Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 1 - Chapter 6.4

4

“Yes, it’s giba meat. It’s delicious, right? How about some more?” Reina Ruu asked, clearly tearing up a bit herself. While still holding her bowl, Rimee Ruu started openly sobbing. And Ai Fa... Ai Fa stopped eating, looked down a bit, and tightly closed her eyes.

“Then how about trying the meat on its own? This red stuff is made with fruit wine, so it’s really sweet and tasty.”

After Jiba Ruu had eaten a number of mouthfuls, Reina Ruu sliced off a bit of giburger and offered it to her grandmother as is.

I figured the old woman’s front teeth must have been all gone. At any rate, Jiba Ruu opened her mouth wide and it looked like a cave, which the giburger was then enclosed within.

With a very clear chewing sound and a lot more obvious effort, Granny Jiba chomped down on the meat.

“It really is delicious... So very tasty... I can’t believe that giba can taste this good...”

“What’s so good about it? Meat that’s so flabby I’d think it’s gone bad isn’t fit for people to eat!” a voice like thunder roared. Naturally, that was the head of the clan, Donda Ruu.

Apparently he had finished his meal before everyone else, so he threw down his empty bowl and seemed to almost desperately gulp down fruit wine.

“Of course it was sweet when you went and poured fruit wine over it, but the aria are so mushy it’s practically like they’re rotten! And hey, you didn’t just use giba legs! There’s shoulder and back meat mixed in here too, isn’t there?!” Donda Ruu roared, his disheveled hair like a mane as dangerous-looking wrinkles formed on his face. “Only scavengers like the mundt eat the giba’s torso! I’m not some beast from the forest! I’m a human being! A proud hunter of the forest’s edge! Just what the hell were you thinking, making me eat the same thing as a mundt?!”

“You certainly are a yappy child. You really haven’t changed at all since becoming head of the clan, have you?”

Granny Jiba’s eyes, hidden within her wrinkles, slowly turned to face the head of the family.

Donda Ruu may have led the family, but at the same time, he was also this woman’s grandson.

And yet, the man glared back at this old lady who must have been less than half his size with a fire burning in his eyes.

“If this is what mundt eat, then I’d have to say they’re living better than us humans. Well, that may actually be the truth of the matter out there in the forest...” Maybe I was just imagining things, but the old woman’s voice sounded noticeably stronger than it did just moments ago. “But if that’s how you want to think, then that’s all well and good, clan chief Donda. It’s up to everyone to decide what they believe... And this old lady believes this meat is right and proper.”

“Amazing... Granny Jiba is all full of energy and talking like she used to...” Rimee Ruu muttered.

I still couldn’t quite tell where the old woman’s eyes were, but this time they turned steadily to face in that direction.

“You helped make this too, didn’t you, Rimee? It’s incredibly delicious. Thank you, Rimee.”

“Not at all!” Rimee said while shaking her head, then started shoving the rest of her hamburger in her mouth as tears streamed down her face. After watching over that sight for a short while, Granny Jiba muttered, “Ai Fa... Are you there?”

I looked over to my side, and saw Ai Fa’s shoulders suddenly twitch.

“I’m sorry, but this old lady’s eyes really have given out. I can’t see a thing in this light... If you’re there, could you come this way and let me see your face?”

Ai Fa wasn’t moving, so I said, “Hey,” and nudged her in the side with my elbow. She shot me back a seriously dangerous glare, but then she slowly stood up. And for some reason, she was firmly holding me by the wrist.

“Huh? Hey, hold on!” I yelled out and then hurriedly placed my soup bowl on the floor. Pulled along by strength that paid my intentions no heed whatsoever, I was dragged over alongside Ai Fa and ended up kneeling next to Granny Jiba. Donda Ruu, meanwhile, was glaring at me with a seriously overwhelming look in his eyes.

“Jiba Ruu... I am Ai Fa, of the Fa clan. This is Asuta, of my household.”

Naturally, Granny Jiba couldn’t see me either, but at any rate she reached her wrinkled fingers out towards Ai Fa’s face. Her dry, rough fingers that looked like little more than skin and bone touched Ai Fa’s silky smooth cheek.

“Ah, it’s been a while... How many years has it been, now? I’ve been wanting to see you for quite some time, Ai Fa.”

Now that I was seeing her up close, I could tell clearly that Granny Jiba was a proper human being, rather than some dried up old fruit. Both her face and fingers were wrinkled, her large nose and thin lips had what almost looked like fine fissures running through them, like her age had been carved into her, and perhaps because of her lack of front teeth, it was hard to understand what she was saying. But underneath her drooping eyelids, there were blue eyes shining with an inconceivable amount of wisdom, and her face like a dried fruit wore an expression that was overflowing with affection.

What a truly kind face. What a soft, gentle expression. It really may have been the first time in my life that I had ever seen an old lady wear such a joyful smile.

“Reina Ruu, you should partake in this delicious meal, too. Ai Fa, will you help this old woman to eat?”

“...If that’s what you wish for, Jiba Ruu.”

As Ai Fa gently took Jiba Ruu by the arm, Reina Ruu stood up while wiping away tears from the corners of her eyes.

“What do you want to eat? Meat? Or poitan?”

“Giba meat. This truly is delicious meat...”

Ai Fa remained expressionless as always as she somewhat clumsily brought the spoon to the old woman’s mouth.

“Ah, it’s so good. You made this, didn’t you, Ai Fa...?”

“No, I largely just watched. This meal was made by your family, as well as Asuta here.”

“Asuta...”

With that, her terribly thin eyes pointed my way. If I were this close to that eldest brother, Jiza Ruu, would I be able to tell how he was feeling, too? Because right now, a light of clear jubilation was shining forth from this old woman’s hardly visible eyes.

“Asuta of the Fa clan... You made this meal?”

“Yes, at Rimee Ruu’s request. My father was a chef in a far off nation. I was nothing but a trainee who assisted him, but if you like what I’ve made even so, then I greatly appreciate that.”

Granny Jiba’s hands wandered through the air, trembling as they went. After silently looking over at Ai Fa, I nervously took hold of them. Her dry, wrinkled fingers felt even more withered than an old branch, but I could feel a clear warmth from them as they gripped my hands.

“Thank you... It had become tiresome for this old woman just to keep on living. I’m not able to walk properly, and I couldn’t even eat a proper meal... I’ve just been growing old while being nothing but a nuisance to my family. Every day, I did nothing but suffer, questioning why the gods hadn’t taken this ancient soul up into the skies.”

“You’re not a nuisance!” Rimee Ruu shouted out, only for her red-haired sister by her side to give her head a nudge to quiet her.

“You see, this old woman came here to this forest back when she was five years old. Yes, I was one of that initial thousand to renounce the Southern God Jagar and devote ourselves to the Western God Selva.”

“I see...”

“But I just couldn’t come to love this place. The southern forest was a bountiful place, and the only animals that would attack people were large monkeys and poisonous snakes. And we could pick fruit whenever we wanted... At times we would dig up bugs from the earth, and we would eat lizards that sparkled all the colors of the rainbow... The people from the city looked down on us as savages, but I was happy...”

Granny Jiba’s eyes no longer seemed like they were looking at me or Ai Fa. As she gazed at some far off place, tears started to well up in her now crystal clear eyes.

“But our forest was burned down by soldiers, and we fled to the west. Then, we moved in here to the western forest’s edge. The people of the western capital ordered us to hunt giba, and forbade us from laying a hand on the blessings of the forest. But even so, everyone still seemed happy at the start. There wasn’t any more need to eat lizard meat, or gather rotted fruits and mushrooms. We could eat as much giba meat as we wanted, and partake in the fruits of man’s fields, they said...”

“Right...”

It may not have even been necessary for me to chime in at all. After all, the old woman’s eyes were now staring at the sights of days long past.

“But this forest’s edge turned out to be a horrifying place. In the first year alone, one hundred men were killed by giba. And the following year, we lost another hundred. Men kept on dying one after another, and then a similar number of women and children would die of starvation. In those first few years, over half of my thousand brethren were wiped out.”

“Right.”

“The Gaaze clan fell to ruin. The Reema clan, too. After that the Suun and Ruu clans took charge of our people, and we somehow managed to establish our current way of life... Eating the meat of giba we hunt down, and selling their horns and tusks for the blessings of the fields, that is. With that, we had finally found a way to survive here at the forest’s edge, but... The whole time, I wanted to return to the forest where I was born.”

I noticed that nearly everyone had finished eating, and were all quietly listening to their elder’s words.

“But our forest burned to the ground long ago, and those who knew it died out one after another, until I was the only one left. I was sad, and lonely, and always thinking of a place that wasn’t here, despite being surrounded by so much family. And giba meat wasn’t even a little bit tasty. The fruits of people’s labors in the fields weren’t delicious in the least. And as I thought that, one tooth after another fell out, until finally I couldn’t even eat giba meat. Ah, I felt like I was experiencing the anger of the western god... But now, I finally feel like I’m back with everyone else. Why did I feel like that, only ever praying to return to the southern forest as soon as I could...?”

Her dry, cracked hands grabbed mine with a surprising amount of strength. At some point, her clear blue eyes had returned back to me.

“I only ever thought of my dead family and my burnt forest. But today, I was able to think of my living family and this forest’s edge. My soul is finally in service of the Western God Selva rather than the Southern God Jagar. I’m here with my family, eating giba meat and staying alive. I feel the need to keep on living. I finally went and remembered something so completely obvious...”

“I’m sure your feelings simply weakened because your teeth fell out and you weren’t able to eat anything delicious any longer,” I said, offering a rather foolish response. Ai Fa looked a touch surprised in response.

I mean, what did you expect? I’m nothing but a chef trainee. There’s no way I would have the skills needed to carry out a refined conversation with the elder of the forest’s edge, who had lived for over eighty harsh years.

“I’m sure you must have thought of those people as precious to you before you started growing so weak. Otherwise, Ai Fa and Rimee Ruu would have never been so desperate to help you. It was precisely because they wanted from the depths of their hearts to save you and make you remember the joy of living that I felt the need to muster up what little strength I had.”

Granny Jiba silently turned towards Ai Fa. My beloved benefactor bit down on her lip a bit and glared back at the old woman as if she was angry.

“If you’re going to thank anyone, then please thank them. I’m already plenty satisfied just by hearing you say my cooking was delicious.”

“It was... It truly, truly was. This old woman hated giba meat, and thought that poitan wasn’t meant to be eaten by man, but now I want to eat more. I want to keep on living here at the forest’s edge.” With a gentle smile on her face, Granny Jiba whispered, “Ai Fa, could you please remove my necklace?”

Ai Fa, still looking angry, did as she was told and removed the necklace, then placed it in the old woman’s small hands. With her trembling fingers that looked like twigs, she then removed the giba tusks and horns from their string.

“Ai Fa and Asuta of the Fa clan, Jiba Ruu of the Ruu clan offers you her gratitude. Please, accept it.”

There were only three horns and tusks in total, but she offered one each to both Ai Fa and myself.

“Hey, elder, that’s...!” Donda Ruu shouted out, only for Granny Jiba to start laughing, her back still facing him.

“It’s these giba tusks and horns that govern the lives of the people of the forest’s edge. It is my wish that they become the flesh and blood of you two, who I feel a great debt of gratitude towards. I, Jiba Ruu of the Ruu clan, offer your souls my blessing.”

That was the very first firm payment I had received for my work here in this other world.