Chapter 25. I was a worker.

Someone had to ‘clean’ the surroundings, and someone had to guard the ranch.

The division of personnel was naturally decided with one person guarding the ranch and the other two doing the ‘cleaning’.

However, Grainy was firm in her intention to do the ‘cleaning’ herself, so in reality, it was set up for Pol and me to each take one of the roles.

Since it was obvious at a glance that sitting still and watching over the ranch was the more comfortable option, I was just about to volunteer for the noble role of ranch guardian.

“You. Let's go.”

Grainy pointed to me as the one to accompany her.

I could have avoided it by making an excuse, but it would be troublesome to be perceived as a slacker from the very beginning.

Having no choice, I followed behind Grainy.

* * *

Splurt.

The monster’s characteristic green blood shot up and pattered onto the ground, leaving an artistic trace.

“Very good. Refreshing. I was so bothered by these bastards constantly pestering me.”

Grainy swung her long spear around and burst into hearty laughter.

A former mercenary and current ranch owner.

Her skills hadn't rusted, as every time she thrust her spear, a hole was pierced through a monster’s body.

“So refreshing!”

One, then another.

Due to their large numbers, a few of them charged toward me as well.

I could easily slice up just a few of them without using swordsmanship.

This time, I was more careful and didn't even get covered in blood.

I just gave a slight nod to Grainy, who gave me a thumbs-up as if to say I did well.

‘Monsters are more common than I thought.’

I had only encountered monsters once before.

It was only when I took on the goblin subjugation request and dealt with goblins and a Hond Wolf as a set.

I hadn't encountered any monsters while moving between cities.

So I thought that these things called monsters weren't incredibly common- but when I set out to find them, one popped out every few steps.

I came to clearly understand that the reason I hadn't run into monsters wasn't because there were few of them, but because I had been moving along the roads.

‘What a terrible world.’

Even goblins, which were among the weakest of monsters, were a threat on par with wolves.

At least goblins were at a level where ordinary people could fight back.

If a powerful monster like a Hond Wolf or an Armor Bear appeared, one had no choice but to rely on experts.

That is to say, people like mercenaries or soldiers under a lord.

And if the situation became more serious than that, the knights would step in.

The wild boars and water deer that tormented farmers in 21st-century Korea seemed cute in comparison.

‘Farming is somewhat better. Animal husbandry is a complete disaster.’

Monsters weren't very interested in crops, but the livestock on a ranch stimulated their appetite, resulting in several times more monster attacks.

I thought that if it was this hard to run a ranch, you should at least make a lot of money, but ironically, she said she couldn't make money because of those very monsters.

‘To think that hunting is more profitable than livestock farming. It’s absurd.’

Except for milk, things like meat and leather could also be obtained from monsters.

That's right.

Surprisingly, monster meat was edible.

Commoners, who were desperate for every penny, were satisfied with monster meat, so there was no reason to buy expensive meat.

Moreover, in many cases, leather and bones from monsters were of better quality, further reducing their competitiveness.

And as for selling to nobles, those high and mighty people directly owned the labor and land needed to create a ranch.

Meaning, it was common for them to own a ranch or two themselves.

Unlike Grainy's tiny ranch, their scale was also quite large, so they were more on the side of selling their products.

Looking at it this way and that, it was strange to be running a ranch at all.

‘I can't stand being curious.’

The person herself was right in front of me.

I decided to just ask her directly.

“Why on earth are you running a ranch?”

“……What's it to you.”

Grainy's voice turned chilly.

It seemed I had touched upon a sensitive subject.

There was a faint scent in the air that my curiosity was about to send me to heaven.

I hurriedly backed off.

“I just didn't understand. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to.”

On second thought, it's not like anything would change even if I knew.

I wasn't planning on staying here long anyway, so there was no need to poke around and make the atmosphere uncomfortable.

“Right. Let's do a good job. Stop thinking about useless things and just do your work properly.”

“……Yes.”

Why was it that even in a different world, the things that people who were bosses said were so alike?

“Now, let's go bust up the next one!”

In an instant, Grainy returned to the image of a motivated hunter and strode ahead.

She had already caught about a dozen monsters, yet there was no sign of fatigue.

‘Maybe I should have just offered to guard the ranch myself.’

As expected, Grainy was uncomfortable.

If it had been Pol, he would have been sucking up and catering to Grainy's mood, just as he did with me.

The assignment of roles was not good at all.

* * *

“Good work out there!”

Pol greeted us with a ninety-degree bow.

Unlike me, who had gone through a rough time, Pol was pristine.

Apparently, no one had attacked the ranch.

He said all he did was take a patrol-like stroll around the ranch's perimeter.

“We've taken care of about half of them today, so we should be able to finish the rest by tomorrow. After that, we'll expand the ranch……”

Grainy muttered as she wiped the blood-soaked spear.

Like a novice in love who started planning their grandchildren's names after a single greeting, she was endlessly inflating her plans.

How was she going to manage the ranch if she expanded it?

It wasn't as if increasing the business scale would improve profitability, right?

Would just making it wider make money?

Could she even hold out until the livestock multiplied?

There were more than one or two things I wanted to pick on, but it was none of my business anyway.

By the time Grainy went bankrupt from her foolish endeavors, I wouldn't be here.

“Can't we talk after we eat?”

“Alright. I'll prepare a meal.”

In Grainy's hand was the carcass of a monster she had killed today.

It seemed she was planning to cook with the monster's meat.

I didn't expect her to slaughter a cow to feed us, but not being able to get proper meat at a ranch wasn't a very pleasant feeling.

It was like a cafe owner forbidding their employees from making their own drinks and telling them to drink instant coffee.

It wasn't a major offense, but it was a deed that could elicit complaints about being petty.

‘It could also be an expression of her displeasure.’

Was she still holding a grudge because of my question earlier?

It was like sitting on a bed of thorns.

After Grainy went into the kitchen, Pol cautiously approached me.

“How were the monsters?”

“How were they? They were creatures befitting the word ‘cleaning’. The only harvest was a little bit of meat.”

The Hond Wolf, whose horns could at least be sold, was a saint in comparison.

Then again, if they had been profitable, someone would have already come and dealt with them even if they were left alone.

Was it the difference between a rare insect and a pest?

Anyway, to make someone work without pay for a job that should be paid for, like pest control, was exploitation.

But to stay here, I had no choice but to follow Grainy's words.

Huh?

I felt like I'd heard a story like this somewhere before.

Illegal immigrant foreign worker……?

I felt like cold water had been poured on my already foul mood.

‘Nothing ever goes as planned.’

I had been worried about getting a bad impression from Grainy if I made an excuse, but in the end, I made a slip of the tongue while moving with her, which ended up displeasing her, so it was meaningless.

I went through all the trouble and only suffered a loss.

I should have just been stubborn from the start.

“Starting tomorrow, you follow that lady around.”

As for swordsmanship training- I decided to postpone it for a bit.

My stamina was drained from hunting monsters for now, and anyway, if I were to use swordsmanship in a flash without taking the time to interpret the manual, I would arouse Grainy's suspicion.

“Yessir.”

Pol didn't even ask for a reason for my instruction.

It didn't take long for Grainy's cooking to be completed.

A steak made by simply grilling the green monster meat. The taste was quite bad.

* * *

The second day at Grainy's ranch.

I was planning to leisurely enjoy the ranch scenery like Pol did yesterday…….

“It's one thing after another.”

Unlike yesterday, the ranch was noisy today.

Because an uninvited guest had arrived.

“Did you think I was an easy target because I was guarding alone?”

I swung my sword to flick off the ‘red blood’.

“D-Damn brat……!”

Right, she did say that not just monsters, but humans also targeted the ranch.

The fact that it wasn't profitable was a story comparing investment and earnings; from the perspective of a robber, livestock were indeed valuable assets.

Flies drawn not by appetite, but by greed.

If I had known this would happen, it would have been better to just go hunt monsters.

“Why do only the messy things happen to me?”

Five cow thieves.

There was no way five people were watching the ranch.

The reason nothing had happened yesterday while Pol was guarding the ranch alone must have been because it took time to gather their comrades.

“It's just one guy! There are five of us!”

The one who seemed to be the leader of the cow thieves shouted.

Grainy had been alone too, yet it seemed Grainy was scary and I was a pushover.

His arm was cut by the sword I had swung to intimidate him, and blood was streaming down.

It wasn't intentional; it was the result of that guy flailing around and ramming his arm into the blade on his own.

Perhaps because of that, he didn't seem to realize he had no chance of winning.

The cow thieves began to cautiously approach with their weapons held out.

‘Haven't they learned anything even after seeing their comrade get hurt?’

Or perhaps they had decided they couldn't back down because their comrade had been hurt.

Since the milk was already spilled, let's see it through to the end.

It couldn't be a more regrettable choice.

The skills of the cow thieves were pathetic.

Compared to them, the bandits I had met before seemed like excellent fighters.

However, subduing them without taking their lives was a challenge.

While I was tying them up one by one, the others wouldn't just stand by.

In that case, I had no choice but to break their limbs, which, unless I was going to heal them with expensive potions, was no different from killing them.

It would be more merciful to kill them cleanly.

Tsk. It couldn't be helped.

“Come at me all at once.”

I couldn't leave my post, so pursuit was impossible.

It was ideal to deal with them swiftly before they could think of running away.

If they just came into range, I could cut all five of them down with a single sword strike.

I twisted my grip on the sword, waiting for them to get close enough.

These guys were also cowards, so for every two steps forward, they would surely take one step back.

One guy, two guys.

A little more.

Three guys, four guys.

They're here.

Now-

“Brother-!!”

The moment the last one was about to cross the line, a voice was heard.

Pol was running over from a distance, flailing his arms.

“Damn it! He called his comrade!”

“W-We'll see about this!”

The cow thieves' reaction was swift.

While my attention was on Pol's arrival, they had moved far away.

It took them a long time to approach, but their escape was instantaneous.

It seemed they wanted to run away but were just looking at each other for an excuse.

I had no thought of chasing after them.

I wasn't some blood-crazed murderer; if they ran away and kept a low profile for a while, that was enough.

“Gasp, huff. Are you, huff, unhurt?”

“You think I'd get beaten by guys like that?”

I was grateful for his concern, but it was a slightly pride-wounding thing to say.

“What on earth is going on? What about Ms. Grainy?”

It wasn't time for them to be back yet.

If they had finished up faster than expected, Grainy should have come with him.

Pol quickly came to his senses and spoke incoherently.

“Ah! The cave, the cave is……!”

A cave?

What cave?

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