Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 19 - Chapter 3.4

4

The Ruu clan’s dishes had all turned out wonderfully, and they had prepared quite a variety of them. First on the list was the giba cutlets that the people of the forest’s edge adored. Then they had myamuu giba, meatballs, spare ribs with sweet sauce, rib meat and nanaar sauté, a meat and vegetable stir-fry that had a pretty good amount of the latter, mashed chatchi, dried kiki and sheema salad, and on and on, making a really great mix of dishes.

There were two among them that especially drew my attention. One was the herb-grilled giba sirloin. Of the eight herbs in my giba curry, they had taken the three that provided the base for the dish’s spiciness and aroma, and grilled some meat with them. That rather curry-like flavor paired really well with the strong fattiness of the meat. This was yet another original dish Reina and Sheera Ruu had invented.

The second was a stew using the white fruit wine from Banarm. They had apparently flavored the dish using tau oil and sugar, and just a bit of white mamaria vinegar as a secret ingredient. It was a dish that emphasized sweetness, with a fragrant aroma from the fruit wine. Reina Ruu said it still needed adjustment, but I thought that it was already plenty good.

Though the teriyaki stew would be difficult to reproduce, it wouldn’t take long for the other women to learn how to make those two dishes. And even better, I was seriously glad to see Reina and Sheera Ruu showing more and more originality in their cooking.

It was also noteworthy that Rimee Ruu had even presented her desserts off to the side of the plaza. That included the karon milk chatchi mochi, the steamed pudding, and a kind of sweet baked poitan that surely took inspiration from Toor Deen. Though she didn’t make anywhere near as much of them as the other dishes, there were lots of women and children gathering around and looking really happy with them.

“Ah, so I finally get to see you, Asuta, Ai Fa.” As we were enjoying those dishes, Rau and Yamiru Lea approached us. “Where have you been hiding? I’ve been looking for you this whole time!” Rau Lea complained.

“Oh, really? Do you have some sort of business with us?”

“What, you can’t meet up with friends without any business to take care of? Come on, don’t be so cold!” he retorted, putting me in a sleeper hold.

“Ow, ow! That hurts, Rau Lea! Are you drunk?”

“This is a banquet! What’s wrong with getting drunk?!”

That might have been a valid argument, but I still needed to protect my precious neckbones. After all, if he forgot his strength he could easily snap my neck in an instant.

“Hey, no matter how drunk you get, you can’t go laying a hand on a member of another clan like that,” Ai Fa warned, grabbing hold of Rau Lea’s wrist.

After letting me go, Rau Lea shot Ai Fa a glare like a hunting dog’s. “I remember getting lectured like this at the last festival of the hunt too... Aren’t you a bit too soft on Asuta, Ai Fa?”

“It’s a clan head’s duty to protect those under them. If anything, you’re too rough with someone who isn’t even a hunter.” Ai Fa had the look of a wildcat in her eyes. The atmosphere between the two of them was getting pretty tense.

Rimee Ruu looked a bit worried, while Yamiru Lea had her usual sour look on her face as she shrugged.

“You’re acting pretty tough for someone who can’t even hunt right now, Ai Fa.”

“Even if I am injured, it would still be a simple task to take down a drunkard, Rau Lea.”

“I see. Your hunter’s vision is just as sharp as Ludo Ruu’s, isn’t it?” Rau Lea remarked, stepping forward and bringing his face close to my clan head’s. “So in that case, why don’t you tell me? Am I really that weak?”

“What?”

“In the last contest of strength, you took me down. And in this one, I lost to Shin Ruu and Mida. If I can’t beat someone smaller than me or bigger than me, then just what exactly am I doing wrong?”

“The size of one’s body is just one source of strength. And you are one of the foremost hunters under the Ruu.”

“But I’ve never beaten Donda Ruu or Dan Rutim. And Jiza Ruu and Gazraan Rutim seem to be about as strong as they are now too. Plus, if I can’t beat Shin Ruu or Mida, that means I’m no match for Ludo or Darmu Ruu either. Doesn’t that make me kinda pathetic?!” Rau Lea whined like a spoiled child, pressing in even closer to Ai Fa. But my clan head had steadily regained her calm, so she stepped an equal distance back.

“The names you listed all belong to hunters who are exceptionally skilled even for the Ruu clan. At the very least, you match up well against Mida and Shin Ruu, so you have nothing to feel ashamed of.”

“But Jeeda is apparently about as strong as Ludo Ruu, and Giran Ririn had a close match with Gazraan Rutim! And I didn’t contribute much of anything when we took down the lord of the forest!”

“But that’s...”

“You were the one who dealt the finishing blow, Ai Fa. And you fought a close match with Dan Rutim too. Just how did you get so strong? I... I want to get stronger too!” Rau Lea was at the point where it seemed like he would start desperately clinging to Ai Fa if he could. And yet, the look in my clan head’s eyes simply grew more and more calm.

“I believe I’ve already told you the answer to that question long ago. Ludo Ruu and I both have strong fathers, which made us frustrated about our weakness. That frustration drove us to become strong ourselves. I’m sure Shin Ruu, Gazraan Rutim, and even Jiza Ruu had similar thoughts when they entered this contest of strength. That was why they were able to show more strength than ever before.”

“Then I...!”

“You now feel much the same way, and so you will grow stronger from here on out.”

“You think?” Rau Lea asked with a disappointed slump of his shoulders. This was the first time I had ever seen him so listless.

“Cheer up! You made it into the top eight twice in a row, didn’t you? I’m sure you’ll get lots of women asking to marry you today,” Rimee Ruu cheerfully chimed in, which I hoped would finally cut through the tension in the air. However, Rau Lea didn’t perk up in the least.

“Marriage, huh...? I don’t feel like dealing with that right now. There aren’t many available women as beautiful as Ai Fa and Yamiru Lea, anyway.” Ai Fa’s eyebrows instantly raised, while Yamiru Lea turned away. “Maybe I’ve got a thing for brazen women? I mean, I think these two are just way too pretty.”

“U-Um, Rau Lea...” Rimee Ruu started to say.

“But Ai Fa is a hunter, so I can’t take her for a bride. In that case, I guess I should just go ahead and marry Yamiru Lea.”

“It is utterly unacceptable to be considered for marriage as a second best option! Besides, the other members of the Lea clan would never give their approval,” Yamiru Lea snapped.

“That’s not true at all. Sure, you’re a bit on the older side, but that’s nothing to worry about. And there’s only four years between us anyway, right?”

“As if it was my age that was the issue...” Yamiru Lea coldly replied, before gracefully turning her back to him. “If we remain here any longer, our relationship with the Fa clan will likely start to sour again. And you two haven’t had a proper meal yet, have you? I believe you should simply ignore this drunkard and focus on satisfying your hunger instead.”

“Hey! When the head of a clan is feeling weak, isn’t it the members’ duty to support him?!”

With that, the pair from the Lea clan disappeared into the crowd while having a friendly argument.

Feeling rather dumbfounded, I turned toward Ai Fa and Rimee Ruu.

“Um, my stomach’s still only about sixty percent full, so why don’t we keep on enjoying the banquet?” I suggested.

“Yeah, let’s eat!” Rimee Ruu agreed.

Though a fair bit of time had gone by at this point, the banquet showed no signs of slowing down. We advanced into the plaza, passing through a crowd of people whose cheeks were flushed from the liquor and excitement.

Some people were seated atop the cloths, while others were standing as they bit into some meat. With folks sharing drinks and what sounded like a grass whistle ringing out from somewhere, the banquet was finally in full swing.

In addition to the plates the Ruu had at home, we also made full use of the ones for the stalls, so there were no issues on that front. And we also had water jugs prepared, so if we ran short of plates, we could always wash some to use them again. Everyone seemed pretty accustomed to the buffet style of meal, where they just grabbed whatever they wanted, as I didn’t spy any confusion or chaos.

It looks like everyone is really enjoying themselves.

Reina Ruu was sitting on a cloth surrounded by a large crowd of women. She was probably being asked all sorts of cooking questions. There were a number of young men gathered some distance away too, perhaps waiting for Reina Ruu to be available.

Atop the neighboring cloth, Shin and Lala Ruu were huddling close to one another. But in front of the two of them there was a younger person passionately jabbering at Shin Ruu, while Lala Ruu looked a bit annoyed. I couldn’t see clearly from so far away, but the youth looked rather small. I wondered if it was Deem Rutim.

Deem Rutim was a young member of the Rutim branch houses. Since he had been one of our guards on the trip to Dabagg, he had left a strong impression on me.

Maybe he was impressed by how Shin Ruu fought. Now that I think about it, Deem Rutim was always pretty frustrated with his own inexperience...

But Deem Rutim was still only thirteen, having just become a hunter. Though it was difficult to imagine now, Donda Ruu and Dan Rutim must have been young once too, and Shin Ruu and Deem Rutim would be walking down the path their elders had forged together.

Even further past them, I could see Lem Dom walking around and chewing some meat. She looked really displeased, with Sufira Zaza hanging onto her other arm. They were heading toward the ritual flame, so perhaps they were on their way to greet Donda Ruu.

“Hey, Vina! What’re you doing over there?” Rimee Ruu questioned before darting off.

Vina Ruu was standing on her own in the dim light, slightly removed from the crowd.

“Oh, Rimee, and Asuta and Ai Fa too... I’m not particularly doing anything at all...” Vina Ruu replied, staring off toward something in the distance.

In an even dimmer area on the outskirts of the plaza, there seemed to be two figures having an argument. It wasn’t Rau and Yamiru Lea, though. No, it seemed to be a man and a woman with an even greater height difference between them.

“Hmm? Is that Darmu and Sheera Ruu?” I asked.

“Yes... It seemed like they were going to start drawing attention, so I dragged them over there...”

“What’s going on with them? Seems like things are getting turbulent over there.”

“Yes, they are... I was enjoying some fruit wine with Darmu, and then Sheera Ruu came over to tell him he should refrain from drinking when injured...”

Darmu Ruu had had his right palm skinned during the battle with the lord of the forest. It was bad enough that he still couldn’t resume hunting giba or even participate in the contest of strength.

“But he has refrained from drinking fruit wine for the last half a month, so I suggested he could probably handle just a little... What should I do?”

“Hmm. It’s probably fine, right? He’s the one who decided to drink, so you’ve got nothing to worry about,” Rimee Ruu said with a smile. “And besides, Sheera Ruu is just worried about Darmu! It’s a good thing that she can speak her mind to him now.”

“You think...?” Vina Ruu questioned, bringing a slender finger up to her forehead.

It was then that another large and small pair approached from the lively center of the plaza. However, this time around the woman was the bigger of the two.

“What are you doing over here off to the side? If you don’t mind, could we join in?”

It was Bartha and Jeeda. They were both holding plates, and Jeeda was biting into an herb-grilled sirloin as he walked.

“Hey there, Jeeda. It’s been quite a day, hasn’t it?” I greeted, not wanting to advertise the delicate situation going on between Darmu and Sheera Ruu. As he silently bit into his meat, the boy nodded back.

Since Jeeda had taken off his cloak, he seemed to be even smaller than usual. He had to be even shorter than Vina Ruu. I eyeballed him at around 160 centimeters tall, and he was incredibly slender too. His messy hair was red like flame, and his yellow eyes had a bestial shine to them. Still, his expression wasn’t as sour today as it usually was, so he looked more like his actual age of fourteen.

“You showed some remarkable skill today. Though Ludo Ruu has grown much stronger recently, you proved yourself to be comparable in ability,” Ai Fa stated, only for Jeeda to swallow his food and tilt his head.

“That contest of strength between hunters is supposed to be a sacred event to show your strength to the forest, right? But I just got dragged into it without even understanding how a hunter is supposed to show their strength without a blade or a bow.”

“Hmm... A contest of strength between hunters is an event in which you are meant to wring out every last bit of strength you have while also taking care not to harm your opponent. And I believe you displayed your strength just fine, Jeeda.”

“I really just don’t get it...” Jeeda replied, biting into the meat again.

“Jeeda here prefers shooting from a distance with a bow. You get more out of it when Ludo Ruu competes with you on that front, right?” Bartha chimed in, sounding like she was enjoying herself, only for her son to shoot her an annoyed look.

“I only did that because he was so persistent about challenging me. Why is he so fixated on me anyway?”

“Probably because you’re even younger than he is. There aren’t many hunters in your age group who can match him,” I interjected. “Now that I think about it, Ludo Ruu will be turning sixteen soon, but when is your birthday, Jeeda?”

“I’m not a person of the forest’s edge, so I don’t have one.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Oh, yes, you people of the forest’s edge keep track of the day you were born, right? But there’s no custom of celebrating such a day in the western kingdom at large,” Bartha replied. “The year will be coming to a close soon, and when that happens, everyone will grow a year older all at once. Then Jeeda will be fifteen, and I’ll be thirty-five.”

“Oh, I see. I didn’t know that.”

In that case, even though Tara was the same age as Rimee Ruu right now, she would be pulling ahead to the age of nine a bit earlier.

“You did throw that celebration for Sati Lea Ruu just a little while ago. And there’s this festival of the hunt too. You guys have some pretty fun traditions to balance out all those strict rules.”

Sati Lea Ruu’s birthday had apparently been in the indigo month. Though I had been summoned for Lala Ruu and Granny Tito Min’s birthday celebrations, they didn’t call on me for that one. I wasn’t certain whether that was because they could make delicious food all on their own now, or perhaps because her husband Jiza Ruu didn’t wish for it.

“But, well, it’s not like we had much proper human interaction back at Masara. You should be glad that a fine hunter like Ludo Ruu set his sights on you, Jeeda. And we’re nothing but grateful to Donda Ruu for letting us stay here in the settlement.”

Jeeda’s expression grew even more sulky as Bartha talked. No doubt, that was because he didn’t want his relationship with his mother on full display in front of others. But thinking about the complicated lives those two had lived, I was sure they’d eventually patch things up just fine.

As I was thinking about that, Sheera and Darmu Ruu walked back over. One wore a calm expression, while the other looked thoroughly displeased.

Observing the pair and the contrasting emotions they were showing, Vina Ruu awkwardly asked, “My... Have you finally settled things? Is everything okay now?”

“Yes. My apologies for causing you to worry,” Sheera Ruu replied with a deep bow. Then with a restrained yet firm gaze, she stared straight at Vina Ruu. “Still, it is my viewpoint that wine is a poison when one is suffering from injuries. At the very least, one should refrain from drinking until all bleeding stops.”

“My apologies... I thought it would be fine since Rau Lea is gulping the stuff down, and his injuries were more serious...”

“Open wounds can heal to a degree in half a month, but in Darmu Ruu’s case, he needs fresh skin to grow in, so it will require much more time.”

“Sorry, that was careless of me...” Vina Ruu replied, hanging her head and looking dejected.

Darmu Ruu, meanwhile, rustled his hair and said to Sheera Ruu, “We already settled things, so you needn’t go over it again. As long as I stay away from the wine, you’ll be satisfied, right?”

“I know it must be difficult to refrain from drinking fruit wine at a banquet, but please take proper care of yourself, Darmu Ruu,” Sheera Ruu answered with a pained look.

“Yeah, that’s right!” Rimee Ruu chimed in. “By the way, I saw you turn down fruit wine earlier, Sheera Ruu. Are you holding back for Darmu’s sake? If you’re gonna go that far, then Darmu needs to put up with it too!”

Sheera Ruu’s face instantly went bright red, and Darmu Ruu looked perplexed.

“How would that be for my sake? Well, I guess if you tried to brazenly lecture me with breath that stank of booze, I might not have listened...”

“Never mind that!” Bartha said. “Let’s just enjoy the food! Even if you can’t drink, everything else that they’re serving today is delicious, right?” Thanks to her jumping in to mediate, we all started heading back to the celebration. After all, though we had ended up taking a long detour, Ai Fa and I had been looking for more food to eat before all this happened.

We approached the nearest pot, inside which a white mamaria vinegar stew was heating up. Since we were fine eating anything, we all went ahead and got a plate.

“Oh, is that the Fa clan head, Ai Fa?” one of the men standing there called out with a smile.

The man looked to be around Bartha’s age. He had a medium build, and the wrinkles around his eyes gave off a gentle impression.

“Indeed. And you are the clan head of the Ririn, correct?”

“So you know me? That’s an honor.” Realizing that this was Giran Ririn, who I had heard so much about earlier, I quickly looked over at him. I could recognize him by his hair that seemed to be going prematurely gray. “You got those injuries taking down the lord of the forest, from what I hear. I was planning on challenging you first if you had participated in this contest of strength.”

“You’re a splendid hunter. And that was a truly excellent match you had with Gazraan Rutim,” Ai Fa replied, staring straight back at him. “From what I’ve been told, you prevented the Ririn name from dying out despite the fact that it only had four members. As a fellow clan head, I’m truly impressed.”

“It’s nothing so incredible. The person I fell for just happened to be a subordinate of the Ruu clan.”

In other words, this man had been the one to first approach the Lea woman who had eventually married him. It was really something else, for a clan on the verge of extinction to ask to take a woman under the Ruu as a bride.

“If anything deserves to be admired here, it’s Donda Ruu’s generosity in welcoming the Ririn as a subordinate clan. All I did was desperately beg him for that,” Giran Ririn remarked, and then he turned and shot me a smile too. “And you’re Asuta of the Fa clan, aren’t you? Though I’ve seen you a number of times from a distance, I hadn’t thought that you were such a gentle-faced youth. Back at the wedding feast, you didn’t falter even a single step when facing those men from the Suun clan.”

“Ah, that sure takes me back. It’s pretty embarrassing to think about now.”

“You have nothing to feel embarrassed about. You are not only a more skilled chef than any other, but you also possess a hunter’s courage. That’s simply wonderful,” Giran Ririn replied, the wrinkles around his eyes growing more pronounced. “We’ve gained so much strength and happiness thanks to the delicious food you brought us. It may be rather late to do so, but I wish to offer my thanks. Apparently, the majority of the food today was prepared by the women from our clans, but they never would have been able to do so without you,” he added, and then slurped some white mamaria vinegar stew. “Yes, this is truly delicious! I hope the Ririn women will become this skilled before long as well! Then I’ll be able to hunt more giba than ever before.”

Something about his demeanor made me break out in a smile of my own before I realized it.

The man certainly did have an unusual air about him. He might have been the most kind and gentle man I had met so far here at the forest’s edge. If I had to compare him to anyone, the most similar person I could think of would probably be the Sauti elder, Moga Sauti. Though he was still a healthy, active hunter, that sense of maturity he had just made you want to smile.

Though Gazraan Rutim and Dari Sauti are both calm and gentle, they still feel really formidable. But how should I put it...? He feels more like a rippling stream.

In just a short time, I had been thoroughly charmed by Giran Ririn. I couldn’t help but feel I should have watched more closely to see exactly how someone like him had defeated Mida and Ji Maam, and fought a close match with Gazraan Rutim. I noticed now that Ji Maam was here too. The Ririn had apparently taken in a husband from the Maam, so perhaps they were fairly close.

“I also wished to challenge the Fa clan head. What a shame it was that we couldn’t,” Ji Maam added with his rumbling voice. The man was nearly two meters tall, and had an especially rugged appearance. “I hope that the Fa clan will be invited to the next festival of the hunt as well, and that you can heal up before then.”

“An injury like this one should heal up in another half a month, but I can’t make any promises about the festival of the hunt. It feels like it would go against our customs for someone without any blood ties such as myself to keep attending.”

“As long as no taboos are broken, there’s no need to adhere so closely to customs. And besides, it’s a much greater deviation from our customs to welcome a townsperson such as Asuta as a clan member,” Giran Ririn remarked with a gentle smile. “All this joy has been brought into our lives because you aren’t someone who lets herself be bound by customs. As long as being invited to the Ruu festival of the hunt doesn’t cause you any difficulty, by all means, keep attending. We all would be glad to deepen our ties to the Fa clan further.”

Ai Fa silently nodded back.

Though other people might not have understood it as such, that action from Ai Fa showed a great deal of respect.

“Well then, why don’t we go ahead and try the next dish? I wonder if there’s any of those giba cutlets left?” Giran Ririn remarked as he left with a number of his comrades.

All that was left behind was a strangely peaceful feeling lingering in the air.

“The Ririn clan head is quite a relaxed man... I had heard he was a famed hunter, so I expected someone much wilder...” Vina Ruu noted.

“I knew about him from before! ’Cuz he gets along great with Papa Donda and Dan Rutim!” Rimee Ruu added.

With that, we started heading toward the next dish.

We went in the opposite direction so that we wouldn’t just meet up with the Ririn again right away. As we walked, I looked over at Ai Fa’s face illuminated by the bonfire.

“Giran Ririn was an interesting guy. I really enjoy talking with people like him,” I said.

“Is that so? I also find him to be someone worthy of respect,” Ai Fa calmly replied while staring straight ahead. “It’s no small thing to save a clan on the verge of dying out. That is something even my own father couldn’t do... And neither can I.”

“Well, that has to do with not just the number of clan members, but the composition too. And besides, we’re in a bit of a unique position,” I replied quietly so that nobody else could hear. “Still, I’m sure the Fa name will always be remembered throughout the forest’s edge. I mean, you just took down the lord of the forest. That’s huge. And Dari Sauti said he plans to pass the tale on to his descendants.”

“Yes, well, you’ve brought an incredible amount of change to the forest’s edge and made everyone’s lives much happier at the same time.”

“Right. And I’m going to keep giving everything I’ve got so my reputation doesn’t decrease. After all, I don’t want to sully the Fa clan’s name.”

At that, Ai Fa turned and shot me a rather doubtful look. “This is not me feeling down, you know. I’ve known for years now that my decision to live as a hunter would mean the end of the Fa clan.”

“I see. In that case, I guess there’s no problem. Maybe I was just reading into things a bit too much because of what happened last time.”

“Last time?” Ai Fa questioned, and then said, “Ah,” with a shrug of her shoulders. “You mean during the previous festival of the hunt. Well, you seemed so terribly sad that I couldn’t help but feel uneasy as well.”

“Yeah, I know. You don’t have to explain.”

“You mean I don’t have to remind you about how you ignored my feelings and started fretting by yourself, thus pushing me down into the depths of sorrow?”

“I said I know! I already apologized for my actions back then, didn’t I?”

“Hmph,” Ai Fa snorted, a smile showing in her eyes. “Don’t bring up ancient history and then get all worked up about it. All it does is reveal your immaturity.”

I gave a childish “Tch!” in response, but at the same time I felt relieved to see how calm Ai Fa appeared.

I couldn’t say whether or not our situation had improved since then. But we had shared our feelings with each other and were still living together. Since we were bringing each other happiness rather than sadness and despair, we must not have strayed from the proper path.

Now that I think back on it, it was my conversation with Darmu Ruu that made me worry so much.

Darmu Ruu had told me that if I made a real effort to convince her, Ai Fa would give up on being a hunter and live happily as a woman instead. His eyes had been filled with deep regret as he said it. But now, even if he looked terribly displeased, Darmu Ruu was here, walking beside Sheera Ruu and the rest of us.

A whole lot really had changed over these past couple months, and if we kept doing our best, we could be sure that things would keep getting better and not worse.

At any rate, I felt like my secret goal of making sure this festival of the hunt was a happy one had been accomplished with ease.