Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 13 - Chapter 1.1

Chapter 1: The Hearing

1

And so, after completing our various tasks, we departed together from the Ruu settlement.

Since the group was just too large, we couldn’t use the wagon. After all, we had the nine people participating in the meeting, Zuuro Suun’s group of seven, and ten guards, making for twenty-six in total.

The nine attending the meeting were the three leading clan heads, Gazraan Rutim, the Fou and Beim clan heads, me and Ai Fa, and Bartha.

The group of seven whose crimes would be probed by Cyclaeus consisted of Zuuro Suun, Diga, Doddo, Mida, Yamiru Lea, Oura, and Tsuvai.

And the ten guards included the familiar faces of Darmu and Ludo Ruu, Dan Rutim, and Rau Lea, as well as two members each from the Zaza, Dom, and Jeen, making for a pretty elite unit.

Of particular note was the fact that both Gazraan and Dan Rutim would be participating.

The custom at the forest’s edge was that in emergency situations, either the clan head or their heir was to stay behind to protect their home. Even last night, those participating in the meeting remained in the Ruu settlement to help keep an eye on Zuuro Suun and company, but Dan Rutim and Rau Lea temporarily returned home.

Today, however, was a unique case, so Dan Rutim was selected to be one of the guards under Donda Ruu’s orders. Since we were treading into the unknown territory of the castle town, he decided it would be best to have the strongest formation possible.

Now that I thought about it, since even Ai Fa and Mida would be present, that meant seven of the top eight from the contest of strength held by the Ruu clan would be there.

The only one missing would be Jiza Ruu, as he alone was staying back to protect the settlement. The safety of the hundred or so people under the Ruu clan was placed firmly on his shoulders as his father’s heir. And Shin Ruu also wasn’t chosen, so he would be remaining to carry out his own work too.

Still, those hunters from the north sure are overwhelming... I thought to myself as I walked down the path to the post town, surrounded by hunters and plenty of lush greenery.

The men around me were elites from the Zaza, Dom, and Jeen, clans from the north that had previously fallen under the Suun. They were said to be every bit as brave as the Ruu and their related clans, and they certainly looked impressive enough to fit that reputation.

“You don’t have any objections to leaving Deek Dom and Dan Rutim in charge of the guard group, right?” Gulaf Zaza called out to Donda Ruu as we walked the trail.

Apparently Deek Dom referred to the Dom clan head, that muscular mountain of a man who wore a giba skull over his head. He had an even larger build than Donda Ruu and Gulaf Zaza, and his face and arms were covered in countless scars. Even after all this time I’d spent among the people of the forest’s edge, I had to say he still had the most intimidating appearance of any of the hunters I had ever seen.

“With me and Deek Dom around, we’ll have nothing to fear no matter how many hundreds of soldiers surround us!” Dan Rutim said with a hearty laugh, while his northern counterpart just silently watched him out of the corner of his eye. However, his black eyes were ablaze like flames underneath that giba skull.

Though the two of them really were polar opposites, I had trouble imagining a stronger combination. And it made me realize once again how precarious the fate of the forest’s edge was, requiring us to use everything we had.

“I’ve been waiting for all of you, representatives from the forest’s edge,” Leito called out, having been waiting for us at the midpoint between the town and the forest.

Originally, Kamyua Yoshu had been the one to invite Bartha to stand as a witness. That was why Leito would be accompanying us in his place as we headed into the castle town.

“Melfried prepared a pass for Bartha, but he couldn’t mobilize the ducal guards for private business, so is it all right if we head to Cyclaeus’s manor together?”

“Hmph. So Kamyua Yoshu didn’t make it in the end...” Donda Ruu said.

“There’s still time before the sun hits its peak, so I can’t say anything for certain. I definitely hope he does make it, though.”

Naturally, there was no reason to turn down Leito’s request at this point. And so, we headed for the castle gates together.

Normally when Donda Ruu and the others went to one of these meetings, they would pass behind the thicket so as to attract as little attention as possible from the townsfolk, but that would prove difficult with such a large crowd.

“There’s no need to worry about attention. After all, while you were kidnapped by that noble’s daughter there was an even bigger crowd of our comrades in town.”

“Huh...? But today we’ve got Zuuro Suun and his family with us, right?”

Diga and Doddo had been unbound, while Zuuro Suun remained the only one today with his arms and legs restrained with leather straps. If we went and openly paraded him through the post town, it might impart the same fear and confusion the townsfolk had experienced when they saw Zattsu Suun being dragged along.

And then there was Mida. In the past, he had thrown ridiculous tantrums that left stalls destroyed when he didn’t like the cooking they served. Though he had lost a bit of excess fat by this point, I doubted any of the townsfolk would fail to recognize him.

“I said there’s no need to worry about that. Don’t make me repeat the same line again and again,” Donda Ruu grumbled, then turned toward his comrades. “Zuuro Suun’s group, get in the center of the lineup. And Asuta of the Fa clan, you stay with the women.”

“Got it.”

It was then I finally realized how essential those measures were.

Would the people of the post town be willing to forgive the lawless actions of the Suun clan, or no? Just like Gazraan Rutim had once said, it wouldn’t just be the lord of Genos deciding that. This was also an unavoidable moment of judgment for them.

Looking at him now, Zuuro Suun’s big toad-like mouth was open wide, puffing and panting, as if he had been made to march through the mountains. And Diga and Doddo were both staring down at their feet with worried looks.

Diga had been afraid of the townsfolk to begin with, and Doddo was every bit as weak-willed when he didn’t have booze in him to give him courage. But their eyes seemed to be showing a lot more life in them now when compared to how they were before last night’s dinner.

On the other hand, the women looked firmly resolute. That of course went for Yamiru Lea and Tsuvai, but even the usually helpless-looking Oura was solemnly holding her head high and seemed to be facing her fate head on.

“Let’s go.”

After slipping through an alley between buildings, our group that had grown to twenty-seven with Leito set foot on the stone highway.

There was only half an hour or so left until the sun would hit its peak, so it was around the point that the town started bustling.

Perhaps it was only natural, but I sensed fear and confusion quickly roiling in the air throughout the street.

Since he was surrounded by so many hunters, it was possible they weren’t really seeing Zuuro Suun. And in fact, I sensed there was more shock coming from the sight of the hunters from the north, wearing their giba pelts with heads or skulls on top.

The Zaza and Dom settlements were located far away from the post town. Even now that we had wagons, it was still surely only the women who came to town. And so, it might well have been decades since any hunters from the north were seen around the post town.

Even driven into the center of the group, Mida’s huge frame still peeked out more than half a head over everyone else. Zattsu and Tei Suun had mostly kept their wicked deeds outside of Genos proper, so in recent years the ones menacing the townsfolk had been Mida and Doddo. And since Mida had gone on rampages while looking so unusual to begin with, he had surely engraved a deep sense of terror into plenty of minds.

The young women and old folks present looked ready to shriek, and some even collapsed to their knees. Even plenty of the southerners, who tended not to be as prejudiced as westerners, stood there looking startled by Mida’s appearance.

As those feelings of fear and confusion washed over us, the hunters of the forest’s edge just strode down the stone street. And the guards patrolling the post town showed no signs of approaching.

Th-That’s...

After progressing for a bit, we came across a familiar figure: the owner of The Kimyuus’s Tail, Milano Mas. He was standing in front of his inn, looking our way with an intense gaze.

All the criminals had died out, and those left weren’t guilty... Milano Mas said something like that, but Zuuro Suun and his former family were the direct descendents of those criminals. Just what sort of emotions were whirling about in the man’s chest right now?

A little bit farther down the road we approached the area with the stalls, where we found Yang setting up for business. The face of the girl helping him went completely pale as she froze in place, while the chef himself looked our way in surprise.

Yang was a chef in the castle town, and he didn’t exactly have fond feelings toward Cyclaeus. He wasn’t involved directly in the discord between us people of the forest’s edge and that wicked noble, but he had likely at least heard a summary of what was going on from his employer, Polarth.

But even while Yang was going rather pale himself, I noticed him scanning the crowd for me and sending a firm nod my way. I nodded back over Ai Fa and Ludo Ruu’s shoulders.

After that, the end of the post town finally came into view... along with a single man leaping out in front of us.

It was the vegetable seller, Dora.

Donda Ruu was standing at the head of our group, so he was the one to stop and raise his right arm for everyone else to do the same.

“Y-You’re Donda Ruu, one of the leading clan heads of the forest’s edge, right? D-Do you remember me? I met you a number of times back when Asuta was kidnapped, but still...”

Even Dora’s face was looking pale. He was a large, fairly strong-looking man, but when faced with a group like this, he looked like a pitiful little puppy.

After exchanging a look with Ai Fa in the center of the cluster, she and I hurried over that way, while the conversation continued on.

“I don’t recall hearing your name, but you’re a vegetable seller from around these parts, aren’t you?”

“Y-Yes, that’s right. I grow vegetables on the Daleim plantations and sell them, and my name is Dora. Your son and daughters have been kind enough to favor my business.”

“In that case... You grow and sell the aria and poitan we always eat,” Donda Ruu replied in his deep tone, standing there imposingly.

The passing crowd watched with bated breath as the two continued talking.

“R-Right. My shop has been thriving thanks to Asuta and the folks from your Ruu clan buying so many vegetables. I-I hope to keep doing business with all of you in the future, Donda Ruu...”

At that point, Ai Fa and I finally managed to make it to Donda Ruu’s side.

Seeing that, Dora listlessly shot us a smile, his well muscled body trembling lightly.

“We want to keep on living as we have been too... And if things are going to change, we want it to be in a good way,” Donda Ruu replied. “That’s why we’ve come to today’s meeting. If things go well, I’ll be sending my daughters to buy vegetables from you again before long.”

“I’ll be praying from the depths of my heart that that’s how things turn out. May the divine protection of the western god Selva be with you... And Asuta, you and all your people better give it your best, all right?”

“Right. Thank you.”

With that, Dora backed away, and Donda Ruu continued on as if nothing had happened.

And as her father watched us leave, Tara clung to his leg. I turned my neck and kept on staring at the two of them until they disappeared from view.

Will we be able to keep on interacting with folks from the post town like we have up till now...? That’s riding on today’s meeting too.

And as we moved out of the post town, there was a scattering of trees on either side of the road. Continuing further north we came across another road to the west, which led to the castle town. While we had been seeing glimpses of the castle walls through the gaps between the trees, they had now come into clear view.

The stone walls were around six or seven meters high, and surrounded the castle town. This was my first time seeing them while it was still bright out.

They stretched out seemingly without end to the west alongside the highway, but once we advanced around twenty meters, we finally saw the gates. They were massive, like a mouth left gaping wide in an arch shape. And atop the drawbridge leading to the gateway, there were wealthy-looking merchants and old folks in frocks coming and going, protected by soldiers and the like.

Then, when we at last reached the base of the drawbridge, a large group appeared from the thicket to the south.

“We’ve been waiting for you, leading clan heads,” one of them said, walking up to Gulaf Zaza.

The large young man also wore a giba pelt with the head still attached. This was the eldest son of the main Jeen house. And the thirty or so men he had behind him were all hunters of the forest’s edge. They were a mixed group that had hurried over from the Zaza, Jeen, and Sauti settlements.

Their duty was to keep watch and make sure the castle town’s militia wasn’t making any strange moves, and also to wait for the leading clan heads to safely return to them. Donda Ruu and the other heads were prepared even for the possibility that Cyclaeus might launch an attack on the settlement at the forest’s edge while they were away in the castle town.

“Apparently here in the castle town, they ring the bell six times between when the sun hits its peak and when it sets. If the meeting doesn’t look like it’ll be over before the third bell, we’ll send one of the guards as a messenger, so wait here for them.”

“Understood.”

With that, the hunters disappeared again into the thicket.

And then, as if waiting for that moment, a single soldier approached across the drawbridge.

“We have been awaiting you, leading clan heads of the forest’s edge.”

The large man, Jimon, had the crest of the Turan house engraved on his breastplate. Though he had acted so arrogantly in front of me and Ludo Ruu, his tone and attitude had shifted when faced with the leading clan heads.

“I am the captain of Count Turan’s first guard unit, Jimon, and I shall lead you to the count’s manor. There are eight participants in the meeting, seven criminals whose crimes shall be tried, and ten guards accompanying you, correct?”

“Your numbers aren’t wrong, but there’s one thing I’d like to revise. Only one of those seven can rightly be called a criminal. We’ll be assessing the crimes of the other six today, won’t we?”

“My apologies for misspeaking...” Jimon said, expressionlessly bowing his head.

I found it difficult to imagine what he must be feeling, faced with so many hunters.

“And we’ve got two extra tagging along, as well. It’s not our job to handle them, though,” Donda Ruu added, at which point Leito and Bartha stepped forward.

“We were invited by the leader of the ducal guard, Sir Melfried, to participate in today’s meeting. We have passes prepared, so we ask that you guide us too.”

“The count also informed me of that matter,” Jimon said as he gestured toward the drawbridge with his right hand. “The passes for your leaders have been prepared, so please board the totos wagons over that way.”

“Totos wagons?”

Looking where he directed, I saw that there were indeed a number of wagons slowly approaching. In fact, there were four somewhat large ones, each drawn by two totos. They were built in a sealed box shape, and naturally the Turan emblem was clearly displayed on their sides.

“You certainly went through some trouble, preparing wagons for us. Did you mistake us for noble ladies or something?”

“No. But it would take some time to make it to the manor from the gates on foot, and besides...it wouldn’t do to needlessly upset the residents of the castle town,” Jimon politely responded, to which Donda Ruu gave a displeased snort.

“Each wagon can seat up to ten, so please board as best suits you.”

“Hmph...”

Naturally, we split up so that the hunters equipped with their blades were evenly distributed alongside those of us who were defenseless. I ended up riding alongside Ai Fa, Ludo and Darmu Ruu, Bartha, and Leito. We took our seats with three each on either bench, facing one another across the truly spacious wagon interior. With Ai Fa and Ludo Ruu now on either side of me, I called out to the driver, “Um, is it all right if we pull back the cloth covering this window?”

“As you wish...” the man replied in a slightly trembling voice. Apparently he wasn’t as successful at suppressing his emotions as Jimon.

At any rate, though, I went ahead and pulled back the curtain on the little window.

“Yeah, it just puts me on edge, not being able to see my surroundings,” Bartha said from the opposite seat as she did the same. She had her crescent-shaped blade hanging from her hip again, marking her as one of the combat-ready members of the group.

“Well then, let us be off!” Jimon ordered, at which point the totos wagons started crossing the drawbridge one by one.

Slowly but steadily, the thicket where our comrades were hiding vanished into the distance.

It’s finally time...

At last, we would be settling things.

Our relationship with Genos had become complex and twisted, and I had no idea how much that could be improved today alone.

But Kamyua Yoshu had formed his plan to use Bartha as a foundation to build a case that would expose Cyclaeus’s old crimes, and the leading clan heads had determined this was the day we’d settle everything.

This meeting would determine whether Cyclaeus, and in turn Duke Marstein Genos, were worthy of the people of the forest’s edge offering up their blades in service.

And so with all sorts of thoughts and emotions burning bright inside of us, we finally passed through the gates to the Genos castle town.