The Solo Worker
With Elaina's directions and decision, Jacob has begun his job. Jacob refuses the payment of the coop just yet until the coop is done. In short, Elaina can keep the money for now until the end of the project. She can even spend it whenever she likes. But because this is an important job, Elaina didn't do that and she doesn't want to come short in funds once the coop is completed.
Anyways, when Jacob started his work, he was starting so fast that he started to create the skeletal structure minutes after they arrived at the farm. Even Elaina was surprised at how precise Jacob was at his movements. She wasn't expecting this kind of speed to someone who works alone, and just barely started.
Also, it seems Jacob utilizes a storage ring to store items and pull them out if needed. He just started erecting little pillars as well and creating the floor already.
"Sis, are you sure this guy is someone we should trust? I don't know about the prices, but it seems to be on the expensive side and the way he works fast, doesn't that warrant a shoddy work?" Julia is skeptical.
"Although he is working fast, it doesn't seem like he is doing shoddy work. It is just that he is so skilled at his work that he doesn't need to think twice about what to do," Elaina observed the speed of his work and for her, this is something that even she would not be capable of doing.
Normally, creating something like the chicken coop could take a week or more if there is only one worker. If it was a simple chicken coop that could house one chicken, then it would be finished in just one day, but the coop Jacob currently building is something that can house multiple chickens with plenty of space inside for humans to enter as well. It will be significantly shorter if multiple people are working on it and the 4-day limit would be possible.
Jacob continued his work and he didn't say anything at all, just focusing on his work as he continued to do what he could do.
"Well, we should also do what we should do, Julia. Staying here and observing him work won't get our jobs done. We should go."
Julia nodded and followed Elaina to continue with the work. As for Jacob, he continues his job without even taking a glance at anyone else. He just focused all his attention on the job.
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Evening came and Jacob finally stopped working. Elaina and Julia are already preparing to cook some food for the night after hunting in the forest.
"Looks like you are done for today?" Elaina asked.
"Yes. See you tomorrow."
Before Elaina could even invite Jacob for dinner, he left without saying a word and disappeared.
"He is very weird for some reason..." Julia shook her head.
"Well, as long as he does his job, then it doesn't matter if he is weird or not. He does what he does best and he is doing great."
Elaina stood up and approached the skeletal structure of the chicken coop and just by it alone, it was enough for Elaina to be impressed.
"You can't say that I am not impressed. After all, it is taking shape in just a few hours already. He started in the afternoon and he already made quite a lot of progress. No wonder Marigold suggested him as the carpenter to hire in case I wanted to repair the house or erect a new building. With how efficient he is, his fees are even quite low compared to most people who do the same business," Elaina has experience regarding those people and she knows how those people work so she has an eye on all the workers who she hires. If she starts praising someone, it is a verdict enough for other people to know that they have done something great.
Although Julia seems to be still doubting the abilities of Jacob, Elaina is very confident about the upcoming result. She cannot wait for the outcome.
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The next day, Elaina felt another morning sickness kicking in. Thankfully, it didn't take too long before it stopped and Elaina managed to feel better with the help of Julia's soothing magic that soothed the pain and nausea from the morning sickness.
Like always, Elaina started to prepare for work when Julia immediately felt a presence.
"Sis, it seems Jacob has arrived and is now waiting at the gate."
"Huh? So early?" Elaina was surprised. It is barely morning and the sun have just risen and yet Jacob has already been waiting to clock in for the work. For Elaina, this kind of early is something she have not seen in many carpenters she hired before. They either arrive around breakfast rolls around for most people or when it is almost lunchtime. But this early? Something she didn't expect to see.
After she prepared her clothes and the items she needed for the work, she immediately headed to the front gate and like Julia have said, Jacob is patiently waiting while sitting on a wooden chair that Elaina suspects to have come from his storage ring.
"Jacob? How come you are so early?"
"Good morning. I am just here early so that I can finish my work a lot faster. Don't worry about it. I just like to come early in the morning while I am working so that I don't have less time and I finish the project a lot more faster than it should."
"You don't need to rush, though?" Elaina tilted her head.
"Not in this business, miss. Compared to others who have a team to work with, I work alone and I am at a disadvantage in that which is why I will have to compensate for it with speed. Of course, if you people would not wake up much earlier then I don't really have much choice on that. So it doesn't matter if I am early or not if the owner who wanted me to make something woke up late or is busy and has no time to even let me inside, then it is not my fault that the project will be delayed," Jacob explained.
Although Jacob is young, he is pretty brash and straightforward. If Jacob has a beard, he would look like a gruff man but that only exist on Elaina's imagination.
"Well, since you are already here, come in. You have your breakfast? We will have ours right now," Elaina invited Jacob for breakfast, but the young man shook his head and head straight to the project.
"Thanks but I already ate. Don't worry about it."
As such, Elaina now understood why Jacob seemed weird to the eyes of Julia. Because of how straightforward he is and simplistic in his approach, he tends to act very simple and yet complicated at the same time. Despite that, Elaina can say it with confidence. This guy values his work more than other people do.
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"Hey, are you sure about it?" the god who was currently helping Elaina and the one who is currently updating the Almanac is currently talking to another god. They are discussing something regarding Elaina.
"Yes. Sooner or later, she will need the technology to further develop the farm. And besides, shouldn't you be happy that I am lending a hand on this matter? Monsters are something that are considered by many as dangerous but with my help, this will instead benefit the farmer as a result. Who would have thought using monster products would be a better alternative to the local and normal animals?
"I am glad you are helping but I just couldn't help it. After all, she has to tame them. And as you are the god of taming, I can't help but feel that your methods are quite...dangerous. Especially to pregnant women. And not only that, you do know that many people don't use the goods that come from the monsters aside from the materials you can get from killing them right? Would they be willing to eat something aside from their meat like the eggs and milk they produce?" the god has reservations about it.
"Don't worry too much. She is strong, right? Then that alone is enough for her to pass this. And using the almanac and the ledger, you can say she can just make it an optional thing for her. And isn't she going to become the pioneer of this world in terms of revolutionizing food and farming, yes? Then this alone will help with that goal in the long run, so don't worry too much. Once she purchases the power I offered to her, I will be officially added to the gods supervising her soon."
Although a bit reluctant, the god sighed and added the item that the god of taming added to the ledger marker. Now, it is only a matter of time before Elaina notices this new item.