Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 7 - Chapter 3.3

3

“Apparently, Dari Sauti and his men who helped guide the merchants suffered rather significant injuries. Fortunately, no one lost their lives, but two of them won’t be able to head out into the forest for a while,” Gazraan Rutim reported to us after we ate dinner at the Ruu settlement.

The threat presented by the criminals had rather suddenly vanished. However, we couldn’t just go and feel outright happy over that, considering the circumstances. And so, in order to receive as much information as possible, Ai Fa and I decided it was best that we stay here with the Ruu rather than heading back home.

“I don’t know the exact numbers, but it seems they were attacked by over ten giba. In all likelihood, Zattsu and Tei Suun coated themselves in the juices of the giba summoning fruit and led the beasts there. Then they threw giba summoning fruit at the men of the merchant caravan, shifting the giba’s attention that way.”

Well, that was pretty much what I had imagined.

Still, it was hard to imagine someone sane using their own body as bait to lure out over ten giba.

“Four hunters wouldn’t have a chance against that many giba. It’s honestly pretty amazing that nobody ended up dead,” Ludo Ruu chimed in, and Gazraan Rutim gave a firm nod in response.

“Still, from what I heard, Dari Sauti deeply regrets not having captured both Zattsu and Tei Suun. The envoy from the Sauti said that once his wounds have healed, he will come to offer an apology.”

“He doesn’t need to worry about all that. Still, in a way, it feels like it may have been less of a pain if that walking skeleton just died out in the forest after all...”

There were currently eight people left in the room. Me and Ai Fa, Gazraan Rutim, and Ludo, Donda, Jiza, and Mia Lea Ruu, as well as Granny Jiba.

Considering how weak she was, it was incredibly rare for Granny Jiba to hang around like this. However, when she heard the news of Zattsu Suun’s death, she volunteered to take part in this gloomy meeting.

“The biggest issue seems to be that ‘Tei Suun’ man not having been secured. What did Dari Sauti have to say about that matter?” Jiza Ruu asked Gazraan Rutim in place of his silent clan head.

“Yes, well, Dari Sauti said he also saw that bandaged man cut down Tei Suun. Having suffered a deep wound to the chest, Tei Suun grabbed onto the man’s cloak, but then he was kicked down into the valley.”

“Hmm... But if no one saw his corpse, then we have to treat him as still being alive. Even a man on the verge of death could set fire to a settlement or do harm to the women of our clans. So ultimately, we can’t stop using bodyguards completely, it seems,” Jiza Ruu stated, his narrow eyes glancing towards me and Ai Fa. “Asuta, do you intend to head into the post town tomorrow as well?”

“Yes, I’ve at least completed the preparations to do so. After all, the folks from the castle still seem to be insisting on that... But I think we’ll have to be even more careful from tomorrow on.”

By his presence, Zattsu Suun had incited greater fear and wariness in the townsfolk than ever before. After all, that unforgivable criminal had gone and thrown about accusations at the city of stone.

I didn’t feel that everything that fell star of a man had said was wrong, either. I honestly believed that the relationship between the Genos castle and the forest’s edge was distorted and based on deceit, all the way back to its starting point 80 years ago.

However, those words shouldn’t have been coming from Zattsu Suun’s mouth. It was a problem that needed to be resolved by the people of the forest’s edge who had spent so many years enduring such suffering. But when a criminal who harmed others, set flame to homes, and assaulted travelers to steal their goods said such things, it just made people angry and incited fear. And so, the townsfolk not only felt mad at the criminal heaping abuse on them, but also afraid of the people of the forest’s edge in general. Plus, even if there were folks who felt they maybe had been unjustly discriminating against them, they would surely only feel even more worried. Worried that the people of the forest’s edge must hate them, that is. That even if they looked calm and reasonable, hatred and frustration towards the townsfolk was swirling about inside of them.

In actuality, that wasn’t the case at all. For better or worse, the people of the forest’s edge didn’t seem to have much interest at all in the folks of Genos. They focused more on sacrificing for the sake of their honor, so there didn’t seem to be much perception among them that they were being unjustly treated at all.

However, Zattsu Suun had clearly held a deep-seated grudge. Was that because as the leader of his people, he had contact with the people of the castle? It seemed like his anger at the humiliation he faced had crystallized into resentment. And that was behind what happened today, ultimately.

The bond shared between Genos and the forest’s edge had gotten entangled into a big, complicated snarl over the past 80 years. We had been trying to slowly, carefully untangle it, only for Zattsu Suun to come along and swing down the blade of his deep-rooted convictions.

Under those circumstances, heading to the post town would be even more dangerous than it had been yesterday or today.

“Zattsu Suun... He chose the wrong path to walk...” Granny Jiba whispered. Ludo and Jiza Ruu both opened their mouths as if to say something, but ultimately they kept silent. “He must have believed his actions were necessary to salvage the pride of our people... That the right course was for us to sever the bonds we formed with Genos 80 years ago and instead live freely...”

“Hmm? But by only harvesting the fruits of the forest and not even bothering to hunt giba, he completely discarded his pride as a hunter, right?”

“But it’s Genos that is troubled by the giba multiplying, not the people of the forest’s edge... If not just the Suun clan but all of our people acted as such, the fields of Genos would be decimated by the giba...”

“I see. Then that would show Genos just how important the people of the forest’s edge really are. Zattsu Suun really was an unforgivably shameless man... Well, even if he had remained the leader of our people, I’m sure no one would have obeyed such an order anyway,” Jiza Ruu stated, not seeming overly moved by the subject. He likely prided himself on the fact that he would take up his blade in order to oppose such a decree.

And yet, the people of the Suun clan had gone and obeyed that unthinkable order.

Perhaps Zattsu Suun intended to infect the rest of the forest’s edge with his convictions, bit by bit. First the Suun, then his subordinate clans like the Zaza and Dom, followed by the smaller clans, and lastly those who opposed him, the Ruu. Then he could tell Genos if they went against him they would stop hunting, effectively taking their fields hostage and putting them on more than equal footing.

If Zattsu Suun hadn’t fallen ill and instead had remained in charge, just how far would his influence have stretched...? I certainly couldn’t just laugh the idea off.

“I feel the same way, Jiza... However, it’s not as if Genos’s way of doing things is absolutely correct either, is it...? Living in the forest alone, surviving solely off of its bounty... That’s how we lived in the black forest of the south. And it seems Zattsu Suun felt that returning to that lifestyle was the proper thing to do...”

“It sort of sounds like you’re covering for that skeleton bastard, Granny Jiba. You’re not saying his way of thinking was right, are you?” Ludo Ruu questioned, furrowing his brow a bit.

Granny Jiba’s eyes were half hidden by her heavily drooping eyelids, but they slowly looked over everyone present.

“That’s what I want to ask all of you... What do you feel, having heard Zattsu Suun’s words...?”

Donda Ruu was seated next to the elder, and after taking a swig of fruit wine, he was the first to respond.

“If he seriously couldn’t stand Genos’s way of doing things, then he should’ve chosen to abandon Morga like the Zaza clan head said. A true hunter would never hoard reward money and assault travelers to steal their fortune.”

“I feel the same as our clan head,” Jiza Ruu added, and Ludo Ruu also agreed, “Yeah, me too.”

After a moment of silence, Gazraan Rutim chimed in.

“Still, it’s not so easy to make the decision to abandon our second home here at the Morga forest’s edge. There would be a chance we would become wanted as traitors who abandoned the western kingdom, and on top of that it’s hard to imagine us changing the god we serve would be accepted a second time... That’s why I believe it is important for us to find a proper way to live here.”

“You’re just as stiff and formal as always, I see... Asuta, Ai Fa, what do you two think?” Ludo Ruu asked, causing Ai Fa to tilt her head a bit.

“If he absolutely couldn’t stand the people of the castle, then his only options should have been beating them in a fight or abandoning the forest. But I personally wish to live as best I can here at the forest’s edge, obeying the laws set down by Granny Jiba and our other ancestors.”

“I’m in agreement with Ai Fa. I’m not fond of the townsfolk, but I quite enjoy living here,” Mia Lea Ruu chimed in while attending to Granny Jiba.

Hearing that, Ludo Ruu said, “It’s not like I want to abandon the forest’s edge or anything,” with a bit of a pout. “What about you, Asuta? I feel like we all know without asking, though...”

“Yeah. I feel the same as everyone else... If I were to add anything, it would be that I really do believe Zattsu Suun was wrong in his methods. He couldn’t lead the people of the forest’s edge like that.”

“Hmm? Isn’t that pretty much what my old man said?”

“Yes. But there’s also the matter of him plundering the blessings of the forest. If he wanted to lead his people to live freely, then he should have properly explained his thinking to everyone. I’ll admit that as a newcomer, I’ve wondered why people have to go so far as to starve themselves in not touching the fruits of the forest.”

I felt powerful stares coming from head on and to my right. In other words, the clan heads of the Ruu and my own Fa house had rather serious looks in their eyes.

For the time being, I faced Donda Ruu, taking extra care with my tone.

“That said, even I can’t accept Zattsu Suun’s excuses in the least. And that’s probably not just because he acted like a bandit, but also because the members of the Suun branch houses looked completely and utterly miserable... I’m certain that Zattsu Suun was a leader who only knew how to control people through fear. He believed his thinking was correct, and that he needed to force others to obey. Using methods like that, no matter how proper your convictions may be, you won’t ever be able to lead things down the right path... Or at least, that’s what I believe.”

“Zattsu Suun’s convictions were proper...?” Ai Fa questioned, a frown on her face.

I shook my head, worrying all the while that perhaps I had given her a headache.

“No matter how much unjust discrimination someone may be facing, I still believe it’s absolutely wrong to attack travelers. But finding that treatment wrong and thinking the people of the forest’s edge should have more freedom... If someone voiced those concerns at the clan head meeting or something and everyone agreed, couldn’t that lead to a proper path forwards? If that’s the case, then I can’t help but find it incredibly unfortunate that things didn’t go that way.”

“Yes... It truly is unfortunate...” Granny Jiba quietly muttered. “Zattsu Suun’s father had been a truly splendid hunter... That was why when the leading Gaaz and Reema clans fell, our Ruu clan freely yielded the position to the Suun, and the wild Dom and Zaza followed them... Zattsu Suun must have only inherited his father’s pride and ambition, but not that man’s strong concern for his comrades... How truly, truly regrettable...”

“What we care about isn’t the past but the future, elder,” Donda Ruu uttered in a low voice, then turned back towards Gazraan Rutim. “Is that all the Sauti messenger said? Then all that does is prove that what Ludo and the rest heard in town was the truth.”

“No, there was one more matter we can’t simply overlook... Most of the carriages pulled by the totos fell off the cliff, but Dari Sauti saw one of the bags that fell from them get trampled by a giba right in front of him, which caused the contents to come spilling out.”

“What, was a corpse stuffed in there or something?”

“No. It was just full of sand, apparently.”

Donda Ruu furrowed his brow, looking suspicious.

“Nobody would pay coins for plain sand. Are you sure it wasn’t some food or something that just looked like sand?”

“I asked the same question, but the second the giba appeared, the merchants drew their blades and let the totos and the carriages loose, then started boldly fighting away. And they didn’t seem concerned at all about their goods that had fallen to the bottom of the valley once they had driven off the giba and captured Zattsu Suun, instead preparing immediately to return triumphantly to town... Did they perhaps never intend to head to the eastern kingdom to begin with?”

“What exactly are you saying...?”

“I’m asking if it’s possible that they were just pretending to be merchants in order to lure out Zattsu Suun... Kamyua Yoshu said they were a group of 18 merchants and five bodyguards, but apparently Dari Sauti couldn’t even tell which were which.”

“Hmph, I see. Now that I think about it, they were all walking along just fine on their own two legs. There were only five or six of them at most wailing away atop that carriage. It’s unnatural for plain old merchants to be doing just fine while the Sauti men were that seriously injured,” Ludo Ruu stated, and Gazraan Rutim gave another nod.

Jiza Ruu then chimed in, “But this plan to pass through the forest’s edge on the way to the eastern kingdom was established two months ago, was it not? Even if it was all a fabrication, we heard about it over 20 days ago. Back then the Suun clan still hadn’t fallen yet, so things don’t seem to add up.”

“Yes, I don’t quite understand that myself, but perhaps they hurriedly worked out their next move when they heard of Zattsu Suun’s escape. That Kamyua Yoshu man certainly seems like he would easily be capable of that much.”

“No...” I interjected. If I said this, I risked making Kamyua Yoshu the target of Donda Ruu’s fury. But as a person of the forest’s edge, it was something I needed to say. “It would actually be rather unnatural to suddenly shift such a huge plan, wouldn’t it? In that case, it seems more reasonable to consider it having been a trap for the Suun clan from the very start. In all likelihood... they had some sort of proof that it was a person of the forest’s edge who attacked the merchant caravan ten years ago.”

“What do you mean...?” Gazraan Rutim questioned, his calm yet firm gaze moving my way.

Ah, so that was it... I pondered as he looked my way, completely overwhelmed by my own train of thought.

Kamyua Yoshu must have suspected from the very start that the Suun clan was behind that incident ten years ago. I had thought knowing the truth didn’t change anything and forced down my unease over the matter, but I had been mistaken.

Something like this had been behind everything.

Kamyua Yoshu hadn’t been cautious of an attack by the Suun. No, he had in fact crafted his strategy to invite one.

While feeling indescribably despondent, I continued on, “An acquaintance Kamyua and I share has ties to that merchant group from ten years back. And that man was convinced the culprit had been a person of the forest’s edge... Up until today, I didn’t know that the man he was talking about who had lost his life back then was part of that caravan, but Kamyua must have.” Then, I turned towards Donda Ruu, whose eyes were silently blazing away. “Do you remember, Donda Ruu? Over 20 days ago, Kamyua visited the Ruu settlement and talked about that merchant caravan. Back then, he said something that implied he already suspected the people of the forest’s edge, didn’t he?”

“Do you really think I’d ever forget someone insulting our people, kid?”

“I remember that conversation, too,” Jiza Ruu interjected. “Father, you mentioned how all the merchants who tried to pass through our settlement ten years back were killed by giba. Then that Kamyua Yoshu man questioned if it had really been done by giba.”

“That’s amazing. That was so far back that I don’t remember it at all,” Ludo Ruu said with a shrug of his shoulders.

I had completely forgotten that exchange, too. If I had remembered it sooner, could I have prevented what happened today...? I couldn’t help but curse my carelessness at that thought.

“The Suun clan surely attacked them in the same manner back then. And normally, they would have been successful this time too... If they were up against helpless merchants, that is.”

But they weren’t merchants accompanying those carriages, though. They were likely all bodyguards or other such skilled fighters. And their luggage wasn’t goods to sell in Sym, but just plain old sand. It had all been a trap laid for the Suun.

“To begin with, the only ones from the Suun clan able to make a move at the moment were Zattsu and Tei Suun. Normally, you wouldn’t expect two men to go and attack a merchant caravan all on their own, right? And it would be even more unnatural to suddenly change their plan just to entrap them. I’d say the more unexpected event would have to have been the Suun clan suddenly having their authority stripped away after they had spent two months setting up this plan.”

“I see...” Gazraan Rutim whispered, while everybody else stayed silent. It seemed the people of the forest’s edge couldn’t even imagine going so far in plotting to take down someone else.

“If that incident at the clan head meeting had never occurred, then the Suun would still be in charge of the forest’s edge right now. If they recreated the same circumstances from ten years ago, then they would face the same sort of attack. That was what they must have figured when forming their plan. In fact, they may have been left feeling real down when we beat them to the punch in overthrowing the Suun... Still, they couldn’t exactly go and act like the plan with the merchant caravan never happened, and there was still a chance of the criminals coming after them, so I guess it made sense to keep going forward.”

“But under whose orders, exactly, was that plan formed, anyway? The lord of Genos had been halfheartedly ignoring the Suun clan’s wrongdoings up until now, so why suddenly decide to bring this blade down on their necks?” Gazraan Rutim questioned in an urgent tone, but all I could do was shake my head.

“I don’t know all that... But at the very least, I find it hard to imagine Kamyua constructed such a large-scale trap all on his own. He would have needed to go through the castle to ask the Suun clan to take on the job, which would require deceiving the lord of Genos, too. So I think it makes sense to figure the lord was cooperating in some form from the very start.”

Had the lord of Genos come up with the idea and tasked Kamyua Yoshu with carrying it out? Or did the plan come from Kamyua Yoshu and he requested the lord’s assistance?

At the very least, it seemed clear that the lord of Genos was involved in one way or another.

“So that’s how the castle does things, huh?” Donda Ruu grumbled, his eyes burning bright. “They would go so far as to deceive us in order to capture those villains from the Suun clan? If they had just talked to us from the start, then the Sauti men wouldn’t have been left so helpless.”

“I’d imagine... that would have been difficult. Dari Sauti was asked by Kamyua Yoshu to act as a guide. However, it was by his own will that he chose to face the giba,” Gazraan Rutim calmly responded, looking straight into Donda Ruu’s beastly eyes.

“But the Sauti men drew their blades because they thought they were dealing with defenseless merchants, right? If they knew they were all guards or whatever from around town, that would have been a completely different situation. Plus, they rejected the offer for the Sauti men to accompany them in full force, didn’t they?”

“...Yes.”

“And even now, they’re not allowing the Fa clan to take a break from their work. That’s because they want to lure out that Tei Suun man if he’s still out there on the verge of death, isn’t it? Every last thing they say seems to be an outright lie. When they go that far to hide their intentions, how can we trust them in the least?” Donda Ruu asked, crushing the fruit wine container in his hand. The bit of red liquid left inside stained his fingers and the carpet spread across the floor.

“Donda Ruu... No, leader of the Ruu clan and the forest’s edge, please rein in your temper. The future of our people is decided through your actions.”

“You don’t need to remind me of that. But the ones to decide the path our people take are me, Gulaf Zaza, and Dari Sauti. In the next eight days Genos has given us, we need to make up our minds.”

Donda Ruu was like a raging demon, with every bit as much force behind his words as he had shown the night of the clan head meeting.

I had to speak. “Donda Ruu, could I also add just one thing? I also can’t accept the castle’s way of doing things, but you said before that Kamyua insulted you, right? What do you think now in regards to that?”

Donda Ruu’s blazing blue eyes shifted from Gazraan Rutim over to me.

I gulped, took a deep breath, and then continued on.

“What Kamyua said around 20 days ago turned out to be the truth. Was he trying to provoke the people of the forest’s edge on top of that... or provide a warning? That with the way things were going, they would pass judgment on the Suun clan first... But back when you heard Kamyua’s words, you thought there couldn’t possibly be such thieves among your people, and took it as a groundless insult, didn’t you?”

“What are you trying to say...?”

“That the one to betray your trust from back then and sully the pride of the people of the forest’s edge wasn’t Kamyua, but rather Zattsu Suun, right?”

“Asuta, are you still trying to cover for that man at this point?” Jiza Ruu asked with a different sort of intensity behind his words than Gazraan Rutim, causing me to break out in a sweat. Even so, those words still needed saying.

“That’s not my intention. What I’m saying is that we didn’t realize Zattsu Suun’s crimes reached that far. And both the castle and the forest’s edge are at fault for letting him stay free for so long, wouldn’t you say?”

“You’re saying we’re the same...?”

“I wouldn’t go that far. But I believe it’s necessary to carefully determine who bears how much responsibility for what happened today... And at least when it comes to the incident from ten years back, it wasn’t the people of the forest’s edge or the castle that were harmed, but the townsfolk. Can you really say the castle is fully responsible for that?”

If they shouted back, “Who cares about the townsfolk?!” at that, my very identity as a person of the forest’s edge may have crumbled on the spot.

However, Jiza Ruu just gave a small shake of his head and responded, “We failed to judge the Suun clan up until now because we weren’t able to get ahold of proof of their crimes. And so I honestly don’t want you to lump us together with the castle, who didn’t judge them despite possessing that crucial evidence.”

“Yes, so...”

“I understand. Our clan head Donda also said it was our crime to have failed to pass judgment on the leading clan for their corruption. And yet, I still wish to say that I simply can’t see myself ever trusting the people of the castle.”

Then, Jiza Ruu’s narrow eyes turned towards his father.

Donda Ruu, meanwhile, had been shooting me a glare this whole time.

“I get what you’re trying to say... We’ll take that into account too when deciding on a path forward,” the clan head stated, and then a heavy silence fell over the room.

It wasn’t long, though, before Granny Jiba sadly added, “If we had only done more to form a proper bond with Genos, it never would have come to this...”

“That’s not true!” Ai Fa angrily responded. “It’s because you all struggled so hard to carve a path that we’re here now! It’s the job of us living now to overcome these current difficulties! And... that includes you too, as one of the people living and struggling in the present. I simply can’t believe that it’s right for you to be grieving and moaning as such.”

“That’s true... There are things that need to be done rather than lamenting like that...” Granny Jiba’s wrinkly face seemed to break out into a gentle smile. “Thank you, Ai Fa... I was still far too caught up in my memories of the past...”

The angry look on Ai Fa’s face remained as she turned away in a huff. However, I was sitting there in the direction she looked, causing our gazes to meet.

“What are you looking at...?”

“My clan head, of course.”

As I saw Ai Fa’s cheeks turn red in the dim light, she struck me upside the head.

And with that, this sudden meeting in the dead of the night came to a close.