Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 17 - Chapter 4.4

Intermezzo: A Gentle Night

As it was her first night spent outside of the forest’s edge, Toor Deen could feel her heart beating faster, though nobody would guess it by looking at her.

Having stepped outside of not only the forest’s edge but even Genos entirely, they were now in a town known as Dabagg, lodging at an inn. After finishing dinner downstairs and enjoying a bit of friendly chatting, the group split up to head back to their own separate bedrooms.

They had arrived in Dabagg around when the sun hit its peak, but even though it was now late at night, Toor Deen still wasn’t back in her normal state of mind. Her legs felt oddly light, as if she were walking through a dream.

What is someone as lacking as me doing in a place like this?

It was virtually unheard of for people of the forest’s edge to travel to the outside world. It was one thing for Asuta or the members of the leading Ruu clan to do so, but why was she added to the group when she was nothing but a simple member of the Deen? That doubt was still firmly rooted in Toor Deen’s chest.

The day really had been filled with surprises and fresh experiences. The unfamiliar world outside of Genos was enough to make Toor Deen’s heart tremble. It was such a valuable experience that she couldn’t help but wonder, Why me?

There were plenty of people out there who had wanted to come along on this trip. Foremost among them were Lala Ruu, who Toor Deen got along with well, and Yun Sudra, who had started helping out around the stalls recently. Was it really all right for her to push ahead of them? She knew that her seat wouldn’t be given to them even if she had declined, but she still couldn’t stop herself from feeling that way.

“What’s the matter, Toor Deen?” Myme asked, walking alongside her. Without her even realizing it, they had finished climbing the stairs and were now standing in front of the door to their room.

“O-Oh, it’s nothing. I was just spacing out a little,” Toor Deen replied in a fluster.

“I see,” Myme smiled back. That expression was as bright and clear as the morning sun streaming out over the peak of Mount Morga. “Well then, let’s get some rest. It seems like Ai Fa has something to discuss with Asuta.”

The arrangement was for Ai Fa, Myme, Rimee Ruu, and Toor Deen to sleep in this bedroom. Leaving Ai Fa out in the hall, Rimee Ruu closed the door and hurried over to the other two young girls, saying, “Ooh, these look really interesting! I wanna sleep on top. Is that okay?”

The beds in this room looked like they were constructed out of lidless boxes and had two levels to them. The top level reached up higher than the heads of the young girls, so they would need to use the ladders to get up there. According to Myme, they were called “bunk beds.”

“I don’t mind if I’m on the top or the bottom. What about you, Toor Deen?”

“A-Ah, I’m fine with either too.”

“Thanks! Then I’ll go ahead and sleep up top!”

Rimee Ruu darted up the ladder like some sort of small forest animal. When she reached the top, she proclaimed, “Wow! This is even higher than when I’m up on Ludo’s shoulders! Goodnight you two!”

“Huh? You’re going to sleep without waiting for Ai Fa? I thought for sure you would want to sleep with her, actually...”

“Yeah. I tried to earlier, but it was too narrow for the two of us to fit, so we have to sleep separately,” Rimee Ruu said, and then she let out a big yawn. “Plus, I’m all sleepy now that I’m full of food. But I’ll be spending all morning with Ai Fa tomorrow, so we can chat as much as we like then!”

“I see. Well, I’m certainly tired too from all that walking around today. Please, go ahead and get some rest.”

“Yeah, you too! Goodnight!” With that, Rimee Ruu’s small figure disappeared from sight into the bed.

Myme turned back toward Toor Deen. “Well then, shall we get to sleep too?”

“Ah, yes. Where do you want to sleep, Myme?”

“I’m fine going anywhere... Um, but if you don’t mind, could we both sleep on the same bed?”

“Huh? You mean with me?”

Her cheeks flushing red from embarrassment, Myme nodded back, “Yes.”

“I-I don’t really mind... But why?”

“I always sleep together with my father, so I feel sort of lonely sleeping on my own... It’s really embarrassing, when I’m ten years old now...”

Hearing those words left Toor Deen feeling even more surprised. “That’s embarrassing? But I usually sleep with my father too.”

“Huh?! Really?”

“Yes. I don’t really know much about how things are in other houses...but I don’t think that’s unusual at the forest’s edge.”

“Th-Then, will you sleep in my bed?”

“Yes, if you’re fine with someone like me...”

Myme’s eyes sparkled and she looked truly happy as she said, “Thank you.”

“B-But are you really all right with me of all people? Rimee Ruu is smaller...”

“It’s fine, I’ve been thinking for a while that it would be nice to sleep together with you, Toor Deen,” Myme excitedly replied, slipping into the bed. “Come on in. I’ll try to stick as close to the wall as I can.”

“O-Okay...”

Though Toor Deen felt a little uneasy, she went ahead and lay down beside Myme.

With the two ten-year-old girls next to one another, they were close enough that their arms were almost touching. That must have been why Rimee Ruu needed to give up on sleeping with Ai Fa. And someone as large as Dan Rutim must have been a tight fit all on his own.

“Umm... Why was it that you wanted to share a bed with someone like me, Myme?” Toor Deen timidly asked.

The other girl turned her head so their gazes met. Once again, she was wearing a smile like the morning sun. “It’s not that, exactly. I just wanted a chance to talk with you more. Even though we were together all day, we didn’t really speak much, did we?”

“B-But why someone like me?” Toor Deen repeated, only for Myme to give a confused blink.

“I mean, you’re the same age as me, right? So, well...I’ve been wanting to get to know you better for a while now.”

“I-Is that so? But Rimee Ruu is only two years younger.”

“Yes. But I talk so much with Rimee Ruu all the time that I think we already get along just fine. I want to be friends with you too, Toor Deen,” Myme replied, her eyes narrowing as she smiled. It was as earnest a smile as Rimee Ruu’s. “There aren’t many kids around in the Turan lands where I live. With the northerners working the fields, there isn’t a lot of work to go around, so apparently the young folks all moved elsewhere. I’d be so happy if I could become close with someone my own age.”

“R-Really...?”

“I’m sure you have lots of friends your age, don’t you, Toor Deen?”

Embracing the emotions whirling about deep in her chest, Toor Deen replied, “No. It’s not that there aren’t any young children around the Deen settlement...but I spend my time surrounded by a lot more adults.”

“Ooh, so they must really trust your cooking skills, right?”

“N-No, that’s not what I meant... I just need to learn how to live a proper life, and the adults look after me to help that happen...”

Myme’s eyes shot open wide, but by all common sense, she wouldn’t be able to understand those words without more of an explanation. Toor Deen hesitated, but spurred on by Myme’s earnest gaze, she went ahead and recounted everything that had happened.

That she was originally a part of the Suun clan... How the Suun hid the fact that they were breaking the taboos of the forest’s edge from everyone... And that the majority of the members of the Suun were sent to other clans in order to learn how to live proper lives, so that they could redeem themselves for those crimes...

Having listened all the way through to the end, Myme passionately nodded.

“I’ve heard of the Suun clan. They committed crimes while working with the previous head of the house of Turan, right? So you were born into that clan, Toor Deen?”

“Yes. I was nothing more than a member of a branch house...but even so, that doesn’t change the fact that I belonged to the Suun clan. To pay for our crimes, I cast aside my old clan name and was taken in by the Deen.”

This was the first time Toor Deen had ever spoken about her background like that. At the forest’s edge, everyone already knew, so there was no need to explain, and she hadn’t had anyone she needed to open up to about it in the outside world until now.

On top of that, members of the Suun clan had committed terrible acts outside the forest too. They ran wild in the post town, destroying stalls they didn’t care for, and even attacked travelers in secret. As she felt a throbbing pain clearly in her chest, Toor Deen timidly looked up at Myme’s face.

“I’m still working to pay for those crimes. Living a proper life is how we all have to atone for that. Um, if that was too scary, I can move to a different bed now...” Toor Deen said.

“No,” Myme answered with a smile. “There’s nothing for me to feel scared about. Still...I get the feeling that I understand now why you sometimes get that sad look in your eyes.”

“A sad look? I wasn’t trying to look sad or anything...”

“Really? Well, maybe it’s not sadness, exactly. And...it’s not really anxiety either. It’s sort of like you seem really happy, but also worry about if it’s okay for you to feel that way...? I can’t quite put it well, but that’s sort of how it looks sometimes to me.”

Those words seemed to hit on exactly how Toor Deen was feeling at the moment.

Paying no heed to the young Deen girl’s surprise, Myme just kept on smiling.

“You’ve got a lot of painful memories, right, Toor Deen? You should at least become happy enough to make up for them. At least, that’s how I see it.”

“R-Really? But...”

“My dad had some really awful times too, so I want him to be happy enough to wipe that all away.”

Myme’s dad Mikel had had the muscles in his arm cut by a noble named Cyclaeus and wasn’t able to keep working as a chef. Cyclaeus was also the one who tempted the Suun clan down their wicked path. Looking at it that way, both Myme and Toor Deen had the fates of their parents twisted by the same man.

“My dad changed after meeting Asuta. He used to drink constantly, even in the morning, and when we slept together he stank of booze. I guess you and I have both suffered because of the same noble, and somehow both of us were also saved by the same chef.”

“Yes... I think so too.”

“And then I was able to meet you and everyone else from the forest’s edge, so now I’m so much happier, just like my dad,” Myme said, gripping Toor Deen’s hands under the blanket. “I’m so glad to have met a girl my age who’s also passionate about cooking. Could you tell me more about yourself, Toor Deen?”

“Y-Yes... But, well...I-I’d like to hear about you too, Myme.”

Myme’s eyes shot open wide when she heard that. And then she broke out in her happiest smile yet. “Then let’s take turns. You’re not sleepy yet, are you?”

“N-No. My body is tired out, but I don’t think I’ll drift off for a while.”

“I feel the same way, so let’s keep talking for as long as we like, okay?”

How was she able to give such a warm, gentle smile? It was so brilliant that Toor Deen almost felt like she was about to start crying, until a thought came back to her. I’m so, so glad I got to come along on this trip. Toor Deen was absolutely certain about that, down to the deepest depths of her heart.