Chapter 55: The Typhoon and Marbles (3)
Business might be down, but there’s still work to be done.
The wind and rain had started yesterday. Given the severe weather, I’d made sure the barns were well-secured and had prepared enough feed, so I told Ment, Miltein, and Lady Serral not to come up today. I could handle things myself.
No point in them getting hurt trying to tend to the ranch in this nasty weather.
If even one person got injured, I’d be the one at a loss. Finding trustworthy help isn’t easy.
“Rurin, stay here and laze around. I’m going to check on the ranch.”
I called out to Rurin as I stepped outside.
The moment I stepped out, the wind hit me like a punch.
**Whoooosh!**
The weather was so bad it made walking difficult and obstructed my view.
If this was what it was like after the storm had subsided a bit, it was hard to imagine how much worse it could get.
Hasn’t the eye of the storm passed by now? Without a weather forecast, it’s hard to know these things.
“Damn wind!”
“Yeah, damn wind. Huh?”
Rurin was standing right next to me. When did she get here? How did I not notice?
“Why’d you come along?”
“I just felt like going with you.”
“Really?”
She nodded.
Was she worried about me because of the bad weather? This dragon?
Nah, couldn’t be.
I looked closely at Rurin’s face. She glanced back at me, squinting as the rain splashed against her face, but she kept walking resolutely by my side.
“Well, if you decided to come along on your own, I won’t stop you.”
Rurin’s hair whipped wildly in the wind. Her long black hair flew everywhere. I wished she’d take care of it better; the wind could damage it.
We climbed up the hill to the ranch. Though it wasn’t a massive typhoon strong enough to send water buffalo flying, it was still worth checking things out.
“Huh?”
“Miltein! Hold on tight!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
An unexpected scene unfolded before us.
At the ranch, a water buffalo had escaped its pen, and Miltein and Ment were wrestling with it in the wind and rain.
I had told them to take the day off, yet here they were, out working in this weather. Such good people, truly.
But this wasn’t the time to be merely impressed. I rushed over to help them.
It seemed the buffalo had been spooked by the wind and rain. It didn’t seem like its wild instincts had kicked in, subdued as it was by the dragon’s aura. It just seemed frightened, unaware that the barn was the safest place to be.
“Let’s get it back to the barn first! With the three of us pulling, we should be able to manage.”
“Yes!”
Miltein and Ment nodded in unison at my suggestion. With my help, we managed to overpower the buffalo and steer it back into the barn. It didn’t take long to get the frightened buffalo back inside.
The barn we built was quite large. Inside, it was sheltered from the wind and rain. While some water seeped in, it wasn’t too bad and was within tolerable limits.
Despite the protection, the buffalo had bolted into the wild. What a testament to buffalo intelligence.
Once the buffalo was safely back in its pen, I secured the gate firmly. Ment bowed apologetically.
“It was Berineric’s fault for not securing the pen door properly. All our precautions go to waste if the doors aren’t shut tight. Honestly, every mishap is human error, isn’t it? Human error. Got it, you fool?”
“I’m so sorry…”
Miltein hung her head.
“Is that why you came up here? I told you it wasn’t necessary…”
“No, that’s not it. We had to come. We only realized the issue once we got here. This clumsy fool! He usually does everything right, but one mistake, and it all goes to waste. And he makes that mistake in this weather? How are you going to apologize to Sir Elle?”
**Whack!**
Ment gave Miltein a good smack on the head. Having made a mistake, Miltein could only clutch his head without saying a word.
“Oh, come now, it’s fine as long as the buffalo is back. Don’t be too hard on him; he works himself to the bone. It’s partly my fault for not supervising better.”
Lady Serral patted Ment on the back. She also bowed to me, her face apologetic.
Honestly, these people were more important than one runaway buffalo.
“Oh, well… Be thankful to Lady Serral for being so lenient. But more importantly, apologize to Sir Elle! Do you know how much damage could have been done?”
“No harm done at all. The important thing is that the three of you are safe. Besides, I didn’t expect you all to be up here today.”
“We heard you say to take the day off, but how could we do that? This is work. It’s precisely times like these when we need to be more attentive.”
Lady Serral shook her head.
Ment and Miltein also shook their heads at me.
“Work on the ranch has become almost a way of life. It’s only natural.”
“How could I be careless with work entrusted to me by the man who saved my son?”
“Exactly. Besides, the pay is more regular than when we were mercenaries. Hahaha!”
**Thump!**
Miltein, who had been speaking unnecessarily, got a good knock on the head from Ment and looked close to tears.
“Well, I do appreciate all of your hard work. It’s just…”
I knew these three were putting in an incredible amount of effort. Thanks to Lady Serral, we’d even successfully bred more buffalo, increasing their numbers.
These people treated the buffalo as if they were their children, and because of that, my pocket money had increased, and we had a steady supply of cheese.
The three of them began cleaning up the barn with smiles on their faces. Their clothes were soaked, and their hands and feet were covered in mud.
But they were still smiling. I didn’t know where to put myself.
“Oh! By the way, have you all had lunch?”
I should at least provide them with a meal. Usually, it wouldn’t matter, but I couldn’t ignore them being out in this nasty weather at the barn. I really wanted to give them something.
“No, we haven’t.”
The three of them shook their heads in unison.
“Alright, then I’ll head back to the restaurant for a bit.”
I thought of going back to the restaurant to fetch some **kalguksu**. I turned to find Rurin. She was squatting in front of the buffalo pen, holding some feed, teasingly giving and taking it away.
“Are you hungry? Not giving it to you. Hehe.”
“What are you doing?”
“It’s funny to see this one stick its tongue out!”
“I can’t deal with this… Stop being silly and come with me to the restaurant, unless you want to stay here?”
Rurin immediately stood up and shook her head.
“This place means nothing without you.”
I grabbed Rurin’s hand and dragged her back to the restaurant. I threw some noodles into the leftover broth and brought the entire pot back up to the ranch.
**Swooooosh!**
Just as the wind seemed to die down, the rain intensified. As soon as we reached the barn, we had to dry ourselves with towels. I handed out the towels I had brought to the three and had them sit in the barn.
“What is that, Sir Elle?”
Miltein, curious, approached. The barn smelled strongly of animals, but the three seemed accustomed to it and naturally took the pot.
“It’s a pallenque soup dish. Eat it while it’s hot.”
“Oh my!”
Lady Serral’s eyes sparkled with curiosity as she looked at the dish I had prepared. Unable to resist, Miltein took a sip of the broth first and exclaimed.
“The broth is fantastic! Ah, so warm. Mentor, you have to try this!”
“Really? Well, let’s see.”
In a corner of the barn, steam rose from the **kalguksu** pot.
“There’s plenty, so help yourselves.”
After serving them, I watched them eat for a bit, then started checking around the barn again. But the three were so diligent that there was no need to inspect further.
At this rate, there wasn’t much for me to do here.
I should give them a bonus.
Considering the buffalo numbers have increased significantly, maybe it’s time to hire an extra hand or two.
I had left such matters to Ment, of course.
“Ahh! I want a drink… Especially after getting dumped by my girlfriend the other day… Sob…”
“I was wondering why you were the first one up here.”
“Oh my, really?”
“Got dumped, huh?”
Ment responded first, and Lady Serral looked at Miltein with sympathy. I was the last to speak.
If Miltein’s girlfriend was the one who said she’d marry him if he quit being a mercenary, then…
Miltein, though good-looking, seemed to have no luck with women. Well, I don’t have a partner either, so who am I to talk?
“This is delicious!”
Somehow, Rurin had joined the group, slurping the remaining soup with a look of delight.
“Sir Elle has such a beautiful wife…”
Miltein muttered, looking at Rurin. But that was a misunderstanding I couldn’t overlook.
Both the young Lord Grayke and Verna had made the same mistake—thinking Rurin was my wife!
“No, why is everyone making this mistake?”
I said, but Rurin, looking proud, added fuel to the fire.
“You’ve got sharp eyes. That’s right. Elle is mine.”
“Rurin. Come here.”
“Oh, is she not your wife?”
Even Lady Serral looked surprised. I had no words left. Everyone was so full of misconceptions.
“We’re not married. We’re not! Anyway, you should head back down early today.”
I grabbed Rurin’s hand and started to pull her away.
“Maybe he’s shy?”
“Seems like it.”
“They look like newlyweds, don’t they? Hehehe.”
I heard each of them mutter something as I pulled her away.
“No, we’re not!”
I shouted desperately, but the three of them just looked away, laughing. Rurin was laughing too.
“These people have good eyes. You are mine.”
“No, Rurin, before that, being ‘your wife’ and being ‘yours’ have different meanings. Do you understand?”
“How are they different? Mom always said a husband and wife belong to each other.”
“So, you’re mine, and I’m yours?”
“Exactly.”
“You’re saying you belong to me?”
“Because I am yours, I listen to you, stay by your side, and want to die with you.”
“…”
I was at a loss for words.
My heart suddenly skipped a beat. Rurin’s words had a rare effect on me.
**Whoooooosh!**
The wind started blowing again. Yeah, it’s the wind, so I should run. I’m definitely not running because of some strange feeling.
“Let’s go, you!”
With that, Rurin started running after me. We ran back to the restaurant together.
By the time we returned from the ranch, it was already late afternoon.
The rain continued to pour down. The wind, having calmed for a bit, picked up again, alternating between calm and fierce. The sky had been consistently dark since morning, but it grew even darker as evening approached.
As expected, dinner service was out. So we had some free time. We’d already done the laundry and house chores in the morning, and I had checked the ranch in the afternoon, finishing all the necessary tasks.
Sitting idly at the table, I grew too bored and called out to Rurin.
“Rurin, come here.”
“What is it?”
Rurin approached with a brisk step. As she drew near, I gave her a devilish grin.
