Section 3: Father Check 3/Operation Cleanup

This must be the third checkpoint.

Lot of books and stationery here. Looks like a den of some kind.

I'm not going to comment on the size of everything, since we're the ones who are unusually small...

...but just in terms of volume here, this is all very impressive. Kazuradrop must be quite the bookworm.

Some people might not like seeing all these books stacked up like this instead of being kept on shelves. Not me. It's proof she's still actively adding to her library.

Though, it's a little messy for someone so obsessed with perfection.

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Welcome to the third checkpoint. You've reached the midway point of the course.

Since you should be more familiar with how these father checks work by now...

...I'm hoping you can show me how a perfect father behaves better than ever.

Now, here's the theme for what you'll be doing at this checkpoint:

"Perfect papas are great cleaners!"

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Indeed. I can understand why one would prefer their father be a good cleaner...

...but are cleaning skills absolutely necessary for a father to be perfect?

... ...

All right, let's head to the test venue, shall we? Go ahead.

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Blech. I know I chose this place myself, but it's still infuriating to look at.

I can only imagine a bug in the universe itself as being the reason for someone wanting to live in a room like this.

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I just chose a room from the database that most closely matched the conditions I set.

It doesn't matter what kind of room it is or who it belongs to, so don't worry about that.

Anyway, you already know the theme for this checkpoint.

So, your test is to show me how good a perfect papa is at cleaning by tiding up this room.

Is that really the job of a father, even a perfect one?

Ulp. If anything, I feel like this is bringing back some repressed childhood memories.

I can still hear my house homunculi adamantly telling me I need to put away what I left out...

Aah! Toole, wait! I'll clean up, I promise! So please, put the halberd down!

If you were raised like that, does that make you good at cleaning up messes like this?

Not especially. I only ever did it because I had to.

I've always liked washing and maintaining my vehicles, but tidying up a messy room is firmly outside my area of expertise.

How about you, Fujimaru?

Oh? Then the fact that your room is generally so neat...

...probably means you have help from Kyrielight keeping it that way.

I suggest you remember to thank her, while also resolving to do better on your own rather than relying on her so much.

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Well then, sounds like it's my time to shine.

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I wouldn't say I'm "good at it" exactly.

But as a mage, I have a lot of practice disguising my deficiencies with efficiency.

Compared with magecraft, fields where your innate talent doesn't matter and you can improve just by optimizing your process are downright relaxing to me.

Cleaning is a prime example.

The different kinds of stains, how to combat them, mastering the geometry of efficient storage...

The more you learn about cleaning, the easier it all gets...

...and the quicker you're able to make things look their best.

Honestly, it's a shame magecraft doesn't work like that, too.

I'm not sure what you're talking about, but if you have such strong opinions about cleaning...

...then I'm willing to leave this particular task in your hands, Mr. Zemlupus.

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Likewise. I'd feel much better having someone who actually knows how to organize things in charge!

Got it.

Then the first thing we need to do is prepare. In this case, that means making the tools we'll need to clean.

Do we really have the time for that?

Look, you can practically see Kazuradrop scowling at us for being so slow. I can feel how much she wants us to get on with it.

Heh.

Cleaning...is not to be taken lightly.

We start with preparation. Not negotiable.

Cleaning is efficiency. Efficiency is process.

If we neglect the prep phase, it'll throw our entire process into disarray. Now, no more back talk! I'll be calling the shots here!

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Understood. So, what exactly should we be doing then?

It doesn't look like there are any existing cleaning supplies around here for us to use.

Of course not. No true father would ever let someone else choose their cleaning tools for them.

I could probably extract detergent from the plants outside if we have to, but...

(Hmm. Is that related to Zemlupus's Anti-Beast magecraft?)

(He probably uses that magecraft to procure natural substances that can erase his scent and keep wild animals off his back.)

I knew it. We're going to have to start with the fundamentals. Don't worry. It shouldn't take long to get what we need.

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Hmm... Those clothes you're wearing now should work for you, Oberon.

A hoodie's easy enough to move in, and the waterproof finish should keep you dry fromHuh?

You changed? That hoodie seemed like it would've been better for cleaning, but... No, wait.

That's a camping outfit, isn't it? Well, I guess it doesn't matter if it gets dirty.

Nope. I used to fly around all of Britain in this getup. It doesn't stain easily. Even if it does, I don't mind.

So this is what I'll be wearing while we clean.

(That cape seems like it would just get in the way... But, if he's used to wearing it, I guess it'll be fine.)

All right. Now, for our weapons, we'll be using...

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That's right. With this, you can get just about anything clean.

It's my family's secret weapon...

The Zemlupus Stick.

...I'm kidding, obviously. Quit looking at me like that.

All right, now that everything's in place, we can get down to business.

I don't have time to write down the processes, but I've got them all here in my mind.

Just follow my instructions, and we should be fine.

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Hmm. I wonder what my family's homunculi would say if they saw me now...

I'm sure they'd be thrilled. Given your personality, I'm pretty sure they, as your educators, would be entirely on board with this.

All right, it's go time. Let's show this room's mess who's really in charge!

Phew. Step one: complete.

Okay, here's your score.

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Wait! We're not done!

Sorry, I'm not waiting any longer. Exactly how long were you planning to take, anyway?

You might just keep cleaning forever if there was no time limit, hm?

Whaaat? No fair.

Shouldn't you have mentioned the time limit before we started?

If you'd asked, I would have told you. You're the ones who decided to get started without checking in with me.

Oh? Sounds like you want a do-over.

Sure, of course you can try again. But...you'll have to wait until the next race.

There we go. All back to the way it was, much as it sickens me to look at it like this.

Gnnn. I feel like I just spent hours digging a hole only to have someone fill it back in all at once!

Yes, I figured this would happen, but that doesn't mean I wanted to see it happen right in front of me!

Well, this place has to be another VR-like area she controls, so there's nothing we can do.

Okay, let's head back outside.

Only two checkpoints to go now. Good luck in the second half, everyone!

...I'm sorry. I messed up.

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Hmm. Now that I think of it, that WAS the best score we've received at one of these checkpoints thus far.

So perhaps there's no need to be overly pessimistic.

More importantly, how are you handling seeing all your hard work get reset?

You must be even more shocked than I was, seeing how much more invested you were in it.

Hm? Oh, uh, not as much as you'd think.

I'm not a neat freak or anything. I just like cleaning as a way of improving my efficiency.

So to me, this just feels like taking another crack at a puzzle. Next time, I'll try to figure out an even more efficient process.

In fact, resetting the "stage" like this is actually going to be helpful.

It's not all bad by any means.

Oh? Well, that's good to hear.

... ...

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Yeah. Like Kazuradrop said, it looks like whether we pass or not all comes down to this second half.

And really, looking at our current points, I think we're doing pretty good on the whole.

So let's do our best to keep this up.