IWAL Ch 5 – What’s a Cuckoo?

 

I woke up hours earlier than usual, hurriedly drew water and quickly cleaned the barn. It was because today was going to be busy.

Harvesting the vegetables was easy, but with how big they were, moving them to the wagon was going to be troublesome.

I couldn’t move the wagon Norn brought back to the fields so I had to bring the vegetables to the front of the house. Even that small distance was pretty hard on me.

 

The cabbages were twice the size of my head, so I could only bring two at a time, and that’s with me pushing myself. The cucumbers were the size of my arms, and the tomatoes were three times the size of regular ones.

The daikon were actually half my height. Thankfully the soil was soft so it hadn’t been hard to pull them out, but they were heavy.

I wanted to wash off the dirt, but whether it was carrying the daikon to the pond or carrying water from the pond to the daikon, they were all too troublesome so in the end I decided not to.

 

I thought back to when I sold the dirt-covered daikon to the nearby grocer.

‘That way guarantees freshness,’ the old lady taught me.

It saved time and effort and guaranteed freshness, it was really killing two birds with one stone.

I definitely wasn’t just being lazy. I wasn’t, okay?

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Fortunately, halfway through Norn arrived with a mooc-pulled wagon and helped out. Otherwise, if I’d had to do all the work alone I wouldn’t have finished until noon.

Watching Norn easily carry the vegetables made me determined once again to one day be able to do the same.

“Oh, I forgot. Norn, look at my carrots. They’ve all grown this much.”

Norn sighed in awe. “They really have. It’s quite moving.”

The carrots I’d just planted yesterday already had thick leaves, and when I pulled one out to see, it already had a finger-length fruit growing. Wait, it’s not called fruit. Root?

The point is, there was already a cute little carrot growing.

 

That carrot was, of course, for Pyonkichi.

I hurriedly washed off the dirt and went to feed the carrot to Pyonkichi.

Pyonkichi didn’t show any enthusiasm and calmly sniffed at it, but soon the sound of crunching filled the air. He ate everything, even the leaves, not leaving any trace left.

Sigh, how cute. From now on, I was going to plant a lot of carrots for Pyonkichi. Anyway, I loved carrots too. I wanted to make some pickles and eat it together with Pyonkichi.

 

“Argh, h-heavy…”

As I was crouching, absorbed in watching Pyonkichi, a heavy thing slumped on my back.

I could hear the sound of panting tickling my ear.

And drool dripped on my shoulder.

“Pochi, how many times have I told you not to drape yourself on me? You’re too heavy.”

Whenever I paid attention to Pyonkichi and Hanako and the others, Pochi would come and interrupt. He’d hop on my back just like this or bump his head to my back.

My family’s Pochi sure was clingy.

 

“Good boy, I’ll give you some daikon.”

When I grasped the daikon leaves, Pochi’s tail wagged furiously and he danced around. It was strange, but it really seemed like he could understand my words.

He’d learned from the first day I fed him tamagoyaki and now whenever I said the word ‘egg’ his ears would straighten up and he would look at me.

As soon as I pulled out the daikon, Pochi started eating it, dirt and all.

Hanako and the others also came closer so I fed them one each too.

 

“Shinobu, we’re going to be late…”

Oops, that’s right. We were going into town. It wasn’t the time to play around.

“Pochi, I’m counting on you. Protect everyone while I’m gone, okay?” I rubbed his head as I asked.

Pochi answered with a snort. Maybe he couldn’t understand words after all.

 

Norn said, “You don’t have to worry so much. Horses are smart so we’ll be in town in no time. Besides, there’s only one road. We won’t get lost.”

“O-okay.”

I sat on the wagon Brian was pulling, Norn beside me. The driver today was me.

Seeing my slouch and the tight grip I had on the reins, Norn chuckled and started up a conversation.

Look, it was my first time. Of course I was nervous.

What’s more, I had to get back home on my own. I couldn’t help my shoulders tightening at the thought.

 

“Good morning. Are you helping out? What a good kid.”

“G-good, morning.”

From time to time, the people we passed by called out to us. It took my all just replying to them; I couldn’t spare any attention to looking at them at all.

WIth Norn by my side, I wondered how the friendly people saw us.

Brothers? There’s no way they saw us as father and son, right?

At that irritating thought, I unconsciously pulled at the reins too much and Brian’s hooves stopped.

“Come on, Shinobu. If you pull too much, Brain will think you’re telling him to stop.”

“I am deeply ashamed.”

 

My nervousness didn’t last long. I was too tired from having to wake up early and carrying the vegetables.

Besides, the rocking of the wagon felt pleasant. Before I knew it, I was dozing off.

 

“See? It was fine. Even when you dozed off, we still arrived in town.”

“You’re right. Brian, you’re so smart. I’ll be counting on you for the ride home, too.”

Once we’d arrived in front of Norn’s friend’s shop, I looked back at the wagon. The sight that greeted me had me jumping in surprise.

In the wagon, between the vegetables, it was full of candy.

It seems that while I was dozing, people on the road gave them as a reward for the hardworking child (me).

“……Yaay, it’s a mountain of candy.”

“………”

Even when I did my best to act like a child, Norn still gave me a pitying look.

 

“Couge, are you here?”

“Yep. Over here.”

When Norn called out from the front of the shop, a deep-voiced male answered from inside. If girls from my previous world heard this voice, I think they’d scream about how ‘sexy’ it was.

I wanted my voice to be that deep too. I think my voice was also a factor to me being seen as a child.

Though even if I didn’t speak I’d still be mistaken for a child.

 

Norn headed in and exchanged hugs with the owner of that deep voice. Just like his voice, his looks also gave off a sexy feel.

He was so handsome, he looked like he’d feature in a girl’s magazine with a half-naked photo. As I gaped, he kissed Norn on the cheek.

Ohh, what a foreign greeting. Having two good-looking guys doing such a thing was really a sight to behold.

 

“Couge, I brought the one I talked about yesterday, Shinobu. He worked hard early in the morning to bring you delicious vegetables.”

“Welcome to this world. Call me Couge.”

Couge probably heard about me from Norn, so he didn’t talk to me like I was a kid. With just that, my impression of him rose, and I happily shook his hand and smiled.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Shinobu.”

Couge’s hand was large. It reminded me of holding hands with my grandpa while we walked back when I was in elementary. The memory made me happier and I enthusiastically shook his hand up and down.

 

“So let’s start immediately. Shinobu’s butter…”

“Sorry, Norn. I made you come all this way, but I can’t pay for it. I had to pay back my debt earlier and now I don’t have any money.” Couge lips quirked up in a bitter smile.

Looks like the situation was worse than Norn had told me.

It reminded me of my situation back in my previous world of only having 1,100 yen left. I couldn’t think of this as none of my business.

I’d been really worried about what I’d do the next day. Couge was smiling, but behind that smile maybe he was so sad he felt like crying.

 

“Couge, have you had breakfast?” I asked.

He replied, “No. Just as you see, I don’t have anything.”

We were in a restaurant, but there wasn’t any food in the kitchen. There were no working stoves. It was almost noon and the cookware were all pristine. Honestly, it made the whole kitchen look lonely.

This was the so-called ‘a cuckoo is singing’. I’d never seen or heard a cuckoo, but I’m guessing its cry sounded sad.

What’s more, Couge hasn’t had breakfast yet.

An empty stomach was no good. It makes you sad and irritated, and you lose all motivation.

I said, “I brought a lot of eggs and vegetables. We might as well use the butter and eat lunch together. Can I use the kitchen?”

“Y-yeah, sure.”

That’s good. The kitchen was a sacred place for housewives and chefs, so some people didn’t like others intruding.

My grandma had been like that. She’d taught me a lot of recipes but whenever my grandpa came, she’d shoo him out with a “Go sit over there.”

 

“Then I’ll bring in the vegetables,” Norn said.

“Ah, I’ll help!!” Couge followed Norn, wanting to help, but when he saw the mountain of candy in the wagon, his eyes widened.

He glanced at me and nodded in understanding. It was really embarrassing.

We brought the food ingredients to the kitchen. I rolled up my sleeves in preparation. Thankfully, Couge’s shop was worthy of being a restaurant and had all the seasonings lined up.

“Erm, do you have a hammer?” I asked.

“A hammer? What are you going to use it for?” Couge wondered.

“To break the eggshell.”

With my strength, I wouldn’t be able to crack the eggs without a hammer.

“You just need them cracked, right?”

Couge grabbed an egg with his big hand and cracked it on the edge of the counter. The egg easily broke open, and he dropped the contents into the bowl.

“Wow, amazing! Then please crack two more eggs.”

“Roger.”

“I’d like to help, too,” Norn interjected.

“Then, cut the tomato into thin slices, and the cabbage into strips. Can you do it?”

“That’s easy.”

Norn was someone who said he could handle a rabbit, so his skills weren’t just for show. It seems he knew his way around a cutting board. Maybe he often helped Couge out.

 

Meanwhile, I was going to make a salad with some cucumber and daikon. Mayonnaise would be a delicious dressing, but earlier I’d seen something that looked like sesame oil. So I was going to make a Chinese-style dressing with sesame oil, salt and vinegar.

With daikon, Chinese-style dressing was better than mayonnaise.

“Are you using shee oil?”

Couge was a cook, after all. It looked like he was interested in what I was making.

“Want a taste?”

I put some of the dressing onto his palm. His eyes widened when he gave a lick. “It’s delicious.”

“I’d like to try, too.”

I gave some to Norn, too. This one actually gave a review.

“Yes, this is delicious. The mayonnaise was delicious too. I can’t choose which one is better.”

“Right? I like this too,” I replied.

It was really fun making a meal together. It was like cooking practice.

 

The salad was soon done. While Norn was busy making the tomato soup, I brought out the long-awaited butter.

Since I’d brought the butter I was keeping at home, there were two bottles of them.

“Erm, after the pan heats up, you put the butter in,” I explained.

Couge was the one holding the pan. A frying pan made for chefs was too heavy for me.

Even the pot that Norn was making soup in was as big as those used in ramen shops. There weren’t any other pots so we’d end up with a lot of soup, but the rest could be eaten for dinner, and if it wasn’t finished then you could have it the next day too. That’d make the flavors deepen and make it more delicious.

The cabbage in the soup would taste more delicious that way too.

 

The melting butter in the pan made Couge’s eyes brighten. He looked so handsome breathing in the scent of the butter. Truly, no matter what a good-looking person did, it was picturesque. It was really impressive.

When I do it, my nostrils flare and I end up making a weird face.

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“I want to eat soon, so I’ll just make three servings at once.”

I poured in the eggs and that lovely scent spread out. Couge shook the pan while scrambling the eggs. He really looked like a professional. The food looked better than when I cooked the same recipe.

I mused, “I wish we had some bread. I could make some garlic toast.”

“Bread? Then, I’ll buy some as thanks for today,” Norn said.

Since all that was left for the soup was to simmer, Norn had nothing else to do. He left before I could stop him and was soon back with bread.

He’d bought it from the bakery next door.

It was a huge loaf of bread that looked like a monster baguette.

 

“Sorry about that, Norn,” Couge said.

“It was nothing. I can do this much.”

The relationship between them was really good. It’s only been six days since Norn and I first got to know each other, and we’ve only met three times. Our friendship has just started, but Couge and Norn were already so in sync. The trust between them was like that of an old married couple.

I understood being serious because you wanted to help.

 

“Alright, I’ll make some delicious garlic toast! ……Sorry, can you slice up this bread, Norn?”

The monster baguette was really hard.

 

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