Volume 1 - CH 6.3

She seems to have already adapted to the environment. But this place is still only one street of hell.

“You get used to the smell. You have to endure the heat. But these guys…”

“Yes, the real hell starts here…”

Kei and I break into a cold sweat remember the times we experienced it. Let’s do it! I’ll feel for them…!

The scariest thing about cleaning a poultry house…

“Kinoshita-saaan. Why don’t you clean this place toooo?”

The place Minori indicated with a beckoning voice was a food warehouse.

“…?”

Even though she was a little wary of that voice, Ringo did what she was told to do and put her hand on the door of the warehouse. And the moment the door is opened.

“Huh…?”

Ringo swallowed in surprise at those guys who suddenly jumped out. They are… COCKROACHES. Demons with little wings and start with the initial C literally flew out. About 10 of them.

“GYAAAAAAAAA”

Kei and I both screamed.

Cockroaches energetically flying around in a small poultry house are a threat! It’s not a situation where you can respond mildly by saying, “Well hello… it’s been a long time… master…”.

“Uhi. W..why are you guys always so energetic?”

This darkness, this humidity, and the nutritious fodder for the chicken… this warehouse is like a paradise for those cockroaches…!

As they landed and we dodged the Cs crawling on the floor, Kei and I gasped. I’m ok with pests that stick to crops, but I’m just not good with these insects!

Minori looks like she’s gone crazy.

“Nyahahahaha! Kinoshita-san, can you clean up the cock-chan’s too? If you can’t force yourself to do it, I can help you, OK?”

“…”

Ringo silently looked down at the Cs. SPLAT. She immediately trampled it with her shoes. Huh? Huh!?

“….”

STOMP! SPLAT! KLUNK KLUNK KLUNK!

Ringo calmly tramples Cs and disposes of them along with the trash. Minori is also in a daze.

“Heeey. Are you even afraid of cockroaches…?

“Not really.”

It seems that she’s really ok with Cs, not just pretending to be strong. Her facial expression does not budge at all.

So we continued cleaning, “…we’re done.”

She worked perfectly. As expected of my Cinderella…

“Well? What’s next?”

“Hmph…! Well, anyone can do this much! Of course you could do it.”

I sigh from the side and say to the bright read and teary-eyed Minori, “Give it up Minori… if she cleared this then there is no work that she can’t endure.”

“N..not yet! It’s not over yet!”

Oh yeah. This is Minori. A woman who is a sore loser…

“Wait a minute!”, Minori shouts and runs out of the poultry house. Then, “I’m back!”

Minori returned after about 30 seconds, holding a chick in both hands. ‘cheep cheep cheep’ She sticks out the chick towards Ringo. The last job is ‘DE-BEAKING’!”

“…de-beaking?”

Ringo tilts her head when hearing the unfamiliar words. What is de-beaking?

“Simply put, cutting off the chick’s beak. Chicken have a bad habit of attacking weaker individuals with an attack called ‘butt pecking’. In order to reduce the damage caused by its bad habits, its sharp beaks are cut off by a machine. At the same time this work also has the effect of preventing ‘food spillage’ by flattening the tip of the beak.”

Plan B.

“Cut off… the beak…?”

When she said that, Ringo’s expression broke. It was just a slight change in facial expression, just enough to make the eyelashes tremble a little, but we could see it.

“!”

Minori’s face is distorted into an evil and gloating grin.

“Hey now hey nooow. Can you use this machiiiine?”

Minori sneaks up to Ringo with a machine called the ’De-beaker’

“….!”

From the look on Ringo’s face when she saw the equipment, it was clear why she was upset. It’s something I’ve experienced before. It’s easy to hate ‘pests’ that destroy your crops and fodder. But a hen lays an egg and out of it comes a chick that chirps. It’s hard not to think it’s cute. You think ‘you poor thing’ when you are about to hurt it.

That is the truth behind the emotion that Ringo is feeling.

“Kinoshita. De-beaking isn’t hard. Just press the beak against the blade of the de-beaker and cut it off.  Take the plunge. The chicks are a little violent, but it’s better to do it all at once without hesitation so it’ll hurt less.” Kei gives this advice to the hesitant Ringo, but this has the opposite effect.

With these words Ringo was made aware that de-beaking was hurting the chick.

“By the way, this is the failed chick. If you don’t cut it off right away and wait too long, its beak will bruise like this.”

“Hey! Minori!”

“What is it? I’m just telling her. Oh and if you cut it too deep it’ll bleed right?”

“Stop it!”

“Hmph! If you want, Kosaku will teach you. Take care of your precious Kinoshita-san!!” Minori said this and forced the chick into my hands.

It’s still a chick, only about 10 days since it hatched from a small egg.

Our school buys chicks around the beginning of June and starts breeding them. As for what happens to the chickens after we raise them, I asked a vendor and they said “I throw them away.”

I feel like it’s a waste, but it can’t be helped. Their role as a ‘learning material’ ends once the child grows up. If you don’t think of it as inevitable then you can’t be a farmer. This is the reality here. The reality that something close to you dies. The reality that you have to hurt living things with your own hands. If you don’t farm, you don’t have to see such a painful reality. If you want eggs you, can buy eggs lined up in the supermarket. You only pay a few hundred yen without any guilt.

I don’t see it as a bad thing. It can’t be bad.

‘You can’t be cruel to animals.’ It’s only natural for people to think so. It’s not primitive times, there are many jobs other than agriculture that are necessary in this day and age. If you don’t like it, there are plenty of other jobs you can do.

Rather, I feel a sense of disgust towards people who force others to do things like that, and are happy that they have made them understand the importance of life.

Agriculture is to make people happy. That’s why I want everyone involved in agriculture, be it producers or consumers, to be happy. That’s why…

“Ringo”

I gently handed the white chick to Ringo and said, “Farming is fun you know? But because it’s fun, it can also be sad and painful. To endure such great sadness you need to be prepared.”

It’s a readiness to deal with life.

“If you can’t make up your mind to do that, I’m sorry, but I don’t think farming is for you.”

“…”

Ringo looked at me with eyes that were surprised.

Maybe she wanted me to encourage her saying ‘Do your best’. But I don’t’ want my favorite Yuka-tan, Kinoshita Ringo, to feel sad. So I don’t want to force her. I want her to honestly choose the path that makes her the happiest.

“…”

Ringo drops her eyes to the small life in her own hands. She carefully wraps the chick that didn’t know its fate with both hands and hugged it to her chest. And chose.

“Sorry…” Ringo muttered this and cut off its beak at once.

*******

“Yes, you did a good job.”

I smiled at Ringo as I checked her de-beaked chick.

“There are no cracks in the cut. The cut is just right, not too shallow or deep. In this case you don’t need to recut it.”

“Good.”

Ringo is now completely expressionless as usual. Feeling uninterested in the chicks after de-beaking, she hung her head down and looked to the side.

“Good work. It was your first time but you did well didn’t you?”

“…”

When I encouraged her by saying that, Ringo’s mouth began to twitch. Then while looking to the side she finally said, “…not really.”

Ahhh, so cute. ♡

On the other hand my childhood friend is not cute at all.

“…” (pouting)

Minori, who had puffed out her cheeks, was in the corner of the poultry house crouched down with her back turned to me.

Kei called out to admonish Minori. “Now you have to admit Kinoshita can make it here right? Well from now on, the two of you should be on good terms.”

“Shut up!!”

Minori punches Kei’s welding mask. Wow, the iron helm is dented in the shape of a fist…

“A..are you ok Kei?”

“Without the welding mask it would have been an instant death…”

Heck, even if I wore it I feel like it would have been instant death.

Well anyways. Ringo overcame many trials today. It’s like a rite of passage that every student who attends this school must pass.

“The gate is open…”

I look at her back with a dazzling feeling as she seems to have become a little stronger after finishing her first day of field work.

JUST NOW… ANOTHER WOMAN HAS PASSED THROUGH THE GATE…

THE NAME OF THE GATE IS NORA GATE.

And then.

—grumble.

“…!”

Ringo’s belly rumbled cutely.

“Alright! Shall we go home and have dinner?”, Kei said while covering the blushing Ringo’s head with the concave welding surface.

“I agree! you did your best today, and it was a memorable first practice!”

Somehow I was very happy. I felt like Ringo had really become one of us.

“Minori, make us a feast! Just like the welcome party!”

“LET’S HAVE A HAPPY MEAL”

For some reason I didn’t get any rice that night…