Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 3 - Chapter 5.1

Chapter 5: The Rutim Banquet (Part 2)

1

Slowly but steadily, the sun started slanting to the west. The world was sure to be awash in twilight in less than two hours.

The plan was that around when the sun was touching the western forest, the bride and groom would arrive in the Ruu settlement and the banquet would begin.

Around now, they were supposedly going around to each house of their related families and gathering blessings from each of them. Once each family gave their blessing, they were to come here in order.

There were already nearly 30 people gathered at the plaza.

Apparently children under the age of five weren’t qualified to participate in the banquet though, so unfortunately, the infants and toddlers were gathered in one of the Ruu branch family homes, where the women took shifts watching them.

As for the men, I didn’t see any aside from a few old folks and youths under 13. The hunters were still out in the forest, even on a day such as this.

They were supposed to not push themselves and come back early so that nothing tragic occurred on the day of the banquet, but still, the men of the five families other than the Rutim and Min were out carrying out their duty as hunters.

It was said that bestowing giba horns and tusks you hunted that very day was the greatest of blessings.

That was the people of the forest’s edge for you: honest, yet fierce.

◇

“Alright. All the preparations are complete.”

Having finished 70% of the cooking, I wiped the sweat from my brow.

The poitan were baked.

The three-vegetable stir fry had been finished.

The stew and the soup were both complete.

The fruit wine sauce for the hamburgers had even been jammed back into the original fruit wine containers.

All that was left was cooking the meat.

A vast number of hamburgers and a portion of the steaks were all lined up in the main Ruu house’s kitchen. There were six stoves there, but since I needed to use both strong and weak flames, that meant only three sets could be cooked at a time. But the pots were large, so I could prepare five of them at once in each, or 15 in total at once.

It looked to be just about time...

“Well then, let’s start cooking the meat.”

With that signal from me, the hamburgers were added to the pots, and the smell of meat and fat utterly filled the kitchen.

The hamburgers were the trickiest dish to cook, so Reina and Mia Lea Ruu were in charge of that, along with me. The other women from the main house headed to the branch houses, where they were grilling steaks. As for the women from the branch families who had their hands free, they were to come here to help move pots.

And so, young Shin Ruu’s mother and elder sister were now standing next to me while holding a grigee pole.

“Alright, I’m counting on you.”

They passed the pole through both handles of the pot, then moved it to a stove with a low flame.

When the red meat juices came rising up I flipped the patties and moved them back to the stove with the strong flame, where I added in fruit wine and then closed the lid. The sweet scent that came spewing out before the lid was shut soon permeated the kitchen.

Things seemed to be going smoothly for Mia Lea Ruu behind me and Reina Ruu on the outdoor stoves, too.

“I’m honored to have the opportunity to assist you, Asuta,” a reserved voice called out. It had come from Shin Ruu’s older sister, Sheera Ruu.

She was slender for a person of the forest’s edge, and had a sort of ephemeral air about her. She was probably just a bit older than I was.

“My father Ryada lost the strength needed to hunt, and my younger brother Shin became head of the house at the mere age of 16, so we were truly left at a loss... But then we tasted the cooking you taught us, and it brought everyone great joy, and imbued in them a strong desire to keep on living. I am truly grateful to you.”

“I’m grateful for your overly generous words. Still, your skill with a knife is no less than even Reina Ruu’s, which is amazing,” I said with a smile as I opened the lid and checked how they had cooked. “I hope you keep on cooking them delicious food and bringing them happiness. That’s something only you all can do... If you don’t mind, I think it’s about time to transfer it back to the weak flame.”

“Right.”

With that, she moved the pot again with her mother’s help.

Once these finished cooking, the first batch would be complete.

“You’re an unusual man, Asuta. It’s just like Shin said. You man the stove, and yet at times, you have the daring look of a hunter about you.”

“You really are exaggerating again. I’m no one all that great.”

“No, it’s true. Manipulating flames like this, and taking such hard, smelly giba meat and making it so delicious... It really is like you’re one of those sorcerers from the eastern kingdom.”

“That’s just what it means to be a chef. I’m sure you can find a whole ton of more skilled cooks in the capital, before you even go bringing sorcerers into it. Alright... it’s done.”

I took the hamburgers and lined them up atop a pseudo-rubber tree leaf on my work stand.

Then, I scraped off all the impurities stuck to the pot using a wooden spatula, returned it to the strong heat, dropped in fresh fat, and threw in five new patties. In the meantime, Ai Fa laid out another pseudo-rubber tree leaf atop the finished hamburgers, placed flat stones to the left and right as supports, and then placed a board on top. With that, we could steadily pile up the finished goods.

“Ah, Ai Fa, what’s that leaf called, now that I think of it? It’s been such a constant help to me, but I never learned its proper name.”

“Suurub.”

“Huh?”

“This is a suurub leaf.”

Ah, I see. I couldn’t help but give an awkward smile, figuring it was already just a pseudo-rubber leaf to me, and the name wasn’t that different anyway.

It was bigger than a person’s palm and had no smell, and the surface was smooth and shiny. And since we were cooking this much meat, it served as an indispensable supplement for the few plates we had.

The guests were only supposed to bring their own plates and skewers to use. And so, I was using planks in place of trays, and pseudo-rubber leaves as plates. I’m sure I must have put a great burden on the women, having them gather up these planks and several hundred pseudo-rubber leaves.

And yet, the women all wore bright expressions. Their faces were shining with excitement as they wondered how much the food they had prepared would surprise and overjoy their relatives and related families.

I may have been the head chef, but they were the ones who made all of these dishes.

It really would be nice if this deepened the bonds between everyone. If everyone shared in this happiness... And if Gazraan Rutim and Ama Min’s wedding went as well as one could imagine.

“Asuta! These hamburgers are done! I’m going to start on the steaks!”

“Right! I’m counting on you!”

“I’m back! Asuta, things are going smoothly in the other houses right now, too!”

“Thanks, Rimee Ruu. Could you tell them that it’s about time to start heating up the stew?”

“Got it!”

The work was progressing smoothly.

After that, though, I got a report that there was an issue with moving one of the pots, which ruined five steaks. But the women from the branch families practically took off flying, cutting off fresh meat and seasoning it with salt and pico leaves all on their own.

“Oh, it’s just awful! Now Vina knocked over a pot of aria soup!”

“What?! Did anyone get burned?!”

“That’s fine! But Vina looks like she’s about to cry! Or wait, she actually was crying!”

“There’s no reason for her to cry! We can remake anything but the stew! I mean, this banquet is going to be a marathon, so just tell her to take her time and make it again like we have up until now, without panicking! Ah... Is there anyone in that house who can make soup right now?”

“I don’t know! But if not, I’ll go help!”

“Alright, I’m counting on you, Rimee Ruu!”

I had already accounted for this much happening.

And as all this was occurring, all the meat in the main Ruu house got cooked. Afterwards, the plan was to fill a heated pot with water and stack up the dishes as tightly as possible. I wasn’t expecting it to do much, but it would hopefully at least help keep things warm.

“Alright, looks like we’re okay here, now. I’m going to go around checking on the other houses, alright?”

“Got it! Well then, Reina, you all should go get changed. We’ll take care of things here,” Mia Lea Ruu replied.

The younger women, Reina and Sheera Ruu included, responded “Right!” and exited the kitchen.

Noticing the expression on my face, the older woman broke out in a grin.

“It’s a banquet, after all. That makes it a big moment for the unmarried women to show off. A lot of new marriages are set up at events like this.”

“Oh... Is that so?”

In that case, it would be safest to avoid Vina and Reina Ruu outside of work.

Ai Fa stood there imposingly, the only unmarried woman left in the kitchen, and said, “I am a member of the Fa clan,” while shooting me back a frightening glare.

I didn’t quite get it, but apparently Ai Fa wouldn’t be dressing up.

I was awash in complex feelings over that, both relieved and yet at the same time disappointed.

“Well then, I’m off. I’ll be back soon if there aren’t any problems.”

With that, I left the kitchen alongside Ai Fa. The sun was already on the verge of touching the western forest, so we really were pushing things right up against the limit.

“Guess I’m about halfway done now, huh?”

While shooting a sidelong glance over the rather full plaza, I headed towards the closest house amongst the branch families.

“Half? But isn’t all the cooking finished?”

“The cooking is finished. But I’m still on the job until the food makes it to the guests. I guess maybe I’ll be done when the last steak and hamburger make it to the mouths of the bride and groom.”

Everything seemed to be in order with the branch families.

One house had a mountain of stir fried vegetables, another a heaping helping of baked poitan, yet another a ton of steaks, and one was heating up the stew that had been moved there from the main house.

When I arrived at the last of the houses, I found Rimee Ruu giving her all to strain the scum from the soup all on her own.

“Good work, Rimee Ruu. I see, so this is the culprit behind Vina Ruu’s tears, huh?”

The neighboring stove was all damp, and aria and chunks of meat were scattered all over.

“So, where did everyone else go?”

“They all went to change. I mean, they’re all unmarried.”

“Ah, I see. What about you, Rimee Ruu? Aren’t you going to change?”

“Yeah! I’ll go once this is done!”

Huh. I certainly would like to see Rimee Ruu all dressed up.

“I’ll take your place, then. The bride and groom should be here soon, so hurry up and get changed. Ah, but could you go help Mia Lea and them at the main house afterwards?”

“Got it! Thanks! Huh...? Ai Fa, are you not going to change?”

“I’m a member of the Fa clan. I have no ties to the Rutim clan, so it would make no sense for me to dress up for this banquet.”

“I see. I wanted to see you in your banquet clothes, Ai Fa. Well anyway, I’ll see you later!” Rimee Ruu said, then she went dashing out of the kitchen.

As soon as she was gone, Shin Ruu appeared in her place. Now that I thought of it, this was his house.

“Hey, welcome back, Shin Ruu. I’m glad to see you’re alright.”

“Yeah... You haven’t had any problems on your end, either?”

“It’s been fine. Your older sister and mom have been working really hard, too.”

That wasn’t mere flattery. I really meant it.

Those two were a serious boon to our forces, so I had them help make hamburgers at the main house rather than remain here. And that didn’t just apply to moving pots, as they also showed their skills when it came to mincing the meat and making the patties.

And also... I had become rather fond of this quiet, unsociable, awkward young man, too. He was like the polar opposite of Ludo Ruu, and seeing the two of them together was actually really soothing.

“Are you Ai Fa of the Fa clan...?” Shin Ruu asked, looking at Ai Fa with slightly narrowed eyes.

Now that I thought of it, this was actually the first time these two were meeting.

“I am the head of this house, Shin Ruu. I realize I’m being impolite in doing so, but there is one matter I’d like to discuss with you.”

Huh? I thought as I looked back and forth between the two.

Both of them were expressionless, so I couldn’t discern any information just from looking at them. Still, despite the silence, my unease wasn’t exactly flaring up.

“Ai Fa, you—” Shin Ruu started to continue.

“Shin, you’re back?” Sheera Ruu asked, cutting him off. “Oh, my...” she stated, freezing in place after entering the kitchen. “You all are here too? Welcome, Ai Fa and Asuta.”

I had only just parted with her a short while ago, but Sheera Ruu had already changed into her outfit for the banquet.

I couldn’t help but be a bit impressed. She had given off a fairly weak, fleeting impression visually, but now she was so beautiful she was like an entirely different person. Her long blackish brown hair, the same color as her younger brother’s, was now loose and flowing down her back. And her hair had countless little flowers and berries in it, plus it had a transparent veil on top. Awash in the light orange of twilight, that veil gave off an iridescent sparkle. The fact that such fibers existed in this world was enough to make my eyes open wide.

The fabrics around her chests and hips may have been different, too. I couldn’t quite recall the details, but I got the feeling that the swirling patterns had gotten more elaborate and vibrant. Plus, she had a slightly purple flowing transparent fabric running from her hips to her ankles, and on top of that, she also had wooden and metal accessories around her wrists and ankles rather than the usual grigee fruits used to ward off insects.

In short, Sheera Ruu looked beautiful.

“Ah, is this the remade soup? If it’s alright, I can take care of the rest.”

“Really? Then I’m counting on you. Um... take care that your clothes don’t get burned, alright?”

“Yes, I understand,” she answered with a smile and a real gentle charm.

I turned back around towards Shin Ruu, and the calm-faced youth shook his head.

“I can tell that you are still working. My apologies. I’ll come again when you’re free.”

“I see. Farewell,” Ai Fa replied, seemingly completely unconcerned, as she exited the kitchen. All I could think to do was give a bow to the two siblings and follow after her.

“Hey, what business did Shin Ruu have with you?”

“Who knows?” Ai Fa bluntly answered.

“He’s a member of a Ruu branch family, right? I can’t remember you ever talking to anyone like that before.”

“I see.”

Well, as long as it was just Shin Ruu, I was sure he wasn’t plotting anything. There was still something bothering me a bit about the whole thing, but right now, I was in the middle of a job.

And so, I stepped out into the plaza, and...

Suddenly, the whole place erupted in cheers.

The bride and groom had arrived.

A group of around thirty were slowly making their way forward through the plaza. To be specific, they were the members of the Rutim and Min clans.

There was an old man I didn’t recognize standing at the head of the group. Was he the Rutim clan elder or something? He was bald, but his white beard stretched down to his chest, and he looked quite old. At any rate, his back was straight and his steps were firm, plus he was clad in the outfit of a hunter.

There were two small children off to the left and right. One was a boy, and the other was a girl. And both of them looked smaller than even Rimee Ruu.

The boy was so little, yet he was dressed like a hunter, and he was proudly puffing out his chest.

The girl had on the same sort of transparent veil that Sheera Ruu had been wearing, and she was giving an energetic smile.

Their small hands were holding flat baskets with flowers and berries weaved into them, which were overflowing with giba horns and tusks. Those must have been the blessings they had received from the families related to them. The men had still not given their blessings, so they silently approached, greeted the elder, and added a horn or a tusk to the pile.

And then, the men in their hunter’s garb and the women in their lightweight outfits seemed to part. With that, today’s stars finally made their appearance: Gazraan Rutim and Ama Min.

Naturally, Gazraan Rutim was dressed as a hunter. The key difference, though, was in the giba pelt cloak wrapped around his robust frame. It was undoubtedly a giba pelt. As to how I could be so certain, the cloak still had a head to it. The giba’s head was draped over Gazraan Rutim’s burly right shoulder, covering it. And it still had its imposing horns and tusks, making it almost look like it was still alive.

The cloak covered his right half but his left side remained exposed, and I could see a small and a large blade peeking out from underneath. They were surely special for this banquet, too. The leather sheaths on both had been embroidered and branded, and on top of that, there were beautifully colored stones embedded here and there throughout.

The only other notable difference was the emerald green grass crown atop his dark brown hair. But even so, the Rutim heir looked even more manly and gallant than usual.

As expected, the bride walking silently alongside him was wearing an iridescent veil. But unlike Sheera Ruu and the other women, hers had three layers to it, and she also had a grass crown on like the one her husband-to-be was wearing. The hem of the veil reached down over her face, its iridescent shine clouding her expression. But even so, I could at least tell that the bride had a joyous smile on her face.

And she also had transparent shawls dangling from her shoulders and hips, such that the entirety of her dark brown skin was wrapped up in a gentle light.

The cloth wrapped around her chest and waist underneath were covered in brilliant whirling patterns, and the accessories around her neck and wrists were certainly gorgeous, but that iridescent shine alone was beautiful enough to mark her as more special than anyone else present.

The cheers of those blessing the pair reverberated through plaza and showed no sign of abating, with one stupidly loud laugh overwhelming them all. That had come from the father of the groom, Dan Rutim.

The large bald-headed man was walking at the head of the other men, and was laughing for some reason. I didn’t quite know why, but... he certainly seemed to be having fun. I figured he must be overjoyed. I mean, he had to be over the moon, with his son having grown into such a splendid man, and for him to be marrying such a beautiful bride.

His potbelly was seriously swaying, as was the fat on his cheeks. And seeing that, the children around him started laughing too. In turn, Dan Rutim started laughing even harder.

I couldn’t quite tell from this distance, but I felt like I saw something lightly sparkling in the corners of those big eyes of his.

“Asuta,” a voice said, and I felt a light tug on my arm. When I turned to look, I saw Ai Fa quietly staring back at me.

I gave a single nod, then clenched my fists.

“Yeah. We’re finally in the second half.”

The banquet had begun.