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 44 & 45

Chapter 44: Women Who Fell into the Swamp (3)

Side: Gina

Sir Hort had told me his goal.

“I want to rise in rank.”

Inside me, the order of the world rearranged itself.
At the same time, my own goal became clear.

I wanted to make Sir Hort a Crown Knight.

How wonderful that was.
Nothing had ever made me this happy.

To make a wish come true, three things were needed.

Information. People. And the removal of obstacles.

I belonged to the Shadow Division—the ones who governed information.
Information was my specialty.

Removing obstacles was also my specialty.

But I alone was not enough.

To become a Crown Knight, strength alone would not suffice.
Fame was also necessary.

He had to earn the support of many nobles—and commoners as well.

If it was Sir Hort, he would surely clear every hurdle.

First, I would help him sweep away the darkness of the slums.
For that purpose, I would gather allies.

♢

Before dawn.

I remained a shadow as I entered the slums.

The smell was different.
It was not the scent of the royal capital’s stone streets.

Damp filth. Rotten water.
The smell of coughing, where sickness spread.
The sweat of beasts with no sense of cleanliness.
And the smell of fear.

Children slept in the alleys.
They were asleep, yet their breathing was shallow.

Unprotected.

The orphanage gates were tightly shut, keeping people out.

And yet—

Two, three shadows made their rounds at night.
They were not knights of the Fifth Unit.

The sound of bags. The clink of small coins. The sound of keys. The sound of invisible chains rattling.

I held my breath and listened.

…Children who were not protected by orphanages were being taken away as slaves.

The darkness of the slums was not simple evil.
Its roots ran deep, and it was not unified into a single force.

If Sir Hort was to come to the slums, then I would think of a way to turn every problem here into achievements.

I took one deep breath—and reached a conclusion.

I would prepare all the information needed to identify the enemy.

But there also had to be those who protected him.
Those who moved as his hands and feet.

Knowing his actions so far, I headed toward the people who would become his allies.

♢

Adelheid von Graetz.
Commander of the Second Knight Order. 

Of the Graetz Marshal family.

The one who had trained Sir Hort—and one of the few who knew about this secret mission.

When it came to earning trust as a knight, there was no one more fitting for Sir Hort than her.

And more than anything—

If she was a woman Sir Hort trusted, then I could trust her as well.

I followed the proper procedures and was guided to the Second Knight Order commander’s office.

“Hmm? Who are you?”

The pressure coming from the woman known as the kingdom’s greatest swordswoman was sharp.

I knelt and offered proper respect.

“Excuse my intrusion. I have come to report with the permission of Marshal Graetz. I am currently supporting Sir Hort Rubel. My name is Gina.”

Her eyebrow twitched—just slightly.

“I see. Someone from the Shadow Division. It’s rare for you shadows to report directly to me.”

“Yes. This is a report concerning Sir Hort Rubel.”

At that name, the air grew noticeably sharper.

“Continue.”

I calmly laid out the facts.

“Sir Hort Rubel was placed under surveillance within the Third Knight Order.”

“What did you say?!”

Her killing intent spiked.

“However, through his own ability, he broke through the situation. He is now assigned to the Fifth Unit, has brought its captain—Oren Ferna—to his side, and is preparing to step into the darkness of the slums.”

“Hmph. As expected of him… and Captain Oren—wasn’t she a woman?”

“Huh?”

The question was so unexpected that a foolish sound slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it.

“Did I not ask if she was a woman?!”

“Uh—yes. Captain Oren is female.”

“Again?! That guy is always surrounded by women!”

For some reason, her killing intent intensified, and I sensed an unstable edge to her emotions.

“May I continue the report?”

“Granted. Is there something beyond the report?”

“Yes. Sir Hort Rubel desires to rise in rank. He intends to produce results by cutting away the darkness of the slums—the Fifth Unit’s field.”

“A promotion? Hoh.”

Commander Adelheid showed an interested smile—different from before.

“So Hort actually said he wants to rise?”

“Yes.”

“Kukuku… that’s good.”

This time, Commander Adelheid stood up with a genuinely pleased smile.

“If he wants to rise, then I can help him. More importantly, I can stay closer to him.”

I couldn’t understand Commander Adelheid’s emotions.

But one thing was clear—she was on the same side, wishing for Sir Hort’s advancement.

“That is why Sir Hort will be in danger.”

“……I see. So that’s how it is. That might be perfect timing. Right now, our Second Knight Order is also trying to identify illegal slave traders—and the people within the kingdom tied to them. If Hort moves, we will move as well.”

It seemed Commander Adelheid had already reached her own conclusion—without needing further explanation from me.

“Thank you for your cooperation. As someone from the Shadow Division, I am supporting Sir Hort.”

“Hmph. Another woman, huh… well, whatever. This incident will be a good chance to show my worth again. I’ve only shown him my pathetic side so far. When Hort makes his move, contact me.”

“Understood.”

I bowed my head.

“One last thing. I want to ask you.”

“Yes?”

“Is Hort doing well?”

“He is doing well. However, the situation is quite harsh.”

“I see. That means he needs my help.”

“Yes. Sir Hort Rubel would benefit greatly from Lady Graetz’s support.”

“Mm! Make sure you tell him that.”

Commander Adelheid looked strangely satisfied, so I withdrew without saying anything further.

♢

Next, we needed reliable subordinates who could act as Sir Hort’s hands and feet outside.

People who could move freely beyond the knight orders.

That was why I headed to the Adventurers’ Guild.

Having already investigated Sir Hort’s personal connections, I understood—aside from Commander Adelheid—who he truly trusted.

An oni-folk woman with black hair. Dressed in traditional clothing. A swordswoman.

Her name was Nagi.

Sir Hort had once saved her life—and granted her a spirit.

That alone was more than enough reason for loyalty, and she was an ideal ally.

Recently, together with her companions, she had begun making a name for herself as a B-rank adventurer—strong enough to challenge even high-ranking adventurers.

An all-female adventuring party.

Uru, the beastfolk warrior. Ramune, the magic girl. Zina, the elven hunter.

With such powerful companions, I wanted them to lend their strength to Sir Hort.

I steadied my breathing and approached them.

Nagi noticed me first, her eyes narrowing.
The gaze she turned on me was filled with caution.

“……Who are you?”

“I work with Sir Hort Rubel.”

“……Work with him?”

The tip of Nagi’s horn glimmered faintly.

Inazuma growled.

I kept a measured distance, showing that I had no hostile intent.

“I have a request for you.”

“A request?”

Uru stepped forward.

“Hey. If you’ve got business with Nagi, go through me first. If you’re suspicious, I’ll bite you to death.”

“Even if it’s for Sir Hort?”

“W–What?! Hort?!”

At my words, Uru faltered, and Nagi stepped forward instead.

“So you want us to help Hort?”

“Yes. I would like to make a request of you.”

“A request?”

“Right now, Sir Hort is investigating the slums as part of his knightly duties. However, the underground areas of the slums are overflowing with undead-type monsters. I would like to ask you adventurers to deal with them.”

Just mentioning Sir Hort’s name caused a strong light to flare in Nagi’s eyes.

“Will this help Hort?”

“Yes. He intends to change the slums.”

It wasn’t a lie. I simply didn’t mention the secret mission.

Only the goal was enough.

“……That really does sound like Hort.”

Nagi’s voice trembled slightly.
Just hearing his name was enough to shake her.

“Sir Hort’s freedom to act within the knight order is limited. That’s why he needs help from the outside.”

“Help from the outside…”

Zina spoke quietly.

“So you want to help Hort.”

“Yes. I am in a position to support him, but I alone am not enough. He is standing in a dangerous place. That is why I am asking for your help.”

“……What about the pay?”

That was Uru’s question.

I placed the prepared pouch down.

With the gold coins entrusted to me by my lady, hiring them posed no problem.
What I had given Sir Hort earlier was only a portion.

“This is the advance payment. If more is needed, I will prepare it later. I will also provide maps.”

“……”

Ramune gasped.

“That’s an amazing reward…”

“What do you think?”

Nagi stepped forward.

“What are you… to Hort?”

“I’m his work partner.”

I repeated myself. I said nothing more than necessary.

To make Sir Hort a Crown Knight, I would use anything that could be used.

Nagi’s fist clenched tightly.

Uru shrugged her shoulders.

“……What a pain. But I owe that guy.”

“Zina?”

“Yes. It’s worth accepting.”

Ramune nodded.

“If it’s to help Mr. Hort, I’ll do it too.”

Finally, Nagi spoke.

“……Nagi will do it as well.”

The spirit crackled, sparks snapping in the air.

“If Hort is in trouble, Nagi will help.”

“Thank you very much.”

Now, the number of hands outside had increased.

If Sir Hort used people outside the knight order to achieve results, the credit would belong to Sir Hort alone.

Dangerous opponents would be handled by the Second Knight Order.

I would gather all information on the enemy and make sure they never reached him.

Monsters would be eliminated by adventurers—and the results would become Sir Hort’s achievements.

If Sir Hort wished to rise in rank, then I would prepare everything necessary for that.

After all, doing so would also strengthen the ties between him, my lady… and myself.

Chapter 45: Let’s Tackle the Slum’s Problems

I threw on my cloak and headed to Captain Oren’s office.

“Captain. May I start entering the slums from today?”

“I don’t mind, but you’re still just a trainee knight. I’ll assign Daut as your supervising knight.”

“Daut?”

“In the Fifth Unit, we move in pairs—a supervising knight and a trainee. You were attached to me as my secretary, so you didn’t have one before.”

I see.

That meant my original partner was Captain Oren herself.

“Thank you. If it’s Sir Daut, I feel at ease.”

“And Hort. I’m looking forward to seeing what you’ll do in the slums. Do whatever you like. Just be careful. There are people in the Third Knight Order who still have bad feelings toward you.”

“Understood.”

I gave Captain Oren a respectful bow and left the office.

♢

I went straight to find Daut.

He greeted me with a smile, his big belly sticking out and dark circles hanging beneath his eyes.

“Yo, Hort. I heard from the captain. Turns out you weren’t a bad guy after all. Sorry about before.”

“You were the one who wrote the petition, right? Thank you very much.”

“Huh?! What, you already knew?”

The old man scratched his head, looking embarrassed.

“I look forward to working with you from today on.”

“Yeah. So? Where are we heading today?”

“I want to see the state of the slums with my own eyes.”

“Got it. But I’ll warn you—it’s worse than you’re imagining.”

Guided by Daut, I walked through the slums.

Crumbling houses that looked ready to collapse.
Children sleeping on the streets. Emaciated, filthy sick people.

The slums reeked of decay.

The filth was visible at a glance.
The waterways were clogged. Muddy water pooled up, flies swarming over people.
Dark stains covered the walls, and someone’s coughing echoed endlessly from deep within an alley.

“Don’t go past here.”

“Huh?”

He told me it was better not to enter a certain area.

“From here on, there are more dangerous types around. A few members patrol the area, but just the two of us would be risky.”

“Understood.”

I stared into the dim zone beyond the alley, then turned and moved to another part of the slums.

“I’ll start with what I can do.”

“What you can do?”

“Yes! Thinking about it won’t change anything.”

What I could do—starting with what was right in front of me.

“Cleaning!”

I decided to begin by cleaning the streets.

Picking up trash. Clearing the gutters.

On the first day, I had no tools. So I simply did what I could.

I used magic to thin the grime. The stench lessened a bit—but that wasn’t enough.

“Hey, hey. Doing that won’t be nearly enough, you know?”

“But if no one starts, nothing will ever change.”

“Seriously… you’re a pain.”

Even so, Daut helped me clean.

He prepared bags for the trash and picked it up alongside me.

The clogged waterways couldn’t be cleared by magic alone.

I shoved a stick in and scraped out the mud.

Rotten algae came up. The smell was strong enough to make me gag.

But I didn’t stop.

“……Hey, knight. What are you doing?”

People in the slums began to stir, watching curiously.

A skinny man leaned against a wall, staring at us.

“Cleaning.”

“Huh? This is the slums, you know!”

“Yes. If things stay like this, the smell and the sickness will only get worse. Starting today, I’m doing it.”

The man looked at me like I was an idiot.

“Are you stupid? You really think cleaning will make this place nice?”

“I don’t. But if it stays filthy, it’ll only get worse.”

That was all I said before heading to the next alley.

There too, when I looked up, children were watching.

Thin children’s eyes, filled with hatred toward everything.

Eyes angry from having things taken away.

I didn’t look away and said briefly,

“If you’re not going to get in the way, watch all you want.”

“……”

They didn’t run. I didn’t run either.

By noon, one entire alley smelled different.

Someone sniffed the air.

“……Doesn’t stink today.”

That alone was a step forward.

♢

The next day, I went to see my brother-in-law—my sister’s husband.

“Hey, it’s been a while.”

He owned a large shop in the royal capital and had succeeded as a construction contractor, originally a craftsman.

A man of few words, but dependable like my sister—and always kind to me.

“Hort.”

“Yes! Um, I have a favor to ask!”

As soon as I began explaining, his reply was short.

“……Where?”

He didn’t ask for details.

He understood what I needed with just that simple question.

“Could you build a temporary infirmary in an empty lot in the slums? A roof and walls are enough. I’ve already gotten permission from the Fifth Unit’s captain. I’d like it large enough to lay about a hundred sick people down.”

I placed the pouch of gold coins Gina had given me onto the table.

“Alright. Three days.”

My brother-in-law said he’d do the job using only half the gold in the pouch.

Three days.

He said it firmly, then stood up.

Still a man of few words.

But I understood why my sister had fallen for him.

A reliable man didn’t need many words.

Even after asking him for the favor, I kept cleaning the slums.

Daut and I ran all over the slums, carrying the tools we needed.

Brooms. Shovels. Work gloves. Bags of ash. Bundles of straw. Lidded buckets. …And a borrowed handcart.

The most important thing about cleaning was deciding things from the start.

The moment mud and filth were piled together, everything became “just waste.”

No reuse value. No hygiene. Everything was lost.

I laid boards across the cart to create a divider.

One side for mud. The other for buckets.

“What’re you doing, knight?”

“Returning soil to the earth. Turning filth into fertilizer.”

It didn’t matter if the slum residents laughed through their noses.

If I showed results, they would fall silent.

First—the mud in the waterways.

I shoveled it out. It smelled, but it was still bearable.

I sifted out the gravel and small stones, piling only the mud onto the “mud side” of the cart.

That mud was carried to the potholes in the alleys.

A handful of straw went in first, lining the bottom to soak up moisture.

Then the mud. Then gravel on top.

I stomped it down hard.

The ground stopped sinking underfoot.

Mud wasn’t thrown away.

It became material to fix the roads.

Any excess was piled in an empty lot and left to dry in the sun.

Once dry, I mixed in straw and packed it into molds.

Sun-dried bricks.

Walls could be made from them.

♢

Next—human waste.

Handled carelessly, it spread disease.

That was why we used buckets. With lids.

From here on, procedure was everything.

Straw went into the bottom of the bucket to absorb moisture.

Once collected, ash was sprinkled immediately.

Then more straw. Then more ash.

Layer by layer.

The smell faded. Bugs stopped gathering.

The filled buckets were carried downwind to the compost area.

A pit was dug, filled with fallen leaves and wood shavings.

The bucket contents were poured in, then ash again, then straw again.

Finally, it was covered with soil.

Heat would build up.

Once the rot settled, it became compost.

Something that could be returned to the fields.

Useful for the orphanage’s vegetable garden.

I never thought helping the people on my baron family’s land would come in handy like this.

“Hey, Hort. These guys say they’ll help too.”

A dog beastman knight.
A lizard beastman knight.
A rat beastman knight.

Daut’s fellow knights had started lending a hand as well.

♢

Three days later.

In the empty lot of the slums, a building with a roof and walls now stood.

The framework was thick.

Far sturdier than what I had asked for.

“Brother, this is way better than I requested!”

“Hmph. I did the job worth the pay.”

No—this was absolutely more than worth it.

The craftsmen wiped their sweat as they hammered in the final nails.

My brother-in-law looked at me and gestured with his chin.

“……It’s done.”

“Thank you. This really helped me.”

He said nothing more, packed up his tools, and left.

His back was quiet—and cool.

Right there, I immediately used magic.

“Sanctuary.”

The holy-domain spell wasn’t just for summoning spirits.

By purifying the space itself, it created an area resistant to disease—safe for bringing in the sick.

When I opened the door, a hundred beds were already lined up inside.

“Seriously! I was planning to do all of this myself!”

My sister’s husband was amazing to the very end.

He understood everything without me having to say it.

Hard to believe he was married to my talkative sister.

“But this helps a lot!”

I covered my mouth and put on gloves.

I lifted children who had collapsed asleep on the streets and washed their bodies at the well in the empty lot.

“What’s next?”

“Cleaning, rescuing the sick—and we’ll start a soup kitchen.”

“Alright! We’ll need more hands!”

“I’ve already thought about that.”

I cleaned the bodies of the children I had brought in, dressed them in simple linen tunics, and laid them down on the beds.

Once the children were settled, I moved on to the elderly.

After that, those who couldn’t move on their own.

It took a full week to carry everyone in.

The knights lending their hands was a huge help.

♢

Next, I gathered those who had no work.

“I want you to work.”

“……Work?”

“Yeah. Taking care of the sick. Carrying water, washing cloth, wiping floors, chopping firewood. There’s plenty to do.”

I showed them a single silver coin.

This money had been prepared by Gina.

I had asked her beforehand whether it was fine to use it like this.

Her answer had been—

“I agree with giving work to the people of the slums. And all of it will become Sir Hort’s achievement.”

“Are you sure that’s okay?”

“Of course!”

I couldn’t thank Gina enough.

“I’ll pay wages. Only for the work you do. If you don’t like it, you can leave.”

At first, they laughed at me.

But the next day, more people showed up.

There was a place to lay the sick down, soup was served, and meals were handed out.

Even if one person could only do so much, when others helped, the smell faded.

Children stopped coughing.

And most importantly—money began to move.

Even a small wage, if people felt I earned this myself, was enough to make them stand up.

In the mornings, we cleaned the slums.

At noon, we ran the soup kitchen and cast Heal on the sick.

Basic recovery magic restored their strength, then we fed them.

Sadly, I couldn’t cure their illnesses.

There were moments of disappointment.

But for most of them, the real problems were malnutrition and poor sanitation.

I taught those I hired how to care for the sick.

They helped with the soup kitchen.
They helped clean the slums.

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

“Sir Daut, could you handle patrols around here?”

“Yeah…! Leave it to me!”

More than half of the Fifth Unit had started helping.

Daut didn’t just patrol—he carried the sick.

The dog beastman knight helped with the soup kitchen, handed bread to children, then quietly looked away.

The lizard beastman knight strengthened patrols around the temporary infirmary, making sure no bad people came close.

The rat beastman knight cleaned narrow spaces together with me.

Little by little, laughter began to fill the area.

♢

There were things that surprised me too.

The monsters were handled by Nagi.

The black-haired oni-folk woman drew her blade.

Crackle. Inazuma sparked.

“Anyone who messes with the town Hort is protecting… I won’t forgive them.”

Uru grinned.

“Nice one, horn-girl. Let’s go!”

Ramune’s water spread into a mist, and Zina’s arrows rained down shadows.

With them taking care of the monsters, we were also able to clean the sewage systems at the same time.

The knights protected the sick and the children.

The adventurers eliminated the monsters.

The residents watched over the sick, cleaned, and began moving together.

In places where undead monsters had been defeated, I purified the area with Sanctuary so they wouldn’t appear again.

Slowly, step by step, the cleaning I had started alone turned into something many people joined in on.

“Um! I heard there’s a holy person here?”

The one who suddenly called out was a beautiful woman wearing a nun’s habit.