Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 13 - Chapter 2.4

4

Several hours had passed now since our visitors had arrived at the Ruu settlement.

We had finished taste-testing the tatsuta age and briefly discussed what would be good for the other dishes, so we were about to get started preparing tonight’s dinner. But that was when we received some news in the kitchen.

“Hey Jeeda. What’s up?”

The first one to arrive was Jeeda. Shockingly, he had been staying in the Ruu settlement for five days now, and had been helping Ryada Ruu and everyone with guard duty.

“Kamyua Yoshu’s group is here again. He said they want to talk to you Asuta, but will you see them?”

“Kamyua? Of course. Actually, I’m surprised he didn’t just come barging on in...”

“Well, he’s brought some troublesome guests along with him. If you won’t see them, they’ll turn around and leave, but they want to hear your answer first,” Jeeda calmly and expressionlessly stated. However, his yellow eyes flickered with restless energy. “He’s accompanied by Cyclaeus’s daughter and her servant from Sym. Apparently Kamyua Yoshu got the lord of Genos’s permission to bring them here to this settlement. Will you see them?”

Naturally, I replied in utter shock, “H-He brought along Lefreya and Sanjura? Kamyua did? But why?”

“I’ve got no idea. If you want to know why, then ask the man himself.”

If he went so far as to get Marstein’s approval, then I really didn’t have any choice but to meet with them. Still, Kamyua Yoshu and Lefreya really made for a difficult pair to picture together.

“We can’t exactly go turning them away without hearing what they have to say. Reina Ruu, I’m stepping out for a bit, so take care of things here, all right?”

“Right. Take care, Asuta,” Reina Ruu replied with a nod and a concerned look, and then I exited the kitchen along with Jeeda.

“That guy from Sym doesn’t have a blade. So as long as Kamyua Yoshu doesn’t betray us, there’s nothing to worry about,” Jeeda said as we walked along.

Jeeda was still just fourteen, but he was ten centimeters shorter than I was. And his shoulder that had been fractured by Sanjura must not have healed completely just yet. But in spite of all that, he apparently had just as much strength as the hunters of the forest’s edge stored up in his small frame.

“Huh? Ai Fa?”

After we advanced a bit, I spied my clan head standing in front of the main building of the house. She had been tying Gilulu’s reins to a tree branch, and now she stared back at me with a steady light in her blue eyes.

“I finished up my giba hunting and returned a moment ago... And it seems I arrived just in time.”

“So you’re back too, huh? In that case, we’re even more secure than I thought,” Jeeda stated.

Ai Fa replied “Indeed,” with a firm nod.

And as we continued further on, we soon found a number of men already gathered at the far edge of the Ruu settlement’s plaza. Ryada Ruu and Mida were both there, as were a number of boys under the age of thirteen who weren’t yet qualified to be hunters.

Standing off against them was quite the imposing group. There were three soldiers clad in white armor, Kamyua Yoshu, and two figures hidden under hooded cloaks, one large and one small. They must have been Lefreya and Sanjura. And outside of the plaza, I could see the boxed carriage they had apparently ridden here in and the totos that pulled it.

“Hey there Asuta. Sorry for the surprise, but just like I had Jeeda tell you, I brought them here with Duke Genos’s approval. If you don’t mind, could you take a bit of time to hear what they have to say?” Kamyua Yoshu asked with a relaxed grin. That smile grew a bit strained in the face of Ai Fa and Jeeda keeping an extremely close watch on him, though. “Let me just say, I’m only here as a bodyguard at Duke Genos’s request. They’re standing here of their own will, and I had nothing to do with it whatsoever.”

I gave a nod, and then with Ai Fa’s permission I moved over toward them.

And then, the larger figure somewhat awkwardly pulled down his hood.

“It has been some time, Asuta. You have my thanks, for agreeing to talk, to us...”

This was my first time seeing Sanjura in roughly half a month.

His hair was long and a pale chestnut color, while his eyes were reddish brown. And though his skin was dark, he was ultimately a westerner with the appearance of an easterner. And that gentle smile of his hadn’t changed at all...

“I had heard the servants of Count Turan’s house were all moved elsewhere, so how is it that you are able to openly remain at your mistress’s side?” Ai Fa harshly questioned, but Sanjura kept the same gentle grin as he turned her way.

“I am not a servant, of Count Turan’s house. Cyclaeus may have hired me with coins, but I am a wanderer, with no home. I have paid for my crimes, and am now a free man.”

“That may be so, but after your treachery I cannot accept the idea of someone like you staying near your mistress.”

Ultimately, it was Kamyua Yoshu who replied to Ai Fa’s doubts.

“Duke Genos had also weighed in on that matter and decided to permit it. Actually, his thinking was that since he was already a free man, it felt safer to keep him under watch rather than releasing him to the winds, so he was given special permission to stay with Lady Lefreya.”

“But that’s...”

“Well, it seems like this man is quite skilled with a blade, so we’re looking into the various places he traveled to under Cyclaeus’s command. As part of that, Melfried dug deep into his background, but there wasn’t any proof that Sanjura here was a criminal. And so we didn’t have any reason to hold him longer, which actually makes the opportunity to keep him around where we can see him real convenient.”

Had Duke Genos also heard that Cyclaeus’s blood might also flow through Sanjura’s veins?

At any rate, I could see the logic behind wanting to keep him under watch instead of setting him loose. So, though Ai Fa was looking real displeased as she held her tongue, I decided to start talking with Sanjura.

“It really has been a while, hasn’t it? Still, what business could you have with us at this point?”

“I am nothing but, an escort. Lefreya is the one, who wants to talk.”

With that, the smaller figure’s slender fingers reached up and pulled back her hood.

She had chestnut-brown hair just like Sanjura’s which reached down to around her chest, reddish-brown eyes with a firm light in them, and a dainty figure. Yup, that was the only official child of Count Cyclaeus Turan, Lefreya.

Her skin was an ivory color that looked untouched by the sun, her facial features were all distinct, and she wore the same tough expression and haughty gaze that I remembered. She didn’t have on any accessories, and the white dress she wore under her cloak wasn’t especially showy, but it still felt incredibly out of place to see this young girl who was so clearly a noble standing here in the settlement at the forest’s edge.

“Asuta of the Fa clan, I have come all the way to a place such as this because I have a request I wish to make of you,” Lefreya stated in a high-pitched tone with a slight lisp.

Instantly, Ai Fa interjected, “Hey,” with a light glaring in her eyes. “You certainly are acting high and mighty, considering you haven’t even apologized yet. You did some truly despicable things when you had Asuta kidnapped, young noble girl.”

“You are the woman from the forest’s edge who came to retrieve Asuta, claiming to be the daughter of a merchant group’s leader, aren’t you? I believe your name was Ai Fa of the Fa clan, correct?” Lefreya asked, shooting Ai Fa a look like she found this all quite bothersome. “I have already been judged for my crimes. The fact that my six months of confinement were shortened to just a few days was not by my will. And yet you still seek an apology despite the fact that I have already atoned?”

“You didn’t utter even a single word of apology to Asuta on that night. How crass of you, to come here as if you don’t feel regret for your actions.”

“Hmm? If you say we cannot talk until I have apologized for my rudeness, then I shall do so as many times as it takes,” Lefreya stated, bringing together her hands in front of her chest and bowing her head to me. “Asuta of the Fa clan, I failed to listen to your wishes to return home, and robbed you of your freedom for my own callous reasons. I beg your forgiveness for the countless discourtesies I have shown you. Now, was that enough to satisfy you?”

With an even more dangerous glare in her eyes, Ai Fa frowned.

And then, letting out a little “Hmph,” Lefreya brushed away her long hair that had fallen in front of her face.

Her one and only family member, her father, had been arrested for his crimes and was awaiting trial. Just what must she be feeling over that harsh reality? At the very least, I certainly couldn’t tell at all from her actions.

“We must return by the fifth hour. There is no time to spare, so allow me to get to the matter at hand... Asuta of the Fa clan, you were invited to act as a chef for the dinner party proposed by Duke Genos, correct?”

“Yup, that’s right,” I replied, wondering all the while if it was okay to be speaking so casually to someone who would soon be a countess.

Being more than a head shorter than me, Lefreya glared up at my face.

“I have also been invited to that dinner party. Actually, I should say that it is to be held at my manor.”

“Huh? Is that true, Kamyua?” I asked.

The aloof bodyguard replied, “Yeah,” with a nod. “Duke Genos’s goal is to patch things up with the people of the forest’s edge. With that in mind, he believes it best to have Lady Lefreya also attend, as you have a troubled past with her.”

“I mean, maybe we do, but still... It’s being held at the Turan manor?”

“Right. It requires all sorts of complex preparations and formalities to invite anyone who isn’t a noble to the castle of Genos, so apparently that led to the current decision. His thinking seems to be that if the house of Turan twisted the bonds between you, then their home is the perfect place for reconciliation. Perhaps fortunately, from what I’m told, the Turan manor’s kitchens are every bit as fine as the ones in the castle.”

Well, if the guards working for the house of Turan were all cleaned out and members of the ducal guard kept watch instead, then the location didn’t really matter. And if that was what Marstein decided, then we had no choice but to go along with it.

“When I heard about this event, a single thought came to me... Asuta of the Fa clan, would it be possible to allow my father to also partake in that food?”

“Huh?!” I shouted in shock, unable to restrain my voice.

Ai Fa, meanwhile, narrowed her eyes in astonishment.

“Wh-What are you talking about? You couldn’t possibly be asking to have your father attend the dinner party, are you?”

“Of course not. Unlike myself, my father is awaiting trial. There is no way such a man could ever be invited to an event of this kind.”

“Th-Then what are you...?”

“My father has sought to consume every dish imaginable in this world. That was precisely why he purchased so many ingredients from Sym and Jagar and summoned a great many chefs to serve him,” Lefreya stated, not showing the slightest hint of guilt or shame. “But I do not believe he has ever eaten cooking from overseas. His trial is sure to result in a sentence of either death or confinement for life, so this is the final chance for him to eat your cooking. As his daughter, it is only natural that I wish to grant him this final parting gift, is it not...?”

“You can wish for whatever you please, but I cannot see a single reason for us to fulfill that request,” Ai Fa replied in a low voice.

With an irritated look, Lefreya turned her way.

“I’m talking to Asuta of the Fa clan, you know. Or do I need to obtain your permission first as his clan head in order to make a request of him?”

“That’s right. And I would say you need the permission of the leading clan heads of the forest’s edge before you talk to me,” Ai Fa replied in an unsparing tone. “Cyclaeus, his younger brother Ciluel, and the former leading clan head Zattsu Suun had committed countless crimes over the course of many years. In order to amass power and fortune, they took the lives of a great many innocents. I cannot imagine it proper to show mercy to such criminals.”

“But his trial has yet to begin, correct? He may be a criminal, but the weight of his crimes has not been measured. That is why I believe this to be his final chance,” Lefreya responded, her voice starting to sound unusually calm. “Once he is judged, even if he manages to avoid death, he will spend the rest of his life imprisoned and eating nothing but crude meals. To someone who had no interest in anything but gourmet cooking such as my father, that would be no different than a death sentence. So before it is firmly established that my father is in fact a criminal, I wish to give him something akin to a final meal.”

None of us had any response to that.

“Of course, in the current state of affairs, I am not free to handle so much as a single coin as I please. As such, I cannot offer you fitting payment. However...” Lefreya paused, her gaze turning toward the member of the ducal guard standing at her side. “Could I ask to borrow that dagger at your hip?”

The armored man’s expression didn’t so much as twitch.

Scratching his blond head, Kamyua Yoshu approached from the other side.

“If you just want a dagger, then I can loan you one. But I can’t let you go and commit suicide, so if you make any strange moves, I may have to get a little rough in holding you down, all right?”

“That is acceptable. I have no intention of doing anything so foolish, after all.”

Kamyua Yoshu nodded, and then pulled a knife out of the inside of his cloak like magic. Then, as he held the blade in his hand he turned toward Sanjura.

“Sorry, but could I have you move a bit further away?”

“I am powerless. There is no strength left in me, to do anything...”

“Well, the fact that you can move naturally only a few days after a whipping is enough by itself to make you look plenty threatening to me. Your ally who got the same punishment is writhing around atop a bed, unable to so much as sleep, right?” Kamyua Yoshu said with a wicked grin, dangling the knife. “Nothing’s more frightening than an injured beast. I may not be a hunter, but even I know that much. And I don’t want to stain the settlement at the forest’s edge with a criminal’s blood, so please move just a little bit away from your mistress.”

Still wearing the same faint smile, Sanjura stared at Lefreya.

She gave a small nod, and it was only then that he finally retreated. Without a moment’s delay, two of the soldiers grabbed hold of his arms.

“Yup, that’s about the level of caution that feels necessary. Well then, Lady Lefreya, here’s the dagger.”

With that, Lefreya silently accepted the blade, handing just the leather sheath back to Kamyua Yoshu.

“That certainly took a while... At any rate, since I cannot offer payment, I instead offer this up in its place.”

Lefreya held the knife in an underhand grip, and then before anyone could stop her...she roughly chopped off her long chestnut-colored hair that had come down to her chest, leaving it only neck-length.

That long hair that had been so tenderly cared for gave off a golden shine in the sunlight as it scattered throughout the settlement at the forest’s edge.

“I no longer have any power whatsoever. As Duke Genos ordered, I have no choice but to live out my life as a mere wooden puppet. Well, I idly accepted the life given to me by my father, so it is only natural that everything would be taken from me alongside his fall,” Lefreya dauntlessly stated, her now loose and disheveled hair in plain view. “If I am told to be a nun then a nun I shall be, and if I am told to marry some noble and have an heir, then I shall obey. I can also swear to never again bring harm to you people of the forest’s edge, but it is not as if I have the power left to do so to begin with. With all that being true, can you grant me this one final request?”

“You really want to have your dad eat my cooking that badly?”

“Correct.”

With her gaze still fixed on me, she held out her right hand to the side, still gripping the knife. Kamyua Yoshu then took it from her and solemnly placed it back in its sheath.

“Duke Genos said that he leaves everything regarding this matter up to Asuta and the leading clan heads of the forest’s edge. But he also said there is no need to show kindness to Cyclaeus, who deceived your people over the course of a great many years, and Lady Lefreya, who abducted you, Asuta.”

I turned to face Kamyua Yoshu.

He didn’t look to be especially worked up, and was just shooting me his usual aloof grin.

“However, Cyclaeus is growing weaker day by day, and it’s all he can do to force down the medicine he needs to hold back his illness. From what I’m told, he hasn’t had the willpower to eat any proper food. At this rate it doesn’t seem he’ll last until the trial, so it would be fortunate if your cooking could grant him at least a little bit of nourishment... That’s the only real positive I can see here, but the choice is ultimately yours.”

“I see...”

Right now, there were all sorts of thoughts and feelings all jumbled together inside of me. No one word could sum up what I felt toward Lefreya or Cyclaeus.

Naturally, those emotions included anger and animosity. However, I found myself feeling just as much dreary, empty sadness over the question of why they chose the path they did, instead of living lives filled with hope and compassion.

Perhaps fortunately, though, this was no decision for me to be making on my own. And so as I pushed down those emotions whirling inside of me to the depths of my guts, I turned back toward Lefreya with my face schooled to be as calm as I could manage.

“I’ll discuss it with the leading clan heads of the forest’s edge, as well as my own clan head, Ai Fa. If none of them object, then I’ll go ahead and cook for your father... That’s all I can tell you for now.”

“I see...” Lefreya replied, closing her eyes and clasping her hands together in front of her chest again. “I shall pray that you hear my request... Thank you, Asuta of the Fa clan.”

◇

From there, the days continued rolling along.

Cyclaeus still hadn’t recovered from his illness, Ciluel was maintaining his silence, and we still had no clues as to the whereabouts of their hired goons. Time just kept slipping by, with no dramatic changes in sight. And during that period, the details of the dinner party were fleshed out.

The date would be the thirtieth of the white month.

The place, Count Turan’s manor.

And the number of participants would be thirteen. From the forest’s edge that included Donda Ruu, Gulaf Zaza, Dari Sauti, Gazraan Rutim, and the Fou and Beim clan heads. The castle town’s side included Marstein, Melfried, Lefreya, the Turan house’s guardian, and one representative each for the Saturas and Daleim houses, the latter of whom would apparently be the second son, Polarth. And then finally Welhide from the ducal house of Banarm as a witness.

I would be working the kitchen alongside Reina, Sheera, and Rimee Ruu, and then Ai Fa, Ludo and Darmu Ruu, and Rau Lea would accompany us as bodyguards. It went without saying that those results left Rimee Ruu shouting with joy, while Dan Rutim let loose an anguished roar. As far as the Rutim clan head went, since it wasn’t an emergency situation, customs stated either he or his heir would have to remain home, which led to Donda Ruu’s decision.

And in the aftermath I was set to present a modest dinner to Cyclaeus, in an unofficial event behind the scenes that had the approval of both Duke Marstein Genos and the leading clan heads of the forest’s edge. There was a good bit of confusion from the leading clan heads over the matter, but in the end they decided to accept it since it wouldn’t cause any harm.

What ultimately decided it was likely when Donda Ruu said, “We need Cyclaeus alive in order for that other criminal Ciluel to face proper judgment. And it’s just plain childish to say we won’t feed Cyclaeus or his daughter our people’s cooking because we don’t like them, isn’t it?”

Gulaf Zaza had remained firmly opposed throughout, but at that he held his tongue. And naturally, I had no objections to begin with. More importantly, Donda Ruu calling my food “our people’s cooking” had me secretly trembling with pride.

Once the leading clan heads delivered their reply to the castle town, the nobles sent back further details regarding the dinner party in return. And the one to act as the messenger was, unsurprisingly, Kamyua Yoshu.

“I heard that Asuta wants to work in the small kitchen in the Turan manor that he’s already thoroughly acquainted with, but we would like you to report in advance how much of any ingredients that spoil easily that you’ll need, like karon milk or kimyuus eggs.”

“Right, understood.”

“And the cook from the Genos side will apparently be the man who previously served as the assistant head chef at the Turan manor. Is he someone you have some sort of ties to, Asuta?”

“The assistant head chef...? Ah, he’s probably the one who was also preparing dinners in a separate kitchen while I was being confined in the manor. Lefreya served my cooking and his to her guests and had them compare the tastes.”

“I see! Apparently the man was passionately requesting that he be allowed to cook for the dinner party. If that’s what was happening, then I can certainly understand why.”

“He passionately requested it? Does he have some sort of hostility or something against me or the people of the forest’s edge?”

I didn’t really know the fine details, but from what I was told when they did the comparisons, everyone always decided my dishes were tastier. But even looking at it from his point of view, that didn’t seem like something to get so furious over.

“It’s probably more a pure sense of rivalry as a chef rather than hostility. Though the chefs working there did so in search of fame and fortune, it’s not as if they swore loyalty to Cyclaeus or anything, so I don’t really think you have anything to worry about. Even now that he’s vacated that job, he just returned to the previous restaurant he worked at.”

From what I was told, the house of Turan was already in the midst of a huge reformation thanks to the skills of Lefreya’s new guardian. I had no way of knowing their precise background, but apparently despite being from a branch of the Turan bloodline, they had been quietly living out their life in a corner of the Turan land after being ostracized by Cyclaeus.

At Marstein and the guardian’s command, the militia was naturally disbanded, the chefs and servants were all sent to work at different locations, and currently only people with no ties to Cyclaeus were working at the manor. The only ones permitted to approach Cyclaeus were members of the ducal guard and the doctors treating him, and Sanjura was the only person allowed to stay by Lefreya’s side.

What in the world happened to Roy and Chiffon Chel, I wonder?

I tried asking Kamyua Yoshu about the latter’s current whereabouts, but his reply was, “I have no clue. Actually, are you talking about someone from Mahyudra? Apparently, Cyclaeus was insisting I came up with my plot in order to save his northerner slaves. It would be a real issue if other nobles got such ridiculous thoughts in their heads, so I’ve been taking extra care to keep my distance from such matters.”

“Do you hate Mahyudra, Kamyua...?” I asked without thinking.

“Of course not,” the man chuckled back. “I’ve obviously got some anger toward the folks who persecuted my mother, but don’t go thinking that means I hate Mahyudra itself or everyone from there. And if you had to ask who’s responsible, then I guess I’d ultimately have to be upset with my parents for getting together with someone from an enemy nation despite knowing the treatment that would result.”

But Kamyua Yoshu decided to keep on living a carefree life without hating anybody in the end, huh?

Naturally, I had no way of reading the truth hiding behind his grin like a Cheshire cat’s.

At any rate, the days passed by, and all the while we continued solemnly experimenting on our cooking for the dinner party.

This would be the first time those nobles would eat any giba cooking, so there was no need to come up with novel new dishes. But all of the food wouldn’t be presented at once, but rather one dish at a time, which created a need to carefully plan out each of them.

And so those days were difficult yet joyful ones, spent adapting old dishes and trying out completely new ones. After all, I intended to work my hardest on creating a meal that both the leading clan heads of the forest’s edge and the nobles of Genos would find delicious.

Then in the midst of all that cooking experimentation, I had a private talk with my clan head.

“Hey Ai Fa, I was thinking of preparing some hamburger steak before dinner. What do you think?”

Ai Fa had also made it back early on that day, and as her eyebrows twitched she moved her mouth in close to my ear.

“Why? You’re making that tatsuta age dish for the dinner party, aren’t you? I cannot see any need for you to make hamburger steak as well.”

“Yeah, but it’s been over twenty days by this point since you’ve had it, right? Your endurance has got to be hitting its limits.”

Apparently even at that banquet that the former main Suun house attended, Ai Fa hadn’t eaten any hamburger steak. And the only reason I could see for that was because the dish had been prepared by Sheera Ruu’s group rather than me.

As far as the main Ruu house went, they weren’t especially fond of hamburger steak. As a result, it had been pushed off till when we eventually returned to the Fa house. But at this rate, if we kept waiting till the dinner party in the castle town was over, it would ultimately end up being nearly a month that Ai Fa was unable to have the dish.

No matter how you looked at it, that was just too much to ask her to bear. And so I had made that proposal, belated as it might have been, but Ai Fa just shook her head slowly in response.

“I am not so mentally weak. Rather than paying attention to such pointless concerns, focus on carrying out your work.”

“Huh? But we still don’t even know when we’ll be able to return to the Fa house.”

“I’m telling you it’s no concern. I’m no longer so fixated on hamburger steak by this point,” Ai Fa stated, saying something that was seriously unlike her.

I was starting to worry that she was just suppressing her seething anger with her nerves of steel or something, but she wore a perfectly composed look.

“Hmm, it’s just sorta hard to believe. You love hamburger steak so much, but now you don’t really care either way?”

“That isn’t the case at all,” Ai Fa retorted, bringing her face in close again. “I simply thought that now that you’ve made me wait so long, you’ll surely prepare a fantastic dinner for our return to the Fa house. And when I think of that day, I feel excited rather than worrying. So there’s no need for you to concern yourself,” Ai Fa stated, staring back at me calmly.

It was a look that seemed to show complete and utter trust in me.

She sure did set the bar awful high there...

Honestly, the trial she set before me would probably take every bit as much of my skill as the dinner party in the castle town.

But at any rate, we ultimately ended up making it to the thirtieth of the white month after that without any noteworthy incidents to trouble us.