TPMITWON Chapter 49: Cleaning Test

The hall had four paths, each one a hallway that led to a different part of the building—the one they had come from, as well as the ones to the right, the left, and another one directly in front of them. The hall was silent, except for the sound of their footsteps muffled by the sand.

Without another word, the woman led Souta down the hallway to the right. They walked past several closed doors, each decorated with faint carvings that looked like symbols or emblems. Some of them were already worn down, as if they had been there for years without ever being repaired.

They walked until they reached the end of the hall, where there was a door that looked more plain than the others. Without hesitation, the woman pushed it open, revealing the room beyond.

As soon as she entered the room, Souta's eyes immediately widened.

The room looked messy. A large wooden table sat against the wall with several chairs around it, some of which were tilted as if they had been left in a hurry. A wooden cabinet stood in the corner of the room, with one of its doors open, revealing a seemingly disorderly pile of books and scrolls of paper. On the other side of the room, there was a simple bed made of compacted sand, complete with a thin, wrinkled blanket.

But what was most striking was the floor of the room—it was littered with sheets of paper scattered everywhere. Some looked intact, while others were folded, stepped on, or even torn in places. Some were just filled with random scribbles, while others had seemingly intricate sketches.

Souta swallowed and turned to the woman, still with a confused expression.

"This is...?" Souta asked with a doubtful face.

The woman only smiled faintly before answering.

"The test I gave was quite easy," the woman said in a casual tone, but her eyes remained sharp. "I want this entire room to be clean and tidy within ten minutes. If you succeed, I will declare you a pass and you will be accepted to work at the Puppet Theater."

Souta was silent for a moment, but then nodded determinedly.

"No problem! I will do it!" Souta said in a firm voice.

The woman nodded briefly, then turned and walked out of the room. The door closed softly behind Souta, leaving Souta alone in this chaos.

Souta took a deep breath and began to walk to the center of the room, where Souta then observed the chaos around him. Souta's eyes traced every corner of the room, trying to understand this place more deeply.

Even though he already knew that almost all buildings in Sunagakure were made of sand, Souta still felt amazed. The compacted sand formed solid walls, and could even be used as a bed. However, what surprised Souta the most was the fact that in the middle of this dry and poor environment, this room had so many papers.

Without wasting any time, Souta bent down and picked up one of the papers on the floor.

When Souta's eyes fell on the contents of the paper, Souta's body stiffened.

"This paper..." Souta muttered, Souta's expression immediately turning serious.

The sheet of paper was full of rough and irregular scribbles. But if you look closely, Souta can see something hidden behind the scribbles—detailed sketches of various parts of the wooden doll’s body. There are drawings of hands with tiny joints, and there are also designs of mechanisms inside the doll’s body.

Souta frowns.

Sunagakure is a poor village, and paper is a rare commodity. There aren’t many trees in the desert to make paper, and books are very expensive. That’s why when the Ninja Academy offered free books, Souta was very grateful.

So, seeing so much paper lying around like this really doesn’t make sense.