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[A Job 2]
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| The next day, at 7:00 AM... |
...
Dan arrived early the next morning, dark circles under his eyes.
Bell-mère stared at him speechless, a cigar lit at her mouth. "What's with you, kid? Didn't sleep well?"
Dan groaned, scratching his side while blinking slowly, as if trying to catch a few seconds of shut-eye in the process.
"I, uh... underestimated the prices for inns. They were cheaper at my home island, so what I had on me wasn't enough."
"What? Where did you sleep then?" She looked at him baffled.
"I had to stay in my boat's food compartment for the night, since it's closed off and shields the cold air pretty nicely—though it was a bit cramped and quite a few mosquitoes snuck in during the night, so I couldn't sleep well. They didn't appear at sea, so I forgot that wouldn't be the case once I was on land."
"... Seriously?" Her mouth twitched.
This kid... was he really fine living alone like this?
"Well, don't mind it. I can still work." Dan reassured her, patting his very flat bicep.
"... If you say so, kid." She shook her head, then folded her arms. "First things first then—we're entering harvesting time, so I'll be inspecting which tangerines are ripe for the picking right now and which aren't. You go bring the baskets and crates from our storage. Got it? We'll need them for sorting everything out, and to go sell what we can tomorrow... if there's enough product, that is."
Dan nodded, and without much more pep talk from Bell-mère, made his way to the house while she watched him go with a funny look.
Before long, he stepped inside, and the first thing that came into view was a sleepy-looking Nojiko drinking what appeared to be a warm cup of milk.
The moment he entered, she shot him a frown.
"It's you again... what are you doing inside our house?"
Dan didn't slow down. "Bell-mère asked me to fetch the baskets and crates... where's your storage?"
The layout of the house wasn't big, but he'd prefer to avoid walking into a room that wasn't it.
Nojiko's face scrunched even more. "Why would Bell-mère ask you that?"
Dan looked at her speechlessly. "... I got hired yesterday? I'm going to help around the farm from now on."
"Eh?! Hired?"
"Didn't you hear our conversation? You were right there." Dan pointed at the other side of the table, just a few meters away. That's where they had been.
"I just saw you come in all of a sudden, and then start arm wrestling Bell-mère out of nowhere." She muttered, then glanced at him with a dissatisfied look. "Besides, why did she hire you? We already help her at the farm!"
Suddenly, a door opened, and an even sleepier-looking Nami walked into the living room, yawning.
"Why are you so noisy in the morning, Nojiko...?"
The two went quiet as Nami's gaze slowly shifted to Dan.
"Ah, why are you here?" She pointed at him, baffled.
'Neither paid any attention at all...?' Dan's gaze turned flat.
"I forgot—kid, the storage is right next to the kitchen!" Bell-mère's voice suddenly came from outside.
Dan's gaze shifted from the two girls to the door exactly where it was described.
"Well, that's that."
And thus, not entertaining them any longer, he made his way inside under their intense glares.
Before long, he came out carrying several crates on his shoulders.
Ignoring the continued glares, he went back outside.
"Leave them there."
Bell-mère immediately pointed at the side of the house—a small empty spot where plants were barely growing compared to just a meter beside it.
The crates' spot, most likely.
Once he had set everything down neatly, he went back to the storage and took out the baskets.
He carried them over to Bell-mère, who gave him a small smile.
"Pretty quick, kid. Alright, since you're done there, come help me check which tangerines are ready for picking. You know how to tell them apart?"
"Nope." Dan answered without beating around the bush.
She snorted. "Expected as much. Come, I'll teach you."
Dan nodded, following calmly as they approached the first row of tangerines.
Normally, he'd be worried about making mistakes or not learning fast enough.
Luckily...
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Current Infamy Tier: Starter
▸[Current Bounty: 0 / 500K]
▸[NP: 56]
Equipped Passive Hacks [1/1]
▸ SpeedyGains
Equipped Active Hacks [0/1]
▸ Tireless
Equipped Script
▸ None
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His SpeedyGains hack was on standby, ready to let him learn at lightning speed.
He might be terrible at this at first, but soon he'd be the fastest tangerine picker in all the archipelago.
Maybe in all the world.
'Heh. I guess I'll become the tangerine king.'
...
°
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| Several hours later, by the afternoon... |
...
'Well, this sucks.' Dan thought, sitting down on the porch and running a wet rag over his face.
He now had a newfound respect for the redhead with the awful hairstyle. Doing this kind of thing every single day, while taking care of two little kids, and barely scraping by.
She sure was mentally resilient.
It wasn't just the physical labor. He could handle that well enough.
The problem was the sun, the mosquitoes that were present even here, the hours spent inspecting every single tree while counting the tangerines that could be picked with a focus that all of the above kept eroding, and the thirst.
Aside from his back—which ached a bit from all the leaning down to inspect trees, and the subsequent picking and hauling back and forth to the crates—he wasn't all that tired physically, but his brain was thoroughly done for the day.
Luckily, it seemed Bell-mère wasn't much different.
"That should be all for today, kid." She said, puffing her cigarette. "You did pretty good for a first day."
She was seated on the small chair at the table on the other side of the porch, looking at him with a grin.
"Well, if we don't count the few unripe tangerines you put in the basket that I had to take back out."
Dan's mouth twitched.
"Sorry."
"Don't worry, kid. It was to be expected. Besides, you only slipped up at the start—you picked up the pace pretty quickly after that."
Dan nodded with a wry look. Still, he wasn't completely satisfied.
"Is there anywhere I can check for more details about this kind of thing?"
"You mean a book?" She raised an eyebrow. Then she glanced back at the house, jabbing a thumb in that direction. "Yeah, I've got the one I used when I was starting up this whole farm. The paper's a bit worn, but it should be legible. I think it was called Principles of Horticulture—should be in one of the drawers, under Nami's navigation books."
"I see." Dan nodded. "Mind if I borrow it?"
"Nah, I already learned what I needed from it. Now it's just gathering dust. Take it if you want."
"Then, excuse me." Nodding, Dan turned and walked into the house.
As he disappeared behind the door, Bell-mère watched after him with an odd look. "He sure is diligent for his age. I didn't hear him complain a single time all day, and now he's even up to reading that boring book."
She turned back to her cigarette, taking a long drag.
"I can only hope I'll be able to pay him."
Meanwhile, on Dan's side, the moment he stepped inside, he was met with the same hostile gazes he'd been feeling all day.
He honestly had enough.
"What now?" He asked, his brow creasing slightly as he stared back at the two girls boring holes through him from the couch.
"..."
"..."
They didn't say anything.
A migraine began popping up on Dan's head.
He could just ignore them. But considering he was going to be here for who knew how long, having the two constantly looking at him like he was their worst enemy on top of an already exhausting job wasn't something he was willing to put up with.
"If you have a problem, say so already. I can't read minds!"
"We were the ones helping Bell-mère at the farm!" Nojiko complained. "And now you're taking our place!"
"And you're even taking money, you—opportunist!" Nami was next.
He huffed, eyeing them with a flat look.
"So that's what it is. You're just jealous."
""We're not!"" Both shouted at the same time.
"Uh-huh." Dan answered, not believing them even a little.
'Well, since it's just jealousy, I don't need to bother. It's her mom's job to deal with that.'
Scoffing, he decided to put them out of his mind and made his way toward the only drawer in the living room.
He was opening it, lifting the navigation books on top to look for what he was after, when—
"Hey, what are you doing?! Those are mine!"
Nami hurried over, lunging and trying to drag him away.
"Hngh...!"
"..."
Of course, Dan didn't have much trouble ignoring her feeble attempts. Her strength was far too low to make him budge if he put his mind to it. So he just let it go, even smiling slightly.
—At least until she started pulling at his mouth and hair.
"Argh, stop it!" He shook her off.
"You can't take those books, they're mine!" Forced back a few steps, Nami glared at him.
"I don't care about your books!" Dan shot back.
"Then why do you have one in your hand right now?!"
Dan's gaze slid to his hand, going a little flat.
Huffing, he placed it back on top of the drawer.
"I already know how to navigate," he said smugly. "I'm looking for Bell-mère's book."
"...!" Nami's face froze, as if she'd been struck by lightning.
Meanwhile, he glanced back into the drawer, quickly spotting his objective beneath another book.
Pushing it aside, he grabbed what he'd come for and pulled it out, holding it up for the two girls to see.
Then he placed the other books back inside neatly, before fixing them both with one last look.
"She let me borrow it," he added.
And then he walked away, not minding them any longer.
The two didn't follow, simply staring at his departing back with mean looks.
Nojiko didn't look pleased.
Nami either.
However, beneath the suspicion in her gaze, there was a hint of curiosity in her gaze.
None of the other kids had shown even the slightest interest in navigation. They all said it was boring.
But now, in front of her, was one who apparently actually knew how to do it.
She wanted to ask more—since it was a topic she was completely obsessed with—but he closed the door behind him and disappeared before she had the chance.
So she swallowed her questions and turned to Nojiko instead.
"You think he really knows how to navigate?"
"Him? He's our age, no way."
"Hmm." Nami nodded. He was probably lying.
But if he wasn't?
Meanwhile, on the other side of the wall, Dan let out a sigh as he fixed his hair.
'I'm the one with grown up memories. I'm supposed to be more mature… hold it together.'
The hair pull had hurt him quite a lot. He almost threw her out of the window in reflex.
But he supposed he could be the bigger person this time.
While he calmed himself down, Bell-mère gave him a funny look.
"I heard some shouting inside—those girls gave you trouble, kid?"
Dan stared at her with a deadpan, his eyes clearly asking why she hadn't come help him.
Ultimately, however, he decided not to ask that and let it go.
"A bit, but it's fine now. Anyway, I'm leaving."
"Wait."
Dan turned, looking confused.
"You never told me your name, kid." Bell-mère said, tapping her cigarette on an ashtray.
"I didn't?" Dan scratched his cheek, a bit thrown off.
But thinking back on it, he indeed hadn't. After their armwrestle match, they'd talked about schedule, pay, and tasks—that was all. She hadn't pried much into his personal life, and that included his name.
So he'd forgotten to introduce himself.
"I'm Dan." He said plainly. He didn't have a surname, so that was it.
"I see." Bell-mère said, seeming to turn it over for a second before looking at him with something close to pity. "By the way, do you have somewhere to sleep tonight, kid?"
'Back to calling me kid already.'
Dan's mouth twitched at the dismissal of his name, but in the end, he let it go.
"I'll... figure something out. Worst case I go back to my boat. It shouldn't be hard to sleep if no mosquitos sneak in this time."
She laughed through her nose.
"If you truly have nowhere else to sleep, you can come crash on our couch. It isn't the most comfortable thing, but at least there won't be mosquitoes."
Dan turned it over with visible reluctance, not quite liking the idea of staying here—since it was the house of three people whose tragic future he'd prefer to keep some distance from until he had to deal with the main problem.
The no-mosquitoes part was pretty tempting, though.
"I'll... give it some thought." In the end, he answered vaguely. "I have some business to attend to right now, so excuse me."
After a quick nod, he began walking away.
He caught a quiet "What business would a kid have?" trailing behind him as he put distance between them.
Before long, he left the farm completely.
But instead of heading toward the village, he made his way toward the nearby coast.
Minutes later, he stepped onto the beach, his soles crunching against the sand.
He glanced around for a second, then caught sight of what he was looking for.
His boat, tied to a tree.
He had moved it from the spot where he'd landed yesterday to here—much closer to the farm.
He'd left his sword and pistol inside it.
Sure, someone could steal them if they came across them.
But honestly, he was kind of hoping for that.
That'd give him a reason to stir up trouble.
Not that he needed one.
'Nighttime is coming,'
He thought, glaring at the darkening sky.
That could only mean one thing.
-Clack-
His sword clattered against its oversized scabbard as he strapped on the belt.
Next, he put on a cape. One he'd bought yesterday—and also the reason he'd ended up sleeping on the boat.
He had thought he had enough money left for the inn, so he bought it without accounting for the prices being different from Shimotsuki Village.
Which, as you know, ended with him sleeping badly on his boat instead.
But never mind that. He had a cape now. A short, light one—bought mostly because he was tired of getting the full brunt of the sea wind through a cheap tank top.
The sea was pretty cold, after all.
"Alright, let's do this." He adjusted it, smiled, and shoved his hand into his pocket.
Out came a pair of sunglasses. He flicked them open and—
"It's criminal time."
—put them on, turning toward the village.
...
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-To Be Continued...-
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(A/N: In recent news, university keeps banging hard. Fork found in a kitchen.)