Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 10 - Chapter SS

Bonus Short Story

The Eldest and Third Ruu Daughters

As she stared at the beautiful stone bracelet around her wrist, Vina Ruu just kept on sighing.

While she sat in the shadow of the trees, the Lanto River flowed on in front of her. She had finished up her work for the morning and hadn’t felt like talking with anyone, so she ended up simply hanging out in a place like this.

Until, that is, her younger sister Lala Ruu suddenly joined her.

“Ah, so this is where you went! Everyone was worrying and wondering about you, Vina.”

“As long as I don’t wander into the depths of the forest, it’s not like I’d be in any danger, right...?”

“That’s true, but still! Are you thinking about that easterner again?”

“Why are you bringing him up, all of a sudden...? Of course not...”

“Oh?” Lala Ruu replied in a doubtful one, sitting down next to her elder sister. “That’s a really pretty bracelet, isn’t it?! It really looks good on you, Vina!”

“So it does...”

“It’ll be half a year till that easterner returns, huh? I can see why you’d feel impatient, having to wait that long.”

“Cut it out, already... That’s really not what’s going on...”

“But if it was just a case of a guy you had no interest in asking to marry you, you’d have shot him down on the spot, right? You’ve done that to dozens of guys before, after all!”

“I’d say ‘dozens’ is an exaggeration...”

“You think? I figure it’s gotta be over 20, though!”

With that Lala Ruu started to count them out on her fingers, causing Vina Ruu to give another sigh.

“It must be nice to be so carefree... It’s only two years till you’ll be allowed to marry too, you know. And you already know who your partner will be when that time comes...”

“Wh-What are you saying?! Don’t go spouting nonsense like that!”

“Huh...? But there haven’t been any other men you’re interested in marrying, right...?”

Lala Ruu’s face had turned every bit as red as her hair, and she had her arms wrapped around her knees.

“I mean... My feelings may not have anything to do with it. What if he likes some other girl? And who knows what could happen in the next two years?”

“I don’t think you need to worry about Shin Ruu...”

“I-I never said I was talking about Shin Ruu!” Lala Ruu retorted, her face growing even redder, causing Vina Ruu to unwittingly break out in a smile. Meanwhile, Lala Ruu started angrily picking away at the grass by her feet.

“A-Anyway, we’re talking about you right now, not me. Honestly, I felt just a bit relieved when that easterner asked to marry you.”

“Relieved? Why is that?”

“I mean, I figured you might actually want to marry someone like that. He was born abroad and isn’t fixated on the customs of the forest’s edge, so he seems like he could be a really interesting guy.”

“And that would make you happy, Lala...?”

“Like I said, we’re talking about you, not me. Isn’t that the sort of guy you’re looking for? That’s why you tried to get close to Asuta, right?”

Vina Ruu gulped without thinking.

Lala Ruu’s mouth was hidden behind her knees, but she had a serious look in her eyes.

“And that easterner asked to marry into our people instead of asking you to marry into his, right? Then you won’t have to leave the forest’s edge... That was what made me happiest of all.”

“Lala...”

“Life at the forest’s edge may feel suffocating to you, but still, I want to stay together with you always.”

At that, Vina Ruu gently hugged her younger sister around the head.

“Don’t be silly, Lala... I would never abandon my family. Since meeting Asuta and Shumiral, I’ve had all sorts of troubles to deal with, but I always knew that leaving was something I couldn’t do. I’m sorry for worrying you, though...”

“Right,” Lala Ruu replied, leaning up against Vina Ruu’s chest. She was a tough girl, which made it look extra adorable when she let herself be coddled like that.

Vina Ruu might have had a yearning to experience the outside world, but in order to gain that experience, she would need to let go of this warmth. And from the depths of her heart, she truly felt she had made the right decision not choosing that path.