4
Our ten day long battle had come to an end. However, there was no time to relax.
We still had to finish cleaning up the stand, stock up on supplies for the day after tomorrow, and make arrangements with The Great Southern Tree, then make it safely back to the forest’s edge before our work for the day was done.
“So you sold 170 meals today? Man, that sure is something. And it was people of the forest’s edge selling giba meat at that! It’s no exaggeration to call that a great achievement sure to go down in the annals of history,” Kamyua Yoshu proclaimed as he stood there watching us clean up.
I figured since he was actually sticking around maybe we should handle our business with him too, so I called Ai Fa over from the shade under the trees.
When she silently stood by my side, Kamyua Yoshu said, “Hey there,” with a big smile. “So you’re here in town today too, huh, Ai Fa?! I’d been wanting to see you since I heard from Leito, but I’ve been so busy lately I couldn’t make it over.”
“...I can’t say I’ve had much to do, though,” Ai Fa coldly replied.
Kamyua Yoshu, meanwhile, looked her up and down and said, “I’m just glad to see you looking well.”
Ai Fa was hiding her injured left arm under her cloak as always, but I figured it probably wasn’t possible to fool him.
“Ai Fa, the coins.”
“Right,” Ai Fa nodded. Taking care not to open her cloak too wide, she pulled out a heavy cloth bag.
It was everything I had earned up till yesterday with the shop.
As I accepted it from Ai Fa, I ran through the calculations in my head.
“Hmm, we sold all the meals today and four chunks of jerky, so... twelve and nine, then?”
By that, I meant twelve white coins and nine red ones. I moved that much into a separate bag, and held it out towards Kamyua Yoshu.
“Hmm...?” he questioned, tilting his head.
“It’s your reward money. The net profit for these ten days came out to 129 white coins, so this is ten percent of that.”
“H-Hold on a moment. What do you mean, reward money? I can’t see any reason for you to be giving me this.”
Now, it was my turn to be astounded.
“What are you saying? Your reward money was supposed to be ten percent of our profit after subtracting expenses. You’re not saying you’ve forgotten, are you?”
“I did. Or actually, did I seriously say that in the first place?!” Kamyua Yoshu questioned, clearly a bit flustered.
Leito looked up at him and chuckled, then stated, “I remember it clearly as well. You were the one to decide on that number, Kamyua. I’m sure you meant it as a joke or something, though.”
“Huh? Seriously? Man, I’m at a loss. I don’t remember that at all... At any rate, even if I did say it, like Leito said I must have meant it as a joke. Put those back where they came from, Asuta.”
“I can’t do that. Without your advice, we never would have earned all this money, so this is your just reward. Please accept it.”
“No, but...”
“It would be a problem for me if you turn it down. I don’t want there to be debts between us,” I said, thrusting the bag towards him again. “Whether you become a friend worthy of respect or an unforgivable traitor, neither of us should owe the other anything. Please, take our feelings into consideration and accept it.”
Kamyua Yoshu gave a deep sigh, looked back and forth between me and Ai Fa, then incredibly reluctantly reached out with his long, slender arm.
“Got it. I’ll accept this money as a sort of initiation, to earn the right to stand equally as friends... Still, it’s a waste. When you give me money, it all just gets spent on frivolous stuff.”
“If that’s what you think, then treat it more carefully,” Leito retorted.
“However, it’s just this once, alright? Got it, Asuta, and Ai Fa? This is the only time I’ll take your reward money! Treat the rest of your earnings from now on as the precious Fa clan fortune.”
“Understood. And thank you.”
I gave an earnest bow, while Ai Fa thanked him with her eyes alone.
“Geez, good grief... Well then, I’ll be returning to the inn. Since you’re off tomorrow, I suppose the soonest we’ll next meet will be the day after.”
“That’s right. We’ll be awaiting your next visit to our shop.”
“Yeah, and I’ll be looking forward to my next chance to eat your cooking. Ah, right... There was one last thing I wanted to ask.”
“Yes?”
“Are you facing any trouble at the moment that I could help you out with?”
I silently looked up, following along Kamyua Yoshu’s slender frame. In all likelihood, Ai Fa was doing the same.
Kamyua Yoshu, meanwhile, narrowed his eyes and smiled. Those mysterious purple eyes, which looked at once like they belonged to an infant and an old man...
Not yet... I thought, forcing down the turbulent emotions I was feeling inside.
We couldn’t rely on Kamyua Yoshu at this stage.
After all, he had ties to the lord of Genos, so if I were to get him involved when I hardly knew anything definite about him... That really could lead to a fatal collapse of the relationship between the forest’s edge and Genos.
And so, I schooled my expression to be as aloof as Kamyua Yoshu’s, then shook my head.
“...We haven’t had any such issues arise as of yet.”
In response, Kamyua Yoshu shot me another wide grin.
“That’s certainly good to hear. Well then, see you the day after tomorrow! And to you beautiful ladies of the Ruu clan, good work!”
As Kamyua Yoshu and Leito disappeared into the crowd, I breathed a sigh of relief.
It was then that Lala Ruu called out, “Hey!” from behind. “Are you done talking? We already finished cleaning up a while ago.”
“Ah, sorry about that! Lala, Vina, Sheera Ruu, seriously, good work today. Thanks to you all, we didn’t just make it through today, but all of these first ten days.”
When I said that, all three of them broke out in carefree smiles.
“What are you being so formal about? We’re taking tomorrow off, but this isn’t the end of our work, right?”
“I’d like to keep working with you from the day after tomorrow on...”
“That’s for sure. I sincerely feel the same.”
I may have been inexperienced, but I somehow made it through ten days, so I was earnestly smiling too.
In those ten days, we managed to sell over a thousand meals. In terms of total earnings, we made more than 2000 red coins. Even after subtracting expenses and what we gave Kamyua Yoshu to get our pure profit, we made 1169 red coins. Shifting that into giba horns and tusks, it equalled 97 giba’s worth.
We had also earned a decent number of customers from the west by now, too.
And in addition to the stalls, I also managed to sell my cooking to an inn, too.
If we could just do something about the Suun clan, then I’d say we could take a firm step towards our goal.
“What is it, Asuta...?” Ai Fa asked, looking just a bit angry as she approached. “If you’re worrying about something, don’t bundle it up and hide it inside. Talk to me.”
“Of course, I will. But it’s not such a simple matter... Can we hold off and discuss it at night so we can take our time?”
Ai Fa stared silently at me for a moment, but then she stepped back and muttered, “Alright.”
“Well then, let’s head on back!”
With that, we headed down the stone highway while pushing the two stalls. At the moment, the crowds were definitely at their peak. When we passed familiar faces, they generally called out to us with a, “Good work.” But of course, there were still people who shot us looks full of fear and disgust, too. I suppose the ones who just stood there and stared were travellers who only just arrived in Genos today. At any rate, I steadily walked along while taking in such sights.
“Hey there. Are you done already? This is the first time in a while that you’ve wrapped up early, isn’t it?” Dora called out with a grin as we passed by him.
Tara was next to him smiling away, too. They looked just like when I saw them in the morning.
Thinking about it, they really were my shop’s first customers. Then the members of The Silver Vase came around, and I met Pops and Aldas and the rest, and Shumiral, Yumi, and Naudis, until I finally made it to today.
As I held that thought dear in my heart, I smiled back at the two of them.
“Yeah, business was really booming today. Could I stop by to buy the vegetables for the day after tomorrow later?”
“Sure, I’ll be waiting.”
It had only been a mere ten days, but my everyday life had shifted this much. And to be blunt, I didn’t want anyone to destroy what I had now.
As we kept pushing the stalls along, Lala Ruu soon said, “Ah, right. You have more than just vegetables to buy, don’t you? We’ll take the stalls back, so why not take care of that now?”
“Huh?” I turned and questioned, and found Lala Ruu with a seriously cheeky grin on her face.
I sure felt like she got me, but I went and replied, “Right. I’ve got to stop by The Great Southern Tree, and I guess I should take care of my personal shopping too.”
“Right. Well then, Ai Fa, take care of Asuta, alright?”
Ai Fa and I stopped in place, and we watched as the two stalls disappeared into the crowd.
“A cooking knife and iron tray, is it...?”
“Yeah. The iron tray will be heavy, so let’s save that for later and go buy the knife first.”
I already handled my preliminary investigation yesterday. The Silver Vase’s shop was right in the middle of the stalls, next to Granny Mishil’s vegetable store.
There was a large jet black cloth spread out over two shops’ worth of space, and it had assorted goods laid out atop it. Thanks to the leather roof stretched out over the vast space, it was just a bit dim inside.
Inside the shop, there were three folks from Sym.
“Pardon me. Huh...? Is Shumiral not around?”
All of the salesmen had their hoods down, but I couldn’t spy any long silver hair.
One especially tall man from Sym joined his fingers together in a mysterious manner, then bowed to me and Ai Fa.
“Shumiral, had business. He will be back, soon.”
“I see. He was supposed to have set aside some things for me. Do you know what I’m talking about?”
“Shumiral has, those items... Please wait.”
Since that was what he was saying, we just had to wait.
And so Ai Fa and I kneeled down and looked over the goods lined out on the cloth.
“This shop seems to sell nothing but unusual items, doesn’t it...?” Ai Fa stealthily whispered to me.
Well, it was no surprise she would say that considering the lineup of goods.
More than the items themselves just being odd, the way they were displayed was just too disorderly. In addition to blades made using precious Sym metal, there were also pots and jars of various shapes and sizes, delicately adorned wooden boxes, an excessively ornamental bow and arrow, shining silver accessories, overly extravagant bundles of cloth... Each and every one of them looked high class, but they were just wildly laid out with no rhyme or reason.
Still, maybe it was more flavorful this way than if it was lined up carefully. In terms of overall feel, it was a lot like an antique shop at a flea market.
“Ah, isn’t this a woman’s banquet outfit?” I questioned, spying a bundled up iridescent veil in the dim light. “These metal accessories are a lot like the ones worn by the Ruu women. Were those all from Sym, too?”
“I don’t have a use for any of them,” Ai Fa bluntly muttered, but then her eyes went wide and she said, “Ah, Asuta, what is this?”
“Ooh, it’s... A wine cup, I guess?”
From the shape, there was no mistake it was some kind of container. However, it was made out of transparent glass.
“So there’s glass in this world too, huh? That really is a surprise.”
“So it’s called glass? It certainly is pretty.”
Ooh, Ai Fa’s eyes were sparkling with an excited light.
“The glass, wine cup, is five white coins,” the young man from before said in a reserved tone.
“So it really is glass... Ai Fa, apparently it costs five coins.”
“Hmm? It certainly is pretty, but I don’t need it to drink fruit wine.”
Even so, the fingers on her right hand swept across the wine cup, with the gleam lingering in her eyes.
It wasn’t enough for her to want to buy it, but I still felt glad to see her express such clear interest in something.
It was then that Shumiral returned.
“Asuta, my apologies. Did you wait long?”
“Not at all. We only just arrived.”
I stood up and faced Shumiral, but Ai Fa kept on staring at the wine cup like a child. I nonchalantly took a few steps away from her.
“We’re done with the shop for now, so I was thinking I’d buy what we discussed.”
“Yes. That makes me glad,” Shumiral said with a nod, reaching into his cloak.
His black eyes suddenly looked at me.
“The blade, is 18, white coins.”
“Right. Thank you.”
“The stone, is 10, white coins. Do you wish, to buy it...?”
“Yes. I’d like to buy that one, too.”
Shumiral happily narrowed his eyes, then pulled out the items from his cloak and held them out.
“Together, it will be, 28 white coins.”
Then, he glanced at Ai Fa, who was still kneeling down.
“She is, a very beautiful woman. Is she, your wife, Asuta?”
“No... But she is the most important woman in my life.”
“I see,” Shumiral responded with a nod as I took the merchandise, then I handed him my 28 coins. “I’ll be using this knife starting from the day after tomorrow in my cooking.”
The vegetable knife was held in a black leather sheath. This would surely play a big role in my cooking, even with stuff like dicing tino in the stall.
“I’m honored... and I am grateful, to Sym and Selva, that I met you.”
“I feel the same way. It’s already the sixth day of the blue month, but I look forward to continuing to see you in the future,” I said with a smile that came from the depths of my heart, while Shumiral happily narrowed his eyes. “Well then, I’ve still got some other shopping to do, so I’ll have to excuse myself for today.”
“Right. I look forward, to the day after tomorrow.”
With that, Shumiral headed back into the shop while I nudged Ai Fa’s shoulder.
“Sorry for the wait. I’m done shopping here.”
“Hmm? Ah, I see.”
Ai Fa then stood up, and we left The Silver Vase’s shop together.
She stared at my hands, her eyes full of curiosity.
“So that knife cost 18 white coins, did it? It must have a splendid cut.”
“Yeah. I think it wouldn’t even lose out to my current cooking knife when it comes to vegetables.”
Then, Ai Fa broke out in an indescribably gentle smile and said, “In that case, it really must be quite a wonderful blade.”
I replied “Yeah,” with a nod, then walked over into the space between stalls.
I stopped there and looked right at Ai Fa.
“And also... Like I said I would earlier in the day, I also bought something completely unrelated to cooking.”
“Oh? What did you buy?”
The gentle expression remained fixed on Ai Fa’s face.
Just what sort of look would she have in a few seconds, though? As I firmed up my resolve in spite of that thought, I held out the item I had hidden in my hand towards Ai Fa.
“What is this...?” Ai Fa questioned, squinting at it.
What I was holding in my right hand was a pendant with a blue stone.
The stone was only just about the size of my thumbnail and was embedded in a silver disk, which dangled from a completely woven leather strap, so it could be hung from your neck.
“Well, as you can see, it’s a necklace.”
“A necklace... A necklace, is it...?”
Something clearly distinct from the calm from before was now clearly simmering in Ai Fa’s eyes.
“Are you saying you wish to adorn yourself like a woman, Asuta...?”
“No... I bought this for you, Ai Fa.”
“Oh?” Ai Fa responded, her eyes narrowing. “In other words... You haven’t been listening to a word I’ve said, have you?”
“That’s not true. I’ve been listening carefully. You said you would beat me to a pulp if I bought you jewelry and the like.”
“Yes, that’s exactly right,” Ai Fa replied, quietly glaring at me.
I silently gulped down my saliva, then I continued on, “But before you do that, let me just say one thing. This is a charm to ward off disaster.”
“Ward off disaster...?”
“Yeah. It’s apparently a charm from Sym that wards off all sorts of dangers. And considering they’re selling it in a town in the west, it doesn’t matter at all what god you worship. Apparently both men and women wear charms like this in Sym to protect themselves from disaster.”
There was no shift in the look in Ai Fa’s eyes.
Well, I had already prepared myself to take a blow or two.
“I have no idea how effective it may be, but I knew you would get angry with ordinary accessories, and you said you weren’t lacking in any daily necessities. But even so, I wanted to buy you something, so I used my own judgment to pick it out... It’s a charm, but it’s a really pretty stone, right?”
The stone was small, but it was a very deep blue.
When Shumiral showed it to me yesterday, I pretty much fell for it at first sight. After all, the stone was pretty much the exact same color as Ai Fa’s eyes.
“...How much did you spend on that charm?”
“Ten white coins.”
“Ten white coins...”
I could see all sorts of emotions flickering behind Ai Fa’s half closed eyelids.
“I know it may not be your style to rely on a charm like this. But I mean, you really are living a dangerous enough lifestyle that your recent injury could always happen again. I just wanted to give you something, like how men of the forest’s edge give their family three horns and tusks in the hopes that they live healthy lives.”
As I said that, I made a loop out of the leather string of the necklace.
“If you don’t like that, then you can go ahead and beat me to a pulp later. But won’t you please accept this? It’s a gift from your clan member, praying for your health.”
Ai Fa closed her eyes for a moment, then gave a deep sigh.
Then, she glared straight at me again.
“...Men of the forest’s edge hunt giba themselves, then give those tusks and horns to their family.”
“Right.”
“In that case, it’s not wrong for you to use the coins made through your work in the post town to buy a gift for your family... Or at least, I suppose that’s how I see it.”
“I-I’m really glad to hear you say that.”
“Hmph...” Ai Fa mumbled with a pout. “I somehow feel as if I caught my leg in a trap meant for a giba or something. I wasn’t fooled by my clan member’s scheme, was I?”
“That’s not it at all. Or at least, I earnestly don’t want you to be exposed to any sort of disaster.”
Ai Fa gave another, “Hmph,” and took one step closer to me.
Then, she slightly bowed her head.
“...What are you doing?”
“Huh?”
“It’s the custom of the forest’s edge that a gift be granted by hand, isn’t it?”
“I hadn’t learned that one yet.”
As I said that, I placed the pendant with the blue stone around Ai Fa’s neck. It hung just a bit above her necklace of horns and tusks, sparkling away.
Ai Fa scooped it up in the palm of her right hand and stared at it for a bit, and then suddenly lifted her face like she remembered something.
“Ah, I have something to give you, too.”
“Huh? For me?”
“Yes,” Ai Fa said, her hand circling around her back.
With a bit of difficulty, she pulled a necklace with ten horns and tusks on it out of her cloak with her right hand alone.
“Ah... The necklace I entrusted to you, right?”
“Yes. I think we’re well past the point of needing to worry about having to use these horns and tusks. You’ve carried your work out more than well enough to wear it,” Ai Fa said, then she kicked me in the leg. “Bow your head.”
“Um... Weren’t your words and leg in the wrong order, there?” I complained, but I followed her instruction.
With just her right hand, Ai Fa skillfully took off the necklace I was wearing and solemnly replaced it with my old one.
It held the ten blessings I had received from the Ruu clan. I had promised that if my business in the post town failed, I would use it to recoup some of those losses.
“It will surely take a while still to bring prosperity to the forest’s edge, but I’m certain you will see that task through.”
“It’s not just my task. It’s both of our’s.”
“Right... And it belongs to the Ruu and Rutim, too.”
Ai Fa suddenly cast her gaze downwards. There was no longer any anguish showing on her face, but she appeared to be trying to hide the somewhat childish concern she seemed to be feeling.
“And ultimately, it’s a task for all of the people of the forest’s edge,” I said, shooting a smile her way.
“From today on, I’ll be buying meat from the Ruu clan. And sooner or later that won’t be enough either, so we may have to buy from the Rutim, too... And if it becomes so big that not just cooked meals but raw giba meat itself can be sold, then everyone can compete to sell it regardless of which clan they’re under. Thinking of it like that, it’s like we’ve just started on the task one step quicker than everyone else.”
And I felt that in order to carve the path to that future, the people of the forest’s edge would need to stand up in unison and strive for it. They needed to fight against the current unforgivable state of the forest’s edge, where the clan that was supposed to lead the people were instead the ones sullying their honor.
“Right...” Ai Fa replied with her eyes still cast downward, then scooped up the blue stone dangling from her neck.
“What is it? Did you decide I deserved a beating after all?”
“No... But even if it’s a charm, it’s still an accessory. It just doesn’t feel right for me to be wearing such a thing.”
“I see... But still, it’s a pretty stone, right?”
Ai Fa slowly lifted her face. Then, she smiled wide like a small child.
“Yes. It’s very pretty, the way that it sparkles.”
It was such an innocent smile that I ended up forgetting to breath for a second.
Our work was only just getting started, and there was still a mountain of problems left to tackle... But even so, Ai Fa’s smile brought me an incomparable amount of satisfaction and relief.
With that, the curtain finally closed on the first act of our battle in the post town.
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