"HAGGAAAHH!!"

Time seemed to go by with such tranquility as I led the sheep away. That is, until a hideous scream echoed from nearby. Hagaah?

When I looked, I saw that Freigen had fallen over after being rammed by a sheep.

Still, he didn't give up, and approached the next sheep. However, the sheep rejected him more violently this time, and he was rammed into once again. After that, the sheep walked towards the stable by itself. Oh, Freigen…

"Ahh! You insolent ball of wool! Obey my commands!!"

He shouted as he approached the next sheep. I felt sad when I saw him flying once again.

And so I walked up to him and helped him to his feet. I also brushed the gra.s.s off of his s.h.i.+rt but ignored the dung on his back.

"You know, it's because of your att.i.tude that the sheep hate you."

"As if mere cattle know anything about human att.i.tudes! They are just livestock. I am superior."

"There is no such thing as superiority here. Actually, since they give us such delicious milk, I would put them above you. Can you squeeze out delicious milk? Can you? Then it's settled. The sheep are above you."

"So squirting out milk makes you great? That's rather arrogant for a ball of wool!"

"It's not arrogant. Everyone lives here in peace. You're the only one here who isn't peaceful. Why are you so p.r.i.c.kly all of the time?"

"It's because I am more important than this livestock here! Besides, this work is too easy for me! I want work that is harder. Something that no one else here can do!"

Freigen howled. The farmer and his daughter looked troubled.

Having finished its job, the sheepdog returned, looking very happy. So, Freigen couldn't even do something like this?

"Well, that's how he feels. Is there any harder work for him?"

"Uh, ah… Yes, there are some animals we have trouble with. We can barely deal with them ourselves."

And so we were escorted to the animals that were troubling them.

It was a chicken coop with chickens that were covered in red feathers. And they were larger than normal chickens.

When we got closer, they suddenly faced us, pointing their sharp beaks in our direction. Then they moved their heads back and forth as if to intimidate us. It was like a threat. Come any close and we will poke you.

"They are a very special breed and were imported from other lands. They do not eat much and lay three eggs a day. And their eggs are more nutritious than most and also delicious. Or so we were told. We were such fools! I won't say that we were lied to, but some vital information was hidden from us. These chickens are incredibly aggressive and will attack you as soon as you try and take their eggs. We were able to deal with that problem by making changes to the place where the eggs were laid. However, they will also attack you when you feed them or try to clean the coop. It gets very hard, as it happens every time. This is definitely the hardest job on the farm."

The farmer explained in a sad voice. If this continued, the future would not be very bright for these chickens. And the farm would suffer a loss.

"I'll do it! It's just cleaning! I don't like the idea of cleaning livestock excrement, but I'll do it since no one else is able to. Besides, it must be that the chickens don't respect you because of your low birth! Just watch me!"

Freigen said as he picked up the cleaning tools and stepped into the chicken coop. As it had not been successfully cleaned before, it was very dirty.

"Mister Freigen, please don't do anything stupid. You should come out as soon as they attack you. Just don't hurt yourself."

The farmer said in a voice full of concern. However, Freigen had not been attacked yet.

After that, Freigen continued to clean, though, without much skill.

"Huh? Are the chickens in a good mood today?"

The farmer and his daughter looked on with wonderment.

Freigen seemed to be in good spirits after realizing that he was succeeding. And so he did not complain about the bad smell inside of the chicken coop.

"It's very odd. They haven't attacked Mister Freigen even once."

It was true. And it wasn't as if they didn't know he was in there. Their eyes would occasionally meet, but then they would look away as if they were uninterested in each other.

"I have a theory. Perhaps they are both so twisted that they ended up getting along with each other."

"Really?"

"Or perhaps the chickens see him as one of their kind. In other words, he looks like a chicken."

"Ohh, I don't know about that. It is difficult to understand. Still, it is very impressive. I did not think that the day would come. Haha. Thank you, Lord Kururi. You have brought us an excellent person."

Even I was happy that Freigen had found his place in a surprising place.

Once Freigen was finished cleaning the chicken coop, he came out with a satisfied smile.

"See? It was a job that only I could do, wasn't it?"

The farmer and his daughter saw this and rushed to him with joy.

"Oh, it's wonderful! Mister Freigen, won't you please come and work for us?"

"Ah, yes. If you are going to insist on it to such a degree…"

Freigen hid his own happiness, unlike the farmer and his daughter.

He tried a few other jobs after that, but he was no good at them.

Still, Freigen had decided that this farm was the place for him.

Before I left, he told me this himself.

"I see. Well then, contact me if anything happens."

"Yeah."

While I walked away, I heard him mutter a quiet 'thanks' under his breath.

But maybe I was just hearing things.

I rode on my horse and headed towards the craftsman's district.

One week later, a package arrived for me.

It was from Freigen. He had sent me some soured milk.

It was not bad at all.

At first, Freigen had no intention of staying in this land.

He was planning on running away as soon as he had enough money.

However, a surprising turn of fate had led him to find his place on a farm.

Of course, at that time, I had no idea that he would be sending me a wedding invitation just a few years later.