"Satou-san! It's about time to return the cows to the cowshed!"
"Got it!"
The farmer's daughter called from afar and I reply .
--That's was the plan, but due to a chance encounter and a request for help, we ended up working at a ranch in Nafu Village, located beyond Kageusu City.
It's not like I was seduced by the charms of the girl with big breasts.
"Master, I have gathered the cows."
"Thank you, Liza."
Together with Liza, I lead the cows to the cowshed.
Occasionally, if a cow gets separated from the herd, Pochi and Tama will drive it back towards the herd like sheepdogs.
Pochi and Tama seem to be having fun since coming to this ranch, probably because they've been able to exercise to their heart's content.
"Master, I have finished cleaning the cowshed."
"Thank you, Lulu. What about Arisa?"
"I go and help the ranch owner with things like organizing the books."
As usual, she has a mysterious and unusual skills.
"Master, I've put the cow in the stall.
"Perfect~?"
"Next is watering, nanodesu!"
"Tama'll do it too."
Liza reports, and Pochi and Tama fill the water bucket with fresh water. Everyone is hardworking.
I used the magic spell "Pest control: Bug Wiper" from the magic column.
The cowshed stinks, so Deodorant is also used. I would like to also spray it on the cows, but when I did that on the first day, the cows were not happy about it, so now I just spray it on us after we're done working for the day.
"Satou-san, dinner will be ready soon, so go take a bath."
"Okay."
The door to the dining room opened and the farmer's daughter, Melinna, called out, shaking a ladle.
Now she's helping out in the kitchen. She's a hard-working woman.
"Ahh! Master has lewd look!" [ Hana no shita -nose is stretching]
"Hana?"
"It's like, 'Biyoyoon'." [onamatopedia for stretching]
When Arisa appeared, Tama and Pochi jumped on the bandwagon without even understanding what it meant.
"I haven't stretched it."
I instinctively put my hand over my mouth, but that was definitely not the case.
"Well, that's fine. Let's go take a bath! I'll wash your back."
Arisa's face looked wicket as she laughed, her hands moving in creepy ways.
"No need. As usual, I'll use the life magic spells "Soft Wash"and"Dry".
Those made my trip comfortable.
I can't express my gratitude enough to the old magic shop owner who sold me the scroll, and to Countess Kagesu who gave me permission to sell it.
"Tch."
Arisa pouted in disappointment.
I ignored that and used life magic to clean up everyone who was covered in sweat.
This is very convenient, but sometimes I still want to soak in a bathtub.
I need to quickly learn the magic that can be used to boil water.
◇
"How is it? Have you seen any mountain wolves?"
"No, just the one time I met you."
Their first encounter was near the junction between Kageusu City and this village, when I spotted Melinna and her friends surrounded by a pack of mountain wolves on their way back from delivering milk, and hurriedly went to help them.
Apparently, packs of wolves have suddenly started appearing recently, causing great harm to the cows and herdsmen on the farm.
We're staying here as bodyguards and temporary shepherds.
"There's cheese!"
Arisa's excitement rose when she saw the big cheeses lined up on the table.
"I fullfilled Arisa-chan's request. The fireplace is over there, so try skewering it on this long fork and roasting it."
"Yoohoo!"
Arisa yells and runs over to the fireplace.
Pochi and Tama are usually engrossed in freshly grilled sausages, but today they seem to be interested in Arisa's strange behavior.
"What are you doing?"
"Are you going to grill a cheese person, nanodesu?"
"Hehehe. Well, just watch."
Arisa said suggestively to the two who looked puzzled.
"Ah! The cheese man is melting, nanodesu!"
"Looks like it's going to drip?"
"Lulu, give me some sliced bread!"
Arisa demanded, her hand reaching behind her as she stared at the cheese.
"Yes, is this okay?"
"Perfect!"
Arisa puts melted cheese on top of the bread.
"I'll just eat this!"
Arisa took a big bite of the cheese bread.
"Hot-hot."
Cheese strings out from the torn piece.
Pochi and Tama, who were following it with their eyes, opened their mouths wide in an attempt to catch it and ran around in confusion.
For now, calm down.
"Delicious, nanodesu."
"Pochi too! Pochia wants to try it too, nanodesu!"
"Tama want to do it too?"
Arisa handed them a long fork as they desperately pleaded.
"Be careful not to get burned."
"Yes, nanodesu! First up is Pochi!"
Tama and Lulu lined up behind Pochi.
Even Liza was standing behind them.
When our eyes met, Liza looked awkward and looked away. It was kind of cute.
"Huh? Even Melinna-san?"
"Ahaha, it looks delicious."
"Don't they eat things like that on the farm?"
"I've used cheese in my cooking, but I've never melted cheese in an open fire and put it on bread."
It's surprising, since I would imagine a farm girl would try it so many times that she would get bored.
As we were enjoying a lively and enjoyable dinner like this...
"You're doing something fun, aren't you?"
Melinna's father, ranch owner Keints, arrived.
He still gives off a bear-like impression.
Well, thanks to this person not discriminating against the beast girls as well as Arisa because of her hair color, we're able to stay here without any worries.
"Dad, what's wrong? You usually eat with mother-in-law at the main house."
"Oh, come on. Is there anything interesting happening at the ranch?"
"I'm particularly curious about--"
"I see."
The farmer looked thoughtful after hearing my answer.
"Is there something bothering you?"
"There were rumors going around that a ghost had been causing trouble in a village along the mountain."
"--A ghost, you say?"
I'd like to avoid horror movies.
"Um, which mountain?"
"I'm talking about the Fujisan Mountains, Arisa-chan."
Arisa and I burst out laughing at Melinna's statement.
Fujisan is Mount Fuji? But is it a mountain range?
If this were a novel, the proofreader would mark it with a pencil and say, "This seems like a redundant statement."
"Wh-what's wrong, you two?"
"Excuse me. It's nothing."
In these cases I wish I had the Poker Face skill.
If I have enough points in the future, I will take it.
"yes?"
"Yeah, I just swallowed down the wrong way. But a ghost? Not a mountain wolf?"
Originally, the reason we came to this ranch was because of the great damage caused by mountain wolves.
"That's right. Apparently when a child was about to be attacked by a wolf in the village three villages away, a ghost like a woman with a glowing head appeared and saved him while yelling something about 'Stop it!'"
"Wasn't that just a normal woman helping him?"
Arisa asked after finishing her second slice of cheese bread.
"No, according to the child who was rescued, it had two heads and four tentacle-like arms. Also, its neck was shaking violently like a dead person."
That's scary.
"Apparently the villagers also saw it when they went into the forest looking for the child, but in the end its head started glowing and it suddenly disappeared from the scene."
It's truly horror.
"So, what is the connection between this ghost and the wolf?"
"I don't know about that, but the wolves stopped appearing at the same time as the ghost incident. There used to be a lot of damage caused by wolves in the mountain villages, but it seems that they have stopped completely these past few days."
"Maybe the herd has migrated somewhere far away?"
According to a map search, the wolf pack has left the mountains and moved westward.
There are still stray wolves roaming the nearby area, so it would be best to remain vigilant at the ranch until the professional herdsmen recover from their injuries.
"I hope that's the case, but there's a saying that it's the calm before the storm. Maybe some powerful monster is lurking and causing the wolves to flee."
"Dad, aren't you overthinking that?"
"Well, yeah. I don't believe it either. But it's important to think of it as a possibility and be prepared. Even if you're a little too cautious, it's fine if you can laugh about it later."
The farmer said this with a hearty laugh, then said, "If you see any ghosts in the middle of the night, let me know," and left, scaring Pochi and Tama.
For a while, it looks like I'll have to accompany him to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
◇
"Master, so do ghosts really exist, nanodesu?"
I tried searching the map, but I couldn't find any ghosts.
Of course, there were no monsters to be found that the farmer was afraid of. I searched only for level 20 and above, so there may be some omissions, but I don't think anyone below that level would be called a monster.
"They're not around here."
Tama and Pochi let out a sigh of relief after hearing my answer.
Only Liza looked a little disappointed, as if she wanted to fight the ghosts.
And on the night that we heard that story, we ended up encountering the ghost in question.