Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 3 - Chapter 4.2

2

The three of us shared some light conversation while adding firewood now and again, and before too long, Lala and Reina Ruu returned.

“Hey, we brought pots!”

Just as Lala Ruu had said, they were each carrying a pot. They must have borrowed them from one of the branch families.

Unsurprisingly, this main house had the largest kitchen of the seven in the settlement, so I went ahead and designated it as my headquarters. However, they still only had four of the crucial pots and they were all soon taken up by my stew, so I decided to amass some of the pots and personnel from the branch families here.

Up until now I had been having the women of the branch families assist me in shifts, but for today the plan was to have them all help out. Actually, they should already have started baking poitan and chopping vegetables around now...

Which houses would prepare which dishes? How many pots and people would each house need to do that? Working backwards from those questions to create a schedule and assign shifts was the most bothersome part for me.

“What should we do with these pots? Were they for the tarapa going into the stew?”

“Ah, right, since we have enough people around now, should we go ahead and take care of that? Once we’re done with this, we’ll have it pretty easy until the sun hits its peak.”

I left the boiling to Ai Fa and Rimee Ruu, and then went outside with Lala Ruu to prepare the tomato, er, tarapa sauce.

We needed a tremendous amount of this stuff, too, but it was very simple to prepare. All I needed to do was take the diced aria I had fried first and then heat them up together with some thick slices of tarapa and fruit wine, and then finally conclude things by fine-tuning the taste with salt and pico leaves.

If I were being greedy, I would love having some garlic and basil on hand, but this sauce still earned passing marks. It took some time and effort to make it into a stew, but I’d also like to try pouring it over meat and heating it together with vegetables, and if those turned out well I could definitely see myself using them.

“How weird. To think that sour tarapa could turn into something this easy to eat...” Lala Ruu muttered while stirring the deep red, simmering tarapa so that it wouldn’t burn.

“It’s thanks to the sweetness from the fruit wine and the aria. I should have thought of it sooner...”

Lala Ruu seemed to have become a whole lot gentler over these past five days. The rough way she spoke was just down to her personality, but as long as she wasn’t getting hotheaded, she was actually a pretty earnest and adorable young girl.

“Ah, right, you hated tarapa, didn’t you, Lala Ruu?”

“Yeah. But now, I love it.”

That’s what I like to hear.

I had thought this girl seriously hated my guts, but now I was able to have such a nice, warm, nonchalant conversation with her.

It was then that I suddenly felt a disquieting gaze on my cheek, and I turned to look. I saw Reina Ruu with a sort of sad expression on her face, but she quickly looked away.

What was that about...? Wasn’t Ai Fa supposed to pretty much have a monopoly on shooting me an icy glare at times like this?

As those thoughts ran through my head, Ludo Ruu popped up while yawning.

“What, you’ve started already? Man, it’s sweltering out... Hey, Asuta, let’s go bathe. All the women are done, right?”

“Ah, no, I’m fine doing it later. I’ll be at a stopping point once I finish this off.”

“What’s the point of having three folks clinging around two stoves? Or are you saying you can’t manage anything without Asuta? The men are all already preparing giba, you know.”

“Shut up! You just want to go bathe, right? We don’t need Asuta at all!”

Why exactly did I have to get thrown under the bus, here?

“Go ahead. We’ll watch over the pots, so please go with him,” Reina Ruu said with a smile, though I could still spy some sadness in her gaze.

“Got it. Well then, I guess I’ll join you... Your mom and them really are done, aren’t they?”

“I can’t exactly have you marry into the family unless they’re unmarried, right?”

“No, but...”

“Dad and Jiza would just kill you dead, is all.”

“That’s what I mean! Did you confirm it?!”

“U-Um, we were able to come here because Sati Lea’s group had returned from bathing...” Reina Ruu said bashfully, her face turning a little red.

Ah, that’s no good. Looks like she really drew the short straw out of the group. I really should hurry along to the bath.

I called out to Ai Fa’s group inside, and then headed off with Ludo Ruu.

“Still, isn’t it kind of unusual for you to be inviting me to bathe, Ludo Ruu?”

“Hmm... Well, there’s sort of something I wanted to ask you about,” he said while walking as if he was throwing his legs out one after the other and pointing his pale eyes my way. “Did you talk to her about it yet?”

“It?”

“Sacrificial hunting.”

“Ah.”

Damn, I’d completely forgotten about that. How could I be so stupid?!

Of course, it had been because each and every day had been so very busy, but that was no excuse.

Ai Fa was hunting all on her own, but she was catching an excessive amount of giba. Ludo Ruu suggested that may be down to her using something called “sacrificial hunting,” and said that if I wanted to know more about it, I should ask Ai Fa directly.

Why had I gone and forgotten something so important? My own carelessness there was seriously making me want to scream.

With that said, though, I still didn’t have any clue just how important that may be. The term “sacrificial hunting” sounded ominous, and Ludo Ruu had a serious look on his face when he brought it up, but that was all I had to go on.

Now that it had come to this, I had no choice but to ask the person who had fanned the flames of my unease.

“Sorry, it completely slipped my mind... Hey, seriously, what is that sacrificial hunting thing?”

“If you haven’t asked, then don’t worry about it. You can just ask your clan head if you want to know.”

“No, but I mean, shouldn’t I be fine asking someone else about that? I mean, there’s going to always be someone by my side today.”

“It should be fine if the women hear though, right? I mean, they won’t understand anyway. Though it may be for the best if my dad doesn’t hear anything about it.”

“I won’t ask, then. I mean, I don’t feel like trying to keep Rimee Ruu quiet.”

I shot another sidelong glance, and saw a face staring back at me like he found this really tiresome.

“Guess there’s no helping it... Sacrificial hunting is an old technique that uses a giba summoning fruit. When you crush that fruit it spreads a smell that giba love through the air, and they come running. That’s all there is to it.”

“Hmm? It seems to have a rather exaggerated name then, doesn’t it?”

“...Apparently when giba sniff that scent, they become crazy ferocious. They’ll normally run away if they spy a person in the distance, but I hear they’ll intently come charging at someone with that smell about them.”

“Wha...?”

“It’s a hunting style that will ultimately sacrifice your very life, so it’s called ‘sacrificial hunting.’ If you hunt that way, no matter how much life force you may possess, it will never be enough, so I doubt there’s anyone who uses it nowadays.”

I was at a loss for words.

“So I’m sure Ai Fa can’t be doing it, either. Still, she sure is catching a crazy amount of giba... I just sort of want to ask her how she’s doing it all on her own.”

“That giba summoning fruit...”

“Hmm?”

“Does it have a sweet smell, like flowers?”

Ludo Ruu’s whole face now turned my way, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“I’ve got no clue. I’ve never even seen one.”

“I see...”

That scent like sweet flowers that I had only ever smelled from Ai Fa... If it was from giba summoning fruit...

“Well, my dad hates people who throw away their lives, so if there was a hunter out there using giba summoning fruit, I’m sure he wouldn’t be happy about it.”

“Right...”

“I would respect them, though. If someone’s out there going that far to hunt giba, then I think that’s amazing. I mean, it may be really stupid, but it’s also super cool, so they’d definitely earn my respect.”

I couldn’t think of what to say.

“Hey, Asuta,” Ludo Ruu said, suddenly grabbing me by the collar. In an instant, the youth’s somewhat thin face was right before my eyes. “I’m saying, you should respect her too. If such a hunter exists, then you shouldn’t worry about her, but give her your respect.”

“...Got it.”

Ludo Ruu suddenly let go, then started leisurely walking forwards again.

I held back a sigh and scratched my head, towel and all.

It was around then that the doors blocking off the Ruu bathing area came into view.

“Ah, seems like it’s going to be a hot one again today...” Ludo Ruu said as he stepped beyond the doors. While thinking of Ai Fa waiting back in the kitchen, I followed after him.

And then, I almost let out an audible yelp.

“Oh, you were here already, Jiza, Darmu?”

Yes, his two older brothers were there. In a way, the pair were even harder to deal with than Donda Ruu.

Ludo Ruu paid them no heed, just tossing away his clothing until only his necklace was left.

There was a stream running through there, which would come up to my knees at most. It was rocky all around it, and in the rear was a rather tall cliff face, with forest up top casting shade down on the scene.

The two hunters were seated there, in the middle of wiping down their dark brown naked bodies with their palms and small cloths.

“Ooh, that’s cold!” Ludo Ruu yelled out excitedly after jumping in.

I wasn’t excited, though. No, not at all.

Jiza Ruu glanced over my way, and then silently resumed wiping himself down.

Darmu Ruu glared at me with flames in his eyes, but sure enough, he quietly got back to bathing, too.

Yeah, as if I could get excited under these circumstances.

But I also couldn’t just run away, so I grabbed hold of the clothing I was wearing. I took off the vest, t-shirt, and everything else, until I was left with just my necklace. And then, I sat myself downstream from the way their backs were facing.

“What’s with the scary face, Darmu?! Today’s a happy occasion, right?” Ludo Ruu asked, raising his right leg high out of the water. Then he brought it down hard, causing a large amount of water to rain down on Darmu Ruu’s head.

Oh man, I almost fainted, there.

Darmu Ruu temporarily froze in place, but then he resumed washing himself as if nothing had happened. The way that I couldn’t see his face from where I was sitting actually made it all the more frightening.

But still... Just what was with the bodies of the men of the forest’s edge?

I’d overworked myself quite a bit in this past month too, my fat getting replaced with muscle, meaning my weight went up despite my body tightening all around. I figured I was in the best shape of my life and had built up a pretty muscular body, but I still looked like a spindly dog that was wasting away when compared to them.

The differences had to start from our very skeletons. Their shoulders were wide, their chests bulky, and their limbs and necks were slender and well proportioned. And though the contours of their bodies were drawn in super tight, their back muscles were seriously impressive.

Everything was well-proportioned and uniform, so they even looked slim when wearing clothing, but ultimately they still had the necessary muscles firmly developed, and there wasn’t a bit of unnecessary fat to their bodies. Their bodies really did seem to be put together with the same sort of functional beauty that I sensed from Ai Fa.

Looking closely, their wrists were thick and their hands were large. And it wasn’t just that their fingers were long, as their palms were also big and thick. If we shook hands, they could probably easily crush mine in their grasp.

And again like Ai Fa, their dark skin had countless scars shining white across it.

Being stabbed by a giba could take your very life, so the majority of those probably just came naturally from moving through dense thickets and rocky areas.

This was what it meant to be a hunter of the forest’s edge.

“What are you spacing out for? Today’s a once in a lifetime big job for you, isn’t it?”

Another massive downpour accompanied those words.

Ludo Ruu dove down, right in front of me.

“Take your time and really cleanse your body properly! This is a real auspicious event for the Rutim, after all!”

“I-I know. You sure are energetic early in the morning, Ludo Ruu.”

“Hmm? Hehehe, yeah, you’re right! I mean, I can’t help but be after getting to eat delicious food each and every day! Right now, I feel like I could even lift up a giba with a single hand!” Ludo Ruu said with a laugh, seriously enjoying himself. That expression actually made him look adorable, like a little girl.

He had a honed body like that of a wild animal, but he was still at least shorter than me, and he didn’t have as robust of a physique as his elder brothers. I certainly didn’t think I could beat him in a contest of strength or anything, but I still felt relieved, somehow.

“The women from the main Ruu house should be fine, now. I’ve hardly lifted a hand for the last five nights of dinners, and they’ve gotten plenty of practice making hamburgers, so they should be able to keep on making delicious meals from tomorrow on.”

Ludo Ruu suddenly frowned.

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Asuta, you’ve kind of been talking about if you weren’t around a lot lately. That makes me really mad.”

“Huh? No, but you see, I’m not exactly in a position to be manning the Ruu family stove so frequently. Isn’t it a good thing, if the women can make delicious food all on their own?”

“I know that! But that’s not what you mean, right?!”

He smacked the surface of the water with a splash, splash!

He really was childish.

“Asuta,” Jiza Ruu said, speaking up for the first time. “This is perfect. There is a matter that I wished to discuss with you.”

“Right. What is it?”

“...Are you going to meet with that Kamyua Yoshu man from the city of stone tomorrow?”

He turned the upper half of his robust body towards me, and looked at me with his thread-like eyes.

“Yeah. If he comes to visit, then I think I’ll end up seeing him.”

“I see... It is not as if entering into the forest’s edge is forbidden. There is an agreement with the lord of the Genos domain that they are not to step foot here without good reason, but that is more meant to prevent the people from the city from being exposed to danger. So even if that man comes again, we have no right to get in his way.”

“...Right.”

“However, I do not agree with people from the city meddling with the forest’s edge. As you can see just by looking at the Suun clan, the culture of the city can only corrupt our people.”

I couldn’t really answer that.

“Asuta, you also have the feel of a person from the city about you. I believe you should live in the city of stone... Is there anything wrong with my thinking?”

This was the first time Jiza Ruu had ever talked to me this directly.

Just how had he reacted to Gazraan Rutim’s decision to go against the traditions of the forest’s edge? To be honest, I couldn’t imagine it went any better than with Donda Ruu.

Naturally, those were the thoughts running through my head.

“I don’t know if you’re wrong or not. But... I like this settlement at the forest’s edge more than that post town.”

And so, that was the only way I could think to respond.

“I see,” Jiza Ruu responded, standing up. “Gazraan Rutim is a precious part of my family. I pray more strongly than anyone that this ceremony ends without incident.”

Then Jiza Ruu wiped himself down with a cloth hanging from a door, put on his clothing, and left.

“...Asuta, I’m amazed you could actually talk to Jiza when he was like that. I could never do it,” Ludo Ruu said, sounding a little sulky.

“Yeah, maybe it hasn’t sunk in yet how scary he really is. He’s seriously intense, but I guess I just don’t know quite how to be scared of him?”

“What’s that about? You know, Jiza’s even scarier to me than dad is... Hey, Darmu, why do you hate Asuta? He makes delicious food, and sometimes I don’t quite understand him, but he seems like a good guy, doesn’t he?”

I felt those words soak deep into my heart, but more importantly, I couldn’t help but be really amazed at how familiarly he was talking with Darmu Ruu. Well, they were brothers though, so maybe that was only natural.

Sure enough, Darmu Ruu didn’t respond or even look at me, and just left as Jiza Ruu had done.

“Hmm... You sure are hated, Asuta.”

“Yeah, I’m aware.”

“Actually, when it comes to Darmu, it’s more like he’s afraid of you.”

“Huh? There’s no way! No matter how much I struggled, there’s no way I could ever beat him!”

“No man alive would ever lose to you... In a battle of strength, that is.” Then, Ludo Ruu sat cross-legged under the water and turned to face me. “It sure is strange. You’re so frail and weak-looking, but you’re not afraid of anyone. You looked even stronger than my dad at that celebratory banquet.”

“Ahaha. That’s a real honor to hear.”

“Your hand.”

“Hmm?”

“Show me your hand.”

“Hand?” I questioned, offering the palm of my right hand. Ludo Ruu placed his own palm on top of it.

“It’s so small, like a woman’s.”

I felt like the word “stunned” appeared over my head just then, like I was Rimee Ruu or something.

Ludo Ruu was supposed to be smaller than me, but his palm and fingers were a size bigger than mine. A year from now, he really may end up looking down on me from above. And when that thought crossed my mind, I felt catastrophically depressed.

Still, it really would make me happy if I really was still here at the forest’s edge a year from now.