“Larry?!”
“No, I can’t accept this! This is wrong” Roxanne thought to herself.
The lanky man smiled as he saw her. He had a certain twinkle in his eyes, an expression which had both a high of pain and happiness. It confused Roxanne when she saw him look at her this way.
“S-Sir… Are you fine? You look really tired” She quickly said, rushing to his side.
He gave off a weary look as he laughed while she approached him.
“I’m fine… Thank you very much for your concern, ”he said.
Watching such a man say that to her made her heart ache. He seemed so fragile that a single jab from her was enough to take him out, maybe for good. Yet, he engaged in such labour so early in the morning… In the cold.
“But this isn’t right! Why are you doing this sir? I don’t understand…” She protested weakly.
“It’s fine, little one. I don’t do it because I’m forced to. It’s my duty to my people, my role to the pack. I’ll carry it out no matter what it takes.
She couldn’t understand properly. He was doing this of his own free will? This punishment? Wasn’t this duty too much for a single person to bear?
“What about the others? Don’t tell me you’re the only one who does this!” Roxanne asked with her eyes blazing with concern.
“This is my work. We all have our respective duties. It’s fine… I am grateful for your concern, but there’s really no need for you to worry so much. I’m used to this…”
Roxanne’s heart ached, so much that she didn’t know what to say. From the man’s looks, he appeared to be at least 39-40 years old, but he even appeared older thanks to the look of exhaustion he had.
“Well then, if you’ll excuse me… I have to continue this. I have to complete this before the others wake, after all.” He said with a smile.
He turned his face back to his work, as though he was a machine and lifted his axe after placing the wood in it’s correct position.
Roxanne watched him continue his work for some moments, diligently bringing the bus axe down as he chopped the wood. He did so with such precision that Roxanne believed it when he said he was used to this.
“Just how many years has he been…”
She couldn’t complete her thoughts, but she also couldn’t bear to watch. From the man’s smile, she could tell that he took pride in his work, but she could also sense a tinge of sadness and loneliness from his expression.
“The last time… I helped him, and I could tell that he was clearly happy. But why do I have the feeling that he wouldn’t appreciate it if I tried to help him here.” Roxanne muttered.
There was only a single axe, and he was using it. From his tight grip, she could tell he wasn’t willing to part with it.
“Is there nothing I can do?” She thought within herself.
No! There was something she could do! Her thoughts lit up as she had a fantastic idea pop into it. She smiled with determination and decided to go along with it.
“Hang on sir! I’ll be right back!” She said to him and quickly ran off, leaving him in the background.
He didn’t react immediately to her words as he continued his work without any form of hesitation. However, a little smile formed on his face. He didn’t realise it himself, but something about her words had caused him to react… He was happy.
[A Few Moments Later]
“I’m back!”
As the man heard her voice, he turned back in surprise. When she said she would come back, Even though he was happy, he decided to push away the hope of seeing her again. After all, she was not obligated to help him. She could just run along and get tangled up in her other affairs.
“I’m not worthy of her help… I’m just an Omega…” He had thought to himself.
However… She returned.
His eyes bulged as he noticed the object on her right hand. The object dangled as she gripped it tightly, similar to the way he did his.
“You… Came… Back..?!” He muttered with surprise.
“I said I would, didn’t I?” She smiled, walking forward to him with the tool she went to get.
“I noticed you only had one axe, so only you could work. I know you would never allow me to take the axe and do the work alone, that’s why… I went to get another!” She said with a smile.
The axe she brought was held in her hand, with her singing it slightly in a firm playful manner. It was smaller than the man’s but it would still do the job.
“You…” He muttered with disbelief. He never expected her to be so thoughtful. She really cared about him so much?
“B-But why go so far? I’m just a lowly Omega. There’s no need to go so far…” He mumbled
“Sir, come on! If we dawdle, we won’t be able to complete this pile in time!” She smiled, moving to pick another large piece of wood and placed it on the pedestal.
“So… Why don’t we get started?” She said with an excited grin.
Realising he could not dissuade her, and trying would only waste time even further, he decided to give up on the thought. Instead, he became concerned about how she would get the work done with him.
“D-Do you know how to use that?” He asked, pointing to her axe with a look of curiosity mixed with concern.
“Oh… Ah, I’ve never used anything like this before. Hahaha” She said with a nervous laugh.
He looked at her unbelievably. Such an inexperienced person wanted to do such a thing. The more he thought about it, the more he didn’t understand. Why would she go as far as to help him?
“But I’ve watched you do it. I already know the basics. Besides… it’s just chopping wood, right? How hard could it be?” She said smugly.
After trying for several times, and after minutes had passed, Roxanne found herself panting in surprise and frustration. It turned out to be harder than she thought. She had initially thought she would raise her hands, grip the axe tightly, bring it down, and bam! The wood would split into two! However, she corrected her initial logic after countless trials and errors!
“This is harder than I thought..” She muttered.
While she had even greater strength than the man who was doing his work effectively, she had no technique and precision, making him easily beat her in every way. She had barely any chopped wood in her pile, while his just continued to increase. And she realised why.
Her strength was not controlled enough to generate efficient precision in chopping the wood. If she used too much strength, she would miss her target. If she used too little, the impact wouldn’t cause the wood to split. This would also cause the Axe to get stuck in the wood, giving her a hard time removing it.
“Huff… Huff…” She heaved.
For someone who had a frightful amount of stamina, even she was starting to get exhausted from the work. She was shocked that such a man was able to keep this up for so long. He said he had been doing it for a long time and was used to it, so that had to be the reason, but Roxanne still found it unbelievable.
She had a newfound respect for the man… Even more than most of the opponents she had faced in a match. If they were to fight, she was confident she could win… As long as he didn’t bring out any weird werewolf power. Yet, this work he had… The way he was so diligent and dominated the field… She couldn’t help but look at him with wonder.
“This is the last one!” He said to her with a smile.
“Hahaha…” She laughed awkwardly.
Even though she told him her help would shorten the time he would use to take care of all the wood, she did the exact opposite. He spent even more time teaching her how to use the axe, making him neglect his own work. He had to cater for her and watch her to make sure she didn’t hurt herself. All of this wasted his time, and she felt guilty about it. It turned out that her help wasn’t really needed and she ended up being a burden instead.
However, the man didn’t seem angry with her or disappointed. He appeared to be happier than how she met him. That much made her feel happy and confident while still trying her best to help him, though he was mostly helping her.
“This should do it…” He said with a smile.
Before she could finish her thoughts, he was finished with the wood.
“Ahhhh….” He heaved loudly, dropping his axe on the stump.
He stretched his body and Roxanne could hear cracks in his bones. He must have been very stiff in some joints after mechanically performing the same task for over an hour. Such monotonous labour, every day, for years… This man was amazing.
“Thank you for your help today, young lady…” He said, bowing his head slightly.
“Ah, come on sir. You shouldn’t be doing that to someone like me. Besides, I should be apologising. I ended up slowing you down even more. I’m sorry!”
She felt guilty indeed, but she was also feeling a sense of achievement within her… She didn’t understand the reason why though.
“Oh, no. There’s no need to apologise. Even though we did take an unexpected amount of time…”
“I knew it… I was a nuisance after all” She said to herself as heard him.
“…. I have to admit, it’s been a while I was able to enjoy chopping wood this well. This is the best wood chopping experience I have had in years. And it’s all thanks to you.” He said.
“O-Oh… Is that so?” Roxanne said, blushing as she heard this.
Such a compliment on her, she couldn’t help but feel prouder of herself. It seems he enjoyed her company, and that was enough for her.
“Then, what now? How are you going to take care of all this pile of wood?” Roxanne asked, eager to help him again.
She knew she was terrible at chopping wood, but if it was just carrying some load, she was confident in her ability.
“Oh, about that… I usually have someone help me with it. He should be here any moment. I’m surprised he has taken this long.” The man said.
Suddenly, Roxanne heard footsteps approach where they were. The sounds got closer, until a person appeared.
“Sorry I’m late dad, I had an errand to run for The Beta, Lord…” The voice stopped midway when the owner saw Roxanne with the man.
Roxanne’s eyes also widened in surprise as she saw who it was that called the man she helped dad. The son of the wood chopper… It was another familiar face to her.
“Larry?!” Roxanne said with surprise.