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Kontract's House Ranch
「Say, tousan」
「What is it」
「 Does our house have any other income source besides job requests for tousan and tax from the territory’s population?」
I asked Ziruol after we had our breakfast. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
I heard about the life of the villagers from Tobias and Eva the other day and I suddenly got curious.
The Dragon Tamer Ziruol seems to receive various job requests, such as monster extermination, transportation of goods, and escorting the royalties or nobles, as assistance toward other territories, but I wonder if there is another income apart from those?
「Right, I’m also curious about that. We light the fireplace almost every day, and we consume a lot of firewood, and we also have a lot of magic tools to keep our room warm, so the consumption of magic stones must also be a lot, right?」
It looks like Chloe is also interested in our house’s income.
The consumption of resources every day must be staggering since the Kontract house’s territory is located in an extremely cold environment.
「We also have a lot of employees in our mansion so we must pay them quite a lot as their wage and the familiars also eat a lot so the food expense is also quite high, right?」
When I think about it calmly, I’ve started to feel uncertain whether our current lifestyle matches our income.
「We mainly have two more income sources besides my job, you know」
「What kind of income?」
「One of them is selling materials and magic stones from the monsters in our territory」
There are a lot of particular monsters that have adapted to the cold northern district in the Kontract territory that appear often, and materials such as their furs are extremely valuable and can be used as high-quality winter clothes. Moreover, the materials and magic stones that have Ice attributes can only be obtained around this part, so they seem to sell at quite a high price.
「Runoa and Setsu are the ones who mainly gather these monster materials」
I hear that Runoa and Setsu go to the mountains and forest regularly. I wonder if they hunt monsters as a form of their exercise. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
Occasionally, I only see Setsu heading to the forest alone and returning, bringing back prey.
「Where do you sell the materials?」
「There is an Adventurer’s Guild in a town a little away from here, so I sell them all there. Also, Ziruol often drops by from work to sell things there」
An Adventurer’s Guild is like an intermediary company that facilitates requests for adventurers.
There are diverse requests such as monster subjugation, materials gathering, cleaning the town, letter delivery, and transporting goods, adventurers can receive rewards when they complete the requests they took.
It can be said to be the staple job in fantasy settings, but it looks like it exists prominently in this world as well.
「What is the other income source?」
「Rather than explaining the other source wouldn’t it be better to show both of you directly?」
「Right. The two of you have both grown, so I suppose I shall show you」
Runoa and Ziruol looked and nodded at each other.
Chloe and I know nothing about it and are completely in the dark, but it seems like they are going to show us to a place that serves as one of our sources of income. Chloe and I continue to follow Ziruol and Runoa with our familiars while knowing nothing about it. The two of them left the mansion and continued to head straight west.
「There’s nothing but plains around here, right?」
「Un, that should be the case though.....」
There are only wide plains around here so even though I sometimes take walks around here, I never go any further.
Chloe and I were confused since we knew there was nothing any further than this.
Even so, the two of them still walked at a confident stride so we followed them while feeling puzzled, and now about 30 minutes must have passed since we left the mansion.
The plains turned to hilly terrain and we arrived at a large fenced area with a lot of sheep.
「Sheeps!」
With their fluffy fur and spiraling horns, there is no mistaking their appearance.
「Look! There’s an Ore Turtle over there!」 1
When I looked at the direction Chloe’s finger pointed to, I saw a large turtle with an ore growing out of the shell on its back.
That’s not all. When I try to look around, I saw all sorts of animals and monsters such as Magic Mountain Goats, Highland Chickens, and White Snakes.
「This place, maybe it’s a ranch?」
Ziruol nodded when I asked. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
「That is right. But more accurately a ranch where the Kontract’s house raised our former familiars we tamed」
「Former familiars you tamed?」
There’s something that bothers me from the way Ziruol said it.
Right now there are more than a hundred monsters and animals inside the ranch as far as I could see. No matter how outstanding Ziruol and Runoa are in taming, it’s impossible for them to have this number of creatures.
Moreover, there is also the issue of compatibility when binding a Permanent Contract. And it will be difficult for those two who are skilled in taming dragon-type and wild beast-type creatures to tame the previous creatures.
「Not only are there familiars Ziruol and I have tamed, there are also familiars the previous lord and the one before here, you know」
「Heeー! No wonder there are a lot of familiars here! That’s amazing!」
If the familiars are not only Ziruol and Runoa’s but also the previous lords’, then it makes sense there are so many different kinds and numbers of familiars here.
「But, setting aside the previous lord, isn’t it strange that there are familiars from the lord before that?」
「Yes, that’s true」
Animals aside, in most cases, humans have shorter lifespans than monsters.
From Chloe’s manner of speaking, I think the previous lord is still alive, but the one before that is probably no longer in this world.
「If the master dies, the Permanent Contract with the familiars will be terminated. The ones remaining here are those familiars who chose to remain here after their contract was terminated」
「So you don’t renew the Contract Magic.....」
Despite being free, it must have meant that they really loved their master. Or maybe they recognized this place as their home. It makes me happy either way.
「Tousan, can I pet the Magic Sheep」
「No. We will tour the facility first」
When I tried to climb over the fence, Ziruol stopped me with all his strength.
Chee, even though I want to fully enjoy the fluffy Magic Sheep. 2
Reluctantly postponing the petting of Magic Sheep and continued to walk down the road until I saw a large stable.
There were many Magic Cows with black fur and large horns growing on their heads and there were what appeared to be their caretakers milking them.
「Ziruol-sama! Runoa-sama!」
「I brought my daughter Chloe and son Arc to look around」
「Everyone, please don’t worry about us and concentrate on your work」
「Excuse me. We really appreciate it」
Seeing us, the caretakers were about to interrupt their work, but they resumed their work when Runoa calmly said that.
「Are those people also tamers?」
「No, they are villagers who came from Corne village to work here. They are not tamers」
「So you can take care of them even if you are not tamer 」
「That’s because they are former familiars of Kontract house. You can’t do it with normal monsters」
Runoa said to add the information when I was impressed with them. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
As expected, the familiars tamed by the Kontract House are special.
「But, I heard there are also those among them who are unmanageable and will not listen」
I’m curious about the former familiars who won’t listen, but Runoa and Ziruol are probably the ones who took care of such troublesome children.
「So this is the other extra income tousan was talking about?」
「That is right. We get milk from the Magic Cows from the ranch and then we process them into dairy products like cheese and yogurt and export them」
「We also get the Magic Sheep’s wool three times a year, collect the horns, claws, and scales from other former familiars, and process them into finished goods」
Of course, they only collect shed horns, molted skin, peeled scales, and broken claws that fall off naturally for regeneration, they don’t forcibly collect them from the familiars.
Right. Although they are former familiars, they don’t treat them like common livestock as they won’t be staying here if they are treated like that.
「So the milk we got at home is from the Magic Cows here」
「That is how it is」
Since the milk from Magic Cows was processed into dairy products, it seems like it’s quite popular in the Istania Empire since we can naturally provide a stable supply of them.
「I guess the Kontract house is not just supported by tousan’s job. That’s a relief」
「I would die from overwork if that were to happen」
I thought what would happen if Ziruol was injured or sick, but it seems like there is no problem for now.
「We have arrived all the way to the ranch after all so do both of you want to try milking the Magic Cows?」
「「I’ll do it!」」
Chloe and I immediately replied when Runoa suggested it.
「I’d like to have my children experience milking the cows, would it be okay to ask that?」
「Please leave it to me」
When Runoa called them, one of the caretakers who was free came over to volunteer as the instructor.
After washing our hands in the washing area, Chloe and I were guided by the caretaker to the stable.
There was a Magic Cow standing there quietly.
「It looks big up close」
「Yeah」
When I looked at the stable from the outside, it didn’t feel that big, but when I got close it had a great presence. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
Well, that’s obvious. I mean, it’s several times bigger than our bodies and a monster.
「How do you squeeze the milk?」
「Please firmly grasp the base of the teat. Use your thumb and index finger to make a tight circle from the base and squeeze, and then follow by squeezing your middle finger, ring finger, and pinky in order」
Looks like the milking method itself is not that different from my previous life.
「Can I do it first?」
「U, uh, sure」
Since Chloe doesn’t look brave enough, I decided to try first.
I squat close to the Magic Cow and slowly squeeze the teat.
Perhaps it’s because their basal body temperature is higher than humans, as it was very warm.
It looks squishy and soft but it is surprisingly elastic.
I make a circle with my thumb and index finger just like the caretaker taught me and try to squeeze from the base.
Immediately after that, milk spurted out and poured into the bucket.
I’m impressed with the fact that I was able to milk cows with my own hands.
「That’s good. You have a really nice touch」
「Thank you」
The caretaker praised me when I was milking the cow mindlessly.
Looks like my experience of milking cows in my previous life showed up.
Since the Magic Cow is calm and shows no sign of struggling, I can milk it with peace of mind.
「Can I also try to milk them?」
「Please」
It seems like Chloe gained courage after seeing me milking the cow.
Squatting on the other side, she nervously grasps the cow’s teat and squeezes it in order with her middle finger, ring finger, and pinky.
Then, milk also started to come out from the teat Chloe was holding.
「Waawaa! Amazing…………!」
Looks like Chloe was also able to milk the cow well.
It’s surprisingly difficult to let the milk squirt out at the start but she did it.
「The bucket is full now, so let us end it here today」
As we were silently milking the cow, the caretaker’s voice called out to us that we were done after a while. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
Looking at the bucket below, it was filled to the brim with milk before we knew it.
The more I squeezed, the more milk came out so I ended up having fun and milked a lot.
Ziruol and Runoa came over when the caretaker collected the milk.
「How was it?」
「It was fun!」
「That’s good to hear」
「We usually drink it so it is good to know how it was made」
It’s one thing to milk a cow but it’s not often you get the chance to experience milking a Magic cow.
「Can we drink the milk we milked straight away?」
Chloe simply stated while giving a sidelong glance at the caretaker taking the bucket filled with milk at the facility nearby.
「It is better not to drink freshly squeezed milk due to hygiene issues」
There is a common misunderstanding that you can immediately drink freshly squeezed milk after you milk it when you rear a cow, but there are all sorts of bacteria in the milk. It won’t always cause an upset stomach, but it is safer to drink it after going through the sterilization process.
There were strict rules established regarding that even back in my previous life, but it seems like it is the same in this world.
「So it’s like that. It’s a shame since I thought we could drink it immediately」
「But, you can drink the low-temperature pasteurized milk straight away, you know. It is fresh and tastes better than the one we drink at the dining table」
「Really!? I want to drink it!」
「Me too!」
「Then shall we take a little break and try having a drink outside?」
Since we can drink fresh milk that has just been sterilized, we decided to go outside of the stable, sit on the wooden chairs, and have a taste of the milk. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
After Ziruol called a caretaker over, the caretaker brought a big jar of milk over to us.
「Please enjoy. This is fresh milk」
The caretaker pours the milk into glasses for us and continues to also pour some milk onto plates for Fuku, Tyrol, Bell, and Setsu
After everyone got their share, we each raised our glasses and had a toast.
It has a smooth taste and a creamy flavor spreads inside my mouth.
「It’s tasty!」
「It’s completely different from the milk we drink in the mansion!」
The flavor is surprisingly rich. And yet the taste was remarkably clean and refreshing.
It doesn’t leave behind a thick, sweet aftertaste like regular milk.
The milk we usually drink back at the mansion is of course good, but as expected, there is a difference in freshness in freshly-bottled milk.
「Fuku, Tyrol does it taste good?」
「Wan wan!」
「Chun!」
Fuku and Tyrol were licking their plates as if they were enjoying the flavor.
Even though it is rich and creamy, it goes down your throat smoothly and you can drink it quickly. There is also none of the common smell you get from milk and I’m sure this will definitely sell well.
「As I thought, freshly squeezed milk is delicious!」
Ziruol put his glass on the table with an expression that seemed to say this was an irresistible experience.
「Ziruol, you got a white beard around your mouth」
「Come on, in front of the kids」
「Then please avoid making the area around your mouth dirty」
Ziruol got embarrassed when his mouth was wiped by Runoa, while she was clearly amused by that.
….I feel like I’ve been shown something richer than freshly squeezed milk.
Chloe and I quietly averted our gazes and decided to enjoy the Magic Cow’s milk while admiring the vast ranch scenery. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
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TL Note :
1. 鉱石亀
2. 魔羊
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