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 38 & 39
Chapter 38: Change the Environment Yourself!
The next morning, before the wake-up bell even rang, I went around to the back of the barracks.
If it were yesterday’s me, I would’ve had chores dumped on me, kept my mouth shut, worked, and called it a day.
But today was different.
My sister’s voice was still stuck in my head.
—If you want to strike the general, strike the horse first.
In that case, I’d finish things before anyone could say anything.
If I did things after being told, they’d feel like they were “controlling” me.
If I finished them before they opened their mouths, all they could do was flap their lips.
I grabbed a bucket and headed to the laundry area.
The laundry was piled up like a mountain.
To protect the city, the unit worked in shifts—morning, noon, night.
That meant laundry was always overflowing.
Cloaks from the unit. Undergarments. Sweat-soaked shirts crusted with salt. Mud-caked socks. Cloth that still carried the smell of blood.
Plenty nasty enough to count as harassment.
The stench and grime were awful.
Normally, someone would be standing around laughing while watching this—but early in the morning, no one was there.
“Hey, womanizer, wash this.”
“The secretary sure is useful.”
“You should be grateful you even get chores.”
Today, I moved my hands before they could say anything.
First, I sorted.
Mud. Blood. Sweat. Oil.
The dirt all looked the same at a glance, but each kind needed a different way to clean it.
Soak it in water. Remove the scum. Scrub. Beat it. Rinse.
My hands hurt.
My skin cracked and split.
But I didn’t stop.
I’d finish everything.
♢
Next was the toilet.
The barracks restroom was dirtier than a battlefield.
If it stank, morale dropped.
If no one cleaned it quietly, someone’s spirit would break sooner or later.
I rolled up my sleeves and grabbed the brush.
I used cleaner too.
Anything usable was fair game—even magic.
Water, ash, and sheer guts.
At the very end, I wiped out every last trace of smell.
“Sanctuary! Haha… never thought I’d use it like this.”
The purified toilet was spotless, filled with a clean, fresh scent.
The bowls turned white.
The stench of piss on the floor vanished.
My hands were numb, and the cracks in my skin hurt like hell.
But I could feel it.
The air in the barracks had gotten noticeably lighter.
“Alright! This far, and it actually feels good.”
The morning shift of knights started moving.
As usual, one of the Third Knight Order guys came over, ready to throw insults.
“Hey, womanizer.”
A knight covered in old scars pointed at me.
“Do the laundry and the toilets.”
“I’m done.”
“…Huh?”
“I also wiped down the hallway floors while I was at it. The windows are sparkling too.”
The knight froze for a second.
He clearly wanted to say something—but no words came out.
“I’m pretty good at this stuff. If you need anything else, just tell me. Oh—right, Sir Daut. I saw you splashing piss outside the bowl the other day. Cleaning’s a pain, so take one step forward next time, yeah?”
“O-Oh! Yeah!”
Just politely saying “yes, yes” to everything wasn’t enough.
By teasing them back, you closed the distance instead.
My sister had said it before.
Let the other person be the star.
“Tch! Y-You bastard—”
“I mean, when you have kids someday, that’d be pretty embarrassing, wouldn’t it?”
“Ugh! …Kids?”
“Yeah, Sir Daut. You’ve got a wife, right? Wouldn’t be strange if you had a kid anytime now.”
“Why do you even know about my wife?”
“Well, we’re in the same unit now. Wanting to know about everyone’s background is normal, right? Plus, as the captain’s secretary, I get chances to learn about everyone.”
Daut—the tanuki beastman—wobbled his big belly as he stared at me in shock.
“…You’re a creepy guy.”
“I hear that a lot. But Sir Daut, I’m counting on your guidance as a fellow knight from here on. I want to fit into the Fifth Unit as soon as possible.”
“O-Oh. Yeah.”
Seeing how flustered he was, Daut probably wasn’t a bad person at heart.
Behind him, another knight sniffed the air.
“…The toilet’s really clean today, huh?”
“…Laundry’s not piled up either. And it doesn’t stink.”
“The hallway and windows are shiny too.”
The Fifth Unit had a lot of beastmen.
They were more sensitive to smells than other races.
Just having a clean toilet was enough to put them in a good mood.
♢
Captain Oren’s office wasn’t as fancy as Commander Adelheid’s.
A desk, some shelves, and a map of the areas under her control.
Only the things needed for work were gathered here—nothing extra.
As her secretary, I organized stacks of documents.
Captain Oren leaned on her desk, idly fiddling with the hilt of a dagger using her claws.
“You’re late.”
“Sorry. I finished the laundry and the toilets.”
“…Huh?”
Her cat ears twitched.
“Whose order was that?”
“No one’s. I did it because it bothered me. I wanted to contribute to the Fifth Unit.”
“…You’re a weird one. Never seen someone clean toilets on their own.”
That was it.
No praise. No anger.
But her gaze shifted just once—from the stack of papers at the edge of the desk to me.
She was watching.
For that moment, I was inside the captain’s head.
“Captain Oren, would you like some tea?”
“Do it.”
She had a cat’s tongue, so I served it a little cooler than normal.
“Good.”
“Thank you.”
“Bring me the Fifth Unit roster.”
“I already have it.”
I handed her the papers.
Captain Oren scanned them quickly.
This was the time when shifts were decided, so she always checked the roster carefully.
“…You work fast.”
“I’ve gotten used to the job.”
She snorted softly.
“Cheeky.”
“Sorry.”
I apologized anyway.
Apologies were free.
Captain Oren jerked her chin, signaling me onward.
“Whatever. The Fifth Unit has a lot of quirks.”
“Does it?”
“There are a lot of beastmen, and a lot of men. I make sure they don’t look down on me.”
The captain’s territory = the Fifth Unit.
The Fifth Unit’s family = her subordinates.
As for the rest—family ties outside the unit, personal connections—that was still unclear.
For now, my goal was simple.
Get the Fifth Unit’s knights to acknowledge me.
I spread papers out on the desk.
Personnel list. Patrol assignments. Preferred weapons. Bad environments. And individual quirks.
If they were watching me, then I’d watch them too.
♢
That evening, I gave a small wave in the corner of the barracks.
Uru showed up at night.
A beastwoman warrior. She smelled of alcohol, but her eyes were sharp.
Nagi followed close behind her.
“Long time no see, Hort. You’re still alive, huh.”
“Hort! I’ve been wanting to see you!”
“Haha, you both look well. That’s good.”
It had only been about a week since I left adventuring, but it already felt nostalgic.
“I’ve got a favor to ask you, Uru. Tell me about beastmen traits.”
“Traits?”
“Yeah. I got dragged into something a bit troublesome.”
“Hort! Is there anything I can do? I’ll help with anything! If someone’s hurting you, I’ll cut them down!”
“No, no cutting. Calm down.”
Uru laughed and dropped into a chair.
Nagi leaned forward eagerly, firing off questions—but for now, there wasn’t anything I needed her to do.
“Nagi, thanks. But would you mind if I talk with Uru today?”
“…okay.”
She looked a little down as she lowered her head, so I gently patted it.
She leaned into my hand happily. Cute.
But today’s main goal was Uru.
“Even among beastmen, it depends on the race. Dogs, cats, foxes, tanuki, bears, rabbits, birds…”
“My unit has a lot of beastmen. If the way they think is different, it’ll be trouble, so I want to learn.”
“Okay. Cats are moody and usually clean freaks. And touching them without permission is a landmine.”
“Noted.”
“Dog-types have strong loyalty, and they grow fast if you praise them. Tanuki-types are often goofballs—scare them a bit and they’ll surprisingly listen. Bear-types warm up to you if you keep them fed. Rabbits are sensitive to sound and smell. And then…”
I wrote everything down as Uru explained the traits of beastmen.
I wasn’t about to forget the prep needed to earn their trust—and their favor.
“Some hate water. They really don’t like getting wet.”
“I see.”
“Nocturnal ones are basically dead in the morning. Push them too hard and accidents happen. So there’re types who want night work, types who prefer mornings, how much food they eat, what they like…”
Uru kept talking in a good mood, tilting her drink as she went.
All the while, Nagi stayed quiet, watching me closely.
The two of them seemed to get along well, which was a relief.
“Hey, it’s not just Nagi—if anything happens, let us know. We’re on your side. We’ll help.”
“Thanks.”
“Me too!!”
“Yeah. Thanks, Nagi.”
Just knowing I had allies outside made the world feel a little lighter.
♢
Using the information Uru gave me, I moved as much as I could.
Anything that looked like it might turn into harassment, I finished ahead of time.
And whenever I had free moments between the morning, afternoon, and night shifts, I talked to the beastman knights.
I memorized the names and traits of each knight heading out on patrol, even when trainees were mixed in…
“Hort Rubel here. If you need anything, just let me know. Ah—are you nocturnal? Mornings must be rough for you.”
“Eh? How’d you know?”
“Racial traits, right?”
“Oh… yeah.”
“I’ll let the captain know. I’m her secretary, after all.”
“O-Oh! Thanks!”
A lot of people didn’t really understand beastman traits.
So while talking to them, I made sure to notice—
Who looked tired. Who looked troubled. Who looked hungry. Who looked lost at work.
Even just one short comment was enough to show that I saw them.
Before I knew it, a chart had formed on my desk.
Who struggled with what. Who excelled at what. Who was worrying about what.
I still hadn’t told Captain Oren any of it.
Instead, I worked things so that she would naturally notice and take in the knights’ concerns herself.
She was the lead.
She was the one who had to decide.
“…Lately, I’ve been getting more consultations from the unit members.”
“That just means the Fifth Unit trusts you, Captain Oren.”
“…You think so?”
Her cat ears twitched slightly.
Seems she didn’t dislike the praise.
Uru had told me that for beastmen, things like ears and tails showed emotions easily.
Looks like she was right.
“Yeah, yeah. Ever since you showed up, it feels like the mood in the Fifth Unit’s changed.”
“Really? I hadn’t noticed.”
“Well, whatever. As long as you’re working for the sake of the Third Knight Order, I’ll let it slide.”
It seemed my earnest effort to contribute to the Fifth Unit had gotten through to her.
Was following my sister’s advice the right call?
“That said, you’re still a problem child, and we never know what you might pull next.”
“Um… why am I treated like such a problem child anyway?”
“Hah?! What are you saying now?! You picked a fight with the Third Knight Order!”
“No, I didn’t pick a fight.”
“What are you talking about? Everyone knows you told the Marshal to shove the Second Knight Order’s work onto the Third—and on top of that, you set up a Third Knight Order knight!”
It sounded like the rumors circulating inside the Third Knight Order about me didn’t quite match what had actually happened.
There was a serious gap between gossip and reality.
Chapter 39: The Mysterious Maid
A week had passed since I noticed the distortion in the rumors.
I stopped getting punched.
I stopped getting glared at.
Little by little, the situation was changing.
Inside the Fifth Unit, I went from being “the chore guy” to “the handy guy,” and people started remembering my face.
“Hort, can you handle this too?”
“Hort, I’ll take care of this side.”
“Hort, thanks for putting in a good word with the captain the other day.”
The Fifth Unit knights—who didn’t know the full story—slowly began to understand who I was as a person.
I managed to find the right distance with them.
The amount of laundry went down a bit.
The toilets stopped stinking after a few reminders.
By adjusting patrol pairings and shifts, accidents clearly decreased.
I made sure they could see those results as something tied to their own actions—and, quietly, to mine.
“Thanks, everyone. Not much dirt today—that helps a lot.”
“Appreciate you keeping things clean lately.”
“Oh, I heard nights are rough for you, so I put you on a daytime shift. Oh—you are night-type, right? Could you take the late patrol?”
By talking to the knights directly, I mixed gratitude, problem-solving, and small adjustments tailored to each person.
Those tiny efforts piled up, slowly changing the air of the Fifth Unit—and the way they treated me.
Still, the captain’s gaze hadn’t changed.
Problem child. Mad dog.
The man who tricked the Third Knight Order.
Someone was clearly manipulating how information was being handled.
The rumors were warped.
♢
At night, with the light in my room left off, I sat down on a chair.
Outside the window, it was dark.
The sound of wind. Footsteps from distant patrols.
My mind was wide awake as I tried to sort through my thoughts.
Knock, knock, knock.
Someone tapped on the window of my third-floor room, and I held my breath.
“…Who is it?”
When I unlocked the window, I heard the faint sound of cloth brushing against the frame.
“Excuse me. Are you Sir Hort Rubel?”
A woman’s voice—strangely well-composed.
A presence slipped into the dark room, and in the moonlight, I saw her wearing a maid outfit.
“Yeah. That’s me. Who are you?”
She was standing right there, yet her presence felt thin—like she almost wasn’t there at all.
“I have come under orders from the Marshal. I am Gina, affiliated with the Shadow Division.”
“Ms. Gina?”
When I said her name, she flinched—twitch!
Did that reaction mean something?
“Please call me Gina. No honorifics.”
“Got it. Gina. I’m Hort.”
She twitched again.
Twice?
Two weeks had passed, and only now had a collaborator finally appeared?
Still… she was suspicious. Very suspicious.
A chill briefly ran through my chest.
Why hadn’t she shown herself until now?
“…Why didn’t you appear until today?”
“I apologize. I can only say that we had our own circumstances. But what if I told you that I know you received a secret order to infiltrate the Third Knight Order for an internal investigation?”
The air grew heavy in an instant.
Only the Marshal and the Second Knight Order commander should know about that secret mission.
Which meant—the fact that she knew it left me with no choice but to trust her.
“So… I can assume you’re the real deal?”
“Yes. If you still doubt me, I will simply leave after giving you the information.”
“Information?”
Suddenly, the angle of the moonlight shifted, illuminating her face.
But she was wearing a mask.
A completely expressionless mask, with only the eyes and mouth cut out, stared back at me.
“…What is that?”
“My apologies. I am aware this is rude. I cannot reveal my true identity during this mission. However…”
“Yeah?”
“When I heard that you would be taking on this mission, Sir Hort, I volunteered.”
“Volunteered? Why? Do you and I know each other?”
“I cannot say. Only this—my life exists for your sake.”
“…Your life exists for my sake?”
Her words, spoken by a mysterious masked maid, left me at a loss.
“Yes. Your enemies are my enemies. If you desire assassination, I will kill anyone you wish.”
“That escalated fast!”
“My apologies. I simply… had some thoughts about how you’ve been treated lately, Sir Hort.”
Even though she wore a mask that should’ve hidden all emotion, her eyes alone felt deadly serious.
Honestly, her attitude and the things she said were downright abnormal.
And yet—
I could clearly feel her goodwill toward me.
“Alright. I’ll trust you. But why didn’t you come sooner?”
“I’m sorry. There are two reasons. First, you were under heavy surveillance, so getting close was difficult. However, your recent actions have loosened that watch.”
“So I really was being monitored.”
“Yes.”
That much made sense—she’d clearly been watching me.
I gestured toward a chair so we could talk properly, but the maid didn’t sit there. Instead, she quietly sat down beside the bed I was already on.
“And the second reason—there was no information worth delivering yet.”
“So you’ve finally got something?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s exchange information.”
Honestly, I still couldn’t read what this masked maid was thinking.
“I’ll start. Ever since I joined the Third Knight Order, I’ve been watched and harassed. In the Fifth Unit, I’ve finally carved out a place for myself. But the rumors about me are twisted.”
The maid’s masked head tilted slightly.
“Twisted how?”
“They say I pushed the Second Knight Order’s work onto the Third. That I set up a Third Knight Order knight. Someone changed the truth somewhere and fed it to the Third.”
“…I see. So someone is manipulating information.”
“Yeah. I don’t know who’s doing it yet, but something’s definitely going on.”
“Then… may I share my information as well?”
Sitting so close, I caught a faint, flower-like scent coming from her.
Her neck looked surprisingly slender.
And though her presence was thin, there was something familiar about her—like I’d met her somewhere before.
“Go ahead.”
“Do you remember the Third Knight Order knight who attacked you? The one who lashed out out of spite?”
I remembered the man I’d handed over to Vice-Commander Bind.
But how did she know about that?
I knew about the organization referred to as the Shadow Division.
They were separate from the knight orders—an intelligence agency that handled the kingdom’s information.
Meaning, it wasn’t strange for them to know things I didn’t.
“Yeah.”
“That man was originally from the Second Unit.”
“The Second Unit?”
The backstage unit commanded by Vice-Commander Daitaros.
A bad feeling crawled up my spine.
“And two knights who were close friends with him belonged to the Eleventh Unit.”
“…The Eleventh Unit?”
“The Gate Guard Unit. They handle inspections at the royal capital’s gates.”
Gate guards—
That made me remember the knights who’d come to seize Nagi.
This was starting to sound uncomfortably familiar.
The same people who dumped work on Commander Adelheid and picked fights over nothing.
Those men belonged to the Second Unit and the Eleventh Unit.
“The Eleventh Unit is overseen by Gate Guard Captain Uragar.”
“…Uragar.”
One of the names the Marshal had listed as a target for investigation.
Gate Guard Captain Uragar.
Looks like the internal investigation of the Third Knight Order wasn’t going to be easy.
“…I see.”
In the darkness, I clenched my fist.
“Um.”
“Yeah?”
“May I hold your hand?”
“Huh? Is something wrong?”
“No.”
“…I don’t mind.”
“Thank you.”
And then, gently, she took my hand.
Her hand was soft—and just a little cold.
“Uh, um…?”
“Thank you.”
“Huh?”
“No—nothing.”
She thanked me?
But right after saying that, the maid pulled back, putting distance between us.
“There is someone who wishes to meet you once this mission is over.”
“Someone wants to meet me?”
“Yes. The Third Knight Order has stepped deep into darkness. It will be difficult for just the two of us to uncover everything. But if someone continues to investigate, the darkness will eventually come to light. Please… don’t let your heart break. Keep going.”
There was heat in her words.
Was she genuinely worried about me?
“Um… have we met somewhere before?”
“I apologize. I overstepped. If you need to contact me, please use the signal.”
“Signal?”
“Yes. Knock on the window three times.”
“That’s it?”
The maid stood up quietly, gave a graceful bow like a proper lady, and lifted the hem of her skirt.
“Then, please excuse me.”
Just like when she arrived, she disappeared out the window.
“…What was that about?”
She was far too strange.
Far too mysterious.
But the words she left behind—and the warmth in them—lit a gentle flame in my exhausted heart, worn down by the Third Knight Order.
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Must’ve been the maid at the start