"Is this the place?"
The request offering ten silver coins turned out to be a cleaning job at a noble's estate.
When I had accepted it, Reina-san had given me a word of caution.
She told me the client already knew an adventurer was coming, so as long as I wasn't outright rude, there shouldn't be any problem.
I had briefly considered picking a different quest, but for the sake of raising my skill level, I decided to go through with it.
"Can I help you, young man?"
"Excuse me. Is this the residence of House Fortis? I'm Erik, an adventurer from the Adventurer's Guild. I've come regarding the request for housework assistance."
I addressed the gatekeeper at the entrance in as polite a tone as possible.
I generally made an effort to watch my language to begin with, but this time, I made a conscious effort to speak with utmost courtesy.
"Ah, they mentioned something about that this morning. Wait here a moment; I'll go check."
One of the two gatekeepers headed inside.
About five minutes later, he returned and let me through.
"Are you the one who accepted our request?"
Guided by the gatekeeper, I entered the mansion and was led to a reception room.
Inside, two people were waiting.
One was an elderly, white-haired man dressed in butler attire; a single glance made his role obvious.
The other was a woman exuding unmistakable noble elegance, seated comfortably on a sofa.
"I am Erik, an adventurer."
"Erik. If I recall, aren't you the boy who's been the subject of some rumors around town?"
"I am likely the person from those rumors. Since arriving in the royal capital, I've taken on quite a few requests for household chores, which seems to have gotten people talking."
"I see. Well, I've heard a great deal about you from Marina."
Hearing Marina-san's name here caught me completely off guard.
I tried my best to keep a straight face, but it must have shown, as the woman offered an amused smile.
"Are you curious about how Marina and I know each other, by any chance?"
"Ah, well... Hearing the name of an acquaintance just took me by surprise, that's all."
"Fufu, what a charming boy. Marina and I are tea party friends. Originally, when I was suffering from an illness, I commissioned medicine from her, and we became quite close after that. She may be hopelessly disorganized in her personal life, but she is exceptionally capable when it comes to her work."
I could certainly agree with that.
She constantly left her house in shambles and was utterly incapable of tidying up after herself.
However, when it came to [Alchemy], she was an extraordinary person with a vast wealth of knowledge.
Her workshop was filled with the fruits of various research projects, and the few things she had shown me were nothing short of incredible.
"Madam, pardon the interruption, but if we do not explain the assignment soon, the work over there will take quite some time, which would be an imposition on Erik-kun."
"Oh my, you're quite right. Forgive me. And I haven't even introduced myself yet, have I? I am Belinda von Fortis, wife of Count Fortis. And the gentleman standing there is Marcus, the head butler of this estate."
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Erik-kun. I am Marcus."
With the introductions out of the way, they explained the details of the job.
The area to be cleaned was a detached building on the estate grounds.
It used to be kept in order with regular cleanings, but the recent earthquake had overturned the furniture, leaving it in utter disarray.
"We can leave the heavy furniture removal to the soldiers, but there's a great deal of broken dishware and the like, you see. I thought that if we were going to hire someone anyway, I might as well try the rumored adventurer Marina mentioned, so I put out the request."
"Is that so? Thank you very much for offering me the job."
"Fufu, don't mention it. I wanted to see you for myself as well, Erik-kun, so the timing couldn't have been better."
With those words from Belinda-san, Marcus-san took the lead and guided me over.
The detached building was surprisingly spacious—larger, in fact, than a typical commoner's house.
"As expected of a noble estate. Even the detached building is this large."
"Indeed. Though by our family's standards, this building is actually on the modest side."
Chatting with Marcus-san along the way, I stepped inside.
Right past the entryway, the place was already a disaster.
Paintings that had once hung on the walls lay scattered across the floor, and shattered vases sat beside withered flowers.
"The earthquake really did quite a number on this place."
"Yes, but the kitchen is in even worse shape. Please brace yourself as you follow me."
Heeding Marcus-san's warning, I followed him into the kitchen.
Inside, a large cupboard that had once stored plenty of tableware lay overturned, with broken porcelain strewn everywhere across the floor.
A few sections of the floorboards had even buckled. Looking at the mess, I could tell this was going to take quite a bit of time.
After he finished giving me a tour of the rest of the building, we returned to the front entrance.
"I have a good grasp of the situation now. By the way, are there any items I shouldn't throw away, or any rooms that are off-limits?"
"Nothing in particular. The soldiers will collect the paintings later, but everything else is slated for disposal."
"Understood. In that case, I'll get to work right away."
"Very well. We are counting on you. I shall go gather the soldiers."
With that, Marcus-san stepped out of the building, and I rolled up my sleeves and got down to work.