Chapter 13

Inside the guild hall, the busiest place, without a doubt, is the cafeteria.

Adventurers fueling up before their departures, parties holding strategy meetings, adventurers with no plans to work today, staff on breaks, even groups of tourists—all are drawn to the cafeteria by the promise of delicious food.

The adventurers’ feasting only quiets down in the early hours of the morning.

Until then, the kitchen must work non-stop.

It’s less that cleaning isn’t allowed, and more that there simply isn’t time for it.

Still, leaving the kitchen dirty feels like shirking my duties as a cleaner. Ignoring it would make me feel as if I were turning a blind eye, which I hate.

Determined, I raised my voice to be heard over the clamor of the kitchen.

“I can clean the kitchen in two hours!”

“Two hours, you say?! That quickly?”

“If it’s early in the morning…”

“…No way, absolutely not! What if prep work gets delayed? Our job is to serve the customers good food! I’ve heard about your reputation, but I can’t take any risks with our work!”

Sammy, busy flipping a frying pan, rejected my proposal outright.

I guess I need to prove my skills before being allowed to clean the kitchen.

“If that’s the case…”

“What are you doing!?”

“I’m just helping with the dishwashing, that’s okay, right?”

“…Do whatever you want! Just don’t get in the way!”

“Got it!”

Above each sink floated a pale blue crystal. Touching it once caused water to pour out, and touching it again stopped it.

This was an artificial “Aquarista,” a magical crystal that mimicked the water-generating circuits of natural Aquaristas. Made by channeling the magic of someone with the 【Water】 skill into the mold, these crystals are a hot commodity, selling by the tens of thousands daily.

The reason 【Water】 is called a millionaire’s skill is because of these artificial Aquaristas.

One of the sinks was filled with water, piled high with dishes. An apprentice cook tirelessly scrubbed the plates with soap as they were continuously brought in.

“Mind if I help out?”

“Oh, sure… Are you a cook?”

“Nope, I’m a cleaner.”

Oil stains on used dishes can be easily removed by creating finer bubbles. It also leaves no sliminess after washing.

Making uniform, fine bubbles is surprisingly difficult, but I can do it with enough focus.

“Whoa! What’s that?!”

“Just bubbles.”

“Bubbles… Is that your skill?”

I filled the sink with bubbles and submerged the plates.

All that was left was to rinse off the dirt lifted by the bubbles. Almost no scrubbing was necessary.

“…That’s amazing. Must be nice to have such a useful skill. Me? I’ve got 【Big Appetite】. 【Big Appetite】!”

“Big Appetite…?”

“It just means I can eat a lot. Useless in everyday life or battle. Basically, I’ve got a strong stomach—hilarious, right? Since it’s at least related to food, I’m aiming to become a cook out of necessity.”

“I used to think bubbles were useless too. But a friend encouraged me to keep at it. If you work hard at what you can do, the path will open up eventually. Even if you don’t have much, effort is something no one can take away from you.”

Speaking of which, summer vacation must be ending soon. Luke is probably busy scrambling to finish his homework.

“That’s some solid advice. If I keep at it, I’ll find my way too, huh? Guess I’ve just got to work hard.”

“Here, use these bubbles. Just soak the dishes in them, and the dirt will lift right off.”

“Thanks. That’s a big help.”

Before long, the mountain of dishes was gone, and the washing area fell silent.

“Hey, Fred! If you’ve got time, come over here and start chopping onions!”

“Huh, really?!”

“Don’t waste time asking questions! Get to it!”

“Y-yes! Thanks. Honestly, I’ve been stuck washing dishes since I got here. Name’s Fred. You?”

“Ausel.”

“Nice to meet you, Ausel.”

The apprentice, stuck as a dishwashing assistant for ages, was finally called to the center of the kitchen by a senior cook.

He must have been thrilled—his face was brimming with energy.

People with inconvenient skills often make unseen efforts.

I’m not the only one working hard.

By lunchtime, when the cafeteria was bustling, Sammy, suspicious of the lack of dirty dishes piling up in the sink, peered into the bubbles with a puzzled expression.

“Let me see that…”

I handed Sammy a rinsed plate. He ran his finger over it, and the clean, oil-free sound of ceramic echoed.

“…Hey, Ausel!”

“Yes!”

“…You can have the kitchen from 3 to 5 a.m. Just make sure you finish on time, got it?”

“Y-yes!”

Convinced by the speed of my work, Sammy finally gave me permission to clean the kitchen.

At 3 a.m., the adventurers who had been drinking began to disperse, and the first-floor lobby grew quiet.

“Let’s move the cooking utensils outside.”

“No, it’s fine to leave them as they are. Just leave the cupboard doors open so they’re easier to clean. My bubbles are made of magical energy, so they won’t damage any seasonings or ingredients.”

I coated the kitchen counter and the gaps around the doors with a membrane of bubbles. Concentrating, I generated a massive amount of fine bubbles, letting them spread throughout the kitchen. The bubbles began to seep into every nook and cranny.

Stubborn grease stuck to walls, ceilings, and frying pans wouldn’t lift without time, so I continued creating bubbles for one hour and forty minutes.

As the bubbles burst under pressure, new ones filled in, penetrating the grime’s smallest gaps. The dirt-laden bubbles at the bottom turned brownish, a clear sign of success.

Cutting off the flow of magic, I let the bubbles dissipate. All that remained was to mop up the residue on the floor.

“Just the floor left now?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll help. Hey, everyone, let’s pitch in!”

With the kitchen staff assisting, the dirt was removed in less than ten minutes. The kitchen sparkled, and we finished ten minutes ahead of schedule.

“Impressive. I can see why you’d dare to challenge a noble.”

“Haha… thanks.”

“All right, let’s start prepping!”

With the first floor almost entirely cleaned, I felt accomplished. Time to tackle the expansive guild hall, starting from the second floor.

“Let’s begin with the hallway. If I bubble up the area, it’ll block the way, so I need to finish before everyone wakes up.”

As I walked backward, filling the floor with bubbles and gradually raising them to the ceiling, I rounded a corner.

—Thump.

I collided with Rose, the receptionist.

Caught off guard, I lost the chance to brace myself and fell, landing face-first onto the 30-centimeter layer of bubbles.

—Boing!

My body bounced gently a few times. The fine bubbles cushioned me like a luxurious bed.

“…Huh? The bubbles… didn’t pop?”

“Are you okay, Ausel? I’m so sorry!”

“N-no, it’s my fault. I wasn’t looking.”

—Pop!

At the moment I let my guard down, distracted by how beautiful Rose was, the bubbles all burst at once, leaving me to land squarely on my rear.

“Ouch!”

“Are you all right?”

“Y-yeah, I’m fine…”

Bubbles that could support an entire body without popping—I’d never seen anything like it.

Back in my room, I immediately tried to recreate the effect. But the bubbles popped the moment I touched them.

“No, that’s not it. At that moment, I thought I was going to fall straight through the bubbles, so I was incredibly tense. Yeah, I need to focus harder…”

I tried again, this time channeling more energy into the bubbles.

When I touched the bubble this time, it didn’t burst. Even when I pressed harder, it retained its shape with a balloon-like elasticity.

“Unpoppable… Could it be that my bubbles have strengthened?”