The first job was at a young man's house.
I stepped inside, assessed the situation, and set to work.
There was barely enough floor space left in the living room to walk across. It had been cluttered to begin with, and things tumbling off the shelves during the earthquake seemed to have turned it into a total disaster.
After surveying the mess, I quickly bagged up the trash, swept, wiped down every surface, and polished until everything gleamed. I washed the dishes as well, transforming the filthy room into a spotless space in just one hour.
"Thank you. Truly, thank you so much!"
Just as I was getting ready to head out after completing the request, the man showered me with heartfelt gratitude.
With my first job done, I headed back to the Adventurer's Guild.
"Reina-san, I'd like to submit my completion report and look at the next request."
"Sure thing. Go ahead and pick one out while I process your paperwork."
"Understood."
Following Reina-san's suggestion, I looked through the available requests. As I did, I cast a quick glance at the screen at the edge of my vision.
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You have trained in [Cleaning]. Gained 1 EXP. 12 / 100 to next level.
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Even after acquiring the skill, the pace at which I earned EXP was astonishingly fast.
A smirk tugged at the corners of my mouth as I picked my second request. Then, after having Reina-san handle the formalities, I set off from the Adventurer's Guild.
The second request was another household chore. The reward was one silver coin, and the venue was a fairly large mansion.
"I'm so glad you could make it."
The client was a dignified woman. I stepped inside the building and surveyed the scene. The house had clearly been kept in pristine condition originally, but the earthquake had left the furniture thrown about in disarray. She explained that she lived there with her husband, but since he was currently away on travel, she had put in the request.
With the assessment complete, I got right down to business.
"My goodness, how wonderful! In just one hour, it's far cleaner than it was before. Thank you."
The woman beamed with delight once the cleaning was finished.
After parting ways with her, I checked the screen on my way back to the Adventurer's Guild.
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You have trained in [Cleaning]. Gained 1 EXP. 39 / 100 to next level.
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At this rate, won't I be able to level up the skill before the day is out?
Just two hours of cleaning had yielded this much EXP. A faint smile crossed my face at the prospect of raising my skill level.
The skill was already this effective at Level 1. What would happen once it leveled up? Just the thought filled me with excitement, quickening my pace as I walked back to the Adventurer's Guild.
"Reina-san, if you please."
"Right away."
When I handed over the report, Reina-san laid out the quest forms for me. While I had been gone, there had been a change in the selection. Until this morning, she had been showing me a mix of general requests alongside household chores. Now, however, only household chore requests were laid out on the counter.
"Did you sort out the requests for me?"
"You had the look of someone who only wanted to do housework today, Erik-kun, so I gathered just those."
"Thank you so much, Reina-san!"
After thanking her, I picked my third request and had her process the paperwork. The next job was another one offering a reward of one silver coin.
Upon arriving at the destination, a wealthy-looking man and his butler were waiting for me. It was another sizeable mansion, and I was assigned to clean the study.
"Um, is it really all right to let an adventurer into such an important room?"
"I wouldn't entrust it to an ordinary adventurer. However, I've heard the rumors about you. Word has it that you're a remarkably fast and meticulous worker."
The man explained that after hearing the rumors and learning that I frequently took on housework requests, he had decided to post the job. And so, following his instructions, I got to work cleaning the study.
"Hahaha, you truly cleaned it with astonishing speed! Here, take this as a small token of my appreciation."
With that, the man handed me an extra three silver coins on top of the base reward. Had it been Marina-san or Hannah-san, I would have declined since they always gave me tips, but since this was my first time working for this man, I gratefully accepted.
After getting the report signed, I left the building and returned to the Adventurer's Guild.
"Oh, did the client say anything difficult to you?"
"No, he was smiling the whole time. Why, was there an issue?"
"That client pays well, but he has a bit of a reputation for being hard to please. I accepted the request thinking it would be fine if it were you, Erik-kun, but it seems there weren't any problems at all."
"He was a very pleasant gentleman."
Reina-san wore a bewildered expression at my reply. Turning back to the quest board, I checked the screen once more.
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You have trained in [Cleaning]. Gained 1 EXP. 63 / 100 to next level.
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The EXP was accumulating at quite a rapid pace. The skill would probably level up after just two or three more jobs. With that in mind, I wondered if there was a request that would let me clean a larger area. Rather than focusing on the payout, I decided to look for a job with a more demanding workload.
Then, spotting a request form offering a reward of ten silver coins, I decided to take it.