Helping with Adventurer Party Management - Chapter 256

“Come on, hurry up, Toma. You’re going to be late!”

“Okay, Mama!”

This year, eight-year-old Toma rubs his sleepy eyes and hurries to follow his mother out the door, trying not to be late. His mother goes out to help his father in the workshop from time to time, but recently it seems they really need more hands, as she leaves every day while it is still dark.

Since he can’t have breakfast at home, he starts accompanying her to the workshop, where warm meals are served. There, one of the craftsmen notices Toma’s cleverness and dexterity and begins giving him small tasks, like fetching breakfast or delivering messages to the craftsmen’s houses to tell them that they will be late. In return, the craftsmen give him salty nuts, and sometimes even sweet dried fruit.

Like most boys his age, Toma is always hungry, so he happily helps with the work.

The tasks in the workshop finish long before noon, leaving him plenty of time to play with his neighborhood friends. Plus, since his father moves from a small shoe workshop to the current one, their meals improve greatly.

However, Toma feels a bit lonely since he doesn’t get to go to the workshop as often anymore. Working alongside his father and mother, receiving a little praise for his efforts while they smile at him, is not so bad.

So even if he is a bit sleepy, it is fine. He isn’t a little kid anymore.

With that in mind, Toma walks alongside his mother, taking long strides.

His father’s workplace is located deep in the leather district, which has a somewhat unpleasant smell.

Why is it located here? After all, Papa is a shoemaker, Toma wonders at first. However, when he realizes that he can always have a warm breakfast and get hot drinks in the leather district, he no longer minds the unpleasant odor.

“Hey there, Toma, still sleepy this morning?” When they arrive at the workshop, a familiar craftsman teases him.

“I’m fine! I’m already an apprentice now!” Toma replies proudly.

Since he has started working in the workshop, he is already a proper apprentice. His mother has said so, so it must be true.

He is working while his younger sister Marie and his brother Alan are still sleeping.

Many craftsmen have already started working. His father is also already at his workbench in the back of the workshop, holding a small hammer and awl as he begins his tasks.

“Toma, I’ll be working now, so you need to make sure to help everyone, okay?”

“I’ll do my best! I’m already a fine apprentice!”

His mother is a bit of a worrywart, as his father has said.

That is why an aunt comes to their house to look after little Marie and Alan, who are still young.

“That’s right, Toma. Well, can you go and get me some breakfast from next door?”

The craftsmen start working before dawn without having breakfast, so Toma’s arrival is the signal for their meal.

“Got it! I’ll go!” With that, Toma dashes off to the nearby workshop to collect breakfast before the sun rises.

That day, he successfully completes his tasks and is bursting with satisfaction as he turns to head home. Just then, a beautiful red-haired woman emerges from the back of the workshop and calls out to him.

She is the wife of one of the craftsmen, and Toma thinks she is maybe just a bit prettier than his mother.

The woman crouches down to meet his eye level and says, “Since you’re such a fine apprentice, we have to make sure you get paid properly.”

She gently presses some money into his hand.

This is what Mama gives me on festival days!

Excited yet a bit bewildered, Toma looks up at the woman’s face, and she smiles, gently ruffling his hair.

“It’s fine. You’re working hard every day. I’ve told your papa and mama about it.”

Toma beams and says, “Thank you! Ma’am!”

He thanks her and runs as fast as he can from the workshop towards the house.

He thinks he hears someone calling him, but he feels certain that if Mama catches him, she will take the money away.

Maybe he should buy some sweets for Marie and Alan. Or maybe he should buy the toy he wants.

He clutches the coins in his small hands and runs as hard as he can to the house, out of breath and with a smile on his face.

From now on, he will have the luxury of thinking about what to buy, which will be his first luxury.