Time-wise, it was just a little past the sounding of the second afternoon bell.
Having nothing to do back at the inn, I decided to take a stroll through the royal capital.
"...Marina-san?"
"Eep?! E-Erik-kun..."
On my way to the commercial district, I spotted a familiar robed woman crouched in an alleyway.
When I called out her name, she flinched in surprise and looked up at me.
Confirming her face, it was indeed Marina-san.
"What are you doing in a place like this?"
"Erik-kun! I have a favor to ask! P-Please, could you buy these for me?!"
With that, Marina-san handed me a sheet of paper with "Shopping List" written at the very top.
Looking at the contents, it was immediately clear they were groceries.
I took the list, headed into the commercial district, and bought the ingredients written on the note.
Then, I returned to where Marina-san was waiting.
"Here you go. I bought everything."
"Thank you~, Erik-kun. Ah, I-I'll pay you a quest fee."
"No, I'm not going to take money for something like this. More importantly, what happened to put you in this state?"
"Truth is, I've been so engrossed in my research lately that I haven't seen a soul. Then I ran out of food, so I went out to shop, but I just couldn't handle the crowds..."
She had gotten overwhelmed by the sheer number of people and couldn't make her way through the commercial district.
Hearing that, I couldn't help but wonder how Marina-san managed to survive on her own.
Worried about leaving her to walk back by herself, I decided to escort her home.
"...Marina-san?"
"N-No! T-There's a perfectly good explanation for this!"
The moment I stepped inside her house, the smell hit me first.
With a sinking feeling, I looked toward the living room, only to find a massive sprawl of garbage and discarded clothes scattered everywhere.
"I was wondering why you hadn't posted any quests lately, Marina-san... Did you just let it pile up all this time?"
"I was completely absorbed in my research and directed all my mental energy toward it! As a result, what little domestic ability I had plummeted even further, leading to this!"
Marina-san bowed at a sharp ninety-degree angle as she gave her excuse.
"...Well, it doesn't really affect me, so it's fine. Whichever adventurer takes the job to clean this is going to have a rough time, though."
"...Eh?"
Assuming I would be the one coming to clean.
Marina-san, who had clearly been expecting just that, snapped her head up with a look of pure confusion.
"W-What do you mean by that?"
"What do I mean? I haven't been taking city quests lately. A while back, there was a backlog of them, so I took a few, but lately I train in the mornings and head outside the city in the afternoons. I'm just not accepting quests around town right now."
When I explained my current schedule, Marina-san collapsed in a heap onto the floor.
"U-Ugh... My research finally reached a good stopping point, so I was planning to invite some acquaintances over to celebrate... But if it's this filthy, no one will set foot inside even if I invite them."
"I'd imagine not."
"Even if I try to clean it myself, with a mess this huge, it'll take days."
"It would take me about two hours to clean, but for you, Marina-san, that sounds about right."
As we went back and forth, Marina-san looked up at me pleadingly.
"Erik-kun, couldn't you please come clean for me? I'll pay the proper quest fee and everything..."
"I won't accept it as a quest. But I can help you out as a simple favor."
"...W-What do you mean?"
"I mean I won't take it on as a job. I won't take a single coin. If you promise me that, I'll start cleaning right now."
Whenever someone did me a kindness, I always wanted to return the favor someday.
That was a rule I lived by.
The reason I had any financial breathing room after coming to the royal capital was thanks to the clients who had given me generous tips.
Among them, I was especially grateful to Marina-san, whose substantial bonuses had kept me afloat during those early days.
"E-Ehh... B-But isn't that wrong?"
"It's just helping out an acquaintance. There's nothing strange about that, is there? If no money changes hands, you can get this spectacularly trashed house tidied up right away without having to go through the Adventurer's Guild, you know."
"Ugh, when you put it like that, it's so hard to resist... C-Can't I give you just a little reward?"
"No. Absolutely free. That's my condition for cleaning."
I refused to budge.
If Marina-san had said she would tough it out for a few days so I could adjust my schedule and have her post an official quest, I would have accepted it then.
However, I kept that to myself and simply held my gaze on the agonizing alchemist.
"All right... Please, help me..."
"Understood. By the way, is this the only room that's a mess? What about the workshop?"
"...Would it help if I said everywhere except the bedroom?"
Sighing at Marina-san's confession, I considered where to begin.
It would be a pain if my gear got dirty while cleaning, so I unequipped my armor and set it down by the entryway.
Then, I decided the first order of business was to tackle the mountain of dirty dishes.
There were so many that the overflow from the sink had spilled across the living room table.
"Having this many plates is probably why they pile up so easily, but since she hosts tea parties and the like, I suppose she needs them..."
Muttering to myself, I rolled up my sleeves and began clearing away the towering pile of dishes.