Let’s Build A Ranch

I rode a horse home from the lake.

The lake was on the academy’s northeastern side, but the forest where I lived was on the opposite southwestern side.

And inside my coat was packed full of dried fish.

Both the horses and the fish were unexpected gains, and I was completely satisfied.

“To think I’d get this many good things—survival class really is the best. I might even be okay with Sir-sensei every single day.”

Saying that as I arrived home, I found the house lit by a color different from the sunset.

The category of Livestock had been added to my base status.

That was probably because I had brought back six horses.

“Oh!? The settlement’s turned into a ranch!”

And then I remembered.

At the Pioneer Academy, pioneering begins with gathering and hunting, then develops into agriculture, livestock raising, and industry.

“So my settlement has finally moved on to the next step…!”

But even if it had taken on the name of a ranch, it still wasn’t at a level you could call an industry yet.

“You can get hide and meat from horses, sure, but…”

When I said that and looked at the horses, they all stiffened with alarm.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to eat you. Monaka likes you too much for that.”

Monaka had said these horses were all very cute too, and had even given each of them names.

“And besides, in this country, horses are mainly used for travel and farm work. So you’ll be helping by serving as my legs and carrying cargo. If that’s okay, then you’ll stay here with me, right?”

The horses neighed back with relieved expressions.

“In return, I’ll make sure you get plenty to eat.”

I had a wheat field, so there was as much hay made from their favorite, Wheatgrass, as they could want.

I led the horses over to the field beside my house.

When I dramatically introduced the mountain of hay, the horses’ eyes changed and they dove right in.

“All right, deal settled.”

Leaving the horses to enjoy their all-you-can-eat feast, I immediately got to work.

“If this place is a ranch now, then I ought to make it look a little more like one.”

I pulled over the wagon loaded with Gisu lumber that was parked beside the house.

The wood had already been cut to a good length, so I shaved one end of each timber to a point with the Great Knife of the Giant Boar.

Then I drove the finished posts into the vacant lot that was hidden from the residential district side, spacing them evenly.

After that, all I had to do was fit Gisu planks onto them and nail them in place…

“All right, done. Now it looks a lot more like a ranch. And since it’s hard to see from the residential district, nobody’s likely to start messing with it right away.”

The now full-bellied horses came trotting over to me, so I opened the fence for them, and they happily went inside.

They immediately began relaxing however they liked.

“A fence like this is probably nothing more than a single step for horses… but even if they run off, that’s fine too.”

After introducing the new companions to Mark and Tom, I went back into the house.

The next morning, the principal was absent from assembly.

The reason was explained by the vice principal, who stood on the platform in his place.

“A terrible misfortune has befallen the principal, so he can no longer appear before all of you. Therefore, it has been decided that today, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow will be school holidays. For these three days, all of you are also to observe mourning.”

For some reason, the tearful vice principal glared at me the whole time.

I wondered if the principal had died, but according to a rumor I heard afterward from Maachan, he was apparently still alive.

It was just that quiet sobbing could be heard leaking out from the principal’s office the whole time.

I grew a little worried about the principal and even considered going to visit him, but then I realized he probably wouldn’t be happy to see me.

More importantly, I had unexpectedly gained some free time.

And not just a little—three whole days.

As soon as morning assembly ended, I went straight back home and headed to the ranch.

The moment the horses saw me, they came clattering over, their hooves ringing.

One of them pressed its face right against mine, so I petted it, and it looked deeply content.

Apparently, the horses had really taken a liking to this ranch.

That somehow made me happy too, and it lit an even greater fire under my motivation.

“All right then, let’s really get this ranch started!”

To do that, I’d need to increase the numbers.

I activated the Dexterous Job Change skill of Jack-of-All-Trades and changed into Tamer.

Then I took Daija Vine Thread out of my coat pocket and bundled it together into a thick rope.

Once I made a round loop at the end, the preparation was complete.

I called over the black horse Uni-ko, the leader of the herd, led it outside the fence, and mounted it.

“All right! We’re off on a journey to find some new companions!”

At my shout, Uni-ko gave a high whinny and burst into a run.

That day, I spent the whole time racing through the forest, searching for animals that could become livestock.

Animals that hadn’t been there during the Seven Days of Flame had returned to the forest, making it the perfect chance.

“Oh!? Wild goats, spotted!”

The herd of goats fled all at once the moment they noticed me.

They’d be troublesome to chase on foot, but now I had a dependable ally.

With breathtaking speed, Uni-ko raced through the forest, leaped over brush, and closed the distance to the goats in no time at all.

I hurled the Daija Vine rope I had been swinging, aiming for a goat’s horns.

The loop caught, binding the goat’s horns securely.

I yanked it tight to stop the goat’s movement, then immediately activated the Taming skill.

The goat stopped struggling and let out a friendly “Nmeeeh.”

“All right, that’s one to start with…! Let’s keep this pace up and get more!”

After that, I went on scouting all sorts of animals as livestock.

The wild cows didn’t run—they charged at me, so I had to subdue them in hand-to-hand combat.

The wild chickens kept escaping by flying away, so I had no choice but to raise my Charm parameter and lure them in.

At one point, a boar attacked me, but Uni-ko knocked it out in a single hit with a backward kick.

Just like yesterday, today had also been a huge haul.

As I kept going back and forth between the house and the forest, the inside of the ranch fence grew much livelier.

And once again, my base leveled up…!