Status Window Chapter 3 : Points (Patreon)

3. Points

"Mom! Let me clean the shop!"

When I called out to my mother, who was minding the store, she turned around with a surprised look on her face.

"Eh...? What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

"Well, when I used the Window skill, it said something good would happen if I cleaned the shop."

"You... Does that mean you figured out how that baffling skill works?"

"Well, a little bit. So, let me clean the shop."

I clasped my hands together in a pleading gesture, and Mom answered with a laugh.

"Of course. I should be the one begging you to do it."

"Really?! Then I'll start cleaning right away!"

I took the cleaning tools out of the locker. First, I grabbed a bucket, went to the well, and drew some water. When I returned to the house, I wet the rag and wrung it out.

"Alright, let's do this!"

I stepped into the shop area. First, I'd wipe down the shelves.

I moved the merchandise aside to create an empty space, then wiped the shelf with the damp rag. The dust that had accumulated on the shelf gathered into a clump. I placed that clump of dust on the floor for now.

Repeating this, I moved products out of the way one by one, cleaning every corner of the shelves.

"I haven't cleaned lately, so there's a lot of dirt, isn't there?"

"Yeah, the dust is pretty bad. You should really clean more thoroughly."

"If we think about the customers, we probably should. But from now on, it'll be fine."

"Why?"

"Because Rio will be cleaning for us, right?"

Mom grinned. This mother of mine... she's taking advantage of the fact that my skill is involved to make me do the cleaning! How cunning!

But since it was listed as a 'Daily Quest,' I suppose I'll be required to do this kind of thing on a daily basis. In that case, having some work left for me is actually better.

Grrr. It's a little annoying that things are going exactly as Mom wants. But for the sake of points... I diligently continued wiping the shelves.

"Phew, it's clean. Did I get the points?"

As soon as I finished, I checked the Window. But there was no reaction in the points section. That means the cleaning is still only half-done. It seems I won't get points unless I finish it perfectly.

"Then, next is floor cleaning!"

"You'll do the floor too? Thanks a bunch."

Mom's words of gratitude filled me with motivation. Grabing a broom, I swept the spacious shop from end to end. It looked clean at a glance, but sweeping revealed clumps of dust and trash.

"Alright, alright, get clean~"

I continued sweeping diligently with the broom, and the area left to clean grew smaller and smaller. Finally, the sweeping was done. I collected the accumulated trash in a dustpan and tossed it into the trash can.

"How about this!"

Full of anticipation, I opened the Window. But the points category was still at zero. Grrr, then what cleaning is left...!

"I'll mop the floor too!"

"Ehh!? You're going to mop the floor too!? What on earth has gotten into you!"

"This is also for the skill!"

"W-was it really such a good skill?"

"I'm trying to determine right now if it's truly a good skill!"

Mom was very surprised by my words. Since I usually didn't take the initiative to help around the shop, she looked like she couldn't believe it. However, having obtained a skill and regained my past life memories, this was necessary for me.

I took the mop out of the locker, wet the tip, and wrung it out. Then, I pressed the mop against the floor and began wiping, putting my back into it.

"To think you'd change this much... Must be a really good skill, huh?"

"Yeah, I think it's probably a really good skill."

"Hmm. Well, I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of good things happen!"

Chatting with Mom, I polished the shop floor. From end to end, I cleaned off the stuck-on grime. Rinsing the mop tip repeatedly, I made the floor spotless.

And when I finished wiping the final area with the mop—

Piron

"Hm?"

A mechanical sound echoed, like something I'd heard in my previous life. What kind of signal was that? Wondering, I opened the Window—

"Ah! The points field is red!"

The points category was blinking red. I immediately touched the category, and the points that were at 0 had become 10. That means the Daily Quest has been achieved.

"Alright, now I can verify it!"

"You seem awfully happy. Were you able to use the skill well?"

"Yeah! It turned out well."

"That's good to hear. It helped me out with the work too, so thanks."

Piron

At that moment, the mechanical sound rang again. Wondering what it was, I opened the Window and saw the Favorability category blinking red.

When I selected the category to see what it was, the top blank line now read: "Mirei Grande: Favorability +1."

I see, because I proactively cleaned, Mom's favorability went up. To think it even notifies me of things like this—what a convenient skill.

"Well then, I'm going to go check something for a bit!"

"Eh, wait, Rio! What about putting things away!?"

"Mom, you do it~!"

"Hey! Riiioooo!"

Checking the skill is more important than that. I ran up to the second floor as if escaping. At that moment, piron, the sound rang again.

What is it this time? Chest swelling with anticipation, I opened the Window, and the Favorability category was blinking red again.

When I displayed the Favorability category, the top line read: "Mirei Grande: Favorability -1."

"Crap... I lowered the score I just raised!"

It hurts to see it drop right after it went up. But right now, there's something more important than that. Diving into my room, I opened the Window. Then, I displayed the Points category.

"Let's see, there are so many things I can exchange points for... Finding anything in here is going to be a struggle."

I scrolled through the screen, but there were so many items I didn't know which to choose. As I fretted over it, I noticed a magnifying glass icon in the upper right corner.

"Could this be..."

When I touched the magnifying glass, a search bar appeared.

"I can search with this! Let's see... what should I exchange points for?"

I crossed my arms and thought. Since this is a test run, I want something low-cost that I can dispose of quickly to destroy the evidence. In that case, food would be good, right? What do I want to eat right now...?

"Okay! Soft serve ice cream, there!"

I typed the characters into the search bar and pressed the magnifying glass icon. Then, the display below changed.

"Yay, soft serve appeared! And there are so many flavors!"

Soft serve ice creams from my previous life lined up in rows. Not only were there various flavors, but even soft serves made from different ingredients appeared.

"Hmm, the good stuff costs a lot of points. In that case, the regular one is fine. It's 1 point, and anyway, this is just a test. Okay, one vanilla soft serve ice cream."

When I touched the item I wanted, a light appeared before my eyes. The light took shape and then converged. And there, what appeared was—

"It's soft serve ice cream!"

A swirl of soft serve ice cream sitting atop a cone appeared. I immediately grabbed the cone part. The texture was exactly that of a cone.

"Wow, it really came out. Where on earth does it come from? Well, whatever. Now, how's the taste?"

I licked the soft serve with my tongue and felt the coldness. Putting it in my mouth, the rich taste of milk spread everywhere.

"Mmm! This is it! This is what I wanted to eat!"

My spirits soared at the taste of food from my past life after so long.

"It seems points can be used without issue, and the selected item appears without a problem. With this, I can get all kinds of things!"

Feeling the potential of the points, I couldn't stop my excitement. From now on, I'll complete quests and earn points. If I do that, I can get whatever I want. If I use or sell those things, my life is sure to become prosperous!

I'm going to do my best from now on!