Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 5 - Chapter 2.3

3

When Shumiral’s group from The Silver Vase left, Sheera Ruu called out, “Asuta, there’s just one giba burger left. Should I start heating up fresh tarapa?”

“Ah, yeah, please do. Set aside that one and put the samples out on a wooden plate, if you don’t mind.”

“Right.”

“Lala Ruu, could I ask you to man the shop for a bit again?”

“Yeah.”

With that I moved over to the giba burger stall, using this chance to get a first-hand look at Sheera and Vina Ruu’s skills.

Apparently, they had already chopped up the tarapa by the time that The Silver Vase showed up. And now, Vina Ruu added firewood to the brazier in a practiced motion, while Sheera Ruu added the tarapa to the pot.

“...Asuta, there’s still a good bit of tarapa left, so I think adding two may be too much.”

“Ah, that’s true. In that case, would just one be plenty?”

“That’s what I thought, so I only chopped up the one,” Sheera Ruu replied with a smile.

“That being the case, we should halvef the aria and fruit wine, right?”

“Yeah, please go ahead and do that.”

The tarapa sauce started simmering away.

And we were adding just a bit more myamuu than yesterday, so the aroma was a little stronger, too.

The thought was that maybe I could use that smell alone to draw in the people from the west who had been hanging about, and as if in response, a group was indeed approaching.

“Hey. I decided to come again today. And I even brought along friends, too.”

It was Yumi, the one girl out of that group of troublemakers from yesterday.

“Ah, thank you for tha—” I started to say, but was suddenly at a loss for words.

There were four people there behind Yumi, and all of them were young girls around her age. They all had ivory-white skin, and wore colorful tops and winding skirts that went down to their ankles, just like her. Was that just the standard style for girls about town in the west?

“Huh? This is tarapa, isn’t it? I smelled myamuu, but is this a different dish than yesterday?”

“Yes. The dish from yesterday is being sold at the neighboring stall. Currently we’re getting more ready for this stall, but once it’s ready, would you like to give it a sample?”

“Yeah! Let’s do that.”

She seemed pretty boorish yesterday, but now that she was all smiles, she was giving off a totally different impression. I thought she seemed like she was trying a little too hard to draw attention, but her expression itself looked totally innocent.

“Asuta, the tarapa seems to have heated,” Sheera Ruu quietly called out to me.

“Got it. Well then, all that leaves is the seasoning...” I said while reaching out, but then I stopped and thought. “...Actually, could you handle the final seasoning?”

“Huh?” Sheera Ruu questioned, her eyes going wide in surprise.

I got just close enough that I wasn’t being rude, then whispered, “Try feeling out the amount of rock salt and pico leaves to use by yourself. If I don’t think it’s enough then I’ll step in and add some more, and if it’s too much then we’ll adjust it by adding more tarapa.”

“...Right. Understood.”

She must have decided this was part of her work too, as there wasn’t a bit of hesitation in her eyes.

I gave Sheera Ruu a nod, then turned back towards our customers.

“Well then, would you like to start by sampling the dish from yesterday?”

“Ah, right. I already know how it tastes, but could you let the rest of them try it?”

With that, one of the girls who had been watching our exchange with a rather frightened look on her face interjected, “H-Hey, Yumi...”

“I’m telling you, it’s fine! I already explained enough, didn’t I? It’s totally delicious, so give it a try, even if you think I’m trying to trick you!”

“But...” “I mean...” the girls grumbled, wriggling their bodies.

It was just like when Dora had brought the oldtimers from the cloth and pot shops. But what was it that felt different about this?

Mulling it over, it hit me that the folks from the south and east were pretty much all older men far from home, so Tara and Yumi had been my only young female customers up till now. Maybe that was why I found it so hard to know how to handle this group of teenage girls standing in front of me.

I didn’t used to think that way, but maybe I had been influenced by my month and some change of simple living at the forest’s edge. Even if I didn’t feel like I was living a plain life, the people of the forest’s edge definitely were, and the women were no exception. And after all that time being surrounded by such women in the kitchen, it felt awkward facing these girls from about town, with their supple movements and high-pitched voices.

But even still, they were customers. And so, I simply said, “If you would like to give it a try, then please head over that way,” motioning to the myamuu giba stall.

Then, I swiftly drew close to Sheera Ruu again.

“How’s it looking?”

“Alright... I think it’s ready for you to give a taste,” Sheera Ruu replied with a nervous look on her face.

I nodded back and scooped up some sauce with a wooden spoon.

There were no problems here.

She had to be naturally talented, to have recreated the flavor like this after just a few tastes. I had to imagine she was a real rarity among the people of the forest’s edge, who didn’t value cooking at all up until now.

“This is good. All right, please go ahead and heat up the patties.”

“...Right,” Sheera Ruu replied with a sigh of relief.

She was worrying way more than the other members of our group, so I’d have to make sure I rewarded her somehow eventually.

“Now then...” I said, facing back towards the customers.

Sure enough, the girls kept on wriggling, going, “But...” “I don’t wanna...”

I really did still have a ways to go, as I couldn’t stop myself from thinking, No buts.

Yumi, meanwhile, brushed at her long, dark brown hair while looking annoyed.

“Geez, you all have got no guts at all. Um... W-What was your name again?”

“Me? My name is Asuta.”

“Asuta, huh? That’s an interesting name. Hey, Asuta, go ahead and let me sample it one more time too. Maybe that will be enough to help them work up the nerve.”

“Right. Thank you for your consideration,” I said with a smile, but Yumi frowned a bit in response.

“...Asuta, how old are you?”

“Huh? I’m 17 years old.”

“In that case, you’re one year older than me. Which means you don’t need to talk to me so stiffly.”

“Ah, no! I can’t be impolite to my customers! Now then... This way, please.”

Yumi clicked her tongue with a “Tch,” and sulked, but then she moved over to the myamuu giba stall.

The four girls followed along, but they all made sure to keep their distance.

“Huh? You put on a fire, Lala Ruu?”

“Hmm? I thought I should heat the meat back up. Should I not have?”

“No, that was a wonderful decision. Well then, please hold on just a moment.”

There was still plenty enough meat for samples sitting on the wooden plate.

When I went and added that back into the pot along with just a bit of marinade, the smell of myamuu and fruit wine filled the air.

“Well? Doesn’t it smell good?” Yumi questioned, turning towards the girls with a triumphant look on her face.

As for the girls, they were all gathered together, wiggling and squirming. They were definitely worried, but I didn’t sense that their fear was all that ingrained. At the very least, it wasn’t as bad as the cloth and pot sellers the first time that they came.

Whether it was how long they had lived in Genos, their gender, or their age... There was some primary factor at work here.

“Thank you for waiting. Now then, please go ahead.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Yumi replied, chucking the chunk of meat into her mouth without a hint of hesitation. “Ah, it’s so good! Hey, which one’s tastier? This one, or that tarapa dish?”

“I believe that will vary from person to person, but I think the tarapa one will be more to the taste of most women.”

“In that case, I definitely have to try a sample! What about you all...? Are you not going to try it after all? You don’t think your skin will get all dark if you eat giba meat or anything, do you?”

Even so, the girls just kept on wriggling.

But then, another group suddenly approached the stall from behind them.

“Hey... Do we not have to pay coins for that?”

They were two young men with ivory-white skin. However, they were talking to Yumi rather than me.

“Huh? Yeah, that’s right. He said you can try this, then if you like it you can pay some coins to buy one.”

“Is that so...?” he replied, then timidly looked at me.

Naturally, I smiled back.

“Please, go ahead. And the dish at that stall is completely different, so if you’d like, feel free to try both and compare.”

“What should we do?” “What do you think?” they asked each other, now joining in the wriggling.

Just then, Sheera Ruu chimed in by saying, “Asuta, this meat is all heated up too.” In response, Yumi cheered “Hooray!” and ran over that way.

“Giba meat is delicious, you see. And I’m proud of both of these... Gah!”

“Wah!”

“Ack!”

Three male voices cried out at once, me included.

Suddenly, there was a giant totos bird’s long neck poking through between the two troubled youths.

“My apologies,” a voice devoid of emotion called out from up above.

The stall’s roof was blocking my view, but it would seem that had come from a rider from Sym seated atop the massive bird, wearing traveling attire.

“Hey! It’s forbidden to ride totos in town!” Yumi loudly screeched, only for the man to respond again with, “My apologies,” and get down to the ground.

His leather cloak and dark face had a bit of sand on them. He must have been a traveler who had come from the north.

At any rate, that traveler from Sym looked back and forth slowly between the sign on the stall and the samples.

“...Giba?”

“Yes, this is a meal made with giba meat. If you’d like, you can try one of these samples,” I replied without hesitation, holding out the wooden plate.

Apparently, the language of the west got through to him just fine, as he gave a single nod and grabbed a toothpick.

“That stall also serves giba. It uses tarapa, and is a bit of a unique dish.”

The traveler nodded again, then left the stall along with his totos.

A moment later, a deep, masculine voice sounded out from his destination.

“Whoa! Don’t go around the stalls with your totos! You need to hurry up and check it into a totos stable, you Sym jerk!”

Apparently, a customer from Jagar had been ordering a giba burger from that stall without me even noticing him.

The man from Sym responded, “My apologies,” again, but he still reached out towards the samples.

“Geez, all you damn folks from Sym are like this...” the customer from Jagar muttered in annoyance, coming my way while avoiding the totos. “Huh? What’s this? This couldn’t be another stall for giba dishes, could it?”

“Ah, it is. From today on, we’ll be running two stalls.”

“I thought I smelled some delicious myamuu in the air, and it was coming from here, huh?! What, so this is a different dish, then?”

“That’s correct. If you’d like, you can try a sample.”

The man rudely barged forward, shoving the wriggling youths out of the way with his shoulders, and grabbed a toothpick.

One bite, and immediately he went, “Ooh!” and his eyes grew wide. “This is really darn tasty, too... Man, I didn’t even realize it and bought one from over there...”

“My apologies. If you’d like, I could exchange it for one of these dishes.”

“But I wanted to eat this too...” he said, his eyes cast downward and looking regretful, then his gaze suddenly shot up and fixed on me. “Alright, already! I’ll do it! One of these, too! You’re going to close up shop by the time the sun goes down anyway, right? In that case I’ll just spoil my dinner and eat more delicious food now! How many coins is it?”

“Ah, two red coins.”

“How cheap! That means I can get two for four coins, which is practically nothing,” he said with a satisfied smile, then slapped his coins down on the counter.

“Thank you! Please hold on just a moment!”

But then, a crude voice questioned, “What’s this, giba meat cooking?”

A group of three men with yellowish-brown skin were standing in front of the other stall. They had knives and hatchets hanging from their waists, and looked like real scoundrels.

“You really think you can sell that crap in Genos? If you want coins, then how about using that sexy face and body you’ve got there?”

In addition to their bladed weapons, they also had fruit wine containers dangling from their hands.

I started stepping forward without even thinking, but Lala Ruu grabbed me by the arm.

“Leave it be. What good would come of you going over? Just leave it to Vina.”

“No, but...”

“Women walking alone around town always have to deal with that sort of stuff. Honestly, even Sheera Ruu or I could drive off guys like that.”

“...They’re some real dumbasses. I doubt they’ve got what it takes to go and make an enemy of the people of the forest’s edge,” the customer from Jagar said while calmly chewing away at his giba burger. “Never mind them and just hurry up and get it made. Once I’m done eating, I’ve got to hurry back to work.”

“R-Right...” I replied, forcing myself to focus on adding the aria to the pot.

I couldn’t hear their conversation, but occasionally I would hear one of the men crudely proclaiming, “What’d you say?” or “Don’t mess with me!” or something.

By the time the meat was nice and cooked and I finished up the myamuu giba, those men were each holding a giba burger and walking away.

“See? Vina draws attention easily, so she’s used to stuff like that.”

As I breathed a sigh of admiration, the two youths who had been wriggling the whole time weakly chimed in, “Um... Can we try a sample...?”

“Yes! Of course!”

When I snuck a glance, I saw the girls were sampling the giba burgers. And Yumi was a step ahead of them and had already ordered, so she was happily chewing away at her food while chatting with Vina Ruu.

Soon, the youths went, “Whoa... This is good, isn’t it?” “It’s a little hard, but it doesn’t smell at all,” letting their impressions slip out in quiet voices.

They sure were shy ones.

“If you’d like, please go ahead and try out that stall, too.”

As I said that, a new customer from Sym arrived and silently slapped down his coins.

“T-Thank you! Please hold on just a moment!”

Things seemed strangely busy right now, for some reason.

As I thought that while gazing up at the sky, I saw that the sun had long since hit its peak.

Apparently two hours had passed by without me noticing, and we were now in the back half of our fight.

Now that we were at this point, the finish line didn’t seem all that far in the distance.

Once the young men and girls chose between the giba burgers and myamuu giba and made their purchases, that left both stalls with a bit over 20 left each.

“Ah, so this is that giba cooking they were talking about in the inn,” a person from Jagar said, approaching with a group. At the same time, a similar number of customers from Sym silently drew nearer. It wasn’t as intense as first thing in the morning, but in exchange, there pretty much wasn’t a moment that there wasn’t someone in front of the stalls.

And as if they had been awaiting this influx of customers, we started to steadily get some ivory-white skinned folks approaching too.

Naturally, not all of these people bought something. About half of them turned back without even trying a sample, and it wasn’t at all uncommon for someone to pretty much flee after tasting one.

However, a great number of people also timidly placed an order.

“Hey, this is giba?” a member of a group of children called out.

They looked to be around five or six, even younger than Tara.

“That’s right. Would you like to try a sample?” I asked, holding out the wooden plate, only for them to let out childishly light-hearted squeals as they scattered.

But eventually, they gathered again and nervously approached the stall.

“Samples are completely free. Would you like to try one?”

“But... if you eat giba, you grow horns, right?”

“And your skin gets all dark, doesn’t it?”

“Hmm? I’ve been eating it for over a month now, but I still haven’t grown any horns myself.”

Then, I pointed towards Lala Ruu.

“And look, this girl here doesn’t have any either, right? So I’m sure it’s fine.”

With that, I got them to try the samples, to which they loudly proclaimed “Yummy!” and took off running down the street.

“...There’s no way kids that little would have coins to spend, you know.”

“It’s fine. Hearing that they liked it is more than enough to satisfy me.”

After that, our business gradually began to slow down again.

In the end, the myamuu giba wound up running out first. That happened roughly an hour after the sun hit its peak. When I had just two meals left, a group of three from Sym arrived.

“My deepest apologies! We only have two left. There are still a number of that tarapa dish left, though...”

The customers turned and expressionlessly whispered among themselves.

Then, one of them moved over to the giba burger stand, while the remaining two held out their coins.

“Thank you. Please hold on just a moment.”

We were finally at the finish line.

Now all that was left was to see if we could wrap things up smoothly.

When I handed the last myamuu giba to the customer, I left it to Lala Ruu to put out the fire and ran on over to the other stall.

“How many are left, Sheera Ruu?”

Just as Sheera Ruu was about to respond, a teen from the west who had tried a sample proclaimed, “A-Alright, I’ll have one!”

Sheera Ruu then smoothly put together the giba burger, while Vina Ruu accepted the customer’s money and handed over the finished dish.

At last, they had a break in their stream of customers, and the two smiled brightly at the same time.

“That was the last one.”

“We’re done...”

It had been a bit over three hours since the morning. There were about two hours left until we were set to close up shop, but even so, we had sold 120 meals and brought our fifth day of business to an end.