Even the Beggars in the Sewers Are Beauties
After giving that damn newbie-slaughtering bitch a proper lesson, I headed to the Adventurer Guild as planned and received the adventurer’s license I’d been promised.
“Here you are, Mr. Chad. The adventurer’s license I mentioned.”
It had my name and even a photo… It was more of a proper ID than I’d expected.
The only thing that bothered me was the letter “F” printed on it.
“What’s this F for?”
“That’s your rank. Ranks normally run from F up to A. Those who meet the qualifications can earn the title of S-rank—the highest—and enjoy various privileges.”
So the longer you work as an adventurer, the higher your rank climbs. That part was familiar enough from every game I’d ever played, which made it easy to grasp. While I was thinking that, I suddenly noticed more and more eyes turning my way.
“That’s the guy, right? The newcomer who took down Mitobe.”
“I went by the inn she took him to earlier. Mitobe was screaming her head off.”
“He must’ve tied her up and beaten her.”
“Scary newbie this time… Best not to get involved.”
Hah. Rumors travel fast.
Well, at least no one would pick a fight with me for a while. That was a plus. Next I decided to ask the guild staff about my future plans.
“Now that I’m an F-rank adventurer, what should I do first?”
“Well, you’ll want to start taking F-rank quests and building up your Credit Points.”
“Credit Points?”
“Credit Points are what’s required to raise an adventurer’s rank. Every quest is assigned a certain number based on difficulty and importance. Once you collect enough, you become eligible for promotion.”
“Hmm. So could I just take high-rank quests and climb faster?”
“Ah, about that—low-rank adventurers don’t have much credibility yet. Some people hire proxies or use underhanded tricks to abuse the system, so if you take a quest above your rank, you usually don’t receive the full Credit Points.”
“…In other words, the way to raise your score is to stick to quests that match your rank.”
“That’s right. There is a system where a wealthy or powerful patron can vouch for your credit and help you advance faster, but… do you happen to have anyone who could guarantee for you, Mr. Chad?”
“No, unfortunately.”
I’d only just arrived in this world. What connections could I possibly have?
In the end, a guy with no status had no choice but to start as an F-rank and grind low-level requests one by one. Having a body packed with cheats made it frustrating, but I didn’t want to cause social trouble, and the smartest way to adapt to a strange world was to follow the proper path… Damn it. No choice. I’d have to diligently take F-rank quests for now.
“Then could you pull the highest-scoring quests I can accept right now?”
“Of course. Let’s see… there’s a sewer-cleaning job.”
“Sewer cleaning? Cleaning the underground of this city?”
“Yes. Mostly handling garbage and clearing stagnant, foul water. Occasionally rats appear—rather large ones—and a lot of people find them physiologically repulsive.”
So people avoided it, which naturally drove the points up.
Looking at the other adventurers with their flashy gear, most of them seemed to dream of combat. To people who’d come seeking that, cleaning work must feel like a complete letdown.
But I needed the fastest adaptation and advancement possible. I wasn’t in a position to be picky.
“I’ll take it.”
“Great! I’ll write up a simple map to the quest location and a letter of introduction!”
After accepting the quest, I followed the map into the lower part of the city and soon entered a building beside the channel where wastewater flowed in.
People carrying cleaning tools came and went; this was clearly the place in charge of the city’s sanitation.
After asking around a bit, I finally came face-to-face with the woman who seemed to be the head of the cleaners here.
“Ah, you’re here. The newcomer from the Adventurer Guild?”
“Yes. My name’s Chad…”
My eyes flicked over her body. For a moment I couldn’t look away—because that body was hitting every male instinct I had.
Even in plain work clothes, her mature features stood out. The breasts peeking from the open zipper were so large and heavy you could gauge their weight right through the shirt.
If I’d been allowed to speak freely right then, I would’ve said:
Holy shit, look at those tits.
“I’ll introduce myself first. I’m Enol, Chief of Sanitation for Erandel Territory.”
“Ah—yes. Nice to meet you, tit— I mean, Chief Enol.”
A pair like that stuck cleaning sewers? In my original world that would’ve been a criminal waste of talent.
I swallowed the regret and faced her as she began explaining the job in a serious tone.
“What we requested from the Adventurer Guild is simple. Clean the underground where the city’s water flows, and solve the stench and hygiene problems… It may not sound glamorous, but it’s essential if the people of Erandel are to live decent lives.”
“Yes, that does sound important.”
“Indeed. Unfortunately the lord doesn’t seem to rate this work as highly as other matters, so the budget allocated here isn’t great. That’s why our sanitation department partners with the local Adventurer Guild—using Credit Points to fill the labor shortage when funds fall short.”
Right. Adventurers hungry for promotion would show up for the points even if the pay was poor.
And the fact that the points were set so high meant that even with that generous benefit, not many adventurers were volunteering.
“Which also means the pay we can offer isn’t much.”
Enol stated it bluntly, then turned the question on me.
“Even so, are you confident you can work with us? If you’d rather not take on dirty, hard labor, I recommend withdrawing now.”
“Ha—if it’s hard, that’s exactly what I want. A broke nobody trying to climb the ladder doesn’t get to be picky.”
“Hmm. I can respect that attitude.”
“And one more thing.”
“One more?”
Enol looked puzzled by my confident answer. I smiled and showed her the fullest respect I could manage.
“People look down on cleaning work easily, but in the end someone has to do it, right? The fact that you chose this job yourself and rose to the position of chief—I think that’s truly admirable. While I’m working here, I believe I’ve earned the right to hold you in respect.”
“Uh… um…”
Enol looked briefly stunned, as if she hadn’t expected those words. A moment later she lowered her slightly flushed face and gave a small cough.
“Ahem. Yes… that’s a fine mindset. Please keep it from now on.”
Heh. Points secured.
Just wait a little. The second I get an opening, I’m going to fuck you senseless.
After that I began working under Enol, following the senior cleaners into the sewers as instructed.
Personally I’d hoped Enol would teach me herself, but a brand-new hire hanging around the boss right away would have been ridiculous.
Earning points came first. I focused on memorizing every task the seniors showed me.
“Wipe here with the rag like this, scrape the marks on the walls with the scrubber. When you see trash in the sewage, gather it and take it to the incinerator.”
“The work itself seems simple enough.”
“Yeah, learning it’s easy. Doing it’s the hard part.”
In truth, a cleaner’s job was anything but pleasant.
The stench hung everywhere, and even the dust was damp with moisture, leaving everything sticky. On top of that, garbage poured in endlessly from the city sewers; just clearing it all burned through both mental and physical stamina.
Of course, with my cheats boosting both, I had it easier than the others.
“Finished cleaning this section.”
“Huh? Already?”
“Yes. Want me to help over there too?”
“Uh… sure, but maybe take it a little easier~”
Easy? I needed those points so I could rank up and get a shot at that massive-breasted chief.
I threw myself into the work with everything I had, and the seniors watching me seemed to form a pretty good impression.
“Heh, having a solid newbie makes the job a lot lighter. Let’s take a break here for a bit.”
“Newbie, you come rest too.”
“No, I’ll keep going a little longer.”
“If you insist… but be careful. If you go too deep, vagrants sometimes attack.”
“I’ll be careful.”
As if a body like mine had anything to fear from getting jumped.
Leaving the resting cleaners behind, I pushed deeper into the sewers and kept working. Midway through, I sensed a presence coming from the opposite direction.
The only people who should be in a place like this were cleaners… Could it be one of those vagrants the seniors mentioned?
“Eh… hehe. A-a person.”
I tensed into a wary stance just as a woman appeared before me.
Her body was covered in grime and wrapped in rags—exactly the image of a vagrant the seniors had described. Yet the feeling that hit me when I saw her wasn’t disgust.
Her face was still pretty under the dirt, and the body barely covered by those rags was more than decent.
“Um… from the clothes, y-you’re a cleaner, right? A-are you?”
“Uh, yes. Why?”
“I-if you’re a cleaner, d-do you have a lunch or something? Or the money you’re paid… I-if it’s all right, could you spare a little charity for this p-pitiful woman?”
She begged with eyes full of desperate hope.
I thought for a moment, then tore off a piece of the bread I’d brought for my meal and held it out to her.
“Here.”
“W-wow! Th-thank you, cleaner sir! You’ll be blessed!”
She lit up over a single piece of bread and stuffed it into her mouth in a frantic hurry.
But looking at that pathetic sight, what I felt wasn’t pity—it was the thought that if I played this right, I might be able to satisfy a certain urge.
“Is it good?”
“Y-yes. It’s really delicious.”
“Want more?”
“You can give me more?!”
She swallowed the bait without a second thought.
I grinned, dropped my pants, and presented the thing standing proudly in front of her.
“Then how about you suck on this for a bit.”
A world where even the beggars in the sewers are beauties.
Truly, a man’s paradise if there ever was one.