Chapter 18

The day after participating in the wall construction, I went to the guild as usual to look for a job.

This morning, the board with job requests was as crowded as ever, and everyone seemed to be desperately trying to snatch up jobs.

I wondered if the daily pay was that different, so I asked Otto, and he said that even if it was different, it was only by about 200 hert at most.

If the difference was only that much... I thought, but for adult men, it apparently made a big difference in how much alcohol they could drink that night.

Yeah, I guess the "leftovers bring good luck" approach works for me.

"Hey, good morning, Kent."

While waiting by the wall for the morning rush to end, someone called out to me.

It was Manon, the handsome guy with light blue, silky hair.

"Ah... good morning, Manon."

Feeling a bit awkward after teaching him the Kokubu-style squishy sword technique.

"Is Kent here to look for a job?"

"Yeah, but what about you?"

"Yeah, my previous job ended yesterday, so I thought I'd look for a new one today."

"Is that so..."

"Yeah, that's right..."

Yeah, it's super awkward, the conversation isn't flowing at all.

"Um, Kent..."

"What is it?"

"Do you want to go on a job together today?"

"That's fine, but..."

"Okay, let's go on a job together, yeah, let's do that, yeah, yeah."

"Ha..."

Manon seems to be making a small fist and doing a tiny victory pose.

Is working with someone like me that enjoyable for him?

"Kent, is this a continuation of the other day's incident?"

"Yeah, I see, you're here to investigate the secret of my growth, huh, hmm, I see..."

"Is something wrong, Kent?"

"No, nothing... just thinking how crowded the board is every morning..."

"Yeah, I don't have the courage to join that crowd... oh!"

"What? What's wrong... oh, that looks like Rindel, wow, he's getting jostled around..."

Even Rindel, who is taller and bigger than Manon and me, can't move in the crowd of adults.

I wonder if he can even check the contents of the requests properly.

Looking closely, I see that Maal and Tariq are also being jostled around like potatoes. They must be exhausted before they even start work, but are they okay?

While I was worried about the three of them, I suddenly felt a gaze from the side and turned to see Manon quickly looking away.

When I turned back to the board, I still felt a gaze.

When I turned to look, Manon was looking in a completely different direction.

Pretending to look at the board, I glanced at Manon again, and our eyes met.

"What... what is it? Kent, is something wrong?"

Yeah, even if he's acting suspicious, a handsome guy is still a handsome guy... I turn into a weird kid when I get nervous, it's so unfair...

"I was just thinking, what kind of job would Manon like?"

"Me? No, it's fine to do the usual job you do today."

"Is that so? Well, it should clear up soon, so let's look then."

"Yeah, that's right..."

Rindel and the others finally decided on a job and ran to the counter with the request papers.

Shall we look for a job too?

After the crowd clears, most of the remaining jobs are low-paying or apprentice jobs.

Apprentice jobs, as the name suggests, are for learning various jobs. You can experience and learn different jobs, but the pay is lower.

Children in Volzard experience various apprentice jobs to find jobs that suit them.

I once looked for a healer apprentice job, but unfortunately, it requires a high level of expertise. Only those who are judged to have the light attribute by the "Mystic Crystal" can do it.

It's really frustrating, that crystal ball.

"Hey, Manon, have you ever done this gardener apprentice job?"

"No, I haven't, but are you interested in becoming a gardener, Kent?"

"No, not really, but the other day, Claus told me to try different jobs to find hidden talents within myself, so I thought I'd give various jobs a try."

"Is that so... then, shall we try it? The number of people needed is flexible, so I think it's fine."

"Okay, let's do this job today!"

Manon and I took the request paper to the counter, got the address of the gardener, and headed there immediately.

"Manon, you're from Volzard, right?"

"Yeah, I was born and raised in Volzard and haven't been to other cities yet."

"Really? Then, you must have known Rindel and the others for a long time, right?"

"Yeah, I knew their faces and names, but we lived in different areas, so I didn't know them that well."

Volzard is a city that has expanded with the addition of walls, and the city is divided into several sections by the walls.

There's no difference in status based on where you live, but people who live in the same area tend to be closer.

Manon and Rindel went to the same school, but during breaks, they often gathered with children from the same area.

The home of Mr. Oren, the gardener, was in the second district, just outside the old city walls.

Volzard has many street trees, and the main job is to manage them and maintain the lord's mansion garden.

"Ah, you're here to be apprentices, perfect timing. I was planning to prune the hedges at Claus's mansion today, and I was thinking two of us wouldn't be enough."

"I'm Kent, nice to meet you."

"I'm Manon, please take care of me."

"Ah, everything's ready, let's get started right away."

"Yes!"

We pushed a cart loaded with pruning shears and ladders towards the lord's mansion.

The lord's mansion is on the eastern side of the old city, just a stone's throw from Mr. Oren's house.

There were guards at the gate, and we had to show our identification to enter.

The guard, after seeing our guild cards and realizing we were apprentices, encouraged us to do our best.

We left the cart in the shade of the gate and started work immediately.

"Alright, Kent and Manon, let's start with weeding."

We were given burlap bags and a two-pronged fork for pulling weeds and started weeding the stone path from the gate to the mansion entrance.

Actually, I'm good at weeding because I was often punished by being made to do it.

The life guidance teacher was a slimy, nasty person who made me redo it if I left even a small weed, so I pull them out thoroughly.

Roots and all, no leftovers, using the weed fork, I go bchi bchi!

"Kent, you're pretty fast, the result is... yeah, no problem, keep it up."

"Yes!"

"Manon, on the other hand... ah, sorry, but you need to pull out even the small ones, or they'll grow back quickly, please check again."

"Yes, I'm sorry... I'll redo it."

"Ah, it's okay for the first time, don't be too nervous."

"Yes..."

Is it okay to leave some weeds if you're handsome?

Thinking about the past when I was scolded with a slimy tone in the schoolyard, my eyes welled up.

Yeah, your efforts were not in vain.

While I was weeding with all my heart, I heard a voice from above.

"Hey, isn't that Kent? What, you're a gardener today?"

"Ah, Claus, good morning, yes, I'm trying different jobs."

"Hahaha, that's good, good. Experience different jobs while you can. Experience is always useful, Kent."

"Yes, I'll do my best."

"By the way, Kent, this is my youngest daughter, Beatrice."

"Nice to meet you, Kent."

"H-Hi, I've been helped a lot by Claus."

Beatrice, dressed in a simple but well-made light green dress, has fiery red hair and brown, spirited eyes.

Yeah, she's unexpectedly cute for the daughter of a slightly naughty dad.

"Beatrice is still a student, so she's a year younger than you... isn't she cute?"

"Y-Yes... very..."

Claus nodded in satisfaction and whispered in my ear in a low voice.

"Don't lay a hand on her, or I'll kill you..."

"Ah, aye!"

Parental love—! Even in another world, overprotective parents exist.

"Hey, Dad! Don't say weird things!"

"I'm not saying weird things... right, Kent?"

"Y-Yes..."

Being glared at by Beatrice without her noticing, I can only nod vigorously.

It's like the nodding of a red cow, a specialty of Aizu.

"What's so suspicious..."

Being glared at by Beatrice with her arms crossed, I can only shake my head side to side to deny it, as I'm also being glared at by Claus.

Still, she has a presence despite being younger... I'm overwhelmed by her noble aura.

"Hmm... well, good luck with your work."

"Y-Yes, I'll do my best."

Ah, compared to Beatrice's confident smile, my response is so wimpy.

No, no, I'm not thinking of laying a hand on her, so please stop whispering "I'll kill you, I'll kill you..." in my ear, Claus.

Claus had business at the guild, and Beatrice went to school, and they left together.

Phew... I'm so tired... why is Manon also glaring at me?

It's fine, I'm just a wimpy commoner anyway.

While Manon and I were weeding, Mr. Oren and the others were pruning the trees.

After finishing weeding, we collected and cleaned up the branches and leaves that were cut off.

Manon was still observing me from time to time, but I continued working hard without paying attention.

Squatting and bending over are really hard on the legs, but I think it's good for training.

Continuously moving helps build stamina, and I can use self-healing during lunch to deal with fatigue and muscle pain.

We repeated weeding and cleaning up the pruned branches until evening, with a lunch break in between.

"Alright, let's wrap it up, Kent, load the bags of pruned branches onto the cart."

"Got it."

The weeds and pruned branches we collected will be buried in Mr. Oren's garden and used as fertilizer later.

Reusing everything is important in a city like Volzard at the edge of the world.

I remember Leible's farm also used the residue from Leible's juice as fertilizer.

"Thanks to Kent's hard work, I was really helped. If possible, can I ask you to work one more day tomorrow?"

"Sure, I can, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Ah, really, that's great, how about you, Manon?"

"I-I'll... do my best."

"Alright, then, both of you, see you tomorrow... oh, right, bring a change of clothes tomorrow. After work, I'll treat you to dinner, so you can change after a good sweat."

"Got it."

After returning the cart to Mr. Oren's house, I reported to the guild on Manon's behalf, as he was exhausted, and then went back to my boarding house.

After dinner, I did my usual training in the magic forest with my sword and magic, returned to the boarding house after the date changed, and went to bed... and then, a new morning arrived.

Wow, I'm impressed that my body can handle it.

After breakfast, I headed to the meeting place with Manon.

Manon looked very tired, and it seemed the fatigue from yesterday hadn't fully gone away.

"Good morning... Kent."

"Good morning! Manon, did you do your stretches yesterday?"

"Ah... I forgot..."

"Can't help it... I'll help you with some stretches and a massage."

"Thank you... I'm sorry, Kent."

"It's okay... this much is fine."

While helping with the stretches, I cast a little healing magic, and Manon's complexion improved significantly.

"Wow, Kent, the muscle pain and fatigue are much better, I think I can do my best today."

"Great, let's do our best today!"

Today's work is also at Claus's mansion.

We worked in the back of the mansion this morning, so we didn't see Claus or Beatrice.

What? You're disappointed you can't see her developing body?

N-No, I'm definitely thinking that with all my heart.

"Kent, it seems they won't be observing us today."

"Yeah, Manon probably doesn't have the time for that today."

"Probably..."

Yesterday, Manon was observing my movements, but today he seems to be focused on his own work.

Compared to yesterday, his work efficiency seems to have improved significantly.

However, the increased workload also seems to be taking a toll on him.

Maybe I should give him a healing magic-infused stretch after work.

Since we brought a change of clothes today, we worked hard on weeding and cleaning up the pruned branches.

Thanks to our efforts, we finished all the work by evening.

Pruning the mansion's garden usually takes three to four days, sometimes even five, for Mr. Oren and his son alone.

Finishing it in two days made Mr. Oren and his son very happy.

"Alright, let's go back, put away the tools, take a bath, and have dinner!"

"Yes, good work today."

Manon seems tired but satisfied with the progress of the work.

I'll help with putting away the tools.

"Manon, I'll put away the tools, so you can go take a bath first."

"Ah, no, that's not right, Kent worked more than me..."

"It's okay, really. You did your best today, and I still have some energy left, so it's fine."

"Um... okay, I'll go first then."

Putting away the tools means just unloading the bags of pruned branches from the cart and washing the weed forks we used.

Mr. Oren and the others will take care of the pruning shears after cleaning them.

"Alright, it's all good, Kent, go take a bath, we'll take care of the rest."

"Got it, I'll go first then."

Mr. Oren's house has a larger bath to accommodate large groups working together.

The changing room is also spacious, like a small public bath or an inn's bath.

I went to the changing room with my bag of clean clothes and took off my sweat-soaked clothes.

I could hear the sound of water from the bath.

"Good work, Manon."

I entered the bath with a towel covering my lower body, and Manon was just getting out of the tub.

"Ah..."

"Huh...?"

Time seemed to stop, and Manon and I froze.

Manon's chest had a slight bulge...

"Kyaaahhh!"

"Ah, s-sorry... w-what, w-what!?"

"No, don't look, Kent, you pervert! Creep! Freak!"

"Ah, sorry... w-what!?"

Manon splashed water on me, and I hastily retreated to the changing room, shouting.

"No way! I didn't realize you were a girl! Gyaah!"

"Kent, that's so rude! Idiot!"

She hit me with a bucket to stop me.

Eeeeh... I always thought he was a handsome guy, I never imagined he was a girl.