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It was still early in the morning, the night sky barely starting to brighten up. I carefully slid out of the bed, making sure I did not wake Ciel up. After that, I borrowed one of the buckets she had, and since I had only just arrived yesterday, I did not know where the closest well was, but that was not a big problem since I had my magic. I made a stream of water flow from my fingertips until the bucket was almost full, then I created many chunks of ice which I let fall into the water, cooling it. Once that was done, I splashed some of the cold water on my face.

The stinging cold water washed away the remaining lethargy on me. Afterward, I wiped my face with the towel we had just bought the other day, then changed clothes and went to check my appearance in the only mirror that Ciel had in her house.

“Alright!”

I had no bed hair sticking out or traces of sleepiness on my eyes. Yesterday, I had only gone through the interview, and this day would be my actual first day at work, so I had to make sure I left a good impression. I had to struggle so my coworkers or visiting adventurers thought nicely of me.

“Hnnng…Lapis…? You’re awake already?”

Ciel woke up with drowsy-looking eyes. Her thin underwear had shifted in her sleep, threatening to expose her chest into the open. Seeing that, I quickly shifted my gaze away. Quite a long time had already passed since I turned into a girl, but in situations like these I was still a man at heart. With that weird realization in mind, I could only think of her being a poison to my eyes.

“Ciel, good morning.”
“Morning… Anyway, it’s your first day, so I guess you’re excited about it.”

A slight smile covered her lips as she said that, then she got up from the bed, washed her face, and began preparing breakfast. Though ‘preparing’ might be putting it too highly, she only took the bread and soup we had bought last night and warmed it up with magic flames. Adventurers like her would often leave their homes for long periods of time, so storing food would mean most of it would rot by the time they came back, or in the worst cases, it could get infested with bugs and get consumed that way. That was why most of their meals were bought and eaten the same day, or in some cases the leftovers would be finished the next day.

“God of Knowledge Widom, we thank you for this blessing today.”
“Thanks for the meal.”

Ciel had just made a prayer to the God of Knowledge Widom. It is said that if people pray regularly to a god just like she had done, from time to time, the god would give a favor in return. That is why most of the people in this world revere some god or another.

There were other gods as well. Lumiere, the god ruling over light and justice; the God of War Gael, ruling over battles; the God of Abundance Fertila, ruling over the birth of new life; the God of Commerce Trod, ruling over promises and trades; the God of Artisans Arti, ruling over the creation and communication of different skills; and Damuel, ruling over darkness and destruction.

Everyone was free to choose which god they wanted to serve, but most of them should have a reason to follow one or another. The Demon King from three hundred years ago served Damuel, so during those times, if it surfaced that someone also prayed to Damuel, that person would get persecuted. That might have changed now, but things like that could be learned by observing the surroundings and seeing how people react to different things.

I did not believe in any specific god, even though I had already received plenty of blessings from them. Which included my superhuman strength, all attribute magic, perfect memory, and precise decision making…many of which were things that would get other people jealous if they knew about them. Though if it was not because of them, I would not be a hero…

Ciel served the God of Knowledge Widom, probably because she’s a magician. The favors Widom normally granted people were things like a boost in one’s magic power, or enhancing someone’s memory. Unless you were a monk, the effect would be quite faint, but it was still better than nothing.

When breakfast was over, it was time to brush my teeth. To make a toothbrush, we would take a small branch and bind to its tip the hairs from the back of a pig. Even after three hundred years, that was one thing that had not changed. When I was done brushing my teeth, I rinsed my mouth with water many times, getting anything stuck between my teeth out. I really enjoyed the refreshing feeling I got after doing that.

While I was busy doing that, the sun had risen to a higher place, at the same time, many people began coming out of their houses and heading to their workplaces, it also turned noisier outside.

“Well then, I’m going Ciel.”
“Take care, and good luck Lapis!”

After waving back to Ciel, who kept waving at me until I was out of sight, I headed to the main road alone, and there began walking to the guild. On the many stores lined on my way there, many helper children I had seen before were moving around busily, taking the wares out to display them or cleaning. I had to strive to be like them as well.

When I arrived at the guild, there were already a number of adventurers looking for work, or others returning from some quest, or some carrying carcasses from monsters and wanting to sell them as materials. Even though it was early in the morning, there was a line waiting for staff. I hurried to go beside the line, and once I was inside the building, I spotted the guild master Krieck who had just arrived as well.

“Good morning Master.”
“Good morning Lapis. You’re here earlier than the arranged time, I’m impressed and very much so.”

I looked around and saw that no one else from the staff had arrived yet. Apparently I had arrived a bit too early.

“Or well, they are supposed to be assembled here by this time, but it’s always hard for our employees to be here on time. Their daily duties are really exhausting so I give them a pass though…”

It looked like they…were rather loose with their schedules. Though that did not mean that I should also start arriving late like the rest of the staff. I had to work as hard as I could so I would be able to secure a place for me to stay.

“Anyway, I’m sorry this is so sudden, but help me get everything ready now. And don’t worry, it’s nothing complicated. Just help with cleaning inside and outside the guild, when you’re done with that, check if there’s anything that needs to be refilled or replaced around here. The cleaning tools are inside there, and the replacements for the other stuff are in the warehouse. Every shelf should be labeled so you should be able to find anything you need. If you need help with anything, just call me.”

“Understood.”

It was starting for real now. I took a deep breath to steel my will, then hurried to grab the cleaning tools and began cleaning the interior. Maybe it was because of the many adventurers visiting the guild on a daily basis, but the floor was completely covered in dirt and stuff. It was obviously dusty too, but there were also remnants of blood and other fluids that dripped from dead monsters, and even half-eaten food people had dropped. I even started to doubt the sanity of people who would dirty a public place in such a manner while I picked up the garbage littered on the floor, and once I was done, I took a broom and cleaned from corner to corner.

The next thing in line was inspecting the tools used by the guild. Behind the counter I found many stacks of documents, a plate made of a mysterious material that I did not know the use of, ink and pen tips, and those were the most important things I had to check. Or in other words, things that would get used frequently during a day at the guild.

Once I was done with the work inside, I had to go clean the outside as well. All the adventurers began looking at me without reserve, but I ignored them and began cleaning. When I was done cleaning the front side of the building, I figured I had to clean some area around it as well when two bad-looking adventurers stood in front of me blocking my path.

“…Do you need something?”
“I haven’t seen you around missy, are you new?”

For a moment I thought they were planning something, but apparently they were simply curious about the new person. I could not judge them so easily.

“Yes, I’m starting today. My name is Lapis.”

I had to watch the way I spoke as well, now that I was part of the staff. It would end badly if I spoke casually with anyone.

“Working for the guild isn’t that profitable though, is it? If you hang out with us you’ll go places, y’know? Why don’t you come with us for a bit to see for yourself?”

…I immediately regretted thinking that. Their appearance and personality did match pretty well after all. The fact they would belittle someone else’s occupation so easily said enough about how unpleasant they really were.

“I’ll have to refuse. I’m on the clock right now.”
“Oh c’mon, don’t speak like that now. We’ll show you something nice.”
“At least come take a drink with us.”