I Became a Swordsman in the Middle Ages – Chapter 13

On the way to the dungeon, Cecilia recalled memories of the past.

– Cecilia: Hey.

– WhyPlayThisGame: Yeah.

– Cecilia: Here, take this.

[**Demon Sword Irthar** – Instantly kills monsters below level 80.]

[**Flame of Growth** – Increases EXP gain by 3 times.]

– Cecilia: Early-leveling just got easier.

– WhyPlayThisGame: Oh, thanks, thanks.

It had been a while since she met a newbie. Excited, she gave them plenty of good items.

She made plans with the newbie and met them again later. She followed them around, even power-leveling them, and they had a great time together.

But the newbie started logging in less and less. Why? This time, she even gave them good items without hesitation and power-leveled them.

– WhyPlayThisGame: I think I’m just gonna quit.

– Cecilia: Why? T_T

– WhyPlayThisGame: It’s just not fun.

Cecilia was deeply shocked. So shocked, in fact, that she was bedridden for three days.

That’s when she realized: Helping someone isn’t everything. Before giving advice, you need to make sure they find the game fun first.

**

“This is the **Grave of the Skilled**,” Cecilia said.

The place she stopped at was a forest a bit away from the royal capital. There was a gate made of vines, and inside, a deserted mansion could be seen.

“Why is there a mansion in the middle of the forest…?”

The apprentice knights looked up in confusion. Cecilia, with her hands behind her back, observed them.

“Is this everyone’s first time in a dungeon?”

“Ah, no, we’ve been to some before. But not this kind of dungeon.”

“You must’ve only been to easy dungeons. The ones that are just caves with simple monsters and no demons guarding them.”

The apprentice knight nodded nervously.

Cecilia explained in a calm tone, “This is a moderate dungeon. Usually, the **Windsor Knight Order** handles these. Of course, it’s the lowest rank, used for training newcomers.”

“What does that mean…?”

“If you can survive this dungeon on your own, I’ll recommend you to the Knight Order.”

At those words, the apprentices’ eyes widened. Some were already burning with motivation.

“…Most of you probably know this, but for those who don’t, I’ll give a quick explanation before we enter.”

Cecilia raised one finger.

“Don’t let fear take over in the dungeon.”

She raised a second finger.

“Follow the rules of the demons. But there are exceptions.”

She raised a third finger and said, “If ignoring the rules means survival, then ignore the second rule. That’s it.”

Then, someone raised their hand. Cecilia nodded with the patience of a kindergarten teacher.

“What are the rules of the demons?”

Cecilia glanced toward the mansion.

“They’ll gladly tell you once we’re inside. Shall we go in now?”

“Yes!”

Their voices were full of enthusiasm. So cute.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve been in a dungeon. I’m excited.’

What kind of demon would be waiting this time? With anticipation, Cecilia headed toward the mansion.

“Welcome, guests.”

A man in a suit suddenly appeared in front of the mansion. His eyes were entirely black, with no whites, and he had goat horns on his head.

“A demon!”

The apprentice knights all reached for their swords. At that moment, an overwhelming presence emanated from Cecilia.

‘If you draw your sword, you die.’

Though Cecilia didn’t say a word, the message was clear to everyone. The demon bowed with an exaggerated gesture.

“Thank you for understanding that I have no desire to fight.”

Cecilia observed the demon for a moment.

‘Is he going for a butler vibe? His glasses are kinda ugly.’

“No, we were the rude ones.”

“Haha, such polite guests are rare. May I ask your name?”

‘Never give your name to a demon.’

The apprentice knights nervously thought of aliases…

“Cecilia Windsor.”

“Windsor? You must be the guest who often gets lost.”

But when Cecilia gave her name, the demon’s expression changed strangely.

He kept sweating and was busy wiping it off with a handkerchief. His glasses had already fogged up.

“Uh, um…”

“What?”

Cecilia tilted her head.

The demon gulped and forced a smile.

“The Slaughterer… what brings you here…?”

“**The Slaughterer?**”

The demon’s eyes filled with fear for a moment. After a long silence, as if thinking…

“Ah, I’d love to guide you, but unfortunately, there are no rooms available in the mansion tonight.”

He tried to retreat into the mansion.

The knights were dumbfounded, unsure of what was happening.

Cecilia quickly stepped forward and grabbed the demon’s wrist as he tried to disappear.

“Why are you doing this!”

“It’s night. I’d like to stay in the mansion for a bit.”

“I said there are no rooms!”

“I’d like to stay.”

The demon tried to escape, but Cecilia held on, persuading him.

The bizarre scene left the knights speechless.

“Is it not possible?”

Cecilia’s eyes turned cold, and the demon hastily replied.

“Ah, on second thought, it wouldn’t be right to turn away guests who’ve come all this way.”

Cecilia nodded in satisfaction and stepped back.

The demon, glancing at Cecilia, spoke.

“…You are welcome to stay in the mansion as long as you like. I am Ricardo, the caretaker of this mansion. I will be your kind and attentive butler during your stay. However, there are a few rules in this mansion.”

The demon paused, looking at Cecilia as if seeking approval.

Cecilia nodded.

Ricardo opened his mouth, but the language wasn’t human. The rapid movement of his lips was terrifying.

=========

[Welcome to the **Grave of the Skilled**!]

– Lost in the forest, you stumble upon a magnificent mansion!

– Fortunately, the mansion’s caretaker, Ricardo, is a warm-hearted butler. He gladly welcomes you into the mansion.

– However, there are a few rules in this mansion!

1. Do not be rude! A fine intellectual should always converse with proper manners!

2. Do not make loud noises! Noise pollution lowers the property value!

3. Do not run in the hallways! Surely, no one would run in such a dignified mansion!

4. Do not go outside after midnight! Roaming around late at night is bad manners!

=========

The language wasn’t heard but understood in their minds.

Some of the apprentice knights, having experienced this strange phenomenon, were terrified.

“Huh.”

Ricardo licked his lips with a cruel smile, savoring the fear he had just felt.

But-

“Gasp.”

Seeing the silver-haired girl staring at him with a blank expression, he shrank back.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

“…We understand the rules. We’ll do our best not to break them.”

‘Good. They’re not here to exterminate me, just for training.’

Finally understanding Cecilia’s intentions, Ricardo let out a faint sigh.

As long as they don’t cross the line, the ‘Slaughterer’ won’t intervene. Just like the other Windsor knights before.

“Then, welcome once again to our mansion. You may choose any room you like. Oh, but let’s have a meal first.”

**

‘I should buy a gift for the vice-captain when I get back.’

Cecilia was in a great mood.

The dungeon Edward recommended was a fantastic place full of personality.

She liked the mansion setting and found Ricardo, the demon, quite clever.

The smarter they are, the more interesting elements they add.

‘But it’s a bit disappointing.’

Cecilia wanted to be treated as a proper ‘guest.’

But sadly, she was here as a ‘supervisor,’ so she couldn’t fully enjoy herself.

‘Still, this isn’t bad.’

The dungeon’s level was higher than she expected.

It’s ‘moderate’ now, but there’s potential for it to become ‘hard.’

By the end of the dungeon, she was excited to see how much the apprentices had improved.

Watching that was the charm of this mission.

“Cecilia.”

“Yes.”

The soft-spoken blonde, Beatrice, cautiously asked.

“How do we clear this dungeon…?”

Originally, Cecilia didn’t plan to interfere once they entered, but Beatrice was too cute, so she decided to answer.

“If you follow the rules, the demon will weaken. That’s when you strike. But if you break the rules, you’ll die instead.”

It was a classic demon tactic. Demons don’t just want to kill humans.

They want to extract as much fear and suffering as possible.

That’s why they create dungeons like this, thinking, ‘How can we make this scarier?’

“Cecilia! How long do we have to endure the rules?”

“……”

Cecilia avoided answering, and the knight who had mustered the courage to ask froze on the spot.

“One last thing…!”

A scruffy-haired apprentice knight bravely raised his hand.

‘His hair’s funny.’

Cecilia nodded.

“Is this food… safe to eat?”

Cecilia looked at the food in front of them.

Gurgle-

The purple, jelly-like substance wriggled disgustingly, making her stomach churn.

Cecilia replied with a slightly disgusted look.

“I wouldn’t recommend it. It doesn’t look tasty.”

“…That’s not what I meant. Will we die if we eat it?”

“No. The rules didn’t mention anything like that, so you won’t die.”

There was a slight sigh of relief, but the situation didn’t change.

‘Are we supposed to eat this?’

They’d rather die. They understood why Cecilia had left the food untouched while destroying everything else.

“We should save our rations. We don’t know how long we’ll be here.”

“How about we split into teams? The rooms might not be big enough for all of us.”

“By what standard? How do we split?”

“Let’s have the girls sleep together…”

Cecilia’s eyes sparkled faintly.

‘I’ll sleep in that room too.’

And she’d hug the cutest one to sleep.

“No. We should split by skill level. Do you think this is a joke? What do you think?”

“Sure. I don’t mind.”

“Huh? Don’t talk nonsense. How can we…!”

Just as a tough-looking female knight slammed the table and stood up-

Ding-

A bell rang.

Ding——

Again.

Cecilia quietly rested her chin on her hand, thinking.

‘It’s about to start.’

“What’s…”

“Wait! The rules! The rules said we have to be inside by midnight!”

Ding-ding-ding-ding——!

The grandfather clock’s chime grew faster and crazier.

The knights’ confusion grew. Panic spread rapidly.

“We’re screwed-”

Just as one apprentice knight cursed-

**Kekekekeke!**

Ghosts attacked.

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