Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 6 - Chapter Ep

Intermezzo: The Silver Vase

A group was traveling quickly across the barren wasteland, heading east to west. With them they had five wagons, each pulled by two totos. The drivers holding the reins, every last one of them, were dark-skinned men from the Eastern Kingdom of Sym.

They were the merchant group known as the Silver Vase.

Their young leader, Shumiral Zi Sadumtino, was currently seated in the back of the lead wagon, watching out the window as the scenery silently streamed on by.

The sun was already sinking down past the western horizon, its reddish twilight spread across the harsh region, where no one could possibly live.

The earth was parched and cracking. The trees were all withered, and no fruit could ever be expected of them. If you headed farther south, you would find a scorching hot desert even more desolate than this land. And so, this barren land was abandoned by all those greedy folks who lived in cities of stone, making it an unclaimed border zone between nations.

Even the path they were carrying their goods along was no real trail, coated with sand as it was. Without great experience in such matters, it would be easy to get a totos’s foot caught on a chunk of rock that suddenly jutted up, or ram a wagon’s wheel into one, and suddenly find yourself unable to keep going.

These were skilled travelers, though. Once a year, the Silver Vase crossed this inhospitable path in a long journey to the Western Kingdom of Selva.

When traveling from Sym to Selva, there were only two roughly defined paths. You either slipped past the Northern Kingdom of Mahyudra while following the borders between nations, or you passed through this barren unclaimed region to the south.

The path to the north was properly maintained, but a great number of bandits prowled the area. To the south there was rarely anyone to trouble you, but nature itself acted against you. In terms of overall danger, there really wasn’t much of a difference. But ever since their previous leader formed the Silver Vase, they had been pitting themselves against nature rather than bandits.

However, even in this barren land, it wasn’t as if there were no brigands whatsoever. And for the first time in a while, they soon ended up experiencing that fact.

“Shumiral,” the youth holding the reins called out.

“Right,” Shumiral responded, leaning towards him.

There were a number of shadowy figures heading their way, the half-set blazing sun behind them.

It was a group of bandits riding totos. There looked to be around ten of them in total, and a number of them were holding up glimmering silver swords.

Since they were coming from the direction the group was traveling, running away simply wouldn’t prove possible. They wouldn’t be able to shake off the bandits while their totos were pulling such heavy luggage anyway, though. After a mere moment of thinking, Shumiral gave his comrades the signal to stop the wagons.

“Well then, you sure are some awful understanding traders. If you keep on behaving yourselves, then we’ll let you escape with your lives.”

The bandits spread out, encircling the five wagons. One especially large man from the group then approached, holding a blade. He was a westerner, with wavy, dark brown hair. His vest and battle skirt looked a bit dirty, and there was a flask and cloth bag hanging from his leather belt. Perhaps he was a former mercenary, as he also seemed rather skilled at handling his totos.

Shumiral stood up next to the driver’s seat, facing the man who appeared to be the bandit leader.

“Did you all, come from, the north?”

“Huh? Do we look like we’re from Mahyudra? You all are the ones with ties to those savages.”

“That’s not, what I meant. I understand, you are people, of the west. I am simply, asking if you came, from further north than here.”

“I don’t get you at all! Well, I suppose it’s pretty good by Sym standards to be able to talk the western language at all!” the man sneered, and his followers joined in with vulgar laughs.

Shumiral just stared expressionlessly back at him.

“Your skin, is burned, red. Therefore, I believe, you must have come from the south, quite recently. Westerners born to, the south, have more, tan skin.”

“What of it? If you’re trying to buy time, you should know that guards don’t come way out here.”

“Very few bandits, attack the people of Sym, in this region. There are, ten of us. There are, ten of you as well. Normally, we tend, to avoid bandits.”

“Eh...? What are you going on about?”

“You need five, for each man of Sym, you attack. You needed, 50 men.”

In the very instant that Shumiral made that statement, the bandit leader bent backwards with a “Gyah!” He then fell to the ground, and the long-necked totos tilted its head, having lost its master.

“B-Boss? What in the world’s going on?!”

“What did you bastards do?!”

The remaining bandits took up their weapons, clearly enraged.

Seeing that out of the corner of his eyes, Shumiral calmly stated, “The men of Sym, are not, powerless.”

Three more of the men fell from their totos, one after another.

Shumiral’s comrades had launched an attack using blowguns. And all of the darts they fired were coated in a powerful paralyzing agent known as banagiuz.

“Six of you, remain. Will you abandon, this robbery?” Shumiral calmly asked. “It is dangerous, for all of you, to lose consciousness. You would be out here, as night comes, no one to save you. You could not, avoid death.”

Another of the men fell.

The remaining half of the men fell into a panic.

“T-These guys are Sym shamans!”

“Get too close, and you’ll get cursed!”

The people of the west and south feared the people of the east, who were skilled at using medicinal and poisonous herbs, as shamans and sorcerers. And it seemed these men had at last remembered those rumors.

“We do not wish, to kill, anyone. Please give up, on your robbery, and leave, with your comrades,” Shumiral called out, as the remaining bandits looked ready to flee at any moment. When someone was hit with banagiuz they were left unable to move for half a day, so at this rate those five would be left defenseless as night fell. “I pray, you live proper lives, from now on. Your god, watches over you, always.”

The men’s faces went pale, and they moved to rescue their fallen comrades, staying cautious of any moves from Shumiral’s group all the while. Then, they gathered the stray totos and fled to the north as quickly as they could.

“Well then, let’s get going.”

With that signal from Shumiral, the five wagons once again started to advance.

The young driver turned to Shumiral while holding the reins and said, “There are, many bandits, among the people, of the west. Why can they not, live proper lives?”

The members of the Silver Vase had a habit of using their mother tongue as little as possible so that they could efficiently practice the language of the west.

“They likely, have no place, to work. Having no choice, they decide to live, through theft.”

“The western kingdom, is more vast, than the eastern nation. And yet, there is, no work?”

“Yes. Perhaps that is why, struggles over land, never cease.”

The Western Kingdom of Selva had been involved in land disputes with the Northern Kingdom of Mahyudra since ancient times.

The Eastern Kingdom of Sym hadn’t reached peace with the Southern Kingdom of Jagar either, though. Shumiral and his band had been born in grasslands far from the nation’s borders, so it felt utterly detached from them, but even now the two nations fought one another.

“We have, wasted time... Let us hurry on.”

They kept on moving along quickly, heading towards the almost-set sun.

There were less than five days left till they would reach the frontier town of Genos, which acted as the gate to the Eastern Kingdom of Selva.

◇

A while after they drove off the bandits, the curtain of darkness finally started to descend, only for them to spy the light of a camp in the distance.

It looked to be a rather large bonfire. It wasn’t especially rare to run into other travelers even in this barren land, but the scale was certainly a bit unusual.

“What is that? A merchant group, from the west?”

Rather than answering his comrade’s question, Shumiral peered ahead through the darkness. There appeared to be a large number of people preparing for dinner. It seemed there were a lot more than just ten or twenty of them, though.

“Please, slow your speed. Let us avoid, provoking them.”

Shumiral had a certain premonition at the moment. And before too long, they found out that he was absolutely correct.

When a man standing by the bonfire noticed Shumiral’s group, he angrily yelled out, “You bastards are from the east, aren’t you?! What do you want with us?!”

The man had dark brown hair and green eyes, his skin was pale with a bit of reddishness to it, and he was short and stout. That marked him as coming from the Southern Kingdom of Jagar.

Hearing the man’s voice, a number of new figures emerged from the shadows, all holding spears longer than they were tall.

“We are, the merchant group, the Silver Vase. We are heading, to the western town, of Genos.”

This was an unclaimed region. Citizens of any nation were free to step foot in the place, and none of the laws of the kingdoms applied. And so, it was very dangerous when people of the enemy nations of Sym and Jagar happened to run into one another.

On top of that, it seemed like there had to be around 100 people on the Jagar side. If it came down to battle, it would be difficult to manage with the poison darts like before.

“A merchant group, you say? Ha! So you’d go so far as to pass through this annoying frontier region to sell your goods, huh? I’m amazed by how greedy you lot are, at least!” the man who yelled at first replied, his voice dripping with open animosity. “However, this is our settlement! We won’t let folks from the east do as they please! Go ahead and ask your dark-faced god whether you should leave right away or if you want a fight!”

“We have no intention, of fighting. We simply wish, to head west.”

“Then go around our settlement! If you take one step into the light of our fire, though, we’ll take it as an act of aggression!”

There was no reason for such intimidation here in this unclaimed territory. Rather than foolishly try to debate the hotheaded men from Jagar, though, Shumiral instead pointed his totos north.

They then moved along the outskirts of the light in a large arc, taking a significant detour while heading west. All the while, the men from Jagar kept their gazes and spears fixed on the group.

“Shumiral, there are a number, of houses, in the middle,” one of his comrades whispered. “They must have built, a settlement, at some point. When we took this same path, half a year ago, it was not there.”

“Yes. So they must have built it, in this past half year.”

“But why? Jagar land, is far south, of the desert. This region is full, of bandits, poisonous insects, man-eating lizards, and other dangers... And the land itself, is wasting away.”

“Yes. But still, I believe there was, an oasis, in this area. With time, it would be possible, to cultivate fields.”

That was precisely why Shumiral’s group had planned to use the area to make camp for the night.

“They must have been driven, from their land. And so, they chose this region, to build a new home.”

“Then our journey, will be more difficult, than ever before.”

If they built a fortress or the like, it would certainly become incredibly hard for folks from Sym to pass through the region. However, it hadn’t felt quite that dangerous to Shumiral.

“It would be dangerous, if they built a fort. But they do not, have the strength needed, for such a thing. For now, a bit of a detour, is fine.”

Around a hundred people had gone and built a settlement in the middle of a barren wasteland. It was clear as day just how difficult of a task that must be. It was hard to imagine them having enough leeway to construct a fortress on top of that. In fact, they likely needed the protection of their god just to make it through each and every day.

Still, their circumstances must have forced them to choose to live such lives. Perhaps their home had been taken in the war with the east. Thinking of it that way, it all fell to Sym’s discretion.

“Let us move away, enough that we, cannot see their bonfire. Both sides, will feel at ease, then.”

They silently continued onward, their path lit by their torches. But considering it was such a barren wasteland with nothing around in terms of coverage, it took half an hour of having their totos run before the light of the settlement was no longer visible.

“This should be enough. This place, shall be where, we camp,” Shumiral stated, having the wagons stop in the shadow of a massive rock that jutted out like the jaw of a beast.

The totos were separated from the wagons, then their reins were held in place by pounding metal stakes into the ground. The wagons were placed in a circle surrounding them, and they lit a fire in the center. As each of the ten members of the group smoothly carried out their assigned tasks, the camp was ready in no time at all.

“We were unable, to replenish, our water. We should use, as little, as possible.”

Shumiral’s comrades, who had been moving to start preparing dinner, all gave a small nod.

They were scheduled to reach the next spring around when the sun hit its peak tomorrow, but if something was wrong there as well, then their lives would actually be in danger. And so, it was a sensible decision to moderate now while they had enough leeway to do so.

They set up four stone pedestals around the bonfire, and placed a large metal pot atop each one. They added a moderate amount of water to those, and then tossed in three different ingredients: gyama meat jerky, dried aria, and minsu beans.

Gyama were a type of creature that lived all throughout Sym. Aria was a highly nutritious vegetable eaten not only in Sym, but also Selva and Jagar. And minsu were a sort of bean harvested from the Sym grasslands.

In Selva and Jagar, people primarily ate fuwano and poitan for their grains, but the central region of Sym mostly ate minsu beans. These minsu beans had been dried out so they wouldn’t go bad, but they became soft once again when boiled in water. When camping out, it was normal for travelers from Sym to heat these ingredients along with chitt seeds, to add some spice.

“Here, Shumiral,” one of the group said, handing his leader the first plate of the completed dish.

Shumiral was seated atop a rug, and after saying his thanks and accepting the dish, he started by sipping the broth with his spoon. The crushed chitt had dyed it red, making for a spicy broth. The salt from the gyama jerky also acted as an accompaniment to the flavor. And since they were preserving water, they went heavier than usual on the seasoning.

Biting into the jerky filled his mouth with an even stronger salty taste.

When his tongue started feeling worn down, he wet his mouth with sour fermented gyama milk rather than water.

After a day of swaying about in the wagon, he could at last feel some proper nourishment spreading throughout his body.

However, the ingredients prioritized preservation above all else for the sake of traveling, so it would be overly generous to call them truly delicious. The meat was tough enough that it was like biting into tree bark, and obviously aria and minsu were a lot tastier fresh. If it weren’t for the satisfaction of finally getting some nutrition, he likely wouldn’t have enjoyed eating it very much.

“I anxiously await our arrival in Genos,” a voice from beside him called out in his mother tongue. It had come from their youngest member, who had only just recently joined the Silver Vase and still couldn’t speak in the western tongue. “You really do grow rather weary of eating like this after a month of it. I am a man of the east, but I have started to feel a yearning for kimyuus meat and mamaria fruit wine.”

“Yes. I feel much the same way,” Shumiral replied in the mother tongue as well, prompting the youth to excitedly lean forward.

“But despite Genos being a well-off town, many shops there serve rather crude dishes. Don’t you think you could get higher-class food from a shop in the castle town, though?”

“I couldn’t say. I’ve never eaten in the castle town, so I’m not really sure.”

“The castle town and post town of Genos are almost like entirely separate nations. The only place for lodgings is the post town, but for a snack, the castle town would be—”

“Hey,” another of their comrades interjected. It was the vice-captain of the group, Radajid Gi Nafassiar. “It doesn’t especially matter, but you’re letting too much emotion show. You should be a bit more discreet.”

“Really? I thought I was, though...” the youth responded, rubbing his own cheeks with his palms.

Radajid silently shook his head.

“Your expression didn’t shift, but your emotions leaked through in your conduct and manner of speaking. Sym watches over everything, you know.”

It was considered shameful for a person of Sym to let their emotions show openly.

The youth readjusted how he was sitting, straightening out his back.

“Also, we are heading to Selva in order to earn a fortune. We should bring our earnings back to Sym, not spend them frivolously. The idea of buying food from the castle town is simply absurd.”

“Yes, I realize that... But a lot of the dishes served in the post town are so dull, aren’t they? They use lots of meat and vegetables, but they still feel lacking somehow.”

“The people of the west don’t use herbs as much as we do. And they have nothing but salt for adding flavor, so it’s only natural that their cooking tastes rather bland,” Radajid stated, holding up his own plate high. “But still, it’s better than sipping soup made with shriveled up aria and minsu. If you find the taste lacking, then you can always add your own chitt seeds.”

“That’s certainly true,” the youth agreed.

The path they had taken thus far had exhausted even their veteran group. To make it from Sym land all the way to Genos took roughly two months by totos. And after the first month, they had to just keep running on through this barren land, with no trace of any other people about. That meant there was no chance of picking up any new food supplies, so they had no choice but to eat their preserved rations.

But in a mere five days, that harsh journey would finally be at an end.

Once they reached their initial destination of Genos, they would then simply walk from town to town, and would hardly ever have to spend the night outdoors. They would spend several months traveling throughout the western kingdom, selling goods from their native land. That was the life led by Shumiral’s group, the Silver Vase.

It would be nearly a year before they returned back home to Sym. The time they spent traveling really was far greater than what they spent in their home country.

A great many of those born in the nation of Sym, especially those from the peaceful grasslands, chose to live their lives wandering about as such. There were quite a few who didn’t even form a merchant group like Shumiral and company, but still traveled to Selva or Mahyudra either alone or in a small group. It seemed traveling about as if blown by the wind, never stopping in one place, suited the nature of those who came from the grasslands.

What sort of encounters await me on this trip? Shumiral thought to himself, placing his now empty plate atop the rug.

The majority of his comrades seemed to have also finished their meager meals.

“Well then, shall we rest? Those of you on night watch, pay careful attention to the east. There is no guarantee those people of Jagar from before won’t attack.”

With that, the night wore just as silently on as it had the day before.

◇

Four days had passed since then.

With just a day left till they reached Genos, there was at last a change in the desolate landscape.

“I can see, Mount Morga now,” the man holding the reins called out, his voice showing just a bit of emotion.

A massive, dark green forest had come into view off to the distance in the west.

That was Morga, an uninhabited mountain wrapped in all sorts of legends.

Officially, Mount Morga belonged to the Western Kingdom of Selva. However, it wasn’t permitted for people to set foot on the mountain. It was said that varb wolves, giant madarama snakes, and other such vicious beasts lived there, and if the mountain was disturbed they could destroy the nearby town.

However, there was an exception to that rule in the form of a settlement at the base of the mountain. They were the so-called people of the forest’s edge, hunters who had abandoned the god Jagar in favor of Selva.

There were a great many mysteries surrounding the people of the forest’s edge, too.

It was said they were a clan that resulted from the mixing of Sym and Jagar blood in ancient times, but that was little more than a single rumor. For a long period of time they lived in the nameless black forest of Jagar, avoiding all contact with the outside world. They hunted vicious man-eating black apes and ran about the forest wearing their pelts, but little else was known about the tribe.

But when the black forest burnt down as a result of war 80 years ago, they lost their home.

Without any permission from the pioneers or soldiers of Jagar, the whole tribe moved to the base of Mount Morga. Gods were meant to be revered over all else, but they traded out the one they worshiped and came to live in the west.

Apparently, the people of the forest’s edge didn’t see themselves as citizens of any of the four great kingdoms. Instead, their god was the forest. That was why they didn’t hesitate in the least to discard the southern god and take up the western one.

Many feared the people of the forest’s edge. And on top of that, they were a people worthy of that fear.

When they came to live at the base of Mount Morga, they displayed their frightening level of skill to the townsfolk by hunting the vicious giba that were seen at the time as a symbol of calamity in Genos. They came to eat giba meat, and sell their horns and tusks to make a living. And from the townsfolk’s point of view, by taking the giba’s strength into themselves, they only grew more viciously strong.

And that mountain with so many legends surrounding it had now come into view.

The town of Genos existed to the west beyond Mount Morga.

A day and a half from now, they would pass around the south of the mountain and see a civilized, flourishing nation again for the first time in a month.

“Keep your, guards up.”

“Right.”

As they continued down their trailless path, their surroundings shifted steadily into yellowish rocks. It seemed that somehow, the air had grown rather humid.

Then after half a day of running their totos, they finally saw the majestic Mount Morga up close as the sun began sinking to the west.

After resting once more and then getting their totos moving first thing in the morning, they would at last arrive at Genos before the sun next started to set. That was the thought running through Shumiral’s mind as he gave the signal to stop the wagons.

It was then that one of his comrades hopped out of his wagon and approached.

“Shumiral, the stars, have shifted.”

This man was the oldest member of the Silver Vase, having been a part of the group since Shumiral’s father led it, and he was exceptionally skilled at reading the stars.

“How exactly, have the stars, moved?”

“Yes, well... The red star of disaster, is now standing, in our way. This night, will surely, prove dangerous,” the fortune teller stated in a low voice, raising his right arm. His bony finger pointed out towards the dark forest. “Disaster shall visit, from the north mountain. Starving tusks, red anger... Very dangerous.”

“Starving tusks... We will be attacked, by a giba?”

It was always possible a starving giba would leave the forest to attack the fields of Genos. Even the gallant hunters of the forest’s edge couldn’t possibly wipe out all of the giba throughout the vast forest at the mountain’s base.

However, there were almost never any tales of travelers running into giba along the highway and being attacked. The beasts preferred fruits and vegetables to meat, and also tended to avoid humans.

“I do not know. But leaving, Mount Morga, to the north, is dangerous.”

Shumiral and company were trying to pass to the south of Mount Morga, so naturally the forest stood imposingly to the north of them. If their current position was dangerous, then their only options were to turn around or continue on.

“I see. There should be, farms to, the south. Are they, also dangerous?”

“They are. I see, no survivable path, to the south.”

However, the world was already awash in twilight. Whether they advanced or retreated, night would fall before they made it halfway to safety. And no matter how skilled they may be at handling their totos, a forced march at night was far too dangerous.

“Understood. Well then...” Shumiral started to say, only for a repulsive roar to sound out from the north. It was the distant howl of some beast, so deep that it was as if the earth itself was trembling.

As if in response, a similar howl sounded out from a different direction.

It was a truly terrifying sound, like a god of calamity had been released from an ancient seal and let out a delighted war cry.

“That is, the howl, of a giba. 20 years ago, I heard, that same cry,” Shumiral’s comrade uttered, then he returned to his wagon.

There was no longer a moment to spare. And so, Shumiral gave his men the signal to advance.

In that instant, a beast leapt forth from the shadows of the rocks to the north.

Without delay, his comrades fired their poison darts. The creature let out a dull yelp, then collapsed atop the rock.

Its torso was swollen, but its limbs were skinny. It had large diamond-shaped ears, a smooshed snout... And its pale sand-colored fur was short and awkwardly covered its body, which was around the size of a human child.

It wasn’t a giba, but a carrion-eating mundt. They were dangerous beasts that lived at the base of the mountain, scavenging about the forest for corpses to feast upon.

Did this mundt hear the giba’s cry and flee the forest in fear? Shumiral thought to himself, only for several more figures to leap forth from the shadows.

The lights of red eyes shined through the darkness. It was a group of mundt, six in total.

“Advance!” Shumiral yelled while grabbing the leather lash from his comrade and giving the totos a smack on the rear with it.

Normally, mundt didn’t go after live prey, but they would do so when starving. So in a way, the situation they found themselves in now was no less dangerous than if it had really been a giba.

However, the mundt’s weak limbs couldn’t carry them anywhere near as quickly as a giba. With the leg strength of their totos to aid them it would definitely be possible to get away, even pulling their load behind them.

“Let me, drive. Please, prepare flames,” Shumiral said while taking the reins from his comrade.

“Prepare flames?” the man questioned while yielding the driver’s seat.

“Yes, that’s correct. Please prepare, two torches. We will run the totos, until the danger, is gone.”

“But the sun will be setting soon, will it not?” the man asked, feeling pressured enough to stop using the western tongue. But as his comrade spoke in the mother tongue, Shumiral disappeared into the wagon.

“That is why, we need, the torches. Please, tell the others.”

If his old comrade’s reading of the stars was correct, they wouldn’t escape this threat until they reached the western side of Mount Morga. And it felt a lot safer running the totos through the night than camping out while under threat of giba and mundt attacks.

Things like this do happen when you continue to travel.

Shumiral and company had made it through far more disastrous circumstances numerous times in the past. And so, he spurred the totos on with hope in his heart rather than despair.

◇

Morning had arrived. In the end, Shumiral and company had kept moving past the south of Mount Morga without sleep or rest, until they at last made it to Genos.

Soon after making it past the base of Mount Morga, they ran into a stone highway. It was a wide path, running from north to south as far as the eye could see. There were thriving fields off to the left, while the Morga mountain range lay off to the right, and not too far up the road there were wooden buildings on either side.

That was the Genos post town.

As the sun steadily rose in the sky, the town greeted Shumiral’s group, looking just the same as always.

“Is everyone, alright?” Shumiral asked, turning back to look over his comrades after getting down from his wagon near the entrance to town.

One by one, the other men stepped out of the other four wagon onto the stone highway.

They unsurprisingly couldn’t hide their fatigue, but none of them were shaken with emotion. Within the group, the especially large vice-captain Radajid spoke up.

“We arrived, half a day earlier, than planned. What shall we, do now?”

“Let us head, to the inn. After we finish preparing, we will take today, off from business.”

It was forbidden to ride totos in the post town. And so, Shumiral and company led the large birds by their reins as they set foot into Genos.

There was still some time till the sun would hit its peak, so there weren’t all that many people around, unsurprisingly. Even so, a number of inns were open for business, and there were women with baskets full of dirty goods to be cleaned and tradesmen going door to door to be seen here and there.

It was such a peaceful sight that it made the madness of the day prior seem unreal.

Genos was far from the enemy nation of Mahyudra, and was blessed with both great prosperity and little significant strife. On top of that, it was protected by sturdy-looking guards. After all, being the most prosperous town in the region meant they had to be especially on guard for attacks by bandits.

This post town and the surrounding farms in particular also lacked any walls to ward off enemies from outside, so there were guards patrolling both day and night. While this land was as far from the western capital as it could be, it was still a cornerstone of commerce.

Originally, though, this place was abandoned.

A bit over 200 years prior, this land was also part of the unclaimed territory. Apparently, back then there were only a few hundred people of the west barely scraping by harvesting aria and poitan and the like.

However, the large river flowing from Morga in this land had been hidden from view. Once it was discovered, a mass of pioneers were dispatched from other regions to live here, and in no time at all Genos castle was constructed.

After that, the highway was built, vast farmland started to stretch out to the north and south of the castle, and people began flowing in from all over. And by the time a hundred years had passed, there was a town here that was shockingly massive for one located out on the frontier.

Once another hundred years passed, Genos had become a lynchpin of commerce.

Nowadays, many merchants from Sym and Jagar visited the town, bringing even more energy and fortune to the place. And since it was forbidden for folks from Sym and Jagar to quarrel here, it made Genos a rare place where citizens of the two nations could coexist.

Thanks to that, Shumiral had a great fondness for Genos.

To peaceful folks born on the plains like Shumiral and company, this place had an especially comfortable air about it.

Even when folks from the east like them walked throughout town, no one gave them so much as a questioning glance. People from Jagar may shoot them an unfriendly glare if they crossed paths, but that would be the most that could happen.

“Shumiral,” a voice suddenly called out from diagonally behind him.

Turning around, he found Radajid looking in an unexpected direction.

Following the man’s gaze, Shumiral spied three people on a small path to the east. They were women with dark brown hair and slightly dark skin, wearing cloth with swirling patterns and transparent shawls around their slender bodies... They were women of the forest’s edge.

One was elderly, while the other two were young.

All of them wore calm yet resolute expressions. There was nothing all that strange about the residents of the base of Mount Morga, but they somehow had the mysterious feel of wild beasts about them.

And though the townsfolk didn’t care at all about Shumiral and company, it was almost palpable how uneasy they felt now. Shumiral’s group was made up of foreigners, but somehow, the people of the forest’s edge were looked at even more like outsiders here in this western territory. And though they weren’t hunters, that was no less true for these women.

The women of the forest’s edge swiftly hurried off to the north and disappeared from view.

They must have been going to purchase food from one of the many stalls. As they were forbidden from gathering the blessings of the forest, they needed to frequently visit the post town to buy ingredients in exchange for horns and pelts and the like.

However, Shumiral and company felt no need to avoid the people of the forest’s edge.

The people of the west may have seen them as difficult to understand, and folks from the south saw them as traitors who abandoned the southern god, but those from the east had no reason to quarrel with them. And since the people of the east treated the grasslands, mountains, and sky as gods, worshiping the forest as one didn’t seem odd in the least.

But it isn’t wise to approach them excessively when you wish to continue doing business in Genos... Shumiral thought to himself as he set foot on a path to the west. Following it according to what he remembered, a familiar sign soon came into view.

It marked the small inn known as The Sledgehammer where Shumiral and company always stayed.

“Long time no see, sir.”

“Ah, if it isn’t the Silver Vase... So it’s already the season for you all to be visiting, huh?”

The inn’s owner then brought his fingers together in a Sym-style greeting. His name was Nail, and despite being a citizen of the west, he had an unusually strong interest in the culture of the eastern kingdom.

“Ten again this time, is it? And how long will you be staying?”

“We were thinking, until the end, of the blue month. Do you have, rooms open?”

“Fortunately for you, we just had a whole group leave this morning. Shall I prepare two large rooms for you?”

“Thank you. Can you take, our luggage?”

“Of course. Please, come this way.”

Nail then led him out of the inn to a building around back. The inn itself was small, but thanks to this large locked storehouse, it proved quite convenient for the Silver Vase, what with all the luggage they brought with them.

Shumiral then turned to face his comrades as they moved the totos and five wagons in front of the storehouse.

“Before resting our bodies, let us carry out the preparations for doing business tomorrow. Radajid, get permission to open a stall, and also confirm that our permit to enter the castle town is still valid,” Shumiral stated, giving his orders in their mother tongue for the sake of their young comrade who still wasn’t skilled with the language of the west. “And on the way there, entrust the totos to a stable. Five of you are to accompany Radajid. The other three are to remain here with me to organize our goods.”

“Understood.”

Radajid’s group of six then left the storehouse, taking the ten totos along with them.

Meanwhile, Shumiral and the other three who stayed set about separating the goods that would be sold in the post town from those meant for the castle town.

Considering they had five wagons’ worth, it made for an enormous amount of luggage. Consequently, even though it had been roughly sorted in advance, it still was no easy task. Plus, their stamina was just about at its limit.

“Shumiral, is this cooking knife, meant for, the castle town?”

“Yes. Sym blades, would not sell, in the post town.”

Thanks to how precious Sym metal was, blades made from it were quite expensive. And despite Genos’s prosperity, there was a surprising gap between the state of the post town and castle town. Similarly, silverwork accessories were meant for the castle town, while those made with gyama horns and stones were for the post town.

I suppose that does it...

After around half an hour, Shumiral’s group at last finished sorting their goods, and they exited the storehouse together. He then shut the thick wooden door and set the steel lock.

Surely nobody would ever think goods meant to be sold in the castle town were stowed away here in a storehouse in the post town. Even so, they made sure to set traps using poisonous herbs in their wagons, as a precaution against thieves. If anyone was foolish enough to touch them without permission from the owners, they would end up sleeping for half a day from the banagiuz.

Satisfied with their work, Shumiral then returned to The Sledgehammer.

The owner Nail had returned to the reception desk, and he gave a Sym-like expressionless nod.

“Welcome back. Will you be resting in your room now?”

“Yes. But before that, let us undertake, our first bit of business.”

With Shumiral’s signal, one of his comrades placed a large cloth bundle atop the reception desk.

Nail instantly broke out in a smile, but then he hurriedly restrained himself. After all, he was trying to incorporate the Sym custom of not showing emotion into his own lifestyle.

“Much of the food, is arranged to, be sold to the nobles, of the castle town. And so, there is only, a little here. My deepest, apologies.”

“No, this is plenty enough for me, both in terms of quantity and quality.”

The bundle was packed with all sorts of ingredients from Sym, such as chitt seeds. Thanks to that, Shumiral’s group was able to experience Sym-style cuisine at this inn, too.

However, it most certainly wasn’t enough in terms of quality or quantity. Nail was clearly happy, but ultimately high-class herbs and ingredients just wouldn’t sell in the post town.

Just the fact that there was plenty of meat and vegetables to be had seemed to be more than enough to satisfy appetites here in the post town. In a way, it could be said that gave them more prosperous eating habits than other towns, but since folks from the east preferred strong seasonings, something definitely felt lacking.

But with that said, they couldn’t just go and place the goods they brought all the way from Sym at bargain prices. The same would also be true for merchants from Jagar. And so, such expensive ingredients all had to be sold in the castle town.

The people of the post town certainly do live lives of plenty. Especially when it comes to frontier regions, I can’t think of another town where everyone can eat as much karon and kimyuus as they please... But inside those stone walls, the nobles are living in far greater luxury.

People from the post town were not permitted to step foot in the castle town. And so, they had no idea just how the nobles were living off the fortunes they earned.

On the other hand, Shumiral happened into the opportunity to form a bond with a noble of Genos, and was able to get hold of a permit. It was the lowest form of permit, as it didn’t allow them to spend the night, but it was still more than enough to learn what life was like inside the stone walls.

Such gaps don’t exist within a single town in Sym. And Genos also fears the people of the forest’s edge as savages, as well. Surely such unique towns are rare even throughout the western domain.

Shumiral and company were fond of Genos. But because of that, they were more than a little concerned with the strange feeling and customs hanging about the town.

Something was ever so slightly warped about the place. Would the day eventually come when this distortion would be corrected...? Would this town be able to obtain a more equal happiness for all? Shumiral couldn’t help but hold such concerns in the corner of his mind.

Well, I suppose nothing will ever come of a foreigner like me worrying about such matters... Shumiral thought to himself, at which point the door to the inn suddenly swung wide open.

When he turned to look, he found his six comrades who had headed into town standing there.

“What is it? It isn’t good to act so wildly.”

Since the youngest of the group was standing at the head, Shumiral used their mother tongue.

The youth replied, “My apologies,” as he approached Shumiral. His expression remained calm, but there was a clear excitement shining in his black eyes.

There looked to be an ever so slight bit of emotion showing from Radajid and the others, too.

“Was there some sort of issue? Is the permit no longer valid...?”

The Silver Vase had been granted the permit in the name of a noble, so if that person had fallen from power, it would no longer prove effective.

However, the youth shook his head and said, “There was no issue.”

“Then why have you all lost your composure? Especially you, Radajid. This isn’t like you at all.”

“I’ve lost my composure? How shameful.”

Naturally, it was slight enough of a change that a westerner like Nail couldn’t pick up on it, but it was impossible to hide from Shumiral, who was their close comrade. Despite their calm expressions, they were all clearly out of sorts.

“The thing is, we tasted some shocking cooking,” the youth stated. “I never imagined I would find such a dish here in the Genos post town.”

“You ate food from a stall? That certainly sounds promising. But I’m exhausted from last night, and I don’t feel like eating anything at the moment,” Shumiral replied while feeling a bit astounded at what he was hearing, only for the youth to shake his head again.

“Then please, eat it tomorrow. It is a truly surprising dish. And apparently, it is made with giba meat.”

“Giba meat? But from what I hear, only the people of the forest’s edge eat that.”

“Yes, it is a man of the forest’s edge who is selling it... However, despite him wearing their clothing, he really did look like a person of the west to me.”

Shumiral was left at a loss for words.

A westerner clad in the garb of the forest’s edge was selling giba cooking from a stall in Genos...? Was such a thing really possible?

“If that is true, then I certainly would like to try it.”

“Yes, please do so. Then, you’re sure to be just as surprised as we were.”

As he silently stared back at his comrades, Shumiral felt a mysterious excitement building up inside. Perhaps the god of the east or west had made him tremble as a premonition of the coming change that would visit Genos.