The sudden dissolution of the Empire’s strongest party. I’ve decided to travel freely through life with my cute companion.
When the two of us arrived at the designated location, we saw other workers who had also accepted the job.
It seemed like a large-scale operation. Several groups were chatting idly before the work began, likely acquaintances.
A few of them glanced our way but quickly lost interest.
Nearby, bricks were stacked high like a mountain, along with numerous burlap sacks.
The site supervisor, surrounded by his subordinates, clapped his hands loudly, drawing everyone’s attention—including mine.
“Thanks for gathering here, everyone. Some of you may already have experience, but I’ll explain once again. Today’s job involves construction on this castle wall. You’ll be transporting and laying bricks. It’s labor-intensive, but I’m counting on you.”
One of his subordinates stepped forward next.
“Alright, before we start, let me just say—your clothes are going to get dirty. For those who want it, we’re lending aprons. They’re reused, so bear with us.”
The man gestured towards a basket that indeed contained a pile of aprons, messily stacked.
I couldn’t afford to dirty my clothes, so I decided to borrow one.
Digging through the basket, I picked out a relatively decent one since most were stained with mortar. Dusting it off sent a cloud of white powder into the air, almost making me cough.
“It’s better than nothing, but this is in rough shape.”
“Yeah, no kidding,” Mastema replied.
After putting on the apron, I listened to the rest of the instructions.
“The scaffolding is already set up. Please transport the bricks to the designated spots. Those who are skilled with their hands can help with laying the bricks.”
That concluded the explanation. For now, I observed my surroundings.
Some workers, seemingly experienced, loaded bricks onto carts and transported them to the designated areas under the subordinate’s guidance.
Since the carts were limited, and carrying bricks by hand wouldn’t be efficient, I decided to leave that task to them and instead handle lifting the bricks onto the scaffolding.
“Hey, you!”
The site supervisor called out to me.
“What’s up?”
“You’ve got quite the build. Lend a hand with this.”
He led me to where the burlap sacks were piled.
“Bringing a kid to a job site is a first for me. Well, one little helper won’t hurt.”
“She’s not my kid. So, what do you need?”
“Mix this with water. Fill this container halfway. That’ll make mortar.”
He knocked on a container taller than Mastema.
Apparently, I was supposed to mix the contents of the sacks with water inside this container.
“I’ll bring a few more people to help. Let me know when you’re done. The water comes out of this tap.”
“No need. We can handle it ourselves.”
“Hey now, that girl can’t handle heavy labor. I’ll find her something else to—”
“You sure about that?”
I pointed at Mastema, who had already grabbed a burlap sack with one hand and was pouring its contents into the container.
The sack contained gray powder, which kicked up dust as it spilled out.
“Wait! Don’t pour it in yet. Water goes first.”
“Oh, right.”
“…That sack’s heavy enough to require two people to lift.”
“So, just mix it thoroughly after adding water?”
Once the water was added, I used a long stick to mix the powder and water.
The mixture quickly transformed into a thick, mud-like substance.
The more I mixed, the more resistance I felt, but it was manageable.
“When the powder is completely dissolved, it’s done. Normally, this is a two-person job. Who are you two, anyway?”
“Does it matter?”
I deflected the question. Honestly, I was nobody special here.
The supervisor thought for a moment, then shrugged.
“Getting the job done is what matters. I’ll leave it to you.”
“Leave it to us.”
As he walked off, Mastema and I silently continued working.
“Do humans like playing with clay?”
“Not really. That castle wall is the result of stacking these bricks, one by one.”
“Interesting.”
She sounded impressed, though I doubted she truly understood.
Humans might be weaker than many creatures, but we’ve developed countless ways to make up for it.
These bricks are useless individually, but with mortar, they become a sturdy wall for protection.
Mastema joined in mixing, and together, we stirred the container endlessly. I kept a steady pace, but Mastema seemed unaffected by the resistance, stirring so vigorously that the mixture almost spilled over. I had to rein her in to avoid a disaster.
When we finished, I informed the supervisor, who looked astonished.
“What a rude guy,” I muttered.
Workers came to scoop the finished mortar into buckets and carry it off.
“You’re already done…?”
“So, what’s next?”
“Are you any good with your hands?”
“Decent enough.”
“Alright, start laying bricks like this.”
He demonstrated how to apply mortar to the bottom and side of a brick before placing it, ensuring a snug fit with the neighboring brick.
I climbed the scaffolding, secured a safety harness around my waist, and began laying bricks on the upper section of the wall.
Bricks and mortar were hoisted up via a pulley system. Mastema, being too strong, was relegated to handing me bricks to prevent her from accidentally damaging the wall.
I applied mortar to the bricks she handed me and placed them carefully.
“Here’s another one.”
“Got it.”
We quickly found a rhythm.
I didn’t mind repetitive tasks like this since they were prime for optimization.
The simpler the process, the more significant the impact of small improvements.
With an indefatigable demon as my partner, we maintained a consistent pace—provided I didn’t tire out first.
After some time, the supervisor called up from below.
“Lunch break! Take a rest!”
I raised a hand in acknowledgment. So it was that time already.
We descended the scaffolding and washed our hands.
Lunch was included, though it was just bread and a drink. The dry bread held a sausage and was nothing special, but it was better than nothing. No complaints here.
“Thanks to you two, we’ve made great progress. Keep it up this afternoon.”
“You don’t need to tell me—I plan to.”
I’d never cut corners on a job, no matter what it was.
