“Alster. Was that you?” a concerned maid asked from downstairs.

Shit. I laughed too loudly.

“Oh! Yes. I was just having so much fun cleaning I couldn’t help it.”

“Well, I suppose cleaning can be a fulfilling task.”

The noise downstairs returned to normal.

Idiots.

The sound carried so well throughout the house, I could practically hear what everyone was doing. The missus was still reading a book to the little girl. Two of the maids were chatting downstairs while preparing tonight’s dinner. And the last maid was in a room adjacent to mine on the second floor, moaning. I assumed she’d had pent-up sexual frustration and was glad for the day off.

Well, that was none of my business.

I quickly placed the spellcards inside my pants against my privates. These awful pants had no pockets, and plus I’d figured this way it would be impossible to lose them.

The chief was going to come back and search, so first I made sure the hollow floorboard was shut tightly. I spent the next half hour really making the room spotless. Dust in the smallest of corners was wiped clean, and the knickknacks were practically glowing. Except for the rusty ones and precious memento. That, I left alone.

Once I cleaned the washroom, I moved on to the other rooms. Luckily, the maids had done it the day before, so just a quick wipe-down was all that was needed.

There.

Sparkling.

I’m glad they had vinegar. That and some soap and water would be enough to take care off the job. As an extra, I dumped the bucket of piss and crap they had in the washroom and cleaned it, too. I needed all the brownie points I could get at the moment, as the chief might ask if something was stolen, and I needed the missus to vouch for me.

Actually, no. He can’t say anything was missing. Because if he does, then Trent will know he didn’t throw away the spellcards.

I got you right where I want you.

Imagine that, though. The chief actually had two cards. He’s playing Trent like a fiddle. But this is my orchestra now.

I went back downstairs and let the maids know the whole upper floor was clean, except for the last maid’s room, who was doing something in private I couldn’t interfere with. Their faces blushed. It seemed they’d picked up on it. Yeah, figures. If I could hear it, so could they. The two maids, and even the girl and the missus, checked on my work, smiling from ear to ear once they got a glimpse of it.

“Thank you, Alster! You even got under the bed! I’m very grateful!”

“Of course, miss. I meant it when I said I’d leave it sparkling. I still need to do the downstairs, so I’ll get to it.”

* * *

I returned home with four satisfied customers. They waved and thanked me again as I descended the slippery slope past the chief’s porch. The maids insisted I stayed for dinner, but I again said I’d like to welcome Trent when I got back. The missus gave me a written note she’d made asking Trent to be lenient with my punishment, since I’d been such a good boy. It detailed all my recent accomplishments.

It was perfect.

I ended up going back to Arthur’s farm and explaining that I’d done a lot of housework for the chief.

He scratched his head. “Well, I guess it’s alright, then. But don’t think you can skimp out tomorrow with that excuse. Here.”

He shoved a pair of shears against my chest.

“Shears?”

He nodded. “Ernie’s sheep are getting too fluffy. We need some hands trimming them down and collecting wool. He’s got some premium floofers, that Ernie. Make sure you do a good job.”

Arthur left someone in charge while he walked me over to Ernie’s place. Ernie kept a bunch of sheep, alpacas, and a llama in a huge pen under a big wooden canopy, and one girl was already busy. There were also more sheep in separate pens, but this one must have been the processing station.

“Hey, Elsa. Get Ernie for me, will ya?”

“Yes, sir.”

She stood up and turned around.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Of course it was her. The one who’d called me a loser.

She shot me an indifferent look as she bowed to Arthur and fetched Ernie, a tall, skinny hick with practically zero muscle definition who came out with a bunch of processed yarn in his hand from his house.

“Arthur! Get a load of this. I just finished this one.”

He held up a ball of yarn proudly in front of Arthur’s face. “Looks good. Ernie, I got a new set of hands for ya.”

“Ah, Alster. No hard feelings for throwing the tomato in your face, eh? It was all in good fun.”

I held back my rage and nodded sheepishly.

As Arthur left, Ernie put his hands around me and showed me to one of the sheep, doing a demonstration of how to cut the wool. I had to make sure I didn’t cut into the animal’s skin, but other than that it was pretty easy.

“Holler if you need me. I’ll be inside making more of this.”

I started prodding around the sheep with the sheers, trying to find out how deep the wool was, when I noticed Elsa hovering to my right.

Her eyes were fierce. She shoved me.

“What, you want some of this?” I said, threatening to pull down my pants. “Ready when you are, princess.”

“Shut up. What exactly did you do to get sent here?”

I shot her a piercing look. “Don’t ask me. Arthur just told me to come here.”

“No way. This place is far away from that fatass’s farm. We got good shade. Ernie gives plenty of breaks. This is paradise compared to the fields.”

I grinned, half-amused. “Seems like it.”

“So answer me.”

I scratched my head. “Don’t know what to tell you. I guess it’s a reward for doing the chief a favor earlier today? Maybe.”

“Hmph.”

As she started walking away with a frustrated look on her face, I got curious. I stood up and put a hand on her shoulder. “Wait. And what did you do to get sent here?”

She froze. “A-arthur just likes me. That’s all.”

I could read her like a book. Only amateurs freeze up like that. She was hiding something shameful.

“Oh? A girl like you getting to come to paradise all by herself when about nineteen other workers are burning up in the sun? I think we both know what you did.”

She turned around slowly. I started laughing.

Her face was beet red. “S-so what? It worked out for me, didn’t it?”

I shrugged. “Personally I don’t really care. Be a whore all you want. In fact, I’d join you.”

Her face muscles tensed up in disgust. “Yeah, right. Like I’d ever do it with you.”

“I don’t know. You’re gonna wish you were a little nicer to me soon.”

That’s right. Soon, I’d have the power of spellcards and I’d rule this dingy place.

She gulped. “A-are you threatening me?”

My eyes shot up. She’s clearly worried about her reputation. I could take advantage of this.

I sighed. No. word of it might get out to Trent. Better try another angle.

I put my hands up. “No. You got it all wrong. I was just thinking that it’s a shame for you to get dirty for that fatass and not a stud like me.”

She cracked up. “A stud? You’re weak. Skinny. Get in trouble for dumb things. Should I go on?”

“Tsk tsk. Elsa, don’t you know what makes a man is his nerve? Have you ever met a man filled with so much pride he’ll stand up to anyone? If I want to go out the village after curfew. I do. If I want to put some moves on a pretty lady, I do.”

A soft, tender look came over her face.

“Well, at least you have good taste,” she said, glancing sideways to see if anyone was around. Fidgeting nervously, she stepped forward. “Fine, just this once. During our break.”

Since coming to this world, I had not touched a woman. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t do it with our maid Matilda as that would make things awkward. The chief’s wife was taken, and her maids were probably off limits, too. There wasn’t a lot to choose from in this village, and being stuck in Alster’s body meant I had to be resourceful. It’s a shame I had to stoop as low as Elsa, but we all have to start somewhere.

I waited patiently until one of our breaks, hid my spellcards underneath a mound of dirt while she wasn’t looking, then I signaled her to follow me to a blind spot behind Ernie’s place. I dropped my pants and brought out my willy, and she played with it for a moment before shoving it in her mouth.

I released far too quickly. It was like I’d lost all my sexual prowess I’d honed as Joey. Had Alster ever gotten any, anyway?

When we were done and I’d pulled my pants back up, I told her she did a good job.

“Don’t patronize me.”

I rolled my eyes. “Aw, come on. You looked like you were having fun petting it like a snake.”

I cracked up at my own joke.

She turned red. “No I wasn’t!”

“You might want to douse your face. I think a little—”

“Shut up!” she said as her eyebrows shot up and she ran to find some water.

Refreshed, I returned to work and sheared the sheep. Elsa returned a little later after having found some water. Her face was drenched, and gleams of water running down her cheek glistened in the sun. She came under the canopy and resumed working.

Every now and then, Elsa would come over and try to give me pointers on how to do my work. Her stride was boastful. The way she carried her shears, trying desperately to come off as a pro, made me wonder where all that confidence came from. Especially as I looked over her lackluster results.

“Shouldn’t I be giving you tips?” I said, running my fingers over a coarse patch of wool. “I see some uneven cuts on that sheep.”

Then she’d storm off angrily, saying I was ungrateful.

After we’d gathered up a pile, it was time to skirt the fleece and remove the dirtiest parts. Ernie’s sheep might be premium, but they were pretty dirty. Bits of grass, seeds, and dirt were hiding in the fibers.

Guess the man never gave ‘em a bath.

Ernie wanted only the best raw wool to spin and sell. He’d said the rest could be discarded in another pile that he would use for something else. We went to fetch water he’d heated up on his range. It was hard to touch the metal handles, but we didn’t want the water to cool off, as it was supposed to be hot for the lanolin.

Elsa told me to carry her bucket as payment for earlier. I gave her a sly smirk and nod. I wouldn’t mind this becoming a regular thing. Elsa, however, took my agreeing to carry her bucket as an acceptance of subordination, as if she’d tamed me. One look at her expression and I knew she was figuring out more ways to delegate her duties to me. Was she trying to become my manager?

At the end of the day, as the sun was beginning to set, Ernie invited us to have dinner for a job well done.

“Alster. You did a great job for your first time. The trimming looks neat and even. Say, would you like to work for me full-time? I can get Arthur to sign you off on it if you’d like.”

I smiled. “It would be my honor, sir.”

“Great!”

Elsa gulped. “A-and me, sir? Could I join you as well?”

Ernie scratched his chin. “Your shearing could use some work. I guess I could start you off as Alster’s apprentice. Is that okay with you?”

“Apprentice? But I got here first and—”

“Is that a no?”

She went silent.

“That’s fine…. I will be his… apprentice.”

It took everything I had to keep a straight face in that moment. Eventually I asked to use the washroom and immediately exploded with the quietest laughter I could manage.