Chapter 3: Dinner in a Distant Land
1
Having spent several hours getting an in-depth tour of the Malotta ranch, we then headed to the south end of town to seek lodgings for the night.
With its rows and rows of buildings and the people coming and going, it seemed just as lively as the Genos post town. However, it was supposedly only around half the size.
“That’s because Genos is a trade hub, while Dabagg is nothing but a stepping stone on the road there. It’s just a place to rest for a night along the way for folks from Genos heading west or people coming east toward Genos.”
“I see... But up until Genos was established two hundred years ago, Dabagg was the easternmost town in Selva, right? So was this town a trade hub too, back in those days?”
“No, it wasn’t. Up till Genos was built up, there was no highway east from Dabagg. And there aren’t any roads to the south or the north even now. With no roads, you certainly won’t be having any trade. Plus, Dabagg has nothing to sell but karon meat, so it’s not like folks from Sym or Jagar would come here by choice.”
In other words, up until Genos had become a central town for trade, Dabagg really was nothing but a place out in the sticks where they raised karon. There weren’t any highways connecting them to Sym or Jagar, so they had just sold their karon to towns farther west. Then, when Genos started prospering, it had gained value as a post town along the way.
“Thanks to that, Dabagg was built up into a post town even quicker than Genos was. We always have a lot of folks passing through, coming and going from Genos, so there’re plenty of inns to choose from,” Zasshuma said with a chuckle as we stood in the middle of the disorderly town. “Even with this many people around, there’s no need to worry about finding a place to sleep. You want an inn where the women and children can sleep securely, even if the price is a bit high, right?”
“Yeah. We want to prioritize safety above all else.”
“And the second priority is to find a place that has something good to eat. Okay then, just go ahead and follow me. I know an inn that offers some pretty high-quality food.”
Just like with the Genos post town, you weren’t allowed to drive totos through the place, so Ai Fa and Deem Rutim were each holding onto one of the birds’ reins as they followed on foot behind Zasshuma. After all the traveling we’d done, I was in the mood to walk too, but when I got down from the wagon Ai Fa shot me a glare.
“There shouldn’t be any danger here, so please don’t give me that look. I’m already used to crowds like this from the Genos post town, you know.”
“But for better or worse, the people of this town are not particularly wary of us hunters of the forest’s edge. If you wish to walk, then make sure to be more careful of your surroundings than you usually would.”
“Right, got it.”
Still, here in Dabagg there were gatekeepers who screened any visitors at the entrance to the town. Though it would probably be easy to climb over the wooden fence, there still seemed to be fewer ruffians around than in Genos.
The majority of the passersby were westerners, with many of them appearing to be merchants, while only a very few people in the crowd had swords. And while there were some easterners with hooded cloaks here and there, I had yet to see any southerners at all.
“Easterners are able to defend themselves, but westerners and southerners need to hire bodyguards and guides for every little trip, so southerners visiting Genos never go out of their way to stop by Dabagg, instead heading straight back to their home country.”
“Oh. Are a lot of easterners skilled with swords?” I asked while thinking of Sanjura.
However, Zasshuma replied, “No. Easterners are famous for being skilled at using poisonous herbs, so there aren’t many bandits out there who would try to attack them in the first place. A lot of superstitious old folks even fear them as shamans and sorcerers.”
That made sense to me. After all, now that I thought about it, Shumiral’s Silver Vase didn’t seem to bring any bodyguards or anything along with them, and both on the road to Dabagg and in the Genos post town, it wasn’t rare at all to find folks from Sym traveling all on their own.
As I enjoyed the idle chatter with Zasshuma, we continued walking along the stone-paved road, until an item at a certain stall caught my attention out of the corner of my eye.
“Ah, hold on a moment! Is it okay if I check out that shop?”
“What for? If you’re looking for something to eat, can’t you hold off till we reach the inn?”
“I’m not talking about food. I meant that leatherwork shop.” I pointed, while Ai Fa once again silently glared at me from behind. “There’s something I’ve been trying to find for a while now, but nothing I’ve found in Genos has been exactly right. Is it okay if I take a look?”
Ai Fa remained silent as she handed Gilulu’s reins to Zasshuma and stood protectively behind me while I approached the stall in question.
The leatherwork stall had all sorts of goods laid out atop a cloth. Just as you would expect from a karon-ranching town, the variety on offer was far beyond what you could find in the Genos post town.
From among those various goods, I went ahead and picked up the one I had my eye on: a rectangular leather case.
In terms of its dimensions, it was twenty-five centimeters tall, forty wide, and fifteen deep. It had a sturdy build with leather stretched over wooden boards, and it could be latched shut with a belt and a metal buckle. It had a handle and a shoulder strap that was attached on either end, so it would be no issue at all to carry it around.
“Excuse me, but is it okay if I take a quick look at the inside?”
The woman with a plump face running the place smiled back and said, “Go right ahead,” at which I excitedly undid the buckle. Naturally, the inside was completely empty, but it was fully lined with karon leather too. Plus, there didn’t seem to be any issue with the buckle or hinges, so it should have been able to close up quite well.
“This is nice. How much is it?”
“That one is six white coins.”
Six white coins... From how I figured it, that was the equivalent of around twelve thousand yen.
I hadn’t had many opportunities to purchase leatherwork, but considering a large leather bag was 1.5 white coins, a leather whip meant for totos was 2, and a set of a saddle, bellyband, and reins were 2.5, it didn’t seem to be overly expensive. Especially considering how pricey leather goods were back in my home country.
“Is it all right if I buy this, Ai Fa?” I asked, only for my clan head to narrow her eyes and look displeased.
“How many times do you need me to say that you should feel free to use the coins earned with your own strength however you please?”
“Even so, the earnings from the post town still belong to the Fa clan, right? So isn’t it only natural to ask my clan head’s permission?”
“Just go ahead and do as you wish. Still...just what exactly do you intend to use such a thing for?”
“For transporting my cooking tools, of course. I’ve wanted a case for my knives for a while now.”
When she heard that, Ai Fa’s expression suddenly softened.
“That includes your father’s knife, correct?”
“Huh? Yeah, of course.”
“Then do not hesitate to purchase it. It is something that you need.”
“Got it. Thanks.”
Retrieving the correct number of coins from the bag at my hip, I went ahead and purchased the leather case. Then I swiftly slung it over my shoulder and returned to the rest of the group.
“Oh, a luggage case? You found something really nice there, didn’t you?” Myme called over with a bright smile as she peeked out of the wagon.
Turning her way, I said, “Really?” as I held up the leather case. “I’ve been looking for one of these ever since I saw your case. Now I won’t have to worry so much about carrying around my knives.”
“Right. Quality knives are like a chef’s life.”
After another five minutes of walking, around when twilight started to descend, Zasshuma stopped and said, “This is the place.” It was a rather well-kept three-story inn. It looked to be about the same size as Tanto’s Blessing, where Yang manned the kitchen. Its name was The Ramam Droplet.
Since they had vacancies available, we went ahead and decided to stay there for the night. First, the place’s owner led us around back. That was where we found a stable for totos and a storehouse for stowing our wagons.
“Oh, are these totos not branded?” the innkeeper asked.
“They aren’t,” I replied. “We have necklaces on the totos instead to identify them, but is that not enough?”
Gilulu and Ruuruu each wore giba horn and tusk necklaces. This was the solution to Ai Fa firmly refusing to have Gilulu branded.
“Ah, no, we don’t have any other unbranded totos, so there shouldn’t be any danger of mixing them up with those of other guests. You can rest easy about leaving them in our care,” the innkeeper said with a smile, having already received our payment in advance.
Then, after stowing our wagons in the locked storehouse, we returned to the inn. We had been allotted four rooms on the second floor.
“These rooms are each meant for four guests. You can bolt the door from the inside when you’re ready to retire for the night,” the innkeeper told us before heading back downstairs.
As he watched the man depart, Zasshuma stroked his jaw and said, “Now then, fortunately we have almost the same number of men and women, so how about we split into two rooms for each? And then we can spread the bodyguards around however we need to.”
However, that caused a bit of trouble. Ai Fa didn’t approve of splitting the rooms between men and women.
“There’s nothing to worry about. We’ll be sure to do a good job protecting Asuta!” Dan Rutim said with a smile.
“But...” Ai Fa muttered, furrowing her brow.
Seeing that, Zasshuma whispered into my ear, “Hey, are you two married? If you are, we can have them prepare another room...”
“N-No, that’s not exactly it. I think Ai Fa’s just nervous about having her clan member sleep separately from her.”
“I see. I still don’t really know anything about the customs at the forest’s edge.”
As we whispered back and forth, Deem Rutim spoke up. “Hey, it’s not like I don’t understand your concerns about your clan member, but our job is to protect everyone here. Dan Rutim and I can’t sleep in the same room as the women, so you need to do your part.”
“That’s true, but still...”
“Besides, Dan Rutim said he will protect Asuta. Do you doubt his words?” Deem Rutim pressed, irritation clearly showing on his young face. When Ai Fa held her tongue in response, Dan Rutim let out a chuckle.
“If you’re that worried about Asuta, then why not sleep in the room next door?! If there’s just a single wall between you, that should put you at least somewhat at ease, right?”
And so the corner room went to me and the two Rutim men. The next room had Ai Fa and the younger crowd of Rimee Ruu, Toor Deen, and Myme. After that was Bartha, Reina Ruu, and Sheera Ruu. The fourth room was for Zasshuma, Jeeda, and Mikel.
As everyone dispersed to their respective rooms, Ai Fa remained standing there with a look of regret, only to eventually start to turn away in silence. But then, I called out, “Ai Fa,” and grabbed her wrist.
She slapped away my hand with shocking force.
“A-Ai Fa?” I questioned as I stood there dumbfounded.
My clan head spun around to face me, aghast. “M-My apologies! I was just...caught off guard by having my hand suddenly grabbed from behind!”
“R-Really?”
Ai Fa grabbed hold of both my wrists, biting her lip hard.
“That’s right. It’s not that I was trying to avoid contact with you. Not at all. I really was just taken a bit off guard.”
“G-Got it. I wasn’t doubting you or anything.” But even as I said that, I couldn’t stop my heart rate from picking up. Now that I thought about it, it had been over ten days since Ai Fa and I had had direct contact like this. It wasn’t as if I had been avoiding touching her or anything. It was just that even if we lived in the same house, there weren’t exactly many opportunities for that sort of contact.
Really...ever since I was abducted by Lefreya, Ai Fa had usually been right there nestled up with me in the morning, even if we fell asleep in separate places. But for the past ten days, those mornings had completely stopped happening. That’s all there was to it.
“You haven’t been avoiding contact with me either, have you...?”
“O-Of course not. I would never.” Ai Fa frowned, and then she tightened her grip on my wrists. “But you seem a little distressed. And the flow of your blood has sped up significantly.”
“P-Please don’t just measure my pulse like that!”
As I was whining, I heard a door open some distance away. Instantly, Ai Fa removed her fingers from my wrists, and Zasshuma called out to us as he approached.
“What, you’re still not in your rooms yet? I was planning to head to the town hall to say hi to the folks from the firm. If they’re available, you wanted to meet with them as early in the morning as possible, yeah?”
“Y-Yeah! Since we have to head out by the time the sun hits its peak!”
“Got it. Well then, go ahead and get at least a little rest in your rooms. We’ll be eating dinner later,” Zasshuma cheerfully said as he headed down the stairs. After a few more moments of silence, Ai Fa once again turned about face.
“I will see you later. Don’t cause Dan and Deem Rutim any trouble, all right?”
“Y-Yeah, I won’t.”
With that, Ai Fa disappeared from sight beyond the door. She had been hanging her head a bit, so her expression had been hidden behind the collar of her cloak.
With a big sigh, I gave the beating of my heart a chance to slow down, then headed for the room where Dan and Deem Rutim were waiting.
Half an hour later, we all finally headed to the dining hall downstairs after hearing the news that Zasshuma had successfully set up a meeting tomorrow.
The dining hall was unsurprisingly large and splendid. Since it was around sunset, there were also plenty of customers coming in, but by squeezing our seats together a bit, we were able to fit our full party of thirteen at two large tables. Though we hadn’t planned on it in advance, the tables ended up being split between the men and women.
From the seat next to me, Dan Rutim excitedly said, “I wonder what sort of stuff they’ll be serving us!”
Zasshuma addressed the group. “Somehow I doubt that karon dishes will fit the tastes of someone from the forest’s edge. What about you, Mikel? Is there anything in particular you want?”
“No,” Mikel replied with a shake of his head. “Since we actually have someone born in Dabagg in our party, I don’t see any need to add my opinion.”
“Oh, really? In that case, just leave it to me.”
Zasshuma signaled the girl working the dining hall with a smile. The plump and healthy-looking girl called out, “Coming!” and then weaved her way through the seating toward us. It occurred to me then that I hadn’t really seen anybody here in Dabagg who was especially skinny.
“Could you get us two large platters each of grilled karon back and haunch steak, one big plate of boiled leg meat, and a few orders of fuwano? Oh, and I’m pretty sure you serve vegetables soaked in milk here, right?”
“That’s right. Today’s vegetables are aria, nenon, and tino.”
“Then get us a big platter of that too, and some dried milk pot melt, enough for everyone.”
“My, you must be quite the hungry customers.”
After glancing at the girl’s amused smile out of the corner of his eye, Zasshuma turned our way. “By the way, how much booze will you be wanting? From what I can tell, there don’t seem to be many of you here who enjoy the stuff.”
Out of the group, only Dan Rutim and Bartha expressed interest.
With a big grin, Bartha lightly jabbed Sheera Ruu in the shoulder from the seat next to her. “You’re a drinker too, aren’t you? The taste of wine tends to differ from town to town, so I can’t see any harm in seeing what it’s like.”
“Oh really? In that case, I’ll have some too.”
Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t really seen women partaking in alcohol very often. So Sheera Ruu was a drinker?
“Huh? You aren’t having any, Mikel?” I asked, only for him to shoot me a glare from across the table.
When she noticed that, Myme called over from the other table, “Dad hasn’t had a single sip of wine since meeting you, Asuta. Before that, though, he got drunk every day while it was still light out.”
At that, Mikel’s glare shifted toward his daughter. However, Myme just turned away with a mischievous smile.
“In that case, we’ll take four bottles of fruit wine. And chilled zozo tea for the rest, if you don’t mind.”
“Got it. Please hold on for just a moment.”
After disappearing for just a short while, the girl soon returned holding a large tray. Atop it were four bottles and serving cups, as well as nine chilled zozo teas, which the girl set about distributing to us.
“Ooh, so zozo tea can be served cold too?”
“That’s right. Grilled meat and chilled tea go well together, right? But, well, I’m much more into this stuff,” Zasshuma said as he and Bartha poured out the contents of the wine bottles and offered cups to both Dan Rutim and Sheera Ruu. Dan Rutim brought his nose in close to the serving cup as he suspiciously raised an eyebrow.
“So you go to the trouble of splitting a bottle of wine like this in town? This stuff seems to have an unusual smell to it too.”
“That’s because if all you wanted was to drink fruit wine, it’d be cheaper to buy it on your own. So inns have their own clever ways of doing things. And you’ve got to give it a try first before you can decide if you like it or not, right?” Zasshuma said as he held up his own cup. “Well then, how about we toast in hopes that this journey finishes up without any trouble?”
“Hold on a moment. At a meal like this, just who exactly should we be offering gratitude to?” Reina Ruu questioned.
Now that she mentioned it, it was definitely against the customs of the forest’s edge to eat a dinner prepared by someone who wasn’t one of their comrades. Though they had previously eaten cooking prepared by chefs in the castle town, it was under the pretense that it was only ever a taste test, but this would be the first time they had eaten a proper dinner prepared by complete strangers.
“Hmm...” I murmured as I thought to myself, and then I went ahead and offered my opinion. “How about you say it to the chef of The Ramam Droplet?”
“Right... But just what should we be saying thanks for, then?”
“Ah, you mean the part about giving your thanks for the blessings of the forest...? Hmm, well this food was paid for using coins from selling our giba cooking, so wouldn’t it still be correct to give thanks to the forest for bringing us the giba?”
Zasshuma watched us with wide eyes, still holding up his cup for the toast. “You sure do like to complicate things when we’re just trying to eat dinner.”
“Well, yeah,” I said. “It’s just that this is kinda unprecedented for the people of the forest’s edge.”
Even so, we were here now with permission from Donda Ruu, one of the leading clan heads. Nobody would have seen this coming just a few months ago, so I wanted to celebrate it from the depths of my heart.
Once the people of the forest’s edge finished their premeal chant, we at last all held up our cups.
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