I Became a Swordsman in the Middle Ages.

A chilling air lingered in the room.

Ricardo inwardly breathed a sigh of relief while the faces of the remaining squire knights turned grim.

“Was it not funny?”

Sisilia looked a bit sullen. Beatrice glanced at Ricardo and asked.

“Can we really get out of here with just one heart?”

“Of course.”

“…By here, do you mean the mansion or outside the dungeon?”

“The entrance we came in through has vanished.”

Beatrice had looked out the window. The vine door that was definitely there had disappeared without a trace.

So she asked just in case, but…

“…..”

Ricardo just smiled quietly without saying a word.

In other words, it was an obvious trap.

“Wh-what does that mean, Betty?”

“Even if we sacrifice one person, I don’t think they’ll let us out of the dungeon.”

The squire knight Wade shot up from his seat, pointed at Ricardo, and shouted.

“That’s ridiculous! You’re a fraud!”

Ricardo’s neck turned grotesquely as he stared at him.

“Gasp.”

Wade, realizing he had just broken a rule, flinched, but it was too late.

“You broke…the rules?”

“Well, that’s…”

“And twice at that.”

With a truly demonic grin, Ricardo strode toward Wade.

The surrounding squire knights, sensing the ominous atmosphere, stepped back.

Seeing this, Sisilia’s eyes gradually narrowed.

“We’re doomed.”

Beatrice, startled, prepared to draw her sword. She thought Sisilia must be angry at the behavior of not protecting her comrades.

“P-please spare me, Lady Sisilia.”

Driven into a corner, Wade trembled in fear and looked at Sisilia desperately.

“It’s meaningless. Windsor despises useless humans like you the most.”

Ricardo’s eyes elongated. As his hand was about to touch Wade’s neck— Beatrice reluctantly drew her sword. Liharton and Dessen at nearly the same time.

[One. Do not be rude! A wonderful intellectual should converse with courtesy, right?]

Ricardo’s smile deepened.

“You broke the rules again.”

“This isn’t good.”

Sisilia began pondering a bit.

Choosing to fight was excellent. That’s what Sisilia wanted from the beginning.

However, a fight breaking out because of broken rules was the worst-case scenario.

The dungeon’s rules are a type of contract.

As long as the rules exist, the demons won’t harm humans if they don’t break them.

Instead, for each rule broken, the demons gain power limited to “this round.”

Up until five minutes ago, it was a demon they could have easily handled if they all charged at it.

But from this point on, the power balance was disrupted. The scale was overwhelmingly tilted in the demon’s favor.

“I propose a contract.”

Sisilia had no choice but to say it.

Ricardo, who was about to harm Wade, and the three knights who tried to stop him simultaneously ceased their actions.

Ricardo released Wade’s neck.

“Cough, cough. Ack…!”

Stepping on Wade, who was coughing violently, Ricardo deeply bowed in front of Sisilia.

“Is it truly your wish…to propose a contract?”

“Yes.”

The squire knights’ expressions visibly stiffened.

“The conditions are…?”

“What I desire is to nullify the rule violations that occurred today.”

Sisilia spoke calmly as if it was nothing.

However, “making a contract with a demon” was not something to be done lightly.

There was a high probability it would be disadvantageous to the human, and the party proposing the contract had to abide by the conditions without fail.

If broken— the goddess herself would directly punish the demon, while the evil god would punish the human.

“What I want is for you to not intervene in this round.”

Ricardo’s mouth split to his ears.

“No matter what happens.”

Sisilia lightly nodded and slowly drew her sword.

Gripping it in reverse, she unhesitatingly cut her hand.

Plop plop-.

Falling blood. Ricardo immediately thrust his hand into his own heart.

“Urgh.”

Demon blood and Sisilia’s blood drenched the floor.

The blood connected to each other and began to form a shape.

It was a magic circle.

“The low-class demon Ricardo, with the authority of an administrator, shall make it as if the rule violations just now never happened.”

Fwoosh-

Half the magic circle burned black.

“Sword Ma–, Sisilia Windsor, shall not intervene in this round of the ‘Tomb of the Skilled.'”

“What was that just now?”

Ricardo’s pupils shook.

It was but a fleeting moment.

The instant she revealed her “other name,” Sisilia’s presence had momentarily swelled.

An overwhelming presence that he dare not look up to.

And Sisilia’s other name was not clearly audible. As if he was still unqualified to hear it.

“…In any case, the contract is absolute.”

“I establish these terms as the contract, with this hand as proof and this soul as the price.”

The magic circle made of blood shone for a moment. The two–no, everyone here realized the contract was established.

Sisilia spoke indifferently.

“The contract is sealed.”

“A generous contract. You have my gratitude.”

Ricardo forced a smile and bowed his head. A perfect contract. There were no loopholes.

“Then, I shall take my leave.”

“Why do I feel so uneasy?”

Barely suppressing his unease, Ricardo left the dining room.

**

“L-Lady Sisilia.”

The knights all gathered in one room. They reasoned the dining room was unsafe with a demon appearing.

“Because of us…”

Beatrice, sobbing on the bed, was treating Sisilia’s hand while the other squire knights were all kneeling.

The atmosphere was like a funeral.

Of course.

‘Soft newbie hands… Feels nice.’

Sisilia was inwardly beaming with joy, though.

“I’m sorry, so sorry.”

Beatrice shed tears.

“We were incompetent, making Lady Sisilia form a contract with such a demon.”

Beatrice wiped her tears while sniffling. Sisilia blinked at the bandages.

‘Let’s designate this as the 48th Treasure.’

“Don’t misunderstand.”

Sisilia quietly said.

“The reason I made the contract was solely for the sake of my mission.”

The gloomy knights raised their heads.

“I need to boost morale.”

Sisilia wanted them to work harder at conquering the dungeon with this opportunity.

“My mission is to aid your growth. And to clear the dungeon without casualties. I simply made the most efficient choice to uphold these two.”

The knights, listening to her, grit their teeth.

Among them, no one truly believed Sisilia had no choice but to make that decision for the mission’s sake.

It was to save them.

“I will, without fail, repay this debt.”

Liharton resolutely declared.

“It was merely my obligatory duty. If I had to say what I wish for, it would only be for you to diligently conquer this dungeon. Instead, make me one promise.”

The squire knights steeled themselves with the spirit to lay down their lives if need be.

If Sisilia told them to “commit suicide” right now, they seemed ready to die with a smile.

Sisilia used her most practiced “Killer Move: Make a Wistful Face!”.

“…Please, don’t let anyone get hurt.”

Fwoosh!

Light flooded the room. Not Beatrice’s divine protection but the light emanating purely from a person.

“A saint.”

“She’s a saint.”

“The Theocracy’s saint must be an imposter for sure.”

And so, Sisilia gained a nickname of which she herself was unaware.

**

Ricardo was humming a merry tune.

“Movement No. 36 would be good today.”

Classy jazz resounded in the room. Lying on the sofa with an expression as if drugged, he poured and drank wine.

“Ah- truly splendid.”

He got rid of that eyesore of a butcher.

Now, all that remained was to devour those foolish humans deliciously.

“How shall I cook them?”

Just imagining it was fun. Engulf them in endless fear, turning them into “ghosts?”

Or tauntingly kill them one by one in front of that impudent “butcher?”

The only worry was the butcher’s revenge that would come after this “round” ended, but that was no big issue either.

“…The humans this time have a few quality ones mixed in. I should be able to get promoted after this round ends.”

If he became a mid-class demon, he was confident he could run away.

“Truly, a rewarding 17 years it’s been.”

He considered himself a really lucky demon.

As soon as the dungeon opened, he gained a collaborator.

Thanks to that, he could stably receive fear while maintaining an “appropriate” rating.

“Where shall I go next after this. Serezia? The Theocracy wouldn’t be bad either.”

While Ricardo was happily imagining a future with nothing but human fear-

He sensed multiple humans coming this way.

“…Huh?”

Did they finally lose it?

Did they go mad after losing the force that had reliably watched their backs?

“Hmph.”

Ricardo got up, feeling a bit displeased.

Right then, there was a knock.

“Sir Butler. We’ve come to pay the price.”

“Oho.”

Ricardo quickly approached. What thoughtful appetizers to bring themselves before the main dish?

“Welcome… What is this?”

However, upon opening the door, Ricardo was faced with knights who were undoubtedly ready for battle.

Moreover, they were in an unappetizing state. Their faces showed no hint of the fear he so enjoyed, only filled with fighting spirit.

“…I don’t see a heart anywhere.”

“Isn’t the heart right there?”

“Pardon?”

Liharton smirked and pointed his sword.

“We’ve come to pay with your heart.”