Becoming the Academy Cleaner
"We're here."
After my communication with Naram noona was cut off, roughly fifteen days had passed in nonstop travel. I wondered how she was faring. Lulu and I had finally reached the Academy. Looking ahead, a massive rectangular building came into view. I felt a twinge of disappointment. It was certainly large, but the stone-and-brick facade looked plain and unremarkable. Given that the kingdom's high-ranking nobles sent their children here, I'd expected something as grand as a palace.
Seeing my disappointment, Lulu smiled. "You'll understand once we go inside."
"Understand what?"
"People say it's what's inside that counts more than appearances. The Academy is the same."
Following Lulu into the Academy, I immediately grasped what she meant. The institution did not neglect its kingdom's talents. Unlike its unassuming exterior, the interior overflowed with practical luxuries. From decorative furnishings to climate control, entertainment facilities, lecture halls, and conveniences that rivaled a modern university, everything was present.
"The simple exterior comes from the Academy's design, built around countless magic circles and artifacts," Lulu explained. Using spatial manipulation magic, the inside was three times larger than the outside suggested.
"That's impressive."
After seeing the living standards in Sunflower Town, I'd assumed this was a crude medieval world. Yet the upper class and promising talents enjoyed conveniences that would put modern people to shame. The power of artifacts—tools crafted by mages—was extraordinary.
The Academy, founded to nurture talent, produced outstanding mages every year, along with graduates who excelled in research, politics, military affairs, diplomacy, and countless other fields. The Solis Kingdom, despite its far smaller population compared to the Empire, maintained equal national strength largely because of the talents this Academy sent out into the world.
Anyway, starting today, I planned to work here as a cleaner. Lulu had the solid backing of the Clocktower's tower lord. The Academy claimed to offer equal education to all students, but in a world with a rigid class system of nobles and commoners, how many people actually believed such pretty words?
"I already contacted the relevant staff through a communication artifact. I told them I brought someone who wants to work as an Academy cleaner among the reliable employees."
The Clocktower's tower lord held the official title of marquis. As his younger sister, Lulu received noble treatment at the Academy even without a title of her own—the position of tower lord wasn't typically inherited, so she wasn't the heir. Still, her status here was unquestioned.
"Hello, Lulu."
"Good afternoon, Lady Lulu."
Her influence was considerable. A well-dressed student who looked like a noble greeted her warmly, while a friend whose clothes suggested a poorer background bowed a full ninety degrees. Lulu seemed uncomfortable with the deference.
"You can just call me Lulu. It's fine."
"Ah, I keep forgetting. Haha."
Hmm. Should I start calling her "miss" from now on?
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"It's unexpected."
"What is?"
"You don't give off any noble airs, yet people treat you like one."
"Well, I used to be a commoner. It's only because my sister is so accomplished that I get this treatment. And saying I don't have noble airs is rude!"
"Sorry."
"I only act this casually with you. I have to watch my behavior all the time otherwise!"
Hmm. So that's how it was.
"Anyway... vacation really is ending, isn't it?"
Students streamed through the Academy corridors. Lulu was one of them. Yet how had she been able to wander so far away at the gladiator arena? Because it was vacation, she could travel to study Hwanjong. Unlike others, Lulu had instinctively recognized that Jason was a Hwanjong. A slasher killer who nullified magic and automatically swung a chainsaw to carve people apart was something no mage in this world could be.
"People like the Sword Saint's disciple, Sword Tiger, can nullify magic, but the self-moving chainsaw and that mysterious appearance gave me certainty."
Huh. A familiar name. The person whose neck I'd snapped had apparently been quite the figure.
"Come to think of it, you said you couldn't sense any mana from me."
"Huh? Really?"
"Yeah."
"You must have met someone with exceptionally good eyes. Most people can only sense mana when magic is being used or when measuring an opponent's total amount. Still, someone with no mana at all... I've never heard of that."
"Is it a problem?"
"Most people have at least a tiny amount of mana. But a case with absolutely none is a first for me."
Sword Tiger had immediately drawn his sword and called me a demon. So that was why. This was the danger of confirmation bias. Once he decided I was a demon, every unusual thing about me looked demonic. How virtuous I actually was—I'd even freed a slave girl from the arena. And now I was kindly offering information to a girl curious about Hwanjong. Of course, I'd only tell Lulu about Hwanjong after my own business was done.
"Anyway, I'll wait here. Go to the reception room."
"Got it."
I'd somehow made it to the Academy. All that remained was to become a cleaner, polish the place up, and search for Hwanjong to absorb. Just wait, Wormhole. I'm coming.
The interview was extremely simple. For reference, I was playing mute—smart but unable to speak due to damaged vocal cords. I really needed to learn the local language as soon as possible.
"Do you have arms?"
I nodded.
"Legs working fine too?"
I nodded again.
"Then you can start tomorrow. I'll explain the details once you begin. Employee lodging is on the third floor of the water annex..."
[Hey.]
"Yes?"
[Is it really okay to keep the interview this simple?]
I expressed myself vigorously through body language. The interviewer looked annoyed, scratching his cheek with a pen before replying indifferently.
"Yeah. Well..."
I gave him a hollow look. Huh? Why? I'd expected to show off my cleaning skills. It was a simple job anyone could do, and I was mute, so I'd assumed there would be a practical test. Something like:
"Don't take cleaning lightly. I don't know how you've cleaned before, but the Academy is probably the largest and grandest place you've ever worked."
"Oh? You don't know?"
"Huh?"
"Look at this bathroom."
"That shine!?"
"It's the result of applying finite bleach and finishing with a mop."
"Guh... Incredible! So this is the power of a cleaner like you!? Please, please stay at the Academy! Without you, it will never be clean again!"
I'd expected at least a simple cleaning demonstration, but this was a complete free pass. Even part-time job interviews weren't this lax.
"Academy cleaning work is easy."
[Easy!?]
I'd just heard something unacceptable. Did he not understand how difficult it was to keep a vast space spotless without a single speck of dust? Anger began to rise, but the interviewer stood up and pressed a button. An unbelievable phenomenon occurred. The books scattered across the desk rose on their own and returned neatly to the shelves. Documents sorted themselves into perfect stacks. The floor began to gleam as if it had been mopped with water and dried with a towel.
I stared at the interviewer in a daze.
"We generally handle cleaning with Clean Artifacts. It's much faster and more hygienic than doing it by hand."
"......"
"However, for valuable storage rooms with many artifacts or professors' research labs where magical accidents could occur, we handle those areas manually. Many professors don't even allow anyone inside and prefer to clean themselves. There won't be any difficult work."
"......"
"In the first place, plenty of professors don't want anyone entering their spaces. This is an easy job."
Why?
"It's a cushy position. My predecessor was thrilled about it being a lifetime job, but unfortunately fell ill and had to quit. Your timing is good."
Something like this happening to me...
"It'll probably be much more comfortable than working at Miss Lulu's mansion. When you start tomorrow, I'll give you a cleaner-exclusive artifact. I'll explain how to use it then."
[Hey.]
"Yes?"
[Never mind...]
The cleaning tools I'd packed in my bag had become nothing but trash. I'd carried garbage all the way to the Academy. It was too sad. And just like that, without any incident, I became the Academy cleaner.