v3 Chapter 5: Riku's Caretaker

Riku woke to the sound of a door opening. He was supposed to be living alone, it was winter now, and the fact that the sun was shining in like this meant it was quite late, which meant-

“I'm late!”

He shot up in panic.

“Late?” a voice responded. “What, do you attend the academy in the Lakes or something? At your age.”

Startled by being suddenly addressed by someone in an unfamiliar room the moment he sat up, Riku turned hesitantly towards the voice. There stood the man with the somewhat stern eyes he thought he recognized. That's right, yesterday he'd been dropped into this world by the goddess, and the place he'd finally reached was this person's house. The memories of yesterday came flooding back all at once.

“'Dropped here,' you say. Just as I thought.”

Saying that, the man folded his arms with a troubled expression, making his eyes look even sterner. Still, he looked sturdy. Riku thought of his original body—fashionably slender, to put it nicely—and felt a pang of sadness. He had trouble building muscle even when he trained, and besides, he'd been too busy with work to have time for exercise. No, no, this isn't the time for such thoughts. He had to talk properly and figure out how to make a living from now on.

“You, what about your parents?”

“My parents... I can't meet them anymore.”

Riku couldn't help looking down. His parents had divorced when he was small, and he had lived alone with his mother until graduating college. He had met his father several times during elementary school, but they grew distant around the time he entered middle school, and he hadn't seen him in over ten years now. Perhaps there were circumstances on his father's side, but thinking of him as the man who made his mother struggle, Riku, as a fellow man, couldn't feel simply happy to meet him.

However, even though separated by work, he and his mother had been close. His heart ached thinking she might have heard about the accident by now and be worried. Moreover, he'd been told his mother would also eventually be hunted. He would never see her again.

“Then, does that mean there's no one to look after you now?”

“That's right.”

“I see.”

The man said nothing else, silently holding out a thick shirt, then waited at the door as if telling Riku to come. Riku quickly got out of bed, threw on the oversized shirt, and hurried after the man.

Outside the door was the living room. It wasn't particularly large, but the white plaster walls were bright, and the grasslands were visible through several large lattice windows. A table for four. A simply partitioned kitchen area. It was tidy and felt comfortable.

“Sit there.”

Was the chair for children? It had steps and was a little high. The man brought a generous bowl of stew from the kitchen, along with thickly sliced toasted bread. Butter was served alongside.

“There's more if you want it.”

So that meant he could eat. Riku grabbed the spoon and brought the piping hot stew to his mouth, blowing on it to cool it. It was rich with milk and delicious. Next, he picked up the slightly browned bread. Have to spread the butter while it's warm. He spread the butter using the small spoon provided alongside it, not noticing the man raising an eyebrow as he watched.

Perhaps because his body was smaller, he quickly became full and unfortunately couldn't have seconds, but Riku was satisfied with the delicious meal. Yeah, I think I can manage in this world too.

When Riku finished eating and gave his thanks for the meal (gochisōsama), the man silently moved to clear the plates. Riku hurriedly stopped him, quickly got down from the chair, and carried the dishes himself. He followed the man, who raised an eyebrow again, to the kitchen. When Riku placed the plate in the sink, the man immediately began washing it. After scrubbing with something like a handled brush and rinsing, he swirled the plate through hot water poured from something like a kettle and quickly lifted it out. Doesn't it burn?

“You get used to it.”

I see. Riku thought he'd ask for something to hold it with when it was his turn. Wait, no one's said anything, but I'm already planning on being taken care of here, Riku tilted his head.

When everything was finished, the man had Riku sit at the table again and sat down opposite him. He stared intently at Riku. Silence fell in the room. Then, finally, the man began to speak.

“I'm Silas. I farm here.”

Then he fell silent. Is it my turn next? Riku worried. The man had only said his name. In that case, he should probably just give his name too, for now.

“I am...” Oops, this isn't work. “I'm Rikuto. Though my acquaintances call me Riku.”

“Rikuto. Unusual name. Rikuto, Rikuto.” The man repeated Riku's name earnestly. And with the wrong pronunciation. Riku started feeling like he was a really good person.

“No, Riku! Just Riku is fine!”

“I see. Then Riku.”

“Yes, Silas-san?”

“No, 'Silas-san'... Nobody around here adds '-san'. Call me Silas.”

“Um, Silas.”

Silas nodded lightly.

“You said you were dropped here, right?”

“Yes.”

“No parents. No place to return to.”

“Yes.”

“Then, stay here and help with my work.”

“Eh, really?” Riku, who had been looking down slightly, quickly raised his head.

“Yeah. But my work is a little unusual. Let's have you see it first.”

Saying that, Silas immediately stood up. He quickly put on a coat hanging by the entrance. Then he put another coat hanging next to it onto Riku.

“Alright. We'll walk a bit.”

Stepping outside, he saw a barn larger than the main house, which he hadn't seen yesterday, standing next door, and further off, quite a distance away, was a cowshed. Beyond that, numerous brown cows were grazing freely even in the cold wind.

“Cows.”

“That's right. Milking them and making butter is the main work.”

“Is that why the butter was so delicious?” Riku recalled the taste of the butter he'd spread on his bread today. It was a clean, light butter without any strong flavor. If it was freshly made, the taste made sense.

“That said,” Silas clarified, “raising the cows is the main part, and the milking and butter-making are mostly done by the neighborhood wives. This area is wheat country, but I work on expanding the pastureland outside it and increasing the number of cows.” Silas spoke eloquently, unlike before.

“I started with just a few head, and made the butter all myself too. But then people started asking me to share my butter, and eventually folks from far away wanted to buy it, and it gradually grew to this scale. Now there are even guys wanting to raise cows, and I guide them too. Basically...” Silas looked at Riku. “We can always use more hands. Of course, once the morning work is done, I'll have you go to church properly too. How about it? Won't you live here with us?”

It was more than he could wish for. Besides, the goddess had certainly said she would arrange a caretaker. But wasn't this almost too convenient?

“I'm grateful, but... Silas, why are you being so kind? To a strange kid like me.”

“It's true you're strange, but children are cherished everywhere, normally. Besides...”

“Besides?”

“No, just... I thought it might be good to try raising a child.”

Riku couldn't help but laugh at Silas, who said the last part almost sulkily. Thought it might be good to try raising a child? What's that? The agriculture he'd wanted to do involved vegetables and fruit, but he hadn't expected to end up in dairy farming. Still.

“Silas, thank you. I'll be in your care.”

“Yeah.”

And just like that, Riku's caretaker was decided quite simply.