Bastard Swordsman

Sometimes a Cleaner

I don't remember why I was reincarnated into this world.

There must have been some trigger, but perhaps because I was a baby right after being born, my memories are a bit fuzzy.

Before I reached an age where I could understand things, I somehow managed to reclaim my past life's memories. However, this left many mysteries about the end of my previous life. Well, it's not like these mysteries cause any issues for me, so I don't really care.

I was born in a small village situated between the Halperia Kingdom and the Holy Kingdom of Sangreal. Apparently, the village was affiliated with the Halperia Kingdom.

The Halperia Kingdom and the Holy Kingdom of Sangreal have a terrible relationship, constantly cycling between war and peace over the land near the border.

When I was born, it was a peaceful time without any war, but by the time I turned nine, perhaps because the countries grew tired of peace, the war resumed. My parents died during that conflict.

And here's the tricky part—my parents.

My father was from Halperia, and my mother was from Sangreal.

After losing my parents, I turned to relatives for help and decided to visit my paternal grandfather living in a distant town. But, as expected, being a child with mixed blood from enemy Sangreal, I was not welcomed.

With my black hair streaked with white, I had the undeniable appearance of a mutt, and they had no intention of taking me in.

Though I wasn't subjected to violence, I was given something akin to severance pay and then chased out.

If I were an ordinary kid, my life would have been over right then, but unfortunately for them, I wasn't ordinary.

By the age of five, perhaps due to some reincarnation perk or something else, I awoke to a strange power.

Using this power, even a frail kid like me could manage to find work to survive.

Personally, I would have preferred appraisal abilities or infinite storage. But even without those, my gift was competent enough.

At this point in the story, I might seem like a protagonist rising through the ranks.

A reincarnated orphan who lost his parents in a war, possessing a gift. Something's bound to happen, right?

It's not that I wasn't aiming for success; I was tired of being poor and didn't want to live a solitary life without relatives.

But you know how it goes. While continuing a day-to-day life at a guild as a starting point, eventually, I started feeling like, 「Isn't this fine as it is?」

Sure, if I probably kept defeating stronger enemies, I'd become even stronger, and I sometimes daydreamed about a harem life. But is it worth risking my one and only life for that? Rather, I'd hate even getting a small cut or bruise—so I don't want to do anything other than safe work.

For the same reason, I haven't used any knowledge cheats. During my time in the village, I once tried to make a little profit by creating something like Reversi, but it quickly spread through the village and, for some reason, ended up being credited to the village chief's brat as the developer of the game.

And that wasn't the end of it; about a month later, the brat went missing.

Now, reversi has spread throughout the kingdom as a new game supposedly created by some noble's esteemed person.

Not everyone is crazily enthusiastic about playing it, but it's popular enough to be found in slightly upscale cafes.

... Yeah, power is terrifying. When you hear that, would you still want to use a knowledge cheat? It makes you feel like no amount of lives would be enough.

「Mongrel, at it with cleaning again?」

「Yeah.」

I handed over an assignment slip at the reception.

The task was a menial job that even the lowest-ranked guild members could take on: urban cleaning.

It hardly paid anything and wasn't popular, but despite that, the contribution rate was somewhat high.

Above all, for a cleanliness enthusiast like me, cleaning wasn't much of a chore.

This city is just filthy, all over.

I really wish the streets I frequently use would at least stay clean.

「You're quite peculiar, aren't you? The cleaning tools are in the usual storage, so please help yourself.」

「Got it.」

Urban cleaning primarily involves trash collection, and if necessary, the removal of waste.

In modern perspective, when you think about which is dirtier—crumpled paper or horse dung on the ground—most would choose horse dung. However, in this city, what's more troublesome as garbage is the stuff that the rain can't wash away, so the priority is on collecting solid waste. It's probably because it directly affects sewer blockages.

There's a separate task for sewer cleaning, but I absolutely refuse to do that because of the smell.

「Hello, Mongrel. Cleaning again? But you're not even injured.」

「Oh, hey.」

A familiar voice called out while I was picking up trash.

It was the lady from the bakery who would always strike up a conversation, perhaps out of boredom or because she loved to talk.

The more days went without buying her bread, the more she seemed to corner me into conversations.

She exerted a silent "buy something" pressure. Honestly, I'd appreciate it if she stopped.

「Did you hear? About the knight who came from the capital recently?」

「Oh, yeah, I heard. Some knight or other. The inns must be struggling.」

「Exactly! The innkeeper has been complaining. They say the knights are well-bred, but their room manners are terrible.」

「How about the bakery? Any special orders?」

「Not at all! Everyone's dining at the tavern, and no one's buying bread. It's frustrating.」

「Hahaha.」

「What's so funny?」

「Sorry. I'll come buy something soon.」

「Oh, wonderful! I'll be looking forward to it.」

Talking with the townsfolk while cleaning the city gives me a sense of being part of society, and in reality, the city becomes cleaner.

It's a win-win situation.

More importantly, it's all about this appearance of doing a poor job. This is crucial.

Flush people quickly become targets for criminals, but not many are foolish enough to target someone like me doing such a shabby job.

Being seen as a harmless, insignificant presence in the town.

I have a feeling that this perception is important for survival.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=【ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌ )】
Our MC is a survival freak, and I like it.
A laid back life is a happy life.
Is it a dig with the appraisal abilities or infinite storage???
Those abilities do seem OP.
P. S.
Reversi, also known as Othello, is a strategy board game for two players, played on an 8×8 uncheckered board. It was invented in 1883.