Hearing my words, Harold-san looked completely crestfallen.
"To be honest, I thought the building itself was the problem, but it was my fault all along..."
Realizing he was solely to blame, Harold-san let out a heavy sigh.
"Harold-san, people make mistakes all the time. But how you overcome those mistakes is what decides whether you grow or stay stuck in place. Reflecting on what went wrong is fine, but what truly matters is focusing on what comes next."
"...Kid. Are you really a ten-year-old who just had his ceremony? You've got your head on straighter than I do."
"That's only because I'm looking at this as an objective third party instead of the one dealing with it directly. Besides, I only said that because I knew you weren't the type to stay stuck, Harold-san."
"Hah! When a kid puts it like that, I don't have time to sit around moping! First things first, I need to grab some lumber and patch up this hole. Asking you to handle this part would definitely be going beyond the request, after all."
With that, Harold-san set to repairing the damaged section of the floor with his own hands.
Members of the dwarf race are naturally dexterous, and they frequently take part in construction work like this.
Although his primary trade was blacksmithing, his carpentry skills were so refined that you couldn't tell the difference.
Looking over the neatly repaired floorboards, Harold-san wore a satisfied grin.
"Phew... That was a major job. I'm wiped out..."
"Sorry about this, kid. It's a huge warehouse."
"Not at all. A big cleanup is rewarding, so it's actually pretty fun."
Two hours had passed since we started.
Harold-san's warehouse was massive, but the end of the cleaning was finally in sight.
I surveyed the entire room once more, pumped myself up, and got back to work.
While I was sweeping and organizing, Harold-san set about building new shelves.
He shaped the timber with swift precision, crafting each piece into clean, handsome forms.
Building every unit with meticulous care, he swapped out the broken, ruined shelves for sturdy new ones.
"Kid, I really can't thank you enough for taking this job! Thanks to you, this place is going to be way easier to use than before."
"No, all I did was clean up. The shelves and baskets were all made by your own hands, Harold-san."
"Sure, I built 'em, but it's only such a functional space because of your advice, isn't it?"
While Harold-san had been making the shelves and baskets, I had offered a few suggestions.
The truth was, the previous shelving layout had looked terribly impractical.
Even in the sections that hadn't collapsed, the layout had felt cramped and awkward to navigate.
Materials had been scattered with no organization whatsoever, with identical items turning up in completely different corners.
So, I had given him advice on how to optimize the floor plan and make it user-friendly.
Even though Harold-san was an experienced craftsman, he had listened to my input and put it straight into practice.
Once the warehouse was completely cleaned up, I had him sign the completion report.
"Kid, just like I promised before the job, that full set of equipment is yours. You were a massive help."
"I'm really glad to receive such amazing gear. Next time, I'll save up enough money so I can buy something properly from your shop, Harold-san!"
"You bet! When that day comes, I'll pour extra heart and soul into forging it for you!"
Harold-san gave a hearty laugh, and I turned to head back to the Adventurer's Guild to turn in my report.
"Ah, hold on a second! I've got something else for you, kid."
Sensing that I was about to be handed yet another extra reward, I opened my mouth to decline.
Before I could get a word out, however, Harold-san had already hurried into the back room.
"Here, take this, kid."
What Harold-san brought out was a set of equipment maintenance tools.
"It might not be worth a whole lot as a bonus, but I figured you'd be needing it."
"You really didn't need to give me an extra reward in the first place, you know. I'm already getting the full gear set plus the quest reward of five silver coins."
"Don't worry about it! I want you to have it, and it's something you'll actually use, so just take it."
With him insisting so firmly, I gratefully accepted the maintenance kit.
Up until now, I had been cleaning my equipment with worn-out rags made from old clothes full of holes.
I had known that I would eventually need proper maintenance tools anyway.
"Thank you very much! Along with the equipment, I'll make sure to put these tools to good use."
After giving Harold-san my thanks, I stepped out of the shop and returned to the Adventurer's Guild.
I waited in line at Reina-san's counter and handed over the completion form.
"Fufu, you ended up with another extra reward, didn't you?"
"I tried to turn it down since I've been receiving way too much lately, but he wouldn't take no for an answer."
"I think that's wonderful. It just shows how much your clients appreciate your work."
Since I still planned to venture outside the city today, I asked her to show me the available outdoor quests.
Among the postings, I noticed a medicinal herb harvesting quest that wasn't a permanent quest, yet offered a reward of one silver coin.
"Why does this harvesting quest pay as much as a whole silver coin?"
"That's because this particular herb is rather tricky to find. However, the client only needs five stalks, so the quota isn't very high. I pulled it aside thinking it was something you could manage, Erik-kun."
The quest slip requested the gathering of a single, specific type of medicinal herb.
Reina-san pulled out an illustrated reference book, explaining the herb's characteristics and what it looked like in the wild.
Listening to her explanation, I weighed my options.
I had originally planned to take an extermination quest today so I could finally acquire the [Swordsmanship] skill.
However, this harvesting request seemed quite urgent.
Judging by the look in Reina-san's eyes, she was clearly hoping someone would take it off her hands.
"Understood. I'll take this quest."
"Thank you, Erik-kun."
The moment I agreed, I didn't miss the way Reina-san's tense expression melted into relief, even as she tried to keep it professional.
Once the paperwork was finalized, I walked out of the guild and made my way outside the royal capital.