“Demon King’s Castle?”
“What happened?”
“Did Her Majesty play another prank?”
The audience began to murmur.
Beatrice also looked flustered and glanced to the side.
“Cecilia! Be, before that just now….”
Cecilia sat still without a hint of disturbance.
As if this kind of situation was already familiar to her.
‘Of course, it’s Cecilia.’
Is something like this really no big deal for her?
Truly, the calmness befitting the mascot of the Windsor Knight Order who represents the peerless Sword Heroine.
Thanks to this, Beatrice regained her composure as well.
Of course.
‘Ba, ba, ba, I let my guard down.’
Cecilia was actually the most flustered among those present.
What is this even about?
Demon King’s Castle?
“Betty. Please protect the people here. I will go check out the Engine Room.”
Still, there were things that needed to be done.
First, entrust this place to Beatrice and gather information.
‘It seems the entire train has turned into a dungeon. Is the purpose to cut off supply routes?’
At the very least, the people here must be protected.
The train can always be rebuilt, but human lives cannot be recreated.
Ideally, the dungeon transformation should stop before it completes.
Cecilia hurriedly tried to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge.
‘Break it then.’
She put strength into it and rammed it with her shoulder. A loud thud echoed, but the door didn’t break.
“Cecilia!”
“Hmm.”
“Be, there are cracks on the wall…”
Beatrice pointed uneasily at the wall where large cracks had appeared.
“…Is damaging property not allowed?”
Even minor damage could potentially destroy the entire train.
Cecilia had no choice but to abandon breaking the door.
If the train disintegrates here, while Beatrice might survive, everyone else would perish.
“Knight. Are you, are you alright?”
“Yes yes! Yes!”
A nearby mother sitting with her child awkwardly smiled and asked.
The child started crying, sensing the ominous atmosphere, and the expressions of the other passengers were equally uneasy.
“There is absolutely no problem. Cecilia Windsor, the kingdom’s top beauty. In all my missions so far, there hasn’t been a single civilian casualty.”
“Oh-!”
“Indeed, she is the Sword Heroine!”
Cecilia returned to her seat as usual, maintaining her expressionless face.
Seeing the unwavering demeanor of the Sword Heroine, the passengers greatly relaxed.
Of course, sweat was already soaking Cecilia’s neck.
‘Uh, what should I do?’
First step: successfully pretended there’s nothing wrong without being discovered.
However, this was a more dangerous situation than imagined.
No property damage allowed. Physical force restricted. Movement limited.
The magical engineering train had 12 cars. Assuming each car had at least 10 people, that made 120.
Moreover, most of the first-class passengers were nobles. If even one person died, it would be a major disaster.
‘My perfect career…’
How had she maintained such a flawless record until now?
This incident could easily become a significant stain on it.
It was a crisis of epic proportions!
‘Alright. Smart Betty surely has some solution.’
Betty had read the beginner’s manual.
Her knowledge was almost on par with Cecilia’s!
Let’s rely on Betty this time.
“I’m glad Cecilia is here. If I had gotten involved in this alone… phew, just imagining it makes me dizzy.”
“…”
Cecilia glared at Beatrice. Startled, Beatrice’s cheeks were grabbed and pulled tightly.
“Why, why are you doing this? It hurts…!”
“Betty needs to be disciplined. Give me your arm.”
Grabbing Betty’s arm, Cecilia started biting, which relieved her stress and helped her regain her composure.
“That was delicious.”
“I am not portable food…”
With tears welling up, Beatrice stroked her arm marked by Cecilia’s teeth.
Was it because Beatrice tasted good that Cecilia felt reinvigorated?
Pulling her sword slightly, she muttered:
“Tempest.”
Koo-gu-gu-gung!
“Wow! Mom, look at that!”
“Twin tornadoes? Amazing~ The weather is warm, yet a typhoon arises.”
“Oh dear… I forgot my raincoat. What a nuisance.”
A typhoon erupted under clear skies.
Beatrice, who had been crying, suddenly opened her mouth wide in shock.
“Did Cecilia do that…?”
“Requesting backup. There’s no sign of any demon presence here.”
‘Probably a bucket.’
Only named demons can create dungeons anywhere.
The greater their presence, the harder it is to suppress it. Since Cecilia couldn’t sense anything, there were likely no demons on the train.
Which meant the main body was targeting somewhere else while maintaining the dungeon form.
Likely aiming for supplies. They might set fire to them too, perhaps?
If only they knew beforehand, Rude would scold them. Trust Rude to handle that.
“We just need to wait quietly. An announcement will come soon.”
“An announcement?”
“Yes. Demons are obligated to inform about the dungeon rules. Remember that.”
[Passengers, we will check your tickets. If you don’t have a ticket, unfortunately, you will be disposed of.]
“No dungeon is impossible to clear.”
Cecilia decided to clear this dungeon straightforwardly.
Though currently, there weren’t many other apparent solutions.
The demon creating the dungeon must have prepared a ‘perfect solution’.
Only then do the ‘rules’ gain greater power, and it’s also a matter of pride for demons.
Drerk—.
“Huh…”
“Huh.”
The door opened.
A station attendant entered, holding a head in his arms.
It was a Dullahan.
“Excuse me, may I see your ticket?”
The Dullahan smiled brightly and asked. bl**d dripping from its neck fell onto the head it held, causing its eyes to blink repeatedly.
Terrified, a man trembled and glanced behind him. Beatrice was already drawing her sword, exuding a thick killing intent.
“Not yet.”
Cecilia pushed Beatrice’s sword aside with her hand.
“He, here…”
The man showed the ticket for the magical engineering train he had hidden inside his coat.
The Dullahan carefully examined it.
“This says the final destination is the Northern Command Post, but the final destination of this train is only one: the Demon King’s Castle.”
“Suddenly changed, didn’t it! This is the correct ticket originally.”
“Then why don’t you get off and take another train?”
“J-J-Just fine. I’ll get off. Let me off at the nearest station.”
“Sorry, but there are no exits on this train. Anyway, the conclusion is that you don’t have a ticket, right?”
The Dullahan smiled. The man stood up and said to Cecilia,
“Help me! You’re Windsor, aren’t you? You can k*ll this demon in an instant, right?”
“Oh my… Not only do you lack a ticket, but you’re also threatening a station attendant?”
“…!”
Cecilia glanced around indifferently.
The passengers’ eyes had turned red.
“Isn’t this going too far?”
“That’s right. How could someone like that exist?”
“Without a ticket, yet bullying others. Tsk tsk.”
“What are Windsor’s knights doing? Why don’t they k*ll such an unscrupulous person sooner?”
‘The main ability is probably illusion magic.’
That was a troublesome ability.
Demons of this type know their own weakness and never confront directly.
In the worst case, they use suggestions to make civilians attack.
They were also the biggest obstacle to Cecilia’s motto: ‘Minimize casualties as much as possible.’
This was a demon that needed to be eliminated.
“Betty. Listen carefully to what I’m about to say. There can be no mistakes…”
Cecilia was about to explain to Beatrice.
“Cecilia-sama, this is going too far. How can someone bully such an innocent station attendant?”
“…”
Beatrice’s eyes had also turned red.
Cecilia twitched her lips and immediately slapped Beatrice’s head hard.
Whack!
With an incredible bang (?), Beatrice clutched her head and crouched down.
“You’re being too harsh!”
Beatrice looked up with tears in her eyes.
Seeing Cecilia’s narrowed eyes, she shivered.
“Betty is truly incompetent.”
“I apologize…”
“We’ll settle this after this is over.”
Without any excuse, Beatrice silently shed tears.
“Someone without a ticket deserves d*ath!”
“Right, right!”
“How could anyone act like that? So infuriating!”
“Wha, what is this…?”
The man was bewildered, seeing fingers pointed at him.
“Don’t you also lack a ticket to the Demon King’s Castle?”
“What?”
“Really?”
The Dullahan turned around. The head it carried cast a suspicious glance at the people.
“What nonsense! How could someone lack a ticket? Of course, they have one!”
“Hmph, assuming others are vagrants just because you are?”
“Station attendant! Check my ticket! Get rid of that guy quickly! Breathing the same air as him is unpleasant!”
Everyone eagerly handed over their tickets.
Cecilia snatched the ticket of the person next to her and checked it.
“What are you doing…”
“Betty.”
With Cecilia’s d*ath glare, Beatrice quickly moved and knocked out a citizen by striking the back of their neck.
[Destination: Demon King’s Castle]
“So, that’s how it works.”
The tickets had been altered.
Cecilia swiftly pulled out a pen and paper.
“What, what are you doing?”
“Writing a report.”
“…What?”
“These kinds of things should be handled early. Otherwise, it gets annoying.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Since it’s Betty, I’m telling you. Normally, I wouldn’t share such golden tips…”
“…”
[Direct Train to Demon King’s Castle – Extremely Difficult]
-A normal train suddenly changes to a route to the Demon King’s Castle.
-The Dullahan pretends to be a station attendant checking tickets.
-Naturally, since the destination has changed, there are no normal tickets, so the person sitting in the front row is labeled as the victim.
-People around start agreeing, and their minds become polluted.
-Tickets of those whose minds are polluted automatically turn into ‘Demon King’s Castle Tickets’.
“Betty, check your ticket.”
“Ah, understood.”
Beatrice picked up the ticket and widened her eyes.
“It’s changed to Demon King’s Castle…”
Incidentally, Cecilia’s ticket hadn’t changed.
-Only high-ranking knights or designated victims can resist the suggestion.
-There is a high possibility that those affected by mental confusion will attack.
‘In other words, leaving the scene won’t result in deaths.’
Most people held ‘Demon King’s Castle Tickets’, after all.
“Oh my, stealing a passenger’s ticket? Sorry, but you’re also a ‘disposal’ target.”
The Dullahan appeared in front of Cecilia, who was diligently writing the report.
Beatrice drew her sword and swung it.
Cecilia kicked Beatrice’s shin.
Beatrice groaned, clutching her shin.
“Customer?”
The Dullahan raised an eyebrow when there was no response.
Regardless, Cecilia quickly scribbled away.
After finishing writing the last ‘strategy method,’ she stopped and smiled contentedly.
Looking at Beatrice, who was still in pain, she said:
“Betty, let’s go break the core of the dungeon. It will be in the engine room.”
“Ah, understood. Then, can I capture it now…?”
“No. If you do, the key item will disappear.”
“Hey, customer! I’m talking right n…”
Shrug—!
The Dullahan moved its arm in anger.
It didn’t move. Rather, it couldn’t move.
-Clunk.
The Dullahan’s head rolled toward the restroom.
Looking up with great effort, Cecilia was seen standing at the door holding the Dullahan’s arm.
“This door won’t open without the Dullahan’s arm.”
“That’s really true… How did you know?”
“…Even someone with an IQ five million times higher than a rat would have figured it out, Betty.”
“That’s really too, too harsh.”
Beatrice looked dejected.
Behind her, Cecilia smiled gently at a startled man with a watermelon-shaped head and said:
“You there, Mr. Watermelon Head. Come along too. Staying here means certain d*ath.”
“Yes, sir!”
The man quickly regained his senses and followed.
