Chapter 14

In the morning, it was cleaning time.

"Start cleaning from the top down—"

Yuri's cheerful voice echoed through the hideout. The four young boys responded sincerely to her voice. Yakko, who was the oldest, and the rest were still apprentices, tasked with various chores. The youngest, Yakko, was 13 years old, and the oldest, Ulugus, was 16. In this world, one is considered an adult at 18, but even then, they are treated more like half-grown chicks rather than adults.

Becoming a full-fledged adult at 18 and being able to do a proper job is a rare feat. It's only possible for those who have been trained in the skills of their craft from a young age, or perhaps for the sub-human races who are born warriors. However, all the boys here were human. This isn't to say there's any racial discrimination; it's simply that the current apprentices are all human. Please understand.

Yuri held a rag and was wiping the ceiling of the shelves. ... In *Scarlet Lynx*, while individual room cleaning is the responsibility of the occupant, the cleaning of common areas is the job of the apprentices. Of course, if there are too few apprentices, other members will help out. This isn't about bullying new members; it's to ensure they can handle the necessary minimum tasks, and the perseverance to do chores without complaint is what's required.

This was the bookshelf area inside the hideout. Books are valuable, but they aren't rare. The hideout has many books that members have collected and manuals for imparting necessary knowledge. As a result, this room has more shelves than others. The tops of these shelves, which had rarely been cleaned, were covered in dust.

Yuri initially intended to follow Yakko's instructions and clean. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. She thought she would learn from the older boys, Yakko and the others, while working. However, what they called "cleaning" didn't meet Yuri's standards at all. It seemed to her that there was still a lot left to do.

As a result, when Yakko and the others were ready to leave the room, thinking they were done, Yuri continued cleaning silently. She kept cleaning with the rag and bucket, even though she thought there weren't enough cleaning supplies. While she thought the sweeping with the broom was done reasonably well, she couldn't stop worrying about the details.

In the end, without realizing it, Yuri had taken charge of the overall cleaning.

However, because Yuri is so laid-back, the atmosphere wasn't one of giving orders. If anything, it felt like a kindergarten or daycare. It was as if everyone was trying to do the same thing as the teacher. ... Probably, Yuri herself was the cause of this atmosphere. Tifanna, the only adult left in the hideout (one of the instructors and a Thief by profession), watched with a smile, making it even more like a kindergarten.

Everyone was wiping the shelves, just like Yuri. The agile boys climbed up the shelves and wiped them. Yuri, on the other hand, used a chair to reach the higher shelves. The slightly shorter Yakko was wiping the lower shelves. Despite their usual bickering, they were all working together without any arguments, thanks to Yuri's calming presence.

"Yakko, you should wipe the lower parts; it's dangerous. Camille, be careful not to fall from the shelves!"

"I'm fine, Ulugus."

"Okay, okay. But Ulugus, don't put too much weight on the shelves or you'll tip them over!"

"Shut up."

Ulugus, the oldest, seemed to be the type who takes care of others. As the most senior apprentice, he was concerned about Yakko and Camille. Being large, Ulugus could make the shelves wobble when he leaned on them, but Camille pointed this out with a laugh, and the atmosphere remained friendly.

"..."

The one who worked silently without saying a word was Mag. He was generally quiet and expressionless, so no one knew what he was thinking. However, he seemed to be the type who does his job well, as he worked diligently. He was second in seniority to Ulugus, but he preferred to work alone and didn't take on the role of looking after the others.

Despite this, everyone seemed to be enjoying the cleaning. Yes, they were enjoying it. When they followed Yuri's instructions, the shelves became clean. It felt good to see them clean, and when Tifanna, the pretty instructor, praised them, saying, "You've done a great job cleaning today, everyone," the boys became even more enthusiastic.

As a result, the bookshelves sparkled.

Everyone was amazed at how clean the shelves looked, as if they were brand new. Inspired by this, they decided to clean all the shelves in the hideout. Yuri watched as the boys dashed off to clean the shelves, then turned her attention to the window.

The glass-making technology in this world is still immature compared to what Yuri knows. The transparency and strength of the glass are not sufficient. However, thanks to the efforts of the blacksmiths, the windows are still quite impressive. The best glass, made by blacksmiths with the highest skill levels, is of the highest quality in this world, with excellent transparency and strength, but such windows are only found in the lord's mansion or the royal palace.

Therefore, the windows in *Scarlet Lynx*'s hideout are made of slightly cloudy glass, which is dirty from rain and wind. The inside is also dirty with dust and other household dust. It seems the windows have been cleaned, but with a rough cloth, leaving streaks and not looking very nice.

Yuri looked at the rag in her hand. It was made of cotton, which is a common fabric in this world. It's an inexpensive material that even commoners can afford, and rags are made from it. However, it's not a towel.

The key to cleaning glass windows is to use a slightly damp rag. Wet half of the rag, then wring it out thoroughly. Next, fold the dry half over the wet part and wring it out again. This creates a slightly damp state. Using this rag to clean the glass allows you to remove dirt without making the glass wet, as the moisture helps lift the dirt.

This is the method Yuri knows for cleaning glass windows. There are other methods that use tools, but she doesn't have those tools, so she can only use the rag. She thought this method would work, but there was one problem.

The rags Yuri usually uses for cleaning are made from old towels.

In many households, old towels are repurposed as rags. When she was a child and asked to bring a rag, her parents would give her a towel rag. In her family, they would fold and sew old towels to make rags. For Yuri, a rag is a towel, but the one she had now was just a piece of cotton fabric. Would it work the same way for cleaning glass?

"Well, I'll just try it."

She muttered to herself and dipped half of the rag into the bucket. She wrung out the wet part thoroughly, then folded the dry part over it and wrung it out again. With the preparation complete, she gently pressed the slightly damp rag against the window. She wiped carefully, not pressing too hard but making sure to remove the dirt. The dirt came off, and no streaks were left. It seemed the cotton rag would work just fine.

With this confirmed, Yuri started cleaning the windows one by one. She focused on the inside first, wiping the windows with a squeaky clean sound. The slightly damp rag allowed the water to evaporate quickly, leaving the windows dry and free of streaks or fibers. The windows were becoming quite clean.

"Huh? What are you doing, Yuri?"

"Cleaning the windows."

"Wow... they're super clean!? Yuri, how do you do that!?"

"Wow! Really! They're always cloudy, but after Yuri cleans them, they're super clear!"

Yakko's exclamation was followed by Ulugus's shout. Camille and Mag also came over to check the windows and, realizing the truth in the boys' statements, they stared at Yuri. In response to their silent plea for an explanation, Yuri tilted her head in confusion, smiled her usual gentle smile, and began to explain.

From there, the window cleaning turned into a full-scale group effort.

Initially, they planned to clean only the bookshelf and dining room. However, once they saw the results, they understood something important: when one part is clean, the dirt on the other parts becomes more noticeable!

It was fine when they were only looking inside, but when they went outside and compared the clean windows of the bookshelf and dining room with the dirty windows of the adjacent rooms, it was a different story. When Yuri said, "I'll clean the rest because it bothers me," the boys naturally followed. The main reason for their enthusiasm was the praise from Tifanna, whose presence was quite influential.

As a result, they spent the entire morning cleaning windows, even the time usually reserved for their own training. They could train in the afternoon, but they didn't want to stop the cleaning halfway. Besides, they didn't want to overwork Yuri, who had less stamina than they did.

Because if Yuri collapsed, they wouldn't get their delicious meals.

That was a matter of life and death.

Moreover, if they let Yuri do all the cleaning, overwork her, and make her collapse, the members on exploration would be angry with them. Yuri's cooking had already won the hearts of *Scarlet Lynx* with just two meals a day, dinner and breakfast.

So, their morning ended with window cleaning. As a side note, thanks to Yuri's guidance, the common areas became quite clean, and when the members returned, they asked Yuri for cleaning tips and started cleaning their own rooms.

Please don't expect a typical "I'm in another world, I'm a cheat, and everything is great" story.

Yuri is a laid-back and easygoing guy, so he's a different kind of cheat.

Anyway, next is lunchtime.

I look forward to your comments and feedback.