The day after I obtained [Cleaning].
Even during my morning laundry, I was amazed by the skill's effects.
When I applied force to scrub the clothes against the washboard, the dirt came off with just the right amount of pressure.
My laundry had always been quick, but today it was finished in no time at all.
"If only I had known about this skill sooner..."
Though the thought crossed my mind, I was genuinely glad she had told me about it back then.
After finishing the laundry, I began my [Swordsmanship] training in the backyard.
Before long, Amanda-san came outside, so I helped with the inn's laundry as usual.
"Oh my, you're done already? That's earlier than usual."
"Hehe, actually, I obtained the [Cleaning] skill yesterday. Thanks to its effects, I was able to shave off some time."
"Huh, that's wonderful. If I remember correctly, [Cleaning] makes you better at tidying up, right?"
"Pretty much. So if there's ever a place that's hard to clean, please let me know. If it's a request from you, Amanda-san, I'll do it purely as a favor, not as an official job."
When I said that, Amanda-san gave a gentle smile.
"When that time comes, I'll post it properly as work. Adventurers shouldn't be working for free, you know."
"No, no, you and Ted-san take care of me all the time, so think of it as my way of returning the favor..."
"And we're compensated for that, aren't we? Besides, if you're talking about returning the favor, all we wish for is that you stay alive and well. Just dropping by the inn once in a while to show us your smiling face—that alone is the greatest favor you could ever return to us, Erik."
Much like Reina-san, Amanda-san had likely lost many people in her past.
A tinge of sorrow surfaced in her expression.
"I understand. In that case, I'll make sure to stay alive, and if the inn ever runs into trouble, I'll come running right away!"
I promised Amanda-san.
Since the laundry was finished early and it wasn't time for breakfast yet, I decided to resume my training.
After practicing for about an hour, I headed to the dining room to eat breakfast.
"Oh, has the inn started serving rice too?"
"Ah, that? I heard you ate some the other day, Erik. My husband and I went out to try it together. And well, he got completely hooked. He even asked the owner there to teach him how to cook it from scratch, so we decided to start serving it today."
The rice at the shop Reina-san had taken me to.
I had mentioned it to Amanda-san and Ted-san as well.
The two of them had known it existed, but the inn mainly served bread and noodles, so they had never worked with rice before.
To begin with, Ted-san himself was a bread lover who had eaten nothing else since childhood.
Even now, all the bread served at the inn was baked from scratch by him.
As much as Ted-san loved bread, he had simply refused to try rice out of prejudice.
"For him to get so hooked, didn't he have plenty of chances to try it before I mentioned it?"
"He did. Reina even recommended it to him back then. At the time, he just wasn't ready to give rice a chance. But lately, he's wanted to broaden his culinary horizons, and since you recommended it too, Erik, he finally went out to try it."
As Amanda-san said this with a laugh, Ted-san emerged from the kitchen.
"I feel bad about what happened with Reina. Um, well... if you're seeing Reina today, tell her to come eat at the inn for the first time in a while..."
"This man is still fretting over the little spat they had when she invited him. Even though Reina hasn't given it a second thought. Despite how he looks, he's terribly sensitive on the inside."
"S-Shut up!"
Ted-san yelled, then turned right around and retreated into the kitchen.
After finishing breakfast, I got ready and left the inn.
When I arrived at the Adventurer's Guild, it wasn't very crowded today.
"Good morning, Reina-san."
No one was lined up at Reina-san's counter.
So I walked right up and greeted her.
"Good morning, Erik-kun. You're looking energetic today as well."
"Yes. I came early because I wanted to take on some domestic help requests again today. Do you have any available?"
"Plenty. In fact, they've only increased since yesterday."
Saying that, Reina-san pulled out a thick stack of several dozen request forms she could offer me.
"Th-This many? Is it because of the earthquake after all?"
"That's part of it, but it seems most people are submitting requests after hearing the recent rumors."
"Rumors?"
"Yes. Word has spread that there's a new adventurer in town who's exceptionally skilled at cleaning."
Hearing Reina-san's words, I realized the rumors were almost certainly about me.
"Is word spreading about what happened with Marina-san?"
"That's probably part of it, but you've been doing domestic chores all over the place since coming to the royal capital, haven't you, Erik-kun? Because of that, your name seems to be coming up in quite a few circles. People are saying you thoroughly clean whatever is asked of you."
"Well, I can't just do a half-hearted job on a request I've accepted."
After finishing our chat at the counter, I had her process my first request of the day.
A living room cleanup for 30 copper coins.
With the paperwork complete, I left the Adventurer's Guild and set off for the client's address.