Chapter 35
After spending the night at Dad's family home, I woke around sunrise the next morning, apparently having slept deeply from exhaustion. Marie was still asleep, but Dad and Mom were nowhere to be seen.
It was still around the time I'd normally be asleep...
Curious, I went toward the living room and found everyone gathered there, eating breakfast.
"Oh, Leon, you're up early. I thought we'd let you sleep in since you must be tired, but are you sure you're okay getting up already?"
"Yeah. I slept soundly, so I'm not sleepy anymore."
"Then will you help with the work, Leon?"
"Help with the work?"
"That's right. Your father and I are planning to help with the work at each other's family homes. What will you do, Leon?"
That sounds fun...!! I wanted to see how they farmed and raised animals, especially the livestock!
"I want to help, too! I want to see the animals!"
"Then come with me. Hurry up, get ready, and eat your breakfast."
"Okay!"
While I was talking with Mom, Grandfather spoke to me.
"Leon, you'll help in the fields tomorrow too, won't you? I'd be lonely if you stayed over there the whole time."
Grandfather was a little sulky that I hadn't chosen to help in the fields. I'd thought so yesterday too, but they really did love their grandchildren... Maybe it was because they couldn't see us very often.
"Okay! I'll help in the fields tomorrow."
As we talked about that, I got ready and headed with Mom to her family home.
"Grandpa, Grandma, can I help, too?"
To tell them apart, my maternal grandparents were called Grandpa and Grandma, while my paternal grandparents were called Grandfather and Grandmother.
"Oh, Leon! You made it!"
Grandpa was overjoyed, almost comically so.
"Then let's start by having you help feed the animals."
"Got it!"
The cows in the cowshed they took me to were, surprisingly, dairy cows. Dairy cows existed in this world, too!
But were dairy cows something that occurred naturally? I wasn't sure, but this world had quite a lot of things that existed in Japan. And for some reason, they were things that had existed in modern Japan. Would I ever learn why?
When I asked Grandpa, he told me that they mainly raised cows, pigs, and chickens for food. However, some livestock farmers had been given dairy cows by influential people long ago and still raised them. Grandpa mainly took care of the dairy cows, while my uncle and aunt apparently looked after the other animals.
The milk was generally processed into things like butter, which noble families and wealthy merchants bought. They sold fresh milk as well during the winter, but they couldn't sell it in summer because it was difficult to preserve. It would be a serious problem if it spoiled, after all.
Once ice makers were invented, they might be able to sell milk even in summer. Wealthy nobles might even use ice makers to transport it. I hoped that would make my grandparents' lives more prosperous.
"Leon, over here."
"Okay!"
I started by feeding the cows. The feed was something like hay, but carrying a lot of it was surprisingly heavy. Even this was quite hard work...
Once that was done, it was time to milk the cows. I began under Grandpa's instruction.
"Leon, first, pinch the base of the teat firmly between your thumb and index finger. Then apply pressure with your fingers one at a time, starting from the top."
"Like this?"
"That's right! You're doing great!"
Grandpa said that and vigorously ruffled my hair.
From there, I quietly continued milking on my own. My hands gradually started to hurt, but I somehow managed to finish milking them all. This is tiring...
Since using body enhancement made it hard to control my strength delicately, I hadn't used it, thinking it might hurt the cow.
Thinking I'd finished milking them all, I stood up with a long stretch and a groan, but then noticed that there was another cow at the end of the barn.
There was another one...? But why was that one standing a little apart from the others?
"Grandpa, are we going to milk that one, too?"
"Ah, that one? It has mastitis, so it can't produce milk right now. I've been keeping it clean and taking care of it, hoping it'll get better, but it hasn't healed."
"Mastitis?"
"Yes. It's an illness that makes the teat red and swollen and stops milk from coming out. It usually clears up if you keep the teat clean, but this one's lasted a long time. I feel sorry for it and want it to get better soon."
If keeping it clean usually made it better, then bacteria or viruses must have gotten into the teat and caused inflammation, right?
Could I cure it with healing magic...?
This wasn't an injury but an illness, so maybe I could find out whether healing magic worked on illnesses, too!
I wanted to try it.
"Grandpa, my magic has the healing attribute. Can I try it on that cow? I don't know whether it'll work, but I don't think it will do any harm..."
"I don't mind, but healing magic only works on injuries, doesn't it?"
"But my magic power is five, so there might be a chance it will work."
"In that case, go ahead and try it."
With Grandpa's permission, I went over to the cow.
The teat was quite red and swollen, and looked painful. Inflammation happened because the body was fighting viruses that had entered it, right? If so, removing the harmful viruses should cure it.
I held my hand over the teat and imagined removing the germs and viruses. A detailed image was impossible, so I only had a vague one. Even an image based on an anime drawing was better than not imagining anything at all.
I settled on an image of removing the germs and suppressing the inflammation, then used magic. Ugh... It used quite a lot of magic power. Probably because my image was vague. But it should be healed now.
I looked at the teat, which had been red and swollen just moments before. It had returned to normal, just like the other cows' teats, with no redness left. Success!
...That meant it was possible to cure illnesses, too. Just as I'd expected. But it used a considerable amount of magic power, so I needed to increase my magic power even more... I still had plenty of training to do.
As I was thinking that over, Grandpa called out impatiently.
"Leon, how did it go?"
"I think it's cured!"
"Really!?"
Grandpa hurried over to the cow and examined its teat.
"It really is cured... Leon, you're incredible! That's my grandson!"
Grandpa was ecstatic. I should probably tell him not to go around telling everyone about this...
"Grandpa, don't tell anyone else about this, okay? It would be a huge problem if people started asking me to cure their cows, too."
"I-I understand..."
Grandpa agreed reluctantly, but he had definitely been planning to brag about it to everyone nearby. Still, he probably wouldn't do anything that might disadvantage his grandchild, so it should be fine.
After that, I went back to helping with the work. Next, we cleaned the barn.
First, we removed the manure and other things scattered across the floor and cleaned the area where the cows slept.
Then we carried the tub they used for drinking water to the well, washed it thoroughly, and filled it with water. It was incredibly hard... I couldn't count how many times I wished I could use water magic.
Grandpa and Grandma apparently had the Water and Fire attributes, but their magic power was too low to use magic for work.
Once we'd finished all that, it was nearly noon, so Mom and I decided to return to Dad's family home. Apparently, we'd be eating lunch there.
When we returned to Dad's family home, Marie and Dad were getting lunch ready. Apparently, they'd decided to have the cook prepare it.
Lunch was milk soup made with fresh vegetables and milk, served with bread. Since I was always eating the same soup, the milk soup was incredibly delicious.
After lunch, we returned to Mom's family home. Grandpa called out to me cheerfully.
"Leon, come here. We're going to make butter now, so let's make it together."
"Really!? I'll help!"
This was my first time making butter.
Come to think of it, when I'd baked pancakes before, I'd wondered whether butter was a luxury since we had some. But if my grandparents made it at home, of course we'd have access to it.
I'd also wondered whether steak meat was expensive to produce, but perhaps we bought it cheaply from my grandparents.
"All right, let's make some."
Making butter involved putting the butterfat separated from the milk into a barrel-like container that could be turned, then rotating it over and over. Naturally, it was all done by hand.
Grandpa had handled separating the butterfat from the milk, so all I had to do was turn the barrel, but it was incredibly difficult. You couldn't do it without strength and stamina.
Also, since the milk and butter had to be kept cool, they often had to draw cold water from the well, which looked exhausting, too.
I didn't know how butter was made in Japan, but it had probably been done by machine... I want a machine!
After quite a long time, the butter was finally ready.
"All right! It's done. This butter is yours, Leon. It's the first butter you've ever made."
"Really!? Thank you!"
"Butter should keep for a while. Take it home and use it in your cooking."
"Yeah! Thanks."
Mom had kept butter at room temperature before and used it without issue, so perhaps it would keep for a long time even at room temperature. Since summers in this world weren't as hot as in Japan, maybe it would be fine for a while if I kept it in the shade. I decided to secretly keep it chilled with ice, just in case.
It would be difficult, but I hoped ice makers would gradually become available to commoners, too.
"Leon, we're going back to your father's family home."
What!? Was it already that late? Had we spent the entire afternoon making butter? That would certainly explain why I was tired.
"Mom, wait a moment! Thank you, Grandpa!"
I hurriedly thanked Grandpa and chased after Mom.