"Did you finish the job?"
As soon as Baron Lettuce arrived, I ran to call my friends. Thank goodness I had managed to clean everything up in time.
"Yes. I did everything by myself."
By herself, huh?
"Incredible. You deserve a reward."
What? But I was the one who. . .
"All the bodies were buried successfully."
"Bodies?"
"Yes, mm-hmm!"
I shoved an apple into Lyra's mouth.
"She said all the bottles were washed. . ."
"Chomp!"
Ow! She bit my fingers. That hurts.
"Hahaha! You people are hilarious."
The Baron placed his cane on the counter, pulled over a chair, sat down, and lit a cigar.
Should I ask him about what happened? Maybe he can tell me what that thing at the window was.
"Ah, what happened to this Donkey? Why is he just standing there?"
"Boink!"
The Baron poked Donkey's belly.
"He's stalled. Look."
I waved a hand in front of Donkey's face and slapped his rear.
No sign of life.
"Why?"
"I know why Donkey has stalled. This happened to me once."
The same thing happened to him?
Hmm!
"Dorian, do you know what it is?"
"Of course I do, Seraphine."
Dorian climbed onto Donkey with Mortar dangling from his arms.
"Every man goes through this at least once in his life. It's inevitable."
Every man?
What is he talking about?
"Ahh, my friend Donkey is suffering from sexual withdrawal. In other words, he needs a woman."
How did people in medieval times deal with lunatics?
"Haha! I understand."
Hey, what are you doing?
"Hahaha!"
They greeted each other with several hugs and handshakes.
"As soon as you receive your payment, take Donkey to the brothel. . ."
"Crash!"
A glass shattered.
The magic word had been spoken.
"Aghhh!"
Donkey's body began to tremble. His eyelids fluttered rapidly.
His breathing accelerated.
"Hey, Kaela, we need to exorcise Donkey."
"What do you mean, exorcise him? Are you insane?"
I'm going to back away just in case.
"HEE-HAW! HEE-HAW!"
"Cover your ears!"
He began spinning in circles around the shop.
Meanwhile, Dorian remained perfectly calm, clinging to Donkey.
That bray sounded different from the one Donkey made whenever he was angry.
"Ahhhhh!"
He stopped, stuck out his tongue, and walked toward the door.
"I'm ready!"
His tail was spinning like a helicopter rotor.
"Ready for what?"
"Ready to go to the brothel."
". . ."
I thought Donkey was dying.
"Dream on! None of you will see a single coin of that money! Hahaha!"
"We worked hard."
"You worked?"
Silence.
All it took was saying the one word that attracted men to bring Donkey back to life.
And now they wanted the money.
"Hey, Donkey, why did you stall?"
He closed his eyes and moved his mouth as though he were thinking.
"I don't remember."
He doesn't remember?
Didn't he see that horrible thing at the window?
"Enough fooling around. There's still one more job."
The Baron walked toward the door, and we followed him. . .
"Good afternoon, young adventurers. I see the Baron found some excellent idiots. I mean, excellent employees."
"Good afternoon!"
"Who is this?"
"This is my muleteer, a special merchant. He brought the new merchandise."
The merchant had brought many crates.
"Unload the merchandise. That's why I hired you."
Hmm!
"Boss, did you always unload everything by yourself?"
The Baron must be around seventy years old. His dedication to keeping this shop open twenty-four hours a day is incredible.
Man, that's extreme.
I picked up a crate.
It's extremely heavy.
"The other employees disappeared."
"Huh?"
"Start working."
"Yes!"
Everyone agreed except one person.
"Wait. Did you say they disappeared?"
Don't ignore me.
Why does everyone do that?
"You heard the boss, you bunch of troublemakers. Get to work. . ."
My lower back can't handle all of this.
"What? Aren't we going to the brothel? The girls are waiting for their nobleman to arrive!"
"They'll be frightened by your ugliness, Donkey."
What is inside these crates?
Rocks?
They're absurdly heavy.
"Kaela, what will Seraphine and I be doing?"
"You two. . ."
"Girls, make us some coffee. There's a cake near the crates of carrots."
"Yes! I'll make coffee so powerful it could kill the Demon King."
"Hey! Don't put poison in it."
They didn't even listen to me before running into the shop.
"Where should we put the crates, boss?"
"Kaela, what are you doing? You're a girl. You don't need to carry anything heavy."
"What?"
"Let your companions carry the crates. Go help your friends."
Have my prayers finally been answered?
I won't have to carry anything heavy.
"Bye!"
"We aren't carrying anything for Kaela."
How lucky.
I won't have to do any heavy lifting.
"Hey, girls! Wait for me."
Being a woman really does have its advantages.
"Why?"
The moment the Baron asked the animals that question, my blood ran cold.
I watched Donkey's mouth move in slow motion.
"Kaela. . ."
No!
You son of a bitch.
"She's not. . ."
I ran, but. . .
"Whoa!"
I slipped.
"Kaela is not a woman."
"Which animal left a banana peel by the shop door?"