Chương 89: Bonus story : More than just colleagues : Part 1 : An Ordinary Day

At five fifty, Aldric arrived outside the moving company's depot. Dawn was only just beginning to break over Paris, and the nearby streets were still almost deserted. A few cars passed in the distance while the streetlights continued to illuminate the building fronts. Since he had started working there, he had made a habit of arriving ten minutes before his scheduled start time. In his old world, a soldier who arrived exactly on time was already late. He had found no valid reason to abandon that rule.

The depot's metal door was still closed. Aldric stopped in front of it, checked the time on his phone, then slipped the device back into his pocket. He did not have to wait long. A few minutes later, a car parked across the street and Patrick got out, a cup of coffee in one hand. The team leader looked at Aldric and shook his head.

"You've been getting here early lately." Patrick smiled before taking out his keys. He unlocked the depot door and switched on the lights. The interior was exactly as Aldric had left it the previous evening. Several dollies were lined up against one wall, stacks of moving blankets filled the metal shelves, and different types of straps hung from hooks. Two trucks stood at the back of the warehouse, while a third was waiting near the exit. Aldric followed Patrick inside and headed toward the equipment.

He checked the blankets, counted the straps, then made sure both hand trucks were properly secured inside the truck. Patrick set his coffee down on a table.

"We put all the equipment away yesterday."

"Circumstances may have changed during the night."

"You think the blankets are planning an escape?"

"A strap may have been moved, a tool left behind, or a piece of equipment damaged without us noticing." Patrick chuckled.

"You know I was joking, right?"

"Yes. I am beginning to get used to it." The depot door opened again. Lucas walked in with a croissant between his teeth and a coffee in one hand. His bag hung from his shoulder as he tried to take off his jacket with his free hand. He nearly dropped his cup before finally managing to set everything down on a crate.

"Morning, gentlemen." Patrick checked his watch.

"Five fifty-seven."

"I'm early."

"By three minutes."

"Still counts." Lucas took another bite of his croissant before looking at Aldric, who was inspecting a strap.

"So, knight, think we're going to fight a wardrobe today?"

"I do not know. The schedule primarily lists boxes, two bookcases, a sofa, and several pieces of bedroom furniture." Karim arrived a few moments later. Unlike Lucas, he did not announce his entrance. He greeted everyone with a nod, left his bag in the locker room, then joined Aldric by the truck. He began checking the protective coverings for the furniture.

"You two are terrifying," Lucas said. Karim looked up.

"Why?"

"It's six in the morning, and you already look happy to be working."

"I'm not happy," Karim replied.

"I'm awake."

"That's worse." Patrick picked up a sheet of paper from his desk.

"If you're finished with your philosophical debate, we have three moves today. The first one is in the fifteenth arrondissement. Fourth-floor apartment, elevator available, supposedly not much heavy furniture."

"When a customer says 'supposedly,' it always means they forgot to mention a piano."

"There's no piano."

"You sure?" Patrick held up the sheet.

"No piano." Lucas nodded solemnly.

"Then we can leave with peace of mind." They finished preparing the truck before leaving the depot. Patrick drove, Karim took the passenger seat, while Lucas and Aldric sat in the back of the cab. Traffic was still relatively light at that hour. Lucas spent the first few minutes finishing his croissant, then launched into a story about how he had managed to spill half his coffee on his shoes the day before.

"I still don't understand how it happened."

"You were walking while looking at your phone," Karim replied.

"That detail has not been confirmed by an independent investigation."

"I was there."

"Which means you're involved in the case. Your testimony is questionable." Aldric followed the conversation in silence. He had learned that Lucas could turn almost anything into a story. A fall, a poorly sealed box, a late customer, or even an overpriced sandwich could become the starting point for a tale far longer than the event itself. Patrick parked the truck in front of an apartment building. The customer was already waiting for them on the sidewalk.

They had barely stepped out when he began explaining that some of the furniture was fragile, that the sofa had been expensive, and that one particular bookcase absolutely could not be scratched. Patrick listened without interrupting him.

"Don't worry. We'll protect everything before we take anything out."

"Even the bookcase?"

"Especially the bookcase." Patrick's calm tone was enough to ease the customer's tension. Aldric had noticed that ability during his first few days on the job. Patrick never spoke very loudly and almost never seemed rushed, even when they were running behind schedule. Yet everyone always ended up following his instructions. They went up to the apartment. Patrick walked through the rooms, then assigned the tasks.

"Karim and Aldric, start with the heavy furniture. Lucas, you're on boxes with me. We protect everything before taking it downstairs."

"Understood," Aldric replied. Lucas turned toward him.

"You know you can just say 'okay,' right?"

"Yes." The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

"And you still don't."

"Yes." Karim suppressed a smile before walking into the first bedroom. They got to work. Aldric unfolded the moving blankets while Karim prepared the straps. The first dresser was wrapped within minutes. Aldric now knew how to protect the corners, where to position the straps, and how to angle a piece of furniture through a narrow doorway without hitting the frame. In his world, transporting equipment had been an essential part of any military campaign.

An army could have the finest fighters in the kingdom and still lose a war if its supply wagons failed to reach their destination. He had once overseen the transport of provisions, weapons, tents, and even siege engines. The objects were different here, but some rules remained the same: distribute weight properly, protect the equipment, anticipate difficult passages, and never underestimate a staircase. They carried the first dresser downstairs without difficulty.

When they returned to the apartment, Lucas was standing in front of a stack of boxes, reading the labels written in marker.

"Kitchen. Books. Bedroom. Fragile. Very fragile. Extremely fragile." He looked at the customer.

"Is there a level above that?" The customer hesitated.

"That one has dishes in it." Lucas turned toward Aldric.

"You take it."

"Why?"

"Because if I break his grandmother's dishes, I'll feel guilty for the rest of my life." Aldric lifted the box and weighed it in his hands.

"Approximately seventeen kilograms." Lucas frowned.

"Wait." He looked at the label on the side. The customer had written: 17 kg.

"How did you do that?"

"Experience." Lucas picked up another box.

"This one." Aldric lifted it.

"Twelve kilograms. Perhaps thirteen." Lucas searched for a label, but there was none.

"We'll check it with a scale."

"For what purpose?"

"To find out whether you're human." Karim walked past them carrying a chair.

"You've been trying to figure that out for months."

"And I still haven't gotten a satisfactory answer." The morning continued at the same pace. Patrick spoke with the customer while helping with the loading. Lucas talked to everyone, including a neighbor who had opened her door to find out why so much noise was coming from the hallway. Karim worked almost entirely in silence but somehow always appeared whenever a heavy piece of furniture needed to be moved. Aldric was beginning to know everyone's habits. Patrick always checked the address twice before setting off.

Lucas almost invariably forgot where he had put his gloves. Karim always kept his water bottle in the same pocket of the truck. At the end of every job, Patrick walked through the empty rooms while the others headed back downstairs. Around noon, the first move was finished and much of the second had already been completed. Patrick called a halt.

"Break." Lucas set down the box he was carrying.

"Finally, a sensible decision." They sat on a low wall behind the building. Karim took out a container of rice and chicken. Patrick had bought a sandwich. Lucas unwrapped something that looked more like a pile of meat and sauce than a balanced meal. Aldric opened his own bag. Since Emma had taught him how to cook, he had started bringing his own meals. That day, he had prepared pasta with vegetables. Lucas looked at his container.

"Wait. You made that?"

"Yes."

"On purpose?"

"Why would I cook something accidentally?" Karim stifled a laugh, and Lucas raised a finger.

"Don't answer that. I should've phrased it better." Patrick took a bite of his sandwich.

"He's a good cook, too."

"How do you know?"

"He gave me some last week." Lucas looked at Aldric with an offended expression.

"What about me?"

"You did not ask."

"Some things should be automatic between coworkers."

"Such as sharing your lunch?"

"Exactly." Karim pointed at Lucas's sandwich.

"You've never shared yours."

"That's different. Mine is too good." The conversation then drifted toward former customers. Lucas told them about a man who had claimed to own "almost nothing" before showing them a basement filled with boxes all the way to the ceiling. Patrick corrected several details.

"There weren't a hundred boxes."

"There were at least eighty."

"Forty-two."

"You counted them?"

"They were numbered." Lucas sighed.

"You always ruin my best stories."

"That's what makes them believable," Karim said. Aldric watched Lucas press a hand to his chest as though he had just been gravely wounded.

"Even you, Karim?"

"Especially me." Everyone laughed. Aldric smiled as well. During his first few weeks, he had sometimes struggled to understand why his coworkers spent so much time teasing one another. Soldiers in his world had joked as well, but usually after a battle or around a campfire. Here, no victory was required. A simple lunch break was enough. They returned to work about twenty minutes later. The second move was completed without incident, and Patrick checked the address of their final job.

"Last customer. Then back to the depot." Lucas raised his arms.

"I can already hear my couch calling me."

"Your couch does not speak," Aldric replied.

"You don't know that. You've never met it." The last apartment was in a building without an elevator. As soon as they stepped inside, Aldric realized that the end of the day would be more complicated than expected. Several large pieces of furniture still occupied the living room: a heavy wooden table, a sideboard, and, most notably, a dark wardrobe that nearly reached the ceiling. Lucas stopped in front of it.

"No…" Patrick checked his sheet.

"What?"

"That wasn't on the list." The customer approached.

"Oh, right. I forgot about the wardrobe." Lucas closed his eyes.

"Of course." Patrick studied the piece of furniture.

"Does it come apart?"

"I don't think so." Karim opened the doors and examined the inside.

"Solid wood." Aldric placed a hand against the side of the wardrobe, then studied the route to the stairs. The passage was narrow. A sharp right turn separated the living room from the hallway, and the stairwell offered very little room to maneuver. Lucas crossed his arms.

"I take back what I said this morning. We really are going to fight a wardrobe." Patrick sighed.

"We'll start with everything else." They carried down the boxes, the table, and the sideboard. The wardrobe remained alone in the middle of the living room. Once everything else had been loaded, the four men returned to stand in front of it. Patrick pointed to the corners.

"Karim and I will take the front. Aldric, you're at the back. Lucas, guide us on the stairs." Lucas nodded. They lifted. Even Aldric could feel the considerable weight of the wardrobe. It was not merely heavy. Its shape also made it difficult to grip. They moved slowly toward the hallway.

"A little to the left," Lucas said. They adjusted.

"More." Patrick exhaled.

"Not too much."

"I know."

"Then stop saying 'more." They reached the stairs. The first turn took several attempts. Aldric had to lift almost the entire back of the wardrobe while Patrick and Karim rotated it. Lucas watched the struggle.

"It's resisting."

"Furniture cannot deliberately resist," Aldric replied.

"This one can." A few inches. Then a few more. Finally, the wardrobe made it through. Lucas raised a fist.

"First line of defense breached." Patrick glanced at him.

"Focus on watching the wall."

"I am." They carried it down another floor. Halfway down, Karim asked for a break. They set the wardrobe down on a step wide enough to support it. Lucas leaned against the railing.

"I stand by my diagnosis." Aldric caught his breath.

"Which one?"

"It's possessed."

"There are no signs indicating possession."

"It weighs two tons and refuses to leave the building."

"It is not refusing anything. Its mass and dimensions simply make it difficult to move." Lucas pointed at the wardrobe.

"See? It's already convinced you to defend it." Even Patrick burst out laughing. They continued. When the wardrobe finally reached the ground floor, Lucas opened the building door.

"Freedom!" They loaded the wardrobe into the truck. Patrick closed the rear doors, then looked at his coworkers.

"Done." Lucas looked up at the sky as though he had just witnessed a miracle.

"It was definitely possessed."

"It primarily suffered from a particularly unfavorable weight distribution."

"Aldric."

"Yes?"

"Let me have this." Aldric hesitated.

"Very well. It may have been slightly possessed." Lucas stared at him open-mouthed before turning toward Patrick.

"Did he just make a joke?"

"I don't think so."

"It really felt like one." Karim opened the truck door.

"Get in before he does it again." They headed back toward the depot. This time, fatigue made the cab much quieter. Lucas kept talking for another few minutes before eventually turning to look out the window. Karim closed his eyes, while Patrick drove in silence. Aldric watched the streets pass by. An entire day had gone by. No monsters. No battles. No emergencies. They had simply moved the belongings of three families from one place to another.

And yet, he felt the same pleasant fatigue he remembered from certain days spent working alongside his companions in the past. It was not the exhaustion that followed a battle. It was the feeling that came from a job done properly. When they arrived at the depot, they unloaded the equipment, hung up the straps, and folded the blankets. Aldric checked the truck one last time while Patrick filled out some paperwork. Lucas dropped his gloves onto a crate.

"I'm dead." Karim walked past him.

"You say that every evening."

"And yet I always come back. That's proof of my courage." Patrick stepped out of the small office.

"You can head home." Lucas picked up his bag, then stopped. He looked at Patrick. Then Karim. Then Aldric.

"All right… Who wants to grab a drink?" Patrick raised an eyebrow.

"Now?"

"Yeah. We just survived a Norman wardrobe. That deserves a drink." Karim checked the time on his phone.

"I can stay for a little while." Patrick shrugged.

"Why not." Lucas's smile widened. Finally, he turned toward Aldric.

"What about you?" Aldric remained silent. The workday was over. There was no longer any obligation for him to stay with them. No superior was ordering him to. No quest had appeared before his eyes. Yet all three men were waiting for his answer.

"Very well." Lucas clapped his hands.

"Perfect. I'm choosing the bar." Patrick grabbed his jacket.

"That is precisely what worries me." They left the depot together.