Chapter 84

“What about the peels?”

The skins that usually come out of peeling onions are tied tightly together by Uncle Grick and put outside when it’s time to leave work. But today, I couldn’t see the peels that I had been tired of looking at. It must not have been thrown away early in the morning, but there are no peels piled up.

Oh, it’s not that there aren’t any at all, and if I look down on the floor, I can find them very often, but they used to be piled up. It means there’s no peel at all.

“Today is the start of the banquet, so we will have to bring the peeled onions to the kitchen.”

Onions that had been stored in sacks and cooled to prevent spoilage were filled in huge buckets. Of course, the buckets were not just one, but so many that it hurts the eyes.

“… You’re lying aren’t you?”

“That’s why I needed three men. Well, now that you’re assigned, let’s work hard together with me!”

I limped and looked up at the bucket of onions.

“Ugh!”

My arms rose about 10 centimeters, then twitched in a seizure, and then fell back to the floor.

“I’m going to die.”

I looked up at Uncle Grick with eyes full of despair, but he didn’t look surprised either. Yes, he didn’t know my strength would be this trash. However, unlike me, Uncle was not frustrated, but rather shouted out a lot of cheers.

“Let’s get through this poor situation together!”

“I think it would be better to ask for more support.”

“There is no support unless chief attendant Guernia has ordered it. The only way is to work happily!”

How can I have no luck like this? I’m dying because of muscle pain, but I still have to constantly move heavy buckets of onions. It won’t happen, but I wanted to grab someone’s collar and scream, ‘Give me some pain relief patches at least!’

So, it was unreasonable to carry the buckets that Uncle Grick had piled up, but I eventually found a smaller bucket and moved the onions with it. But every single thing was heavy. If there is a difference, it is whether I can carry it or not.

My whole body felt like it was going to collapse. It would have been nice if someone saw me like this and then took pity on me and helped move one or two. But I guess I wasn’t the only one who was busy, so everyone doesn’t seem to care.

I was constantly moving onions, and when it was lunch time, I simply had a meal in the warehouse and moved it again. It was only today that I realized how hard the life of a laborer was.

“Erina, you can do it! It won’t be long.”

“I have to peel the onion again after moving this.”

Uncle Grick seemed to have a knack for passing me with two of those heavy onion buckets. As I went on, I lost strength and my legs started to tremble.

To wipe off the sweat for a while, I put down the onion bucket and opened the window, but the sun had set and a lonely moon without a cloud lit the way.

“It’s already night.”

The music of the orchestra, which I had been hearing for a while, blended in with the old-fashioned mansion. Slowly, I hear the noise of people walking in.

By the time the banquet is ripe and everyone has a certain amount of alcohol, the boundaries will loosen, so we plan to take a sneak peek inside the mansion. To find Chenin.

“Erina, follow me quickly!”

“Yes, I’m coming.”

First, let’s move all these onions.

* * *

“Change into this.”

When I checked that there were no onion buckets left in the warehouse, I felt a catharsis in my body, and I was trying to take a breather for a while. But one of the attendants suddenly entered the warehouse.

“What is this?”

“I’m telling you to wear it because you can’t show that sloppy appearance in front of the noble people.”

Uncle Grick, who had suddenly changed into a neat tuxedo, answered instead. Perhaps the servant wasn’t on the quiet side, so after he forcibly shoved the clothes and shoes into my arms, he left.

“If you’re going to give it to me, give it to me earlier.”

“Everyone must have been sweating profusely. If you want to look neat, it is better to wear it at a time close to the banquet.”

And if the attendants were all dressed in the same way, no matter what they did, they wouldn’t be very conspicuous, and it would be difficult to characterize them.

I went into a corner, took off my sweaty clothes, and changed into new ones. A white blouse, buttoned down to the neck, and a black A-shaped skirt came down to the knees. Perhaps it was the design that was well thought of, the wide sleeves had frills to prevent it looking dull.

“… it is, but do we have to wear those clothes and peel onions again?”

The size wasn’t right, so Uncle Grick’s chubby stomach was pitifully pressed.

“Can I loosen it up a little bit when it’s just the two of us?”

“Of course.”

Fortunately, the inside of the warehouse was quiet because there usually was a lot of onions. Uncle Grick was humming, caressing the onion, peeling away every layer like a lover.

“Can I go to the hall for a while?”

“It doesn’t matter if you go because you don’t have work right now, but I think it would be better to stay here rather than getting to the eyes of the nobles for nothing.”

“I will go quietly. Let me just take a quick look.”

Uncle Grick didn’t want me to go, but he thought for a moment and then nodded his head.

“When are you going to see a party like this again? Okay, go.”

“Yes, I will be back soon.”

I tied my messy hair up and walked into the hall where the banquet started.