Chapter 187

“Good morning, Ryan.”

“Welcome, Sihyeon.”

Ryan greeted me with a smile on my way to work as usual.

Every time I come to the office like this, I always see this cool smile that makes me envious.

“Ryan is really amazing. You’re probably not late at least once, right?”

“I’ve gotten used to waking up so early since I was a kid. Sihyeon, you too almost never came late for work. I think you’re faster than ordinary office workers, right?”

“Well…but not so fast for a farm worker.”

My father, who I saw as a child, woke up at four or five every morning to work.

If my father sees me now, he may scold me for being lazy.

“It might be best if you stay on the farm. I’m sure the farm members will love it.”

“That’s…”

I gave a slightly vague response to Ryan’s comment.

As he said, it’s not that I haven’t thought about staying at Demon Farm, but I was a little worried about my mother who would have to stay alone without me.

Other than that, there was nothing stopping me from staying at Demon farm.

Demon Farm was now a place that felt more like my home.

“Oh! Come to think of it, how are Mr. Locus and Mr. Kroc doing?”

“Yes, Thanks to them my workload has reduced considerably.”

It’s already been two weeks since Locus and Kroc arrived at the farm.

Even though it was a short time to fully adapt to the new environment, the two were already standing out in various ways.

Anyone may doubt the change that might come from adding two people, but personally, they’re helpful in a big way.

“Really? That’s a relief. Maybe I should drop by the farm sometime to greet the two.”

“You should. Maybe while we’re at it, we should have a welcome party for the two new members.”

“That would be great. At times like this, I’ll always be a burden. I’m a little bit aware of it. I’m sorry sihyeon, I’ll try to help as much as I can.”

“What are you saying? I’m indebted to you. I’ve got a lot of help from you, Ryan. Don’t feel like that, come by at any time.”

“Haha! I feel a little at ease with you saying that.”

I chatted with Ryan for a while and then moved to the Demon world since it was time for work.

I walked on the way to the farm while enjoying the cool, clear morning air.

It’s been countless times already, but I haven’t gotten tired of it.

Recently, the smell of grass and flowers became stronger because the weather got warmer.

As I walked slowly along the fence greeting the Yakums that woke early, I arrived near the farm building.

Normally, no one would have gotten up yet, but I could feel someone’s presence in front of the building.

– SWOOSH SWOOSH!

With a broom that looked way smaller than its size, Kroc was sweeping the leaves in the yard.

“Kroc.”

I waved when he found me arriving at the farm.

“Did you wake up already? You don’t have to force yourself to come this early….”

Kroc has been staying in the Elden village with Locus.

And in the morning, he comes to the farm to help with the farm work, and in the afternoon, he helps with the work in the Elden village.

I don’t know how he can work this hard.

Although we haven’t been together for a long time, I’m receiving good reviews not only from the farm members but also from the residents of Elden Village.

It was said that he has succeeded in many difficult tasks with his powerful body, and has already hunted many dangerous Beasts around the village,  alone.

Unlike the strong and intimidating outward appearance, Kroc has an incredibly soft and delicate personality.

He was always full of consideration for everyone he meet, and acted carefully in case they felt pressured.

No matter how intimidated people were, trust and liking naturally arose looking at the appearance of Kroc, who was doing every work honestly.

It was a bonus charm that he loved cute beasts.

“Just wait a little bit. I’ll change my clothes and help you in a second.”

Kroc smiled slightly and said something in sign language with his hands.

In the meantime, I got used to his sign language a little and guessed its meaning roughly.

I think he said [it’s okay, come slowly.]

I quickly went into the building, changed into my usual work clothes, and came out.

I finished cleaning around the building with Kroc and started my morning routine as usual.

I went to the barn and looked at the condition of the baby yakums.

The cute bunches of fur huddled together and were still traveling in the dreamland.

After looking at the figure for a moment, I quietly moved to the other side of the barn.

– Boo woo wooo.

– Boo woo.

“Did you both sleep well?”

I greeted Hermosa and Chorongi who just woke up and looked at their condition.

It was to decide whether to milk them or not.

If their condition looked bad, I let them rest as much as possible without milking them.

Fortunately, both of them looked well today.

I immediately prepared a glass bottle for storing Hap.

As much as I got better at milking, Hermosa and Chorongi also got used to it and it made my work a lot easier.

I quickly filled the glass bottle with Hap and accepted the cutesiness of Hermosa and Chorongi for a while.

After a simple cleaning and filling the water tank with fresh water, I came out of the barn.

Outside the barn, Kroc, who had finished cleaning elsewhere, was waiting for me.

He moved his hand eagerly with a look of surprise.

Judging from the gesture, it seemed like he was referring to Hap in my hand.

He seemed to be very surprised at the fact that I was milking Yakum.

“Ah… Was this your first time seeing me milking Yakums?”

NOD.

Kroc looked at me with his shining big eyes as if I did a miracle.

I felt a little burdened by the look and laughed awkwardly while trying to change the subject.

“You must be hungry since you have been working from early in the morning, right? Go in and rest a little. I’ll make your breakfast soon.”

NOD.

I went inside the farm building with Kroc to prepare breakfast.

As I was entering the front door, I heard a small sound of footsteps from the stairs on the second floor.

“Papa…”

Speranza in her pajamas came down rubbing her eyes.

She looked half-asleep as if she had just woken up.

I was worried that she might fall down, so I ran quickly and took Speranza in my arms.

“Speranza darling, are you up? You woke up very early today.”

“Un… I woke up early. I’m a good girl….”

I burst into laughter at the sudden self-proclamation.

While thinking about what to do with the wacky princess, Speranza woke up little by little, and her eyes became clear.

And soon she found Kroc, who was close by.

“Huh…? It’s Dragon uncle.”

Dragon Uncle.

It was the name Speranza gave to Kroc.

Kroc himself loved this simple title.

“Hi~ Dragon uncle.”

Speranza smiled brightly and waved her hand.

“…….”

Then Kroc, who couldn’t take his eyes off the smile, waved his hand looking at Speranza blankly.

It was the image of Dragon Uncle who fell in love with Speranza’s cuteness in an instant.

I looked at it with satisfaction and asked Speranza in my arms.

“Speranza. Would you like to stay with Dragon Uncle while Papa is preparing breakfast?”

“Um… Yes, Papa. I’ll play with Dragon Uncle.”

“Kroc, if you don’t mind, can you take care of Speranza for a while?”

“…!”

Kroc was so surprised that he shook his big body at my request.

And he moved his hand in a hurry, as if in a panic.

Roughly guessing the meaning, it seemed like he was asking whether it was really okay for him to take care of Speranza.

Despite his concern, expectations were already overflowing out of his eyes.

I smiled and handed Speranza to Kroc.

He picked up Speranza very carefully as if he was receiving a great treasure.

He was so nervous, that his large tail stood firm toward the sky, while his arms and legs moved unnaturally as if they got paralyzed.

The helplessness of Kroc in front of the little fox girl felt really interesting.

“Dragon Uncle. I want to touch the horn.”

“….”

“Wow… I want to touch the tail.”

“….”

“Hahaha! It’s soft.”

Was the tail soft?

Relieved to see the two having more fun than I thought, I headed to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

Today’s breakfast was – A sandwich made with eggs, cheese, ham, and lettuce between two golden brown loaves of bread.

“Thank you for the food.”

“Thank you for the food.”

Starting with everyone’s greetings, breakfast at an ordinary Demon Farm began.

I smiled pleased as I watched everyone eating deliciously.

Fortunately, the sandwich seemed to suit everyone’s taste.

I cut Speranza’s sandwich into small pieces to make it easier for her to eat, after which I belatedly started eating my breakfast.

“Um… I’m sorry I overslept today, Senior. I should have helped you with the morning cleaning…”

“That’s alright. Kroc helped me a lot today.”

“I’m sorry, Kroc.”

Alfred apologized and bowed his head.

Kroc waved his hand as if saying it was okay.

“But it’s a big deal. You haven’t overslept much so far, have you?”

“Right. I’ve never seen Elaine oversleep before.”

Lia and I looked at Alfred in wonder.

“I guess I overdid it because I was doing some training with Kroc until late yesterday…”

With the arrival of Kroc, a new rival was added to Alfred’s rival list.

Kroc boasted tremendous skill as a member of the Black hawk unit.

I don’t have the ability to judge anyone, but from what I saw and felt, there seemed to be a huge difference in skills between Kroc and Alfred as much as there was between me and Alfred.

No matter how hard Alfred attacked, Kroc never lost his composure.

It was a little shocking.

I thought with Alfred’s skills, he could take on anyone, but the gap in skills was so big…

Thinking about it, I looked at someone.

Kaneff, who was eating the sandwich with his signature languid expression.

I don’t know how he completely overpowered and controlled a group of people similar to Kroc.

How strong is he?

The longer we spent together, the more and more he felt unknown.

Feeling my gaze, Kaneff stopped eating the sandwich and opened his mouth.

“Come to think of it, how are the preparations going?”

“What?”

“Why are you asking as if you are hearing it for the first time? Honey beer brewery! THE PROMISE.”

“Ah…”

“Don’t tell me, did you forget the promise?”

“Um…”

Since the arrival of Kroc and Locus, a lot of things are going well, except… just one!

There was something much more difficult than I expected.