NOVEL NEXT Ch26 - Second Quest
Chapter 26: Second Quest
For breakfast, they had large rolls stuffed with vegetables and cheese, one for each person. After quenching their dry throats with carbonated water, the master and his servants exchanged happy smiles. Eating delicious food lifted their spirits.
“Alright! Good morning, everyone! Let’s do our best to succeed in today’s quest!”
““““Ohhh!”””””
In response to Lena’s words, her familiars replied energetically.
“Let’s go!”
Dressed in simple, yet typical adventurer attire topped with robes, the small party of monster tamers headed towards the Adventurer’s Guild.
Since it was still early morning, the guild was relatively empty. Lena handed over her familiar, Kuu-Izu, to the receptionist who reached out with a request to pet the slime, then took a closer look at the quest board.
Numerous requests were posted in a perfectly balanced arrangement, each not overlapping with the others. The small town of Toiria had good access to the grasslands and maintained a safe environment, making it a common base for adventurers visiting the Kingdom of Anes. Consequently, many requests piled up in the guild, reflecting the adventurers’ expected contributions.
The G-rank quests were mainly “a bit challenging but doable for anyone” and had low rewards, leading to a high number of requests. Naturally, the quality of the requests varied.
When a quest was clearly too dangerous for its rank or offered unreasonably low rewards, the guild would issue a warning at the time of posting. However, there was no problem with offering higher rewards for simple tasks. The early risers were all aiming for those.
“…Maybe this one will do!”
Among the various requests, Lena picked one that seemed to utilize their special skills, which had a lower reward. Unlike other rookie adventurers, they weren’t struggling financially, so they had some leeway in choosing requests. The request read:
○ Exterior Wall Cleaning (Marie Church)
…Looking for cleaners for the exterior walls and windows. Those who can clean high places or know the green magic [Clean] will be prioritized. Pay is 350 rills for one day.
When she asked for more details at the reception, she learned that this was not a regular request but had been posted for the first time. As Lena received the request slip and prepared to leave, the receptionist at the neighboring counter called out to her with a puzzled expression.
“…Hmm? Oh, I see. Lena, you have an aptitude for green magic. Do you know the [Clean] spell? If so, you’ll typically receive an additional reward for cleaning quests, so I recommend this one!”
“………Understood! Thank you for the information!”
“You’re welcome!”
The receptionist’s initial “Hmm?” was likely due to her wondering why high-altitude cleaning would not suit small Lena, but upon remembering her green magic aptitude, she seemed satisfied. After all, no adventurer would come all the way early in the morning to take on a low-paying quest without any perks. It was understandable that she found it curious.
Confirming that the girl had nodded, the receptionists all smiled kindly and waved goodbye. They usually dealt with rough adventurers, so interactions with adorable young ones were quite refreshing.
““Have a safe trip, Adventurer!””
“Yes!”
With her braid swinging cheerfully, the small rookie adventurer dashed out energetically.
…Only to trip and fall at the edge of the guild’s front door.
“Ow, ow… That hurts…”
““Are you okay, Lena?!””
Lena, pressing a wet handkerchief against her scraped knee, walked slowly through the morning streets. The abrasion was rather painful, causing her to stop occasionally for a break. She sighed, thinking, “I’m so clumsy.”
A wide scrape can hurt much more than a cut. Pain receptors are concentrated near the skin’s surface. It was all too easy for the scrape to make the tearful Lena cry.
“Don’t cry now… Master,” her familiars gently comforted her.
“You can cuddle with us if you’d like!”
Their mature concern warmed her heart. With the fairy Lily having turned invisible to stroke her head, and Hamal offering his fluffy body, Lena felt deeply moved while simultaneously having her pride significantly bruised. She found it troubling that they were being more mature than her. In the end, she gave up and promptly surrendered to their inviting fluffiness and softness.
Eventually, they arrived in front of a grand church. Before meeting the client, Lena wrapped her knee in the handkerchief to hide her injury. It would be embarrassing to show up after making a blunder.
Although it wasn’t a particularly large building, the intricate sculptures around the window frames and the ivy-covered white brick walls conveyed a sense of history, giving it a rich fantasy feel. The pointed red roof sparkled with a motif of a hexagram at its peak.
Passing through an arch of climbing roses reminiscent of an English garden, Lena and her companions walked towards the entrance. The flowers in the dew-soaked garden dazzled with vibrant colors, pleasing their eyes.
“Good morning. I’m sorry for visiting so early… I’m Lena, the adventurer taking on the exterior wall cleaning request.”
Since it wasn’t yet time for worship, the church’s front door was firmly closed. She hesitated briefly on whether to knock, but after a moment, she gently tapped on the door. Heart racing, she waited for a response and soon heard the faint sound of hurried footsteps approaching. The old building had gaps between the door and wall, allowing sound to leak through.
A kind-looking, slender old woman appeared, elegantly clad in a classic nun’s attire.
“…Well, well! You must be the adventurers who accepted the cleaning request this time. Welcome. I’m really grateful you came early in the morning. I’m sorry to get straight to the point, but… could you take a look at the wall behind the church? I’d be delighted if you could finish cleaning it by the time of the noon service.”
Sister Marie, who introduced herself, wore a troubled expression. Perhaps the stains on the wall were quite severe? Or was she worried about whether Lena, being a small girl, could clean high places…?
“I have a skill that allows me to grow larger, so I can clean high places too! I can’t use the [Clean] magic yet, but I’ll do my best to scrub away the dirt with sheer willpower. I’ll give it my all!”
“Oh my!… Hehe, how reassuring. Thank you.”
When Lena declared cheerfully, Sister Marie smiled happily at her.
The skill to grow larger belonged to the sheep familiar, but since Marie didn’t know that, she was excitedly wondering how the black-haired girl in front of her would become huge. …It seems I didn’t explain it well. Well, she’ll understand the truth about the growth later, so let’s just let it slide for now.
The reason for accepting this cleaning request was that it would allow Hamar’s [Body Change] and Lily’s flying ability to shine. The two of them, who could only support during the mushroom farm incident, had been a little down last night. Their master had noticed that. A good master takes proper care of the mental well-being of his cute familiars! …Why go to such lengths, you ask? Because they’re just too adorable! Today, I’ll have Lily and Hamar work hard, and once the job is done, I’ll shower them with praise.
Moreover, I thought that completing cleaning requests would also be effective for Lena to acquire the green magic [Clean]. Since it’s called [Clean], I figured there’s a chance I could learn the magic by doing a lot of cleaning.
By the way, the vague response about green magic I gave to the reception lady at the Adventurer’s Guild was a fake. I didn’t want other adventurers to know how useful my familiars could be, so I mentioned they would be the ones working. I mixed up the atmosphere by jumping on the topic of my master’s [Clean] magic. …This time, Lily had tapped Lena’s shoulder three times. …It was a signal to be cautious because someone nearby didn’t have a clean soul! With so many adventurers around, there might be some rough individuals mixed in. It’s better to be cautious.
Back to the topic. The area around the church has a spacious garden, so the group walked around to the back of the building, enjoying the blooming seasonal plants. When Lena saw the exterior wall, she gasped.
“This is…”
“Right? It’s a bit too bad… I think it was just some children’s mischief, but it’s gone too far, don’t you think? Do you think you can reach it?”
“Oh, that’s no problem. …Will this stain come off just by scrubbing with a cloth?”
“Probably. It seems they just used regular paint to doodle. I have a rag and a bucket prepared, so could I leave the rest to you?”
“Got it! I’ll do my best!”
After handing the rag and bucket to Lena, the sister said, “I still have a bit of preparation left for the service, so excuse me,” and quietly returned to the building. She seemed quite reluctant to leave, possibly wanting to see how the girl would grow. As she left, she told them, “I’ll bring snacks later once the work is done.”
Hearing that, the familiars got all excited, so to calm them down, their master used the [Obedience] skill.
▽Lena took damage in her heart!
…
In the quiet back garden, the master looked up at the exterior wall before her.
The white brick-like wall was currently covered in colorful paint stains. If she veered slightly to the side of the church, the doodles would be visible, which was likely why they wanted it cleaned before the service.
It looked like some letters were written there, but the script, resembling a squirming worm, was too twisted to decipher. Though it wasn’t a large area due to the overlapping writings, colors mixed all over the place. How could a child have created such messy doodles… it was dirty up to about 2.5 meters high, far beyond a child’s reach. It seemed the petite sister couldn’t clean high places.
Lena puffed out her cheeks.
“Geez. How terrible…”
“‘That’s the worst!’” “‘Is this what you call divine retribution?’” “‘I wonder why they did something like this…?’”
Seeing the state of the wall, the familiars were also furious.
“Well, our job is to clean this up, so… let’s shift our mindset and do our best at cleaning!”
““““Alright!””””
The master smiled brightly at her familiars and, being the first to dip the rag into the bucket of water, squeezed it tightly. Holding a rag in one hand (and of course, the other hand held the “whip.” How surreal…) she quickly began issuing instructions for the cleaning.
“First, let’s spray water on the dry paint to make it easier to remove. Izumi, could you use Aqua magic? Please do it in ‘Mist Shower’ state. —Skill [Inspire]!”
The familiars’ spirits soared dramatically at the master’s command. The first to work was Izumi, who could use blue magic.
“Here we go! Aqua!”
The mist that Izumi summoned was a fine drizzle. Lena had previously conveyed how to imagine it, and recently, she had started using it as a substitute for a shower in the bath since there wasn’t a shower installed. The delicate droplets soaked the wall’s doodles, gradually dissolving the paint’s surface. After taking a little time to soften the paint, it was now Hamar’s turn.
“Will Hā-kun grow to about 2 meters tall?”
“As you wish—[Body Transformation].”
When Hamal shook once, his body gradually began to enlarge. Being careful not to trample the flower bed, he grew to about 2.5 times his size, suddenly transforming into a giant sheep over 2 meters tall in the church’s backyard.
“Lady Lena, here you go!”
“Thank you.”
With a respectful gesture, Hamal offered his head as Lena climbed onto it. Once she was stable, Hamal stretched his neck up again. She was able to reach the top of the doodle easily with her small hands.
“…Yay! Well then, I’ll start cleaning now. Can everyone help out with various tasks? Izumi, can you refill the bucket when it runs out of water?”
“Aye-aye!”
“Kureha, once the cleaning is done, could you dry the outer wall? Until then, can you cheer us on? Hā-kun, please support me in this position for a while.”
“Leave it to me!”
“Okay!”
“Lily-chan, I can’t reach the edges of the doodles, so can I leave the cleaning to you?”
“Understood! I’ll do my best, Master!”
“Yes! Let’s all do our best together!”
Lena and her familiars began their second quest.
▽ Let’s clean the outer wall!
As the red and blue slimes danced rhythmically, “kyu! kyu!” above the window frames, Lena and Lily diligently moved their hands holding rags. Lily, in her butterfly form, had two human arms sprouting from her body. She was cleaning well, but it looked quite horror-like.
Putting their strength into scrubbing the walls, the rag-cleaning duo soon found their arms tiring, but Hamal was there to help, using a short-term [Quick Sleep] effect to restore their stamina. It was incredibly helpful.
The slimes, who had a taste for difficult-to-dispose-of paint-stained water, dissolved it all.
Before the sun reached its zenith, their earnest work paid off, and the outer wall was completely clean.
Finally, with one last wash using [Aqua] to rinse away any small stains, Kureha dried the wall with [Flame] magic. The beautiful white brick wall, which anyone would be satisfied with, stood there. They had also completed the “window cleaning” mentioned in the request form.
As the master and her familiars admired the clean wall, Sister Marie hurried over. Seeing Lena still on the giant sheep, her eyes widened in surprise.
“Oh my, my! So, that’s what it was! I jumped to conclusions and thought Lena was growing taller… Hehe, I’m sorry about that. The wall looks wonderful! Thank you so much. With this, we can start today’s worship without any issues!”
While Sister Marie and Lena were chatting happily, the loquat tree planted a little distance away began to shake unnaturally. There was no wind, yet it shook violently. ………?
As they stared at it, a childish voice exclaimed, “Did they notice us!” and a black shadow came crashing down through the green leaves. It seemed to be a person. They fell on the ground but quickly stood up and struck a cool pose.
▽ Two boys in black appeared!
Everyone’s gaze toward them was tense yet somehow lukewarm.
“Ouch! Hey, hey! You guys really went and erased our ‘Oath of Declaration,’ didn’t you?!”
“We, the Darkness Hellflame crime group, won’t allow activities filled with karma… Ugh, impressive!”
“Could it be you guys are members of the famous Holy Endless Rebirth cult?!”
“What the heck! Have you already caught wind of our existence…? Hehehe, you’re quite something!”
“Uwaaaaaah!”
Apparently, they were the culprits behind the doodles this time. Lena was blushing in embarrassment, her head in her hands due to the utterly humiliating phrases.
“No, that’s not it. Not at all. What even is that? But more importantly… you should stop talking like that! You’ll definitely regret it in the future! It’ll turn into a black history for you!”
It seemed she had a clue about that. Despite everything, Lena was energetically working to break their spirits today as well.