By the time they crested the final hill before home, the sun was hanging low, painting the farmhouse in that nice golden glow that Jacob always found to be welcoming. May was already outside, setting a basket down on the porch as they pulled in.
She waved. "Back just in time. I was about to put Caleb in charge of dinner."
"That would've been a disaster," Arthur said with mock horror. "We barely survived his last attempt."
"I only burned it a little," Caleb defended, hopping off the wagon.
"You burned stew," May said, with a slight giggle. "How does that even happen?"
Jacob hopped down after him, running to his mother with open arms.
"Mooooommmm!"
May leaned down to catch he son with a big smile on her face.
"Did you miss me, Jacob?"
Jacob just buried his face in her blouse, hugging her tight.
She patted his back, making sure he got all the attention he needed as he was clearly homesick after the little trip to town. After a few moments, she pulled him back to look at his face.
"My little boy, you did well going out there to help your father with his work. Did you see anything good?"
Jacob nodded his head, then animatedly told his mother all about the little adventure they had. He was very general with the experience they had with Thom, but then he turned to the wagon.
"Dad brought something big and metal back with us!"
May then turned to Arthur, who had just returned to the wagon with a couple of farmhands. The men hefted the large metal frame out of the wagon and walked it over to the barn, just a few yards from where the wagon was parked.
May giggled a bit, then told Jacob what it was.
"That is a hitch for a plow. Your dad was talking about how they needed another one to get more work done or something. I bet he will tell you all about it later during dinner. Now, don't you have some chickens to attend to?"
Jacob's face brightened when the chickens were mentioned.
"Ah! My chickens!"
Then he ran off toward the chicken coop.
Inside the coop, Jacob tossed feed into the run, watching the chickens scramble and cluck in their usual chaos. It was comfortable here with the chickens; they grounded him, made him feel like he was really home. The magic from earlier still buzzed faintly under his skin, but the noise of the chickens helped drown it out.
He let out a breath and leaned against the post, watching the sky turn orange.
Maybe magic wouldn't change everything. Maybe he could still be himself. Either way, he was still excited to see how he could use this power to shape out his existence in this fantasy world.
'If I can't learn the powerful magics of this world, it's still fine. I remember having that understanding when I chose to be reborn here. Just this much is already more than I had ever dreamed of, and my family actually loves me. I need to remember this and focus on the things that truly matter. To feel loved . . . it is truly a wonderful thing.'
Jacob wiped his hands on his pants and gave one of the hens a little scratch behind the neck as she pecked around near his boots.
"Good girl," he whispered. "Eggs tomorrow, alright?"
The hen made a curious sound, something between a cluck and a chirp, then wandered off without a care in the world. He felt a certain affinity toward the chickens, something that had been growing stronger as his magic developed further.
What actually was that affinity? He was unable to put any coherent thoughts to it. They just seemed to feed into his feeling of home. The place where he belongs. It was almost like nostalgia.
Jacob stood up and stretched, feeling the last of the day's warmth fade from the sky. It would be dinner soon, and he could already smell something familiar drifting from the kitchen.
'Smells like mom has some beef stew cooking on the stove tonight. I bet it tastes as amazing as always. The carrots we grow here are something else when put in that stew, too.'
As his stomach began to speak to him in low grumbles, he set off toward his house. On his way, he noticed his father leaning against the barn. Apparently waiting on him.
Arthur noticed him and smiled.
"Chickens all cared for?"
Jacob nodded as he walked toward his father. "All fed and ruffled. Most of them returned to the coop."
Arthur ruffled his hair as Jacob came within arm's length.
"After dinner, we will have some time to practice a couple of inscriptions. Let me show you this plough real quick, though.
He then opened the door to the barn and let Jacob in behind him. There in the middle of the barn, staged on some wooden struts, was the plough they had brought the metal piece from the blacksmith back with them on the cart.
"This metal piece is large and heavy; it causes the ox that carries it to slow down drastically, unless we can do something about it. I am sure you can imagine how much better it would be if we could make it lighter while strengthening it against wear and tear."
Jacob was looking at what he would consider an archaic piece of farm equipment. He had started remembering much of his days of running virtual farms, and this equipment was not what he would want to be using himself.
Nevertheless, he could envision what his father was saying. They needed to inscribe it with the strengthening runes while also using a new rune or set of runes that allowed it to be lighter, somehow.
Before he could get too lost in thought, Arthur started explaining things to him.
"My grandfather actually already found out a way to make things lighter and stronger. The problem is magical power. We have never been able to make it more than a couple of kilograms lighter, even with fine-tuning."
With a hand on the metal part of the instrument, Arthur talked with a bit of longing in his voice."
"All of the ploughs we currently use are slowing progress; it's why we have not been able to utilize all of our fertile lands for more crops."