Free Web NovelChapter 10: A Gardener’s Nightmare
Loraine pushed the grand doors of the mansion open, the fresh beams of light hitting her eyes like a searing scorch as she covered them with the sleeve of her arm, grunting under the intensity.
After a few seconds of being momentarily blinded, Loraine got to see the world outside of the mansion for the first time. Well, not technically the first time as she saw it while inside her room, but she was actually outside for the first time ever since she arrived in this world, the sight still utterly mesmerizing to her.
"Okay then, to the garden." Loraine muttered to herself, her voice carrying more enthusiasm than she thought she could hold, especially after her recent events. She trotted down the step and walked through the grand opening of the mansion grounds, her eyes scanning the environment and jotting it all down to memory.
’Damn this mansion is huge.’ She thought in surprise, glancing at the grand structure that reeked of noble wealth and power, but even more of danger as she kept her guard up.
She finally entered the grand garden, a small smile unconsciously breaking on her lips as she walked past the flowers and plants, the greenery shining with a life of its own, the air almost ethereal.
’Tend to two areas of the garden...’ She thought back to the quest details, her eyes scanning over the garden grounds to find anything she could possibly tend to. The crops and plant life looked well kept already, so she wasn’t sure what exactly she was meant to do here.
’Perhaps I should try watering them?’
She cocked her head back over her shoulder, her eyes landing on a watering can that she could use to water the plants. She quicky moved towards it and picked it up, turning back to the plants as she tilted the cans and proceeded to water them, walking around the garden and doing the same for the surrounding area.
"The system didn’t update," She muttered to herself, glancing at the system panel beside her head as she saw that watering the plants didn’t really do anything. She would have to try a different strategy.
’Perhaps the problem is something else, maybe the soil has gone bad?’ She thought, raising a brow to herself as she crouched down, placing the watering can beside her as she glanced closer at the plants, past their leaves and stem, her eyes widening in fright at what she saw.
"What the hell!?" Loraine exclaimed in surprise, finding what looked like bugs to be roaming on the soil, the sight disgusting her. The bugs weren’t ordinary though, unlike regular bugs and critters that primarily consisted of caterpillars, lady bugs, and the occasional cricket, these bugs looked far more hideous and monstrous, with some having what looked like to be sharp claws protruding out of their forms.
’Do I have to get rid of em? They look like they could bite my fingers off.’ Loraine thought, a bit worried as she glanced at her hand, shuddering at the idea.
She knew that she couldn’t handle this job with just her hands, as not only would that be nasty, but she could risk getting attacked by these little monsters, and she wasn’t going to take that risk.
Retreating back into the mansion, Loraine headed to the storage room and retreated a pair of leather gloves and a bag, and made her way back to the garden, preparing herself to take care of these plant eating creatures.
"I wish this world had something akin to bug spray, as that would’ve made this more easier. But alas, I’ll have to work with what I can for now." ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
Loraine steadily prepared herself, lowering her hand down into the soil and past a few leaves and roots, having to stretch her arm a bit for maximum reach potential as her hands finally came in contact with the wriggling bugs and ferocious creatures.
A sharp jolt of disgust shot up her arm, making her recoil at the sensation that she felt through her leather gloves, as every instinct in her body wanted to pull her arm away as quickly as possible.
"Eurgh!" Loraine grimaced at the sensation, grabbing a handful of the creatures as she tried her best not to puke, throwing the creatures in a bag and sealing it shut tight for the moment, her hands shaking at the aftermath of her work.
’Oh god...this...is gonna take a while to get used to.’
Loraine spent the next several minutes going around and weeding out the bugs that were eating the plants and harming the soil, reaching down to the earth and grabbing them before placing them in her bag.
After a little while, the system finally updated her mission status, showcasing a (1/2) completion as Loraine felt a sense of accomplishment washing over her.
"Nice, it finally updated. I’m glad I could figure it out so quickly, I didn’t think being a gardener could be this tough and physically demanding." She muttered to herself, a small smile on her face.
’That, or I’m just really weak right now.’ frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
"Oh? You’re awake?" A voice came from behind her, as Loraine glanced back to see another maid had woken up and finally stepped outside, a look of caution appearing on Loraine’s face for a moment, before she quickly masked it behind a smile and nodded.
"Yeah I woke up a little while ago, my head still hurts a little but I can still work." Loraine replied, turning her focus and attention back to the task at hand.
The maid gave her a long glance, the feeling a searing heat that burned into her back as she knew that the maid was glaring at her, but she pretended not to notice.
"That’s.....good." The maid said, though her tone became a lot colder. "Just stay out of our way okay?" She said, the words sounding more like a threat as she turned around and left to go attend to her own responsibilities.
"Sigh..." Loraine sighed, getting up from the ground as she head completed what she had to do in the garden, though she her mood instantly turned sour as If she wasn’t having an already bad day.
"I need to hurry."
