Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 17 - Chapter 3.3

3

There were no more disturbances after that, so we all went to our respective rooms to retire for the night.

“As long as you bolt the door, you shouldn’t get any thieves sneaking in. Still, let’s be sure to keep our guards up for the night even so.”

With that, my twelve companions started moving into the four rooms. Rimee Ruu looked to be quite excited to spend her first ever night outside of the settlement, while Toor Deen appeared rather uneasy.

Still, everyone was surely feeling the same physical exhaustion. Personally, even though I was in high spirits, my body was really worn out. I felt as if I would sleep so soundly tonight that I wouldn’t even end up dreaming.

“Hold on a moment, Asuta,” Ai Fa called out before I could follow Dan Rutim into our room. “There is something I wish to discuss before sleeping... You two go ahead of us and get some rest.”

Deem Rutim looked doubtful, but he ultimately disappeared into the room without saying a word.

Soon after, all the doors were closed, leaving just me and Ai Fa out in the hallway. There was only one candle each at the top of the stairs and the far end of the hallway, so the place was dimly lit. Under their dim illumination, Ai Fa was silently staring back at me.

“What’s up? Did you want to ask me something?”

“Indeed. This room has places to sleep along both the left and right walls. Is yours the same?”

“Ah, yeah, I figure they probably have the same layout.”

“I see. Then you should sleep on the right side, and I will sleep on the left.”

I couldn’t see what she was getting at in the least. There were indeed double bunk beds alongside both the left and right walls of the rooms, but what did the locations matter?

“Your room is to the left of mine, correct? So if we choose those positions we’ll be as close to each other as possible, even if there will still be a wall between us. You can knock on it to let me know if there is any danger.”

“Ah, so that’s what you meant, huh?” I replied, breaking out in a smile without thinking. “The doors bolt shut, so I don’t think you need to worry about that. And even if someone were to try busting down the door, you and Dan Rutim would definitely notice before I would.”

“I know all that. But there’s no guarantee that something like what happened at the Suun settlement will not occur again. Back then, you sensed that something was off sooner than I did.”

She was referring to what happened at the clan head meeting way back. It was true that thanks to my sense of smell, I realized something was wrong before anyone else. But with Dan Rutim here, even that concern felt unnecessary. However, I also didn’t exactly feel like arguing the point with Ai Fa further.

“Got it. I’ll be on guard, so no worries.”

“It’s our job to guard everyone. You just need to take it easy and rest up.”

“Understood. Well then, see you tomorrow.”

As I stifled a yawn, I went ahead and reached out for the door, but once again, Ai Fa stopped me and called out, “Hold on. Asuta...are you sleepy?”

“Hmm? Well, somewhat. Normally we would have been asleep much earlier than this.”

“I see. Then you can go ahead and turn in,” Ai Fa stated, but she was frowning ever so slightly as she did so.

“What’s the matter? Whatever it is, we can discuss it.”

“It’s nothing. It is simply that talking with you before sleeping has been a daily routine, so the day feels incomplete without it,” Ai Fa replied, deepening her pout. “Besides, we have been together with other people from morning till night today, so we have hardly had a chance to speak at all.”

“Now that you mention it, you’re right...” With a very warm feeling filling me up inside, I went ahead and pulled back my hand that had been reaching for the door. “Then how about we talk for a bit before going to sleep. You’re not tired, are you?”

“Not any more than normal.”

Ai Fa’s lips straightened from their pout, and she leaned against the wall between the doors. I did the same while looking at my clan head.

“Well then, what do you want to discuss? I guess Dabagg, considering where we are?”

“I don’t especially care. Go ahead and talk about whatever you please, just like always.”

My clan head sure was acting curt, considering how she was the one stopping me. With a quick strained grin, I went ahead and searched my thoughts for topics.

“You didn’t say a single word about your impressions at dinnertime, so did you not like it all that much after all?”

“Indeed. As Dan Rutim said, we people of the forest’s edge are meant to eat giba. If you eat too much meat like tonight’s, it could act as a poison.”

“Ah, yeah, karon fat sits a bit heavier than giba fat. Now that you mention it, I think Dan Rutim also ate just a bit less than usual...”

“That’s true. And even though those dishes must have been far more delicious than giba meat that hasn’t been bloodlet, I still couldn’t help but find them unsatisfying, somehow.”

Dan Rutim had seemed fairly well satisfied, but Ai Fa clearly wasn’t. Well, unlike the women who manned the stoves, the hunters of the forest’s edge had no reason to feel grateful for the opportunity to try unfamiliar cooking.

“Hmm, I’m sure Deem Rutim must have been thinking the same thing. I feel sort of guilty now.”

“I assumed that it would be this way before we came here, so it is no serious issue. But if you feel apologetic even still, then use that as motivation to make a delicious meal for tomorrow’s dinner.”

“Right. The sun will probably be setting by the time we make it back to the forest’s edge, but I’ll give it my all,” I said, shooting Ai Fa a smile. She briefly glanced my way, but then turned back to stare straight ahead. “Still, if karon cooking isn’t to your tastes, that pretty much halves the fun of the trip.”

“I am here acting as a bodyguard, work that should be neither fun nor distressing.”

“Really? Dan Rutim looked like he was having a great time, though.”

“That is simply down to his personality. Deem Rutim and Jeeda surely feel the same way that I do.”

“That’s a shame. I wanted you to enjoy this trip too.”

When she heard that, Ai Fa’s gaze once again turned my way. “This is a trip for the benefit of you chefs, is it not? There is no need whatsoever for us bodyguards to enjoy it.”

“Maybe. But even a short trip like this is so rare for the people of the forest’s edge that it’s practically historic. I was really looking forward to it and I’m definitely enjoying myself now, but I’d feel bad if I was the only one having fun.”

Ai Fa offered no response.

“Well, I guess from your point of view, you needed to put your important giba-hunting work on hold in order to accompany us. Though, that makes me feel even more—”

“It is fun.”

“Huh?”

“I’m enjoying myself,” Ai Fa bluntly stated as I stared at her, dumbfounded. “Perhaps it’s because we hardly talked at all throughout the day, but I’m enjoying our chat very much right now. And when I think of how we will need to sleep separately later, it makes this time feel even more precious.”

“R-Really? You actually look displeased to me...”

“That is because you have a terrible eye for such things.”

Under the light from the candles, I stared directly at Ai Fa’s face. It was a mistake to say she looked displeased. More like entirely expressionless. And her blue eyes were incredibly calm.

“Besides, it also brings me great joy seeing you and Rimee Ruu enjoying yourselves, so the day was a happy one for me. There is no need whatsoever for you to apologize.”

Feeling a lump in my throat, I was only able to wring out, “I see.”

Then, Ai Fa continued, “More importantly, though, there’s something I have to confide in you about, Asuta.”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“It’s about what happened before we ate dinner, when I knocked aside your hand.”

“You were surprised when I suddenly grabbed your hand from behind, right? That’s what you said.”

“So I did. I wasn’t trying to deceive you when I told you that...however, I did not convey the full extent of my thoughts and emotions. I’ve been wanting to explain more fully ever since,” Ai Fa stated very quietly, bringing her face just a bit closer to mine. “In all likelihood, I would not have been so surprised in the past. However...there seems to have been a change in my feelings thanks to the discussion we had ten days ago.”

“A change in your feelings...? You mean that you have trouble touching me now?”

“I told you, that wasn’t it. Do you doubt my words?” Ai Fa asked, sounding a bit angry, and then she slowly reached out her right hand toward the left side of my face. When I felt the warmth from her palm on my cheek, my heart started pounding. “As you can see, it is no issue whatsoever as long as I am mentally prepared. But abruptly having my arm grabbed with no warning made me feel as if I was being stabbed by a blade.”

“I see. In that case, I’ll try to take care in the future not to catch you off guard.”

“No, you’ve misunderstood. I am trying to explain that you don’t need to think that way,” Ai Fa replied, frowning again with her hand still up against my cheek. “I may react similarly if the same thing were to happen again, but I don’t want you to stop because of that. Simply do not worry about it, and keep behaving as you have up till now. It may leave me a little flustered, but I would hate the thought of you changing the way you act around me far more.”

“You’re making too big a deal out of this. Peoples’ feelings change over time, but you don’t have to treat it like some kind of critical issue.” Despite feeling so shaken up emotionally, I still managed a smile. “You used to hit me just because I patted you on the head, right? Compared to that, you shrugging off my hand is nothing.”

“Then you swear to continue acting as you have up till now?”

“I do. And no matter what happens, I’ll never start trying to avoid you,” I said, placing my hand over Ai Fa’s, which still rested on my cheek.

Though she trembled for just a moment, my clan head didn’t try to remove her hand. “See...? As long as I prepare myself mentally, I am not shaken by things like this at all,” Ai Fa said with a proud grin.

The moment I saw that smile, which I hadn’t laid eyes on for quite some time, I felt an impulse to reach out and hug her. However, that certainly wouldn’t fall under the category of “how I had acted up till now,” so I somehow managed to restrain myself, instead just staring intently back at her smiling face.

“My apologies for bringing up such a strange topic. But I didn’t wish to hide how I felt from you.”

“Right. I’m glad you were so open with me.”

“If that is how you feel, then I am glad as well.”

As her eyes narrowed in a way that showed me the truth of her words, Ai Fa finally lowered her right hand. Slowly, her warmth slipped away from my cheek.

“Well then, I suppose it is about time to get to sleep. You haven’t forgotten what I said before, have you?”

“Nope. The bed on the right-hand side, yeah? By the way, will you be on the top or the bottom?”

“Rimee Ruu will surely pick the top, so I will be on the bottom.”

“I see. Then I’ll go with the bottom too.”

“Right,” Ai Fa said with a serious nod. “Well then, go ahead and rest up for tomorrow.”

“You too, Ai Fa. Goodnight.” After one last look to etch the sight of my clan head into my mind, I stepped through the door.

Instantly, Deem Rutim called out, “You’re late. What were you talking about for so long? She wasn’t complaining about how the rooms were divided, was she?”

“It was nothing like that. We just went over some stuff.”

The room was about ten square meters with double bunk beds along the left and right walls. In the meager space between them sat a small table and two chairs.

There was a large window with lattice shutters installed on the far wall, which was currently fully open. Deem Rutim was sitting on the windowsill, while Dan Rutim was already snoring away atop the bed on the left.

“Are you watching the outside? You’re not planning to stay on guard duty all night without sleep, are you?”

“I have no intention of going that far. I was simply waiting for you to return,” Deem Rutim replied in a displeased tone, stepping down to the floor and closing the double-leaf window. I figured there would be no harm in leaving it open since we were on the second floor, but the lattice shutters had plenty of openings, so they still allowed for plenty of air flow.

“Well, even if I were to drift off, there would be nothing to worry about since Dan Rutim is here, so take it easy and get some rest.”

“Got it, thanks. You really trust Dan Rutim, don’t you, Deem Rutim?”

“Of course I do. I believe that he is the greatest hunter at the forest’s edge,” he replied in a combative tone while walking over right in front of me. Since his cloak was hanging on the wall, he looked even more slender than usual. “That was why I found the Fa clan head’s remarks before dinner so irritating. Isn’t she making light of Dan Rutim’s strength? Even if one of his legs is impaired, nobody from town would ever be able to get the better of him.”

“I can say that definitely wasn’t Ai Fa’s intention. She faced him in a contest of strength, so she must know how strong he is better than anyone.”

“From what I was told, the Fa clan head was nearly Dan Rutim’s equal in that contest... But having not seen it personally, I find it incredibly hard to believe.”

“Well, I did see it in person. And you weren’t even there, right?”

Deem Rutim suddenly puffed up his cheeks. “I was still only twelve back then, so I wasn’t able to compete in the contest of strength. But at the next festival of the hunt, I’ll show my strength as a hunter, so that I don’t disgrace the Rutim name.”

“I see. I’m sure it’ll be rough to compete like that right after healing, but good luck.”

Deem Rutim’s cheeks deflated, and the ends of his eyebrows drooped as his gaze turned toward Dan Rutim, who was breathing cutely as he slept. “Still, there’s only another month or so left until the next festival of the hunt. Won’t it be difficult for Dan Rutim to fully recover before then, when he still needs a cane even now?”

“I’m not so sure about that. And besides, I can’t picture Dan Rutim losing to any average opponent even so.”

Deem Rutim had a completely childish expression on his face now for some reason. Well, maybe that was only natural considering he was only thirteen, but it was still pretty unbelievable considering how tense he usually looked.

“Dan Rutim was injured due to my failures. And thanks to that, he stepped down as clan head... I can’t help but feel regret over what happened.”

“Oh really? That must have been tough.” Trying to act appropriately as the older of the two of us, I offered Deem Rutim a smile. “But Dan Rutim looked really happy to hand over his seat as clan head to Gazraan Rutim, didn’t he? Plus, he said strength as a hunter and as a clan head were separate from each other, so I don’t think you need to worry yourself so much over it.”

“That’s not true at all. Nobody could be a better clan head to lead our people than Dan Rutim,” Deem Rutim stubbornly insisted, shaking his head. It was just making him look all the more childish.

“Okay. But Dan Rutim acknowledged his son’s strength, so you shouldn’t have anything to worry about on that front. The Rutim clan’s future should be totally secure, seeing how you’ve had two wonderful clan heads in a row.”

“You really think so?”

“Yeah, I do.”

After shooting me a pained glare for a moment, eventually he grumbled, “I’m going to bed,” and turned away. “You get to sleep too. We have to wake up early again tomorrow, right? And don’t leave the room on your own at night.”

“Yeah, got it... Ah, sorry, but could I have the bottom bed?”

Deem Rutim silently changed direction and climbed up the simple wooden ladder. Breathing a sigh of relief, I went ahead and lay down on the lower bunk as planned. Though it was just a set of sheets laid out over a hard wooden frame, I had no complaints, since it actually did have a pillow. You could probably only find soft and fluffy down mattresses in the castle town anyway.

With a thin blanket over me, pulled up to just above my stomach, I turned over on my left side. The wall made of wooden planks looked quite sturdy...and on the other side of it, Ai Fa was surely lying on her side in the same way. Gently placing the palm of my hand up against the wooden wall, I closed my eyes.

 Abruptly having her arm grabbed with no warning made her feel as if she was being stabbed by a blade, huh...?

As my consciousness slowly drifted off, I recalled Ai Fa’s words and expression.

It was only natural that even she would be shaken up after hearing how I felt about her, and that I would want to marry her if it were only possible. After all, my own feelings ran wild when she talked about how happy things would have been if only our genders were reversed.

Our feelings for each other were more than strong enough for us to want to marry. That was undoubtedly something to feel happy about. Even if it would be difficult to actually marry... No, in spite of that, our feelings remained unchanged. We would always see our meeting as something to be grateful for.

No matter how pained or worried I might feel, the blessed joy I had gained exceeded those feelings by far, and I believed that Ai Fa felt the same way. Even if she hard-heartedly swept my hand away, I wouldn’t let my thoughts head in a negative direction.

I’m so incredibly lucky to have met you, Ai Fa, I thought while drifting off.

I finally fell asleep. But because of that, what happened next was completely unknown to me. I wasn’t aware of the passage of time. When I came to, I heard Dan Rutim’s roaring laughter ringing out in the darkness.

“Bwa ha ha! I thought I heard some sort of commotion, but it was just you outlaws from earlier! Just what exactly were you planning to do after sneaking into our room?”

I sluggishly sat up, feeling as if I was dreaming.

The candle still hadn’t gone out, so there was a fleeting orange light throughout the room. I could see Dan Rutim’s daunting form standing there illuminated by that light.

“Dan Rutim... What in the world is going on?”

“Ah, did I wake you?! It’s nothing! You can go back to sleep, Asuta!”

Despite what he told me, just hearing Dan Rutim’s loud voice was enough to shake the drowsiness from my mind. Even so, I was still half asleep until as my gaze turned downward, at which point I shot fully awake. There was a man on the floor, crushed under Dan Rutim’s foot.

He had a rodent-like face with a scar on his cheek... In other words, it was the little guy who had come after us at dinner. His face was distorted in anguish, and just a short distance away from him, there was a drawn dagger on the floor.

“Hey, don’t squirm so much. My leg hasn’t fully healed just yet, so it’s hard to hold back with it. If you move too much, I could end up crushing your spine.”

As his limbs flailed about, the little man let out a groan.

Once my eyes got more accustomed to the darkness, I noticed two other figures behind Dan Rutim. Deem Rutim was pinning a similarly familiar large man on the floor while twisting his arm.

“It seems they came down from the roof of the building using some sort of ropes. There’s no bolt on the window.” Even though Deem Rutim had looked so childish before I went to sleep, now the light of a hunter was unmistakably shining in his eyes.

“Let go of me, damn it! Don’t you care what’s happening to your women in the other room?!” the big man desperately wailed. In the next instant, an unsettling sound rang out. Deem Rutim had dislocated the man’s shoulder. The big fellow let out a shriek so high it was barely even audible to humans.

“Hey, Deem Rutim. You shouldn’t injure criminals needlessly.”

“I know. But these men not only entered our sleeping chamber without permission, they even drew blades. They wouldn’t have any grounds to complain even if we sliced off a finger on their right hand, or a toe.”

“This isn’t the forest’s edge, so we should obey the laws set by the capital. Besides, if you injure him like that, his shrieking is gonna be absolutely obnoxious...” Dan Rutim said, then he let out a big yawn. Considering how soundly he had been sleeping thanks to all the wine he had drunk, it seemed that it really was flat out impossible for folks from town to get the better of hunters of the forest’s edge. “Now then, I believe these guys had five in their group. Shall we check in on the other rooms? Asuta, sorry, but could you fetch some leather straps? There should be some in the pockets of my hunter’s cloak.”

“R-Right, got it.”

It went without saying, but I was worried about whether the others were safe above all else. There was surely nothing to be concerned about, since we were being protected by such dependable hunters, but even so, my pounding heart wouldn’t calm down until I saw them safe and sound.

After binding the outlaws’ limbs with leather straps, we all exited the room together. After a short walk down the now completely dark hallway, Dan Rutim started by knocking on the door of the neighboring room.

“Hey Ai Fa, has anything happened in there?”

After a few moments of silence, I heard the clank of the door being unbolted. It opened a moment later, and Rimee Ruu stood there with a smile. “Hey, you guys are okay too?! Thank goodness! Ai Fa took care of everyone over here!”

As I patted Rimee Ruu on the head, I looked into the room, and spotted Ai Fa elegantly rising after binding the criminals like we had. Since she had also gone to bed, she of course didn’t have on her hunter’s cloak, and her golden blonde hair was flowing freely. Seeing her standing there with the same elegance and strength as always, I finally managed to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Oh, so all the rest of them came over here?” Dan Rutim called out with a chuckle.

“Hmm?” Ai Fa questioned with a tilt of her head. Astoundingly, there were three outlaws lying at my clan head’s feet.

“We had two of the criminals bust in. As long as they don’t have any more buddies, that should be all of them.”

“Ah, so that is what you meant. You needn’t worry any further,” Ai Fa said with a nod directed toward a different direction entirely. Following her gaze, I found Myme and Toor Deen huddling together like sisters with their small shoulders trembling, having both gotten out of bed.

“Still, there is no guarantee there aren’t more of them. I’ll climb up their rope and check how things look on top of the building,” Deem Rutim declared, crossing the room and approaching the open window.

“Well then, I’ll go check on the other rooms. After all, we’ll need to discuss with Zasshuma about what to do with these guys,” Dan Rutim said.

As he was about to shut the door, I called out, “Um, is it okay if I stay here? I’m concerned about Toor Deen and Myme.”

“Hmm. Just make sure you don’t leave Ai Fa’s side, okay?”

Dan Rutim walked off down the hallway with the help of his cane, while I went to step into the room. However, Ai Fa swiftly hurried over and pushed me back into the hall. “Hold on. You’re uninjured, right?”

“Yeah, of course. By the time I was awake, Dan and Deem Rutim already had our attackers under control.”

“I see,” Ai Fa nodded, then she reached down and patted Rimee Ruu’s head. “Rimee Ruu, I have to talk with Asuta for a moment. Make sure not to go near the window until Deem Rutim comes back, all right?”

“Yup, got it!”

At that, Rimee Ruu scurried over to the other young girls.

The three criminals all seemed to be fully unconscious, since none of them were moving in any way as they lay there with their limbs bound. After taking one more look at them, Ai Fa stepped outside of the room.

At the same time, Dan Rutim disappeared into Zasshuma’s room, leaving just me and my clan head alone in the hallway again. After half closing the door to block the gazes of the young girls, Ai Fa pulled me over to the wall.

“What’s the matter? Are you angry that I didn’t signal the emergency? I mean, the outlaws were all taken care of without me needing to knock on the wall.”

“That’s not it. Since there were only two of them, it comes as no surprise that they were defeated before you even awoke.”

In that case, why did Ai Fa have such a brooding look in her eyes?

As she bit down firmly on her lip, she stepped directly in front of me. “Asuta, you should prepare yourself mentally. I’ve already done so.”

“Huh? What do you—” I started to ask, but before I could finish, Ai Fa threw both of her arms around me.

For a moment I felt like I was going to be bowled over by shock, but then I gathered myself and grabbed ahold of my clan head’s shoulders.

“Wh-What’s the matter? I told you, I wasn’t in any danger either.”

“I know. But still, I was so incredibly worried,” Ai Fa whispered, hugging me even tighter. Her warmth and scent made my heart suddenly feel content. I was overwhelmed with such joy that I felt like I was going to start choking up.

“I’m just glad you’re all right. It’s not that I doubt Dan and Deem Rutim’s strength, but the thought that you were in danger in a place where I couldn’t see you was so painful it felt like it would tear me apart.”

“I wasn’t in any danger. But thanks for worrying so much about me.” As I said that, I moved one of my hands from Ai Fa’s shoulder up to her head. Placing it on her soft blonde hair, I pulled her head in just a bit closer.

Instantly, Ai Fa made a noise like “Ah” and pushed me away. “A-At any rate, I’m glad that you’re okay. I can’t imagine there will be any more danger tonight, but do keep your guard up as you get some rest, all right?”

“It may be a bit tricky for me to keep my guard up while resting...”

“Oh, quiet. Even if it is difficult, do it anyway,” Ai Fa retorted while shooting me a glare with upturned eyes. Her face, which was half hidden behind her long hair, was blushing bright red, which lately I hadn’t seen her do very often.

Of course, even without a mirror to check, it was obvious to me that I was in much the same state. After all, it had been some time since Ai Fa and I were this close to one another.

And so, even with that slight disturbance, our night in Dabagg quietly passed on by.