Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 21 - Chapter 4.1

Chapter 4: Downfall and Rebirth

1

The next few days passed smoothly after that.

Though the festival only lasted for ten days, the outdoor restaurant had been open for over a month now. The number of customers we were seeing had doubled in that time, and we had made all sorts of changes along the way.

Our chefs had grown in number from eight all the way to fifteen, and we had gone from preparing four hundred meals to over a thousand. On the holidays, we had offered whole roast giba in the morning and then did business at night. We had served giba meat to many customers who had never had it before, such as the members of the Gamley Troupe, and the elder of the forest’s edge, Granny Jiba, had even visited the post town and the Daleim lands.

The opening of the outdoor restaurant had also caused a shift in the distance between us and our customers. Now, many of our customers would jovially call out to the women of the forest’s edge wearing their half-transparent veils and shawls as they wove their way through the seating and picked up the used tableware. And when the hunters acting as our guards were folks like Dan Rutim, Giran Ririn, and Ludo Ruu, the townsfolk would intermingle with them too. The outdoor restaurant had been created in the first place because Reina and Sheera Ruu wanted to get a closer view of how happy their customers were, and it definitely seemed to be fulfilling that purpose.

And even those who’d had their doubts about doing business in the post town had started taking part lately. That included folks like Jiza Ruu, Sufira Zaza, and Fei Beim. Jiza Ruu had even joined us when we were staying over in the Daleim lands and on the trip to the castle town. That meant the heir of one of the leading clan heads had gotten to experience what the townsfolk and nobles now thought of the people of the forest’s edge, and how they looked at us.

There was certainly no shortage of folks out there like Dora’s mother and uncle who still hadn’t accepted us, both in the Daleim lands and around the post town. Most of the folks visiting the stalls were travelers from other lands, while only a small number were actual citizens of Genos.

However, those who did come our way showed us no ill will and seemed very happy as they ate our giba cooking. We now saw lots of folks who didn’t think of the people of the forest’s edge as unreasonable barbarians, or that giba meat stank and was so tough that it was practically inedible. Instead they all smiled at us openly as they got drunk on fruit wine, always looking like they were really enjoying themselves.

Roughly half a year had passed since I first started selling giba cooking in the post town, and I certainly didn’t have any complaints about how much we had managed to change things in that short time. It would have been fair to say that for the people of the forest’s edge, this year—the eightieth since they had moved from the black forest to the base of Mount Morga—was proving to be a huge turning point in their history. And no matter how I looked at it, I had been an essential part of that revolution. Now that we had advanced this far with our business, it could carry on just fine without me, but if I hadn’t come to the settlement at the forest’s edge, none of this would have ever happened. Even if I couldn’t have done anything without Ai Fa, Gazraan Rutim, and the Ruu clan accepting an outsider like me, there was no changing the fact that I had been the spark.

Of course, after everything I had done, I had no intention of letting my worries stop me now. I had come this far believing that the people of the forest’s edge should learn the taste of delicious food, live more prosperous lives, and form proper bonds with the outside world. I had sworn that I would keep trying my hardest without holding back, believing I would prove to be medicine for everyone rather than poison, and wishing to live up to the trust Ai Fa and so many others had placed in me.

From what I had been told, Misha the White Sage had appeared in Sym during turbulent times and brought the people peace and order. It was possible that Sym in its current form never would have existed without him. They might not have ever learned how to make bricks from mud, and would have remained divided into seven tribes riding totos around the mountains and plains, with the occasional clash between them. If they had remained violent barbarians, they might have eventually become a threat to Selva, Jagar, and Mahyudra.

There was no way I could ever do anything as grandiose as Misha had. Regardless of who he had been, I was nothing but a simple chef in training. Since culinary culture hadn’t advanced all that far in this area, I had still earned a great deal of praise, but a chef would never be able to do something as monumental as conquering a nation. And it wasn’t as if I wanted to do something like that in the first place. I just wanted to reach out as far as I could manage in order to bring joy to as many people as possible.

If anything, I was surprised by how far things had already gone. First, Ai Fa had accepted me as a member of her house. Then her tribe, the people of the forest’s edge, had done the same. Soon the people of Genos, where they lived, had followed along. There were even numerous travelers visiting from Sym and Jagar that we had connected with. To put it more directly, I had met someone utterly irreplaceable—Ai Fa—and had been striving to live a good life here in this world she called home.

Maybe Misha had started out feeling much the same way. I hadn’t been able to learn all the details through Neeya’s song, but perhaps the first person he had met here in this land was the Rao chief’s daughter. In order to save her from her predicament, he had used all his strength and brought peace to Sym, but even after everything he had done, he’d been forced to leave her... I couldn’t help but think that that was how it had happened.

However, that was all just baseless daydreaming on my part. I was probably just getting over-imaginative, trying to see my own circumstances reflected in Misha’s life. But it felt natural to dream about the sort of character who would appear in a minstrel’s epic ballad, having lived hundreds of years ago, even if everything I dreamed up was undoubtedly pure fantasy and sentiment.

At any rate, I had made up my mind to live in the way I believed to be right. I wouldn’t betray my own feelings or Ai Fa’s trust... That was pretty much all that a guy like me could manage. And if I couldn’t even pull that off, then there would be no point to me being here in this world. At least, that was how I saw it.

Ai Fa was precious to me, and so was the world she lived in. During this most recent major event—the sun god’s revival festival—I had heard the song of Misha the White Sage, and it had strengthened my resolve even more, so no matter what Neeya’s intentions might have been, hearing that tale was an incredibly precious memory for me.

With all of those thoughts and feelings filling my heart, I finally arrived at the last day of the violet month... The day of the downfall.

First, however, there was the thirtieth of the violet month, the day before the day of the downfall. This was two days after we had successfully completed our most recent castle town job.

Business in the post town had gone smoothly that day. All of the meals we had prepared sold out, and there hadn’t been any significant incidents worth mentioning. The seven women we had brought onboard for the revival festival period had fully acclimated to the work, and they were currently in the process of swiftly cleaning up.

“Our work will be finished for the time being tomorrow, won’t it? Thinking about it almost makes me feel a little lonely...” the Min woman who had been handling the giba hot pot stew stall alongside Ama Min Rutim said. I sent her a smile as I carried a hot metal tray over to a wagon, while taking care not to burn myself.

“It’s not as if we’re shutting down the stalls just because the month is changing. We’re only taking the first off, and then from the second of the silver month onward, we’ll open up again and see how things go. It would be a bit extreme to go right back to our original numbers immediately, so I was planning to ask a number of you to stay on.”

“Oh, is that so? In that case, I would love to keep helping out!”

“Ah, we would too,” the Gaaz and Ratsu women chimed in.

Fei Beim sullenly added, “Then everyone should be given a fair and equal chance. After all, the Beim and Dagora still need to properly observe where this business is leading us.”

“That’s true. Let’s go with the same lineup we’ve had up till now for the first day, then after that we can put together a fair rotation schedule. Everyone under the Ruu, you should consult with Reina and Sheera Ruu.”

“Right,” they replied with nods and smiles. The sturdy women of the forest’s edge seemed to be doing just fine in terms of stamina, so as long as mental exhaustion didn’t become an issue, I felt reassured that I didn’t have anything to worry about on that front.

“Well then, let’s head back to the forest’s edge now. Everyone, please take care of your individual tasks like always.”

With the hunters guarding us, we then set off down the bustling path through town. However, we didn’t make it more than a few steps before Ai Fa called out, “Wait. Ludo Ruu, look over there.”

“Hmm? Ah, yeah, that does seem a bit off. Guess we should check it out to be on the safe side.”

I had no idea what they had seen, but Ludo Ruu whispered something to Darmu Ruu and then disappeared into the crowd. Ai Fa went to follow after him, but then she turned my way with a furrowed brow. It looked like she was torn between following Ludo Ruu and staying by my side.

“What is it? I could go with you, if that would make things easier for you.”

“Hmm... There shouldn’t be any danger... Very well, come along.”

After entrusting the stall to Fei Beim, I went ahead and followed after Ai Fa. Ludo Ruu had been heading in the direction of the Gamley Troupe’s tent, and if this had something to do with those guys, Ai Fa and I weren’t going to just ignore it.

However, Ai Fa headed not toward the tent’s entrance, but rather toward an area off to the side, half-hidden by the thicket. Ludo Ruu had already stepped into the foliage, and there looked to be someone else standing there too. Apparently, that person was the one who had caught Ai Fa’s and Ludo Ruu’s attention.

“I’m amazed you spotted them through such a huge crowd. That’s a hunter’s eyesight for you, I suppose,” I remarked, only for Ai Fa to silently move into the thicket. An unfamiliar person was there, shifting around under the light streaming down from above, and they had a small cart next to them.

“Hey, what are you up to?” Ludo Ruu asked after getting there first, making the person in question turn in shock to face him. They had been trying to untie the leather cords binding one of the seams in the tent closed. Sure enough, that was definitely suspicious.

“Huh? Wh-Who, me? I was just trying to get inside the tent...”

I had definitely never seen this person before. They were about as tall as me or Ai Fa and quite lanky. Their medium-length brown hair was tied in the back, their skin was pale, and they had light brown eyes. They might have been in their twenties, or maybe they were younger. It was hard to tell. Their long face had freckles like Roy’s, and they wore shabby cloth attire. Their eyes were quite big and wide, and they had a rather charming face. Aside from being excessively slender, they didn’t really have any standout traits to note. That is, until I heard their voice and realized I was looking at a woman.

“Y-You don’t have to worry, I swear. I’m, well, an assistant to the troupe. If you’re worried that I might be lying, you can ask the folks inside,” the girl said timidly. As she was wearing men’s clothing, her chest looked totally flat. She had narrow, sloping shoulders and a bent back. Her posture was terrible. Looking at her overall appearance, I almost couldn’t believe this was a young woman, but her voice was undoubtedly feminine. With that in mind, it was hard to imagine the gentle curves of her face belonging to anyone but a girl.

“From what I’ve heard, the Gamleys only have thirteen performers in total. Did they have other companions too...? Even if that’s true, though, we can’t just overlook your luggage there,” Ludo Ruu said, pointing at the cart behind her, his tone even lighter and more easygoing than usual.

It was a small, crude cart, rectangular in shape, without any sort of covering over the top. It had two big wheels and a single totos attached at the front. Also, there was a huge cloth bag loaded on it, which appeared to be squirming. Something big was in there. Actually, it looked just big enough to hold a human. But the mouth of the bag was bound shut with a vine, so I couldn’t see inside.

“That’s not a person in there, right? Or if it’s a giba instead, we wouldn’t be able to turn a blind eye to that either,” Ludo Ruu said while tapping on the handle of the blade at his hip. “I know the Gamleys were wanting to capture a giba, but I doubt they could’ve gotten permission from the lord of the land already, so if you went sneaking into the forest of Morga without us knowing, well, that’s not something we can let slide.”

“Th-That’s not it, not at all! It’s not a giba! This is just a huge misunderstanding!”

“Then what is it? If you’ve got that Dilo guy stuffed in there, I’ll have a good, long laugh about it.”

“I-It isn’t Dilo. They’re mundt.”

“Mundt?” I repeated at the same time as Ludo Ruu. That was the name of a type of carrion-eating pest local to the area.

“Yes, carrion-eating mundt. You know this troupe keeps a gaaje leopard and an algura silver lion, right? If we just keep feeding them kimyuus and karon meat day in and day out, it would cost far too much, and they’re forbidden from leaving the tent according to the laws of the town... They could grow weak if we don’t fetch fresh entrails and the like for them. That’s why we need to bring them live prey from nearby every now and then.”

“Mundt, huh...?”

“R-Right! I-I didn’t go anywhere near the forest of Morga! We set a trap in the depths of the thicket to catch mundt late at night! We won’t head into the forest of Morga until Neeya gets permission from the nobles, and the troupe leader even gave us a firm warning not to.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. Sorry, but could I check to see what’s inside just to be safe? The leading clan heads don’t really trust that leader of yours enough for me to let you go without being sure.”

In response, the girl said, “Okay...” with her eyebrows helplessly drooping as she dropped her resistance and reached out toward the cart. Those long, slender fingers of hers skillfully undid the vine...and then a vicious-looking snout suddenly protruded from inside.

The snout looked a bit smooshed, like that of a pit bull terrier. Its face was square with triangular ears, its neck was short and sturdy-looking, and its tiny eyes were blazing with fury. The fur all over its body was pale brown, and looked like it had been trimmed short with barber’s clippers. There was a vine wrapped around its smooshed snout, so it wasn’t even able to let out so much as a yelp, but even still, the vicious-looking beast was flailing its short neck about as hard as it could.

This was my first time ever seeing a mundt, but it really did look just like Ai Fa had described. Then another mundt, similar in appearance, managed to struggle enough to jam its head out as well. Both of them were around a meter long and had strangely round bodies, with their four limbs looking oddly thin in comparison. They were truly unlike anything I had ever seen before, as if someone had attached a deer’s legs to a pig’s body.

“Yep, those are definitely mundt. Sorry for doubting you. As a person of the forest’s edge and the youngest son of the main Ruu house, I, Ludo Ruu, apologize for my rudeness,” Ludo Ruu said with a bow, not actually looking at all ashamed.

The girl finally seemed to relax and smiled back. “Ah, no, I’m just glad the misunderstanding got cleared up. For a second, I thought I was done for. I’m dripping with cold sweat now.”

“Isn’t that overstating it a bit? You could’ve run away from me and Ai Fa easily enough, right? You may be a woman, but you seem crazy strong.”

“That’s not true at all. I’m nothing but a worthless freeloader,” the girl said with a grin, casually shoving the mundt heads back into the bag with one hand, then tying it up again.

As she stared at the girl’s face from the side, Ai Fa suddenly remarked, “Ah... I thought I recognized you from somewhere. You’re the one who was wearing that strange armor... The person they called Rolo the knight king.”

Her words completely took me aback. However, the girl looked even more thrown for a loop than I was. The loose smile she wore remained in place, but she was going quite pale as she slowly turned Ai Fa’s way.

“Wh-Wh-Whatever do you mean? I-I’m just an assistant, so...”

“There’s no need to try to fool me. Your performance was quite splendid.”

To that, the girl screamed, “Gyah!” as she cradled her head, her freckled face now a deep crimson. “Please, please stop! Y-You saw me perform?! Why must I be shamed so?!”

“It is no shame. That’s simply your job, isn’t it?” Ai Fa pressed further with a tilt of her head.

The girl—Rolo the knight king, minus her knightly armor—collapsed with a look of utter hopelessness. “Wh-Why do you think I hide my face?! Ahhh, how incredibly embarrassing! All I’m good for is that ridiculous act! If that upsets you, then by all means, go right ahead and stone me!”

“I’m telling you, it was a splendid performance. What’s the matter with you?”

“These people are all such weirdos...” Ludo Ruu remarked in astonishment, his eyes open wide. “Anyway, I’ve seen enough to know you’re keeping your promise to us. Sorry for getting in the way of your work. Just go ahead and feed that leopard and lion their meal.”

Despite what he had said, Rolo didn’t rise to her feet, so we just went ahead and left.

Back on the street, the group that hadn’t been assigned to work were waiting there with two of the wagons. Once we reunited with them, we gave our report to Darmu Ruu, then started walking down the road once more.

“I never would have suspected that woman was Rolo. That’s got to be a pretty rough act to perform, getting kicked and thrown about by Doga and the black ape,” I said to Ai Fa.

“Yes, she must have trained extensively. She might even be able to fight Shin Ruu on equal terms, with a little luck.”

“Huh? That scrawny woman? But Shin Ruu’s about as strong as Melfried now, right? That would make her as strong as Jiza Ruu was not that long ago...”

“I cannot say with certainty. But I believe she is indeed about that strong. They really are a mysterious lot...” Ai Fa said, gently bringing her hand up to her chest. She was still wearing bandages to be on the safe side, but the day when she would be fully healed was finally close. “I want to start training again soon... I need to, in order to settle things with Lem Dom and determine her fate as well.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

Ai Fa had somehow grown more feminine lately, but once she returned to her training as a hunter, she would surely regain her previous sharpness. It wasn’t as if the difference was all that obvious, but her movements definitely seemed to have grown gentler, and at times she even looked like an ordinary woman.

“What are you staring at me for?”

“Oh, I was just thinking that I love you both ways,” I replied. A moment later, though, I was shocked when I realized what I had just said. “Ack, I just blurted out what I was thinking!”

Ai Fa’s face went every bit as red as Rolo’s had, and then she gave me a smack on the back of the head. Everyone around us looked rather surprised, so my words must have only reached Ai Fa’s ears. She’d hit me hard enough for it to feel like I’d been whipped, but it was still fortunate for both Ai Fa and myself that I hadn’t broadcast my embarrassing words to the whole street.