"h.e.l.lo, gentlemen," I started, wiping their table with a wet cloth sp.a.w.ned from my Cleaning [Skill]. "Anything I can get the two of you? We serve the finest foods in all of Golem Town - our chef is the Bul- I mean, the fabulous Monsieur Keith - he'll cook up a dish that'll melt your worries away."

Who's this terribly talkative person, you ask? Why, it is I, the newest employee at Golem Town's only inn, Theo!

You must be wondering as to how I ended up in such a situation. It's actually quite simple: The morning after my first night's stay at this fine establishment, before I had even dressed myself, the Yakuza lady, Heather, bashed down the door to my room - which I had to fix up, by the way! - and threw a full outfit at the blurry-eyed me.

I know, right?! How dare she come into a man's room unannounced! What if I were getting changed? My word.

She told me to get changed, her arms crossed in front of her chest, and stood there to wait for me. If I weren't so sure of my own ugly appearance, pale skin tone and early signs of male pattern baldness, I would have thought that this crazy lady had a thing for me! Who just demands someone to get changed in front of them?!

It was a little unnerving to do it, but I changed into the outfit she threw at me, and I followed her downstairs to the reception area.

"Wait here," she turned to me to say. This girl doesn't really smile, huh? "Today, my daddy will be showing you the ropes. While you're staying here you'll earn your keep by keeping the entire inn nice and clean."

"Woah, wait!" I stopped rubbing my sleep-crusted eyes. "You already said that I can stay the whole week! I cleaned all those rooms for you, already!"

"Hoh?" she said, crossing her arms and looking me up and down. "Did you hear it from my mouth? I don't remember saying any such thing to you."

"But-"

"So you'll be following my daddy around the inn, today," she continued, not even letting me speak. "From now on, until you can pay for your own room, you'll be cleaning after all of our guests."

Haaaaa... What else can I do but sigh? If I don't want this d.a.m.n system in my head to give me crackpot [Quests], like the one from yesterday, I can only play along with this Yakuza lady's demands.

⌈ ... ⏌

"My name is Heather," she said. "I'll be this inn's owner after my daddy, so you better listen to what I say!"

"Hai hai..." I can feel my my spirit floating away.

"What the h.e.l.l does that mean?" she tilted her head to the side.

Uncultured swine! This is Anime101! What MC doesn't end up having to submit to the crazy female lead character? How could you not even know this much?

"Daughter," a deep flamboyant voice drowned out my thoughts, making me s.h.i.+ver from top to toe. "Have you told the boy to come downstairs? Oh. There you are~"

"This is my daddy, Keith," Heather introduced, not even turning around to face her own father. "Follow him around, wherever he goes, and learn how to do all the things we need you to do."

"Yes, sir!" I salute my new boss.

"He's a weird one, isn't he?" the giant said to the sneering mob boss. Yes. I'm the weird one.

→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→

For the rest of that day, and the day after, I was lead around by big boy Keith. He first showed me around the entire inn building, telling me what needs to be done at each different area, then brought me into the kitchen as the last stop. Not having eaten breakfast yet, which my stomach made clear to the giant inn owner, he decided to make a simple dish for me to eat.

His lecture, during my meal, was a summary of the different kinds of things that I'd need to do from now on. Normally it would be a lot of information to take in, and I a.s.sume that most people wouldn't be able to remember everything, but I'm someone who's been playing JRPG t.i.tles of all kinds since before I made my hand my best friend in the world - I've learned to remember the main points of all my quests and tasks long ago.

Plus, the system would ring every time big boy Keith would introduce new tasks for the different areas of the inn. It was archiving all the important information for me. It could be convenient!

DING!

⌈ ITEM: Feather Duster

• Dust hard-to-reach locations ⏌

DING!

⌈ ITEM: Carpet Beater

• Beat dirt off of rugs and beddings ⏌

DING!

⌈ ITEM: ...

As the system was archiving all the items, it would also update my Cleaning [Skill] to have access to these items. For someone like me, who has next to no experience with the use of [Skills] or magic of any sort, it's fascinating to see that I can make these lifeless items spring into action and start cleaning on their own.

I may not have the ability to defeat the Demon King, any time soon, but I'll be sure to surprise the pants off of any employer who needs their stuff cleaned!

#1 Cleaner Theodore Young!

"Hey!" Keith said, waving his hands in front of my face and snapping his huge fingers. "Are you listening?~"

"Sorry, I was just daydreaming a little bit."

"You haven't told me your name yet, young man~" he said, pouting his lips. "You don't seem to talk that much, either. That's not going to be good for when you serve our customers~"

"What?" I exclaimed. "When did anyone say that I'll need to serve customers? Aren't I just cleaning?"

"Oh my~" the giant lifted his body off the counter, and covered his mouth as if he were astonished by my question. "Did my daughter not tell you that when she agreed to your request to work for us?"

"My request?" I ask, tilting my head to the side. "What request? I never said I wanted to work here."

"Oh my~" this time Keith furrowed his brows at my words. "That girl's such a trickster."

"'Trickster' my a.s.s!" I shout, finally figuring out what was going on.

"Now now~ No need to get angry. It's not like we won't be paying you for your work. Seeing as you weren't even able to pay for your own room, and you did such a good job at cleaning the two rooms-"

"ALL the rooms!"

"Right~ All the rooms. I thought it best to have you fill the much needed cleaner and barmaid role until we find someone else. How about it?"

DING!

⌈ QUEST

Money Talks

RANK: F

TIME LIMIT: Until Golem Town Inn employs a new cleaner and barmaid

DESCRIPTION: Villager (Maid) Theodore Young has been recognised for his ability to clean and has been employed by Keith the inn owner. You must save at least 50 [Copper Coin] before [TIME LIMIT] expires.

REWARD: However much [Coin] Villager Theodore Young can save, at the end of the [TIME LIMIT], will be doubled.

FAIL PENALTY: • Lose [SKILL] Blessed by G.o.ddess • All [SKILL] reset to LVL1 ⏌

...

Now I KNOW you're just playing with me, system! I'm going to throw myself, head first, off a cliff and break you out of my head. Then I'm going to beat you up, once and for all! You can't force me to work for this crazy father and daughter combo! I'll die, here!

⌈ ACCESS DENIED ⏌

"How about it?" the giant asked, not knowing of my internal strife.

"... hai hai..." I resigned myself to both the system and the inn owner.

"What the h.e.l.l is that?" he asked, tilting his head.

I miss my world... T-T