Nozomanu Fushi no Boukensha (LN) - Volume 3 - Chapter SS6

Rentt, Housekeeper 

“Spring has come, huh...” 

How long ago was that? A few years after I started adventuring, maybe? Sometime in the spring, when the air had started warming up. I remembered this happened during one spring or other. 

It was a harsh winter, with the very air itself drawn taut by the cold. But now, spring was here. I also knew of the fact that fighting monsters in the warm, comfortable spring rays would eventually cause me to make a mistake. That was why I chose to stay in Maalt, instead taking on simpler requests like cleaning, transporting, or hauling groceries. This was also why I was present at the guild around the time new requests were posted up on the boards. It was a little after that when I had heard that voice... 

“Hey! What’s the meaning of this?!” 

The voice came from the rewards counter, where adventurers turned completed requests in. It was a young voice, and its owner also looked suitably young—a new adventurer, fresh out of the guild’s registration records. Judging by his expression, he was in a state of panic, probably due to a request that had gone awry. 

I strained my ears, listening in on the conversation. 

“Even if you say that...it was a request to have a location cleaned. But there was still dust remaining in some places... There was no choice but to reduce the rewards.” 

“Dust? What do you mean, “dust”?! I cleaned that place! I did!” 

“The client is the final judge of that, I’m afraid.” 

“You say that, but! Oh, I get it, it’s because I’m new, so they’re picking on me, huh?! Now that I think about it, that also happened a while ago, for the exact same reason!!!” 

From their exchange, I understood both the adventurer and the client had certain problems of their own. Stricter adventurers may say the youth was a fool, and was the one in the wrong—but of course the discussion would veer off in this direction. After all, if the client was overly stingy or picky, he should have been smart enough to notice it before signing the contract. Complaining after one had signed the paper only causes things to go in circles, or so they would say. 

He was young, however, and didn’t understand much in the ways of adventuring. He would surely fail again and again, until he eventually learned. Despite that, the receptionist was having a hard time... 

I suppose I should have been going as well, and accept a request or two. I tore down a few request sheets, bringing them to the counter. I was an adventurer who was used to doing all sorts of chores throughout the day. Despite my capabilities, taking on too many at once could be problematic, so I thought greatly about my decisions before committing to them. 

Even though the guild was relatively empty around this time, there were quite a few other adventurers who were set on doing chores, and only one reception counter was open. To be precise, it was the counter with the angry youth, who had finally stopped arguing at some point. 

The receptionist dutifully read out my tasks. 

“Yes... A cleaning request, from Zant Currin. The reward is five bronze coins...” 

And so she continued on, with me signing the relevant forms as she did. Upon hearing that, the youth, who apparently still had something to say, turned to me. 

“All of those people endlessly complain. They’ll find something to complain about with you. You shouldn’t take those requests.” 

It seemed like he had taken requests from this particular client before, but I shook my head. 

“I’ve never received any complaints. In any case, it’s well within my rights to take on this request.” 

“You... I was even being helpful...” 

The youth, now visibly agitated, began going on about one thing or other. I, however, finished signing all my forms, took the correct ones with me, and turned to leave the guild. 

But this didn’t mean the youth would leave me alone. Instead, he chased after me, putting a hand on my shoulder. 

“Wait!” 

“What is it you want?” 

“I’ll come, too.” 

“Why? You’ll only get in the way.” 

“I’ll help!!!” 

“I’ve no intentions of splitting the reward, just so you know.” 

“That’s fine! Those guys will definitely complain. I’ll make sure they can’t do that this time!” 

And do what, clean harder? I thought I’d ask him, but ultimately refrained from doing so. 

I suppose this was quite all right... The youth was nothing more than a noisy newcomer to the business, but he seemed to have some redeeming points. Even the receptionist, who was now a fair distance behind the youth, looked in my direction and promptly winked. Asking me to show the newcomer the ropes, no doubt. I could refuse, of course, but the youth himself said he needed no compensation, so that was that. 

I turned to the youth decisively. 

“You will follow my instructions to the letter. And no strange statements at the venue. Make sure you work hard.” 

“Of course! I’ll show them! I’ll make it so clean...” 

Maybe he’d have looked more impressive if he were saying those words before bandits or monsters. 

Well...no matter. We headed to the client’s abode. 

All of those requests I had taken were for cleaning houses, since it was spring cleaning season in the small township of Maalt. 

Some of these houses were large, and the cleaning couldn’t be completed in one day. I suppose this youth showed up on one of those days and received some negative feedback for his work. 

“Thank you, Rentt. Truly... And you over there, too. I’ve never seen it this clean before! Here’s a little more for your trouble.” 

The client signed off on the request forms before handing me and the youth two bronze coins each. Under normal circumstances, the rewards were deposited at the adventurer’s guild. We received extra today, however—a tip, if you would. 

“Thank you. I hope you seek out my services again.” 

With that, we turned, leaving the house behind. We had finished all our tasks for the day. 

“Not a single one...” The youth’s expression was one of bafflement. “No one complained. Not one...” 

The boy just didn’t seem to understand why this was the case. 

“Do you know why it turned out this way?” 

“Yeah... I’m still not very good...at what I do...” 

Cleaning was a simple task, but there were many ways to go about it. How to clean certain surfaces, to scrub or to wash, how to grind off even the toughest stains... All were basics of cleaning and housekeeping. The boy had no such knowledge, and as such performed an unsatisfactory job. That was why his rewards had been reduced. 

For his part, though, he observed what I had done and followed my instructions as best as he could. He learned the methods and didn’t hesitate to ask me if he didn’t understand something. This was why the previous client had praised his work ethic. 

“That’s how it is. Experience matters. You may have made mistakes in the past, but you should be fine from here on out.” 

“Yes... Thanks, Rentt. No, thank you, Mister Rentt... I’ve learned a lot from you.” 

“Don’t call me that. I’m not really used to it... Also, we’ll be fairly splitting the rewards, so don’t worry about it.” 

Of course I’d as such. It was never my intention to cheat the youth of his earnings. Nevertheless, he protested vehemently. 

“Eh? No no, it’s fine! It’s fine, really! Think of it as a fee for you teaching me all the basics...” 

“No no, you worked hard as well. Take it. Next time, you settle your requests to the highest standards, then take that coin to the tavern for a drink. No one will complain about you then.” 

“Mister Rentt...” 

I slapped the youth’s back—for some reason, he had stopped talking mid sentence. 

“Well then! Off to the guild we go. We still have to turn these in. That’s how you can tell you’ve truly started on the path of adventuring, right?” 

“Yeah!” 

A few years later, that very same youth would achieve the rank of Silver-class before I had, then set off on a journey, leaving Maalt behind. But perhaps that would be a story for another time...