Raising Black Goats at the Ranch
I had come to a ranch that raised black goats.
The reason I’d come back to Gangwon from Seoul was simple.
I was here to buy the animals required for the World Tree quest.
I handed a stack of yellow bills to the muscular man standing in front of me.
The ranch owner took the money and counted it.
One bill, two bills, three bills...
“...Yes, that checks out.”
As if he were used to this sort of thing, the ranch owner finished counting the bills with practiced ease and smiled.
I looked away from him and at the young black goats I’d paid for.
One kid’s square black eyes met mine.
When our eyes met, it let out a bleat.
The ranch owner tossed out a question.
“So what exactly are you planning to do?”
“Pardon?”
“You’re the one, right? The guy who’s been stopping by ranches since dawn, buying chickens and pigs and all that.”
“Oh?”
He’d guessed right.
I hadn’t only bought black goats in this ranching district.
Since dawn, I’d been stopping by different ranches and buying animals in even numbers.
It was to make sure I had matched pairs of males and females.
“How’d you figure that out?”
“You’re the hot topic among the ranch owners around here.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. They say you’re a big spender who buys plenty of any animal.”
I had bought plenty, all right.
I’d made sure the numbers were even, taking six to ten of each kind.
But... was buying animals really such a spectacle?
Unable to make sense of it, I tilted my head.
Seeing my expression, the ranch owner snorted with a laugh.
“It’s because it’s strange.”
“What is?”
“You bought so many animals, but there’s not a single one in sight.”
As he spoke, the ranch owner stretched his neck and peeked behind me.
All there was back there was a black sedan parked a little ways off.
Obviously, a black sedan didn’t have anywhere to load animals.
If I wanted to carry all the animals I’d bought today, I’d need at least a proper transport truck.
“How did you do it? You can’t put living things in a magic pouch, can you?”
Just as he said, only lifeless things could go into a magic pouch.
Old bones, monster carcasses, things like that...
No matter how many things a magic pouch could hold, living creatures were off-limits.
So where were the animals I’d bought today?
In Sanctuary, of course.
I’d been putting them in there as soon as I bought them.
By now, the elves were probably hard at work building a ranch.
“Are you thinking of setting up a ranch yourself?”
When I didn’t answer, the ranch owner asked again.
Setting up a ranch myself?
He’d read that one exactly right.
Well, the ones doing the setting up were the elves in Sanctuary, not me.
“Something like that.”
“If you were going to buy this many animals...”
“...?”
“Why not just buy this place? I’d be willing to let it go cheap.”
“This place?”
At his words, I turned to look over the ranch.
The black goats were gathered together in one place instead of spread across the wide pasture.
They were close to the ranch owner standing in front of me.
They probably wanted to stay near their master.
For a man who said he’d let it go cheap, he seemed awfully attached to the black goats.
The ranch owner’s gaze, fixed on the clustered animals, held a faint, inexplicable wistfulness as well.
“...A new B-rank gate appeared nearby.”
“A gate?”
“Yes. The provincial office is managing it for now, but...”
“Then there shouldn’t be a problem, should there?”
It would have been another matter if it were an A-rank gate.
At B-rank, the provincial office could manage it and keep a break from happening.
The ranch owner nodded as if in agreement.
There was no strength in the repeated motion.
In a voice as drained as his nod, he said, “There’s no problem as long as they manage it properly.”
“Did something happen?”
“I used to run a ranch in Gyeongsang-do.”
“In Gyeongsang-do? Then why come all the way to Gangwon... don’t tell me...”
“Yes. That’s right. A gate break happened, and I lost the ranch in an instant.”
“...”
“I had insurance, so I was able to start over, but...”
His voice trailed off, and he turned his head away.
The place he was looking toward was nothing but a vast spread of ranchland.
Maybe, beyond the end of his gaze, there was that newly appeared B-rank gate.
He’d moved to a new place and tried to begin again with a fresh heart, only for a gate to appear.
What could be more deflating than that?
“...I don’t really need such a large place myself.”
“Is that so...”
The ranch owner gave a bitter smile.
The place where animals would be raised was Sanctuary.
If the elves could cross over here, things would be different...
But they couldn’t, so I had no use for a ranch like this.
It was unfortunate, but there was nothing I could do for him.
All I could do was hope the Gangwon provincial office would manage the gate properly.
“Then I’ll be on my way.”
“Ah, yes. Sorry if I said something unnecessary.”
“Not at all.”
“Those kids... please take good care of them.”
“Sure. Take care.”
After we exchanged farewells, I parted ways with the ranch owner.
As I walked, leading six black goats behind me, I felt a little awkward.
He’d asked me to take good care of them.
Best I could do was raise them properly before the elves turned them into meals.
That was the fate of livestock, after all...
Meeeh.
Hmph... I’d at least have to be grateful when it came time to eat them.
The young black goats followed me obediently all the way back to the black sedan.
Even as they were leaving their owner, it was a relief that they kept up so well.
That was when a notification window popped up.
The World Tree sprout sensed a gaze filled with curiosity.
It was a message from Saessak.
A gaze filled with curiosity...
It was obvious who the owner of that gaze was.
The ranch owner was staring at me.
Just like he said, he was probably curious about how I was planning to get back while leading the goats.
Since he was that curious, I supposed it wouldn’t hurt to show him directly.
After all, seeing it with his own eyes wouldn’t really tell him much.
When I stopped in front of the car and turned around, sure enough, the ranch owner was watching me.
“...”
I gave him a grin, then pulled my smartphone from my pocket.
On the screen, elf characters in SD form were bustling around.
The elves were working hard to build a ranch.
No one was using Altera-Shonem.
Regina, too, stayed in Sanctuary instead of crossing over to Yggdrasil, and built the ranch together with the other elves.
“All right, goats. Look here.”
I activated Warm Touch on my right index finger and held it out in front of me.
I placed it against the forehead of the nearest black goat, then tapped the smartphone screen.
Light burst out from the goat’s forehead where my finger touched it.
When the light faded, the black goat was gone.
It was the same thing I did when I handed over fertilizer to Saessak.
The black goat that had vanished from Earth appeared on the screen like a character, looking around in bewilderment.
On the other hand, the elves who saw the newly arrived goat broke into bright smiles.
Their faces looked just like the emoticon (^-^).
“Heh-heh, how cute...”
I’d better send the rest of the goats over quickly too.
I looked at the remaining five black goats in front of me.
Meeeh!
The young goats took a small step backward.
They seemed to be afraid of me, the one who had made their companion disappear.
Fair enough.
To them, I probably looked like a butcher after making their friend vanish all of a sudden.
“All right... it’s fine. Just bear with it a little. I’ll let you meet your friend soon enough.”
At my words, the goats only panicked more.
Meeh, meeh!
Had I made some kind of mistake?
Watching how they couldn’t calm down, that thought crossed my mind.
Maybe my expression hadn’t been good.
The black goats looked as though they wanted to run away, but they couldn’t because they were tied with ropes.
I tugged at the rope I’d been holding and smiled at them.
Then I raised my index finger.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. Come here, black goat.”
Meeh!
The goats showed no sign of calming down and only kept bleating frantically.
Regardless, I decided to do what I had to do.
I gently tapped each one on the forehead.
If I dragged this out out of pity, the only ones suffering would be the goats.
Come on now, go meet your friend already!
Meeehhhhh!
***
I scratched at my ear.
I could still hear the black goats’ desperate cries in my head.
Anyone listening would think I was about to eat them alive.
Well... wasn’t it sort of the same?
The elves would raise them and cook them up deliciously in the end, after all.
“Let’s see. What have I bought so far...?”
Mur muring to myself, I turned the key.
The car started with a faint vibration.
I folded my fingers one by one, counting the animals I’d bought today.
“Twelve chickens, eight pigs, four cows, six black goats...”
So far, I’d bought a total of thirty animals across four species.
I just needed to buy one more kind, send them to Sanctuary, and then head back.
While I was at it, I could deliver today’s food and ask whether I’d bought enough to complete the quest.
“What would be best to buy for the last one...”
As I muttered, I sank into thought.
While I was staring blankly ahead, a wooden sign caught my eye.
The sign pointing to the right listed a familiar animal.
[Sheep Ranch]
“...Oh.”
Sheep would be good.
Buying around six of them seemed just right.
Having made up my mind, I set off at once.
The road beside the ranch was rough, so I couldn’t just floor it.
Still, that wasn’t a bad thing.
While I drove, the green pasture came into view and let me savor a little calm.
It was a ranch district clouded by unease because of the new B-rank gate, but as long as I was driving through it, it only looked peaceful.
Yesterday it had been America this, China that, Russia this, everyone losing their minds...
No, they really had gone crazy.
America changed its entry date, so China and Russia changed theirs too.
“Puh-huh...”
The smile on my face turned into a laugh.
I was remembering the ridiculous nonsense those three countries had pulled yesterday.
They kept changing their entry dates back and forth, all because they wanted to win a battle of pride.
You go in first. No, I’ll go in last.
They had kept shuffling the dates around as if that alone made their point.
As a result, the entry dates had been pushed back in a completely absurd way.
Just how far back, you ask...
***
“The 19th? So, a week from now?”
When Han Jin-hwan heard the entry date that America had changed to, he asked again.
Deputy Director Bae said nothing, only nodding.
Minister Hwang looked so drained he seemed unable even to open his mouth, slumping over like a dead slime and looking ready to melt away.
He’d been tormented by those three countries this whole time, so I could understand it.
Just listening from the side made me feel like I’d lost the handle on a millstone. I couldn’t imagine how exhausted he must be.
“Huuuu.”
Han Jin-hwan let out a long sigh.
Then he went on.
“Would it be all right if I made the call?”
It looked like he’d decided this would never end otherwise.
At his words, Minister Hwang, who had been slumped over, raised his head again.
“Make a call?”
“Yes. We can’t just keep letting those three countries act like complete idiots forever.”
“True enough. Then who are you going to call-”
“Naturally, my acquaintances.”
“...”
Minister Hwang fell silent.
Deputy Director Bae didn’t speak either, quietly watching Han Jin-hwan and Minister Hwang.
Acquaintances.
They knew exactly what that meant.
Aladin Miller, Li Lianzhe, and Maksim Smirnov.
It meant the S-rank hunters of the three countries.
Minister Hwang straightened up.
Then, with a courtesy he had never shown before, he bowed his head to Han Jin-hwan.
“I’m asking you.”
“Understood.”
It seemed Minister Hwang had also judged that it would be better if Han Jin-hwan handled it.
And that was the right call.
In the current situation, Han Jin-hwan was a better fit than Minister Hwang, a government official at the highest level.
He was close enough with the S-rank hunters of each country to call them acquaintances.
When it came to the national research team, the ones who actually mattered would be the hunters anyway.
Deputy Director Bae asked Han Jin-hwan, who was fiddling with his smartphone, “Who are you planning to call first? America?”
“No.”
“Then China?”
“Not that either.”
“Huh? Then Russia? Why would you start there...?”
“...”
Han Jin-hwan couldn’t answer because he was busy working the phone.
Minister Hwang and Deputy Director Bae looked at him, waiting for an answer.
Did these people really not know?
“Senior Han isn’t planning to call any one country first.”
“Pardon?”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s planning to call them all at once.”
“At once? All three countries?”
“Yes.”
“No, why would he do that? Wouldn’t it be better to talk to each one separately?”
“Well...”
I scratched my head and looked at Han Jin-hwan.
He was busily operating an app.
Watcher Linker.
An app for video calls was displayed on the screen.
“Because it’s a pain in the ass.”
“What...?”
“If it were me, that’s how I’d do it.”
If you called them all at once, you could finish in one shot.
Why the hell would you split something like that into three separate calls?
What a waste of time.
“Right... that’s it...”
Han Jin-hwan said that and set the smartphone down.
Light shot out from the screen, and three holograms appeared.
Below the holograms were the faces of three people I had never seen before, yet somehow already knew.
The three S-rank hunters.