Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 15 - Chapter 2.1

Chapter 2: Passing Days

1

It was now the following day, the twenty-third of the black month.

While we were working at the stalls, we ended up with an unusual customer: Diel, the daughter of a guy who led a group of steelworkers from the south.

“Hey there. It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Asuta?” the girl with short speckled hair said with a beaming smile as she approached the stall. Naturally, she was accompanied by her attendant Labis.

Cyclaeus had been an important business partner for them, but after losing him, her father’s group had been able to rework their deals with another representative of Duke Genos. Thanks to that, the leader of the group, Grannar, ended up triumphantly returning home with a massive order. However, Diel and Labis remained in the castle town along with two other members of the group to continue with whatever business dealings were necessary.

Then, if they got a new order, they were to send a fast totos back to their home country to inform their company. And at least for now, the plan was that a large group would be sent to Genos every six months or so once the goods were ready.

Even as he took on the job of supplying cooking implements to the restaurants that had been under Cyclaeus’s control, and making arms for the castle’s soldiers in near perpetuity, Diel’s father was also trying to expand his dealings further. He certainly did seem to be quite the motivated businessman.

“Yeah, has it been around ten days or so? I’m glad to see you looking well,” I replied, breaking out in a grin of my own in response to Diel’s earnest smile. Things had been up in the air between us until everything was settled with Cyclaeus, but since then we had gotten back to our usual relaxed relationship. And as she smiled even brighter, Diel looked over the line of stalls.

“What should I have today? I don’t get to the post town that often, so I never know what to choose!”

“You like the giba manju, right? But I’m sure what you’re really after is the giba cutlet sandwich.”

“Of course it is! I’ve still only gotten it once!”

Still, I only saw her every five to ten days or so, so you could say she had a lot of luck to have drawn it even a single time.

As I thought about that, a figure approached from the thicket to the rear. And when she turned in that direction, Diel’s eyes opened wide.

“Oh? Why are you here? It’s real rare for you to come to town!”

It was Ai Fa. “I have a purchase I need to make today,” she replied.

She had come to town for what really was the first time in a good while in order to buy a replacement for the sword she broke yesterday. Though she had taken care of it first thing in the morning, she had taken the day off from hunting and was accompanying us instead. Apparently, in addition to the cut in her mouth, one of her back teeth felt loose, which supposedly made it so she couldn’t muster her full strength.

It really was a surprise that she had been able to toss Lem Dom around so easily in that state, but, well, there was definitely nothing wrong with taking it easy when you’re not feeling your best. Up until a little while ago she had been a touch drowsy from the romu leaves she was using to dull the pain, but she seemed to have her normal piercing gaze back as she stood facing Diel.

“Hmm, I see. It must be around two months now since I last saw you.”

“Indeed. We last met when I visited the Turan manor to retrieve Asuta,” Ai Fa replied, giving a gentle bow of her head. “It has been bothering me ever since that I have been unable to thank you properly. I owe a great deal to your quick-wittedness that night, so I thank you from the depths of my heart.”

“Quick-wittedness? What do you mean?”

“You recognized me, and yet you stayed quiet. Furthermore, you casually hinted at Asuta’s presence, and I sensed that you tried to steer the conversation in a desirable direction.”

Naturally, they were talking about back when Ai Fa rescued me from the Turan manor. She had pretended to be the daughter of a wealthy merchant from Sym in order to infiltrate a dinner there, where Diel also happened to be present. And of course, Diel had been familiar with Ai Fa before that. But thanks to her not revealing my clan head’s identity, I was able to be saved.

“But, I mean... I wasn’t able to do anything up till then, so I really don’t think you should be thanking me at all...” Diel replied with a pained look.

In response, Ai Fa shook her head, “No, at that time you had no reason at all to risk earning the resentment of the house of Turan. That is why I must offer my gratitude for lending your aid to Asuta and us people of the forest’s edge in spite of that.”

“You’re overblowing things! I don’t even know how to respond when you go acting all humble like that!”

“I’m not especially seeking any sort of response... Still, I suppose I don’t mind forgetting your unwarranted attack on Asuta in return.”

“Hey, don’t go digging up ancient history. I forgot all about that ages ago,” Diel said with an awkward grin, ruffling her short hair. “Well, whatever. If that means we’re good and even, then I’m honestly grateful.”

“Right,” Ai Fa nodded back, and then she stepped away.

As I breathed a sigh of relief, I picked up the wooden cylinder at my feet.

“Well then, please go ahead and draw a lot. If you’re worrying about what to order, it makes sense to do that first, right?”

“That’s true,” Diel agreed as she casually pulled out a wooden stick. On its end there was a clear red mark. “Ah... I won.”

“Congratulations. You’ve got a really good success rate going there, Diel,” I noted as I got a giba cutlet sandwich from the box Toor Deen held out. “Here you go. That’ll be three red coins.”

“Eh heh heh,” Diel joyfully chuckled as she accepted the item.

At that, Labis expressionlessly handed over the payment. Despite the fact that he was always accompanying Diel as a bodyguard, he had yet to eat any giba meat.

“Oh, is that girl new?” Diel questioned, looking over at the neighboring stall.

Yun and Li Sudra were the ones running it. Though there was still time left till the sun would hit its peak, they had finished up their work back home and hurried on over.

“Yes, she’s new to the job, so she’s currently being trained. Be gentle with her, all right?”

“Hmm, she’s a cute one... Actually, every last woman from the forest’s edge I’ve seen has been a real beauty. Are you picking out girls like that on purpose, Asuta?”

“O-Of course not. I’ve just been taking charge of the chefs chosen by their clan heads.”

“Oh?” Diel murmured, glaring straight at me.

Fortunately, though, today I had a different topic prepared to pivot toward. “Actually, I’ve got something I’d like to ask you about, Diel.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Do you have any tools around this size and shape laying around in storage?”

“Huh? I don’t really get it; what shape are you asking about?”

“Err, so it would be like a tube that gets all thin like this at the tip, ideally.”

“Oh, do you mean a funnel?”

“A funnel! Yeah, that’s it! I’ve got a new dish I want to try, but I need one of those.”

Yesterday I had Nail introduce me to one of his customers from the east, who taught me how to make sausages. I wanted to have a firm grasp of the technique, seeing how Mikel had promised to visit the forest’s edge to give instruction on how to smoke meat.

“A funnel, huh? I don’t think we have any in storage, since folks don’t need to replace them very often,” Diel said after taking a bite of her giba cutlet sandwich. “They’re used to transfer wine and tau oil and the like from barrels into bottles, aren’t they? So you should be able to get something like that in the post town, I’d figure.”

“Hmm, really? I tried looking for one at the metalwork places around town, but I didn’t find any.”

“In that case, want me to take a look at the shops in the castle town?”

“Ah, I have a go-between on that end already, so I’ll ask them. You’re always busy, aren’t you?” I replied, right before the big boss of that go-between appeared to the north, riding in a huge boxed wagon drawn by two totos.

Following my gaze, Diel went “Hmm?” with an adorable tilt of her head. “What’s that about? It looks like it’s got a noble’s emblem on it.”

“That has to be the son of Count Daleim. Ever since that dinner party in the castle town, he’s been visiting our stalls all the time.”

The totos wagon stopped at the entrance to the post town, and two armed guards got down along with a plump noble. Unsurprisingly, it was indeed Polarth, the second son of the house of Daleim. The sudden appearance of a noble caused a real stir in the crowd passing by. After shooting a hearty grin all about as if to calm them, Polarth went ahead and approached my stall.

“Hello there. I’d like to once again make a purchase of your cooking, Sir Asuta.”

“Thank you for your continued business. Would you like to draw a lot?”

“Of course I would! It’s been half a month since I’ve drawn a winner, after all.”

Normally he sent maids or pages to make his purchases for him, but when he had business with Yang’s shop or the Daleim territory to handle, he would stop by personally like this along the way. And obviously, people took notice when he did. After all, it would normally be unimaginable for a noble to come all the way to the post town to buy a meal.

“Ah, a miss! Why must I be so terribly unlucky?!” Polarth proclaimed with a disappointed shrug of his shoulders, interrupting my thoughts. It seemed he had never even considered the idea of using his authority as a noble to have me specially prepare giba cutlet sandwiches for him. “The giba cutlet sandwich is the dish most to my tastes. Of course, that isn’t to say I find fault with your other dishes, but that flavor truly is something special...”

As he shared his lamentations with us, Polarth’s pained gaze fell upon Diel’s hands as she stood there beside the stall. And then he seemed to realize something, as his eyes shot wide open.

“Oh? Are you not the visitors from Jeland staying in the guest house?”

At that, Diel hurriedly swallowed, then placed her open hand over her stomach and bowed. “Yeah, hi... Oh, I mean, hello, I am Diel, the daughter of Grannar, the steelworker from Jeland, my lord.”

“Ah, never mind the formalities. It’s not as if we’re in the castle, after all. I am the second son of the house of Daleim, Polarth. If I recall correctly, didn’t you transfer from the guest house to an inn recently?”

“Yes. We are continuing our steelworking business from there.”

“Ah, I see. You seem to have some truly fine products. From what I hear, when the captain of the ducal guard inspected the example blade you provided, he declared that he found no fault with it.”

“That is a truly unexpected honor...”

It seemed that Diel was a whole lot better at knowing how to handle nobles than I was. Still, the fact that she was holding her partially-eaten giba cutlet sandwich in one hand the whole time was pretty cute.

After offering her a nod, Polarth turned and faced my way.

“By the way, Sir Asuta, I’ve come here today bearing words from Lord Genos.”

“Huh? What about, exactly?”

It was rare for the lord of the land himself, Duke Marstein Genos, to have a message delivered to someone like me. But as I secretly worried he was going to tell us to raise the price of giba meat again, Polarth explained with his earnest grin unwavering.

“Well you see, it seems there are visitors from Banarm coming again next month. However, this time it shall be a group of envoys.”

“Envoys? Then you mean...they’re trying to reforge those diplomatic relations that Cyclaeus disrupted around ten years ago?”

“I do not know that I would call it ‘diplomatic relations’ when both Genos and Banarm are territories of the Kingdom of Selva, but yes, that is essentially it. They are coming to discuss once more whether or not there can be trade of the fuwano and fruit wine and the like produced by our two towns.” His plump cheeks jiggled a bit as he smiled even wider. “It seems Sir Welhide is to lead the group, to follow his late father’s wishes. And from what I am told, he has requested to dine on your cooking again, Sir Asuta.”

“Huh? My cooking?”

“Indeed. It seems he is insisting on it. Presumably, Sir Welhide has had difficulty convincing the people of his hometown that giba cooking truly is delicious. No doubt he must be thinking, ‘Then I shall have you eat it yourselves!’”

Welhide was a young man who was part of an offshoot of the ducal house of Banarm. I had met him twice now, during the meeting when we faced off with Cyclaeus and Ciluel and at the banquet not too long after. As his father had been murdered by Zattsu Suun under Cyclaeus’s orders, Kamyua Yoshu had brought him along to serve as a witness.

Even though judgment had already been passed, he was still someone the people of the forest’s edge owed a debt of atonement. And in spite of that bad blood directed at our people, he had still happily eaten my giba cooking.

As I recalled Welhide’s clean-cut and serious-looking face in my head, I nodded back. “All right. I have some doubts about whether or not someone as inexperienced as me can handle such a big role...but I’ll consult with the leading clan heads of the forest’s edge on the matter.”

“Yes, please do so! Still, just like with last time, there’s no need to fixate so completely on giba cooking. As long as you can decisively show the deliciousness of giba through the meat dish for Sir Welhide’s sake, you should be able to do whatever you please with the rest.”

He said that, but it wasn’t as if I was all that skilled at handling karon or kimyuus meat. That is to say, I had no real confidence that I could make something better than I could with giba if I tried using them. Though if my current experiments progressed well, then I could maybe use the somewhat interesting dish I was trying out that contained both fuwano and poitan.

“And I would imagine you can also use as much of the ingredients still overflowing in the Turan manor as you please. As I recall, I believe you have only ever set foot in the smaller kitchen, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right. But I definitely had no issue with the range of ingredients on offer there.”

“Ah, but the larger kitchen’s pantry is on an entirely different scale! That place is a treasure trove of ingredients Cyclaeus spent half of his life gathering, after all! I saw it for the first time just a short while ago myself, and it was truly a stunning sight!”

I recalled how Mikel had once called the place Cyclaeus’s treasure trove too. The ingredients flowing into the post town now were really nothing but the tip of the iceberg.

“What do you say? If it’s not too much trouble, you could perhaps take a look at the pantry beforehand. Why not bring any ingredients that look usable back to the forest’s edge and try to think up a new dish? Aah, the mere thought alone excites me!”

“Right... I’ll consult with the leading clan heads about all that too.”

“Perfect! And I shall discuss the matter with Duke Genos! Ah, and we couldn’t simply foist all the responsibility on you, so I am told our side shall also have an especially skilled chef participate.”

“An especially skilled chef?”

“That’s right. He was previously the head chef at the Turan manor and has since opened his own shop in the castle town: an extraordinary man by the name of Sir Varkas. In the past, he was counted as one of the three great chefs of Genos.”

“The three great chefs of Genos?” As I thought vaguely to myself how that was quite the grandiose nickname, Polarth continued on with a statement that caused me to catch my breath.

“Sir Varkas became the head chef of the Turan manor while another of the three took the same position with Genos Castle, and both are revered as being nearly without equal in their profession. From what I have heard, the third earned Cyclaeus’s displeasure and had his future as a chef cut off.”

I was dumbstruck.

“Hmm? Is something the matter?”

“Um, was...was that man named Mikel?”

“Ah yes, I believe that was it. Supposedly he is still living somewhere in Genos even now, but I do not know the details.”

“So that Varkas person is supposed to be as skilled as Mikel?”

“Indeed. Actually, in terms of reputation, I would say that Sir Varkas came out on top. After all, he is able to use such a great many ingredients so skillfully! I hear tell that at the time, Cyclaeus paid him an enormous sum in order to obtain his skills.”

I could feel a sort of heat gradually rising up in my chest.

Naturally, that Varkas person hadn’t done anything wrong. After all, if he had turned down Cyclaeus’s request, he might have met the same fate as Mikel.

It was hard to express just how I felt about the thought that people who were his peers back in the day were still famous even now, while Mikel alone was left burning charcoal outside of the castle town.

“Well then, be sure to give the leading clan heads my regards! After all, I intend to do whatever it takes to attend the banquet myself! I’ll be hoping for a positive response, Sir Asuta!”