Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 16 - Chapter 4.1

Chapter 4: The Welcome Banquet

1

It was now the tenth of the indigo month, the day of the welcome banquet.

Since we had taken the day off from working at the stalls, we were able to leave the forest’s edge and arrive at the gates to the castle town just when the sun hit its peak. That made for a pretty early departure, but it allowed us a lot of wiggle room in the schedule. Delays wouldn’t be acceptable when it came to a dinner party for nobles.

At any rate, we had to cook for twenty-three people today. That was ten more than the last time around. And since we were talking about making six different dishes for each of those guests, it was quite the undertaking. To compensate, we increased the number of chefs on our team from the four we had for the previous banquet to seven. But more chefs meant even more meals to prepare too. When adding in the four who would be joining us as guards, that came up to thirty-four in total. And then on top of all that were the portions for Varkas’s group to sample, so we had to make even more still.

“We’ve been awaiting you. Please, step into this carriage.”

Under the guidance of a guard who had been waiting at the gates, we got into a totos carriage belonging to the house of Daleim. We were only bringing giba meat, poitan flour, and my cooking knives with us, so it was a light load.

“Humm, it’s been about three months now since my last trip to the castle town, eh?!” Dan Rutim, head of the group guarding us, made that ridiculously loud announcement as he stepped into the carriage. Actually, it was kind of hitting me too now, the realization of just how long it had been since that meeting with Cyclaeus.

Since one of the members of the guard group was from the Sauti clan, he would be arriving with Dari Sauti, meaning there were ten of us at the moment. On the chef side you had me, Reina Ruu, Sheera Ruu, Rimee Ruu, Toor Deen, Ama Min Rutim, and Morun Rutim. Then, guarding us were Ai Fa, Dan Rutim, and Deem Rutim, who was the only one of the group I was meeting for the first time.

“Why the serious face, Deem Rutim? It’s not like we’re going to cross blades with the nobles or anything. No need to be that on edge,” Dan Rutim advised the boy with a hearty grin.

Deem Rutim did seem to be kinda stiff as his eyes constantly scanned the area around us.

“But we’re still dealing with nobles here, and it’s impossible to know what they’re thinking, isn’t it? So don’t we need to be ready for anything and everything?”

“Yes, and that’s exactly why you won’t last if you stay so tense. You just need to be prepared to handle anything that may occur while acting normally.”

“Right,” Deem Rutim nodded back, but sure enough, he still wore a stiff expression. The boy was just thirteen, and had a small build too. He was slimmer than even Ludo Ruu, and had a pretty childish face.

From what I heard, two months back he had several ribs broken by a charging giba. Half a month ago, he was finally able to move again properly, and currently he was in the middle of training to regain his strength as a hunter.

As for Dan Rutim, even though he was full of energy, he still had to rely on a cane. Thinking about it like that, Dan Rutim’s dislocated ankle and injured muscles might have been a more serious injury than Deem Rutim’s broken ribs.

“Apologies for the wait. We have arrived at the Turan manor.”

Half an hour later, the door at the rear of the carriage swung open. This was my fifth time now, so I was used to the sight of the huge brick building.

Just like half a month ago, Chiffon Chel was the one to greet us, saying, “Welcome to the Turan manor... Allow me to first guide you to the bathhouse.”

After the seven of us chefs and Ai Fa (who was dragged in by Rimee Ruu) cleansed ourselves, we moved to the kitchen.

There were two guards standing in front of the kitchen again today. Since she had cleaned herself too, Ai Fa ended up tasked with guarding us inside the kitchen. Meanwhile, Dan and Deem Rutim remained outside along with the guards.

As soon as the guards opened the door, we were awash in heat and the aroma of herbs.

“Has Varkas’s group already started cooking?”

“Yes... Sir Varkas has been in the kitchen since the break of dawn...”

Apparently, Varkas intended to spend nearly the whole day preparing his dishes. Bracing my nerves, I stepped into the kitchen, where I found the man himself and two assistants working away busily at the far end.

So there are only three of them, huh? That certainly would take time, yeah.

After setting our luggage down atop the closest workstation, we went over to greet them.

“Sorry for bothering you when you’re so busy, but I look forward to working together today, Varkas.”

Only Varkas’s eyes moved to glance up at me as he focused on a boiling pot. Sure enough, he was wearing the same long-sleeved white outfit and a mask with holes for his eyes, nose, and mouth again today.

Astoundingly, his two assistants were dressed up in identical costumes. But one of them was small like Reina Ruu, while the other was tall like someone from Sym, so there was no mistaking them for Varkas.

“I look forward to working with you as well, Sir Asuta. You seem to have brought along quite the crowd...”

“Yeah, and it’s just the three of you on your end?”

“No, there is one more manning the flames in the smoking room. Tatumai, what time is it?”

“It will be half past the hour shortly,” the tall masked figure answered in a strangely hoarse voice.

“Then I will also head to the smoking room. Shilly Rou, you man the flames here.”

At that, the small masked figure silently moved our way. From how slender they appeared, I got the impression they might be a woman.

“My apologies, but I’ll be stepping away. Sir Asuta, will you be using that work station?”

“Yes, that’s the plan.”

“Very well then. I also believed it best that we cook as far from one another as possible so that the aromas will not interfere with one another,” Varkas stated rather curtly before swiftly departing. Still, he seemed to be working away quite intently.

The rest of us offered a bow to his helpers, Tatumai and Shilly Rou, before we returned to our own workstation.

“Well then, how about we hurry up and get started too? First up is securing our ingredients.”

Since we had told them in advance what we would need, everything was assembled in the pantry. After picking out the freshest-looking vegetables from the lot, the seven of us carried everything out.

Once all the ingredients were gathered, the first task was cutting the vegetables. Naturally, we had hammered out a solid step-by-step plan for this over the course of the last few days.

“I heard about them before, but what truly odd appearances they have. It’s a bit eerie, not knowing what someone’s face looks like,” Ama Min Rutim whispered while slicing up aria. Though this was her first time in the castle town, she didn’t seem at all intimidated.

“But that guy is an incredibly skilled chef, right? They say it’s hard to decide whether or not his cooking tastes good, but it all sounds really interesting to me,” Morun Rutim added from my other side as she skinned chatchi, her eyes sparkling. She and Rimee Ruu had gotten all excited in the totos carriage, but now she was just smiling as she worked, with her usual cheer.

If I had to say, it was Reina Ruu and Toor Deen, who had already been shaken up by Varkas’s cooking, who were looking the most tense. Meanwhile, Rimee Ruu and the two Rutim women were innocently humming along as they moved on to chopping up nenon.

The combination of deadly seriousness from Reina and Sheera Ruu and everyone else seeming so relaxed was very reassuring for me. Satisfied with what I was seeing from them, I kept on working as usual while trying to maintain an appropriate level of focus.

They sure seem to be making a real strange dish over there.

Varkas’s small assistant, Shilly Rou, was stirring the pot entrusted to them, occasionally adding some firewood to the stove. And the tall one, Tatumai, just kept on cutting up vegetables atop the work station. Since Varkas had gone to the smoking room, it must’ve been to check on something being smoked inside, right? Or was he using the flames to do something else? I couldn’t help but look forward to the moment I would get to taste their dishes.

Roughly an hour after we started working, when it was about time to light the stoves, a knock from outside the kitchen interrupted us.

“Asuta, there’s a girl here who wants to talk to you! Says you know her! If you’ve got the time for it, then go ahead and pop your head out here!” Dan Rutim shouted through the thick door, rather than one of the guards. I entrusted the prep work for the stoves to Sheera Ruu, then headed over to the door with Ai Fa.

“Hey, Asuta! Sorry for bothering you when you’re busy.”

“Oh, Diel? What are you doing here?”

Diel was the daughter of a metalwork trader from Jagar. Similarly to the other times we’d met in this manor, she had on a nice blue dress and wore accessories in her short hair. And as always, Labis was standing there in wait behind here.

“Eh heh heh, you see, I’ll actually be attending tonight’s dinner party too. Which is to say, I asked the second son of the house of Daleim to get me in!”

“Ah, so that’s how you did it? I haven’t seen Polarth for the past ten days, so I had no idea.”

“Yeah. I mean, not only is this a chance to eat your cooking, I’ll even get to make connections with the nobles of Banarm, so there’s no way I could let this chance slip by me. And since I managed to get invited, I wanted to drop in and say hi,” Diel said with a totally carefree grin. With the dress she was wearing and her hair pulled to the side by her accessories to show a bit of her forehead, she looked more girly than usual.

“So you’re plotting to strike up business dealings with the folks from Banarm too? But don’t you have trouble handling nobles?” I asked, making sure to whisper the back half there.

Diel came in close too so the guards didn’t overhear. “More than that, I flat out hate them. But work is work and I’ve got to see it through, or I don’t know what I’ll tell my dad later.”

“I see. Well, good luck. And I’d love to hear your impressions of the food afterward too.”

“Of course. I’m looking forward to it,” Diel said with a grin, poking me in the chest.

Then, her gaze turned toward Ai Fa, who was standing next to me.

“Ah, you do know I didn’t hit him just now, right? So don’t shoot me that scary glare of yours.”

“I can tell that much just by looking...” Ai Fa briefly replied before glaring my way too out of the corner of her eye. She was even stricter than most when it came to the custom of the forest’s edge that said men and women who weren’t family weren’t supposed to touch one another.

“You’re quite the energetic girl, aren’t you? What were you again, the daughter of some noble or something from Jagar?” Dan Rutim interjected.

Diel turned his way and smiled. “I’m no one all that important. I’m the daughter of Grannar, a metalwork trader from Jagar, and my name is Diel. And you, big guy, are a hunter of the forest’s edge, right?”

“Indeed. I am in fact a person of the forest’s edge, and the former head of the main Rutim house, Dan Rutim. I had heard that folks from Jagar avoided our people just as much as the townsfolk.”

“Ah, I can’t say I had all that great of an impression of the people of the forest’s edge either before I met Asuta. But it’s been eighty years now since you all left Jagar, so when you think about it, what’s the point of making a fuss over something like that now.”

“I see. Well, I really ran my mouth about Asuta’s cooking before I tried it, so I guess I’m not all that different.”

It was a strange feeling, seeing this pair I was so well acquainted with having such a casual conversation. But they both had such bright and open personalities that they seemed to get along surprisingly well.

“By the way, what are you doing here so early, Diel? It’s still only around the second hour, isn’t it?”

“Ah, well, yeah... I figured I’d say hello to Lefreya too,” Diel replied, awkwardly scratching the tip of her little nose. “I was able to apologize to you, so it just makes sense for me to apologize to her too, right? Like you said before, I tried to help you in some ways... But in the end I was too indecisive, and that wasn’t fair to either of you.”

“You’re still worrying about that? You’re surprisingly lacking in nerve, aren’t you?” Ai Fa questioned, her expression more or less back to normal. “You simply provided aid to help indict a criminal. It would be one thing to feel shame at turning a blind eye to a crime, but I cannot understand wanting to offer a criminal an apology.”

“Oh, shut it. I’ve got all sorts of stuff to deal with on my end too, you know.”

Diel had said before that she couldn’t really bring herself to hate Lefreya. And since she had ended up having to deceive the noble girl on the night I was saved, she probably still had some feelings to work through about what happened.

“Well, whatever. I’ll be seeing her on my own, so let’s just drop it. And Asuta, I’m looking forward to the banquet!”

“Right, I appreciate it.”

Diel and Labis then departed along with Chiffon Chel, who was guiding them.

As we watched them leave, Dan Rutim stroked his chin and said, “Hmm... I know it’s a little late to be saying it now, but it’s really something how such a pretty young girl doesn’t show any fear toward us hunters of the forest’s edge.”

“You think so? Well, she’s spent a lot of time around Ai Fa and Ludo Ruu.”

“I see. It’s been years since I last talked to anyone from town, so it felt really fresh to me. No matter how much I may have heard from the women about how things had changed, it just didn’t feel real to me till now.”

The hunters of the forest’s edge tried to head into town as little as possible, to avoid scaring the townsfolk unnecessarily, so though Ludo Ruu and the others had made frequent trips to guard us, Dan Rutim hadn’t had a chance to join in since the meeting with Cyclaeus.

Thanks to that, most of the men are like him, and have only ever heard how things are in the post town second hand. That may make it tougher to really reach a point of mutual understanding. That was a concern that had been lingering around in my head for a good long while now.

Still, this was no time to be worrying about stuff like that, so after Ai Fa and I said farewell to Dan Rutim, we headed back into the kitchen.

“You took a while, Asuta, so we went ahead and started on the soup dish because we couldn’t wait any longer.” It was Rimee Ruu rather than Sheera Ruu who was stirring the pot atop the stove as she said that.

I approached her with a smile. “Sorry about that. You took over for me, right? Did things with the stock go okay?”

“Yeah, since Reina and Sheera Ruu handled it.”

The veggies, mushrooms, and giba meat tossed into the pot were boiling away with the stock made from dried fish. If those two had handled it, then there wouldn’t be any problems on that front.

“Well then, while that’s boiling, I suppose we should get to work on the poitan dish. Rimee Ruu, Ama Min Rutim, could I ask you two to man the flames?”

When they energetically accepted the task, I shot them another smile before turning toward the workstation.

Today’s poitan dish required quite a bit of effort to make. Facing the poitan flour we brought, fuwano flour from the pantry, and a pile of kimyuus eggs, I went ahead and grabbed some measuring cups. After all, getting the proportions right was crucial.

“Your family got stuck eating the test dishes every single day, so what did people end up thinking about it at the Ruu house?”

“Well, impressions were split so heavily that it was almost funny. If I had to say, more of the men disliked it while the women tended to enjoy it,” Reina Ruu answered while cracking a kimyuus egg. “But Ludo seemed extremely taken with it, while my mom said she prefers ordinary baked poitan. Ah, and Sati Lea liked it a lot.”

“Sati Lea Ruu, huh? She really liked the okonomiyaki too, didn’t she?”

“Yes. I’m sure Sati Lea is fond of poitan in general. Aside from the gooey stuff you get when you boil it, of course,” Reina Ruu replied, showing her first smile of the day. “So for the past several days, we’ve been preparing normal baked poitan for dinner too. That dealt with any complaints we were hearing... Thinking about it like that, I’d say it was more that they were upset they couldn’t eat ordinary baked poitan rather than disliking the dish.”

“Ah, gotcha. Well, the dish does have a totally different feel to it than baked poitan.”

“That’s true. Oh, and Granny Jiba really enjoyed it too. It must be a lot better than baked poitan soaked in soup.”

That was good to hear. It was definitely true that it was a good bit softer than baked poitan, so with a bit of effort, it could serve as a dish well suited to Granny Jiba. And it seemed the stubborn men were displeased when they thought the dish was a replacement for baked poitan, but that disappeared once it was treated as a separate dish. Even though baked poitan was only introduced to the forest’s edge a few months ago, it had seemingly become an indispensable part of their cuisine.

“At any rate, it seems worth having put in the effort to develop it. At some point, I’d like to unveil it in the post town too.”

“Right. It could turn out to be as surprising to folks as giba curry. At the very least, it definitely surprised me.”

As we had that exchange, we steadily progressed on our prep work. And the same seemed true of Varkas’s camp too. However, in the end it seemed his assistants really were just that—assistants, and nothing more. Varkas appeared to be guiding their every action, and that meant he was moving about the kitchen several times more than they were. Plus, that third assistant had never returned from the smoking room. And Varkas appeared to be making frequent trips there too.

Then, roughly four hours after we had started working, there was another knock on the kitchen door. When I went over there in response to Dan Rutim’s summons, I found Polarth and Arishuna waiting for me.

“I see you’re working hard there, Sir Asuta. Is your cooking going smoothly?”

“Yes. We haven’t run into any real issues as of yet, so we intend to wrap everything up by the time that was agreed on.”

“I see, I see. That’s good to hear... However, a problem has arisen on our end. It seems our guests from Banarm will be arriving rather late.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Indeed. From what I’ve been told, they lost several totos when they were attacked by a swarm of poisonous insects along the way. Though the humans were unharmed, they were unable to pull their carriages due to a shortage of draft animals.”

So such accidents could occur even on a short two-day trip by totos, huh? That was something I couldn’t overlook, considering we were planning a trip to Dabagg.

“Well, they tried to prepare for such an eventuality, but they were truly unfortunate. That kind of poisonous insect rarely ever appears during the day... Regardless, in the end, a number of their attendants had to turn back to the previous town to procure totos, so they lost nearly half a day. Initially, they had been scheduled to arrive today around when the sun hit its peak, but now they should make it just around sunset.”

“I see. That certainly sounds rough.”

“Indeed. So in order to allow them time to change out of their traveling clothes, we would like to hold the banquet an hour after sunset. My apologies for the sudden shift, but we only just received word via a messenger ourselves.”

“I don’t mind at all. But you can’t use a sundial once the sun has set, right? So how should I measure the passage of an hour?”

“Hmm? Ah yes, you’ve only had sundials to work with, haven’t you? At times like this, you use an hourglass. I would imagine Sir Varkas should have one prepared for his cooking.”

Now that he mentioned it, I had spied a variety of unfamiliar devices atop his work station. If hourglasses existed, then I would definitely want to purchase one to use as a kitchen timer.

“And my apologies, but could you inform Sir Varkas of this matter as well? From what I hear, he gets incredibly angry when you summon him from the kitchen while he is cooking.”

“Understood. I’ll let him know.”

“Oh, and there is something Lady Arishuna wishes to tell you as well.”

My gaze shifted over to Polarth’s side. Arishuna’s face soon came into view as she slowly removed her hood.

“It’s been some time. So, you have some business with me?”

Arishuna looked straight at my face with those eyes I couldn’t read any emotion from. It seemed she really was a bit shorter than me, maybe around the same height as Ai Fa.

“I wish, to apologize...”

“Apologize? You mean to me?”

“Yes... I spoke of your star, without you asking. That was, careless of me.” As she spoke, Arishuna’s face remained perfectly expressionless. And I couldn’t pick up any emotion from her low, clear voice either. “My grandfather was banished, from Sym for reading, his sovereign’s star. It can be frightening, to know one’s fate... I did not read, your star, but I spoke, on how you were, truly unique. I believe I acted, quite carelessly.”

“Ah, that’s what you meant. Please, don’t worry about it... I was a bit surprised, but I’m not upset at you or anything,” I replied in as bright of a tone as I could manage, considering Ai Fa was standing there next to me.

However, Arishuna remained just as expressionless as always.

“You do not, hate me?”

“Hate you? Of course not! I’m more impressed than anything at how incredible your ability to read stars really is.”

“So you will not blame me, even though you were, so hurt...?” Arishuna questioned, casting her gaze downward while still remaining expressionless. “I caused you, unnecessary suffering, through my carelessness. For that, I apologize to you, from the depths of my heart.”

“L-Like I said, please, don’t worry about it. I really am fine.”

“Well, I suppose Lady Arishuna cannot help but be concerned about it, considering the incident with her grandfather. It is fortunate that you are such a magnanimous fellow, Sir Asuta,” Polarth interjected as if to mediate. “Still, I keep my distance from oracles and the like, myself. My apologies, but I have no interest in having someone else decipher my future. I believe it would be best if you only displayed that skill of yours for those who seek it out, Lady Arishuna.”

“Yes. I deeply regret, my actions.”

“Then that should reconcile matters! Ahh, as the one who brought you two together, I’m truly glad this didn’t end up as a serious incident.” Polarth sighed with a smile, his gaze suddenly shifting sideways. My eyes followed his, and found that Dan Rutim had been watching over our exchange with a look of great interest.

“Ahem, do you have some sort of business with me, O guest from the forest’s edge?”

“No, I was just impressed at how friendly you seemed to be, for a noble. You are a noble, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am the second son of the house of Daleim, Polarth.”

“Ah, so you’re Polarth?! Then you’re that noble who played a big part in rescuing Asuta!” Dan Rutim loudly exclaimed with a broad grin. “I’m the previous head of the main Rutim house, Dan Rutim. Asuta is an irreplaceable friend of mine, so I was thinking I really needed to offer my gratitude to you at some point, Polarth!”

“I’m grateful to hear it. But it is the fault of all the nobles of Genos that the previous head of the house of Turan was allowed to act as he pleased. I am not worthy of your gratitude.”

Now it was a chance meeting between Dan Rutim and Polarth.

Though they both had plump builds, one of them was one of the foremost hunters of the forest’s edge, while the other was a noble of Genos. I couldn’t really see any common traits between them aside from their bellies jutting out.

Still, the sight of the two of them earnestly smiling at one another was definitely soothing just to look at, somehow. Well, I didn’t know how it would be for other people, but it at least felt that way to me.

“Um...could I have a moment of your time?” a new voice interjected. Turning to look, I saw Reina Ruu timidly peeking out through the gap in the door. “I’m terribly sorry for interrupting your conversation. I’m the second daughter of the main Ruu house, Reina Ruu...”

“Ah, so you are Reina Ruu? Sir Leeheim of the house of Saturas truly acted with terrible discourtesy toward you the other day.”

It had been half a month now since Leeheim trying to give Reina Ruu an expensive necklace had led to a bit of an argument. The ones to smooth that over were none other than Marstein and Melfried of the ducal house of Genos and Polarth himself.

Reina Ruu now stood there with both hands joined together in front of her and her head deeply bowed. “But I was short-tempered, and I’m truly sorry for that fact. I’m incredibly grateful for how you helped protect the bond between the nobles and we people of the forest’s edge.”

“Ah, no, it was Sir Leeheim who was lacking in prudence. I believe that we informed Sir Donda Ruu of our conclusion on the matter as well.”

“Right... But even so, that doesn’t change the fact that I let my temper get the better of me... Is that Leeheim man here today?”

“Yes, he was invited to participate.”

“In that case, would it be possible that I could have a chance to apologize to him after the banquet?” Reina Ruu asked with a serious look on her face.

However, Polarth tilted his head and replied, “Hmm, so that’s what you were getting at...? Yes, I understand your intentions. However, it was determined that Sir Leeheim was entirely the one at fault. There is no need for you to apologize.”

“But if I were to do so, wouldn’t it at least somewhat soothe his feelings?”

“I don’t believe so,” Polarth said with a somewhat strained smile. “If such an apology were to go poorly, Sir Leeheim could start making a commotion and say that he wasn’t truly in the wrong. After all, he has a tendency to act overbearing if you are not careful in how you handle him.”

“So if I apologize, it could cause more unnecessary trouble?”

“Yes, that’s precisely it! After receiving lectures from every direction, I am certain he must be itching to vent his frustration. If you were to then go and bow your head to him, there is a real risk he would insist that he was entirely in the right.”

That certainly sounded like quite the immature reaction.

When Reina Ruu replied, “Right...” I couldn’t quite make out the expression on her face.

“And, well, that’s why I believe that the smoothest way to settle things will be for you and Sir Leeheim to not see one another. No matter what attitude you may take, he could easily react badly.”

“All right... I understand, and will abide by your advice,” Reina Ruu said with another bow of her head. “I want to try my hardest not to let my temper get the better of me in the future, so I beg your forgiveness. And my apologies for interrupting you in the middle of such an important conversation...”

“No, think nothing of it. And give my regards to Sir Donda Ruu.”

After Reina Ruu disappeared behind the door, Polarth gave an exasperated sigh.

Looking down at the man, Dan Rutim rubbed his shiny head. “Hmm, I suppose there really are all sorts of nobles too. It’s probably best that I keep away from anyone with a character like that.”

“That’s true. The thought of him angering the hunters of the forest’s edge is enough to cause me to shudder,” Polarth replied, and then he turned my way and exclaimed, “Well then! I suppose we shall go ahead and take our leave... Ah yes, and I heard from Yang about that dish using all the herbs! When I accompany Lady Arishuna into the post town again in the future, can I count on you to let us try it out then?”

“No problem. And I’ll be counting on you too.”

With that, Polarth departed along with Arishuna, who had pulled her hood back up. With a sigh, I turned to face Ai Fa.

“So that’s the star reader...” my clan head stated as she watched them disappear through half-closed eyes with a piercing glare. “It’s not that I think she is an especially bad person or anything like that...but I simply cannot see any meaning or value in star reading.”

“Oh, right, now that I think about it, that one comrade of Shumiral’s said something about you falling under the cat star. Well, I figure when it comes to fortunes, there’s no issue with just listening to whatever’s convenient to you.”

“Hmph. Fate is something to be carved out through your own strength,” Ai Fa grumbled, only for Dan Rutim to break out in a hearty chuckle.

“It can be hard to read the emotions of folks from the east, but that girl seemed to be apologizing from the bottom of her heart, don’t you think? I don’t know what she said, but why not just go ahead and forgive her?”

“Quite. I had no intention of laying any blame on her from the start.”

Somehow, it really made me happy to hear Dan Rutim say that. Somehow, I felt that there were similarities between the people of the forest’s edge and both the jovial folks from Jagar and the untalkative citizens of Sym, so I generally had a favorable impression of both of them. And even if we had an unusual first meeting, Arishuna was no exception.

“I figured just standing in front of a door would make for a boring job, but I’ve gotten to see some pretty interesting stuff today. It seems that beyond the forest’s edge there are all sorts of things unfolding that are worth taking a look at.”

“I’d say so, yeah. Every day of work for me has been really enjoyable.”

“Right! Now that I’ve handed over my position of clan head, I figure maybe I should help the women with their shopping and so on while I’m on break.”

I couldn’t help but feel that this was a wonderful change in mindset on his part. After all, up until now, Ludo Ruu was pretty much the only man I ever heard express interest in the post town. And I could definitely see a cheerful and earnest guy like Dan Rutim serving as a bridge between town and the forest’s edge.

While I was thinking about that, I returned again to the kitchen, just in time for Varkas to step out of the door to the smoking room.

“Ah, Varkas, could I have a moment of your time?”

When I delivered Polarth’s message, the older chef replied, “I see,” in a muffled voice, and his green eyes narrowed. “But if the banquet will be held an hour after sunset, that means it will be rather late when we finally finish. In which case, shall we finish our own meals first? With that much time to spare, it should be possible to sample one another’s dishes as well.”

“Ah, that sounds good. It would be pretty rough, having to watch over all the guests while our own stomachs are empty.”

“Then that is what we will do.”

With those brief parting words, Varkas swiftly got back to cooking. But that final look I saw in his eyes... Well, it was hard to say for certain because of the mask, but it looked to me like he was excitedly smiling.

Was Varkas looking forward to trying my cooking too? For me, I was as excited, if not more so, to hear his impressions of my food as I was to hear the thoughts of the guests.

And so, despite those minor interruptions, our work progressed smoothly.