I Hit the Back of the Tower Master’s Head - Chapter 20

Episode 20

After finishing the soufflé, Lily brought out the cookie dough. She lined the pan with parchment paper and asked us to cut the dough into small pieces. Ruth and I rolled the dough into little balls and placed them on the pan. Once all the dough was cut, Lily opened the oven and put the pan inside.

As we waited for the cookies to bake, Ruth and I sat back down in our chairs. Eventually, Pinocchio and Lulu, who had been cleaning the flour off their hands, came over. Lulu looked at the table and gasped.

“We need to clean! Clean up!”

Lulu jumped up onto the table and started cleaning it frantically. Ruth asked.

“Do you need help?”

[If we get involved, Lulu will yell at us.]

Watching Lulu clean made me think our house could really use a big cleaning. Lulu must have heard my thoughts and shouted.

“I’m all for it!”

So, tomorrow we’re cleaning. I looked over at Ruth. Since he’s the patient, he can just watch us clean.

[Tomorrow we’re going to clean up.]

“Didn’t Lulu already clean everything?”

[Sometimes, a big cleaning is needed. Lulu’s in charge, and the rest of us are the workers.]

“Ah…”

[Ruth’s the patient, so he can just watch.]

“That’s not fair. I should help too.”

Ruth squinted a bit and said.

“I don’t want to be the only one sitting around while everyone else works.”

[Resting is… good.]

“Cleaning is fine. I want to help. I’m not going to do too much… besides, I’m staying here too.”

Ruth trailed off, his voice softer.

“…You said that, and yet…”

[Well, that wasn’t…]

I didn’t mean to say it like that, but Ruth shook his head.

“I’ll help too.”

‘Then… how about we all clean after Lulu and Ruth get better?’

Lulu shook her head.

“Just give him an easy job to do.”

Lulu was all fired up about the idea of cleaning. It seemed like she wanted to start immediately.

At that moment, Lily opened the oven and brought out the freshly baked cookies. She quickly transferred the cookies onto a plate and set it on the table. Ruth looked at the cookies, amazed by how many chocolate chips were in them. Suddenly, I realized I hadn’t made any jam-filled cookies.

“What’s wrong?”

[I said I’d make jam cookies, but I forgot to.]

Lily answered.

“Well, I made soufflé instead.”

She lowered her ears slightly, probably realizing she’d forgotten too. Ruth chuckled quietly.

“It’s fine. I forgot too. We’ll make jam cookies next time.”

[Yeah.]

We finished a whole plate of cookies, and lunch time passed by without us realizing it. After eating the soufflé, cookies, and a glass of milk, neither Ruth nor I felt like having lunch at all, we were so full.

Lulu went around the house, checking what needed to be cleaned. If there weren’t any big issues, Pinocchio would wipe the floor… and Ruth and I would probably be in charge of washing the bedding. I was worried about getting water on his wounds.

The next morning, breakfast was bigger and more filling than usual.

On the plate were egg-coated toast and sausages, with ketchup generously poured on top. For dessert, there were apples.

On the side, Pinocchio was crushing blueberries to extract the juice. Ruth looked a bit surprised when I handed him the blueberry milk.

“…Today’s meal seems more… satisfying than usual.”

In the middle of the table, there was a salad with tomatoes and cheese, and Lily was stirring some creamy soup nearby.

“How much soup should I give?”

Lily asked, and I nodded slightly.

‘Just a little for me. Give Ruth more.’

Lily scooped the soup and gave some to both me and Ruth.

[It’s to make sure you eat a lot before working. Ruth, you should eat a lot too.]

Whenever we had a big cleaning day, my mom would always order extra food to be made, and the dolls at our house were used to it, so whenever cleaning was mentioned, they automatically made extra breakfast. The leftovers would be eaten for lunch.

“How much cleaning are we really doing…?”

[We’ll be moving more than usual. But don’t push yourself too hard. If you’re tired, you can take breaks.]

I calmly scooped some creamy soup and tore my toast.

After breakfast, Lulu assigned tasks.

“Lunaire and him can do the laundry.”

I nodded. Lily’s job was to clean the kitchen, Pinocchio was sweeping and mopping the floor, and Lulu would be dusting the furniture.

I took out two large wooden tubs from the back yard and began filling them with water. Ruth, shielding his eyes from the sun, asked me.

“What should I do?”

[Lulu probably brought out the bedding. Can you bring it over? Take one at a time, it might be hard for you.]

Ruth nodded and went inside, bringing one piece at a time. Once he brought the last piece, I placed it into the tub of water and added some detergent. I tied my skirt up short and dipped my bare feet into the cold water.

“So, what do I do now?”

Ruth came in and stepped on the bedding, probably worried he might slip or get water on his wounds. I searched for my notebook to tell him to stay outside. It was stuck in my pocket because I tied up my skirt, so I had trouble getting it out. After struggling for a while, I slipped in the soapy water.

My body completely lost balance, and Ruth reached out with a panicked face. He grabbed my arm, and my head went straight into his chest.

“Ugh!”

Ruth, shocked by the impact, coughed, but he still held onto me. My shoulder ached from being suddenly pulled, but I didn’t show it.

“Use your hands, use your hands.”

Ruth grabbed my arm with one hand and held out his other hand to me. I wrote one word at a time with my fingernails on his palm.

[Don’t let water splash, stay outside.]

“You just slipped too.”

[Washing laundry always gets you wet.]

“I thought you said I shouldn’t get wet…”

I explained, but as I bit my lip, Ruth hurriedly replied.

“I know, I know. I shouldn’t get water on the wounds.”

I nodded faintly.

[If you’re really worried, just hold my hand.]

Ruth blinked for a moment and then held both of my hands. His hands were cold, but the sunlight made them feel better. Ruth looked down at our hands with a strange look on his face.

I worried he might get hurt, so I tried distracting him with different things.

Suddenly, I stomped my foot. Splash! Water splashed, and Ruth’s pants got wet around the shin area. He stared in shock.

“…Did you do that on purpose?”

I shrugged my shoulders innocently.

Ruth, looking displeased, said.

“Unfair. I can’t go in, but you can.”

I relied on Ruth’s hand, and with my feet, I stomped a few more times. The water splashed out, but this time, it didn’t get on my clothes. Ruth looked uncomfortable.

“…I want to go in too.”

[You can’t fall inside.]

I wrote on his arm. Ruth shook his head.

“Why don’t we go in and hold onto each other?”

[If we fall, we’ll both get wet.]

[And this tub is narrower than you think.]

Ruth stuck his lips out. I wasn’t going to let him in, though. Ruth sighed heavily and stood still, supporting me. After a few minutes, I stepped out of the water and placed the bedding into another clean tub of water.

Then I stepped back in and stomped a few more times, handing one side of the bedding to Ruth.

[Turn it over on the other side.]

Ruth awkwardly flipped the bedding, and I pulled it on the opposite side. Water splashed out again. Only one more piece left. Ruth hung the bedding on the clothesline. I made sure Ruth’s side wasn’t getting wet, considering whether I needed to wrap another layer of bandage on his arm.

While I was thinking, Ruth put the next piece of bedding in the water and reached out for my hand again. I started stomping the next piece of bedding.

“After the laundry is done, what should we do?”

[Lulu will probably tell us what to do when we get back inside.]

[Pinocchio’s sweeping the floor… Lulu is cleaning the furniture right now…]

[Maybe she’ll clean the ceiling next.]

“Clean the ceiling?”

Ruth’s eyes widened.

[There’s more dust up there than you think. Pinocchio and I will probably divide it up. Then we need to check the light bulbs.]

One of the light bulbs in the living room is dimming, so it needs to be replaced. The kitchen seemed fine, so we don’t need to touch it. The lamps in the rooms will be checked by Lulu, so I won’t have to worry about those.

While I wrote on Ruth’s arm, I noticed his scratched arm was turning red. I quickly turned his palm over, making sure my nails wouldn’t touch it.

[Sorry. Does it hurt a lot?]

“It’s fine. You can use your nails. You’re fast, so it’s hard to understand you. I can figure it out by the marks your nails leave.”

Ruth casually said. I gently rubbed his arm. Ruth flinched.

“…Don’t rub it, it tickles.”

[Would it be easier if I wrote slower?]

“…If you wrote even slower. No, don’t tickle me.”

[I didn’t tickle you.]

I made an annoyed face. My feet had stopped now. It’d probably be better if I just pulled out my notebook. When I let go of his hand and pulled on my apron, Ruth said.

“I’m going to slip while you write in the notebook. Just hold onto me.”

Ruth quickly grabbed my hand. In the meantime, the apron I tied with my skirt came loose and fell. Ruth looked embarrassed.

“This… well… I’ll hold your shoulders. Want to tie it again?”

Ruth slowly held my shoulder, and I was about to tie my apron when I suddenly looked at him. Ruth blinked his navy blue eyes.

I quickly untied the ribbon and pulled the apron off, handing it to Ruth.

My apron was a bit too short and awkward on him. Ruth looked at me in surprise. While he was trying to figure out the situation, I loosely wrapped the ribbon around his waist. In no time, Ruth was wearing the beige apron. He asked with a trembling voice.

“…What is this?”

[Just hold onto it for now.]

I smiled brightly, and Ruth groaned softly. The apron, although small for him, actually suited him pretty well. I took his hand again and wrote on his palm.

[Should I buy you an apron? The ones in my drawer are all fitted to me, so they might be too small for you.]

“…If you keep teasing me, I’ll drop it.”

Ruth pulled his hand away from mine, looking at me with a displeased face. I shrugged confidently as I stomped on the bedding.

Should I make him slip for the fun of it?

I intentionally stepped wrong, and Ruth quickly reached out his hand as if he hadn’t let go of me. He looked irritated.

“I’m going to keep wearing this apron… Don’t do it on purpose.”

His reaction was more serious than I expected, and I nodded without thinking.