After that, we began cleaning the workshop.
While I had been working on the other room, the hazardous materials in here had already been cleared away, so I was able to get straight to work.
This area hadn't been touched during my last visit.
Because of that, it looked like it would take longer than the living room.
However, since this mess was the result of her own blunder and she felt bad leaving it all to me, Marina-san joined in on the cleaning as well.
"...Erik-kun, do you have a skill related to cleaning or something? Your movements are so smooth and fast. You've cleaned almost twice as much ground as I have."
"No, I only have a single special skill, so I don't have anything like that."
"Huh, really? I mean, just having a special skill is amazing enough, but are you sure you should be telling me that so casually?"
"Nobody really knows anything about my special skill, to be honest. So I'm not even sure if it's something I ought to keep secret."
I answered truthfully.
In fact, when I underwent the ritual, I asked about my special skill, but I couldn't find out any real details.
Even if I wanted to look into it here in the royal capital, using the library costs money, so I couldn't go just yet.
"Is that so? What's it called, by the way?"
"It's a special skill called [Fixed EXP]."
"Fixed EXP... Going by the name, maybe the experience points needed to level up are fixed at a set amount?"
"I wonder. Well, I'm planning to head outside the city today, so I figured I'd find out."
One of my reasons for going outside the city walls was to test the effects of [Fixed EXP].
And so, chatting with Marina-san, I kept on cleaning.
The workshop itself wasn't particularly large, but it was cluttered with so many items that putting everything in order took quite a while.
Even so, we finished in about two hours. It was still before noon, leaving me plenty of daylight to spend outside the city.
"Erik-kun, thank you so much! If you hadn't been here, I really would have had to live in that dreadful mess!"
"Wait, Marina-san?! This is way too much for the reward!"
I had accepted the housework request for a single silver coin.
Despite that, Marina-san handed me an extra four silver coins on top of it.
"It's fine, really! Believe it or not, I make good money as an alchemist! I'm terrible at cleaning, but I'm great at business, so I've got savings."
"If that's the case, why not move to a nicer place or hire a servant?"
"...I actually did hire a servant once. To handle the cleaning. But I made a mess again so fast that they lost heart and quit."
To my question, Marina-san replied with a gloomy expression.
"How about you, Erik-kun? I'll pay you a proper wage, so won't you come work for me as a servant?"
"It's a very tempting offer, but I want to make it as an adventurer, so I'll have to pass. I don't mind taking it as the occasional quest, though, so if you're ever in a bind again, just post a request and I'll come clean."
"—! I'm holding you to that! If you break that promise, your big sister is going to cry her eyes out, okay?!"
"I-I promise! S-So please back up a bit!"
As Marina-san leaned in and pressed uncomfortably close, I yelled while turning my head away to avoid her.
"...Fufu, you really are just a boy, Erik-kun."
"Please don't tease me! I'm leaving now!"
"I'll probably post another request around next week, so I'm counting on you~!"
As I announced my departure and walked out the door, Marina-san called after me.
Afterward, I headed back to the Adventurer's Guild and had Reina-san process the quest completion at the reception counter.
"You received a bonus again, I see."
"Yes. She told me it was because I did a good job. But I only cleaned, so I'm not sure if it's really all right for me to take this much..."
"I think it's perfectly fine. Building a good rapport with your clients is part of an adventurer's job, too. Some adventurers even cultivate regular clients and take on recurring requests from them."
"Is there really any point in being an adventurer if you do that?"
When I asked, Reina-san smiled warmly.
"There are all kinds of ways to make a living as an adventurer. You'll start to see that for yourself as you gain more experience, Erik-kun."
"I suppose so."
After that, I asked Reina-san about a few precautions before heading outside the city.
Lately, monsters in the vicinity of the royal capital had grown unusually active.
She warned me to stay on guard, as they had been roaming across a wider range than their usual territories.
My destination today was the forest to the west of the royal capital.
After inquiring beforehand about the monsters that inhabited the area and how to handle them, I finally set out from the Adventurer's Guild.
"...So this is where I'll be working today."
Leaving the royal capital behind, I walked for a few minutes until I reached the western forest.
Low-tier monsters like goblins and slimes roamed these woods.
"If I remember right, if I don't get back within an hour of the first evening bell, I won't be able to get back into the royal capital."
I had made sure to ask about the gate hours before leaving.
The gates to the royal capital closed around 19:00 in the evening.
With that in mind, I resolved to prepare to head back as soon as the 18:00 bell chimed, then stepped into the forest.
"This matches the medicinal herb I saw in the book."
The first thing I did was gather medicinal herbs, the objective of my current quest.
I decided to get the request out of the way first before testing my special skill.