The next morning, after finishing the laundry, I skipped retrieving my wooden sword and began training right where I was.
There was a stone-paved spot in the backyard with a roof overhead, so I spread out a cloth on the ground and lay down.
"First, push-ups."
Placing my hands on the ground, I did them while focusing on my muscular strength.
The experience points didn't accumulate immediately, but after about three minutes, I gained EXP.
"...Thanks to my stat going up by two, I have the strength to support my body properly. Muscle training feels a lot easier."
With my level increasing, my strength had risen by two compared to before.
By that exact amount, my ability to support my frame was enhanced, making the workout noticeably lighter.
"...I think I've stumbled onto a rather incredible fact here."
That was probably true for stats other than strength as well.
As the numbers went up, the training would become that much easier.
For instance, the higher my magic power became, the longer I'd be able to sustain my training sessions.
"Still, maybe I should rethink my training routine? Last time it took ten minutes, and this time I gained experience points in three. I only know what that workout-loving guy taught me, so if I actually understand the mechanics before training, I might be able to build up experience points even faster."
Though the thought crossed my mind, I decided to just keep going as I was for today.
Doing only push-ups would be too unbalanced.
I worked through sit-ups, squats, and lying leg raises.
◇
Trained strength.
Gained 1 experience point.
21/100 until stat increase.
◇
Since some had already accumulated before, it passed twenty.
After that, Amanda-san arrived, so I stopped training and helped with the laundry.
Then I ate breakfast, went back to my room to change, and left the inn.
Upon arriving at the Adventurer's Guild, I asked Reina-san to show me the city requests.
There, among the request forms, I spotted a familiar name.
I took the job and headed straight to the designated location.
"Oh, you're the adventurer who came by before."
"It's been a while. I came for a request today as well."
"Understood. Please wait a moment. I'll go check inside."
The request I had accepted this time was from House Fortis.
The gatekeeper went inside and returned a few minutes later.
"Everything's clear. Please come in."
With that, I stepped onto the estate grounds and was guided straight to the mansion.
From there, I was shown directly into the parlor.
"It's been a while, Erik-kun."
"It has been a while, Belinda-san."
Belinda-san and Marcus-san were waiting in the room.
"Um, regarding this request, is it really for cleaning? The mansion looks spotless, though..."
"The main building is fine, but the first floor of the detached building you cleaned the other day got a bit dirty. Normally, I would leave it to our staff, but we've sent our servants to our territory right now, so it would be difficult for the few remaining here."
Belinda-san explained that this was why she had posted the request.
As having work was always welcome to me, I listened to the rest of the details and headed toward the detached building.
After Marcus-san unlocked the door and let me inside, the place didn't look dirty at first glance.
However, a closer look at the floor revealed several noticeable patches of grime.
"How did it get this dirty?"
"One of the young masters of House Fortis is a monster tamer, and his tamed beast is rather unruly... While he was inspecting the estate, it rampaged on the first floor and made a mess."
As Marcus-san gave that explanation, I looked closer and indeed saw scratch marks left along the wallpaper.
"For now, is it fine if my task is just removing the dirt? What about things like replacing the wallpaper?"
"We will handle the wallpaper on our end, so please focus solely on the cleaning."
"Understood."
With the job confirmed, I immediately got to work.
Though beast tracks were firmly stamped into the floor, I wiped them away clean with my cleaning skills.
My [Cleaning] skill was higher now than when I had cleaned this place before.
Working even more cleanly and quickly, I continued through the first floor of the detached building.
"Excuse me. Could you please call Marcus-san?"
"Marcus-san? Understood."
The cleaning of the detached building was complete.
Marcus-san had watched for a bit at first, but he had stepped away after mentioning he had business to attend to.
He had told me to return to the main building and fetch him once I was done.
So, having finished the job, I headed to the main building and spoke to a servant near the entrance.
"Erik-kun, are you finished already?"
"I've finished cleaning the first floor as instructed."
When Marcus-san arrived at a brisk pace, he looked slightly taken aback that the work was already done.
The first floor of the detached building was fairly spacious, so under normal circumstances, it would take quite some time.
However, I was skilled at housework and possessed [Cleaning: Level 4].
Having worked quietly and diligently, I had wrapped up within an hour and come to give my report.
Bringing along the surprised Marcus-san, we headed back over to the detached building.