Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 20 - Chapter 5.2

2

Once both sides had put all of their merchandise away, all sorts of dishes were laid out for a feast.

A soup dish boiling in a pot, meles-battered smoked fish, herb-grilled bear meat, small fermented fish pickled in salt, boiled eggs from some unfamiliar animal, a blue boiled amantha dish giving off a sweet aroma... They even had little pitch-black eggs pickled in salt presented alongside the fresh meat of a vicious beast called an ocean lion this time.

“We just got some goods in from the capital the other day. The ocean lion meat is freshly melted from the ice it came in, so I’m sure even you from the east can eat it without hurting your stomachs.”

The icy northern sea was located roughly half a month from the Tarless mountains, and it was possible for Munapos to import the seafood caught there while sending bear meat and pelts to the capital of Mahyudra.

Even though he had visited the settlement of Munapos many times, Shumiral had only seen this dish with the ocean lion meat and black eggs a handful of times.

“Now then, go ahead and dig in! Eat as much as you please! To the friendship between Mahyudra and Sym!”

“To the friendship between Mahyudra and Sym,” Shumiral’s group repeated in a toast, then gave a prayer to their god in the tongue of their homeland.

The spirits they were drinking were produced from northern wheat capable of withstanding the cold weather of Mahyudra. It was so strongly alcoholic that it felt like it was burning your throat, but for a group that had partaken in alcohol from all over the continent, the powerful drink felt quite pleasant.

There were ten members of the Silver Vase present in the hall, as well as a similar number of hunters from the north. Additionally, five women were moving around to distribute the food and spirits, contributing to the lively atmosphere.

On top of that, the northern hunters smiled a lot and ate plenty too. Even though the Silver Vase’s members were as quiet as one would expect of easterners, each hunter was as rowdy as three men, so a feast with them would always be a raucous affair.

Fortunately, Shumiral was fond of such loud and cheerful events. If he hadn’t been, he surely never would have chosen to live the life of a traveler. His comrades were undoubtedly enjoying themselves too.

Easterners considered it an embarrassment to carelessly let their emotions show. They were only permitted to shed tears after they had lost a member of their family. Even when they were dining among their own kind with no outsiders, nobody was ever all that talkative. Those were the customs of the east, the way the people of Sym lived their lives.

Their culture was precious to them, and nothing could replace it. Doubtless, only those who nonetheless felt that living that way wasn’t sufficient for them by itself would ever consider leaving their homeland, as Shumiral and his group did.

“This soup uses muffur intestines. Please, try some...” a young woman with a somewhat feeble look in her eyes said as she set a plate down in front of Shumiral, then knelt diagonally behind him.

“Thank you, Tion Fal.”

The girl’s purple eyes shot open wide when she heard his response. “You remembered the name of one such as myself, Sir Shumiral?”

“Yes. I have visited, the settlement, of Munapos, many times, after all.”

Tion Fal was, as far as Shumiral could recall, the youngest daughter of the chief of Munapos, Uraya Fal. Since she was especially slender for a northerner, she had left a strong impression on him. She was still as tall as you would expect from a citizen of Mahyudra, so she had a build that seemed somewhat similar to that of an easterner.

In comparison to their jovial, outspoken men, many women of the north tended to be calm and quiet. That being the case, you could say it made Tion Fal even more like a citizen of the east.

“Please, have some while it’s still warm.”

“Indeed. Thank you,” Shumiral replied with a nod, picking up the plate. The cloudy white broth was filled with chunks of bear intestines and herbs. Perhaps because muffur bears ate not only fruit and roots but also meat, all cuts of the beasts had a powerful stench to them. As such, these organs had been boiled with herbs and spirits.

The heat boiled off the alcohol, but there was still a strong aroma of the spirits about the dish. As Shumiral took a slurp of the soup, the taste of the herbs caused his tongue to tingle. Still, easterners tended to use far more herbs than northerners, so it was no problem for him. The nourishment from the bear offal blended into the soup and joined with the sweetness from the spirits, causing Shumiral to feel as if his body was being warmed from the inside.

“It is, quite delicious,” Shumiral stated, causing Tion Fal to give him a faint smile.

However, for some reason she still hadn’t moved from that spot. Her seat was beside her father, so she couldn’t begin eating without returning there.

“Shumiral, this is, my first time, eating ocean lion, meat,” a young member of the Silver Vase called out in the western tongue from his other side. Turning to look at him, Shumiral found the youth holding a plate with deep-red ocean lion meat on top of it.

“Ocean lion, is delicious. I am, quite fond of it.”

“I see,” the youth answered, his eyes narrowing with a look of relief as he used a wooden skewer to bring the meat up to his mouth.

It was a slice of raw meat, around half of the size of a human hand. While it was large, it was also thin, so the youth was able to fit the whole thing in his mouth. Then, after chewing it several times, he suddenly froze in place.

“Ocean lion, has a strong stench of blood, so you need, this herb,” Shumiral said, pointing to a small jar that had been placed beside the plate. The herb in question had a strong flavor like myamuu, and had been finely minced and mixed together with a light-brown fish sauce. It was absolutely essential when eating raw ocean lion meat.

With a terribly calm look in his eye, the youth stared at Shumiral.

“Shumiral, that was, cruel.”

“It is, an important experience, to have. I was shocked, when I first ate it, myself.”

The youth continued chewing on the meat, looking all the while like he was just barely holding back his emotions. His mouth was surely filled with the taste of blood.

Then, Tion Fal remarked in surprise, “My... I never expected you to play a prank such as that, Sir Shumiral. I feel sorry for that young man...”

She couldn’t understand the western tongue, but it seemed she had still picked up on Shumiral’s intentions, so he gave her a nod.

“Yes. A mischievous, urge, crept up on me. I apologize.”

“My... How childish...” Tion Fal said, bringing her hands up to her mouth and giggling. Secretly, Shumiral couldn’t help but feel something when he saw her do that.

“Tion, we’re gonna run out of booze soon! Could you go get some fresh stuff out of storage?!” Uraya Fal loudly ordered.

Tion Fal’s smile vanished as she replied, “Of course...” and exited the room.

With that, the chief himself smiled and called out to Shumiral, “Well, what do you think? Are you enjoying our feast, dear guest from the east?”

“Yes. We are all, greatly enjoying, the festivities.”

“Oh yeah? You lot never let it show on your faces, so I can’t help but worry a bit.”

“We’re truly, having a good time. The food, is all, delicious.”

That was how he truly felt.

Both the meat and the fish—it was all delicious. While the meal felt a bit lacking in vegetables, there was no helping that, considering the nature of Mahyudra. Just like the east and the west, the north had its own way of doing things.

Even with little in the way of vegetables, it still felt like an extravagant feast when you had this much meat and fish to go around. And since they could get as much salt as they needed from the sea, they didn’t hold back in putting it to use. It really was a luxurious meal, fitting for a place like Munapos, which had a firmly established trade route tying it to the northern capital.

They don’t have many vegetables, so they must make up for it with the nutrition from the herbs and meles. 

Meles produced yellow berries that became sweeter when boiled, but in the north they would be ground into meal and used to prepare a dough, like with fuwano. Since it was a cereal grain that grew well even in cold lands, they could devote all their wheat to making spirits instead.

The meles-battered smoked fish had a rich flavor and pleasant texture to it. Apparently, it was a staple dish in parts of Mahyudra located near the ocean.

The bear meat, meanwhile, had been cooked with plenty of herbs. It was tough enough to tire out your jaw and had a unique flavor that the herbs couldn’t quite cover up. However, as easterners familiar with the stench of gyama raised in the mountains, they had no reason to take issue with it.

The little fish pickled in salt had an even more unusual flavor to them. After having their little bones and innards removed, the fish were pickled in salt and allowed to ferment, then soaked in an oil that seemed to come from some sort of subspecies of reten and allowed to ferment further.

They were incredibly salty and flavorful, and the fish seemed to nearly melt on your tongue. They were a commodity that the Silver Vase traded in, but only a small number of western citizens with peculiar tastes would ever seek them out. Still, as easterners tended to love chitt-pickles, they certainly had no issues with the taste. A pickled dish made solely of fish certainly was striking and unusual.

There weren’t any issues at all with the taste of the eggs, which had been boiled until they were pure white. Since they couldn’t be preserved effectively and thus didn’t work well as merchandise, Shumiral didn’t know any details about them, but they must have come from some sort of bird that lived along the seashore. They were around the same size as kimyuus eggs and had a plain flavor. The northerners were all adding fish sauce before eating them.

Amantha was a sweet and sour fruit reminiscent of arow. Shumiral had to think that adding Jagar-made sugar or honey to an amantha spread served on meles bread would make for a fine sweet.

The glossy little black eggs pickled in salt felt like they were not only terribly salty, but also brimming with nutrition as well. The northerners were eating hearty spoonfuls of them straight, but Shumiral preferred to eat them on meles bread as well.

Then there was the raw ocean lion meat. When eaten with the fish sauce and herbs, it made for quite the delicacy. It was red meat with a rough texture to it, and not even a hint of fat. If you grilled it, it would surely turn out even chewier than the bear meat. Since easterners didn’t eat raw meat in general, it made for quite the curiosity.

All of them were delicious dishes, and intriguing ones as well.

Shumiral couldn’t help but wonder to himself what Asuta would make if he was presented with these ingredients.

A number of the ingredients we purchase will likely make it back to Genos rather than selling out in Selva’s capital. Would it be possible to sell them to Asuta rather than the castle town?

In the past, one of the nobles of Genos, Cyclaeus, would always purchase any unusual ingredients for the asking price. In fact, Cyclaeus had come to value the Silver Vase highly, as they were one of the few merchant groups that dealt in ingredients from Mahyudra. But personally, Shumiral didn’t want to deal with such a neglectful business partner any further, especially now that the noble had such an uneasy relationship with the people of the forest’s edge.

It is not something I can decide on my own, but Cyclaeus revoked his promise to purchase those knives from us. I should discuss the matter with Radajid and the others, Shumiral thought to himself as the food atop the plates steadily vanished.

After a while, when Uraya Fal’s red face had grown even ruddier, he jovially called out to Shumiral, “Drinking after striking a good deal really is the best! It’s a shame that it’s gonna be over a year till the next time you stop by, though!”

Shumiral put down the plate he was holding and turned to their host.

“Chief Uraya Fal of Munapos. We have, something that, we must tell you.”

“Ooh, what’s got you acting so formal? Well, not that I imagine there are many casual easterners in the world!” he said with a hearty chuckle.

As a business partner, Uraya Fal was earnest and didn’t hide anything. Shumiral had come to trust the man and was fond of him on a personal level as well. As such, though he felt his next words needed to be said, it still pained him to do so.

“Today shall be, the final time, that we visit, the settlement, of Munapos.”

At that, Uraya Fal’s eyes shot open wide. “What did you just say? You’ve been getting more and more fluent in the northern tongue each time I’ve seen you, and I can’t remember any issues coming up with our business dealings.”

“This will be, the final day, that the Silver Vase, does business, in Mahyudra.”

The wine cup fell from Uraya Fal’s hand, and the small amount of spirits left inside spilled out onto the rug. “Wh-What do you mean? Did we do something to displease you?”

“No, we are not, displeased. But soon, I may marry, into the western kingdom.”

A commotion started spreading all throughout the room, accompanied by a swelling restlessness. Meanwhile, Tion Fal’s face had gone completely pale as she sat there beside her father.

“Westerners, are not permitted, to set foot, in northern territory. I will be, the only one, changing gods, but even, a single westerner, in the group, is enough, to prevent us, from being able, to do business, in Mahyudra.”

“That’s insane! Why would you even consider marrying a westerner?! Are you seriously planning on abandoning both your homeland and your god?!”

“Yes. I am sorry, but my feelings, are that strong.”

“But if you were to retire from the group...” Uraya Fal started to say, but then he held his tongue.

The second in command of the group, Radajid, went ahead and replied to his thought that had been cut off.

“Shumiral is, one of us. If he, casts aside Sym, it will, be sad, but we, could never, abandon him. As there, will be, various inconveniences, to face, I intend, to take over, as head, of the group, but Shumiral, will remain, a member, of the Silver Vase.”

“I get it. You’ve known one another since your father was in charge, right? My father used to do business with yours, Shumiral. Many merchants from the east visit here at Munapos, but no other group has been so good to us for so long as the Silver Vase,” Uraya Fal replied, biting his lip and looking full of regret. “Munapos has lost its military value since my grandfather’s era. The Fal house no longer has any chance to distinguish itself through combat, so instead, hunting and the trades we can make with our catches are our field of battle. In that sense, you have been trusted comrades in arms, and worthy opponents as well.”

“It is, an honor, to hear that.”

“It would be a terrible shame to lose you. Won’t you please keep doing business with us instead of marrying that westerner?” It was a truly direct request, fitting for a northerner. On the field of battle, clashing with blades, there was no opponent more frightening than a citizen of Mahyudra. However, as business partners, Shumiral felt the same way Uraya Fal did, quite strongly.

Furthermore, Shumiral’s father had beaten this path. Abandoning it hurt Shumiral as much as it would to have the tip of a blade pressed up against his chest.

“I am, truly sorry. However, I am unable, to alter, my feelings,” Shumiral replied, tension gathering in his brow. In all likelihood, his efforts to hide his emotions were failing. Even so, he placed both fists down on the stiff fur rug he was sitting on and stared back at Uraya Fal’s regret-filled face. “It pains me, to end, our business relationship, that has continued, for so long. I am truly, truly sorry, to you, Uraya Fal, and to, the people, of Munapos, and Mahyudra. It makes me, quite sad, to sever, our connection. But I cannot, change how, I feel.”

“I see...” Uraya Fal muttered with a disappointed shrug. “I understand your feelings on the matter. And this doesn’t change the fact that, at least for today, you’re still important guests. Please, enjoy this banquet all the way till the end.”

“Thank you...” Shumiral replied, deeply bowing his head to Uraya Fal.