Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 23 - Chapter 3.3

3

The next competition was tree climbing.

It was an event in which each contestant climbed a tree that was around ten meters tall and then returned, making it a very simple event that focused on speed.

“The height and number of branches on these four trees are roughly equal. A cloth has been tied near the top of each one. You simply need to touch that and return.”

Since it was a competition based on agility, it seemed like the smaller folks might once again have had an advantage. But muscles were important too, so it wasn’t like the big guys were going to be in trouble or anything. A longer reach would be advantageous for tree climbing too.

Dan Rutim seems like he’d be able to climb super quickly...but if I actually saw that, I’d probably laugh without thinking, I rather rudely thought to myself as the tree climbing competition solemnly kicked off.

Sure enough, all of the hunters were abnormally fast. Even larger folks like Baadu Fou and the Liddo clan head moved up the trees so nimbly that it was like they were ignoring gravity. It called to mind a certain hero from American comics with spider powers.

Unsurprisingly, the Sudra men once again stood out. Raielfam Sudra in particular was abnormally nimble, as if he were an actual monkey, and with such a small build, he had an advantage in how he could slip through the tangle of branches. He went so fast that it was practically like he was running on flat ground. When he was five meters up on his way back, he jumped down the rest of the way, and the other hunters did the same when they reached that height. Each time they did, the women cheered for them.

Then it came time for my clan head, Ai Fa, to compete. She won the first round without any difficulty. While the Sudra man she was up against was extraordinarily fast, she still won by over two whole seconds.

Apparently, tree climbing was an incredibly important skill when it came to hunting giba. Ai Fa focused on it quite a bit when training during her break periods or rehabilitating after recovering from her injuries.

Once again, nine of them moved on to the semifinals. All of the noteworthy hunters had made it in, with six of them being the clan heads. The remaining three were Cheem Sudra, Jou Ran, and Toor Deen’s father.

“Your father is really amazing to stay in the running alongside a group like that, Toor Deen.”

Toor Deen’s father had also won against a Sudra man.

As she hung her head a bit, the young girl replied, “Yes. My father has trained so hard in order to live properly as a hunter of the forest’s edge once more that it’s been kind of worrying to watch. I’m glad that the results of all his work have been starting to show, bit by bit.”

Toor Deen’s mother had been of Deen blood, but her father had been a member of the Suun clan. He only seemed to be around thirty or so, which meant that he would have started plundering the fruits of the forest just a few years after becoming a hunter, and had then spent over ten years living like a walking corpse. Even so, Toor Deen’s father definitely didn’t fall short in that lineup of nine. He had the sort of masculine and commanding presence I had come to expect of hunters. Just looking at them was enough to get me fired up too.

“Well then, we will split into groups of three again. The order will be according to who finished their previous match sooner.”

Nodding at Baadu Fou’s words, three hunters stepped forward: Toor Deen’s father, the Liddo clan head, and Cheem Sudra. Cheem Sudra then won overall, but Toor Deen’s dad managed to beat the Liddo clan head.

The bulky clan head let out a sigh, then poked Toor Deen’s father in the chest. “To think you were this skilled at tree climbing. I still doubt that I’d lose to you in a combat competition, but that was quite a surprise.”

The Deen and the Liddo were related, so they had held festivals of the hunt together even before now. With a bit of a bashful smile, Toor Deen’s father nodded. “Indeed.”

“He sort of resembles you when he smiles, doesn’t he, Toor Deen?” I whispered to the young girl, though my comment only made her turn her head down in embarrassment. She probably would have gone flying over to her exhausted father if people weren’t looking. Instead, she just adorably tracked him with her faintly teary eyes.

After that, the second match of the semifinals kicked off. This time, Raielfam Sudra won against Baadu Fou and the Ran clan head, who finished in that order.

The third match was between Ai Fa, Jou Ran, and the Deen clan head. This one caused a bit of a commotion, though, when Ai Fa and Jou Ran reached the ground at virtually the same time, resulting in a tie. Even the hunters with their extraordinary dynamic vision couldn’t determine which one of them had touched down first, so the Deen clan head stepped back, since he had been defeated, and Ai Fa and Jou Ran gave it another go...only for things to still remain undecided.

“It’s hard to believe such a thing could happen. I think this might be the first time we’ve had no winner in this competition after two matches,” Raielfam Sudra remarked in astonishment. “But having you compete again might just wear you down. There are four trees, so why not simply have four competitors in the final round?”

As per his proposal, the final round was held between the four of them: Raielfam Sudra, Cheem Sudra, Ai Fa, and Jou Ran.

When Baadu Fou gave the signal, the four of them leaped at their respective trees. Just as you’d expect from the finalists, all of them moved with incredible speed. I clenched my sweaty fists tight, while the women cheered louder than ever before. And in the end, four figures descended and touched the ground at nearly the same time. My eyes couldn’t see it as anything but a four-way tie.

After a bit of silence, Baadu Fou lifted a long arm into the air.

“The victor is Raielfam Sudra! Does anyone have any objections?” The other hunters all shook their heads. And so, without any objection, Raielfam Sudra was declared the winner of the tree climbing competition. “Still, they really did reach the ground at almost the same time. I’d love to declare them all winners.”

Everyone nodded along with those words. It really had been an incredibly close match.

When he heard Baadu Fou’s proclamation, Jou Ran sat up in the spot where he had landed and asked, “By the way, what were the rest of the rankings? Did we have a tie again after all?”

“No. From what I saw, the order went Ai Fa, Jou Ran, and then Cheem Sudra.”

“To me, it looked like Ai Fa, Cheem Sudra, and then Jou Ran. Actually, Cheem Sudra and Jou Ran might have landed at the same time...”

The men had started debating. It was almost as if they were competing with each other over who had better dynamic vision.

“It seems I just couldn’t get the better of you, Ai Fa,” Jou Ran said with another breezy smile. “How unfortunate. Looks like I used up my strength in the first two competitions. But the ones that are still coming up are pole tugging and combat, so I’ll be able to show off more of my strength then.”

Ai Fa turned toward Jou Ran with a doubtful look. “Are you speaking to me? I don’t have any strong recollection of us ever exchanging words before.”

“Yes. I believe we just met a few months ago when we were instructed on how to bloodlet and carve giba. We didn’t have much of a conversation, though.”

“I see,” Ai Fa briefly replied, before heading back toward the crowd.

Baadu Fou’s voice sounded out. “Well then, let’s go ahead and have a short break now. I’ll have Asuta of the Fa clan speak on that.”

“Right. I want to make some progress on our cooking, so I’d like this break to be a bit longer than usual. Can we all head back to the plaza? I’ll explain how much time we need then.”

In the center of the plaza, I had placed a sundial next to the mountain of firewood that was meant for the ritual flame. The angle wasn’t quite right, but it would still do okay for measuring the passage of time.

“I’d like to have an hour-long break, until the shadow reaches this mark. It’s about one-sixth as long as it takes the sun to set after reaching its peak.”

I was surprised to see how quickly we had gotten through those three events; only a little over an hour had passed. That meant that the break would last until sometime between two and half past two. According to my calculations, the contests of strength would have to resume by half past three at the latest so that they could wrap up by half past five, in order for us to have an hour and a half to finish cooking before sunset.

“You all must be thirsty, right? We’ve prepared something called chatchi tea, so go ahead and give it a try if you’d like.”

A Fou woman was bringing over a water jug on a pulling board. It was full of chatchi skin tea that we had made in the morning, now cooled down to room temperature. The tea had a citrusy aroma and a bit of astringency to it, and it did its job well even at that temperature.

We had also prepared a light snack to go along with it. Of course, everyone had already gotten their nutrition from eating jerky before coming here, so it was really just a little something to peck at. We had just added some ketchup to giba bacon, and then sandwiched it between pieces of baked poitan.

The men came over one after another and got their snacks and tea poured into wooden dishes, then sat down on the ground to enjoy them. Everyone was in high spirits, and we were already starting to get a little of that banquet feel in the air.

After watching the scene for a bit, I went to head back to the kitchen, only to stop in place when I noticed some new figures entering the plaza. There was a large silhouette leading a totos by its reins, and a smaller one alongside him. It was the eldest son and youngest daughter of the Ruu clan: Jiza and Rimee Ruu.

“Ah, you’re rather early. Are you already finished with your hunting work, eldest son of the Ruu?” Baadu Fou greeted.

“Yes,” Jiza Ruu replied with a composed nod. “We have already hunted down all the giba we need to. I was planning to go back into the forest for a little longer, but I eventually decided to leave that to my younger brothers instead, so that I might watch your hunters as they compete in your contests of strength.”

Donda Ruu was still recovering, so he was free to do whatever he pleased, but Jiza Ruu had been chosen to act as an observer today. Just like for the banquet held by the house of Saturas, Donda Ruu had decided this was a task best left to his successor as leading clan head.

“It seems you’re in the middle of a break. I would appreciate it if you could tell me the results of the competitions you’ve already completed.”

“Right. Go ahead and have a seat there. The break will last for a good while yet, so we can take our time discussing what’s happened so far.”

With that, Jiza Ruu was led into the center of the plaza, where Dari Sauti was talking with the other men. After entrusting Jidura’s reins to a Fou woman, Rimee Ruu came running over to me with a bright smile.

“Hee hee, I finished my work in a hurry too, so I got to come along! Hi, Asuta! Hi, Ai Fa!”

I turned around and found that at some point, my clan head had ended up right behind me as she ate her snack.

“Huh? Are you mad about something, Ai Fa?” Rimee Ruu asked.

“Not exactly.”

“Really? But your eyebrows are all scrunched up.”

I wasn’t as perceptive as Rimee Ruu, but even I could clearly tell that Ai Fa was in a bad mood. And I could more or less guess why that was. Even though tree climbing was a competition more up her alley, she still hadn’t been able to win, which was really bringing down her mood.

“Well then, we’ve got to get back to work. Ai Fa, Rimee Ruu, what are you two planning on doing?”

“I wanna come along! Will you come too, Ai Fa?”

“Indeed.”

And so, we returned to the main Fou house’s kitchen with Ai Fa and Rimee Ruu in tow. Awaiting us there were the other female observers: Reina Ruu and Sufira Zaza.

“We’ve been waiting for you, Asuta. The Sauti and Beim women went with Toor Deen’s group.”

“Ah, got it. Er, long time no see, Sufira Zaza...”

“Quite so.” Sufira Zaza nodded at me, looking dejected. She seemed downhearted, like she didn’t even have enough willpower to glare at me or Ai Fa. It’s not like I couldn’t understand what she was thinking, though.

“I’ve heard about what’s happening with Lem Dom. She’s training to become a hunter at the Dom house now, right?” I said.

“Yes. It seems she’ll be going into the forest as a hunter in training as soon as she learns the methods of the Dom clan.”

Deek Dom had finally made his decision. Of course, it had come after a lot of debate with Gulaf Zaza and the Jeen clan head. Apparently, Lem Dom had also done contests of strength with several hunters in training under the age of fifteen and been victorious, proving her competency to her relatives.

“Her skill with a bow and ability to hide her presence were equal to those of a full-fledged hunter, well beyond what a hunter in training is expected to be capable of. It seems your judgment was correct, Ai Fa.”

“My judgment was nothing but an estimation. The strength Lem Dom has gained is her achievement alone,” Ai Fa stated, looking at Sufira Zaza with a deadly serious stare. “You seem to have a strong attachment to Lem Dom, youngest daughter of the Zaza, but since Gulaf Zaza and Deek Dom have acknowledged her, it is now certain that she has just as much strength as the other young hunters to be. As a woman of the forest’s edge, the only thing you can do is pray for her to always return home safe.”

“I know that much...” Sufira Zaza replied with a deep sigh. She was normally so confident and dauntless. It was difficult to see her being so down over this.

However, I still had work I needed to do today, so I got myself back on track and returned to the meal prep.

During the contests of strength, we had taken turns minding the giba bone pot. If it wasn’t stirred every thirty minutes, the ingredients would burn, and firewood needed to be added frequently in order to maintain the proper level of heat. Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be any issues with the contents of the pot or the heat level when I checked them.

“All right, let’s go ahead and start the preparations for the other dish.”

The ten of us got to work cutting up giba meat and vegetables. When it came to chopping things up finely, everyone was equally skilled. The members of the small clans still didn’t have all the skills they needed to make some of the more excessively elaborate dishes, but teaching them how to make meatballs had been quick and easy, so they were well accustomed to mincing meat and precisely chopping vegetables.

They’re used to working together now, since I’m always having them help with the prep work for our business. Nobody else stands out like Toor Deen does, but it’s easy to see how much they’re all improving.

Many members of the nearby clans helped the Fa with work and sold us meat in exchange for coins, but they didn’t use their earnings as luxuriously as the Ruu did. It took quite a bit of money to purchase the everyday items they had been short on, and they also must have wanted to save up for unexpected circumstances. Injuries, illness, and childbirth all required money to deal with, and not many people at the forest’s edge would fail to take that into consideration.

Therefore, most of them weren’t interested in purchasing high-class ingredients. They mostly only bought the kinds of things that had always been available in the post town, except for tau oil and sugar, which they added to their shopping regularly since just a small amount could drastically improve the quality of a dish. But few of them were very familiar with the expensive ingredients that could be found in the castle town.

That had forced us to work hard to figure out the menu for tonight’s banquet. It was the type of event that only happened once every few months, so we all wanted to go for something more elaborate than usual, and I also wanted to show that it was possible to make delicious food even with limited ingredients. We had put a lot of effort into today’s meal with those goals in mind.

“All right, I guess that should just about do it here. We’ll leave two behind to man the flames, and everyone else will move to the empty house next door.”

There were five houses in the Fou settlement, but two of them had been left vacant. If we hadn’t been able to use those kitchens, we never would have finished in time.

As we were starting to head out, Reina Ruu sighed in admiration. “It’s amazing how busy you all look when I’m watching you work as an outsider. It doesn’t feel that way when I’m in the thick of things, but seeing you all running around now is almost making me dizzy.”

“Yeah, I could see that. But things are going as planned on our end, so there’s no reason for us to feel flustered.”

After moving to one of the vacant houses and working for another half an hour, we managed to finish all the preparations we needed to without a hitch.

When I returned to the plaza, I found Yun Sudra and Toor Deen’s groups had already gathered there. Baadu Fou had been talking to Jiza Ruu and Dari Sauti, but when he saw us he said, “Hmm? Have you finished your work, Asuta? It’s still well before the time we agreed on.”

“Yes. We should have no problem finishing the rest after the contests of strength wrap up.”

“Well then, why don’t we resume the competitions? The pole tugging and combat contests are going to take a while, after all.”

It seemed that the hunters all around us had been eagerly waiting to hear those words, since they immediately rose to their feet when Baadu Fou made that declaration. Apparently, they had gotten their energy back just fine.

“The next competition will be pole tugging. Everyone, give it your all and aim for victory!”

A stirring cheer rang out. Everything they did seemed so well synchronized that it almost felt like they actually were all related.

The hunters of the six clans were getting really fired up, and now Jiza Ruu was here as well, to watch them as an additional observer.