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 11: Let’s Reduce the Commander’s Workload

Chapter 11: Let’s Reduce the Commander’s Workload

The marshal’s words—“things will get noisy”—weren’t enough on their own.

With that, I’d managed to stop documents coming in from the First Knight Order. I’d also gotten approval to send documents from the Third Knight Order straight back.

But if I really wanted to stop the flow of paperwork, I had to change the mood on the ground too.

So I headed for the Second Knight Order’s station.

It was before morning training.
Everyone was chatting while tightening the straps on their armor.

When I showed my face, a few of them laughed mockingly, the same way as always.

“Hey, look. The commander’s errand boy.”

“What, did you finally get kicked out for molesting the commander?”

They weren’t just making fun of me. They were making fun of the commander too.

In that case—perfect.

“I’m the Second Knight Order Commander Adelheid’s errand boy. Hort Rubel.”

I deliberately used the title they were sneering at and raised my voice as I introduced myself.

“And you all realize you’re the ones being looked down on?”

Then, standing in front of the full knights of the Second Knight Order, I threw the insult right back at them.

“A mere trainee has the nerve to talk?!”

“What did you just say!?”

“You little—!”

Killing intent flooded toward me.

Of course it did. Being mocked by someone you think is beneath you would piss anyone off.

But that was fine.

People only change when their emotions get stirred.

“‘Knights who are weaker than a woman,’ according to other knight orders! ‘Pathetic knights who dump their work on their commander’! ‘Knights who won’t even properly serve under their own commander’! Do you realize that’s how you’re being mocked?”’

I met their eyes one by one, raising my voice as if to ridicule the ones who had been angry just moments ago.

“You bastard! What the hell have you been yapping since earlier?!”

A big, bald knight stepped forward.

Sharp eyes. Strong presence.

The vice-commander.

“Vice-Commander Bind, is it?”

“That’s right! Don’t get cocky just because you’re a trainee. What are you trying to say?”

“Did you know? That the Second Knight Order commander’s room is piled high with documents dumped there by other knight orders.”

“What did you say?!”

At my words, the knights of the Second Knight Order looked at each other, as if they couldn’t believe their ears.

“Sir Bind, the person doing the least amount of work in the Second Knight Order… is you.”

“—!!”

Before he could say anything, he grabbed me by the collar.

Even so, I didn’t stop talking.

“If the commander is being looked down on, that means the entire Second Knight Order is being looked down on! Why don’t you realize that?!”

The air froze—just for a moment.

I continued.

“The commander who leads you is being treated lightly by other knight orders. And yet, she keeps fighting alone. Her time to command is stolen. Her time to oversee training is reduced. She can’t do the work she’s truly meant to do.”

I knocked Vice-Commander Bind’s hand away.

“That’s why the Second Knight Order is weak!”

Then I turned my gaze to the knights who stood at captain rank.

“…What do you mean, other orders’ work?”

I could feel the anger rolling off the knight with veins bulging on his forehead.

But honestly?

I didn’t care.

“Reports about lost equipment from the Third Knight Order. Requests to fill missing dining staff in the royal castle. Horse feed orders. Training ground repair applications. None of these require the Second Knight Order Commander’s approval. So what are you all? Errand boys for the First and Third Knight Orders? Or are you, like me, just another group of handy little gofers?”

The knight’s face slowly twisted.

Anger.

Their pride had been stepped on.

“Don’t mess with us!”

“I’m not. You’re the same as the others—you looked down on the commander because she’s a woman. But why don’t you realize that you’re being looked down on at the same time?”

I deliberately said woman.

To provoke them.

A few faces tightened—but the irritation wasn’t directed at the commander.

“Knights are supposed to exist to protect the weak. To protect women and children. Have you forgotten that? And yet—you’re being protected by a young woman. Doesn’t that feel shameful?”

The expressions of the knights who had been shouting back at me began to grow heavy.

“Has anyone here actually seen the documents that pile up in the commander’s office?”

They all looked away.

Still, I knew it.

Someone here had been the idiot who brought more paperwork in after I left.

“No one wants to say anything? Then that person is trash.”

I didn’t need to point them out.

They already knew it was them.

“You dump work on the commander, rely on a woman you’re supposed to protect, and call yourselves knights? That’s pathetic. From now on, handle it at the reception before it ever reaches the commander. Check the recipient and the responsible department properly. This is a choice. Do you do it? Or do you look the other way? Do you want to join the trash and keep sucking up to the people who laugh at you?”

I made them choose.

When people choose for themselves, they take responsibility.

The captains snorted.

“…Of course we’ll do it.”

“Same here.”

“We won’t burden the Commander anymore.”

“No way we’re letting the other orders look down on us!”

More voices joined in.

The commander had always faced everything alone, seriously, without ever asking for help.

Buried under paperwork—and I wanted to change that.

“Thank you very much.”

I bowed deeply.

But there was still one more thing I had to say.

“But please—keep this a secret from the Commander.”

I told the knights, now fired up and full of motivation.

“Why? You’re the reason we’re moving in the first place,” Bind asked, his face clearly puzzled.

“The commander is the type who silently carries everything. If she finds out, she’ll stop you. She’ll try to shoulder it all herself—just like she always has while protecting you. So let’s do this the right way. …As men, let’s quietly protect a woman.”

Someone clicked their tongue.

“…Damn it. If only she’d relied on us more.”

“She couldn’t—because of you guys!”

“Don’t get cocky just because you’re a trainee!”

“I’m just stating facts. I’m angry at how pathetic the Second Knight Order has been. That’s why—why don’t you make protecting the commander your job? If you’re mad at me, feel free to hit me. But do your work.”

The look in the knights’ eyes changed.

The word protect hit straight at a knight’s pride.

Knights moved for one reason—to protect.

All I did was add a little spice to it.

“If you see anyone looking down on the commander, tell me. I’m just a trainee, so I don’t read the room well. I’m not a mature adult like you, so who knows what I might do.”

“Hah!”

“Hey, don’t make that face.”

“But from here on out, this isn’t a trainee’s job anymore.”

Laughter broke out.

That laughter became a shield—one standing behind the commander.

♢

The next day, when I headed to the commander’s office, the documents hadn’t increased.

Only the proper amount was there.

At the knight cafeteria, which we finished earlier than usual, the commander sat there with a puzzled look.

“Hort. Weren’t there fewer documents today?”

“It’s your imagination.”

“…Is it?”

Tilting her head, the commander finished off her plate of meat.

I said nothing and quietly poured her water.

The afternoon was training. The night was special training.

The commander’s sword was as unreasonable as ever, and my field of vision kept getting invaded by red hair—and something that absolutely insisted on swaying—so my concentration died for just a split second.

“Hort! Where are you looking!”

“I’m not looking!”

“Liar!”

“…The wind! The wind is bad!”

“That excuse is sloppy!!”

Her sword came flying, and I rolled away to dodge it.

The knight trainees watched the special training from a distance.

They were smiling, looking jealous.

That annoyed me.

If you’re jealous, then switch places with me.

That sway was a punishment game.

At the end of training, the commander wiped her sweat and said,

“You’ve got potential.”

“Thank you.”

“But you need to train your line of sight too.”

“…I’ll work on it.”

The commander nodded, satisfied.

Her back looked just a little lighter.

The hell on her desk would shrink even more starting tomorrow.

She didn’t know. That hell had already moved onto the marshal’s desk instead.

Quietly, an atmosphere of protecting the commander was taking root inside the Second Knight Order.

I tightened my grip on my sword’s hilt and breathed in the night air.

—Being right is more dangerous than a blade.

The marshal’s words lingered at my back.