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Chapter 3 - Working the Slow Life

A week later, Yusuke exited the shoe shop with his new shoes. Wide and flexible, the new pair was way better than the borrowed boots. When Yusuke wanted to repay the favor, Garon only gruffly said:

 "Bein' the first new customer I've had in a long time is payment enough."

Still, Yusuke wanted to repay him. And that meant earning money.

It was Sol Day, an equivalent of Sunday, and the masses had returned to their homes from the chapel. Wilhelm mentioned the village being a farming community, so he looked for farms or barns to aid.

He found one farm at the far end of the village. It was the biggest farm around, and the fields were covered in snow. "The farmer must be quite the person to have this much land," he mused to himself as he walked the pathway.

The farmhouse was in sight a few minutes later, and it was larger than he expected. Whoa, talk about an estate. He knocked on the front door, and not long after, it opened.

The one who opened was an elderly woman, in her late fifties.

"Oh my, what a handsome young man," she began. "We haven't seen someone like you for a long time."

Yusuke smiled brightly, seeing the sparkle in her eyes. He introduced himself to her, "I'm Yusuke Iriki, a stranded traveler. I'm staying with Father Wilhelm for the time being."

"The priest?" she said, eyebrow raised and lips pursed. "Hmm, he must have free time to care for another youth."

Yusuke wasn't sure if she was joking or just being sarcastic. But those thoughts disappeared when she smiled again and invited him in. "Please, call me Wendy," she added.

The farmhouse was rustic, at least to Yusuke's eyes. However, it was well-furnished with a dining room-kitchen complex and a fireplace. A staircase that led upstairs to where he presumed was the bedroom was on one corner.

"My husband is away to the market outside the village," Wendy began. "The cows, I can manage myself, but the feed... oh, my back hurts as I think about it. Not to mention plowing the snow..."

She rubbed her back as she spoke. It was her livelihood, but she wasn't sure if she could carry on alone with her husband for much longer. Their age was catching up to them.

Without a second thought, Yusuke exclaimed, "I'll do it!" which surprised Wendy.

"I haven't seen a young man this interested in farming," she said in disbelief. The fervor in Yusuke's tone caught her off guard. "Don't young people prefer city life, with the big buildings and opportunities?"

Yusuke shook his head with a smile. "I enjoy slowing down once in a while. Makes life worth enjoying." Then, he continued with a more solemn smile. "That's what my adventures used to feel like."

Wendy rubbed her chest to calm herself down. She was relieved she had another set of willing hands. But one so young and enthusiastic was a once-in-a-blue-moon event.

"...I wish my children had the same fire about farming as you," she said wistfully. Her children had left for the city years ago, leaving her and her husband to tend the farm alone.

"So, where do I start?" Yusuke asked, breaking her train of nostalgia.

Wendy, now back in the present, led Yusuke outside, where the barn and shed were. When she turned to him again, she looked as gentle as always, but there was an air of a dedicated farmer. "Clean the snow around the farm, and repair the fences. The tools are in the shed."

Yusuke went into the shed and grabbed a shovel. There was no snowplow anywhere on the farm, so he had to do it manually. Before he began, he returned to Wendy, who was entering the barn to milk the cows.

"Am I getting paid, Mrs. Wendy?" he asked her.

Wendy blinked several times and laughed softly. "Of course, sonny. I won't force anyone to work for free." She then continued with a grin, "Or do you rather want to be paid in produce?"

"Coins are fine, Mrs. Wendy," Yusuke said with a slight chuckle.

After that exchange, Wendy and Yusuke began working. Wendy was milking the cows, while Yusuke cleaned the snow. On the pathways, the roofs, and the watering hole.

As he worked, Yusuke let his thoughts drift. He wondered how he got here, how he was still alive, and if he had finished that monster. He shuddered at the possibility that he had failed. He had promised them that he would end it all and leave for another travel.

Time passed, and it was evening, darker than usual due to the season. Wendy gave Yusuke a handful of copper coins for his work. "Don't spend it all in one day, dearie," she said, feigning a scolding.

Yusuke smiled as he nodded and left the elderly farmer for the day. It was hard work, and he knew that he had to do more of it in the following days.

But it was far better than his life since last year.

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