Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 14 - Chapter 4.02

2

It was now just before evening on the following day.

Currently, Ludo Ruu was riding the totos Ruuruu toward the Dom settlement.

A lot of giba had fallen prey to traps this time, so they had finished up work early.

The big catch was a good thing, but the bounty of the forest still hadn’t grown back all that much around the Ruu settlement just yet. And so the only giba to be had at times like this were generally crappy ones that lost fights elsewhere and wandered over, or ones that were on the verge of starvation. They were all either covered in scars or wasting away. It really left Asuta at a loss as to how to use them to make tasty meals, considering how little fat they had.

Well, guess manning the stove brings its own sorts of hardships, Ludo Ruu thought to himself as he rode Ruuruu along the path. The totos seemed happy. This was the first chance it’d had in a while to really run full speed.

The wind whistling past felt very pleasant. And the unfamiliar members of other clans he passed occasionally looked really surprised.

Ludo Ruu loved riding on the back of a totos. It hadn’t even been two months since Ruuruu had come here to the settlement, but he felt like he had been a rider for a long, long time.

It was commonly said that the people of the forest’s edge shared blood from the south and east, and furthermore, easterners supposedly rode totos across grassy plains. Asuta had once joyfully suggested that meant that maybe memories of riding across the plains were still sleeping away in their blood even now.

But at any rate, Ludo Ruu loved to ride totos. And he would love to do it a whole lot more if he had the time.

Should I go and buy my own totos like Rau Lea did?

It had been decided that once the Ruu started getting serious about doing business in the post town, they would purchase a wagon. That was because it seemed wrong to keep imposing on Asuta’s kindness to help transport everything.

But if that happened then Ruuruu would be in the post town during the day, and wouldn’t be available for the purpose of sending emergency messages. In that case, it would be good to get another totos for the Ruu settlement.

Should I try talking to my old man about that tomorrow?

He passed the somewhat nostalgic path to the Fa house, the ones to clans whose names he didn’t even know, and even the way to the Suun settlement...and then around when the sun was setting to the west, the northern settlement finally came into view.

This was the end of the long path leading through the forest’s edge, the true northern extreme of their community. Ludo Ruu pulled back on Ruuruu’s reins, slowing the massive bird’s pace as they entered the grounds.

Considering the time, it was no surprise that there wasn’t anyone wandering about outside. But as he approached the nearest home, a shadowy figure leapt out from within. It was a hunter from either the Zaza or Jeen, with a giba pelt worn over his head.

“Who are you...?”

“I’m the youngest son of the main Ruu house, Ludo Ruu. I have business at the Dom settlement.”

“The main Ruu house... Do you have some sort of urgent news? Were those outlaws finally captured?”

“No, seems like things are still the same as always over in Genos. I came today to handle a personal matter. Of course, I’ve got no intention of picking a fight with the clans of the north, so you can relax.”

At that point, a remarkably huge figure exited the house. He wasn’t especially tall, but he was incredibly wide. And if Ludo Ruu wasn’t misremembering, he was the head of the main Jeen house.

“The youngest Ruu son, eh? Long time no see. What’s this about you having business with the Dom clan?”

“Ah, I’ve just got a bit of something to discuss with Deek Dom. I did technically get my old man’s permission too.”

The Jeen clan head fell silent for a bit, and then he pointed to the west.

“The Dom settlement is at the end of that path. Giba can still show up around this time, so we’ll lend you a candle.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

Back when the Suun were still the leading clan, it never would have been possible to come this far into the northern settlement. And if they had found out he was a member of the Ruu clan, they might have all ganged up on him and beaten him to a pulp no matter what he said.

Sure feels strange, somehow...

Common sense had been flipped on its head in a lot of ways since Asuta had come to the forest’s edge. Meals had become so delicious it was shocking, the Suun clan had fallen, there were now three new leading clan heads...and the Ruu clan was doing business in the post town.

If anyone had somehow predicted such a future before Asuta showed up, nobody would have ever believed them. The people of the forest’s edge were in the middle of a period of upheaval as major as when they had decided on Morga as their second home eighty years back. Ludo Ruu really was grateful from the depths of his heart to have been born into such an interesting era.

Compared to all that, the thought of a Dom and Rutim wedding seems almost quaint, doesn’t it? Ludo Ruu thought as he held the candle borrowed from the Jeen clan and continued down the path. Ruuruu’s footsteps had grown a bit heavier, so it might have sensed all sorts of beasts squirming about in the forest.

Ludo Ruu didn’t sense anything as big as a giba, but there could still be snakes around that were as big as young madarama, or carrion-eating mundt looking for prey.

The northern clans sure picked a dangerous spot for a settlement.

With things like this, the women working on the outskirts of the forest couldn’t let their guards down either. Maybe this was why it was said that the northern clans lived the harshest lives of any of the people of the forest’s edge.

As such thoughts ran through Ludo Ruu’s head, his destination finally came into view. There were just five houses nestled together, in an open space that wasn’t really especially large. And so he went up to the biggest of the houses, then hopped down from Ruuruu.

“Sorry for bothering you so late! I’m the youngest son of the main Ruu house, Ludo Ruu! I have business with the Dom clan head Deek Dom!”

A heavy silence was all he got back.

Just as Ludo Ruu was getting ready to shout again, though, the door opened.

“You called yourself the youngest son of the main Ruu house, correct? What business do you have with my clan head?”

Ludo Ruu was seriously taken aback by the fierce air about the woman.

She looked to be a bit older than Ludo Ruu. And since she was so tall, she probably had around a half a head on him. On top of that, her chest and rear were large and her waist was tight, but her arms and legs had plenty of muscle on them. In terms of appearance, she might have looked more like a female hunter than Ai Fa did.

“Umm, it’d take a while to explain. I realize I’m here late thanks to my hunting work, but I did at least bring a gift, so would it be all right if I talked to the clan head?”

“Hmph... We’re about to eat dinner, though.”

“Ah, I brought along something to eat, so you don’t need to worry about me.”

“That’s not what I meant...”

With her arms crossed, she looked down on Ludo Ruu. And as she moved, the giba ribs adorning her hips jangled.

Her long black hair was worn high up, pulled back well clear of her eyes staring down at him, her prominent nose, and her plump lips. She was more than pretty and sensual enough, but her face had a rough manliness to it too.

No matter how attractive she may be, I wouldn’t ever want such a strong-willed woman as a wife... Ludo Ruu rudely thought, until a man’s muffled voice sounded out from inside the house.

“What are you doing, Lem? If it’s not something you can deal with by yourself, then let him through.”

That fierce yet beautiful woman then shrugged her shoulders and stepped back.

“Well then, I’ll take charge of your steel. You actually are a member of the Ruu clan, aren’t you...?”

“There wouldn’t be any point to lying, would there? Is it all right if I bring my totos into the entrance?”

With a seriously annoyed look in her eyes, that Lem Dom woman replied, “Go ahead.” After handing over his sword and hatchet, Ludo Ruu stepped inside along with Ruuruu and closed the door.

“The youngest Ruu son, Ludo Ruu, eh? What brings you here so late?”

Deek Dom was awaiting them there at the head of the main room, sitting cross-legged. Ludo Ruu sat himself down, still holding the leather bag with the present and his meal in it.

“I’ve got a little something to discuss with you. By the way, where’s the rest of your family...?”

“Our family is just me and Lem.”

“Huh? The main house is just the two of you?”

“There are fifteen members of the Dom clan. Of them, my younger sister Lem and I are the only ones in the main house.”

Comparing them to the clans under the Ruu, fifteen people put them at around the same size as the Lea. Still, it was surprising to learn that the main house of the famously dauntless Dom clan had just two people in it.

“Diga and Doddo are in the charge of the branch houses, which have more men. So, just what do you want with the Dom rather than our parent clan, the Zaza...?” Deek Dom asked, staring at Ludo Ruu as he sat with one knee up in the air. He seemed calm, but there was a very intense light shining in his eyes.

Since the man wasn’t wearing the usual giba skull on his head, Ludo Ruu was able to see his face clearly for the first time. Sure enough, he actually didn’t seem all that old. His rugged, scarred face didn’t sport a mustache or anything, and the bridge of his nose was surprisingly shapely.

Still, his lower jaw was firm and square, and the scars on both his cheeks were seriously imposing. Just like his little sister, his hair and eyes were both black, and his limbs had an unusual amount of muscle on them. His frame was even bigger than that of Gulaf Zaza or Ludo Ruu’s old man Donda Ruu. He might have still been a bit smaller than the largest man under the Ruu, Ji Maam, but still...if you were considering who seemed stronger, Deek Dom would easily win.

He may be stronger than not just Ji Maam, but even Gulaf Zaza...

In other words, he could be a match for Donda Ruu, someone even Ludo Ruu couldn’t compete against. As he thought that, an antsy sensation ran down the boy’s back.

If I ever get the chance, I’d love to have a contest of strength with him, Ludo Ruu thought as he reached into his leather bag.

“Before all that, let me hand over my present. It’s nothing much, but I prepared some fruit wine and jerky.”

He wanted to share Asuta’s cooking with them too, but it was against the customs of the forest’s edge to eat a dinner prepared on a distant stove. And since there were supposed to be a lot of hard-headed guys up north when it came to such old-fashioned rules, Ludo Ruu figured it was best to err on the side of caution.

“Fruit wine and jerky, huh?”

“Yeah. That jerky’s proudly made by our own Ruu clan,” Ludo Ruu replied, holding out the two bottles of fruit wine and a block of jerky to Lem Dom, who was closer. After seeing her clan head give a nod, she then accepted them. “I’d feel bad for interrupting your dinner, so if you don’t mind, could we talk while eating? I’ll go ahead and eat what I brought too.”

The familiar smell of poitan stew was wafting from the pot simmering over a stove in a corner on the right-hand side of the room. And after once again getting the clan head’s approval, Lem Dom headed over that way.

As he watched her movements out of the corner of his eye, Ludo Ruu pulled his own meal out of the leather bag. It was bundled up in a suurub leaf. And when he undid the vines holding it shut, the baked poitan inside came into view.

If he wasn’t careful, he could easily let his grin slip out. After all, his meal was a croquette sandwich Asuta had prepared for him.

“I’m thinking of offering either a croquette sandwich or a giba cutlet sandwich once we reopen the stalls for business. So if you don’t mind, could I hear your impressions later?” Asuta had asked, but his impressions were already almost set in stone even before eating it. After all, between those two bits of baked poitan was a giba and chatchi croquette, which Ludo Ruu felt was the tastiest food in the world.

As he sneaked a glance inside the poitan, he spied the faint brown coating of the croquette. That Worcestershire sauce thing Asuta made with tau oil was smeared on top, and there was also finely-sliced tino between the croquette and the poitan.

And further in the bag was a deep plate sealed in a suurub leaf. When he carefully unwrapped that one while taking care not to spill anything, he found a stir-fried dish made with giba meat, aria, and chatchi.

“I think it’ll impact the taste some when it gets cold, but you wouldn’t get enough nutrition from just the croquette sandwich,” Asuta had explained.

The meal on the dish had used a heaping helping of aria. And the powerful aroma of myamuu and tau oil was only making him feel all the hungrier. As he laid those dishes out by his feet, Lem Dom looked seriously anxious to pick her own plate back up.

“We offer our gratitude to Lem Dom, who manned the flame and gave us our life for this night...” Deek Dom stated, his solemn voice echoing throughout the sparse room.

Unsurprisingly, it seemed that Lem Dom had made the poitan stew on her own. But, well, if she was just cooking for two, it wasn’t all that big of a task.

From looking at it, it seemed to be the same dish they used to make at the Ruu house, produced by just boiling meat, aria, and poitan together. The Ruu clan had added in a variety of different vegetables to change things up each day, but there was no sign of such steps here.

“I offer my gratitude to Asuta, who manned the flame and gave me my life for this night,” Ludo Ruu chanted, at which Deek Dom’s eyebrows twitched.

“Youngest Ruu son... Should you not be eating that in the same house as the chef who prepared it?”

“Hmm? That custom is supposed to show that you place your life in the hands of the chef and they do the same in turn, isn’t it? In that case, I don’t think where you actually eat it is all that important.” Asuta had also been concerned about that fact, but Ludo Ruu was prepared to explain it in his own way. “Both Asuta and I have plenty of resolve on that front. It would be Asuta’s responsibility if this dish were to injure my life or soul, while I have absolute trust that would never happen. And you two were witness to my oath to the forest, so there shouldn’t be any issue at all.”

He didn’t seem all that convinced, but Deek Dom silently went ahead and picked up his own plate. And with a little smirk pulling on the corner of her mouth, Lem Dom did the same.

Looks like this is going to be pretty difficult.

With a slight shrug of his shoulders, Ludo Ruu bit into his croquette sandwich.

The poitan and the fuwano coating had both softened a little, and the fluffy chatchi and finely-minced giba meat was now a bit cooler than body temperature. But even so, the croquette sandwich was still delicious.

“There’s no question that it’s tastier when freshly cooked, but a lot of the time people back where I came from would eat it after it cooled down too,” Asuta had mentioned when they parted ways.

It was true that the fuwano coating had pretty much entirely lost its crisp crunchiness. But the way the Worcestershire sauce had seeped into the coating and made things just the right amount of moist and soft gave it an entirely different sort of texture that was still plenty satisfying for Ludo Ruu.

That Worcestershire sauce thing had a pretty strong taste to it too, and it paired really well with the nearly flavorless poitan and tino. But more than anything, chatchi really was just plain delicious. As he vaguely wondered in the back of his mind just why it was that he loved chatchi so much, Ludo Ruu vigorously chowed down on the rest of the croquette sandwich.

On top of that, there was another croquette sandwich wrapped up in the leather bag. The thought that he would get to enjoy even more of that flavor made Ludo Ruu so happy he could hardly stand it.

“Hey, what exactly is it that you’re smiling about, youngest son of the Ruu...?” Lem Dom asked, sounding suspicious.

“Huh? I was smiling? Well, this meal is so delicious that I guess my mouth just moved on its own.”

“Hmph... So that’s that ‘delicious cooking’ brought about by the Fa house?” As she sipped down some goopy white poitan stew, Lem Dom once again gave him a lopsided smile. “Out of the clans under the Zaza, the only ones who have tasted that are the ones who participated in the clan head meeting, and the Deen clan to the south. I would like to give it a try as well sometime, to see how extravagant it really is.”

“In that case, why not just stop by the Ruu settlement sometime?” By chance, that happened to hit on the topic Ludo Ruu wanted to discuss. “Hey Deek Dom... What I’m about to say didn’t come from my old man directly as leading clan head. It’s just something that’s been talked about here and there in the Ruu clan, so please keep that in mind. But do you northern clans have any interest in learning how to make delicious meals?”

The intense glare in Deek Dom’s eyes turned toward Ludo Ruu.

And yet, the boy just kept on talking as he unwrapped the second croquette sandwich.

“I’d say there’s incredible strength in Asuta’s cooking. When you eat his dishes, more power than ever before starts filling you up inside. And that’s been acknowledged not just by the clans under the Ruu, but also by Dari Sauti and the folks from the Fou and Sudra clans.”

“I’ve heard as much from our leading clan head Gulaf Zaza too...”

“Ah, really? Well, making delicious meals requires just a tiny bit of practice. But learning how to bloodlet meat and bake poitan can be done in a single day. For distant clans like the Sauti, we’ve handled things by swapping clan members for a bit to get in the proper training.”

“So you’re saying the northern clans should do the same...?”

“Yeah. As long as you end up with the same number of people on each end, it shouldn’t have any impact on other work, right? I think this is something that will bring greater strength to us people of the forest’s edge, regardless of whether or not you approve of the business being done by the Fa and Ruu clans.”

Deek Dom silently held out his wooden plate toward Lem Dom.

It must have been empty, as the woman stopped listening to Ludo Ruu’s words with a faint grin and instead headed over to the stove with a shrug of her shoulders.

Now that he thought about it, this house had the stove inside the same building as the living space. Normally with houses the size of the Ruu one, the main house and the kitchen were kept separate.

“The value of delicious cooking has been a matter of discussion even here in the northern settlement...”

“Oh, really?”

“The Deen clan brought up a request. They asked to allow a member of their clan to assist in the Fa clan’s business, to determine whether or not they were correct in their actions... And for the next step, at the next wedding or festival of the hunt, that Deen clan member who learned to cook under the Fa will be invited to man the stove.”

A member of the Deen clan... Ludo Ruu had in fact heard from Asuta about how a girl from one of the Suun branch houses he had met at the clan head meeting was now a member of the Deen. Ludo Ruu’s little sister Lala Ruu seemed to have some sort of bond with the girl too.

“I see. So if she manages to satisfy you, then your people will learn bloodletting and how to cook too?”

“That is not the case. It’s simply about whether or not the Deen will be permitted to be involved with the Fa any further. However, the leading clan head Gulaf Zaza may in fact be thinking even further ahead...” Despite the firm glare in Deek Dom’s eyes, it had been impossible to read what he was feeling whatsoever, and now his gaze narrowed as if he was peering at something. “It was that dinner held at the Ruu settlement, when Zuuro Suun and the others were invited. Something about that night seems to have thrown Gulaf Zaza out of sorts... He did not directly state as such, but he implied that he ate something truly surprising...”

“Oh yeah, that dinner was seriously amazing! For me, it was the greatest meal I’ve ever had in my whole life! Well, at least up until then. That dinner in the castle town three days ago was every bit as incredible too, like some sort of banquet.”

“If it was enough to move the leading clan head Gulaf Zaza so greatly, then that delicious food you speak of is at least worthy of some consideration... I can imagine that much, even as someone who only had a brief brush with its power at the clan head meeting,” Deek Dom replied, slurping down his freshly-poured poitan stew before continuing on. “So...why exactly did you bring this matter to me, youngest son of the Ruu? You should be knocking on the door of the Zaza, not the Dom, wouldn’t you say?”

“Hmm? It’s better to leave the leading clan heads to talk among themselves, right? But I wanted to hear your opinion, as the head of one of the subordinate clans. And it felt like a good topic to add on.”

“Add on...?”

“Yeah. I really wanted to know just what sort of person you were, Deek Dom.” As Ludo Ruu gulped down the aria and chatchi dish, he searched for what to say next. And while thinking to himself that the dish really would be a lot tastier freshly made, he said, “Before that, there’s one question I’d like to ask. How old are you, exactly?”

“I am seventeen...”

“S-Seventeen...? You’re only two years older than me?!”

“The previous clan head passed away out in the forest two years ago, after which I inherited the role as the oldest son. Is there some issue with that?”

“Ah, no, it’s just definitely something, serving as clan head so young... Oh yeah, so that means you’re the same age as Rau Lea, Asuta, and Ai Fa...”

Thinking about it, Rau Lea and Ai Fa were clan heads too. For the former in particular, his Lea clan was also roughly the same size as the Dom.

Well, considering how they have so few house members to help them out, Ai Fa and Shin Ruu may have it tougher in some ways...

At any rate, what he was going to bring up next was what mattered most.

“By the way, you brought up wedding banquets before, but do you have anything happening on that front? If you’re seventeen and the head of the main house, you’ve probably got folks starting to pester you, yeah?”

“I wouldn’t particularly say anyone is pestering me. As long as I take a wife before I’m eighteen, that should be plenty. If I do not find someone I am attracted to before then, I simply need to get together with a similarly unwed woman,” Deek Dom replied in a tone that indicated he found the subject tiresome, grabbing hold of one of the bottles of fruit wine Ludo Ruu had brought. “My thanks for the Ruu clan’s kindness... We just ran out of fruit wine, so this is definitely appreciated.”

“Right, the northern settlement is far from the post town, so purchasing stuff is a pain, isn’t it?”

“Indeed. Though getting a hold of a totos has made things a lot easier.”

Deek Dom gulped down that fruit wine every bit as vigorously as Ludo Ruu’s old man. At this rate, those two bottles would be drained dry in no time flat.

“However, issues have developed in a way that means I cannot take the matter of marriage lightly. There are many under our parent clan who need to form new bonds of blood.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Up until now, our parent clan was the Suun. Our bonds of blood were forged with them as the source. With our central Suun clan abolished, that leaves some with no blood ties whatsoever. For example, the only bond the more southerly clans such as the Deen and Liddo had were from offering husbands or wives to the Suun, so they no longer have any blood ties to the northern clans.”

I see, Ludo Ruu thought in sudden recognition. There were six clans under the Ruu, but it wasn’t as if they were all tied directly through blood. Small clans like the Ririn and Maam were accepted as subordinate clans due to their blood ties with the Lea, Rutim, and Min.

But the Lea and Rutim had shared blood with the Ruu for a long, long time, so there was no risk of any clan becoming completely isolated. Yet in the case of the Suun, they had blood ties stretching from the north to the south, and there was no other intermingling between the far extremes.

Furthermore, the Suun clan had refrained from having any of their members marry into other clans for over a decade now, to hide their crime of pillaging the forest of Morga. That was another factor cutting down the chances the subordinate clans had to exchange blood ties outside of the Suun settlement.

“Hmm... Then are you planning on taking a bride from the Deen or Liddo?”

“It’s not as if that has been decided. But if I do not find anyone by the time I turn eighteen, that will likely be how things play out.”

“You sure are fixated on that age in particular. Is it the custom up north that you need to get married before you’re eighteen?”

“More than being a custom, doesn’t it show that you’re not taking your duty to leave behind strong blood seriously if you do not take a spouse for three whole years after being recognized as a full-fledged hunter at the age of fifteen?”

Ludo Ruu didn’t know the source of that period of three years in particular being important, but it was true that eighteen or nineteen seemed to be the borderline after which you started getting pestered about marriage even in the Ruu settlement.

Still, Gazraan Rutim didn’t get married until he was twenty-three, and Vina’s already twenty...

At any rate, he had the information he needed, and there was just one point left that concerned him.

“So, you’re already seventeen, right? How long do you have till you turn eighteen, then?”

“I only just turned seventeen last month...”

In that case, there should still be over ten months left.

With that, Ludo Ruu was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

“So, what is it that you wish to know about me?” Deek Dom questioned, setting down his now empty plate and leaning forward. And as he gulped down the chunk of croquette sandwich he had bitten into, Ludo Ruu shot him a grin.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. I already learned what I wanted to. Seems like you’re a fine hunter, Deek Dom.”

“I don’t exactly understand your meaning...”

“I mean just what I said. You may look just as vicious as Gulaf Zaza, but you’re real open when it comes to talking about stuff, and you seem honest too. Honestly, my older brothers are more stubborn than you are... At the same time, you seem to be an incredibly strong hunter, and I can’t imagine there are many as fine as you here at the forest’s edge.”

“I can’t say I appreciate you calling our leading clan head vicious...”

“Oh, I didn’t mean that in a bad way. My old man’s got just as intense of a face on him, and besides, I respect Gulaf Zaza as a hunter.”

Deek Dom was surely someone worthy of having Morun Rutim fall for him. And sensing that much was plenty for Ludo Ruu.

“That’s all I’ve got to say. Sorry for interrupting your dinner. I’m glad I talked to you today, Deek Dom.”

“I still don’t understand what you’re saying at all, but you couldn’t possibly intend to return to the Ruu settlement now, could you, youngest son of the Ruu?”

“Huh? Of course I do. I’ve got a totos, so it’s not like it’ll take all that long.”

“Don’t be foolish. The paths are dangerous at night.”

“I’ll be fine. When I’m on a totos, not even giba can catch up to me, much less giiz or mundt, so it’s no real danger.”

“So which is more dangerous? The morning or the night?” Deek Dom firmly insisted. “It would bring shame upon the Dom clan if I were to allow you to take such a dangerous path. You aren’t trying to shame us, are you, youngest son of the Ruu?”

“No, but...”

“Lem, prepare bedding in a spare room. And place the guest’s steel in my room.”

“Understood, clan head...”

He might have been honest and a strong hunter, but Ludo Ruu didn’t know whether this stubborn hospitality was a plus or a minus. But at any rate, the young hunter gave a little sigh.