Arriving at the beautiful ranch, the four approached the fence to take a closer look at the spotted cows enjoying their day. Most of them were eating grass off in the distance, with the closest one to them about fifty steps away from the fence. It was a truly idyllic scene that soothed one’s soul, though the girls probably wanted more. Anima imagined that they’d want to touch the meek farm animals.
“So cuuute!”
“Look at them munching away!”
They looked at the cows with a sense of wonder from behind the fence, but they clearly wanted to get a closer look at them.
“Mish Cow!” Marie greeted the closest cow and waved her hand at it, but the animal didn’t even blink. The grass in front of it was more enticing than her. “I’m here, Mish Cow! Here!”
She had been so happy just moments earlier, but she wasn’t taking it well that she was being completely ignored. Tears began forming in the corners of her eyes. She kept waving her hand at the cow as fast as she could, but the animal wanted nothing to do with her. It turned its rear toward Marie and walked away.
“Mish Cow’s leabing...”
“I’m sorry.”
“Does she hases me?”
The sudden betrayal by her animal friend really disappointed Marie. It must have been her first experience with being ignored.
“Not at all,” Luina said in a soothing voice while gently petting the sobbing girl’s head. “I think she might just be shy.”
“Sy?”
“Mm-hmm. Let’s watch them from here, okay?”
“’Kaaay!”
Marie excitedly nodded. She didn’t want to make anyone, even an animal, feel uncomfortable. Anima patted her on the head, silently praising her for being such a good girl.
“Look! What’s that barn over there?”
Myuke pointed at a long, wooden building visible in the distance.
“That’s a cowshed. We bought milk there the last time we were here.”
“Milk! I want milk!”
“Right? I’d love some milk too!”
During their trip, Myuke had finally come out of her shell. She had stopped holding back and was really enjoying herself.
“Let’s go get some, then,” Anima said with a nod.
With the cheerful girls in tow, they approached the cowshed, opened its large door, and peeked inside. A cold breeze passed by them, leaving behind the smell of freshly cut grass, which only got stronger as they entered and followed a narrow dirt road between cages filled with straw. The man standing in the middle of the cowshed noticed them and started walking in their direction.
“Hey there, y’all. How c’n I help ya?”
“We’re here to buy milk,” Anima answered.
“Comin’ right up.” The man welcomed them with a cheerful smile. “Just gotta let Charlotte out into the open first.”
“Who’s Charlotte?” Myuke didn’t know anyone by that name.
“One a’ my cows, Missy. I just milked the ol’ girl!”
“Cow?! Where?!”
The man smiled when he saw the excitement in Marie’s eyes.
“Right ’ere, Missy. Wanna give ’er a good ol’ rub?”
“Fo weal? I wanna pet the cow!”
“Sure ya can, Missy. But only if ya promise to keep quiet around Charlotte.”
“Pomise,” she whispered.
“Can I pet her too?” Myuke requested.
“’Course ya can! C’mon, follow me!”
They walked a bit deeper into the shed and stopped in front of a cage. Inside was a white cow with beautiful black spots. The girls ogled her through the bars as she stuffed her cheeks full of the straw piled up in front of her.
“Wooow! Hi, Mish Cow!”
“D-Does she bite?”
Myuke got startled when they finally reached the cow. Seeing the hesitation in her eyes, the man gently petted the cow’s head. In response, the cow did absolutely nothing; it continued chewing away at the mouthful of feed as if nothing were happening.
“She’s a gentle girl. She ain’t gonna mind ya pettin’ ’er so long as yer careful.”
Myuke let out a sigh of relief, then she and Marie gently petted the cow’s big forehead.
“Wooow!”
Marie looked back at her parents with stars in her eyes and wonder all over her face. Seeing her parents’ warm smiles, she went back for another round. Once they’d gotten their fill of petting cows, they made their way outside.
“Soff, soooff cow!”
“I can still feel her warmth on my hand.”
The girls excitedly shared their experiences while the man stepped away momentarily. When he returned, he was carrying a tray of four long glasses filled to the brim with pure-white milk.
“White! I love white!”
“It looks super yummy!”
“I’ll have ya know that we got the best milk anywhere in the country! One sip and y’all ain’t never go back to the stuff them city folk call milk.”
“That sounds great. How much?” Anima asked while counting the coins he’d brought with him.
“Three copper fer the four of ’em.”
It was unexpectedly cheap. Anima was trying to understand the value of money in his new world by accompanying Luina on her grocery shopping trips, so he’d expected four glasses to cost around five copper. Was the man trying to sell them spoiled milk?
“Why so cheap?”
Anima didn’t want to upset him; he had been kind enough to let the girls pet the cows, after all. Instead of outright accusing him of selling them a bad product, he decided to ask instead.
“Don’t get me started, friend. Just a li’l while ago I coulda sold it for twice that, but sales’ve gone down lately. I’d rather sell it fer cheap than have it spoil on me.” The man grieved over his lost business. “I’m sure y’all heard ’bout that beast blocking the bridge. This here milk business is my only source a’ income, and that monster’s just campin’ there, killin’ my livelihood. I can’t keep the milk from goin’ bad forever, even with my magic stone, dagnabbit!”
The milk would spoil by the time it reached its destination if the man followed the detour. His hands were tied; he had no choice but to cut the price of his product.
“Daddy beated the scary moster!”
The man curiously tilted his head.
“He did what now, Missy?”
“Don’t mind her.” Anima immediately nipped the conversation in the bud. He had defeated the monster, but it was better to keep that under wraps until an official notice came from the knights. If the news spread through the city prematurely, it would create a huge commotion. “I’m sure it’ll be resolved soon.”
“I dang well hope so, my friend. I certainly do. But that’s ’nuff talkin’; drink up while it’s still nice ’n’ cold!”
“Thank you.”
After paying, Anima took his glass and sat down on a nearby bench. He and his family watched the cows laze around in the distance and enjoyed the gentle breeze as they tasted their milk.
“Nummy!”
“Wow! It’s so delicious!”
The fresh milk was incredibly sweet and rich. It made the milk they could buy in the city taste like water. The girls liked it so much that they gulped down their tall glasses in mere seconds.
“Nummy!”
“That was great.”
Drinking so quickly had left a thick milk mustache above Marie’s mouth. Anima gently wiped it off while she squirmed in her seat.
“Ah, look! One of them is walking up to us!” Myuke excitedly pointed to the other side of the fence, where a cow with a familiar pattern of spots was approaching them. It was the same one they had just been petting. “Is she coming back for more?”
“I go to Mish Cow?”
“Of course you can.” Upon receiving Luina’s approval, the girls pushed up against the fence to watch the cows. While watching the girls as they enjoyed themselves, Anima and Luina drank their own glasses of milk. “Marie’s having so much fun. She’s completely fascinated with those cows. I was worried she was going to ask us to move here.”