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 08: The Second Knight Order Commander’s Personal Handyman

Chapter 08: The Second Knight Order Commander’s Personal Handyman

Almost a month had passed since the first time I cleaned up the hell that was the commander’s office.

Morning: Sorting documents in the commander’s office.
Lunch: Eating with the commander at the knight cafeteria.
Afternoon: Knight trainee training. (With bonus special training from the commander.)

…My life as a knight trainee in the Second Knight Order was clearly different from everyone else’s.

I had somehow secured the position of: “The Second Knight Order Commander’s personal errand guy.”

Every morning, I worked in the commander’s office.

It was far more comfortable than before.

The desk was a desk. The floor was a floor.
And documents were stacked like documents should be.

Even so, the amount of paperwork never went down.

Just when you thought it had decreased, it increased again.

“It’s… increasing.”

“Of course it is.”

“Isn’t this weird?”

“It’s not weird. This is the work that gets sent to me.”

Commander Adelheid said it like it was completely normal.

Inside my head, I was certain something was very wrong.

The knight order was supposed to exist to protect people with swords.

That was the whole point, wasn’t it?

Even now, bandits and monsters appeared on the roads, attacking travelers, nobles, and merchant caravans.

Wasn’t this place supposed to cut down bandits and monsters? Why did it feel like we were cutting down documents instead?

Even so, the commander never ran from her work. She faced each task seriously, one by one.

For an entire month, I helped organize it all.

But it was obvious—even with help, the efficiency was bad, and we were falling behind.

When I handed a stack of documents to the classification shelf, the commander furrowed her brows and groaned quietly.

“Do I really have to do this myself?”

“This one needs your seal, Commander.”

“Uuugh…”

“Please.”

“…Uuuuuugh…!”

She complained the whole time—yet her pen kept moving.

That sight was a little… no—honestly, pretty funny and cute.

It was hard to believe this was the same person who, during the opening speech, had declared: “If you don’t want to die, then train like you’re going to die.”

When it came to paperwork, she was completely helpless.

And I, holding onto that weakness, calmly kept the work flowing.

…My sister’s words were working here too.

Don’t do everything yourself. 

Make them decide. Make them put in effort.

The commander grumbled, but she always did the work properly.

Up until now, I had done everything for Rina.

But from now on, I would let others do their share of the work.

In that sense, the commander might be the perfect person to learn with.

I was assigning tasks that only she could judge—and actually making her judge them.

And in doing so, it was becoming training for me as well.

♢

At noon, I went to the dormitory cafeteria.

Knights of the Second Knight Order gathered there, and knight trainees usually clustered off in a corner—but I was eating in a special seat.

The stares of trainees holding their trays stabbed straight into me.

Of course they did.

I was sitting right next to Commander Adelheid.

“…Hey, look at that.”

“No way… he’s eating with the commander…”

“Why is that guy…?”

“I heard he’s the errand boy.”

“Errand boy, eating lunch with the commander…?”

I could hear them. Very clearly.

The commander, meanwhile, was completely unfazed.

Her red hair swayed as she sat proudly, her uniform jacket properly fastened—and yet the things that still pushed forward rested boldly against the table.

Yeah, I knew. I knew.

But up close, the pressure was on another level.

The commander calmly cut her meat, chewed her bread, and drank her soup.

Then she looked at my tray and frowned.

“Hort.”

“Yes?”

“You don’t have enough vegetables.”

“Hah?”

“It’s all meat! You’ll collapse!”

She tried to move vegetables from her plate onto mine.

I stopped her on reflex.

“I-I’m fine! I eat properly, I swear!”

“Why stop me? This much is normal.”

“This is not normal!”

The stares around us somehow grew even sharper.

Over the course of a month, the distance between us had gotten noticeably closer.

And every time it did, the people around us started whispering.

What bothered me was that I could pretty much guess exactly what they were whispering about.

The commander is taking care of a man. The commander is giving a man vegetables.

That man was me.

And of course, my sister’s words popped into my head.

Don’t give too much from your side. Let the other person give to you instead.

…Commander, you’re giving things to me right now.

Vegetables.

The commander looked at me with clear dissatisfaction.

“Don’t draw weird lines!”

“I’m not drawing lines. The stares are just intense, that’s all.”

“Stares?”

She blinked, confused.

Then she must’ve noticed the heat in my cheeks, because the corners of her mouth relaxed slightly.

“…You’re an interesting one.”

You definitely don’t realize it, do you?

I couldn’t say anything more, so I took a sip of my soup to cover it up.

♢

Afternoon.

Knight trainee training was hell.

Running. Strength training. Forms. Mock battles.

And finally—just standing in formation.

My body felt heavy. My arms were numb.

All the other trainees wore the same dead expression.

But my hell didn’t end there. 

After that came bonus hell.

We moved to the Second Knight Order Commander’s special training grounds.

Honestly, I wanted to run.

But there was no way I could win over the most beautiful woman in the kingdom with thoughts that soft.

I was the one who would choose.

Running away wasn’t an option.

Evening light streamed in at the edge of the training ground.

The instant the commander drew her sword, the air changed.

No exaggeration—she was on a completely different level.

More than anything, she was beautiful.

She possessed real strength.

She stood there as if she herself had become a single blade.

And because of that, the sight of her whining about paperwork or letting out weak complaints somehow felt cute—and made me want to help her.

“Take your stance, Hort.”

“…Yes.”

The moment I raised my sword, the commander vanished.

“—!?”

The sound of metal crashing.

My sword was knocked aside, my arm went numb, and my foot slid back half a step.

Fast. Heavy. Precise.

No wasted movement. Beautiful—and strong.

If she hadn’t deliberately aimed for my sword, it would’ve been over in one strike.

Every time the commander stepped in, her armor creaked—and something swayed at the edge of my vision.

A lot. Damn it!

I don’t have the luxury to be distracted like this!

Look at the sword. The blade. Look at the blade.

My life is on the line.

And yet, the edges of my vision were working way too well.

My eyesight was doing an excellent job.

Too excellent.

“Hort.”

“Yes!”

“Where are you looking?”

“At the sword!”

“Don’t lie.”

“I’m not lying! The sword!”

“Your gaze is lost.”

“My gaze is always lost!”

The commander’s sword flew at me without mercy.

I stepped back half a pace and deflected it, then used wind magic to shift my footing.

“Wind.”

I changed the angle of my step.

I wouldn’t take her head-on.

Redirect her power sideways.

This was survival technique.

Tricks were fine—but I wasn’t letting go.

I couldn’t win on sword skill alone.

Then I’d fight my way—my way.

I cut her vision with magic.

“Mist.”

A thin fog rose for an instant, throwing off distance and timing.

The commander stepped into the fog without even twitching an eyebrow.

“Too naive.”

“Right!?”

Her sword came at me, slicing through the mist.

I twisted my body to dodge and caught it with the flat of my blade.

The impact rattled my bones.

My arm screamed.

It might break—but I didn’t drop the sword.

If I dropped it, it was over.

The commander’s lips lifted, just a little.

“…Nice.”

She was enjoying the fight.

After sparring with her almost every day for the past month, I’d learned her habits.

But the more she enjoyed herself, the stronger she became.

I was fighting for my life here, and a beautiful woman smiling was terrifying.

And I definitely didn’t have the spare focus to be distracted by anything swaying at the edge of my vision.

♢

By the tenth exchange, I finally dropped to one knee.

My breathing was ragged. Sweat dripped down. My arms were numb.

The commander, on the other hand, hadn’t even lost her breath.

She stood in front of me, resting her sword on her shoulder.

“Hm. You’ve got quite a bit of potential.”

“…Is that a compliment? I didn’t land a single hit.”

“It is. Men who can still stand after ten rounds with me are rare.”

Then she narrowed her eyes slightly.

“Eyes that don’t give up. A stance that doesn’t run. The wit to adapt. Doing everything you can to survive. That was interesting.”

I let out a breath and laughed weakly.

“You’re just way too strong, Commander.”

“Of course I am. I am the Second Knight Order Commander.”

She said it with absolute confidence.

…And right after that, she puffed out her chest.

Which, naturally, made it sway again.

Honestly, I was getting tired of snapping my gaze away on reflex.

There was no way the commander wouldn’t notice my wandering eyes.

“…Hort.”

“Yes.”

“Your gaze has been strangely busy for a while now.”

“It’s your imagination.”

“It is not. We’ve been together for a month now. It’s about time you were honest about what you want to say.”

She stepped closer.

Too close. Please stop.

At this distance, I was at my limit.

“C-Commander!!”

“What.”

“…Your chest!!”

“…Huh?”

“It’s too big!! During combat!! It keeps getting into my line of sight!!”

“…”

“I’m training seriously!! But my field of vision just—!!”

“…”

“So, um… I’m sorry!!”

The evening breeze passed through the training grounds.

And for a few terrifying seconds—

The Second Knight Order Commander was completely silent.

I said it. I really said it.

The training ground went quiet.

…No, we were the only two there to begin with, but somehow the air itself froze solid.

The commander’s face slowly turned red.

Red enough to rival her crimson hair—right down to her ears.

“Y-You…!”

“I’m sorry!!”

She almost drew her sword—then barely held herself back.

Still holding it back, she spoke in a trembling voice.

“…Then just don’t look!!”

“I’m trying not to look!!”

“Your effort is lacking!!”

“That’s not my fault!!”

“Don’t blame me!!”

…This is bad.

I’m going to die.

Not by sword—socially.

The commander crossed her arms over her chest like she was trying to hide it and glared at me.

But even as she glared, she looked troubled.

Then she muttered quietly,

“…The other men stare at my chest too!”

“Of course they do!”

“W-What!?”

“It’s because you’re beautiful, your chest is huge, and you’re way too attractive!”

The commander’s eyes widened just a little.

“W-W-W-W-W-W-W—WHAT are you saying!?”

“Haaah… I’ve held this in until today, but I’m saying it now. Commander, please control your charm a bit more. Wear looser clothes. Use people as shields. The problem is that you stand around so boldly exposed!”

I said it. No holding back anymore.

If I was going to be killed, so be it.

With that resolve, I spoke—and the commander stared at me wide-eyed.

Then she laughed.

“Ahaha! Why should I be the one to restrain myself… you really are a strange one.”

“Not compared to you, Commander.”

“W-Wait! I am not strange!”

She stepped in closer.

“Hmph. Hort, come again tomorrow.”

“Yes, yes…”

“Paperwork and training.”

“Understood…!”

As I tried to stand up, the commander suddenly held out her hand.

…Huh?

I hesitated for just a second, and she clicked her tongue in irritation.

“Get up. You’ll be using that body again tomorrow.”

“…Thank you.”

The moment I took her hand and stood, she quickly let go.

For some reason, that small gesture lingered in my chest.

Don’t give too much. Don’t close the distance too much.

And yet—

She was still putting in the effort of giving me special training as the commander.