My Childhood Friend Told Me to Go Marry the Most Beautiful Woman in the Kingdom, So I Seriously Started Improving Myself—and Somehow Ended Up Making Women Fall Hard - Chapter 06: The Hell the Commander Spoke Of—and Her Cuteness

Chapter 06: The Hell the Commander Spoke Of—and Her Cuteness

“I’ll show you hell.”

I understood what those words meant five minutes later.

I followed behind the commander after leaving the training grounds.

I had assumed she meant sparring—being trained, then brutally beaten down.

But instead, we turned down a hallway, climbed some stairs, and stopped in front of an impressive door.

The Second Knight Order Commander’s Office.

Just the crest carved into the door told me how important this room was.

…Surely the inside would be just as dignified.

That was what I thought.

The moment the door opened, something inside my brain collapsed.

Paper. Paper. Paper.

On the floor. On the desk. On the sofa. By the windows. On the chairs.

Mountains of documents had formed their own terrain.

“…”

No words came out.

Commander Adelheid walked straight into the room as if this were perfectly normal.

“Wait there.”

She disappeared into the back room, took off her armor, and returned dressed for office work.

With the armor gone, the way her blouse pushed up her chest felt… even more noticeable.

But more importantly, she skillfully avoided the piles of paperwork as she headed for the desk.

The desk had almost completely lost its function as a desk.

Perched on the barely visible peak of the paper continent, the commander sat down.

“What’s wrong? You’re frozen.”

“N-No, it’s nothing…”

How was I supposed to explain this?

I had seen her on the training grounds.

Silver armor. Crimson hair. Sharp red eyes. Killing intent.

That perfect commander was… living in this paper kingdom?

The commander followed my gaze and gave a small snort.

“This is hell.”

“Hell…?”

“That’s right.”

She leaned back against the chair and crossed her arms.

Then she looked straight at me.

“Every year, there are those who look at me with lust. Those who look at me with admiration. Those who look at me with hostility… all kinds.”

Her red eyes didn’t waver.

“You were different from all of them.”

…No, the lustful look was dangerously close.

Close—but I held back. That’s all.

“That works in my favor.”

The commander lightly tapped the documents on her desk with her fingertip.

The papers slid and collapsed with a soft rustle.

“This is my hell. You will work here as my assistant.”

“Eh? Ah—yes…!”

I answered on reflex. I answered—but assistant?

These documents? Me?

Wouldn’t this normally be someone from the Second Knight Order?

“I’m bad at cleaning. Bad at paperwork too. I’m confident in my sword skills. As someone of marshal blood, the title of a marquis’s daughter pushed me into the commander’s seat. But many knights don’t like that. I can’t trust them. Your eyes looked strangely honest when you stared at me.”

No—that was because I thought I was being tested.

Well… I was being tested.

I understood the weight of her title.

But looking at this room, I felt a different kind of pressure bearing down on me.

“When I greet others, I act dignified. If I don’t, the trainees will look down on me. But this is my true self. Are you disappointed?”

She wasn’t trying to hide her embarrassment.

Her beauty. Her position as commander.

And yet—she couldn’t handle paperwork or even clean her own room.

The gap was… startling.

“Anyone who admires me would be disappointed. What about you?”

I see. So I really was being tested.

In that case, my answer was already decided.

“I’m not disappointed.”

“Oh?”

“I thought you were… a little cute.”

“C-Cute!? Cute, you say!?”

I spoke honestly, saying exactly what I felt.

“You! Are you mocking me!?”

“No. I simply said what I thought.”

“W-What!?”

I took a breath in, then slowly let it out.

…Alright. Let’s do this.

I was used to situations like this. 

Rina’s room had always been the same. She was capable, a genius, perfect in every way. Except for daily life.

That part, I had always covered for her.

Folding clothes. Sorting documents. Remembering deadlines. Cleaning desks. Picking up things she forgot.

I had thought I was supporting her in that way too. That was what I believed back then.

But now, it was different. Now, I was doing this for myself.

I rolled up my sleeves.

“Commander. First, we’ll make the floor visible.”

“The floor?”

“Yes. If we can’t see the floor, we can’t walk.”

Her eyes widened for just a moment.

Then she smiled—just at the corners of her mouth.

“…Hmph. Show me, then.”

I stood up and immediately began sorting the mountains of documents.

The pile on the desk went into “Unprocessed.”

The papers scattered on the floor became “Has a deadline.”

Unopened letters were “Unopened.”

Anything sealed with wax was “Important.”

Papers with the same crest were grouped as “Same category.”

Thick, textured cardstock became “Reports.”

Thin bundles of paper were “Applications.”

My fingers moved on their own. Faster than thinking.

This kind of work was already burned into my body.

First, separate what’s needed from what’s not.

Once it’s divided, cleaning becomes easy.

The commander remained seated, watching my hands closely.

“…You’re efficient.”

“I’ve been like this for a long time.”

“Who taught you?”

…Rina.

The name almost slipped out, but I stopped myself.

If I said it, something deep in my chest would creak again.

“It was just something I needed to do to live.”

The commander snorted softly.

“Need creates talent. Those who are needed are strong.”

I couldn’t tell whether she was praising me or teaching me something.

Either way, it didn’t feel bad.

♢

The desk became a desk again.

The floor became a floor again.

The chair became a chair again.

The sofa became a sofa again.

And the mountain of documents stacked by the window was moved onto neatly lined shelves along the wall.

I finally let out a deep breath in the center of the room.

…Done.

The commander looked around the room as if she were seeing something unbelievable.

“…So this was my hell…”

“It’s just a normal room.”

“Normal—no, it’s too clean, isn’t it!?”

For some reason, she sounded genuinely moved.

Since I was doing it anyway, I went all the way.

I used life magic Clean generously and removed ink stains along the way.

There was a lot of trash too, so I gathered it into garbage bags and took it to the disposal area.

“…It’s comfortable!”

She looked like a glamorous beauty, but her tone sounded oddly childish.

I almost laughed and had to cover it with a quick cough.

“What do we do next?”

“From here on, it’s paperwork. Unfortunately, only you can handle this part. Please do your job.”

“Ghk!”

I pointed at the categorized shelves I’d prepared.

“I’ve set the priorities. Please process them in order. First, this one. What do you want to do with it?”

“Ugh… you won’t do everything for me?”

“Of course not. Only you have the authority to decide. This is your job. Put some effort into it. Please sort these as well.”

From there, I had her stamp the urgent documents with deadlines.

Once stamped, I gathered them and delivered them to the appropriate departments.

“Uuugh, you demon! Hort, you’re clearly capable—can’t you just decide for me!?”

“No. This is the commander’s job to judge. I’ll help, though.”

“Uuuugh… thank you.”

I picked up a pen and pulled out a single sheet of paper.

Deadline. Contents. Importance. Related departments.

Documents didn’t lie.

All you had to do was read them, line them up, and put them away.

Even so, I found several documents that clearly weren’t things Commander Adelheid should be handling herself.

At some point, the commander began leaning on her desk, watching my hands as I worked.

Her red eyes were oddly close.

I almost looked away—but I held myself back.

…No improper thoughts.

Actually, those kinds of feelings had already faded.

Make the commander work. Don’t do everything myself.

I remembered my sister’s lesson about putting some burden on the other person.

The meaning might be different here, but I told myself it counted as relying on the commander—and we worked together.

“…You.”

She muttered softly.

“Become my exclusive aide!”

“I’m a trainee. And it’s only my first day, so I can’t decide that. Also, during the training period, I can’t be exclusive to anyone.”

“Uuugh… I know, but still.”

There were four knight orders in total:

The Royal Guard. The First Knight Order. The Second Knight Order. The Third Knight Order.

For now, trainees rotated through all the orders every three months.

After finishing the one-year training period, we’d choose which order to join.

Of course, if an order scouted you, your rank and treatment would change, so every trainee dreamed of joining a place where they’d be valued.

“But trainees are future knights. I don’t know where you’ll end up later. So while I can still use you, I will!”

It was a terrible way to put it—but maybe because I’d already seen her hopeless side, it sounded kind of cute.

She probably didn’t mean any harm at all.

In that way, she was strangely similar to the genius I’d taken care of for so long.

When Rina came to mind, my chest gave a small ache.

I took a deep breath and changed the subject.

“…Commander. Would you like some tea?”

“I will!”

An instant reply.

She pointed at a cup sitting at the edge of her desk.

“There’s usually no one to make it for me. So I just drink water.”

She was bold in the strangest ways.

I stood up and headed toward the small water station in the corner of the room.

That area had been buried in documents too, but now it was clean enough to make tea.

There was a tin of tea leaves.

The lid had been left open, and the aroma had faded.

With a sigh, I closed it properly and shook it a little.

Then I pinched a bit of the leaves between my fingers and smelled them.

…Not bad. Still usable.

Boil the water. Warm the cup. Add the tea leaves. Let it steep. The fragrance rises. Check the time. Pour.

At the end, I waited until the surface settled quietly—then gently offered it to her.

“Here you go.”

The commander took the cup and brought it close to her nose, checking the aroma.

One sip… then another.

Her eyebrows twitched, just slightly.

“…It’s good.”

“Thank you.”

“Amazing! Hort, you’re amazing!”

She got excited like a child, and every time she did, her large chest bounced along with her movements.

…This person really does have a cute side.

Dangerous. I shook my head.

No improper thoughts allowed.

…I was searching for the most beautiful woman in the kingdom.

That didn’t mean grabbing at just anyone.

It was only natural that she’d be a candidate—and precisely because of that, I couldn’t let my guard down.

I was the one who would choose.

The commander set the cup down and spoke with a serious expression.

“Hort.”

“Yes.”

“From today, for the next three months, you’re my exclusive aide! Come here again tomorrow. We’ll finish the work before training.”

“Understood.”

She nodded, satisfied.

“Good. Then today’s hell is over.”

Over?

There were still plenty of documents left.

It seemed this person didn’t need kindness—at least not like that.

Perfect timing.

I’d been thinking I should learn how to be a little stricter with people anyway.

“It’s not over yet. Please finish this stack here.”

“Hort, are you a demon?!”

“No. Just normal.”

After that, while supporting the teary-eyed commander, I somehow managed to make her work through the mountain of accumulated documents.