Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 17 - Chapter 1.5

Intermission: Roaring Business

I thought that night would never come to an end, but eventually it did, bringing us to the dawn of a new day.

My thoughts had been filled with nothing but Ai Fa both before and after I fell asleep, so I felt like my mind and body had no time to rest. My emotions had been stirred up far too much... No, actually I was even more out of sorts than that, as if wild passions were racing around inside of me with nowhere to go.

Nothing had been resolved. Looking at it objectively, it probably seemed as if no progress had been made at all. But we had both learned how the other felt, that we wanted to marry one another. That if the circumstances simply allowed, we would do so in a heartbeat.

Still, Ai Fa sure was looking at things from more of a masculine point of view... It really was like her to think that if I were a woman, she’d want to marry me. I loved that side of her too.

But the end result was that I was left unable to look Ai Fa in the eyes the following morning. Since I was in such a state, I wasn’t able to tell exactly how she was doing. We just carried out our morning work as usual in silence, burying ourselves in our everyday routines.

No matter what we were feeling, the world around us kept on turning the same as always. We needed to grapple with our feelings while living our normal lives. But even so, there was something I felt the need to ask Ai Fa before we separated.

“So should I keep asking Yun Sudra to help with work like I have up till now?” I asked while we were picking pico leaves on the outskirts of the forest.

With her back to me, Ai Fa calmly replied, “As long as the Sudra clan head wishes to keep things that way, then I see no issue. It isn’t as if you received an official marriage request, so there is no reason to drive Yun Sudra away.”

“I see. If that’s what the customs at the forest’s edge say, then I’ll go along with them...but is it really okay?”

“It isn’t a matter of it being okay or not. If the Sudra clan head issues a marriage request, then I shall reply as the head of the Fa. That is the only path forward.”

I really wanted to ask how she would respond in that case. But in the end, I didn’t actually raise the question. I had already told Ai Fa how I felt, and heard her feelings in turn, so regardless of what answer she might provide, I just had to follow my heart.

With both of us holding all sorts of feelings inside, we returned to our everyday lives.

With my mind still pretty well occupied, I set about handling my business in the post town.

By this point, we were heading into our thirteenth cycle of business. In terms of the dates, it stretched from the twelfth of the indigo month to the twenty-first. If we could make it through the next ten days without issue, we would finally be able to set off for Dabagg.

Those ten days, though, ended up being especially busy. Sure, it was a good thing that business was thriving, but somehow it seemed like we got even more unusual visitors than we normally did.

The first surprising customer came before the sun hit its peak on day one of that business period.

“You look like you’re doing well, Asuta.”

The man had on a long traveler’s cloak, under which he wore leather armor and cloth attire. He had both a rugged, bearded face and a large frame, and was a bodyguard who had helped us out big-time in the past. Which is to say, it was Zasshuma.

“Ah, Zasshuma. It’s been a while. When did you make it back to Genos?”

“Two days ago. I was actually charged with guarding the envoys from Banarm.”

Two months back, after that whole commotion with Cyclaeus was settled, he had left to escort Welhide to Banarm alongside Kamyua Yoshu.

“After that, I used Banarm as a base and earned some coins here and there. When the ducal house of Banarm was recruiting bodyguards for the envoy group, I volunteered, figuring I’d check out how Genos was doing.”

“Oh, I see. I’m glad to see you looking well too.”

“Yep. At the very least, my days weren’t as hectic as they were for you all, I’d say,” Zasshuma said with a grin as he looked out over the crowd around the stalls. “From what I can see, seems like you’ve got a lot more customers from the west than you used to. Guess that’s the result of you putting your life on the line to stand up against the nobles.”

“Yeah. I figure it’s given us a chance to forge a better relationship with the people of Genos... Now that I think about it, what’s Kamyua up to? Has he been in contact with you at all?”

“Nah. I haven’t heard from him since he left Banarm, saying he might head for Aboof or wherever for the first time in a while. But, well, as long as he’s still alive and kicking I’m sure he’ll show his face in Genos again at some point,” Zasshuma said, and then he gestured with his finger for me to come in closer. “By the way, I heard from Lord Polarth that you’re planning a trip to Dabagg, right?”

“Ah, yes. We’ve never seen live karon before, so we’re heading there to broaden our knowledge a bit.”

“That’s some admirable spirit there. If you want some good booze with your karon, there’s no better place to be than Dabagg,” he said, seeming like he was somehow enjoying himself, and then he brought his face in even closer. “With that in mind, do you have any interest in hiring me as a guide?”

“A guide? But don’t you specialize in combat?”

“You can leave all that to the hunters from the forest’s edge. But, well, it’s just half a day from Genos to Dabagg, and there aren’t any bandit groups with hideouts in the area, so I can’t imagine anything happening that would require drawing a sword.”

“In that case, I see even less purpose in hiring you.”

“That’s why I’m saying to hire me as a guide, not a bodyguard. I’d need to charge a standard rate as a bodyguard, but it shouldn’t hurt your wallets much to have me along to guide you.”

Just like Kamyua Yoshu, Zasshuma was an official bodyguard recognized by the western kingdom. Unlike unlicensed bodyguards, he wouldn’t ever betray his clients and possessed great skill. It was said that only well-off merchants and nobles would ever be able to hire official bodyguards.

“I mean, yes, I’ve heard that guides are essential when heading to unfamiliar lands...but why are you going out of your way to bring it up like this?”

“Well you see, I was born in Dabagg. Without work as an excuse, I’m pretty much never able to head back home.”

“Ah, you’re from there...? Now that I think back on it, Melfried used to present himself as Haan of Dabagg, didn’t he?”

“Ooh, you’ve got quite the memory. Yeah, he was falsely borrowing my background there.”

Melfried had once taken up an alias and pretended to be a bodyguard for a supposed merchant group led by Zasshuma. That whole incident certainly felt nostalgic to think back on now.

“My family runs a karon farm too. Of course, I cast them aside and went off on my own, so my old man still won’t talk to me. But, well, my mom should be fairly welcoming.”

“That sounds like a pretty charming story, somehow...”

“Quiet, you,” Zasshuma shot back, looking embarrassed.

“All right, understood. We already asked a man named Mikel of Turan to guide us, so I’ll have to consult with him.”

“Right, thanks. And I don’t mind if you just pay me the market rate,” Zasshuma said before walking off south, rather than toward the castle town.

◇

The next unusual guest came several days later, once again a bit before the sun hit its peak.

A splendid totos-drawn box carriage approached from the castle town, parking at the entrance to the street. I had thought it was Polarth stopping by for the first time in a while, but the crest belonged to the house of Genos rather than the house of Daleim, and it was Welhide from Banarm who appeared from inside.

“You have my gratitude for the wonderful meal the other day, Sir Asuta. Thanks to your performance, I was able to open the eyes of my stubborn comrades.”

The young noble, slightly older than me, had black hair, pale skin, and an air of elegance. He was dressed more plainly than he had been at the banquet, but even so, he drew more attention than even Polarth with his deep-crimson silken attire and the fact that he brought several imposing ducal guards along with him. The townsfolk, who still weren’t used to seeing nobles, greeted him with quiet stares as they tugged on one another’s sleeves.

“My apologies for causing a commotion while you are conducting business. There is a matter I wish to discuss, so would it be at all possible for you to make the time to hear me out?”

“Sure. If it’s something within my power, then I’d be glad to help.”

“I am grateful to hear it. Then, could I trouble you to accompany me over to the carriage?”

After thinking it over for a moment, I decided to ask Vina Ruu to accompany me. I figured if I had a noble making a request, it made sense to have a member of the leading Ruu clan there to hear the exchange.

“This is what I wished to discuss.”

Two attendants were waiting inside the carriage with a large cloth bag and a wooden box, which they reverently handed over. In the bag was a fine dark-gray powder I didn’t recognize, while the box contained six white containers of two different types, three of each.

“This is fuwano, mamaria wine, and vinegar from Banarm. I would appreciate it if you could find a proper use for them, Sir Asuta.”

“Fuwano, fruit wine, and vinegar? Wouldn’t chefs from the castle town be better suited to using them properly?”

“That may be so in regards to the vinegar. However, it is becoming more common to use poitan rather than fuwano here in Genos, is it not? Though, that is not the case when it comes to the castle town.”

“Right. The folks in the castle town don’t like cheap ingredients, so I guess they’re not really taking to poitan.”

“But you were able to create such a delicious dish by mixing poitan and fuwano, Sir Asuta, so it occurred to me that you might be able to find a new use for fuwano from Banarm.”

I still didn’t really grasp what he was getting at, so I asked for more details, and found out that this fuwano was sold at a price that made it affordable even here in the post town. However, it was well known that poitan was becoming the mainstream choice among the people who lived here. Since it needed to still turn a profit after factoring in the cost of transporting it from Banarm, they had planned to sell their fuwano for a bit more than the local variety, but as things stood it seemed unlikely to be very popular.

“That being the case, the only option would be to sell it to the citizens of the castle town, but the fuwano from Genos and Banarm doesn’t taste all that different. I do not believe we will be able to reach our initial goal based on novelty alone.”

“I see... But is that really such a big problem for you? If it doesn’t seem like it will sell, then can’t you just lower your expectations for sales around here?”

“No, Duke Genos insisted that we should try to sell the amount we agreed on. He surely feels indebted due to my father’s death ten years ago, so he felt that he had to make the trade offer despite the disadvantageous conditions.”

But with the way things were working out, it left Welhide feeling awkward about the matter. After all, the young noble was a serious and passionate man.

“I understand. So, what about this fruit wine and vinegar? They cost enough that they could only be sold in the castle town, right?”

“Yes, this is ultimately just in addition to the fuwano. Since you use fruit wine in your cooking, I figured you might be able to find a new use for them as well.”

Now that I thought about it, Mikel had said there was no custom of using fruit wine as a cooking ingredient here in Genos. I got the feeling that even Varkas just used it to soften up meat. The only exception I could think of was how Timalo had used it to flavor his dessert.

“I’ll go ahead and give it a taste.”

Picking up the containers from the box, I went ahead and confirmed the contents. But when I did, I was taken more than a little off guard. The fruit wine and vinegar you could get ahold of in Genos tasted similar to red wine and balsamic vinegar respectively, but these were closer to white wine and wine vinegar.

“Ah, I think I could use these in cooking right away if I needed to.” Red and white wine could be considered different sorts of ingredients entirely. And this sort of vinegar would likely be closer to the ideal as an ingredient for mayonnaise and the like. “I’ll go ahead and take them back to the forest’s edge to try a couple things with them. But we’re set to leave Genos in a few days, so I’m not sure how much time I’ll be able to spend on them before that...”

“That is no concern. I realize I am the one asking an unreasonable favor here, after all,” Welhide nodded, looking dead serious. “And there is one other entirely unrelated matter I would like to discuss.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“Has Sir Leeheim caused you all any further trouble?” Welhide asked, the look in his eyes growing even more serious. “Ever since he was turned down by that woman of the forest’s edge, his attitude seems to have abruptly changed. It really is inexcusable for a noble to act in such a way, as we are supposed to lead our people.”

“Ah, that. There haven’t been any issues on our end. I believe Duke Genos put a stop to him trying to cause the people of the forest’s edge any trouble.”

“Though I am not in a position to opine about how Genos is governed, if such a thing were to happen in Banarm, I would not be able to bring myself to remain silent. When one is born as a noble, self discipline is crucial above all else... It is absolutely unacceptable to fall for someone of a different social standing,” Welhide said with a bit of a pained sigh. “Well then, please excuse me. I shall make arrangements so that I can pay you appropriately, Sir Asuta.”

“All right. I’ll try my best to live up to your expectations.”

Welhide got back in the totos-drawn carriage and disappeared to the north. After he was gone, Vina Ruu turned my way while holding the wooden box and said, “Hey... Is that perhaps one of the nobles who fell for Reina?”

“Huh? How do you know about that, Vina Ruu?”

“Ludo and Rau Lea were discussing it. They seemed to be rather excited... Naturally, Reina was terribly troubled over what happened...”

I felt bad for Reina Ruu, but it seemed things had reached a point where it couldn’t be considered private anymore. Vina Ruu was one thing, but if Donda Ruu didn’t know about it, that could definitely lead to trouble down the line.

“And it wasn’t just nobles. There was also that young chef who...” Vina Ruu started to say, but then she suddenly stopped.

Following her gaze, I saw a figure hiding his face under the hood of a cloak approaching from the same direction where the carriage had left.

“Ah, is that you, Roy?”

“Yeah, it’s been a while.”

Speak of the devil, it was the young chef from the castle town, Roy. He hadn’t shown himself at all since the time he tasted Myme’s cooking a month ago. He was looking rather worn out, plus he seemed to have an even more serious look in his eyes than before.

“I was a bit worried since I hadn’t heard from you at all. Were you unwell or something?”

“I wasn’t having any issues with my health, no. I’ve just been spending all my time in the kitchen lately,” Roy murmured as he scanned us and the load Vina Ruu was carrying with his eyes. “That was a carriage from the house of Genos earlier, wasn’t it? Do you have some sort of new achievement to your name again?”

“No, this is fuwano, fruit wine, and vinegar from Banarm. I was asked to think up new ways to use these ingredients.”

“Hmph, sounds like a good deal.”

Roy’s expression was hidden under his hood. He went ahead and moved over toward the stalls. Once we got everything stored away we came back over ourselves, just in time to see Reina Ruu handing Roy a giba burger.

After moving aside for the next customer, Roy took a bite of the giba burger and gave a deep sigh.

“Hey, this dish was prepared by you women of the forest’s edge, not Asuta, right?”

As Reina Ruu prepared a fresh giba burger, she turned and shot him a quizzical look.

“Yes. It was originally Asuta’s dish, but now we make them.”

“Didn’t your people not even know you needed to bloodlet meat not so long ago? So how is it that you’re able to prepare such a high-quality dish?”

In the past, Roy seemed to have difficulty acting normally toward Reina Ruu, but today he was talking to her just fine. Actually, it was possible he wasn’t even able to recognize who he was talking to.

“I don’t really know how to answer that, but, well...Asuta’s cooking left a deep impression on us, so we ended up with a strong desire to make delicious food.”

“But just because you really wish for something, doesn’t mean it will come true.”

“Yes. But I believe that if you wish for it and strive hard, it’s a lot more likely that you’ll see it through,” Reina Ruu calmly responded while handing over a completed giba burger to a customer from Jagar. “You’re a chef from the castle town, correct?”

“Yeah. What does that matter?”

“Then are you also aiming to make dishes like that chef Varkas?”

Roy stared back at Reina Ruu in astonishment. “Hold on. How exactly do you know Varkas’s name?”

“Just recently...” Reina Ruu started to reply, only to be interrupted by a customer from Sym holding out coins for her. Seemingly no longer able to just keep watching, Vina Ruu approached from the myamuu giba stall she had been manning alongside Tsuvai.

“Reina...if you want to talk, shall I trade places with you? Ama Min Rutim should be here soon enough...”

“Okay,” Reina Ruu nodded back, then finished up what she was doing before stepping away from the stall along with Roy.

After receiving a look from Vina Ruu, I once again left the stall myself.

“On the tenth of the indigo month, we manned a kitchen alongside Varkas in the castle town. I assume you hadn’t heard about that,” Reina Ruu explained in the grove located a short distance away from the stalls. I went ahead and also added the details regarding the envoys from Banarm.

“I see. Something that interesting was happening in the world outside my home, huh? Well, unlike Timalo, Varkas would never invite someone like me,” Roy stated in a self-deprecating tone.

Meanwhile, Reina Ruu was staring at the side of his face, taking note of how his cheeks had really thinned out.

“Well then, allow me to ask once again... Do you wish to make dishes like that chef Varkas?”

“Varkas’s cooking, huh? Right. Matching him is the only goal imaginable for anyone who calls themselves a chef in the castle town. No other chef can use such a great many ingredients as freely as he can,” Roy replied, flicking back his hood and rustling his ungroomed dark-brown hair. “But for me...the most delicious cooking I ever had was made by Mikel at The Maiden in White.”

“Ah right, you worked in the same restaurant as Mikel.”

“Yeah. He couldn’t use as many different ingredients as Varkas and The Maiden in White was just a tiny little shop compared to Varkas’s restaurant or the Turan manor... But for me, I always found his cooking the greatest.”

“So that’s why you haven’t shown yourself since eating that Myme girl’s cooking? It must have been quite a shock tasting cooking like Mikel’s, when you thought you would never experience it again,” Reina Ruu said. Roy shot her a blazing glare, but the second Ruu daughter just calmly met his gaze. “Wouldn’t it be wise to ask Mikel to teach you, then? Though he cannot use one of his arms properly, he’s still been able to instruct his own daughter on how to cook.”

“What would be the point? That little girl already inherited Mikel’s techniques. Even if he took someone like me as a student...I still couldn’t become Mikel.”

“There’s no need for you to become him. Just like I won’t ever be Asuta. But can you really overcome Mikel without knowing his techniques?”

Roy just stood there, looking completely overwhelmed.

But even now as she stood there facing him, Reina Ruu’s face remained perfectly calm. “That Myme girl may start selling her cooking at a stall soon. If that happens, you’ll be able to taste Mikel’s cooking again... Only your heart can tell you just what you might gain from that.”

Roy fell silent for a bit, offering no response. And after that, he turned around without saying a word.

As she watched him walk away, Reina Ruu breathed a sigh. “He and I don’t have any kind of connection, yet I still tried to give him advice he didn’t ask for. Just what was I thinking?”

“You surprised me. What exactly made you want to say something like that to Roy?”

“So that chef’s name is Roy? We weren’t even close enough for me to remember his name,” Reina Ruu mused, placing her hand on her cheek as she contemplated. “Why was it, I wonder? I’ve also spent this past month fretting so much that at times it felt like more than I could bear... Perhaps I felt some overlap between my distress and his...”

“I can’t really say. But I’ve had plenty of worries myself.”

“Your position is totally different from ours, Asuta. You’re closer to Myme and Varkas, for one thing,” Reina Ruu said, suddenly breaking out in a smile. “Still, my heart feels a bit lighter after visiting the Daleim lands. It must be because I found something I can work on. I’m making a new dish along with Sheera Ruu now, so once it’s done I’d like to have you give it a taste.”

“Gladly. I look forward to the day it’s ready.”

◇

The following day, Yang also stopped by for the first time in a while.

“Lord Polarth told me how the welcome banquet went, Sir Asuta. I hear your skills were equally praised to those of Sir Varkas.”

“That’s an exaggeration. Personally, I’d say what happened was I learned how inexperienced I am and how amazing Varkas really is.”

“And yet half of those present judged you to be the superior chef, from what I was told. I could never hope to receive such praise,” Yang stated, his mouth stiffening up. “I feel as if I’ve gone back to being a chef in training, and it’s spurring me on to work even harder.”

After Yang left, Diel suddenly popped up.

“Man, it was really crazy after you left. We ended up chattering on and on about whose dishes were better! I couldn’t leave before the nobles, so by the end of it I felt like I would fall asleep on the spot.”

“Sounds like it was a real pain... So what were your impressions, Diel?”

“Hmm. I couldn’t really tell which one of you was more skilled...but I don’t really like herbs all that much, so for my personal tastes your dishes were way better!”

“Thanks, I’m glad to hear it.”

“Sure! Still, I couldn’t help but notice that both of you made really western-styled dishes... We don’t really use karon milk or dried milk much in Jagar. I might have enjoyed it even more if you had gone heavier on the tau oil and sugar,” Diel said, closing her eyes ecstatically. “My favorite dish of all is the cubed giba meat stew served at that one inn. If I could, I’d love to have it every single day.”

“I see. But you’re forbidden from being outside of the castle town at night, aren’t you?” I asked quietly back, worried her companion Labis might overhear.

“That’s true,” Diel disappointedly replied. “Thanks to that, I’ve only been able to eat it twice, even after being here in Genos for months. And since I had to be back before sunset, I couldn’t even take my time and savor it!”

“Still, I’m really glad that you come here to the stalls when you can find the time.”

At that, Diel’s mood quickly recovered. She chuckled and said, “I’d like to have your cooking for dinner too, though. Make sure you let me know whenever you’re invited to the castle town, okay?”

“I mean, I’m not exactly expecting to be invited there all that often in the future...”

“What are you saying?! At the very least, I’m sure a bunch of the nobles who were at that banquet would love to invite you to their own houses. There was so much murmuring about it that Duke Genos had to warn everyone not to disturb your everyday life if they didn’t have a good reason.”

I definitely felt honored to hear that...and also seriously grateful for Marstein’s consideration.

“Still, I’m sure someone will summon you eventually. Especially that... What was her name? The lady from the house of Genos. You know, the wife of the duke’s first son?”

“Ah, you mean Eulifia?”

“Right! Eulifia! She’s sure to give it a try. It didn’t seem like either the duke or his son had very much control over her.”

Was Melfried’s wife really that taken with my cooking? Well, I just had to pray that I wouldn’t end up regretting that I’d come to her attention.

“So when she does, you make sure to let me know, okay? I’ve got all kinds of tricks and excuses I can use to slip into the next banquet too!” Diel said, smiling like an angel.

◇

My unusual guest for the following day turned out to be Arishuna, the star reader with Sym heritage, of all people.

“H-Huh? Ah, welcome.” I was shaken because I had a hard time even recognizing her. She wasn’t accompanied by Polarth or any guards this time around, instead appearing before me on her own wearing an old leather traveler’s cloak.

“Is my visit here, troublesome...?”

“N-No, of course not... But what’s with the outfit?”

“If I wore, my normal attire, it would attract attention, so I brought out, my old clothing.”

From what I had been told, she had lived a life of wandering about with her family before settling here in Genos. Dressed up like that, she looked just like any traveler from Sym. It was just that she was a bit smaller.

“Polarth, is busy. So I came, on my own,” Arishuna explained, anticipating the question I had.

“Well, thanks for coming. Um, were you wanting something from the stalls...?”

“Yes. I could not hold back, my desire for your cooking, any longer, Asuta,” Arishuna replied with a small nod, her face remaining completely expressionless. She reached around in her cloak, only to eventually stop and return her gaze to me. “The situation has taken, a dire turn...”

“Huh? What is it?”

“I forgot, my coins.”

For a moment, I was left at a loss for words.

Arishuna expressionlessly gave me a bow. “I will leave. My apologies, but I shall visit again, some other time.”

“H-Hold on! Are you planning on going back to the castle town to get your coins?”

“No. I do not have, much strength for walking. It would be difficult, to return again today. It is regrettable, but I will wait, for the next opportunity.”

“In that case, I’ll put it on your tab. Next time you stop by, you can pay for two.”

Arishuna’s black eyes, as still as a moonlit lake, stared straight at me.

“You would place, such trust in me? But we are only, just barely acquainted, at present.”

“Yeah. But I can’t imagine someone living in the castle town would shirk a bill of just one or two red coins,” I replied, breaking out in a smile without thinking. “If you don’t show up in the next month, I guess I could bill Duke Genos. You’re his guest, after all.”

“I firmly wish, to live up, to your trust...” Arishuna brought her hands together in a complex sign, then gave a deep bow. Her fingers were adorned with rings, and were shockingly slender.

“So, what dish do you want? There’s two types from my stalls and two others from the Ruu clan’s, and then there’s the special dish.”

“The special dish?”

“That’s right. It’s a unique item only sold to customers who pull a winning lot. It’s called a giba cutlet sandwich, and it’s really popular.”

Arishuna slowly shook her head.

“I am, a star reader. I am not permitted, to test my own fate.”

“I see,” I replied, once again shooting her a smile. This girl seemed even harder to read than most folks from Sym, and perhaps because of that she came across as more stiff and formal. But right now, it was making her seem all the more charming. “So then, which dish do you want? You can give any dish but these giba manju a taste test, so shall I set out a plate?”

“No, I do not wish, to trouble you unnecessarily. I shall take, that dish.”

“A giba manju, right? Got it,” I replied, grabbing a piping hot giba manju from the wooden steaming basket. “It’s hot, so please take care not to burn yourself. This dish costs two red coins, okay?”

“I swear, to come pay you back, in the future,” Arishuna said with another nod, holding out her hands. I handed over the giba manju to her dark-skinned, slender fingers.

Still fully expressionless, the star reader took a bite, and then she glanced my way.

“What do you think? The lack of herbs doesn’t make it too bland, does it?”

“No, it is delicious... Truly delicious.”

“I see. Thank you.”

However, her expression still hadn’t shifted, sure enough. Holding the white giba manju in both hands, she continued to bite into it.

“That inn is now selling the dish with the herbs that we discussed before. Once Polarth is less busy, I hope that you’ll go give it a try.”

“Right. I shall, be looking forward to it.” Having finished eating the giba manju, Arishuna once again brought her fingers together and bowed. “Asuta, I hear that you, are traveling to Dabagg. Are you, departing soon?”

“Ah, yeah. I’m surprised you heard about that. We’re set to leave on the twenty-second of the indigo month.”

“I see... You do not need, your stars read, correct?”

“Yeah. We don’t exactly put much stock in fortune-telling... Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude, saying that to a star reader.”

“No. Star reading, grants hope and despair, equally. I believe it, only proper, not to rely on it, needlessly,” Arishuna replied, reaching around inside her cloak again as she did so. Then, she held her left arm out toward me. “Here, Asuta.”

“Huh? What’s this?”

Atop her slender, long-fingered hand sat a small purple stone. It was a beautiful gem around the size of a thumb, and was shaped a bit like a magatama.

“It is a lapista stone, which governs, safe travels.”

“Ah, sorry, but I can’t accept such a gift...”

“It is not, a gift. I am simply, entrusting it to you, until your journey, is over,” Arishuna stated in a low, clear voice. “It is said that, a lapista stone, will always return, to its owner. If you leave on a journey, while carrying this, you will surely, make it back.”

“Ah, so it’s like one of those amulets you bring back to the shrine you bought it from after a year, huh...?” I murmured to myself. After a bit of hesitation, I decided to accept. “Got it. So I just need to give it back to you once I return from my trip, right? In that case, how about I return it to you in exchange for those two red coins?”

“That would be fine,” Arishuna said, her dazzling eyes narrowing under her hood. “Asuta, I shall await, your return. I am certain, your journey will go well.”

“Thank you. You take care too, okay?”

“Right.”

With that, Arishuna departed. Had she gone out of her way to visit the stalls just to deliver the stone? Feeling faintly content somehow, I went ahead and carefully stored the lapista stone in the cloth bag at my hip.

Pretty much just like that, our ten days of business, busy as they were, came to a peaceful close.