The Female Knight Who Appears As A Special Guest Is Way Too Cute

“Phew, that should do it…”

It was exactly the seventh moonlit night since I arrived in the Republic.

In the room assigned to me as the commander’s quarters, I was finally freed from today’s work.

Piled high atop my desk were mountains, mountains, mountains, and yet more mountains of paperwork—reports, delivery slips for supplies purchased from trading companies in other countries, mission requests whose response deadlines were rapidly approaching, and so on… What I was looking at was the result of taking everything that had been scattered messily around the room, organizing it, gathering the documents that needed priority, processing them, and then stacking them up.

What was with this pointless sense of accomplishment?

“…Good work. We’re terrible at this kind of paperwork. So, it helps.”

“If you really think that, could you help me a little more…?”

With her usual poker face, Zena offered me a few words of appreciation.

Wow, saying that while relaxing on the sofa. Just what kind of education had she received?

“…I’d very much like to. But even though the Republic’s female warriors can speak, many of them can’t read or write.”

“Huh? Really?”

Mm, Zena nodded.

“…Unlike the royal capital, there aren’t any schools here… Once a child becomes old enough to understand things and her ability manifests, she spends the rest of her time doing nothing but fighting. So our literacy rate… isn’t very high either. I can read and write, but honestly, I’m not good at it.”

If that was the case, then the atrocious language used by the spectators during the fight in the arena suddenly made sense.

“If so, that presents a problem of its own…”

If reading was difficult for them, then I couldn’t rely on written material to teach them tactics or other techniques. Of course, I could demonstrate things personally and have them learn through practice, but it was a different matter entirely when there were more than a hundred people I had to teach.

“…Can’t you call someone in?”

Since I couldn’t do it alone, naturally I had considered asking for reinforcements. However, this wasn’t the kind of workplace where I could say, ‘We’re short-handed, so send more people!’ and receive an immediate, ‘Sure!’ in response. The Royal Capital Guard prided itself on being an elite force of limited numbers, so there simply weren’t spare personnel sitting around.

“Well, I suppose there’s no harm in asking even if they reject me. Maybe the princess can find some eccentric person willing to shoulder half of my murderous overtime hours…”

And so, after sending Zena away, I immediately relayed my request to the princess through Madeleine-san.

And then—

‘She says it’s fine. Good for you, Haru.’

“Ehh…”

—It was approved without any trouble at all. Why?

“I was absolutely sure they’d reject it. I figured some high-ranking administrator would basically slam the door in my face while saying, 【People? Huh? If you want them that badly, why don’t you hire them with your own money?】 while half-losing their temper.”

‘Normally, that’s exactly what would happen. But apparently the timing happens to be perfect this time, and there’s someone they can dispatch for just two or three days.’

That was certainly unusual. What squad could possibly have such a conveniently available, highly capable knight willing to indulge my selfish request?

“Oh, by the way, where is the captain right now? It’s been a while since our last work report, so I wanted to talk to her again.”

‘Too bad. Karen’s out taking care of something right now. Apparently she’s having some new armor made, so she should be at the castle workshop.’

That, on the other hand, wasn’t unusual. Knights—especially those holding captain-level positions in the Royal Capital Guard—often changed their equipment depending on the mission, so aside from their favored swords and armor, they usually kept plenty of spare equipment at their stations.

Me? I only had one set, thank you very much.

‘All right, I’m busy, so I’ll leave it there. Haru, if you run into trouble again, send me another telepathic message anytime. I’ll cooperate however much I can.’

“Yes, thank you.”

After thanking Madeleine-san and ending the telepathic call, I immediately began making preparations. I didn’t know what kind of person this helper would be, but anyone who could be dispatched here had to be highly capable, so they should be able to handle a somewhat unreasonable schedule.

There was just one question—

“What kind of eccentric is this person going to be…?”

I got my answer two days later.

“Let’s see, one, ten, a hundred… Looks like everyone’s here.”

And so, two days later, beneath the scorching afternoon sun, we gathered in the settlement square.

After checking the roster two or three times and confirming that every last female warrior of the Republic Knight Order was present, I turned to face everyone.

The gazes the dark-skinned girls directed at me still seemed heavily colored with uncertainty.

Since I had defeated Lilia in battle, they obeyed me on the surface, but even after several days at my new post, the only ones who spoke to me were Zena, standing at the very front of the group, and Ena directly behind her, openly glaring at me with displeasure—the starkly contrasting attitudes of the princess’s two closest aides probably left everyone unsure how they were supposed to treat me.

“—All right, then. Sorry to jump right into it, but I’m going to have all of you begin a mission now.”

At my opening words, the female warriors gave me puzzled looks.

That was understandable, since they performed their duties every single day. Maintaining order in the settlement, providing assistance to other countries, guarding important figures, and so on—they were highly capable as warriors, so although they were essentially treated as hired muscle, demand for the Republic’s services was extremely high. The rewards were equally substantial.

“…Hey, isn’t that exactly the same thing you said yesterday? What, are you trying to say we’ve been slacking off or something?”

“That’s not it, Ena. Today, I want you to change the way you do things and use the tactics from my country—the 【Royal Capital】.”

“…Why? Our work is going fine without doing that.”

At Zena’s question, everyone exchanged glances and nodded to one another.

If things were already going well, why did they need to adopt a new method now—that seemed to be what they were thinking.

“I’ve watched all of you work up until now—and I’m going to say this plainly. You waste far too much effort.”

The atmosphere instantly changed at my words.

“I know all of you are extremely capable. Especially one-on-one, I don’t think any of you would lose to knights from any other country.”

But, I continued.

“The moment you fight as a group, you lose surprisingly easily.”

Every girl’s brows furrowed at once. They seemed to be thinking that if they were individually superior, there was no possible way they could lose.

“You all look like you have no idea what I mean. So that’s the first thing I intend to teach you today. And for that purpose, I had one additional helper come here from my country.”

Only then did I finally introduce the 【helper】 standing beside me with legs planted firmly apart.

A dependable knight in black armor who had come all the way from the royal capital to assist me—whose name was…

【UH, HELLO, EVERYONE. I AM BLACK KNIGHT. NICE TO MEET YOU.】

“Yes, this is Black Knight-san. Everyone, please be nice to them~. All right, then, let’s immediately divide into my group and Black Knight-san’s group—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!? Hold on, hold on a second!?”

And just like that, Ena immediately interrupted me. Naturally, the surrounding girls were also murmuring among themselves at the strange sight.

“What is it, Ena? Do you have a question?”

“I have nothing but questions—like, what the hell is with that creepy person dressed head to toe in black armor!? It’s insanely hot out here, and they’ve even covered their entire head! They might as well be saying, ‘Hello, I’m suspicious!’”

“I don’t think it’s creepy… This kind of thing is perfectly normal in the royal capital. Right, Black Knight-san?”

【………… (nod, nod)】

Black Knight-san obediently agreed with me in silence. Ah, as expected of Black Knight-san, whom I had just now decided was second to none when it came to assisting others. How wonderful.

“—Pervert.”

At Zena’s sharp insult, Black Knight-san flinched.

Apparently, he—or perhaps she?—was weak against direct verbal abuse. I was delighted to discover a new side of Black Knight-san so quickly.

“Well, whether this person is a pervert or not aside—Zena, Ena.”

With that, I pointed my sword toward them.

“All of you can come at us together, if you want. Karen-san and I will defeat you in no time.”

My provocative words seemed to ignite the fighting spirit of every girl present.

“—Heh, big talk.”

“…Don’t regret it.”

Ena and, unusually enough, even Zena seemed motivated as they took up their weapons and entered combat stances.

“Two against a hundred, huh? Wow, it’s been a while. I feel like we haven’t had this kind of fight in ages. Right, Captain?”

In response, Black Knight-san—or rather, Karen-san—removed her black-painted helmet.

“Well, that’s true, but—could you please stop casually revealing my identity like that?”

Then please stop using such an obvious disguise and fake voice.