A real job

january 16th , Viliose imperial calendar 

— Wow, ROO-KIE! You cleaned it up perfectly — Klaus praised me, visibly surprised. — I expected it would take you more than two weeks, but this is pretty good.

Easy for him to say... These past four days have been hell: breakfast, clean the Adventurers’ Guild, rest, clean again, break for lunch, more cleaning, another rest... and back to cleaning!

— Here — Klaus leaned down and handed me what looked like money from this world. — You’ve earned it.

I smiled and gladly accepted the cash.

— I know I shouldn’t complain in case they assign me more cleaning duties, but… CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHY IT LOOKS LIKE THIS GUILD HASN’T BEEN CLEANED IN YEARS!?

— When I started working here about six months ago, it was already like this. Right, guys? — said Enphi, trying to pin the blame on someone else.

Enphi looked at Claudine, and she replied:

— Huh? Yeah, yeah... When I joined, it was already a mess. Some people work better in chaos, so I didn’t want to bother anyone, and I said nothing...

She looked at Klaus, who added:

— The last time anyone dusted was when Eri retired as secretary...

— And that was...?

— That was four years ago.

Speechless.

— A-Anyway, changing the topic, I’ve got a real job for the newbie.

— Oh? What is it? — I asked, trying not to sound too excited.

— The farmer spotted Nightmare Wolves near his flock and wants them exterminated. It’s a perfect mission to test the rookie.

With the goddess’s sword on my back, I went with my teammates to the job location — the only farm in the village that has trade deals with merchants linked to a man named Hotaru, who —from what I’ve been told— lived in the Celestial Country for a while. That’s why he knows a few merchants.

— Good afternoon, Claudine, Enphi, and… — greeted a man standing next to a sheep that… had eyebrows?

— My name is Hikaru, sir. I’m a new adventurer in the area. Nice to meet you — I introduced myself.

— That name... You wouldn’t happen to be from the Celestial Country, would you?

— Ah, yes, sir. I’m from a small village there called Tokyo.

— Wow, never heard of it. Must be far from the capital.

— Something like that... — From what I can tell, this “Celestial Country” everyone talks about seems to be Japan. So people just assume I’m from there. Works great for me — if I said I came from another world, they’d probably think I’m insane...

— And the sheep next to you...? — The animal’s eyebrow was bigger than its eye, which made me laugh. It looked like an anime character!

— Oh, right! This is my loyal companion, RAMÍREZ. He’s the leader of the flock.

Why does the sheep have such an exotic name?

— He’s the one who warned me about the Nightmare Wolves — the man continued.

— If it’s just those monsters, then there’s no problem. Nightmare Wolves are low-level and barely hurt people. It’ll be easy for any adventurer who passed the entrance exam — said Enphi, looking at me with confidence.

— Can I ask something? — I said, looking them in the eyes.

— What exactly is a Nightmare Wolf...?

— EH!? — the three of them shouted in unison... even the sheep