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

Intermezzo: The Ruu Clan Chef

“Why the long face, Reina?” Lala Ruu questioned while baking poitan for dinner.

As she boiled up a giba soup, Reina Ruu listlessly replied, “It’s nothing...”

“Come on, that can’t be true. Did I do something to make you angry?”

“No, not at all. Why should I be mad at you, Lala?”

“I mean, you’ve been shooting glances over my way the whole time we’ve been cooking. I figured I must have done something to upset you.”

“Upset me...? I was just thinking how skilled you had gotten at manning the stove,” Reina Ruu replied with an unintentional sigh, causing Lala Ruu to angrily raise her eyebrows.

“See, something really is bugging you, isn’t it? If you’ve got something to say, then just come out and say it.”

“I’m telling you, it’s not like that... It’s just, I’m a teensy bit jealous of you and Vina...”

“Hmm? Jealous? Why’s that?”

“You got so skilled by helping Asuta out each and every day, right...? So isn’t it only natural to feel jealous?”

The anger on Lala Ruu’s face was replaced with puzzlement as she replied, “Hmm? Vina and I help run the stalls, but it’s not like we’re cutting up meat and vegetables. I don’t think that’d do anything to help raise our cooking skills...”

“But you’re so much better at it than you used to be. You worked so skillfully back at the clan head meeting, too.”

“Really? Well, I’d certainly be glad if that were the case,” Lala Ruu answered with a big grin that showed the whites of her teeth.

“Right. And Sheera Ruu is really amazing, too...” Reina Ruu muttered with yet another sigh. “She must have grown so skilled by now that I couldn’t possibly compete... Oh, how I wish I could help with Asuta’s work, too...”

“Are you really just saying that because you want to polish up your cooking skills?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I was figuring maybe you just wanted to be with Asuta.”

“T-That’s definitely not it!” Reina Ruu insisted, her face going deep red. “Of course, it would be nice to work alongside Asuta... But that aside, I really do just want to improve my cooking skills! That’s not a lie! It really isn’t!”

“You don’t have to get so worked up over it. Besides, I think that’s totally natural,” Lala Ruu stated, shrugging her shoulders while piling the now-baked poitan onto a plate. “Besides, you’re still way better at manning the stove than we are, so why do you need to improve? I mean, Ludo already says the food you make is the best, too.”

“But I still can’t measure up to Asuta at all...”

“Why do you have to compare yourself to him? I mean, there’s no beating Asuta to begin with. He’s one of a kind.”

Reina Ruu was left at a loss. That was just how unexpected she found her sister’s words.

“But you’d like to get better at manning the stove too, right, Lala...? Wouldn’t it be amazing to get so good at cooking that even Asuta couldn’t beat you?”

“Eh? I mean, I do think it’d be nice to be a little more skilled at cooking meat. But there’s no way it’d ever be possible to get as good at Asuta... But that’s how you feel, Reina?” Lala Ruu said, sounding a bit astounded and scratching her red hair. “You sure have some pretty amazing thoughts rolling around in your head. But if you ask me... I think I’m more jealous of you and Sheera Ruu, since the food you can make is already plenty tasty.”

“Huh?”

“At any rate, don’t go getting so worked up over it and worry everyone. I can definitely attest to your skills,” Lala Ruu uttered in an irritated tone, then picked up the now empty pot with a grigee pole. “It’s still bright out, so I’m going to go ahead and handle some washing. Don’t doze off and ruin the food, alright? Everyone’s looking forward to your cooking, after all.”

With that, Lala Ruu left the kitchen, only for Reina Ruu to sigh yet again.

So that’s what Lala thinks? But I’m still so inexperienced...

Reina Ruu wanted to grow capable of creating far more delicious dishes. Just how much satisfaction would it bring to be able to make food that wouldn’t lose out to Asuta’s...? That thought had been running through her head for weeks now.

However, the chance to help out with work in the post town just hadn’t come her way. And during that time, Sheera Ruu’s skills were making remarkable progress, to such a degree that Asuta would now leave the stalls to her and step out. There was little doubt in Reina Ruu’s mind that the girl had easily surpassed her by now. That thought caused her heart to fill with gloom and regret.

Sheera Ruu was a precious member of her clan. They were fairly closely tied by blood, as she was the daughter of Donda Ruu’s younger brother, and she seemed to be growing a lot more lively and cheerful as her skills at manning the stove grew. While that made Reina Ruu glad, she also couldn’t help but feel a painful frustration.

If she had been able to receive more instruction from Asuta, she would surely be a better cook than she was now. Maybe she would even be able to keep up with him... Or was that thought disgraceful and arrogant?

At any rate, Reina Ruu couldn’t bring herself to just cast aside those feelings.

Just like Lala Ruu had said, she really did want to be together with Asuta. She had even thought that she would like to welcome him into the Ruu clan if at all possible. Then they could walk that same path as family. The nights she was enraptured by such thoughts and unable to sleep were certainly far from few.

But more than that, or perhaps precisely because of it, Reina Ruu wanted to become strong enough that she wouldn’t lose to Asuta. She wanted to stand beside him and see the same sights. Perhaps more than wanting to get a hold of him, she wanted to become him.

I still can’t see a thing. But I want to be able to do those same things that Asuta makes seem just natural. Perhaps he’s the one I’m really jealous of, rather than Sheera Ruu...

Just what sort of feeling was that?

She adored him so much she could feel her chest tighten, but she was envious enough that it was like a fire was burning in the pit of her stomach. The thought that she was such a wretched person really did make Reina Ruu feel a bit like crying.

But still, that was ultimately just the sort of person she was.

Lala Ruu tended to be thought of as rather wild by the people around her. And Vina Ruu was considered such a strong person. But a spirit every bit as fierce as theirs lurked inside Reina Ruu.

The desire not to lose to anyone... Perhaps that was what was driving her emotions at their core.

Does Asuta ever have such thoughts...? She pondered as she tossed fresh firewood into the stove.

It was just then that Rimee Ruu returned to the kitchen.

“We’re all done with our cooking! Huh? Where did Lala go?”

Rimee Ruu had been grilling meat on the outdoor stove along with their grandmother, Tito Min Ruu.

Reina Ruu listlessly turned to face her younger sister, still stirring the contents of the pot as she did so.

“Lala went to go wash a pot. I’ll be done here soon too, so could you prepare the plates?”

“Yup! Got it!”

Rimee Ruu darted about, and in no time at all there were enough plates for everyone piled up atop a board. Now all that was left was to carry this pot into the house and portion it out for everyone.

With that work done, Rimee Ruu walked over next to her older sister.

“Mmm, it smells tasty! Did you use that tau oil stuff in it?”

“Yes. Asuta said it should go well in soup, after all.”

“It’ll probably be real yummy! Hey, can I try a taste?”

“Huh? But dinner’s so soon.”

“But papa and everyone aren’t back from hunting yet. And I’m already starving, so I can’t wait,” Rimee Ruu said, tugging at her sister’s clothing as she did so.

With a bit of a strained smile, Reina Ruu replied, “Just a small plate then,” causing her sister to proclaim, “Yay!”

For tonight’s soup she had added aria, chatchi, and tino, as well as salt and tau oil for flavoring. And of course there was plentiful giba meat in it too, so it shouldn’t have felt lacking in the least.

Tau oil really was an amazing ingredient. Apparently, it was what was known as a “seasoning.” You couldn’t make a dish with just the tau oil itself, but adding it made other foods even more delicious. It really felt like some sort of magic potion.

For just one bottle of the oil, it cost ten whole red coins. That would be enough for ten containers of fruit wine, 40 poitan, or 50 aria. But she wanted to use it badly enough that she went and begged her mother and father until she was given permission to purchase it.

If Reina Ruu happened to go and make a poor dish using it, then she likely wouldn’t be allowed to buy any more. Thanks to that she had been doing careful taste tests and using the tau oil very sparingly. But a few days had passed by now, so her parents weren’t exactly likely to rebuke her at this point.

“Here’s the plate! It’s fine if it’s just a teensy bit, but could I get some meat and vegetables in there too?”

Reina Ruu gave a nod, then scooped a bit of giba soup onto the small plate.

Seeing that, Rimee Ruu broke out in a big grin and then took a bite.

“It’s so good! The soup you make really is the best, Reina!”

“That’s thanks to the tau oil. Anyone could make something this delicious with that ingredient, right?”

“That’s not true. I always thought your giba soup was the tastiest.” After tossing a bit of giba meat into her mouth and chewing slowly to savor it, she added, “Plus, Asuta said it too, right? That tau oil has a strong smell and taste, and the flavor changes when boiling it, so it can be tricky to use. So I don’t think just anyone could make such a yummy soup with it.”

“But it’s still not enough to measure up to Asuta...” Reina Ruu stated glumly.

“You think so?” Rimee Ruu replied with a little tilt of her head. “You and Sheera Ruu will probably be able to make cooking just as tasty as Asuta’s eventually, right? That’d probably be impossible for Vina and Lala, though.”

Reina Ruu was stunned, and stared at her youngest sister’s little face with disbelief.

“B-But we’re talking about Asuta, right? It goes without saying that I couldn’t, but I think such a thing would be beyond even Sheera Ruu.”

“That’s not true. After all, you two love cooking just as much as Asuta, don’t you?” Rimee Ruu said with a big smile. “A while ago, Ludo said that proud hunters are strong. That people who enjoy their job and take pride in it are powerful... So I’m sure that you and Sheera Ruu will end up just as good at manning the stove as Asuta!”

Reina Ruu was at a loss for words.

And as she just stood there, Rimee Ruu came up beside her again.

“I’m trying hard too, so you better do the same, Reina! We’ll all try our hardest to get better at manning the stove!”

Still unable to come up with a proper response to that, Reina Ruu just placed her hand on her little sister’s head. As she stared at the girl’s brilliant smile as bright as the rising sun, she could feel the heavy gloom clouding her heart give way to a different emotion entirely.