Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 22 - Chapter 3.1

Chapter 3: The Peace Banquet

1

It was currently half past the lower fourth hour on the ninth of the silver month. We had finished our preparations for business the next day, and Ai Fa, Toor Deen, and I were heading to the Ruu settlement. It was time for us to go to the Saturas manor in the castle town with the members of the Ruu clan.

There had been two incidents that had soured the relationship between the people of the forest’s edge and the house of Saturas. One of them was the underhanded ploy Geimalos had tried against Shin Ruu in that swordsmanship contest held in the post town. The other was back in the gray month of last year when Leeheim had tried to give Reina Ruu an expensive gift while visiting our stalls in the post town and she had shot him down pretty firmly.

Compared to the former, the latter was a relatively unimportant matter that hadn’t ended up going anywhere, and for that reason, it had never turned into a major topic for gossip. Had Reina Ruu simply been a girl from town, Leeheim might well have taken more forceful measures in response and caused the situation to get a whole lot worse. Fortunately, the nobles of Genos had been making an effort to reconcile with the people of the forest’s edge then as now, so without us even having to do anything, Duke Marstein Genos had intervened on his own to prevent things from worsening, and had swiftly brought the quarrel to an end.

However, at the time, Leeheim had been fascinated not only by Reina Ruu, but by giba cooking and the meat itself. It was possible that his interest in our cooking had just been a front to give him an excuse to come all the way out to the post town where he could meet with Reina Ruu, but behind the scenes he had supposedly been planning to buy up all of the giba meat that we’d had available as well.

Back then, giba meat had still been priced the same as karon leg meat. That meant it had only cost only about half as much as the karon torso meat that was so popular in the castle town, despite the fact that giba tasted just as amazing as karon torso did. As such, Leeheim had planned to purchase a massive amount of giba meat so that he could sell it in the castle town.

That said, his motivation had not been to simply take all the profits to be had from the meat for himself. It was more that he had simply seen the benefit in getting delicious meat for cheap. Plus, he had supposedly figured that if he could bring a ton of business to the people of the forest’s edge, he would earn our gratitude and improve his relationship with Reina Ruu.

Unfortunately for him, the people of the forest’s edge had not welcomed the favor he was trying to do us. If a noble monopolized giba meat, it would mean we couldn’t continue with our business in the post town, and the bonds we had worked so hard to develop with the townsfolk would be severed in an awful manner. It also would have generated a lot of completely needless animosity from the other nobles to boot. And so, Marstein had promptly intervened in that matter as well.

That was one of the reasons the price of giba meat had ended up getting raised to one-and-a-half times what it had been, and people in the post town had started treating it as a more expensive commodity than karon leg meat. As a result, we and the inn owners had needed to rack our brains in order to figure out how to prevent sales from falling off. The desperate measure we had come up with in the aftermath was to reduce the sizes of the meals we offered to keep costs down.

However, the end result had been superb for us. I had received the request to help use up the castle town’s excess ingredients in the post town around then, so I had come up with a new menu that fortunately seized the interest of the townsfolk. It had allowed us to expand our business even further, so I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome.

However, from Leeheim’s perspective, the matter was still unresolved. In all likelihood, he felt as if his goodwill had been thrown right back in his face. From his point of view, both the thing with Reina Ruu and his plans for the giba meat had been founded on good intentions and affection. But he had approached both his objectives like a noble, so his efforts had turned out to be unacceptable to us.

That was how he had ended up feeling animosity toward the people of the forest’s edge. He had spoken poorly of my cooking during the banquet held at the castle town, and he had also invited Shin Ruu to the castle town as a form of harassment. In all likelihood, he hadn’t realized just how strong the hunters of the forest’s edge really were and had intended to have one beaten down by Geimalos and shamed for all to see.

However, Geimalos had had a more accurate grasp of the situation. He was famed for his swordsmanship in the castle town, but he never could have measured up to a hunter from the forest’s edge in a fair fight. And so, fearing being shamed himself, he had arranged for Shin Ruu to wear heavy cavalry armor during the contest as an underhanded trick.

So, put simply, that incident had also been triggered by Leeheim’s ill intent. He had been told to keep himself in check in regards to Reina Ruu and giba meat, but the thing with Geimalos had turned into a serious incident that threatened to fracture the trust between the people of the forest’s edge and the nobles of Genos. It had forced Marstein to set up this peace banquet in order to put the dispute between Leeheim and the people of the forest’s edge to rest.

“And to top it all off, the house of Saturas is in charge of managing the post town, so we can’t just write this off as someone else’s problem, with all the business we do there. That’s why I’d like to do whatever I can to help the Ruu clan fix things with Leeheim,” I explained as I handled Gilulu’s reins.

Ai Fa replied with a simple “Indeed,” in her usual tone from her spot behind the driver’s seat where she was relaxing. She had been working hard, training her body all day once again, and now she was resting up. “Still, there is one thing I do not understand. What exactly does the house of Saturas do to govern the post town? Despite how long you’ve been working there, their name has hardly ever come up.”

“I’m not sure. Now that you mention it, I don’t even know what Marstein does to manage the castle town either. I assume the nobles keep an eye on things to make sure the townsfolk can live in peace, and they collect taxes as payment.”

“Hmm... So when the lord of a domain falls to depravity as Cyclaeus did, the people living there suffer hardships.”

“Yup, that’s right. Now, judging from what Milano Mas and Yumi have told me, it sounds like the people of the post town don’t exactly revere the house of Saturas, but there aren’t really any substantial nasty rumors about them either. Not that the townsfolk have much of a chance to find out about that stuff, with the way the nobles keep to themselves in the castle town.”

That didn’t just go for the house of Saturas. We still didn’t even know the name of the head of the house of Daleim. While Polarth frequently showed himself to us, that really wasn’t the standard for the nobles of Genos.

“I wonder what kind of person the head of the house of Saturas—Leeheim’s father—is. I just hope he’s not too narrow-minded,” I said as the Ruu settlement came into view. Since we were going to be departing again soon, we parked our wagon at the entrance to the settlement, and then I got down from the driver’s seat.

However, Ai Fa suddenly called out, “Hold on. Don’t go off on your own. And Toor Deen, you should stick with us too.”

“Right,” Toor Deen replied, getting down along with Ai Fa. My clan head must have been wary of the members of the Gamley Troupe who had been staying here at the Ruu settlement since yesterday.

The Ruu clan hunters and Pino’s group would still be out in the forest at this time of day. However, the troupe’s massive carriages were parked in front of the settlement, and we could hear the beautiful sound of a flute as we headed inside.

Right after we stepped into the plaza, we encountered a woman seated atop a pile of lumber playing said instrument. It was Nachara, the bewitching beauty with slightly dark skin, gorgeously dressed in a long outfit with Sym-style embroidery. Beside her, the strongman, Doga, and the little guy, Zan, were chopping firewood.

I gave them a slight bow, but only Doga nodded back. He was so big that even Ji Maam couldn’t compare, and his hair had been shaved off. His face was really rugged and reminded me of a Moai statue, but he had a gentle personality and both spoke and acted very politely.

On the other hand, we had Zan, a small man who hid his face behind a leather mask. He was only around 150 centimeters tall, but his arms and shoulders were muscular like a gorilla’s, and he was an expert when it came to knife throwing. He didn’t seem to be a bad guy or anything, but I had never heard him talk even once.

All around them, women and children without any work to do at the moment were gathered a short distance away, watching them. Even if this was their second day at the settlement, the people who lived here were definitely not used to their presence yet. Still, Nachara’s flute playing had a real nostalgic feel to it and was definitely worth listening to.

“Ai Fa, Asuta. You’re heading to the castle town soon, right? Keep up the good work,” Shin Ruu’s father and the former head of his house, Ryada Ruu, called out as he approached us, dragging his right leg along.

“Hello there, Ryada Ruu. So, you’re having them help out with cutting firewood?”

“Yes. They asked us for some work to do. Said their bodies would grow weak if they spent all day in their wagons. Donda Ruu accepted their offer.”

Ryada Ruu had been assigned to be their supervisor. That was no surprise, though, as there weren’t many men left in the settlement when the hunters went out into the forest.

“So, it’s already the second day now. Do you think they’ll be able to capture a live giba?”

“I’m not sure. We found a number of giba caught in our traps yesterday, but none that met their needs, it would seem... They’re after a very young giba.”

“Yeah, I imagine it just wouldn’t be possible to teach a full-grown giba to do tricks. But the young ones are under their mothers’ protection, so it’s pretty rare to catch any, right?”

“Indeed. It would be best for everyone if they would give up soon.”

As we were talking, a wagon pulled by Ruuruu approached us from the main house. Reina Ruu was the one holding the reins.

“We’ve been waiting for you, Asuta. We’re all ready to go, so why don’t we just head out now?”

Ludo Ruu was smiling and waving at us behind Reina Ruu. He must have wrapped up his hunting work early so he could come along with us as a guard.

Our only role today was to be the nobles’ guests, so the Ruu clan had picked a small but elite group to go. Jiza Ruu was attending on behalf of the injured clan head, while Reina and Shin Ruu had to come because they were the ones the house of Saturas had actually wronged, and Sheera Ruu was going to help prepare the meal. Ludo Ruu was our one and only guard.

There was a reason our guard was so light this time. At this banquet, the guests would be permitted to bring their swords along. As Jiza and Shin Ruu were both hunters with plenty of experience, they would be perfectly capable of protecting the women themselves. With Ai Fa attending as well, Donda Ruu had decided that sending Ludo Ruu to guard us would be plenty.

Officially, Ai Fa and Ludo Ruu were both guests as well, so we would all be sitting together around a dinner table prepared by the house of Saturas today. As such, Donda Ruu had told us to keep our numbers as low as possible, which was why we only had Toor Deen accompanying us.

There were two reasons for having her come along. One was that I wanted her to have as many chances as possible to taste the cuisine of the castle town. The other was that Melfried would be bringing his wife and daughter. We were going to provide two dishes today as a show of friendship, and since Odifia had been wanting to see Toor Deen again so badly, I figured this would help satisfy the young noble girl.

With the addition of Sufira Zaza, who would be acting as an observer, we had a total of nine people in our group. I got the feeling that bringing this many of us to a private peace banquet might be a bit much, but the house of Saturas hadn’t taken any issue with it.

“I guess this should be about the right time. Okay, see you tomorrow, Ryada Ruu.”

“Indeed. I’m sure there won’t be any danger, but take care not to let your guards down.”

Tomorrow, we would finally have our welcome banquet. Sure, we had just had a big celebration ten days ago on the day of the downfall, but opportunities like this didn’t come up very often, so that made no difference. And while Yumi and Telia Mas could visit whenever, Dora would have trouble pulling himself away from work at any other time of year. Considering how busy they all were during the revival festival, I liked the idea of giving them another chance to enjoy themselves.

That was what I was thinking about as we exited the settlement, but just as we were about to get into our wagon, we heard the sound of another wagon approaching from down the road to the south. It was a huge box carriage, coming from the direction of the post town. There were red designs like flames painted on its sides, so it must have belonged to the Gamley Troupe. They had seven wagons, and apparently one of them had gone to town earlier. It was being pulled by a pair of totos rather than the desert lizards from the south, and one of the twins, Arun or Amin, was holding the reins.

Because their carriages were so big, it was hard to pass by one on the path through the forest’s edge, so we had to wait for them to stop off to the side of the road.

When they came to a stop and we saw who stepped out of the carriage, Ai Fa’s eyes instantly narrowed. It was Neeya, who we hadn’t seen in quite a while.

“Oh my! It has truly been some time, O beautiful lady,” Neeya remarked, hurrying over with a flat cap on his head and his guitar-like instrument on his back. When she saw his carefree smile, Ai Fa narrowed her eyes even more harshly.

“Stop right there. Don’t come any closer. I have no intention of listening to anything you say.”

“Oh? What cold words, when we have only just reunited after so long. Whatever did I do to anger you so, dear lady?”

“You’re asking why I’m angry...? Do you not remember what you did?”

“Hmm? I already gave you a heartfelt apology for acting rudely toward your clan member,” Neeya replied with a blank look. Even I was surprised by his behavior now.

We hadn’t had a proper face-to-face encounter with Neeya since the day of the sun’s peak. That evening, he had sung the song of Misha the White Sage for us with an empty smile. He had seemed like a completely different person then, almost as if he had been in a trance... But today, he was back to how he used to be, grinning at us empty-headedly.

“Pino has been terribly obnoxious toward me as of late, so I haven’t had the opportunity to come meet you. Of course, I’ve also been quite busy lately. In fact, I am just coming back from spending some sweet time together with the noblewomen of the castle town.”

“Irrelevant. You...” Ai Fa started to say something, stepping forward, but I hurriedly held her back.

“Don’t, Ai Fa. I don’t think he means any harm,” I whispered to her, only for Ai Fa to shoot me a glare with her still-narrowed eyes. Neeya must have had some serious nerve if a glower that intense didn’t affect him. “I can’t really explain it properly, but that Neeya guy... The way he looks at the world is probably completely different from how we do.”

“I don’t understand what you mean. And regardless, I think he might be the most irritating person I have ever met.”

“Yeah. It’s probably best that you don’t have much to do with him. I’m sure you and Jiza Ruu are even less compatible with him than I am.”

I didn’t think I could fully explain it in words, but that really was how I felt. Neeya undoubtedly had an entirely different set of sensibilities than either the townsfolk or the nobles. Maybe you could say that he had an artist’s disposition, or that he didn’t give a damn about the obligations of normal life.

Gamley was kind of similar, but even he seemed to be aware of the impact his words had on others. I couldn’t help but think that Neeya was utterly lacking in such awareness.

And yet, Neeya was an excellent singer. He fit my image of a genius musician lacking in social graces perfectly. And if my interpretation was correct, it was only natural that he would be a dizzyingly bad match for the simple and earnest hunters of the forest’s edge.

Now that I think about it, Varkas might be the same. Maybe that was why Ai Fa had trouble dealing with him as well.

The biggest difference between Varkas and Neeya was what they thought about me. Varkas was very fond of me—so much so that it seemed a little obsessive—while Neeya was not. If anything, he seemed to dislike me because of how close I was to Ai Fa. I really couldn’t see anything good coming from him and my clan head continuing to interact.

“We need to be heading over to the castle town ourselves now, so please excuse us,” I said.

Neeya seemed like he had more he wanted to say, but then he just shrugged in an affected way. He looked a lot like Gamley when he did that.

“Well then, I shall see you later, dear lovely lady. I would like to present at least one more song to you before leaving Genos.”

“I absolutely refuse,” Ai Fa said in a tone as forceful as a physical blow as she got into the wagon.

Neeya let out a “Tch!” as I watched him from the corner of my eye.

And with that, we were finally able to start our journey to the castle town.