Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 15 - Chapter 3.3

3

After wrapping up work in the post town, our first task when we returned to the Ruu settlement was handling the prep work for business tomorrow. After speeding through that in around thirty minutes, we headed over to the Rutim settlement.

Accompanying me were the Rutim clan members Tsuvai and Ama Min Rutim, Reina and Sheera Ruu from the Ruu clan, and finally Toor Deen and Lem Dom, making for six women in total. Yun Sudra wanted to accompany us so badly it looked like she would break down crying, but Li Sudra said, “We have work back home to handle,” with a smile, and they headed back to their own house.

“Sorry, looks like in the end I had to ask you all to help out,” I called out while driving the wagon.

“It’s what we wanted to do,” Reina Ruu replied with a smile. It seemed she had completely recovered from the emotional damage caused by Leeheim a few days back.

Adding the Rutim women to this group would make it an even more impressive lineup. As for cooking time, we had roughly three hours. I intended to use that time to its fullest to prepare something that would bring Dan Rutim joy.

“Welcome, Asuta of the Fa clan,” the elder Raa Rutim greeted me as we arrived at the Rutim settlement.

There was a bit of white hair on his otherwise bald head, his build was slim and tall, and he had piercing eyes like a hawk. Aside from his height and baldness, this former head of the main Rutim house really didn’t resemble his son at all.

“The men are still out in the forest, but the women are waiting for you in the kitchen. I have difficulty with the fact that we are leaving the stove to the Fa clan when we lack blood ties to you, but as it’s the clan head’s decision, it’s not my place to interject.”

“Ah, the Rutim are precious friends to our clan, so I’m glad to take on the task.”

“Yes, I have no intention of objecting to the clan head declaring friendship between our clans,” Raa Rutim nodded, a stern look on his face all the while. “At any rate, you have our thanks. Ama Min, Tsuvai, show Asuta to the kitchen.”

“Understood.”

And so as I led Gilulu by the reins, we headed for the kitchen. Raa Rutim stayed behind, apparently giving a young group of children some form of swordsmanship training.

“After he retired from hunting five years ago, training the children has become our elder Raa’s primary job,” Ama Min Rutim told me with a gentle expression.

“I see. That’s wonderful, isn’t it?”

“Yes. It’s only been a few months now since I married into the Rutim, but I love and respect everyone here just as much as I do my family in the Min clan.”

“Ah, Asuta, and everyone else too. Welcome to the Rutim settlement,” Morun Rutim greeted with a beaming grin as we entered the kitchen. “We cut up the meat just as you instructed, and the poitan have all been baked. And we’ve gathered the necessary vegetables and seasonings here as well.”

“Thanks. In that case, could I have you two handle the branch house stoves as planned, Reina and Sheera Ruu?”

We were preparing food for nearly fifty people, so we had planned to split up into groups right from the start.

There were thirteen Rutim women in total, and I split things up so that Reina and Sheera Ruu were assigned five each, while I got the other three along with Toor Deen and Lem Dom. Reina Ruu’s group was to assist Ama Min Rutim with the soup dish, Sheera Ruu was helping Morun Rutim with the meat and vegetable stir-fry, and Toor Deen and I were taking care of the special dishes for the night. I was secretly proud of how perfectly I got it all laid out.

“It’s been some time, Asuta,” one of the women in my group said to me, gracefully stepping forward.

“Yeah, it has,” I smiled back.

It was Tsuvai’s mother, Oura. I hadn’t seen her since the interrogation in the castle town, so it had been over two months since we last met.

She then turned to face someone else. “You too, Lem Dom. I believe it has been nearly a year now since I last saw you.”

“Ah, you were the wife of the Suun clan’s head, weren’t you? Sorry, but I don’t recall your name.”

“My name is Oura. I’ve already heard how you feel about us from Tsuvai, but I hope that we can still carry out our work together.”

“Yes, agreed,” Lem Dom curtly replied, with a shrug of her robust shoulders.

Tsuvai had a look about her like she wanted to say something, but since she was in Sheera Ruu’s group she wasn’t able to stay here. Though she and Oura were both living in the Rutim settlement, their familial bonds had been severed.

At some point Dan Rutim had whispered to me that Tsuvai was secretly suffering quite a bit because she was forbidden from calling Oura her mother any longer. And he had also said that if someday she could overcome that sadness and start to consider the Rutim to be just as precious to her as her previous family, she would finally be given the Rutim name.

“Now that I think about it, I still haven’t seen Dan Rutim. Is he running around somewhere on his totos again?”

“That’s right. He said that since he would keep snatching bites if he was hanging around the settlement, he would stay away until sunset,” Oura replied with a relaxed smile.

Though she was a very delicate and gentle woman, she seemed the least shaken up by the fall of the Suun out of all its former members, except Yamiru Lea. And so I figured she had the same sort of quiet strength about her that I also sensed in Ama Min Rutim and Li Sudra.

Plus, she’s Tei Suun’s daughter.

Tei Suun had been the final great criminal from his clan. When he tried to do me harm, Raielfam Sudra struck him down. That normally would have been impossible for the former members of the Suun clan to bear, even if it was what he wished for... In fact, that might have made it even worse. And yet Oura had shaken all that off and was now smiling at me like this.

With that thought firmly in mind, I told Oura, “I look forward to working with you,” with a bow. “Well then, let’s get to cooking. First up is the giba curry.”

Thanks to Dan Rutim’s positive impression back on the first day I made it, I decided to make this a special dish on offer tonight despite the fact that it was still a work in progress. Though it would just be a small serving per person, we had enough folks attending that we had to fill a pot up with a hefty batch of the dish.

“How amazing... To think that you would need this much food to celebrate the clan head’s birthday. Such a thing would be unimaginable in the Deen clan,” Toor Deen mused as she cut up the rib meat prepared earlier by Morun Rutim and the other Rutim women into the appropriate size.

As I instructed Lem Dom on how to cut the chatchi and nenon, I replied, “Right. There are twenty-seven members of this clan alone, aren’t there? Actually, is that even more than the Zaza?”

“Yes. There are only twenty people in the Zaza clan, I believe. But the northern settlement of the Zaza, Dom, and Jeen are all joined together.”

“The entirety of the northern settlement all together should total over forty. And there are a lot of young folks too, so we wouldn’t fall short in terms of hunters.” Lem Dom joined in with a cynical grin. “Now that I think about it, there are quite a few older folks in the Ruu and Rutim, aren’t there? Have you noticed that, Toor Deen?”

“Well, I don’t really know much about those things in general, but that man from before was probably the oldest I’ve ever seen.”

“That’s proof of the strength of their subordinate clans. It was a real surprise to learn that the clan head of the Ruu from two generations back was still alive.”

“The clan head from two generations back? But the current one is the leading clan head Donda Ruu, right...? Isn’t he around the same age as Gulaf Zaza?”

“Yes, so the clan head from two generations ago is over eighty. But, well, she’s a woman rather than a man.”

“Eighty... I’ve never seen anyone that old, not even a woman,” Toor Deen replied, her eyes widening in shock.

Despite Lem Dom’s fierce look, Toor Deen had completely opened up to her. The older girl had a surprisingly friendly side too, and both fell under the Zaza and shared ties of blood, so perhaps both sides felt comfortable opening up their hearts to one another.

“Lem Dom, have you not met Jiba Ruu?” I asked.

“Of course I’ve seen her. I’m staying at the Ruu settlement, so do you really think I could have avoided introducing myself to the elder? Still, Jiba Ruu is over eighty?”

“Yeah. From what I recall, I believe she’s eighty-five.”

“Eighty-five! That’s certainly a shock,” Lem Dom remarked, breaking out in a grin as she poured the freshly-cut chatchi into a pot. “Someone who has lived that long can’t do any work and is just a waste of food... At least, that’s what plenty of the rougher men from up north probably think.”

“Hmph. I hope you don’t think that way too.”

“I don’t. I mean, people should live nice long lives, right? Considering he had to become clan head at the age of just fifteen, I’m certain Deek feels the same way.”

Now that she mentioned it, the main Dom house she belonged to only had two members. Considering she was only fifteen now, Lem Dom obviously lost her parents far too soon.

“That’s true,” I agreed, “I lost my mother when I was little, so I definitely understand that feeling. By the way, how old is your clan head Deek Dom now anyway?”

“He’s the same age as you.”

“Huh?” I quickly glanced all around, wondering just who that “you” referred to. But the Rutim women were all diligently working, so nobody else seemed to be participating in the conversation.

“What are you looking around for? You said you were seventeen, didn’t you, Asuta?”

“S-Seventeen?”

My hands came to a stop without thinking. And in turn, Lem Dom started pouting at me.

“You seem just as surprised as Ludo Ruu. Does my clan head really look that old?”

“No, but, well... It’d be rude to say anything else, so let’s just drop it.”

“Those words alone are already plenty rude, you know. They’ll make for a nice souvenir to bring back for Deek.”

“Gah, don’t even joke about that! If I make him upset with me, then I won’t even know how to behave around him.”

Lem Dom gave an amused chuckle. And the resulting smile was rather cute, especially considering she had a nice face to begin with.

“It’s true that my clan head is similar in strength to Gulaf Zaza despite his young age. In the contests of strength held during festivals of the hunt, the last one standing is always either Deek or Gulaf Zaza, after all... I’m quite proud of my brother.”

“Yeah, Deek Dom sounds like a really fantastic hunter.”

“That’s why I can’t help but admire Ai Fa, who possesses similar strength. She’s everything I aspire to,” Lem Dom stated, her eyes ecstatically narrowing.

If Ai Fa were here, I’m sure we would have had another commotion on our hands, but personally I found even that expression of Lem Dom’s quite likable. Though she tended to go a bit heavy on the physical contact, I could never hate someone who was so open about praising my clan head.

As we were having that exchange, a mountain of sliced meat and vegetables had piled up atop the work station. “All right, I figure that should take care of the meat and vegetables. Toor Deen, could I ask you to start boiling everything?”

“Of course.”

While she was handling that, I went about making the roux. I had already taken care of mixing and dry roasting the herbs back home, so all I needed to add was milk fat, aria, and fuwano. Taking pity on everyone’s noses, I had Lem Dom help me move the whole pot to the outdoor stove. And that was when I spotted a group of Rutim hunters approaching with several dead giba.

“Ah, Asuta. Thank you so much for helping out today.”

“Long time no see, Gazraan Rutim!” It had been roughly a month or so now since we last met.

With a soft smile on his masculine face, Gazraan Rutim came over and stopped in front of me.

“I want to talk with Asuta for a bit, so could you handle the skinning?”

“Understood.” The one to respond was the head of a branch house, Gazraan Rutim’s younger brother. With a smile as gentle as his big brother’s, he gave me a bow, then departed along with the other hunters.

There was one large giba that needed two hunters to carry it, as well as two smaller ones. It seemed that they had cleared the day’s quota for their clan of twenty-seven.

“I believe we were successful at bloodletting the two small ones. You mentioned you would like to use the neck and head in today’s banquet, didn’t you, Asuta?”

“Yes. I don’t think there will be enough for everyone, but I would love to try it, if that’s all right.”

It was time for a revenge match when it came to cooking brains and eyeballs. For the past five days, I had borrowed the assistance of the nearby clans in order to experiment.

“I’m definitely interested to see what sort of dish you will prepare. Our clan head Dan’s carefree decision to entrust you with this important task has brought great joy to the members of our clan.”

Even after more than a month, Gazraan Rutim hadn’t changed a bit. If anything, his relaxed nature—like that of a great, dignified tree—felt as if it had only been polished further.

A moment later, that gentle gaze of his suddenly turned toward Lem Dom. “You’re Lem Dom of the main Dom house, are you not? I’m the eldest son of the main Rutim house, Gazraan Rutim.”

“Yes, I’ve heard plenty about you around the Ruu settlement, Gazraan Rutim,” Lem Dom replied, a somewhat challenging look in her eyes. Gazraan Rutim, however, simply met it with his familiar gentle smile.

“You’re helping prepare for the banquet, aren’t you? It makes me very happy to think that the bonds between the clans under the Ruu and those of you from the north are growing stronger.”

“That’s true. The former leading Suun clan treated the Ruu and their related clans as enemies without just cause, so I believe we should do what we can to correct the relationship we share.”

“Please enjoy the coming banquet as our guest. I have my own work to carry out as well, so I’ll be taking my leave now, Asuta. I’ll have the giba heads delivered to the main house’s kitchen later.”

“Right, thank you.”

With yet another gentle smile, Gazraan Rutim departed. Lem Dom watched his back grow distant with a formidable light gleaming in her eyes.

“He certainly was quite composed. Personally, I prefer more earnestly open men like Dan Rutim.”

“I see. Both of them are very important people in my life.”

“Hmph. That eldest Ruu son is a mysterious person too... It seems there are quite a few strange men under the Ruu,” Lem Dom observed with a shrug of her shoulders. “Ah, was that perhaps disrespectful toward the Ruu and Rutim heirs? Still, I can’t help who I don’t like.”

“I suppose that’s true. But just like with food, if you spend enough time with people, your impression of them can change. Just like Dan Rutim said, you’re free to like and dislike whomever you want, but you also need to be ready to look at the long term,” I stated as I sautéed a large helping of aria in milk fat.

As she picked up the plate loaded with spices, Lem Dom’s lips twisted into a grin as she replied, “Hmm? Then you’re saying I may come to appreciate not only Jiza Ruu and Gazraan Rutim, but also that sweet boiled dish you make?”

“It’s possible, at least. At any rate, it’d be a shame to not even consider the possibility on account of your first impression.”

“And have you ever had one of your so-called ‘first impressions’ overturned?”

“Yeah, plenty of times. In particular, Donda Ruu treated me like a boil or something at the start, and, well, I’d say we both had just about the worst possible first impression of one another.”

And though things were as chilly as ever with Jiza Ruu, I didn’t feel as negatively as I used to about Darmu Ruu, and I felt like I had gotten rather close to the members of the Fou and Ran. When I thought about how far I had come, it moved me deeply.

“Now that I think about it, back when I first met Dan Rutim, he shouted at me and got super angry, asking what I was thinking serving giba torso meat for a celebration.”

“Ah, you mean how eating such smelly meat was seen as a sign of a clan’s weakness? Up north, we ate whatever cut we pleased, regardless of smell.”

“Really? Still, I am seriously glad that I’ve built up such a good relationship with him. Now he’ll even eat eyeballs and brains I’ve prepared without any concern,” I replied, only for Lem Dom to give a doubtful look as she brought her face in closer. There was almost a ten centimeter height difference between us, though, so she ended up bending forward a bit. “What is it? And do you mind handing over that plate, by the way?”

“Ah, here. It’s just...I know it’s silly to be saying so at this point, but you really were born in another country, weren’t you, Asuta?”

“Yeah, that really is late to be asking. As you can see, I wasn’t born here at the forest’s edge.”

“Right. Black hair and eyes aren’t especially rare at the northern settlement, but there aren’t any people of the forest’s edge with skin so pale. Honestly, though, you never seemed all that much like a foreigner to me... Even though the first time I heard about you, I thought the idea of taking an outsider into one’s house was ridiculous.”

“Hmm? So you’re saying I’m fitting in naturally as a person of the forest’s edge?”

“Yes. Perhaps I’ve been caught up in the way that the people around you all treat your presence as entirely natural,” Lem Dom suggested, brushing aside the bangs dangling over her cheek. “Well, whatever. There’s no point in trying to treat someone as suspicious when they’re not. But if you were, then I wouldn’t be able to stand the fact that you were staying by Ai Fa’s side.”

“Ah ha ha, you really are devoted to Ai Fa, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am. If you ever do anything to sadden her, I’ll never forgive you,” she growled with a scary look in her eyes, bringing her face in even closer. Still, even that action made me feel glad.

“I’m really happy to hear that there are more people out there now who will say stuff like that on Ai Fa’s behalf, Lem Dom. I’m in no position to talk about the whole hunter thing, but I hope that you’ll keep on thinking kindly of her.”

“I don’t need you to tell me that. Still, if only I didn’t have to return to the Ruu settlement today... I wish that I had just asked my clan head to stay with the Fa the whole time from the start,” Lem Dom lamented, sadly wrapping her arms around her own muscular body.

At any rate, the start of Dan Rutim’s birthday celebration was drawing steadily nearer.