Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 19 - Chapter 3.1

Chapter 3: The Ruu Festival of the Hunt, Once Again

1

The Ruu clan’s festival of the hunt ended up being held on the fourteenth of the violet month. Incredibly, they had gone out of their way to align it with our day off from our business in the post town. Since the festival of the hunt was a big event that we’d be spending most of the day on, it would be impossible for us to prepare for business the next day. That was why they’d scheduled it when they had, on the day before our business would be on break. It must’ve been Donda Ruu who made the decision. I was always impressed by how flexible he ended up being.

With that said, the fourteenth itself was a work day. Once we finished with business, we set about putting things in order afterward as usual, with Lala Ruu spurring us onward the whole time.

“Come on, hurry up! The festival of the hunt’s already starting! We’ve got to get back to the settlement already!”

I could recall her acting similarly before the last festival of the hunt too. She undoubtedly wanted to see Shin Ruu competing in the contest of strength held between hunters.

Feeling secretly amused, I replied, “It’ll be fine. We closed up earlier today than last time, and we still got to see most of the contest of strength back then, right?”

On top of that, last time we were traveling on foot, but now it would be by wagon. I figured when it was all added up, we would make it back to the settlement an hour and a half or so earlier.

Currently, it was the lower second hour, or what I estimated to be about two hours and twenty minutes after noon, and when taking into account the cleanup, coin exchanging, and ingredient purchasing we needed to do, we would make it back to the Ruu settlement by around three.

The Fa clan was finally set to open our outdoor restaurant in two days, but we intended to pick up the chairs and tables we had ordered tomorrow, on our day off. The expansion of the stall spaces had wrapped up this morning, so there was now a wide-open area off to our right.

“Once we get back to the settlement, we’ll have to start working on the banquet, correct? What an exhausting schedule.” After we were done with the cleanup, we started heading back, only for Yamiru Lea to begin grumbling.

“But there are six clans under the Ruu and they have over a hundred people in total, right?” Yun Sudra chimed in. “And they’re the most prosperous of all the clans, so I’m sure the banquet is going to be absolutely incredible.” Though they both worked the stalls together, it was rare for those two to make small talk.

“I couldn’t say. Since I remained at the Lea settlement the last time, I have no way of knowing. But it is simply a custom to have a bigger festival of the hunt where all blood relatives gather once a year, and today is just that day once again.”

“I see. The Sudra clan has few members, so I can’t even imagine such a huge banquet,” Yun Sudra excitedly replied, and then she clapped her hands together and said, “Ah, now that I think about it, both you and Toor Deen used to be part of the Suun clan, so big events like this probably aren’t anything unusual for you.”

As I manipulated Gilulu’s reins, I found my shoulder tensing a bit. I hadn’t expected Yun Sudra to bring up their past. However, the path back from the post town to the forest’s edge was narrow and on a bit of a slope, so I didn’t exactly have the leeway to turn around and look.

After a bit of silence, Yamiru Lea replied in the same tone as before, “Many of the Suun’s subordinate clans were so distant that it was rare for everyone to gather. From what I can recall, the leading clan head Zuuro Suun’s wedding was the last time it occurred.”

“Ah, I see. Wait, huh...? Zuuro Suun was your father, right, Yamiru Lea? So shouldn’t that have been before you were born?”

“No. The souls of the women Zuuro Suun married all returned to the forest soon after childbirth. The one I remember was his fifth wedding, which I suppose would be thirteen years ago at this point.” In other words, when he married Tsuvai’s mother, Oura. Yamiru Lea was over twenty, so it wasn’t strange for her to remember the event. “That’s the only proper celebratory banquet I can remember. After all, this was after the hunters had essentially stopped working and began pillaging the fruits of the forest instead, which made it necessary to not have the subordinate clans gather in our settlement unless it couldn’t be avoided. Since hunting giba just so we could have a banquet was seen as too much of a dangerous hassle, the customs were changed so that each clan held their own festival of the hunt. And the Suun clan wasn’t really hunting giba anyway, so they didn’t give a damn about festivals.”

The conversation was definitely taking a disquieting turn.

However, Yamiru Lea’s tone then became just a touch more stern as she added, “You don’t need to get so gloomy over every little thing, Toor Deen. The fact that Yun Sudra is able to talk so freely about the Suun is proof that she isn’t concerned about our crimes. Right? Or would you prefer to have her avoid mentioning it at all for our sake?”

“Ah, no, I...”

“Huh?! Did I hurt your feelings somehow? Don’t cry, Toor Deen!” Yun Sudra said in a fluster.

And then, Yamiru Lea continued on. “But when we welcomed a bride or groom from a subordinate clan, we needed to hold a banquet at the Suun settlement, and each time it caused the members of the branch houses to suffer. They had to hunt giba despite being unaccustomed to the work, and prepare the meat, aria, and poitan. And then they had to pretend to enjoy the banquet while fearing their secret might get out. Perhaps Toor Deen was reminded of those difficult times.”

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t think about that...” Yun Sudra said.

“It’s fine. The Suun clan was in the wrong, so there’s no reason for you to watch your words,” Yamiru Lea stated in her chilly voice. “And as a member of the branch houses, Toor Deen, you had no way to oppose the main house, so there’s no need for you to fret over every little thing. You shouldn’t be so weak-willed.”

I could hear Toor Deen sniffle.

I figured I should interject, but before I could, the young girl spoke up herself.

“I’m sorry... But a little while ago I was invited to a banquet at the northern settlement, since I’m part of the Deen clan. It was as a chef, so I didn’t have enough free time to properly enjoy it, but it still made me really happy.”

“Oh, I see,” Yamiru Lea responded.

“Yeah... So I hope you’ll enjoy the Ruu banquet today as a member of the Lea clan.” From her voice, I could easily picture the bashful smile Toor Deen must have been wearing.

Just what sort of look did Yamiru Lea have in her eyes as she stared back, though?

“Yeah! I hope you’ll both get to be happy, now that you’re part of the Lea and Deen clans!” Yun Sudra said, undoubtedly breathing a sigh of relief. However, it was possible she and I might not have had any reason to worry regardless.

Though Yamiru Lea and Toor Deen hadn’t been able to forge a proper bond back when they belonged to the same clan, once their blood ties were severed, they were finally able to reach a point where they could be open with one another. Though listening to them made us nervous, it was probably important for them to be able to talk about these things.

With a feeling of calm restored in our wagon, we arrived at the Ruu settlement. Yamiru Lea and I got out, and I entrusted Gilulu’s reins to Toor Deen.

“Sorry about this, but I’m going to have to leave the wagon to you now. Ai Fa should be back at the house.”

“Right. Thank you again for everything today.”

Yun Sudra also peeked her head out beside Toor Deen, smiling brightly. Though Ai Fa and I had been invited to the Ruu festival of the hunt again, they would be heading back home. The plan was that Ai Fa would walk here after squaring the wagon away.

Lately, Toor Deen and the others had been able to attend most of these events, so I couldn’t help but feel a bit lonely and like something was out of sorts. However, it went against the customs of the forest’s edge to have members of other clans attend a festival of the hunt without a proper reason.

“We’ll be picking up the chairs and tables tomorrow when the sun is at its peak, right? We’ll see you then. Farewell...” Yun Sudra said.

“Ah, hold on a moment!” I stopped them before they could go. “I only just thought of this, but the next time we have a break period, why don’t we try holding a festival of the hunt like the Ruu clan does?”

“Huh? But we’re supposed to have one when all of the clans are entering into a break period...”

“Yeah. But last time, the hunters from the nearby clans all entered a break period at the same time, didn’t they? So wouldn’t it be fine for us to celebrate together as well?”

At that, Toor Deen and Yun Sudra both leaned further out from the wagon.

“Y-You’re saying we should hold a banquet together? With the Fa clan?”

“Yup. I believe the Fa, Deen, Sudra, Fou, and Ran all went on break at the same time before. And the Liddo are supposed to be close to the Deen, so why not get those six clans together and celebrate?”

Among that list, the Fou had blood ties with the Ran, and the Deen had ties with the Liddo, while the Fa and Sudra lacked any such relations. But we saw each other pretty much every day for prep work and cooking lessons, and we now had a shared smoking house. When we were that close already, it made sense to me that we could celebrate the hunt together.

“Of course, the Deen and Liddo fall under the Zaza, so Gulaf Zaza would need to give his permission, and I don’t know if any of the clan heads will agree to begin with...even including Ai Fa.”

“Ah, no, I’m sure our clan head, Raielfam, will approve! In fact, I’m sure the Gaaz and Ratsu will be disappointed that their break periods don’t line up too!”

“And the Deen clan head will definitely agree as well. I don’t think the head of the Zaza will be an issue either.”

Toor Deen and Yun Sudra both looked completely overjoyed as they offered those responses.

“I see. In that case, I’ll try discussing the matter with the others. I’m starting to feel like my own clan head may end up being the most hesitant in the end...”

“Then please do whatever you can to convince her, Asuta!” Yun Sudra said with an adorable smile. She had seemed even stronger and more cheerful ever since our conversation at the Sauti settlement. “It should be around a month till our next break period, right? That feels so far off now! Thank you for coming up with such a wonderful idea!”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

With that, the two of them departed in high spirits.

As she watched the wagon disappear into the distance, Yamiru Lea shrugged her shoulders.

“Today is a banquet, and here you are already talking about the next one. Are they truly that much fun?”

“They are. I’m sure you’ll feel the same by the end of the day, Yamiru Lea.”

Now that I thought about it, Yamiru Lea hadn’t been at Dan Rutim’s birthday banquet, so she had only attended the dinners we held when Zuuro Suun and his former family were invited to the Ruu settlement, and at the Sauti settlement when things were settled with the lord of the forest.

Though we did prepare some elaborate dishes for those, they didn’t really compare to a real banquet. This would be her first chance to truly experience how fun these events could really be.

“Well, let’s head on in. Lala Ruu must be getting anxious over in the other wagon.”

Yamiru Lea and I walked into the Ruu settlement. Instantly, an air of enthusiasm rushed over us. Just as Yamiru Lea had said before, this time all of their blood relatives had gathered in the settlement for a huge once-a-year festival of the hunt. That meant over a hundred people, and this was my first time seeing all of them gathered there in the plaza in the middle of the day.

Under the brilliant afternoon sunlight, a huge crowd was cheering. At the center of it was the contest of strength between the hunters.

“Ack, it really did start already! Who’s up against whom?”

The people from the Ruu clan’s wagon were talking as well as they got down. Their group included Lala and Reina Ruu, Ama Min Rutim, and Tsuvai. It must have been a real struggle even just getting the vehicle back to the main house with this crowd.

“That seems to be the Ririn clan head and the eldest son of the Maam. What should we do, Reina Ruu?”

“I’ll go look for Sheera Ruu and figure out how preparations are going, so please wait near the main house.”

The women had apparently arranged to take turns manning the stove in order to enjoy watching the contest of strength in between.

This time around, rather than cooking for the winner, I had been asked to prepare a single dish for everyone to enjoy. Meanwhile, Bartha and the women of the main Ruu house were taking care of the preparations for the dishes which took the most time.

At any rate, after Reina Ruu disappeared into the crowd, the remaining six of us slowly moved along the outskirts of the plaza with the wagon. Preparations seemed to already be underway at the stoves throughout the area. In fact, in addition to the enthusiastic cheers filling the air, there was also an aroma wafting about that seriously stimulated the appetite.

“Ah, you’re back. You sure are early,” Ludo Ruu called out when we were about halfway around the plaza. He was lightly dressed, with no cloak or blade, and beside him stood the young Lea clan head Rau Lea.

“Oh, so have the two of you not participated in the contest of strength yet?”

“Hmm? I’ve already won three matches. It was two for you, right, Rau Lea?”

“Huh?! You’ve already won three when it’s still this bright out?” Lala Ruu questioned, clearly shocked.

In the Ruu clan contest of strength, you first had to win three times in order to make it past the preliminary round. If you lost twice you were eliminated, and once eight people were selected, that put an end to the initial stage. Once those final eight slots were filled, a tournament to determine the overall victor began.

“Yeah, well, Rau Lea and I made it into the final eight last time. And once that happens, you get challengers coming your way one after another.”

“Right. Especially since Donda Ruu and Dan Rutim aren’t participating this time. Jiza Ruu and Gazraan Rutim hit three wins real quickly too.”

Though they had competed in the finals of the previous contest, neither Donda Ruu nor Dan Rutim were taking part today due to their injuries. And Ai Fa was similarly injured too, meaning three of the eight finalists from last time were missing. Darmu Ruu had suffered injuries to the palm of his right hand and was also absent, but Rau Lea was apparently participating despite having several stitches in his head.

“Umm... So, what about Shin Ruu?” Lala Ruu asked.

“Shin Ruu’s only gone up against me so far. Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen him for a while.”

“Huh?! Shin Ruu challenged you again, Ludo?!”

“Yep. He challenges me every time.”

“But he hasn’t beaten you even once! If he didn’t try to fight you all the time, he might be able to make it into the final eight,” Lala Ruu complained, puffing up her cheeks.

“Yeah. Shin Ruu has gotten so much stronger I hardly recognized him. He might even still win three times in a row,” Ludo Ruu said nonchalantly, then got a sparkle in his eye. “But I couldn’t back down this time around. I can’t lose to anybody until I beat him.”

“Who do you mean? Mida?”

“Nah, Mida topples over, same as anyone else. No, I’m talking about him,” Ludo Ruu said, his gaze fixed on the center of the plaza. Two new hunters were stepping forward from behind the judge, Raa Rutim.

“Huh? That’s Jeeda, isn’t it? Didn’t he say he wouldn’t participate in any contests of strength?”

“Yeah, but I pushed him into it. I need to settle things with him.”

Apparently, Ludo Ruu felt a strong sense of rivalry with Jeeda, who was both younger and smaller than he was. As for the reason, it was apparently because back at the Sauti settlement, it had been Jeeda’s arrow that had taken out the lord of the forest’s right eye.

Considering he prided himself on his skills with a bow, that had apparently stirred up Ludo Ruu’s competitive spirit quite a bit. But of course, he wasn’t the sort to let those feelings take a negative turn and simply wished to compete with Jeeda fair and square.

“That’s his third opponent. And obviously he hasn’t lost yet either, so this should put him in the final eight.”

“Hmm, he does seem pretty skilled, though I’d definitely beat him if we were to clash.” Rau Lea’s eyes had been blazing like those of a hunting dog this whole time. He was supposedly upset about his lack of contribution during the hunt to take down the lord of the forest. Though Dan Rutim had said the accomplishment belonged to all the hunters equally, these hot-blooded young men seemed to have all sorts of strong feelings about how things had played out. “So, Ludo Ruu. You, Jiza Ruu, and Gazraan Rutim have three wins, and Jeeda and Mida each have two, right? I want to hurry up and get my third win too.”

“Hmm? Can you not challenge someone yourself, Rau Lea?” I asked.

“No. When you make it into the final eight, the custom is that next time you wait to be challenged. I want to go up against someone with some real backbone, myself...” Rau Lea started to say, only for a figure to approach from the crowd.

“Ah, Shin Ruu!” Lala Ruu loudly exclaimed.

After giving her a nod, the young hunter stopped before the Lea clan head. “Rau Lea, could I ask you for a match?”

The blaze in Rau Lea’s eyes instantly grew brighter, while Lala Ruu objected, “Hold on! You’re going with Rau Lea right after Ludo?! Why are you only challenging such strong hunters?! Both of them were in the final eight last time!”

“That’s exactly why. Apparently, another hunter challenged Mida, so Rau Lea is the only one available out of the final eight from last time.” Shin Ruu looked as calm as always.

Staring back, Rau Lea replied, “Oh? So do you think I’ll be easy to handle or something? As we’ve practiced more and more, it’s ended up being an equal amount of wins and losses between us, Shin Ruu.”

Rau Lea had been an excellent hunter to begin with, but when Ai Fa had suggested he go up against Shin Ruu, he was swiftly defeated. With the way that Rau Lea rushed recklessly ahead, he had trouble handling the calm, composed, and nimble Shin Ruu.

However, there was no doubt that Rau Lea was a skilled enough hunter to enter the final eight. Even Shin Ruu needed to give everything he had in order to win. Both of them had been training diligently, and they would often polish their skills against one another... That was the background behind Rau Lea’s statement.

As he stared back at Rau Lea with a look of composure, Shin Ruu tilted his head a bit. “I know how strong you are better than anyone, Rau Lea. That’s exactly why I wanted to challenge you. After all, it’s our duty to face skilled hunters in the contest of strength.”

After hearing that reply, Rau Lea broke out in an even more intense grin. “That’s true. I’ve just been real on edge lately. But if I said something to sully your honor, then I apologize.”

“You have nothing to worry about. If you’ve accepted my challenge, then let’s go stand by.”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

The two young hunters left. Lala Ruu clicked her tongue angrily. “Tch! I thought Shin Ruu would make it to the final eight this time. It really felt like a possibility with Papa Donda and Dan Rutim not taking part!”

“Don’t be dumb. Anybody thinking small-minded stuff like that would never make it into the top eight. A hunter’s got to take down strong enemies,” Ludo Ruu said.

As they were talking, Jeeda won his match. Just as Ludo Ruu had predicted, despite being a guest here, he had gotten three wins and been selected for the final eight. With the way he steadily advanced, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Ai Fa last time around.

“Ah, Mida’s up next. Hmm, he’s up against...the Ririn clan head, looks like.”

“The Ririn clan head? Wait, didn’t he just face the eldest Maam son?”

“Yeah. He beat Ji Maam in a flash.”

From what I could recall, Ji Maam was the largest of all the hunters under the Ruu, Mida aside. At the last festival of the hunt, I saw his match with Ai Fa as soon as I arrived at the settlement, and it made me break out in a cold sweat.

“The Ririn arrived late, so he may be in a hurry to find people to face. Still, he must be a pretty good hunter to go up against Mida right after Ji Maam.”

Ludo Ruu’s words caught my attention, and I glanced over at the center of the plaza. I could spy Mida’s massive frame from a distance, and standing in front of him was a middle-aged man with no really remarkable features. He had a medium build, and there was a bit of gray in his hair.

“Hmm, I don’t really remember much about the Ririn clan head. I think last time he lost right away to my old man and Dan Rutim.”

“He’s gotta be strong if he’s been challenging those two out of everyone here,” I replied, to which Ludo Ruu furrowed his brow.

“Hmm? Hold on a moment... Now that I think about it, the Ririn clan head challenged my old man and Dan Rutim in the contest before that too. Was he doing that every time?”

“You think? But in the last ten years it’s always been either Donda Ruu or Dan Rutim who won, right?”

“Yeah. And for the last five or six years, they haven’t lost to anyone but each other.”

Then, if the Ririn clan head really had only faced those two each time and earned his two black marks, that would mean he was eliminated before facing anyone else.

“Still, I can’t imagine anyone doing something that—” Ludo Ruu started to say, only to be drowned out by cheers.

When I turned to look, I found Mida with his back on the ground, while the Ririn clan head’s hand was held up in the air.

“The winner is Giran Ririn of the Ririn clan! Mida of the Ruu clan must withdraw!” the judge Raa Rutim’s voice resounded clearly.

“Ooh,” Ludo Ruu remarked, licking his lips like a tiger cub. “At any rate, the Ririn clan head’s strength is the real deal. This is getting interesting.”

It seemed that even without Donda Ruu and Dan Rutim, the contest of strength between the hunters hadn’t lost any of its luster. Actually, without the two big favorites, it might have turned into a closer fight that would get folks even more fired up.

After that, Shin Ruu and Rau Lea had their bout, and after a seriously close match, Shin Ruu emerged victorious. He had defeated one of the previous top eight, and the crowd cheered in admiration.

“He did it! Now that he’s beaten Rau Lea, maybe he’ll be able to beat two more!” Lala Ruu was in complete spectator mode, so our timing for heading to the kitchen was thrown off.

As I was pondering what exactly I should do, Ama Min Rutim whispered to me, “Asuta, I’ll head to the main house’s kitchen on my own. It’s possible that Reina Ruu is looking for us by now. And I’ll ask whether the women helping out with your cooking need you.”

“Ah, thank you.”

With a truly refreshing smile, Ama Min Rutim disappeared into the crowd.

And then Lala Ruu shouted out yet again, “Huh?! Why is he challenging Ji Maam now?! Ugh, I want to go give him a smack on the head!”

Even though his last match had just concluded, Shin Ruu was now standing in wait alongside Ji Maam. If I remembered correctly, he had lost to that mountain of a man in the last contest of strength.

I just feel like if I’m not going to have another chance to cross blades with that man again, then I’m going to have to hone my skills to be much greater than they are now. Otherwise, I’ll spend my whole life afraid of my own weakness.

Those words that Shin Ruu had spoken several days ago came to mind.

When Sanjura had gotten the better of him, he started trying harder than ever before to grow stronger.

If I were in Lala Ruu’s position, I might have felt the same way. And yet...

If this were a cooking contest instead, I could’ve ended up taking the same sort of actions Shin Ruu was. No matter how much I tried to hold it back, I really hated to lose.

Shin Ruu and Giran Ririn... No, all of the Ruu hunters are showing some incredible spirit, facing this challenge.

After that, Shin Ruu defeated not only Ji Maam but also the second son of the main Rutim house.

Furthermore, Giran Ririn got his three wins without any losses, and Mida and Rau Lea were both able to grasp victory after tasting a single defeat, which set up the top eight.