Chapter 18: Manon and gardener apprenticeship
If audio player doesn't work, press Stop then Play button again
The day after I participated in the construction of the castle wall, I went out to the guild to look for work as usual.
Even this morning, there was a huge crowd in front of the bulletin board where the requests were posted, and everyone seemed to be bloodthirsty and fighting for the jobs.
I asked Otto if the day's pay is that different to be so desperate, and he told me that even if it is different, it's only a difference of 200 hectares at most.
If the difference was that small... but for a grown man, it's a serious difference because it changes the amount of alcohol he can drink that night.
Yeah, I'm fine with the 'good luck with the leftovers' method.
'Oh, good morning, Kent.'
I was standing by the wall waiting for the morning crowd to end when I was approached.
I wondered who it was, but it was Manon, a handsome man with light blue, silky hair.
'Ah ... oh, good morning, Manon.
Teaching the Kokub style squishy swordsmanship? It's a little awkward before I've done it.
'Ken, is Kent here looking for a job?'
'Yeah, but so is Manon?'
'Yeah, my last job was yesterday, so I thought I'd start looking for another job today.
'Yeah, well...'
'Yeah, well...'
Yeah, this is really awkward. I'm having trouble connecting with you.
"Oh, you know what, Kent?
What is it?
Do you want to go to work with me today?
It's not a problem, but...
'Yeah, so let's go to work together, yeah, let's do that, yeah, yeah.
Huh....
It looks like Manon is making a fist and making a small gut pose.
I wonder if she enjoys doing the same job as me so much.
"Mr. Kent, isn't this a continuation of the incident from the other day?
"Ah, I see, you're here to find out the secret of my growth, hmmmmm, I see...
What's going on? Kent.
It's not...nothing...I mean, the front of the bulletin board is so crowded every morning...I just thought...
I know, I didn't have the courage to go in there either... oh.
Hmm? What's wrong with you........I mean, that looks like Ridnell, wow, you're rubbing it in....
Ridnell, who is supposed to be taller and bigger than me and Manon, doesn't seem to be able to even move when he's among adults.
I wonder if they're able to properly check the contents of the request in that state.
If you look closely, Marle and Tariq are also being rubbed in the state of being a potato washer, they're going to be tired before they even get to work, but is it okay?
As I was anxiously watching the three of you, I suddenly turned to look at you because I was worried about the gaze from the side, and I saw Manon hurriedly look away.
When I turned my head back to the bulletin board, I could still feel her eyes on me.
And when you turn your head back to the board, Manon is still looking in an extraordinary direction.
Pretending to look at the bulletin board, I still look at Manon... and our eyes meet perfectly.
The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that it's not a good idea to have a good idea of what it is. Kent, what, what's wrong?
No, Manon wondered what kind of work he'd like to do...
Me? No, just the job Kent usually does today.
'Really? Well, we'll have an opening in a little while, then we'll see.
Yeah, yeah, well...
Ridnell and the others finally seemed to have decided on a job at the end of the crowd and ran to the counter with the request paper.
So, I guess we'll look for a job too.
Most of the jobs left after the crowds are over are cheap daily jobs and apprentice jobs.
Apprentice jobs, as the name implies, are apprenticeships in various jobs, where you can experience the work and be taught, but at a lower daily rate.
Volzard's children get to experience a variety of jobs in these apprenticeships, and then they get a job that is right for them.
I've looked for an apprenticeship as a healer once, but unfortunately, it's highly specialized, and the only person who can do it is someone who has been judged by the 'Crystal of the Magic Eye' to have the light attribute, he said.
It's really annoying, that crystal ball.
''Hey, Manon, have you ever tried this gardener's apprenticeship?''
No, I don't, but does Kent want to be a gardener?
No, that's not what I'm talking about, but the other day Klaus-san told me to try different jobs in order to find the talent that's lying dormant inside me... so I thought I'd give it a shot.
'Oh, well do you want to try it then? The numbers are always up, so I think we'll be fine.
Okay, then, let's get to work today!
Me and Manon took a piece of paper to the counter with a request and asked for the gardener's house, and we decided to head there as soon as possible.
'Manon is from Volzard, right?'
'Yes, I was born and raised in Volzard, and I haven't been to any other city yet.
'Really? So, didn't Ridnell and the others know better before?
Yeah, I knew his face and name, but I didn't know him that well because we live in different parts of the country.
Volzard is a city that has spread out with the addition of walls, so the city is divided into several sections by the city walls.
I heard there's no difference in status or anything like that depending on the area you live in, but it seems that people who live in the same district get along better with each other after all.
Manon and Ridnell went to the same school as me, but during their breaks, the kids from the same area often gathered together.
The gardener Oren's house was located in the second district, one wall away from the old town.
In the city of Volzard, there are many trees planted on the streets, and his main job is to take care of them and the garden of the lord's house.
''Oh, you want to be an apprentice, you came at just the right time, I was planning to prune Klaus-san's mansion today, I was thinking that the two of you and Rege would be insufficient to do it.''
Kent, nice to meet you.
Manon, please.
Oh, well, I'm ready to go, so let's get on with it.
Yes!
Pushing a cart with scissors and ladders for pruning, we head to the lord's house.
The lord's house is on the easternmost side of the old town, a stone's throw away from Oren-san's house.
In front of the high iron fence gate, a garrison was guarding the gate, and we were asked to show our IDs to enter.
When the guard saw me and Manon's guild card, the guard seemed to see that we were apprentices and asked us to do our best.
We put the cart in the shade of the gate and started working immediately.
'Alright then, Kent and Manon, you can start with the weeds.
I am given a burlap sack and a fork to pull out the weeds with a two-pronged tip, and I begin to weed the cobblestones leading from the gate to the front door of the mansion.
As a punishment for dozing off, I used to be good at weeding.
My life guidance teacher had a sarcastic personality and made us start over even if we left a small weed, so we'll pick the weeds thoroughly.
I'm going to uproot them, not leave them behind, and utilize a weed fork to buzz them off!
"Master Kent, they can see you.
'Yeah, it doesn't matter now, I don't have any trouble with people seeing me weed.'
"Well........the penalty for falling asleep at the wheel made me do a lot of things.......
"Buh-ha-ha, that's what you call an injury.
There's a big difference in speed and finish between me, who is a prodigy at weed control, and Manon, who watches me while I do it.
I've conquered the back of the school building and the back of the gymnasium, and I'm not a master at weed-pulling techniques.
Oh, Kent is very fast, the finish is........yeah, no problem, keep it up.
Yes!
"As for Manon, well I'm sorry, but you're going to have to pick these little guys off too, because they're going to grow quickly, so just review them.
Yes, I'm sorry I'll have to start over.
Oh, that's just the beginning. Don't get too deflated.
Yes.....
Is it permissible to pick back weeds, but only if they are handsome?
Remembering those days of me, when I was being nebbled and sarcastic at the back of the school building, my eyes were burning.
Yes, your hard work was not in vain, you know.
While I was concentrating on weeding, a voice called out to me from above my head, "Oh, you're Kent.
"Oh, hey Kent, what's up with you being the gardener today?
'Oh, Mr Klaus, good morning, yes, I'm trying to do a lot of work.
Ha-ha-ha, well, good, I hope you get some experience while you're at it. Kent, you'll find that experience will serve you well.
Okay, I'll do my best.
Yes, Kent, that's my little girl, Beatrice.
It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kent.
Ha, ha, nice to meet you, Mr. Claus.
Dressed in a simple but well-tailored young grass-colored dress, Beatrice has flaming red hair and victorious brown eyes.
Yes, she's so cute that it's hard to believe she has the blood of a choosy old man in her veins.
''Beatrice is still a student, so she'll be one year younger than Kent... what do you think, isn't she cute?
'Yes, yes ... very ...'
Klaus-san nodded in satisfaction, then put his mouth to my ear and muttered in a low voice.
''If you touch me, I'll kill you........''
Hi, hi!
I'm an idiot!
Even in the other world, it's normal to have parent idiots.
'Hey Dad! You don't mean to sound weird, do you?
I wouldn't say anything weird... hey, Kent.
Hi.....
If Beatrice doesn't see me and gives me a glare, I can't help but nod with all my might.
It's already a nod as good as the Aizu specialty, Akabeko.
''There's something fishy about it........''
Even though Beatrice, who has her arms folded, is staring at me with zit eyes, Klaus-san is also staring at me, so I can only deny it by shaking my head with a pull and shake my head.
By the way, even though he's younger than me, he's so dignified.......I'm overwhelmed by his aristocratic aura.
Hey, but I'll do my best.
Oh, my response to Beatrice's smile, which even makes me feel relaxed, is shameful, isn't it?
It's not like I'm thinking of touching her or anything, so please don't mutter "I'll kill you" out loud, Klaus-san. I'll kill you........" without saying it aloud, Klaus-san.
Klaus-san had an errand to the guild and Beatrice went off to school, father and daughter together.
It's okay, I'm just a commoner with a full-blown little person's feeling.
While Manon and I have been weeding, Oren and his team have been pruning the garden trees.
Once the weeding is done, it's time to collect the branches and leaves that were cut off from the pruning and put them away.
Manon is still glancing in my direction, but he keeps moving as fast as he can.
Squatting down or working from a mid-height posture is really hard on my legs and feet, but I think it's also good for training them.
Moving incessantly is a great way to strengthen your stamina, and fatigue and muscle aches and pains are no longer a problem if you take a lunch break and let them heal themselves.
After the lunch break, I repeated weeding and cleaning up the pruning debris until the evening.
'Ooh, time to put that away, Kent, put the bags of pruning waste on the cart.
Yes, I understand.
Both the weeds that are picked and the pruning debris are buried in Oren's garden and used as fertilizer later on.
It's important in a farthest reaches of the city like Volzard to reuse everything that can be used.
Come to think of it, did I hear that the leavings of the leave-leaves are used as fertilizer in the leave-leave plantation as well?
''No, thanks to Kent's hard work, if possible, can we ask for another day tomorrow?
'Yes, fine, I'll see you tomorrow.
Oh, really? Oh, well, that's very helpful. What about Manon?
I'll do my best.
We'll treat you to dinner after work so you can sweat it out and change.
Yes, I understand.
Once I got the cart back to Oren-san's house, I went to report to the guild instead of Manon, who looked exhausted, and then I went back to the boarding house.
After dinner, I trained for sword and magic in the Demon Forest as usual, and after the date changed, I returned to the boarding house and battled back to the lodge........................and then another new morning arrived.
Well, I'm impressed with how well my body can hold up.
After finishing breakfast, I headed to the meeting place with Manon.
When Manon appeared, he looked so dull and tired from yesterday that he didn't seem to have recovered.
'Good morning ... Kent.
Good morning! Manon, did you do a proper stretch yesterday?
'Oh I forgot...'
'I can't help it I'll give you a little stretching and massage.
Thank you I'm sorry, Kent.
Okay, that's enough.
I pretended to help her stretch and cast a little healing spell on her, and Manon's complexion improved a lot.
'Oh my gosh, Kent, I feel like I'm pretty much out of muscle pain and fatigue, I think I can do my best today with this.'
'Yeah, let's have a good day!
Today, we are working at Mr. Claus's mansion again.
Today, we worked behind the mansion from morning, so we didn't get to see Klaus-san and Beatrice.
Eh? Too bad we won't get to see your developing nice body, right?
That's........of course I'm thinking that with all my might.
"Mr. Kent, it looks like we're not going to be observing you today.
'Yeah, I don't think Manon can afford it either.
I'm sure...
Yesterday, Manon was observing my movements, but today, he seems to be concentrating on his own work.
So, compared to yesterday, his work efficiency seems to have improved dramatically.
However, the amount of exercise has increased and he looks tired.
After the work is done, maybe I'll give you some stretches with a healing spell.
I brought a change of clothes with me today, so I crawled as hard as I could and worked on weeding and cleaning up the pruning debris.
It was all worth it and we were able to finish all the work by the evening.
If Oren and his team worked alone, the selection of the house would take three or four, sometimes five days.
Both Mr. Oren and his son Faldo are happy to hear that the work was completed in two days.
When they get home and put away their tools, they take a bath and have dinner!
Yes, thank you for your help.
Manon is tired, but he feels fulfilled with the job well done.
'I'll take care of cleaning up the tools for you.
'Manon, I'll do the tidying up for you, you can take a bath first.
'Yeah, that's bad, Kent works a lot more than I do...'
'Fine, fine, Manon worked hard today, and I still have some extra power, so I'll be fine.
Well I'll leave you to it.
When I say clean up, it's just to unload the burlap bags of pruning waste from the cart and wash the weed forks we used.
Oren and the others will take care of the pruning scissors and stuff like that before they put them away.
'Oh, okay, Kent, go take a bath with us, we'll take care of the rest.
Okay, well, I'll leave you to it.
The bathrooms in Oren's house are made wider than the bathrooms in a normal house, just in case she has to work with a large group of people.
The changing room is large, and it feels more like a small public bath, or perhaps an inn's bathroom.
I take my bag of clothes and go to the changing room to take off my sweaty and dusty clothes.
I could hear the sound of hot water chirping from the bathroom.
'Good job, Manon,'
When I entered the bathroom, hiding only my crotch with a towel, Manon had just gotten up from the tub.
''Eh........''
Heh...?
It felt like time stopped for a moment, and both Manon and I froze.
There was a small bulge in Manon's chest........
''Kyaah, Kyaah!
Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...
Oh, don't look at me, Kent's s*x! Pervert! Pervert!
Oh, I'm sorry... yeah!
I yelled out as I retreated to the changing room in a hurry after Manon sprayed me with hot water.
'Oops! I had no idea it was a girl! Whew!
'Kent, that would be too rude! Stupid!
As if to stop me, Manon hit me with a tub.
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
The day after I participated in the construction of the castle wall, I went out to the guild to look for work as usual.
Even this morning, there was a huge crowd in front of the bulletin board where the requests were posted, and everyone seemed to be bloodthirsty and fighting for the jobs.
I asked Otto if the day's pay is that different to be so desperate, and he told me that even if it is different, it's only a difference of 200 hectares at most.
If the difference was that small... but for a grown man, it's a serious difference because it changes the amount of alcohol he can drink that night.
Yeah, I'm fine with the 'good luck with the leftovers' method.
'Oh, good morning, Kent.'
I was standing by the wall waiting for the morning crowd to end when I was approached.
I wondered who it was, but it was Manon, a handsome man with light blue, silky hair.
'Ah ... oh, good morning, Manon.
Teaching the Kokub style squishy swordsmanship? It's a little awkward before I've done it.
'Ken, is Kent here looking for a job?'
'Yeah, but so is Manon?'
'Yeah, my last job was yesterday, so I thought I'd start looking for another job today.
'Yeah, well...'
'Yeah, well...'
Yeah, this is really awkward. I'm having trouble connecting with you.
"Oh, you know what, Kent?
What is it?
Do you want to go to work with me today?
It's not a problem, but...
'Yeah, so let's go to work together, yeah, let's do that, yeah, yeah.
Huh....
It looks like Manon is making a fist and making a small gut pose.
I wonder if she enjoys doing the same job as me so much.
"Mr. Kent, isn't this a continuation of the incident from the other day?
"Ah, I see, you're here to find out the secret of my growth, hmmmmm, I see...
What's going on? Kent.
It's not...nothing...I mean, the front of the bulletin board is so crowded every morning...I just thought...
I know, I didn't have the courage to go in there either... oh.
Hmm? What's wrong with you........I mean, that looks like Ridnell, wow, you're rubbing it in....
Ridnell, who is supposed to be taller and bigger than me and Manon, doesn't seem to be able to even move when he's among adults.
I wonder if they're able to properly check the contents of the request in that state.
If you look closely, Marle and Tariq are also being rubbed in the state of being a potato washer, they're going to be tired before they even get to work, but is it okay?
As I was anxiously watching the three of you, I suddenly turned to look at you because I was worried about the gaze from the side, and I saw Manon hurriedly look away.
When I turned my head back to the bulletin board, I could still feel her eyes on me.
And when you turn your head back to the board, Manon is still looking in an extraordinary direction.
Pretending to look at the bulletin board, I still look at Manon... and our eyes meet perfectly.
The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that it's not a good idea to have a good idea of what it is. Kent, what, what's wrong?
No, Manon wondered what kind of work he'd like to do...
Me? No, just the job Kent usually does today.
'Really? Well, we'll have an opening in a little while, then we'll see.
Yeah, yeah, well...
Ridnell and the others finally seemed to have decided on a job at the end of the crowd and ran to the counter with the request paper.
So, I guess we'll look for a job too.
Most of the jobs left after the crowds are over are cheap daily jobs and apprentice jobs.
Apprentice jobs, as the name implies, are apprenticeships in various jobs, where you can experience the work and be taught, but at a lower daily rate.
Volzard's children get to experience a variety of jobs in these apprenticeships, and then they get a job that is right for them.
I've looked for an apprenticeship as a healer once, but unfortunately, it's highly specialized, and the only person who can do it is someone who has been judged by the 'Crystal of the Magic Eye' to have the light attribute, he said.
It's really annoying, that crystal ball.
''Hey, Manon, have you ever tried this gardener's apprenticeship?''
No, I don't, but does Kent want to be a gardener?
No, that's not what I'm talking about, but the other day Klaus-san told me to try different jobs in order to find the talent that's lying dormant inside me... so I thought I'd give it a shot.
'Oh, well do you want to try it then? The numbers are always up, so I think we'll be fine.
Okay, then, let's get to work today!
Me and Manon took a piece of paper to the counter with a request and asked for the gardener's house, and we decided to head there as soon as possible.
'Manon is from Volzard, right?'
'Yes, I was born and raised in Volzard, and I haven't been to any other city yet.
'Really? So, didn't Ridnell and the others know better before?
Yeah, I knew his face and name, but I didn't know him that well because we live in different parts of the country.
Volzard is a city that has spread out with the addition of walls, so the city is divided into several sections by the city walls.
I heard there's no difference in status or anything like that depending on the area you live in, but it seems that people who live in the same district get along better with each other after all.
Manon and Ridnell went to the same school as me, but during their breaks, the kids from the same area often gathered together.
The gardener Oren's house was located in the second district, one wall away from the old town.
In the city of Volzard, there are many trees planted on the streets, and his main job is to take care of them and the garden of the lord's house.
''Oh, you want to be an apprentice, you came at just the right time, I was planning to prune Klaus-san's mansion today, I was thinking that the two of you and Rege would be insufficient to do it.''
Kent, nice to meet you.
Manon, please.
Oh, well, I'm ready to go, so let's get on with it.
Yes!
Pushing a cart with scissors and ladders for pruning, we head to the lord's house.
The lord's house is on the easternmost side of the old town, a stone's throw away from Oren-san's house.
In front of the high iron fence gate, a garrison was guarding the gate, and we were asked to show our IDs to enter.
When the guard saw me and Manon's guild card, the guard seemed to see that we were apprentices and asked us to do our best.
We put the cart in the shade of the gate and started working immediately.
'Alright then, Kent and Manon, you can start with the weeds.
I am given a burlap sack and a fork to pull out the weeds with a two-pronged tip, and I begin to weed the cobblestones leading from the gate to the front door of the mansion.
As a punishment for dozing off, I used to be good at weeding.
My life guidance teacher had a sarcastic personality and made us start over even if we left a small weed, so we'll pick the weeds thoroughly.
I'm going to uproot them, not leave them behind, and utilize a weed fork to buzz them off!
"Master Kent, they can see you.
'Yeah, it doesn't matter now, I don't have any trouble with people seeing me weed.'
"Well........the penalty for falling asleep at the wheel made me do a lot of things.......
"Buh-ha-ha, that's what you call an injury.
There's a big difference in speed and finish between me, who is a prodigy at weed control, and Manon, who watches me while I do it.
I've conquered the back of the school building and the back of the gymnasium, and I'm not a master at weed-pulling techniques.
Oh, Kent is very fast, the finish is........yeah, no problem, keep it up.
Yes!
"As for Manon, well I'm sorry, but you're going to have to pick these little guys off too, because they're going to grow quickly, so just review them.
Yes, I'm sorry I'll have to start over.
Oh, that's just the beginning. Don't get too deflated.
Yes.....
Is it permissible to pick back weeds, but only if they are handsome?
Remembering those days of me, when I was being nebbled and sarcastic at the back of the school building, my eyes were burning.
Yes, your hard work was not in vain, you know.
While I was concentrating on weeding, a voice called out to me from above my head, "Oh, you're Kent.
"Oh, hey Kent, what's up with you being the gardener today?
'Oh, Mr Klaus, good morning, yes, I'm trying to do a lot of work.
Ha-ha-ha, well, good, I hope you get some experience while you're at it. Kent, you'll find that experience will serve you well.
Okay, I'll do my best.
Yes, Kent, that's my little girl, Beatrice.
It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kent.
Ha, ha, nice to meet you, Mr. Claus.
Dressed in a simple but well-tailored young grass-colored dress, Beatrice has flaming red hair and victorious brown eyes.
Yes, she's so cute that it's hard to believe she has the blood of a choosy old man in her veins.
''Beatrice is still a student, so she'll be one year younger than Kent... what do you think, isn't she cute?
'Yes, yes ... very ...'
Klaus-san nodded in satisfaction, then put his mouth to my ear and muttered in a low voice.
''If you touch me, I'll kill you........''
Hi, hi!
I'm an idiot!
Even in the other world, it's normal to have parent idiots.
'Hey Dad! You don't mean to sound weird, do you?
I wouldn't say anything weird... hey, Kent.
Hi.....
If Beatrice doesn't see me and gives me a glare, I can't help but nod with all my might.
It's already a nod as good as the Aizu specialty, Akabeko.
''There's something fishy about it........''
Even though Beatrice, who has her arms folded, is staring at me with zit eyes, Klaus-san is also staring at me, so I can only deny it by shaking my head with a pull and shake my head.
By the way, even though he's younger than me, he's so dignified.......I'm overwhelmed by his aristocratic aura.
Hey, but I'll do my best.
Oh, my response to Beatrice's smile, which even makes me feel relaxed, is shameful, isn't it?
It's not like I'm thinking of touching her or anything, so please don't mutter "I'll kill you" out loud, Klaus-san. I'll kill you........" without saying it aloud, Klaus-san.
Klaus-san had an errand to the guild and Beatrice went off to school, father and daughter together.
It's okay, I'm just a commoner with a full-blown little person's feeling.
While Manon and I have been weeding, Oren and his team have been pruning the garden trees.
Once the weeding is done, it's time to collect the branches and leaves that were cut off from the pruning and put them away.
Manon is still glancing in my direction, but he keeps moving as fast as he can.
Squatting down or working from a mid-height posture is really hard on my legs and feet, but I think it's also good for training them.
Moving incessantly is a great way to strengthen your stamina, and fatigue and muscle aches and pains are no longer a problem if you take a lunch break and let them heal themselves.
After the lunch break, I repeated weeding and cleaning up the pruning debris until the evening.
'Ooh, time to put that away, Kent, put the bags of pruning waste on the cart.
Yes, I understand.
Both the weeds that are picked and the pruning debris are buried in Oren's garden and used as fertilizer later on.
It's important in a farthest reaches of the city like Volzard to reuse everything that can be used.
Come to think of it, did I hear that the leavings of the leave-leaves are used as fertilizer in the leave-leave plantation as well?
''No, thanks to Kent's hard work, if possible, can we ask for another day tomorrow?
'Yes, fine, I'll see you tomorrow.
Oh, really? Oh, well, that's very helpful. What about Manon?
I'll do my best.
We'll treat you to dinner after work so you can sweat it out and change.
Yes, I understand.
Once I got the cart back to Oren-san's house, I went to report to the guild instead of Manon, who looked exhausted, and then I went back to the boarding house.
After dinner, I trained for sword and magic in the Demon Forest as usual, and after the date changed, I returned to the boarding house and battled back to the lodge........................and then another new morning arrived.
Well, I'm impressed with how well my body can hold up.
After finishing breakfast, I headed to the meeting place with Manon.
When Manon appeared, he looked so dull and tired from yesterday that he didn't seem to have recovered.
'Good morning ... Kent.
Good morning! Manon, did you do a proper stretch yesterday?
'Oh I forgot...'
'I can't help it I'll give you a little stretching and massage.
Thank you I'm sorry, Kent.
Okay, that's enough.
I pretended to help her stretch and cast a little healing spell on her, and Manon's complexion improved a lot.
'Oh my gosh, Kent, I feel like I'm pretty much out of muscle pain and fatigue, I think I can do my best today with this.'
'Yeah, let's have a good day!
Today, we are working at Mr. Claus's mansion again.
Today, we worked behind the mansion from morning, so we didn't get to see Klaus-san and Beatrice.
Eh? Too bad we won't get to see your developing nice body, right?
That's........of course I'm thinking that with all my might.
"Mr. Kent, it looks like we're not going to be observing you today.
'Yeah, I don't think Manon can afford it either.
I'm sure...
Yesterday, Manon was observing my movements, but today, he seems to be concentrating on his own work.
So, compared to yesterday, his work efficiency seems to have improved dramatically.
However, the amount of exercise has increased and he looks tired.
After the work is done, maybe I'll give you some stretches with a healing spell.
I brought a change of clothes with me today, so I crawled as hard as I could and worked on weeding and cleaning up the pruning debris.
It was all worth it and we were able to finish all the work by the evening.
If Oren and his team worked alone, the selection of the house would take three or four, sometimes five days.
Both Mr. Oren and his son Faldo are happy to hear that the work was completed in two days.
When they get home and put away their tools, they take a bath and have dinner!
Yes, thank you for your help.
Manon is tired, but he feels fulfilled with the job well done.
'I'll take care of cleaning up the tools for you.
'Manon, I'll do the tidying up for you, you can take a bath first.
'Yeah, that's bad, Kent works a lot more than I do...'
'Fine, fine, Manon worked hard today, and I still have some extra power, so I'll be fine.
Well I'll leave you to it.
When I say clean up, it's just to unload the burlap bags of pruning waste from the cart and wash the weed forks we used.
Oren and the others will take care of the pruning scissors and stuff like that before they put them away.
'Oh, okay, Kent, go take a bath with us, we'll take care of the rest.
Okay, well, I'll leave you to it.
The bathrooms in Oren's house are made wider than the bathrooms in a normal house, just in case she has to work with a large group of people.
The changing room is large, and it feels more like a small public bath, or perhaps an inn's bathroom.
I take my bag of clothes and go to the changing room to take off my sweaty and dusty clothes.
I could hear the sound of hot water chirping from the bathroom.
'Good job, Manon,'
When I entered the bathroom, hiding only my crotch with a towel, Manon had just gotten up from the tub.
''Eh........''
Heh...?
It felt like time stopped for a moment, and both Manon and I froze.
There was a small bulge in Manon's chest........
''Kyaah, Kyaah!
Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...
Oh, don't look at me, Kent's s*x! Pervert! Pervert!
Oh, I'm sorry... yeah!
I yelled out as I retreated to the changing room in a hurry after Manon sprayed me with hot water.
'Oops! I had no idea it was a girl! Whew!
'Kent, that would be too rude! Stupid!
As if to stop me, Manon hit me with a tub.
The day after I participated in the construction of the castle wall, I went out to the guild to look for work as usual.Even this morning, there was a huge crowd in front of the bulletin board where the requests were posted, and everyone seemed to be bloodthirsty and fighting for the jobs.I asked Otto if the day's pay is that different to be so desperate, and he told me that even if it is different, it's only a difference of 200 hectares at most.If the difference was that small... but for a grown man, it's a serious difference because it changes the amount of alcohol he can drink that night.Yeah, I'm fine with the 'good luck with the leftovers' method.'Oh, good morning, Kent.'I was standing by the wall waiting for the morning crowd to end when I was approached.I wondered who it was, but it was Manon, a handsome man with light blue, silky hair.'Ah ... oh, good morning, Manon.Teaching the Kokub style squishy swordsmanship? It's a little awkward before I've done it.'Ken, is Kent here looking for a job?''Yeah, but so is Manon?''Yeah, my last job was yesterday, so I thought I'd start looking for another job today.'Yeah, well...''Yeah, well...'Yeah, this is really awkward. I'm having trouble connecting with you."Oh, you know what, Kent?What is it?Do you want to go to work with me today?It's not a problem, but...'Yeah, so let's go to work together, yeah, let's do that, yeah, yeah.Huh....It looks like Manon is making a fist and making a small gut pose.I wonder if she enjoys doing the same job as me so much."Mr. Kent, isn't this a continuation of the incident from the other day?"Ah, I see, you're here to find out the secret of my growth, hmmmmm, I see...What's going on? Kent.It's not...nothing...I mean, the front of the bulletin board is so crowded every morning...I just thought...I know, I didn't have the courage to go in there either... oh.Hmm? What's wrong with you........I mean, that looks like Ridnell, wow, you're rubbing it in....Ridnell, who is supposed to be taller and bigger than me and Manon, doesn't seem to be able to even move when he's among adults.I wonder if they're able to properly check the contents of the request in that state.If you look closely, Marle and Tariq are also being rubbed in the state of being a potato washer, they're going to be tired before they even get to work, but is it okay?As I was anxiously watching the three of you, I suddenly turned to look at you because I was worried about the gaze from the side, and I saw Manon hurriedly look away.When I turned my head back to the bulletin board, I could still feel her eyes on me.And when you turn your head back to the board, Manon is still looking in an extraordinary direction.Pretending to look at the bulletin board, I still look at Manon... and our eyes meet perfectly.The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that it's not a good idea to have a good idea of what it is. Kent, what, what's wrong?No, Manon wondered what kind of work he'd like to do...Me? No, just the job Kent usually does today.'Really? Well, we'll have an opening in a little while, then we'll see.Yeah, yeah, well...Ridnell and the others finally seemed to have decided on a job at the end of the crowd and ran to the counter with the request paper.So, I guess we'll look for a job too.Most of the jobs left after the crowds are over are cheap daily jobs and apprentice jobs.Apprentice jobs, as the name implies, are apprenticeships in various jobs, where you can experience the work and be taught, but at a lower daily rate.Volzard's children get to experience a variety of jobs in these apprenticeships, and then they get a job that is right for them.I've looked for an apprenticeship as a healer once, but unfortunately, it's highly specialized, and the only person who can do it is someone who has been judged by the 'Crystal of the Magic Eye' to have the light attribute, he said.It's really annoying, that crystal ball.''Hey, Manon, have you ever tried this gardener's apprenticeship?''No, I don't, but does Kent want to be a gardener?No, that's not what I'm talking about, but the other day Klaus-san told me to try different jobs in order to find the talent that's lying dormant inside me... so I thought I'd give it a shot.'Oh, well do you want to try it then? The numbers are always up, so I think we'll be fine.Okay, then, let's get to work today!Me and Manon took a piece of paper to the counter with a request and asked for the gardener's house, and we decided to head there as soon as possible.'Manon is from Volzard, right?''Yes, I was born and raised in Volzard, and I haven't been to any other city yet.'Really? So, didn't Ridnell and the others know better before?Yeah, I knew his face and name, but I didn't know him that well because we live in different parts of the country.Volzard is a city that has spread out with the addition of walls, so the city is divided into several sections by the city walls.I heard there's no difference in status or anything like that depending on the area you live in, but it seems that people who live in the same district get along better with each other after all.Manon and Ridnell went to the same school as me, but during their breaks, the kids from the same area often gathered together.The gardener Oren's house was located in the second district, one wall away from the old town.In the city of Volzard, there are many trees planted on the streets, and his main job is to take care of them and the garden of the lord's house.''Oh, you want to be an apprentice, you came at just the right time, I was planning to prune Klaus-san's mansion today, I was thinking that the two of you and Rege would be insufficient to do it.''Kent, nice to meet you.Manon, please.Oh, well, I'm ready to go, so let's get on with it.Yes!Pushing a cart with scissors and ladders for pruning, we head to the lord's house.The lord's house is on the easternmost side of the old town, a stone's throw away from Oren-san's house.In front of the high iron fence gate, a garrison was guarding the gate, and we were asked to show our IDs to enter.When the guard saw me and Manon's guild card, the guard seemed to see that we were apprentices and asked us to do our best.We put the cart in the shade of the gate and started working immediately.'Alright then, Kent and Manon, you can start with the weeds.I am given a burlap sack and a fork to pull out the weeds with a two-pronged tip, and I begin to weed the cobblestones leading from the gate to the front door of the mansion.As a punishment for dozing off, I used to be good at weeding.My life guidance teacher had a sarcastic personality and made us start over even if we left a small weed, so we'll pick the weeds thoroughly.I'm going to uproot them, not leave them behind, and utilize a weed fork to buzz them off!"Master Kent, they can see you.'Yeah, it doesn't matter now, I don't have any trouble with people seeing me weed.'"Well........the penalty for falling asleep at the wheel made me do a lot of things......."Buh-ha-ha, that's what you call an injury.There's a big difference in speed and finish between me, who is a prodigy at weed control, and Manon, who watches me while I do it.I've conquered the back of the school building and the back of the gymnasium, and I'm not a master at weed-pulling techniques.Oh, Kent is very fast, the finish is........yeah, no problem, keep it up.Yes!"As for Manon, well I'm sorry, but you're going to have to pick these little guys off too, because they're going to grow quickly, so just review them.Yes, I'm sorry I'll have to start over.Oh, that's just the beginning. Don't get too deflated.Yes.....Is it permissible to pick back weeds, but only if they are handsome?Remembering those days of me, when I was being nebbled and sarcastic at the back of the school building, my eyes were burning.Yes, your hard work was not in vain, you know.While I was concentrating on weeding, a voice called out to me from above my head, "Oh, you're Kent."Oh, hey Kent, what's up with you being the gardener today?'Oh, Mr Klaus, good morning, yes, I'm trying to do a lot of work.Ha-ha-ha, well, good, I hope you get some experience while you're at it.Kent, you'll find that experience will serve you well.Okay, I'll do my best.Yes, Kent, that's my little girl, Beatrice.It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kent.Ha, ha, nice to meet you, Mr. Claus.Dressed in a simple but well-tailored young grass-colored dress, Beatrice has flaming red hair and victorious brown eyes.Yes, she's so cute that it's hard to believe she has the blood of a choosy old man in her veins.''Beatrice is still a student, so she'll be one year younger than Kent... what do you think, isn't she cute?'Yes, yes ... very ...'Klaus-san nodded in satisfaction, then put his mouth to my ear and muttered in a low voice.''If you touch me, I'll kill you........''Hi, hi!I'm an idiot!Even in the other world, it's normal to have parent idiots.'Hey Dad! You don't mean to sound weird, do you?I wouldn't say anything weird... hey, Kent.Hi.....If Beatrice doesn't see me and gives me a glare, I can't help but nod with all my might.It's already a nod as good as the Aizu specialty, Akabeko.''There's something fishy about it........''Even though Beatrice, who has her arms folded, is staring at me with zit eyes, Klaus-san is also staring at me, so I can only deny it by shaking my head with a pull and shake my head.By the way, even though he's younger than me, he's so dignified.......I'm overwhelmed by his aristocratic aura.Hey, but I'll do my best.Oh, my response to Beatrice's smile, which even makes me feel relaxed, is shameful, isn't it?It's not like I'm thinking of touching her or anything, so please don't mutter "I'll kill you" out loud, Klaus-san. I'll kill you........" without saying it aloud, Klaus-san.Klaus-san had an errand to the guild and Beatrice went off to school, father and daughter together.It's okay, I'm just a commoner with a full-blown little person's feeling.While Manon and I have been weeding, Oren and his team have been pruning the garden trees.Once the weeding is done, it's time to collect the branches and leaves that were cut off from the pruning and put them away.Manon is still glancing in my direction, but he keeps moving as fast as he can.Squatting down or working from a mid-height posture is really hard on my legs and feet, but I think it's also good for training them.Moving incessantly is a great way to strengthen your stamina, and fatigue and muscle aches and pains are no longer a problem if you take a lunch break and let them heal themselves.After the lunch break, I repeated weeding and cleaning up the pruning debris until the evening.'Ooh, time to put that away, Kent, put the bags of pruning waste on the cart.Yes, I understand.Both the weeds that are picked and the pruning debris are buried in Oren's garden and used as fertilizer later on.It's important in a farthest reaches of the city like Volzard to reuse everything that can be used.Come to think of it, did I hear that the leavings of the leave-leaves are used as fertilizer in the leave-leave plantation as well?''No, thanks to Kent's hard work, if possible, can we ask for another day tomorrow?'Yes, fine, I'll see you tomorrow.Oh, really? Oh, well, that's very helpful. What about Manon?I'll do my best.We'll treat you to dinner after work so you can sweat it out and change.Yes, I understand.Once I got the cart back to Oren-san's house, I went to report to the guild instead of Manon, who looked exhausted, and then I went back to the boarding house.After dinner, I trained for sword and magic in the Demon Forest as usual, and after the date changed, I returned to the boarding house and battled back to the lodge........................and then another new morning arrived.Well, I'm impressed with how well my body can hold up.After finishing breakfast, I headed to the meeting place with Manon.When Manon appeared, he looked so dull and tired from yesterday that he didn't seem to have recovered.'Good morning ... Kent.Good morning! Manon, did you do a proper stretch yesterday?'Oh I forgot...''I can't help it I'll give you a little stretching and massage.Thank you I'm sorry, Kent.Okay, that's enough.I pretended to help her stretch and cast a little healing spell on her, and Manon's complexion improved a lot.'Oh my gosh, Kent, I feel like I'm pretty much out of muscle pain and fatigue, I think I can do my best today with this.''Yeah, let's have a good day!Today, we are working at Mr. Claus's mansion again.Today, we worked behind the mansion from morning, so we didn't get to see Klaus-san and Beatrice.Eh? Too bad we won't get to see your developing nice body, right?That's........of course I'm thinking that with all my might."Mr. Kent, it looks like we're not going to be observing you today.'Yeah, I don't think Manon can afford it either.I'm sure...Yesterday, Manon was observing my movements, but today, he seems to be concentrating on his own work.So, compared to yesterday, his work efficiency seems to have improved dramatically.However, the amount of exercise has increased and he looks tired.After the work is done, maybe I'll give you some stretches with a healing spell.I brought a change of clothes with me today, so I crawled as hard as I could and worked on weeding and cleaning up the pruning debris.It was all worth it and we were able to finish all the work by the evening.If Oren and his team worked alone, the selection of the house would take three or four, sometimes five days.Both Mr. Oren and his son Faldo are happy to hear that the work was completed in two days.When they get home and put away their tools, they take a bath and have dinner!Yes, thank you for your help.Manon is tired, but he feels fulfilled with the job well done.'I'll take care of cleaning up the tools for you.'Manon, I'll do the tidying up for you, you can take a bath first.'Yeah, that's bad, Kent works a lot more than I do...''Fine, fine, Manon worked hard today, and I still have some extra power, so I'll be fine.Well I'll leave you to it.When I say clean up, it's just to unload the burlap bags of pruning waste from the cart and wash the weed forks we used.Oren and the others will take care of the pruning scissors and stuff like that before they put them away.'Oh, okay, Kent, go take a bath with us, we'll take care of the rest.Okay, well, I'll leave you to it.The bathrooms in Oren's house are made wider than the bathrooms in a normal house, just in case she has to work with a large group of people.The changing room is large, and it feels more like a small public bath, or perhaps an inn's bathroom.I take my bag of clothes and go to the changing room to take off my sweaty and dusty clothes.I could hear the sound of hot water chirping from the bathroom.'Good job, Manon,'When I entered the bathroom, hiding only my crotch with a towel, Manon had just gotten up from the tub.''Eh........''Heh...?It felt like time stopped for a moment, and both Manon and I froze.There was a small bulge in Manon's chest........''Kyaah, Kyaah!Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...Oh, don't look at me, Kent's s*x! Pervert! Pervert!Oh, I'm sorry... yeah!I yelled out as I retreated to the changing room in a hurry after Manon sprayed me with hot water.'Oops!I had no idea it was a girl!Whew!'Kent, that would be too rude!Stupid!As if to stop me, Manon hit me with a tub.
