"It's really spacious in here."
Inside the building, numerous employees of the merchant firm were bustling about.
As Hannah-san had explained, the facility served as a warehouse-cum-office where the firm's cargo was managed.
She mentioned they had a separate storefront in the commercial district, and this building was where they stored the inventory meant to be sold there, along with other supplies.
Heading deeper inside, I was guided to the work area.
Unlike the rest of the building, a set of shelves had collapsed here, leaving the space in utter disarray.
"What happened here?"
"...Well, you see, these are shelves where merchandise is kept. We'd originally stacked things rather haphazardly. Then yesterday, while bringing in some goods, I bumped into the shelf a little, and the whole thing came crashing down."
Marina-san looked down, sheepishly explaining her blunder.
"The items stored here are still mass-produced goods, and those that lost their value as merchandise were inexpensive, so the losses for both the firm and Marina are minimal, but... we realized cleaning this up was beyond our capabilities. That's why we made a special request to the guild to pass the job to you, Erik-kun."
"Thank you for holding me in such high regard. In that case, I'll get to work immediately."
If I didn't start soon, this was going to take a long time.
Reaching that conclusion, I borrowed some cleaning supplies and got to work.
I separated the broken glass from the rest of the debris as I gathered everything up.
Some of the items were still usable, but it seemed they could no longer be sold as merchandise.
"No matter how intact they might be, we can't sell goods dropped on a floor like this."
"In that case, what will you do with them?"
"Let's see. If anyone at the firm can use them, I suppose we'll give them away for free... Erik-kun, feel free to take anything you might need as well."
Hearing that gave me an extra burst of motivation.
I paid attention to every little detail, yet worked through the mess at a brisk pace.
In just two hours, the disastrous site was restored, looking even cleaner than it had before.
"...Erik-kun, were you a carpenter as well?"
Along the way, I had also repaired the fallen shelf whose supports had snapped.
There was spare lumber inside the firm, so with their permission, I had added some simple reinforcements.
"No, I just picked up a bit of woodworking from a handy old man back in my village. If a real professional saw it, I'm sure they'd find plenty of flaws."
"Not at all—this is solidly reinforced. I was planning to buy a replacement, but thanks to you, we can keep using it for quite a while."
"I totally agree. It feels sturdy enough to hold up even if I bump into it again. It's actually a better shelf than before!"
Hannah-san and Marina-san both praised my handiwork.
Afterward, just as they had promised, I picked out what I needed from the dropped merchandise.
Aside from medicinal supplies, I was able to get detergent and various tools for equipment maintenance.
They even gave me some unsold children's clothing that happened to fit me perfectly.
"A-Are you sure it's all right for me to take clothes too?"
"Of course. If they stayed here, they were just going to end up in the trash eventually anyway."
Left in storage for too long, clothes would eventually be ruined by moths and other pests.
Though precautions were taken, these items had simply gone unsold for ages.
Even if discounted, they took up valuable space meant for other products.
As a result, she explained that they had been slated for disposal.
Since that was the case, I gratefully accepted several sets of clothing and underwear.
"...Don't you have more luggage with you than when you left?"
"Hahaha, well, the truth is, I received some items from the firm that couldn't be sold."
"They must have really appreciated your work."
"If so, that makes me glad."
After chatting with Reina-san, she showed me the available quests outside the city walls.
Today as well, I accepted a slime-related quest and had the paperwork processed.
Instead of heading straight out of town, however, I decided to stop by the inn first.
"Oh my, back so early today? What's with all the heavy luggage?"
"I received these from the client. It'd be a hassle to carry them along on a quest, so I came back to drop them off first."
With that explanation, I went up to my room and unloaded the bags.
Before heading out again, I transferred only the medicinal supplies into the pouch I carried with me.
"All right, I'm heading out again."
"Right, do your best out there."
Seen off by Amanda-san for my second departure of the day, I left the inn.
Making my way out of the city, I arrived at the forest, which had practically become part of my daily routine.
"...The atmosphere in the forest today somehow feels even better than usual."
There was no gloomy oppressiveness, and the air felt crisp and clear.
Sensing that positive change as I ventured deeper, I quickly spotted a slime.
A quick scan of the surroundings confirmed no other monsters were nearby.
Drawing my sword from its sheath, I observed my target.
It was bouncing along carefree, nibbling on some grass.
Seizing the opening, I swung my sword down from behind the slime, aiming straight for its core.
◇
Monster defeated.
Acquired 1 EXP.
49/100 until next level.
◇
◇
Practiced [Swordsmanship].
Acquired 1 EXP.
1/100 until skill acquisition.
◇
A new line of text, completely separate from my level progress, was etched onto the screen I kept active.
"By what logic did I gain EXP for [Swordsmanship]?"
There had been no such text yesterday.
Since it was appearing now, I must have done something differently.
I reflected on the differences between yesterday and today, and what came to mind was this morning's sword practice.
"...Too much time has passed for it to be triggered by that training. Could it be a matter of my mindset?"
With that theory in mind, I tracked down the next slime and struck it down while consciously focusing on [Swordsmanship].
◇
Monster defeated.
Acquired 1 EXP.
50/100 until next level.
◇
The result was an increase in level EXP, but no change to the skill counter.
"Now I understand it even less... Still, learning that my skill also tracks progress toward acquiring new skills is definitely a step forward."
Plenty of mysteries remained.
Even so, I had discovered another facet of my power today.
After that, I continued hunting slimes.
◇
Monster defeated.
Acquired 1 EXP.
95/100 until next level.
◇
◇
Practiced [Swordsmanship].
Acquired 1 EXP.
3/100 until skill acquisition.
◇
Partway through, I had stopped checking the screen to focus entirely on searching for targets.
Before I knew it, that much [Swordsmanship] EXP had accumulated.
My level progress had also risen considerably, and when the evening bells tolled, I made my way back to the city.
After reporting at the guild and collecting my reward, I returned to the inn.
I spent time maintaining my gear, then finished dinner and took a bath.
Tomorrow, barring any unforeseen issues, I would finally level up.
Excited for what lay ahead, I drifted off to sleep earlier than usual.