"I knew your cleaning skills were good, Erik, but is this really the same room?"
After getting permission for Henry to stay in the large room, I set to work cleaning it immediately.
I had Henry-san wait in the dining hall and managed to get the whole place spotless in about fifteen minutes.
Normally, whenever events weren't being held, the room served as luggage storage.
Because of that, I started by shifting some of the baggage out of the way to carve out a sleeping area for Henry-san.
Since that alone would leave the space filthy, I swept and wiped down the floor and walls until everything was clean.
"Ehehe. Ever since coming to the royal capital, I worked hard to acquire a cleaning skill called [Cleaning]. It really stepped up my cleaning game."
He was someone who had known me since I was a little kid.
Talking to Henry-san, I spoke in a slightly more relaxed tone than I usually did with people in the capital.
Seeing how hard I was working in the royal capital, Henry-san gently patted my head.
"I felt lonely after you left, but you're really holding your own out here, aren't you? Well, I suppose that makes sense—otherwise you wouldn't be tossing around gold coins."
"A lot has happened on that front, honestly."
Saying that, now that the cleaning was done, I told Henry-san about everything that had happened since I arrived in the royal capital.
We were having a pleasant chat, but Henry-san's exhaustion soon caught up with him, and his eyelids began to droop.
I wrapped up our conversation and laid out a futon. The moment Henry-san lay down, he drifted off to sleep in an instant.
"You two seemed to be having quite a lively chat. Was he someone who treated you well, Erik?"
"Yes. Henry-san and the village chief taught me how to read, write, and speak properly. They told me that once I went out to the city, I wouldn't even be able to find work if I couldn't read."
"Even in the royal capital, plenty of children can't read or write, yet you seem to manage just fine, Erik. Speaking of village chiefs, they have to deal with the nobles who govern the surrounding lands, so learning their letters is a must."
My home village was directly administered by the kingdom, and an envoy would visit once every few months.
Because the chief was the one handling the envoy, reading and writing were essential.
Many of the other villagers couldn't read at all.
However, since I had already decided that I would leave for the city someday, I asked Henry-san and his father to teach me.
Thanks to them, I could read and verify requests as an adventurer, which had been an absolute lifesaver.
"And here's the lodging fee for Henry-san."
With that, I handed over one silver coin.
The large room was also one silver coin, complete with dinner and breakfast.
Since that was the rate intended for events, it was technically on the pricier side, but given that they had accommodated us on such short notice, I was actually grateful.
After settling the bill, I stepped out of the inn and headed back to the Adventurer's Guild.
"Erik-kun, did you get that man settled in at the inn?"
"Yes. He came all the way to the royal capital on practically zero sleep, so the moment I made a bed for him, he was out cold."
"He did look dreadfully exhausted. Are you planning to take on more requests now, Erik-kun?"
"That's the plan. I'm worried about the village, but there are still plenty of people in the royal capital who need help, too."
Saying so, I decided to take on the low-paying requests, just as I had mentioned this morning.
They were all jobs that only offered a few copper coins, but reading through the descriptions, I could feel the genuine desperation behind every one of them.
I picked one out and made my way to the client's address.
The first request I accepted was to help with housework.
The client had just had a baby, and the chores had piled up so badly that dishes and laundry were overflowing.
"D-Did you really come? Even for such meager pay...?"
The client was a young woman.
Overwhelmed with gratitude that I had taken the job, she welcomed me inside, and I immediately got to work.
Since the task didn't involve hauling heavy luggage, I finished everything in about an hour.
"Wait, a-all of that in such a short time?!"
I had insisted the woman rest with her baby while I worked.
When I went to let her know I was finished, she walked around the freshly cleaned house with wide, astonished eyes.
"Thank you so, so much."
The woman thanked me profusely and signed the completion form, after which I took my leave.
With the first job wrapped up, I returned to the Adventurer's Guild to submit my report.
Then, I picked up the next request and headed back out.
The second job came from an elderly couple who wanted their garden cleared up.
I asked them what plants they wanted to keep and set to work straight away.
"Oh my, goodness me! To think you could make it this lovely so quickly..."
"...Truly remarkable. Even in my youth, I couldn't have tidied it up this well."
The job took less than an hour. When I went to let them know I was done, the elderly couple stepped outside, beaming with delight.
After getting their signature on the report form, I returned to the guild to finalize the paperwork.
From there, I kept accepting requests, completing five jobs in that single day.
"Erik-kun, aren't you exhausted?"
"I'm fine. Besides, I made sure to stop for food along the way today."
I had made sure to take a meal break so Reina-san wouldn't scold me.
"That should be all for today. By the way... has there been any news about that request...?"
I didn't expect anyone to take it within a single day.
Even so, when I asked just in case, Reina-san smiled warmly.
"Your request has already been accepted, Erik-kun."
"...Huh? R-Really?"
"Yes. Right after you stepped out for your last request, Cain-san came by. When he saw you had posted a job, he took it on the spot."
"C-Cain-san did?!"
Cain-san was a Gold Rank adventurer.
If someone like him took my request, the village was guaranteed to be safe.
Still, I couldn't fathom why an adventurer of Cain-san's caliber would take a job like that.
"Why would an adventurer as high-ranked as Cain-san accept it? The reward must seem terribly low from his perspective, right?"
Even with one gold coin and fifty silver coins, the job required traveling far from the royal capital.
For such a troublesome task, the pay was dirt cheap for a Gold Rank adventurer.
"Because it was your request, Erik-kun. Cain-san seems to have taken quite a liking to you. The moment he spotted it, he came straight to my counter and accepted it. Saying it sounded urgent, he set out from the royal capital right after taking the job."
"...When he gets back, I'll have to thank him properly."
Saying that, I felt a wave of profound gratitude toward Cain-san, who was already on his way to the village.