It’s been two weeks since the restoration work started.
There’s been some trouble, but it’s advancing smoothly, so the livestock pens are complete, and cattle and horses are gradually being brought back.
I’ve been working practically every day, and Isolte suggested a day off.
Iris, Mars, Lela, and me are all taking a day off, and visiting the newly constructed pens.
We see a worker using a pitchfork to give the cattle food.
“They eat a lot. I feel like I could watch it all day.”
“I get that. I could feed Iris sweets and watch her forever.”
“Mister Loyd… You make it sound like I’m a cow.”
“Here Iris.”
I toss a white macarron into her mouth.
“It’s nice! Wait, what are you making me do!?”
Iris gets angry in a cute way.
It’s so cute, that my expression loosens up naturally.
“Geez sensei. Don’t tease Iris so much just because she’s cute.
Mars complains softly.
“Look Loyd, we can milk cows over there.”
Says Lela while pointing to the back of the pen.
“That’s a staple of a farm. Should we try it too?”
All three nod.
We head there right away, where a worker teaches us how to do it first.
The worker grabs the cow’s teat, and presses it while pulling it.
And then the milk fills the wooden bucket.
“You use your fingers from the middle finger to the little finger, and gently close it, and it comes out naturally. It’s tricky at first, but easy once you get used to it.”
Iris follows those instructions and gives it a try.
She can’t aim it well at first and gets flustered, but once she gets used to it, the milk starts pouring into the bucket.
“It’s so much fun!”
It looks like milking a cow for the first time is leaving an impression on her. And most importantly, she’s having fun.
The rest of us give it a shot too. In my case, it’s actually the second time, because I vaguely remember milking a cow with Ruby.
That said, it was ten years ago, so I’ve completely forgotten how to do it, and I feel the same way as Iris the moment I touch the cow’s teat and feel its softness and warmth.
Boobs really are nice!
Also, we get to drink the milk. And I think our answer is obvious.
““““Yes! Of course we’ll drink it!””””
The worker briskly pours it into empty bottles that shine like jewels.
It looks so tasty.
It feels milder and tastier than the milk we get in town. It might have to do with the fact that I’m drinking it with my trusted friends.
We can do stuff like feed carrots to mountain goats too, so we have fun with animals all morning.
We go back to the base camp around noon, and have lunch together.
Our lunch today is white stew with plenty of milk. It’s a real revelation, because we’ve been getting rations without milk.
It was made in a large cauldron, and the flavor really comes through, especially in the creamy soup.
“I was unsure at first, but the farm really is getting back to normal thanks to everyone’s efforts.”
“No no, it’s thanks to you, Iris.
We get to be smiling like this because you’ve been losing sleep restoring the earth here.”
Says Lela, and Iris’ cheeks turn red.
“You worked hard too, Lela.
You never really liked working with people, so watching you work alongside adventurers is a bit moving for me, because I know what you used to be like.”
Says Mars with a kind of cheeky smile.
“Geez, Mars. Iris is going to misunderstand if you put it like that.
Just so you know, I’ve always been great at talking to people. I can make friends in three seconds.”
“Really? In the beginning, you used to say ‘I don’t feel like making friends with humans. Get out of this forest before you find this arrow in your forehead’. That’s like the opposite of what you’re saying.”
“Gyaaaaaaah!? Don’t bring back my dark history from when I was a guardian!”
Lela blocks Mars’ mouth with her face bright red.
“Lela was a loner. That’s so cool!”
Iris’ eyes shine.
Come to think of it, when I first met Lela, she didn’t seem very interested in other people.
Mars and I were exceptions, but she didn’t really care about others.
Maybe this quest is making her grow mentally too.
After lunch, we walk around the farm to exercise a bit, and see some workers set something up in the center.
They stick a three meter long wooden pole in the ground with a target painted orange dangling at eye level.
We’re curious, so we approach them.
“What are you doing?”
I ask.
“We’re setting up a shooting game that was popular.”
“Shooting game?”
“There were a few mini games to entertain guests in the Luminous farm, but this was the most popular.”
A worker explains the rules.
There are thirty targets placed around the farm. The idea is to shoot as many of them as we can within the time limit.
1~10 – C
10~20 – B
20~30 – A
Each target grants one point, but shooting the same target multiple times doesn’t give more points.
Players get ten arrows, and restock at specific points in the farm.
“Those are the rules. Also, the positions change every hour, so do you want to try?”
“Eh? Can I?”
“Yes, it’s just reopening, so we’ll give you some merch if you help us balance things and check if everything is in order.”
The worker says while showing us a cow plushie.
It has an easygoing expression, and moos if you press its stomach.
“Wah, it’s so cute!”
“You’re more like a plushie.”
“Sensei, you’re supposed to say she’s cuter.”
“Ah, that’s right.”
“Mars Mars, this cow plushie sure is cute.”
Lela says, copying Iris.”
“You’re cuter.”
“Eh!? You’ll make me embarrassed if you say it with such a straight face…”
Now these two are fooling around.
“It’s so sweet how nice you are with each other.”
“Yes.”
I decide to take the shooting game challenge.
Mars is doing it too, so we’ll have a competition to see which of us can shoot more targets.
Mars goes first. It’s said that the one who goes second has an advantage, but I let him have the first try.
“You’re pretty petty, Loyd.”
Lela looks exasperated. Sorry for being so childish, but I want to beat Mars no matter what.
“Here I go.”
Mars gets on a horse and rides away.
Whoosh, bam whoshvoosh, bam, wooshwoosh, bam bam, woosh woosh woosh…
“Twelve points.”
“Damn, did I lose?”
He looks pretty troubled about his score. I’d react the same way if I got a bad score…
At least it looks like Mars still had fun.
I’m just about to say something, when we hear the workers speak.
“Kukuku, silly couples. We put the targets in difficult angles on purpose.”
“Get embarrassed by those weak scores.”
“Couples should die. No mercy.”
So shallow. No wonder you’re not popular.
This game instantly got dark. So Mars was a sacrifice of their plan.
“Good luck Mister Loyd!”
“I’m not a good archer, so don’t expect much.”
I say from on top of the horse, and dash like the wind.
I haven’t ridden a horse in a while, aside from Artemis. It’s pretty hard to fire arrows from horseback, but now I’m wondering if I can even hit the targets.
The first arrow doesn’t even come close.
I see, so that’s how these arrows move.
The second and third also miss, but they’re getting closer.
The fourth hits the target cleanly in the center, and Iris cheers.
“Hm, I think I’ve got it. Time for the real deal.”
I learned the difficult spots from Mars’ movements, so now I just have to work out the ideal route in my head.
I say difficult, but they’re static targets, so the important thing is the horse’s speed.
I used to fire magic while on horseback a lot in my previous job, so I’m used to the deviation.
Then I manage to hit every target on the farm.
“Ahihi!?”
“T-thirty!?”
“That can’t be real!”
The workers are all shocked by my score. Hmph, I managed to avenge Mars.
“Mister Loyd, that was wonderful! You’re a real marksman with the arrows!”
“That’s our sensei.”
“Do you want to come by my village? I’ll put in a good word for you to become a guardian!”
Lela’s eyes are shining.
Come to think of it, archery is pretty important for elves.
We get two cow plushies, that Mars and I give to the girls.
They’re really happy, so that’s all that matters. It was worth it.
We keep having fun until the sun sets, really feeling that the farm is coming back to life.
The next day, it’s time to work again, and we’re in top shape thanks to that day off.
Like Isolte said, it takes about a month for the farm to be back in business, and a week after that, milk is delivered again.
All’s well that ends well.
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