Klaus - Shall We Then...?

Chapter 19: I'll Get it For You

"Hmm..." Mr. Johansson examined how beat down the furniture was in his post office. He slid his index finger against the shelf and checked to see how much dust was collected. "Looks like you try to take care of this place."

"Yeah, I try," Jesper said. 

"I thought it would look fancier than other houses around here," Mr. Johansson said. "But... it looks... how should I say it..."

"Worse?" Jesper asked as if it was nothing. 

"So you admit?" Mr. Johansson asked. 

"Yeah," Jesper said. "I mean... it looks too old. If it crumbles down, it would definitely hurt the villagers who come to visit."

"Huh?" Mr. Johannson asked. 

"What?" Jesper asked. 

"I thought you would answer that it is more inconvenient to you, not others," Mr. Johansson said. Klaus smiled at Jesper proudly, which Jesper didn't notice as he was focused on his father. 

"Villagers' safety comes first, dad," Jesper said. "That's one of the things they should teach you at the mailman academy, isn't it?" 

"You're definitely right," Mr. Johansson chuckled. 

"It's still stable enough," Klaus said. "So, I don't think he has any complaints about it."

"Don't you think you need to... remodel?" Mr. Johansson asked. 

"Not many resources yet," Jesper said. "We used the last bits of wood for the... project that we're working on." The project was making toys for children for the upcoming Christmas. 

"If you had resources, would you be willing to?" Mr. Johansson asked. 

"Of course," Jesper said. "I don't want other people getting hurt while trying to send letters."

"Impressive," Mr. Johansson said. He turned to Klaus and asked, "Now, Mr. Klaus, can you show me around Smeerensburg?" 

"Of course," Klaus answered. 

All three of them hopped in the coach and Klaus drove around as Jesper explained everything around them. "So, this is the residential area. It used to look really old and bad, but now it looks way better. Not as good as where we, well, where you live, but the people of Smeerensberg make the best out of it."

"Hmm..." Mr. Johansson said to himself as he looked around. 

"Before you came," Klaus said. "Everyone was fighting and making enemies. After he came, he slowly changed everything." 

"Of course, he helped by donating the toys that he made," Jesper said. 

"Jesper," Klaus said shyly to tell him that he didn't have to mention him. 

"What? You gotta get some credit," Jesper said. 

"It's so pleasant to see you two work together as a team," Mr. Johansson said. "I never thought Jesper would actually get along with someone."

"But you already knew we were working together when you came to pick me up," Jesper said. 

"Yes, I knew, but I never got to see it," Mr. Johansson said. 

"Well, Mr. Johansson," Klaus said as they arrived at the marketplace. "Here we are. The marketplace that you wanted to visit."

"Interesting," Mr. Johansson said as he stepped outside of the coach. "This seems very small compared to the marketplace that is near our home."

"Yeah, but they still have everything that we need," Jesper said. "Everyone's satisfied being it this small. The population is pretty small here anyways, so there is no need to really expand it any further."