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Chapter 38: The Peaceful, Small Horse Ranch

Translator: LynneSuzuran

Now then.
Today, Saryuu and I would be going to a nearby farm. At any rate, Godou-san went on before us to do some shopping, in other words, it seems like he’s going to the source of Saryuu’s favorite goat cheese.
Nah, I thought that we would be going to the ancestors’ grave first.

“Is it okay to visit the grave tomorrow?”
“Shiiya’s graveyard is close to Shikino’s graveyard. If we were to go right now, the probability that we would meet Taiga-sama is quite high.”
“Let’s do it tomorrow!”

And that is how we would be going to greet our ancestors tomorrow. Godou-san, thank you. Really, to be honest, I don’t know how I could face the person who just showed his face like that this morning.
Minoa-san and Oriza-san are also coming with me. Saryuu-san is going with Kanna-san and the ponytailed maid-san with round glasses that I saw before. If I’m not wrong, she is called Maki-san.
Anyway, the one who’s leading us around is Kuon-sensei who came shrewdly. Jigen-san seems to be staying behind at the mansion, so during the time when Kuon-sensei was gone, the other employees who stayed behind would be taking care of him.

“In other words, My Lord, and Madame. I will be looking after Seiren-sama and Saryuu-sama.”
“Well, we’ll be relying on you.”
“The two of you, and the maids, too, let’s have fun!”

It seems like my parents would be staying at the villa. Or perhaps I should say, no matter how you look at it, they are brimming with the spirit to be lovey dovey at broad daylight.
They’re crossing their arms intimately, well… nah, I have no problem with my parents being on good terms with each other. I may have been raised at the institution without any parents, but there were other kids growing up together with me whose parents were on a really bad terms and so they lost their place in the family.

“Well then, we’ll be going.”
“See you later.”

After exchanging greetings, we went to get on to the small carriage. Today’s carriage is dyed elegantly in red, and surprisingly it doesn’t feel very out of place compared with the background scenery it’s in. I’ve already gotten used to the horse that has the face of a crow. As usual, the maids are riding another carriage, but only Kuon-sensei’s riding on the same carriage as us, acting as our guardian.
A little while after the carriage began to move, Kuon-sensei smiled and opened the conversation.

“Seiren-sama, Saryuu-sama. I have heard the rumors regarding Taiga-sama.”
“Uwa, you’ve heard of it?”
“…hahaha… Nii-sama is already…”

I reflexively shifted my eyes towards the ceilings, while Saryuu dejectedly put his hands on his head. Nah, it’s an obvious reaction.
Kuon-sensei seemed to be looking at me and Saryuu interchangingly, and then fixed her sight on me.

“I have nothing else to say regarding this matter. I think it’s better for Seiren-sama to do as you will.”
“…ah, yeah. Please let me think… for a moment.”

Ah, I believe this all perfectly about how Taiga-san fell for me. The rest would depend on me, huh.
It was something that I expected to hear.
But to be frank, I don’t know exactly what Taiga-san thinks about me.

“Oh well, even if you told me that clearly, it’s not something easy to think about.”
“That is exactly why I want Nii-sama to do his best if he really wants to get a wife.”

I vacantly murmurred, while Saryuu answered with a voice that seemed as if he wanted to cry, still holding his head.
Oi, did you think that he wasn’t getting serious in his age? Isn’t it pretty much settled that we don’t really know what he’s thinking about, for still remaining unmarried at his age?
Or perhaps I should say that there are times when he tried to show off. With that kind of suggestive behavior, wouldn’t it be the same as declaring his feelings to the other party? And I can’t help but to think of it as a matter of fact.

“Well, I think it would be good if he’s a bit more assertive.”

Kuon-sensei shrugged her shoulders, and her words really spoke for my frank opinion, as well.

The farm that we arrived at was located in a grass-covered plain with a gently sloping inclination compared to the villa’s vicinity. Well, since the farm is raising horses and goats, it would be better if it’s full of grass. The air also feels nice here.
Perhaps related to the wind’s direction, although the farm is located deeper than the villa, the snow doesn’t really pile up. However, once winter comes, it looks like the snow would raise until it covers one’s foot.

“As the goats are in their pasturage moment during winter, they usually take the horses to descend downward.”

It seems that what Kuon-sensei said is true. The horses being kept here seem small in size, but even still, it will still be quite difficult to take them along for transfer.
The owner of the farm who came to welcome us was an old man with a good body build. He is growing both his moustache and beard, and he wears a shirt seemed to be of denim cloth, with it being rolled up to his arms. He seems to resemble Godou-san?

“It’s been a while, Gadou.”
“Oh, Seiren-sama[1. I honestly think that the author made a mistake here? Shouldn’t it be Saryuu-sama, if we were to think about the circumstances? He shouldn’t have known Seiren already…]. Kuon-sama is coming along, too.”
“Long time no see, Gadou-san.”

Gadou, eh? Even his name is so close.

“Yeah, since Seiren-sama is also coming along this year. Seiren-sama, this is the farm’s owner, Gadou-san. He is Godou-san’s big brother.”

Ah, as expected. It is easy to understand in a sense.
For siblings to have similar names. Saryuu and Taiga are very different, but… come to think about it, those two’s father, if I’m not wrong, he should have a little brother with a similar name. Touka-san, was it?

“Oh my. Seiren-ojousama, have your body’s condition gotten better? If that’s the case, then it’s good.”
“Thank you very much. Pleased to meet you, I’m Seiren. Please treat me well.”

Well, setting aside the matter of Shikino family, I gave my greetings to Gadou-san. Today, let’s forget about the Shikino family. Yup.

The first area that was introduced to us was the area where small horses ran around. There were fences standing properly, and inside it, at the back of the horses who were running around, there were small wings flapping around. Ah-, it would be impossible for them to fly with those wings.

“Over here, we have a species of horse that’s small in size.”
“They are small, indeed.”

When I approached the area, instead of a big crow head, they have faces resembling sparrows. They are around the same size as the deers who are walking around Nara and Hiroshima cities as if they owned the place. Taiga-san’s horse looks bigger compared to normal horses, but when they’re small like this, they look cute. Perhaps I was wrong to compare them, though.

“Aren’t they cute, Ane-sama?”
“Yeah. By the way, Saryuu, wouldn’t it be fine to take a closer look at them?”
“Eh, ah… I’m fine, Nee-sama can go on ahead.”

I am right by the fence, but Saryuu is quite far away from my location. Incidentally, he is using Kuon-sensei as a shield, but hey, Saryuu, are you really okay?
Now that I think about it, wasn’t I told that he was pecked by the horses before? It seems like he has developed a trauma at the same level as being bitten by a dog.

“Come here-“

Well, without paying any attention about it, I tried to reach out my hand from over the fence. As I did, one approached me trottingly.
After feeling around the tip of its beak with my hand, it snuggled up its cheek to my hand. Gotcha.

“Oh-, there, there.”

Since I’ve gone through the trouble of making it approach me, I also tried to pet its head. Oh, it obediently let me brush its head gently. Excellent.
…Somehow, I’m quite embarrassed, though.

“Ah, awesome. Ane-sama, you didn’t get poked at.”
“I was wondering whether it would be alright, but in the end, it seems like everything’s fine.”
“Oh my, oh my. Seiren-sama, it seems to be attached to you.”

I showed a smile to assure Saryuu who was afraid that I was doing fine. Gadou-san also seemed to be having fun as he smiled.
However, how do I say this, but it was quite a strange feeling that I got from touching it. Nah, judging from the appearance, the head is that of a crow’s, but when you touch it, it feels just like any normal beast. It’s not feather, but it feels as if I was touching a thin carpet. I wonder just what kind of nature does this world have?
After that, the other horses also approached me. Their colors were the single color of white, black, brown, with various kinds of spots, but their sizes were almost similar. Since they are small, they seem to be the baby horses, but could it be that they are adult horses already? Let’s try asking.

“Are these horses already adults?”
“Yes. They may be kept to keep a watch at the entranceway’s gate, but nowadays there are also families who brought them to be kept as normal pets.”
“Keeping a watch on the gate? Is it possible?”

Not a watchdog, but a watch-horse? I wonder if it’s even possible. Oh well, it looks like it will be painful to be pecked by them.

“Yeah. The horses are all smart, so if they are trained, they will be able to watch the gate. Also, although they might be small, they still can carry a fair amount of cargo.”
“If a thief comes, it seems that they will violently poke the thief to drive them away. …I wonder why did Saryuu-sama get pecked at?”
“I didn’t do anything! I only tried to regain the fodder that they took!”

Ah, well, of course you’d get pecked at. Let’s give it up, Saryuu, the grudge due to food is something scary.
Nevertheless, they can be used as watch-horse and to carry some luggage, eh.
Since their bodies are small, perhaps they eat less than the big ones. Which means, even people who are not very rich can afford using them.
Their legs are also fat, and somehow they feel similar to donkey’s legs. If that’s not the case, perhaps they wouldn’t be able to be kept just like this.
Keeping horses is quite hard, eh.