Disappointing Teleportation Magic ~ Even Though The Movement Distance Is Only 1 Millimeter, I Will Rise Through Ingenuity ~ - Chapter 4.2

After three full days of tirelessly repeating trial and error to identify the boundaries between the paint and dirt, my sensitivity to detecting substances through magic significantly improved. Now, I felt confident that I could remove every speck of dirt from the seams of the kitchen walls.

The top third of the practice landscape painting I received was in a terrible state, with peeling paint and lingering dirt. The middle third had no peeling paint, but the dirt removal was uneven and blotchy.

However, the bottom third had regained the vivid colors as if it were newly painted.

“How’s it going, Yuto?”

“Ekkels-sama, could you take a look?”

“Oh, this is… The top part is awful, but this area here is flawless. Shall we proceed, then?”

“Yes, I plan to clean the frame today and start the main work tomorrow.”

“Take your time. Quality over speed.”

“Understood. Ekkels-sama, could you tell me about the portrait over there?”

“That’s the portrait of King Anselm from three generations ago.”

According to Ekkels-san, Anselm Yurefelt was a wise king who led the country to stability and development. During his reign and three generations before him, there were continuous succession disputes that shook the country to its core.

Born as the first prince, Anselm persuaded his siblings through dialogue and negotiation rather than force, preventing bloodshed and peacefully inheriting the throne. He established a law that mandated peaceful succession based on the order of inheritance.

Cleaning Anselm’s portrait was meant to highlight the legitimacy of the first prince. Although I doubted such a tactic would influence the first queen’s faction, I wasn’t foolish enough to voice my thoughts.

From the next day, I began the full-scale cleaning of Anselm Yurefelt’s portrait. One teleportation spell could clean only about a five-centimeter square area.

Identifying the boundary between the dirt and paint took about five minutes per spot, making the task feel endless.

“Yuto, let’s have some tea.”

“Yes, thank you.”

As I continued my work, Klassen-san, who was repairing armor in the adjacent space, started inviting me for tea. A man in his fifties, with a stout figure and noticeable gray hair, he always wore a gentle expression.

“At your age, it’s impressive how diligently you work.”

“This is my first time cleaning paintings, but I seem to have a knack for this kind of meticulous work.”

“Can you clean metal objects like armor?”

“It might be difficult at first, but I believe I can do it with practice.”

“Do you think you could remove corrosion from metal?”

“That would also depend on practice…”

“Well, once you finish this task, perhaps you could give it a try.”

Having tea in the morning and afternoon, along with a light lunch, seemed indulgent, but the work around me required just as much patience as mine, so these breaks were necessary.

My daily routine involved going straight from the general workers’ dormitory to the decorator’s workshop in the morning and reporting back to the general workers’ office after finishing the day’s work. Every ten days, when I went to clean the kitchen, the head chef welcomed me with a large meat stew, and I meticulously cleaned the kitchen with my improved skills, which pleased him even more.

I was living such a fulfilling life that I had almost forgotten about my classmates until Tarik brought it up at breakfast.

“Yuto, I heard your classmate who went on the expedition has returned.”

“Really? How did it go?”

“Apparently, they achieved significant results without a single casualty.”

“Significant results?”

“Significant results are… significant results. I don’t know the details, but the officers were in a good mood, so there shouldn’t be any issues.”