Kays Translations

Volume 3: Old man, becomes a legend

Chapter 18: Old Man Gets Recognized for His Earnestness

Several weeks had passed since I started living in the town of Grinova.

Even after that, I received requests from time to time and completed them, building up my achievements.

The requests that came during this time were really small and insignificant. Honestly, the job I was first requested by Rikka was the biggest.

(I didn't plan to stay here for this long, but surprisingly, I find this place quite comfortable.)

With such thoughts in mind, I was enjoying my rare day off.

To build up my achievements, I tried to take on as many requests as possible, even if they were slightly cheaper.

That's when it happened.

"Tatsuya-san."

Hina called out to me.

I moved only my face to look at Hina.

"What's up?"

"We have a request coming in."

She handed me a letter.

Rustle.

I took the letter and skimmed through it.

"A gardener? Do I look that old to them, the requester?"

It seemed like a request to trim overgrown branches in the garden had come in.

It's my bias, but I always picture old men doing gardening work.

They're asking me to do that kind of job.

This is a request sent directly to me.

So, they know my background and age, and they're requesting this job.

(But I don't think I'm that old yet.)

While thinking this, I glanced through the request, and my eyes stopped at a certain point.

【Reward: 50,000 gels】

"Hina, what do you want for dinner tonight?"

"I'm fine with anything as long as I can eat with you, Tatsuya-san."

"Ah, then I feel like having some meat."

With that, I started getting ready.

"Are you coming too, Hina?"

"Of course!"

"Alright, let's go."

◇

When I arrived at the location mentioned in the request, it was a mansion!

"Wow, it's huge!"

A splendid house surrounded by a magnificent fence with a grand gate.

(It's just like a mansion from an anime or manga.)

With such thoughts, I rang the intercom.

Soon, a butler walked over from the house.

We faced each other across the gate.

"You must be Tatsuya-sama?"

"Yes."

Click.

The door opened, and I was invited inside.

Upon entering the gate, I was guided by the butler to a warehouse in the garden.

Inside the warehouse...

"Please take those shears over there. You'll be doing the garden maintenance with them."

"Yes."

I picked up the shears hanging on the wall.

They were those huge shears you'd expect a professional gardener to have.

(These are massive.)

Afterwards, guided by the butler, I returned to the garden.

There, the butler taught me how to take care of the garden.

Trimming the length of the tree branches and tidying up the vegetable garden.

"Could you please take care of the garden now?"

"Yes."

I nodded.

Piece of cake.

Compared to the job Rikka asked me to do, it's just holding shears and snipping away.

"I'll help too!"

Hina said so and borrowed a pair of shears.

Hina and I decided to take care of the garden together.

By the way, Nyago was on the ground, using its claws to tidy up the length of the grass.

It's a hard worker too.

Maybe it's taking after its owner.

Snip, snip.

That's the only sound marking the start of an ordinary day.

By the way, all the recent requests have been like this.

Nothing worth mentioning, just mundane jobs.

I also took on a job to search for a lost cat.

All of them had low rewards.

So, this job is still better just because the reward is higher.

Snip, snip.

How many hours have I been at this?

I don't know, but the butler called out to me.

"Tatsuya-san? Would you like to take a break soon?"

"I'm fine, thanks. If I take a break, it'll take me longer to get back into it."

Honestly, it's not a tough job, and I don't need a break.

I want to continue and finish quickly so I can go home.

It's boring because it's always the same.

"Please don't overdo it."

"Yes."

I replied as I continued snipping away.

And then, before I knew it, it was night.

"Wow. Is it this late already? I was so focused I lost track of time."

I glanced at the garden.

It seemed like I had only finished about two-thirds of it.

(Did I do it too meticulously?)

I personally think it's unacceptable when a job doesn't finish because of being too meticulous.

(That's something to reflect on.)

As I was thinking that, the butler approached.

"D-Did you finish this much already?"

He looked surprised.

"By 'this much', there's still one-third left, you know?"

I looked at the garden.

There were still parts unfinished.

"Oh, no. We didn't expect you to do everything. We were hoping you'd do about one-fifth at most."

The butler smiled warmly.

"You're really thorough and fast. You're just as reputed."

"You're flattering me too much. Haha."

It seems my work wasn't particularly slow after all.

I felt relieved.

Then, the butler handed me the reward.

"Thank you very much. Well then, shall we head back soon?"

I was about to return to the inn with Hina, but...

"Wait, Tatsuya-san."

The butler called out to me.

"Is there something else? Oh, did I make a mistake in the job? I'm sorry. This kind of work is new to me."

The butler shook his head.

It seems it's something else.

"Tatsuya-san, your sincerity deserves recognition."

"My sincerity?"

"Yes. I have judged you to be a trustworthy person."

The butler looked around the garden.

"You've worked diligently without taking a break until this late at night, without slacking off. It's not something everyone can do, and that should be recognized. You're a remarkable person."

The butler then pointed towards the house.

"I would like to ask you for an additional special request. Would you please listen to what it is?"

Upon hearing those words, I agreed to listen.

"I see. So, this gardener job was like a test, in a way."

"Yes. I was assessing whether you are a trustworthy person."

It seems like this is where the real deal starts.

But still, why would they need such a test?

I wonder what kind of request it is.

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