beatrice's eyes began to well up with pity—Sisilia...
'Oh no, I'm screwed.'
Cold sweat soaked the back of her neck. Her head—no, the whole world—was spinning.
'I'm an idiot.'
Sisilia's初心 wasn't just about raising newbies. It was about becoming the perfect beauty Sword Princess NPC and basking in their adoration!
'I got so caught up in training that I missed the basics!'
Of course, the newbies' growth was essential too. The ultimate goal was slaying the Demon God, after all.
But what was the point if their affection went to other golden opportunities—especially Edward—because hers was zero?
And so far, all she'd done was—
—"Spare us!"
—"Isn't that our potion?!"
—"P-please, anything but that!"
The result? The newbies hadn't chosen her.
Her past self, seeing through it all, had pierced her present self with a single barb.
—"What have you been doing all this time? Total failure."
Sisilia rubbed her eyes like a cat washing its face. Tears came from sheer frustration.
"Ah..."
Beatrice's heart felt like it was tearing apart. It had to be thoughts of her parents making her cry.
"B-Betty. Hold on a sec."
"...Yes."
"Cover for me."
'Even now, refusing to show weakness...'
Beatrice bit her lip, emotions surging. She glanced around. Fortunately, no one had noticed. Grabbing Sisilia's slender wrist, she pulled her into the woods.
As soon as they were out of sight, she threw her arms around Sisilia in a tight hug.
"Why do you push yourself so hard?"
"..."
"You come back covered in wounds like this. You could've just waited patiently. Even if we're lacking, more of us together is better than you alone."
Beatrice's eyes brimmed with tears. She wasn't stupid. The harsh training was all from a gentle wish to minimize casualties among the rookies in the field. And even in this raid, Sisilia had taken the worst of it.
—Of course, it was a ploy to snag some vacation time—
She'd probably pushed herself to hunt down and kill demons out of worry the new knights would get hurt.
"That's my role."
Hearing the faint voice, tears spilled from Beatrice's eyes.
"...Lady Sisilia. Do you know?"
"Hm?"
"You're two years younger than me."
"Yeah."
"So, lean on me whenever you want. My skills may be meager, but..."
'...I'll get stronger.'
Beatrice vowed it. She'd grow strong enough for Sisilia to rely on her without worry.
"I'll do anything I can for you."
"For real?"
Beatrice wiped her tears and nodded. Sisilia smiled faintly.
"Thanks."
This was the perfect heroine moment—Sisilia smirked inwardly at someone.
'Bet you couldn't pull this off. Loser.'
She could almost hear the affection points rising.
**
The great beauty Sword Princess Sisilia, who reigned supreme under heaven and earth, entered the capital with majestic swagger.
'Heh.'
Her self-esteem, which had briefly crawled into the dirt, was recharged by Beatrice and now soared limitlessly.
'Can't wait for tomorrow.'
She'd finally locked in plans with Beatrice. Tomorrow: shopping, treats, the works. Affection would skyrocket, and the new knights—who'd heard the heartwarming Sword Princess tale—would get an automatic boost too!
The Trojan Beatrice Operation!
To that end, she'd wrap up everything today. And whine to Chiron for that vacation approval.
"Oh, Lady Sisilia's back."
"Why does she look so pleased?"
"Wouldn't you be? Zero casualties, and she succeeded where even a Sword Emperor failed."
"Man, she's Sword God material now. Time to call her the Sword Princess of Baek-un?"
'N-no, that won't do.'
Sisilia froze in brief terror but strode forward boldly. This time was different from last. It was an official raid, and she was the leader. Meaning she could forge documents to shrink her achievements to pea-size!
...Not that it was only for that, but she headed to Vice Captain Edward first.
"Mission complete."
"Hm, you're pretty banged up. Even for you, beating yourself must've been tough?"
Edward smiled as he closed his paperwork. So the vice captain knew about the dungeon.
'First discoverer: Edward Windsor.'
He probably knew the gimmick too. The mystery was why he hadn't cleared it. With his skill, he could've not just cleared it but slain 'Envy' itself.
"...Yes."
Though he apparently hadn't spotted the 'Halloween costume set.'
"You must have questions."
Edward stood, hands behind his back, approaching Sisilia. He stared down at her, smile fading.
"I don't recommend it."
"..."
Sisilia clamped her mouth shut, eyes shifting diagonally. A smile returned to Edward's lips.
"There, that's more like it. Keep your mouth shut like that, and I'll help hide your strength."
Edward looked immensely satisfied. And so was Sisilia.
"Anyway, that's settled. Did you get the info?"
Back at his desk, Edward asked seriously. Sisilia nodded.
"Yes."
She'd heard it from Envy about the demon situation. Edward's guess was half-right. There was infighting. But the Demon King wasn't dead.
"The demon surge is because of Walpurgisnacht."
"Walpurgisnacht?"
Edward furrowed his brow. First time hearing it.
"When something major happens, demons gather at the Demon King's castle for a grand council called Walpurgisnacht. They mostly decide the demons' future path there... or so I heard."
"...Demons hold meetings? Surprising. But they pulled back the front lines just for that?"
"No, your guess was right, Vice Captain."
Sisilia spoke flatly.
"Unprecedented power struggle. To aid their factions, they're concentrating forces."
"Ho, as expected. So? You haven't said the most important part."
Edward asked cautiously.
"The reason?"
Sisilia replied flatly.
"The Demon King is dead."
A blatant lie. Two reasons. First, to test if Edward was truly on humanity's side or demons'. If the latter, he'd deviate from the script and react.
Second...
'I just like the idea of the Demon King being dead.'
A petty whim. If problems arose, she could just make the lie reality.