Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 7 - Chapter 2.1

Chapter 2: Another Disturbance

1

For the following day, I decided to go back to the usual amount of 60 giba burgers and 90 myamuu giba. While staying at the Ruu settlement I had been able to get as much help as I needed, but now that I had returned to the Fa house, that was no longer the case. Thanks to purchasing the metal tray, I was able to raise my efficiency, so I actually could make more now. But since we sometimes still had leftovers after preparing this much, I decided to hold back.

If we ended up selling out and closing up early, then that wasn’t so bad. After all, if things went well I could end up getting orders from other inns in the future, so I wanted to get in plenty of training and expand the menu I could prepare.

Sure enough, business progressed smoothly again today, and once we made it past the morning rush and were preparing for the rest of the day, a woman of the forest’s edge approached the stalls.

“Huh? Why are you here? You’re not supposed to start working till the sun hits its peak.”

“Yes, but I wanted to get as much experience as possible, so I came early.”

It was Li Sudra, the clan head’s wife and the woman who would be helping with the stalls from today on.

She was slender, tall, and quite beautiful overall. Her dark brown hair hung down to around her chest, and her eyes were a dark blue. The clan head appeared to be somewhere in his mid-forties, while she only looked about half of his age.

“What about your work back home? You won’t get paid any more for coming early, you know,” Lala Ruu bluntly stated.

“I understand that, of course,” Li Sudra answered with a gentle smile. “I finished all the work I needed to around the house. And since I was granted the honor of getting to help out Asuta of the Fa clan, I want to strive to be truly of use as soon as possible.”

She was clearly much more elegant, but she seemed to be every bit as proactive as her husband. And at least for me, that was a very welcome trait for her to have.

“Well then, let’s have you start by learning how things work over in the other stall. Lala Ruu, I know we just rotated, but I’m going to head over there too.”

“Got it.”

Currently Lala Ruu and I were manning the giba burger stall. And so, as I moved to the myamuu giba stall, I called out to Vina Ruu, “Sorry, but Li Sudra showed up, so I’m going to take charge of the myamuu giba for the time being. Could you go handle the giba burgers again, Vina Ruu?”

Vina Ruu turned away with a standoffish look, then headed back to the giba burger stall. She had been acting like that ever since my blunder yesterday.

It was incredibly rare for her to let her personal feelings interfere with her work. I guess that just went to show how much I had screwed up.

And I was truly, painfully sorry for that.

“Sheera Ruu, this is Li Sudra. Like I explained this morning, she’ll be helping us out for the time being after the sun hits its peak, so I hope we can all work well together.”

“Right,” Sheera Ruu replied with a nod.

Li Sudra bowed back, saying, “I look forward to working with you.”

“When you get an order, Sheera Ruu will prepare the food. Li Sudra, I’d like to have you take the customer’s two red coins, then hand over the completed dish. Nobody has tried to pull a dine and dash yet, but please make sure they pay you first. And carefully observe Sheera Ruu as she works, so you can eventually cook this dish, too.”

“Understood.”

She didn’t speak a whole lot, but she seemed incredibly sincere, plus she didn’t seem to have any problems interacting with the Ruu women. She really was giving off a favorable first impression.

It was then that we got yet another visitor from the forest’s edge, Gazraan Rutim.

“Huh? You’re really early, aren’t you?”

Just like Li Sudra, Gazraan Rutim had been scheduled to show up around when the sun hit its peak.

After bowing to the two women next to me, he called out, “Asuta,” to beckon me over. “The meeting with that Cyclaeus man from the castle wrapped up, so I decided to come see you. My apologies, but could I have just a bit of your time?”

“Right, got it... Well then, you’re in charge for a bit, Sheera Ruu. When the next customer arrives, please go ahead and show Li Sudra how it’s done.”

It was sort of a strange feeling, seeing Gazraan Rutim here in the post town. And sure enough, just having a man of the forest’s edge around was enough to put a great many passersby on edge. And so, we moved from the stall to the thicket behind it.

“My apologies for intruding on your work. However, I wanted to hear your opinion as soon as possible. Donda Ruu and the others are hiding themselves over by the highway rather than entering town.”

“That’s fine. I’ll admit, I’m awful curious about how things went, too... What happened with that Cyclaeus guy?”

“Well, to be blunt, things seem rather troublesome. Cyclaeus said he believes we should hand over the entirety of the Suun clan.”

“Huh?”

“Pillaging the bounty of Mount Morga is also forbidden by the laws of Genos. And so he said it made sense for Genos to pass judgment on the criminals who broke that law.”

Gazraan Rutim’s expression was every bit as composed as always. However, there was a serious fire burning in his pale blue eyes.

“That may be so, but still... He wants you to not just hand over the previous and current clan heads to Genos, but all of the members of the main house?”

“No, he wants every last person who broke the law. He said that the full Suun clan, all 41 of them with the branch families included, should face Genos’s judgment.”

That went way beyond what I had been expecting.

After being taken aback for a moment, I felt a rage boiling up in my chest.

“So they overlooked the Suun clan’s wrongdoings till now, but suddenly they’re doing a complete about-face? What did the leading clan heads have to say about that?”

“Yes, well Gulaf Zaza felt so indignant he said maybe we should just abandon Morga.”

“What...?”

“He said perhaps there’s no value to offering our blades in the service to the lord of Genos. That maybe we should just look for a new forest, like our ancestors did 80 years ago.”

“H-He thinks you should abandon the Morga forest’s edge? But why would—”

“That was just how untrustworthy that Cyclaeus man felt. Of course, Gulaf Zaza just temporarily let his emotions get the better of him when he said that, but I can absolutely understand how he felt... That man looked at us as if he were staring at beasts.”

I was at a loss for words.

The representative for the lord of Genos seriously despised the people of the forest’s edge that thoroughly?

“Cyclaeus gave us ten days. We have to decide on a path forward by the 23rd day of the blue month.”

“You couldn’t possibly turn Yamiru Lea and the members of the branch families and everyone over to Genos at this point, right? That would be completely reversing the path forward the people of the forest’s edge had chosen,” I said, my voice subconsciously growing more emotional. “The folks from the Genos castle are the ones who unjustly protected the Suun clan. And that’s partly why the Suun fell as far as they did, right? So the thought of them treating all the members of the branch families as criminals, when they were forced to follow along, is simply unforgivable.”

Townsfolk suspected the people of the forest’s edge of attacking travelers, abducting girls from about town, and pillaging fields. Milano Mas had also said one of them was responsible for his friend’s death. And yet, no matter how much the townsfolk complained, the castle did nothing to look into those crimes.

In spite of all that, they were ready to sentence the whole of the Suun clan for this single indictment... That just wasn’t right.

“If the people from the castle had just punished the Suun clan properly to begin with, then maybe the townsfolk wouldn’t have needed to suffer. Then, perhaps they wouldn’t hold such fear and scorn towards the people of the forest’s edge. But they’re leaving all those past crimes untouched and instead dealing with the Suun as if they were trying to cover up something with a particularly bad stench. That’s not justice at all. It’s nothing but dictators setting up a political purge while focusing only on what benefits them,” I ranted, only to suddenly snap back to my senses. “Sorry... I got a little worked up, there. That was just my personal feelings on the matter, so please don’t pay it any attention.”

“No, I feel the same as you... And I also believe that what Ludo Ruu said was correct.”

“Huh? What did he say?”

“You see, he said that back when you were attacked by Doddo and Tei at the Suun settlement, your eyes were like those of a hunter as you were worrying about Ai Fa. You have that intense, serious side to you too.”

I sort of got the feeling that Vina Ruu had said something similar recently.

Had I obtained a bit of the intensity of the people of the forest’s edge by eating nothing but giba meat day in and day out? Honestly, it didn’t feel that way to me at all.

“With that said, it’s important to keep on searching for a better path forward without trying to suppress our feelings... And so, I truly hope that you will participate in the next discussion, Asuta.”

“Ah, but I’m not related to any of the leading clans or anything...”

“Yes. It wouldn’t be fair to make you shoulder so great a burden. I’m sorry for interrupting your important work,” Gazraan Rutim said with a refreshing smile, then he glanced over to the stalls where Sheera Ruu and the others were working away. “The townsfolk are paying people of the forest’s edge coins to purchase giba cooking. I had heard of your success here and there, but now I’m able to see it with my own two eyes... It really is hard to believe. I swear to you that we won’t let all your efforts thus far go to waste.” With that, he looked past me. “Well then, I suppose it’s almost the time we arranged. I’m grateful that you came all this way.”

I turned around in surprise, only for a tall shadow to step out of the thicket.

“Yup, same here. You kind of seemed like you were in the middle of something, but are you good to go now?”

Naturally, it was Kamyua Yoshu. And so, I shot his aloof grin the firmest glare I could manage.

“Kamyua, why do you always try to scare people like that? It’s rude, plus it’s a huge pain.”

“Ah, sorry. I wasn’t especially trying to surprise anyone or eavesdrop or anything. And honestly, there’s no way I could eavesdrop on an alert hunter of the forest’s edge anyway.”

Kamyua Yoshu moseyed on over in his usual manner, his long leather coat swishing behind him as he went.

Kamyua definitely won out when it came to height, but that wasn’t the case when it came to overall build. Gazraan Rutim had especially ideal proportions, even for a hunter of the forest’s edge, while the skinny Kamyua Yoshu looked like a praying mantis as he stood around three meters away.

“So, you’re Kamyua Yoshu?”

“Yeah. I make a living as a bodyguard here in the western kingdom. You’re... not the clan head of the Sauti, right?”

Kamyua Yoshu had spied on Gazraan Rutim’s wedding banquet, so there was no way he would fail to recognize the groom.

However, Gazraan Rutim just calmly responded, “Yes. I belong to the Rutim, a clan under the Ruu, and my name is Gazraan Rutim. The Sauti clan head Dari Sauti has been waiting over there for your arrival.”

“Gazraan Rutim, is it? I’m honored to meet you.”

Gazraan Rutim’s blue eyes were like a calm ocean hiding a resolute strength deep inside, while Kamyua Yoshu’s purple eyes somehow contained the carefree nature of a child and the knowing gaze of an elder, and both pairs were now staring straight at one another.

Neither side showed any animosity or ill will, and they actually looked rather shockingly calm, but there was a strange feel in the air, as if two different unbelievably powerful beasts were feeling one another out.

“All three of the leading clan heads are over there, not just Dari Sauti. Would you mind taking this opportunity to talk with them?”

“I couldn’t ask for a better opportunity. This job is a pretty serious matter for the forest’s edge, too, so I’m sure they also want to get a feel for the sort of guy I am,” Kamyua Yoshu replied with a grin.

Gazraan Rutim shot him back a calm smile.

“Well then, let’s get going. Asuta, you have my thanks.”

“A-Ah, right.”

“See you later, Asuta. I’ll be sending Leito by at some point, so make sure not to sell out before then, okay?”

“Got it. But if you want giba burgers, you should probably make it sooner than later.”

With that, the two impressive opposites quietly departed.

For whatever reason, I was left feeling dumbfounded.

I really can’t help but feel nervous seeing Kamyua meeting men of the forest’s edge. Gazraan Rutim is fine because that’s just the kind of guy he is, but will things really go alright with someone like Gulaf Zaza?

When Kamyua Yoshu suddenly showed up at the Ruu settlement a few days before the Rutim banquet, that was already enough to make me feel like my heart was going to give out on me. Darmu Ruu’s eyes, so much like those of a wounded wolf, had been burning bright as he kept his blade pointed towards Kamyua the whole time. And Donda Ruu stayed super calm, but the men of the branch families had looked incredibly on edge...

Ah, right. Back then, Donda Ruu had already heard about the plan for a merchant caravan to pass through the forest’s edge.

That was precisely why Kamyua Yoshu had been strolling through the area. He had been looking for me and Ai Fa after meeting us in the post town, and went so far as to show up at the Ruu settlement. That was already more than 20 days ago now, huh?

Hmm...? A misgiving as fleeting as dandelion fluff popped up in the back of my mind. However, I had no idea whatsoever what was causing it. It felt like I had overlooked something important... As if something was said that I didn’t think mattered that much as I was furiously rushing about trying to prepare for the banquet...

Who said what back then? Was it Kamyua? Donda Ruu?

No matter how much I racked my brain, I just couldn’t find the answer. And so, I had to ultimately just give up and head back to the stall.

Since Kamyua Yoshu had shown up, that had to mean the sun would soon hit its peak. Li Sudra had only just arrived for her very first day, and yet I had left Sheera Ruu all alone with her.

I’ve got to focus on the tasks in front of me for now. And first off, that means preparing to work with The Great Southern Tree.

It left me feeling a bit ill at ease, but I couldn’t help it if my memory refused to cough up the answer. And so, I decided to just leave it for after work calmed down and took off running back to the stalls.

However, I wouldn’t recall the source of that misgiving until a few days later, after everything had happened.