Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 8 - Chapter 2.1

Chapter 2: Celebration of a 13th Birthday

1

It was now the day after we welcomed the totos Gilulu as a new member of our house.

We were striving hard the same as always in the post town, but Reina Ruu also came along. Unsurprisingly, it was because she had some shopping to do.

That wasn’t a problem in and of itself, but the whole time she seemed to be thinking about something, until she finally whispered to me, “Asuta, could I have a bit of your time?”

I had an uneasy feeling about that, somehow. Sheera Ruu, who was helping me man the myamuu giba stall, also tilted her head.

“Ah, no, but... In just a bit, I have to go leave for my work at the inns...”

It was currently just before the sun would hit its peak. Since four days back, I had also taken on preparing food for The Sledgehammer, which unavoidably left me with a rather tight schedule.

“It won’t take long. Couldn’t you, please?” Reina Ruu insisted with a bit of a childish look on her face and an earnest shine in her blue eyes.

“Alright... Can I leave the stall to you for just a bit, Sheera Ruu?”

“Of course. Li Sudra should be here soon as well, so we’ll be fine here.”

We walked into the thicket behind the stalls, and I looked back on Sheera Ruu with a bit of concern as we went.

“I’m so sorry for interrupting your precious work time...”

“Ah, don’t worry about that. So, what is it?”

It had been a bit since I had last seen Reina Ruu. The last time had probably been the night after Zattsu Suun was captured, which would make it around nine days. Lately Vina and Lala Ruu had been buying the ingredients for the main Ruu house since they were coming to the post town every day anyway, so it had become noticeably rarer for anyone else from their family to come here for shopping.

Her long hair was pure black, a rare color among the people of the forest’s edge, and she wore it in two braided pigtails. The 17-year-old girl had a cute face, and though she was on the small side, her proportions were absolutely a match for her older sister’s.

She was a good, kind-natured girl, and was exceptionally skilled at cooking for a person of the forest’s edge. Yes, she was a splendid young woman with absolutely nothing to be ashamed of... and as always, I found it hard to judge just how friendly I should act towards her.

“I’m so sorry for asking such a thing of you now, but I just can’t help myself... Will you please accept my request...?”

“D-Depending on what it is, of course.”

Reina Ruu was short enough that she only came up to around my chin, but she was looking up at me with a seriously desperate expression. We weren’t touching at all, but she was close enough that I could feel her breathing.

“The thing is...”

“Y-Yeah?”

“Tomorrow we’ll be celebrating Lala’s birthday...”

“Huh?”

“Lala will be turning 13 years old. And so... I was hoping you could prepare a single dish for the celebration... What do you say?” Reina Ruu asked, her eyes full of worry.

Still not getting what was going on, I let out a foolish, “Uhh... How many people will it be?”

“The 12 members of the main house. We’ll prepare the poitan and soup and everything. I’d like to leave the meat dish up to you... Is that too much to ask after all?”

“No, if that’s all, then I don’t especially mind,” I replied, only for Reina Ruu’s eyes to open wide in shock.

“I-It’s really alright? I mean, you not only have your stalls, but also your business with the two inns, and you’ve been taking care of the totos as of late too, right?”

“I take care of the work with the inns during the day, and it shouldn’t be that much more than what I normally do after heading home. I don’t need to do all that much for the totos, either. So if I can do my prep work in the Ruu kitchen like last time, then it should be no trouble at all.”

“Really? Thank you so much...!” Reina Ruu said, bringing her hands together in front of her chest and breathing a deep sigh of relief.

“T-That’s a bit much, isn’t it? Why are you so surprised, Reina Ruu?”

“Huh? It’s just, I’d heard you were so busy lately that I never thought you would actually accept. But I’m sure this will make Lala very happy, too,” Reina Ruu answered, breaking out in a broad smile.

I found that affection for her family very charming, but just a bit of doubt remained in the corner of my mind. Which is to say, a concern that Reina Ruu was plotting something.

No, I’m probably just overthinking things...

At the very least, I didn’t think the joyful smile she was showing at the moment was fake. Plus, this girl wasn’t the sort to use her little sister’s birthday as part of some plot anyway, so I just brushed aside those thoughts.

Then, even though there was no way Lala Ruu would hear us when we were this far away from the stalls, Reina Ruu stretched up on her toes to whisper in my ear, “So, is there any sort of special ingredients you need? If so, I’ll try to buy everything today.”

“N-No, you only just told me about this, and I haven’t decided on a dish or anything yet... And is there any point at all to whispering right now?”

“Ah, right. Sorry, I got carried away,” Reina Ruu apologetically replied, pulling back and looking all embarrassed and bashful.

I really wanted to believe this wasn’t all calculated.

“Um, it may sound a bit childish, but could you keep this all a secret from Lala? I’m sure it’ll make her even happier that way.”

“I don’t mind that, but won’t it be totally obvious when I show up at the Ruu settlement?”

“If we just tell her our mother wanted to consult with you about business or something, I’m sure it’ll be fine. And I already talked things over with my father, too.”

“I see... By the way, you don’t mind if I talk to Vina Ruu and everyone else about it, right?”

“Of course. But please tell them to keep it a secret, too.”

“Ah, and is Mida included in those 12 you mentioned before? If he’s there, I’ll have to prepare a lot more food, right?”

“No. As of yesterday, he’s been eating with Shin Ruu’s house. And thanks to my mother’s instructions, Mida is limited to five people’s worth.”

I see, so he was put on a diet, huh? That was a great decision on Mia Lea Ruu’s part... Still, it was only limiting him to eating as much as five people.

At any rate, I seriously thought over if there was anything else I needed to confirm, only to realize I still hadn’t asked the most important question of all.

“By the way, I can’t exactly go leaving my clan head all alone, so could Ai Fa also attend dinner?”

With that, a different sort of pained look filled Reina Ruu’s eyes.

“Of course. Have you and Ai Fa ever spent the night apart from each other up till now?”

We hadn’t.

In the 60 days we had spent living together, we had often separated during the day, but we hadn’t eaten dinner and slept apart even once.

“Well then, please give my regards to Ai Fa as well. And I’m sorry again for interrupting your work,” Reina Ruu said with one last cheerful smile, and then she departed.

◇

“Hmm... A birthday celebration for the third Ruu daughter, is it? I don’t especially mind,” Ai Fa bluntly stated while waiting for me to get dinner ready. “Just allow me to confirm: Even the Ruu clan doesn’t hold a large banquet just to celebrate a birthday, correct?”

“Yeah. I suppose it’d be about the size of that preliminary banquet before the wedding. They’ll go all out with the cooking, but will only be celebrating with the same family members as always, apparently.” That said, going “all out” at the forest’s edge just meant throwing more vegetables into the giba stew than usual, until recently. “Reina Ruu and them will supposedly be giving their all to prepare the soup and everything. All I was asked to make was a meat dish, so it shouldn’t be too much of a burden.”

“I see. So what sort of dish do you plan to make, then?”

“Ah, it won’t be anything new for you unfortunately, but I was thinking I’d use what I got from the owner of The Sledgehammer.”

I was referring to a special ingredient, even more rare and expensive than the tau oil from The Great Southern Tree.

“You’re using that...?” Ai Fa questioned, frowning just a bit as that ingredient was one of her favorites.

“I mean, it’s a special occasion, after all. And we should be able to buy plenty the next time merchants from Sym arrive, so don’t go sulking like that.”

“Who’s sulking?! So... how old will the third daughter of the Ruu be tomorrow?”

“Ah, she’ll be 13, apparently.”

“13, is it? If she were a boy, that’s around when she would be taught to hunt.”

“Hmm? So what about girls, then?”

“Girls are taught how to be a bride and wife before the age of 15... But my mother Mei passed away soon after I turned 13, so I don’t know too much about that.”

“I see...” I muttered, my eyebrows drooping a bit only for Ai Fa to shoot me a harsh glare.

“What? You said you lost your mother ten years ago, so there’s no logic to you pitying me. Stop that pointless worrying and get back to manning the stove, already.”

“You certainly are restless, going right from sulking to angry...”

“I’m not sulking or angry at all!”

Despite remaining seated, Ai Fa still managed to stamp her feet.

I certainly wouldn’t dare say it out loud, but it was super adorable. And fortunately, that helped end things without feeling overly gloomy.

“Oh, right. I was told that each person gives a flower as a birthday blessing...”

“Did you think I wasn’t even aware of that much...?”

“I just wanted to confirm to be safe. For all I knew, that tradition could have even varied by clan. Ah, and we’ll be heading back to the Fa house after eating, right?”

“Yes. I wouldn’t feel right borrowing a bedroom in the main house.”

“Well then, I’ll head to the Ruu settlement right after work, so could you take care of Gilulu?”

“‘Take care of Gilulu’?”

“Yeah. Since we’re going out, you’ll need to put him in the house before leaving, right?”

As for Gilulu, he was once again seated by the entrance, his long neck stretching out across the floor. After looking over his peaceful sleeping face, Ai Fa turned and shot me a questioning look.

“Asuta, if you don’t intend to use Gilulu for an occasion such as this, then just when will you use him?”

“Huh? But it’ll be night when we’re heading back, and there are two of us... Ah, but I guess we could lead him by the reins then.”

“What do you mean? I can’t see any reason we can’t ride him both going and coming back.”

“B-But wouldn’t it be dangerous to ride a totos down such a dark path? Plus that’d blow out the flame from a candle, too.”

“We don’t need candles. If we just run Gilulu lightly, giiz and mundt won’t be able to catch us.”

“But it’s possible he can’t see well at night, isn’t it? Back in my old world, that was true for a lot of birds.”

“Oh? Totos can’t see well in the dark? Even so, as long as there’s moonlight, I’ll be fine. If the moon is hidden, though, we’d have no choice but to get down and lead Gilulu like you said, so I suppose we should still prepare a candle to be safe.”

So for Ai Fa, candles were only necessary to ward off beasts? I was once again left in awe of the people of the forest’s edge.

“Well then, there’s just one more thing concerning me... I still haven’t ridden on Gilulu’s back, you know.”

“I’ll handle the reins, so it won’t be a problem. You just need to cling to me so as not to fall off.”

Sure enough, I recalled Leito mentioning it was possible for two people to ride on a totos. I questioned a bit the thought of clinging to a beautiful young woman like Ai Fa, though.

“Shall we try practicing riding with the two of us after dinner? It seems like it will prove rather amusing, doesn’t it?” Ai Fa said with a smile, at which point I didn’t feel I could really try to object any further. “So, will it be much longer till dinner...? I’m feeling quite hungry.”

“Yeah, I just need to grill the meat, so hold on a little bit longer. Today, I’m making teriyaki with loin meat and tau oil.”

“Right.”

Ai Fa always gave back a flat response when we weren’t having hamburgers. She didn’t look disgruntled as she ate, but she also didn’t seem especially happy, either. I had yet to find a dish she liked better, and even the ingredient from The Sledgehammer ultimately just acted as an additional garnish to the hamburgers.

“Now that I think about it, it’s been around two months since I first met you. I guess it makes sense for someone from the Ruu to have had a birthday by now, then.”

“Hmm? I don’t understand what you mean.”

“I mean, there are thirteen people in the main Ruu house if you include Kota Ruu, right? So it wouldn’t be strange for them to be having a birthday every month, wouldn’t you say? This world also has 12 months to a year, after all.”

However, once every three years they had a 13th month, which I still had trouble wrapping my head around.

“You always have such unusual thoughts. We aren’t under the Ruu clan, so such celebrations would normally have nothing to do with us.”

“Well, yeah, I guess that’s true, but still...”

“And don’t go throwing out statements like ‘around two months.’”

“Huh? But that’s about how long it’s been, right? I haven’t exactly been counting, but it should be nearly 60 days soon,” I replied, only for Ai Fa to prop up her cheek by placing her elbow atop her raised knee.

“It’s not ‘about.’ As of tonight, it’s been exactly two months.”

“Eh?”

“I met you out in the forest on the 24th day of the yellow month. Since today is the 24th day of the blue month, it’s been precisely two months.”

I was at a loss for words.

Ai Fa, meanwhile, gazed off a bit into the distance.

“I suppose this was around the time of day that I was boiling that stew, wasn’t it? You were sitting there in that foreign white outfit, your eyes sparkling as you stared excitedly at giba meat that hadn’t even been bloodlet.”

It had been two months exactly since that night... Since I met Ai Fa in the forest, had a sword pointed right up against my nose, and was invited to the Fa house.

Back then, and even a month back, I had been living with no idea whatsoever what day or month it was. I didn’t start paying attention to such matters until I started working in the post town. And so, it somehow felt like I had been hit with a real surprise attack.

“Alright, I’m canceling the tau oil teriyaki! Tonight, we’re having hamburgers!”

“Hmm? Why the sudden change?”

“I mean, if it’s our two month anniversary, then why not have a bit of a celebration? Ah, right, I’ll go all out and use that, too!”

“It’s only been two months, so is it really anything worth celebrating? And besides, if you go mincing up meat now, it’ll just make dinner even later.”

“I’ve got the patties meant for selling in the post town! Of course, I’ll have to make more to replace what we eat! They’re smaller since they’re meant for snacks, so we’ll have two each.”

As I stood up to head into the pantry, Ai Fa just shot me a confused look.

“I don’t understand at all. Why are you so worked up, Asuta?”

“Huh? I’m not especially worked up or anything... I just want to at least feed you your favorite food on a day like today. But if you want to eat something other than hamburgers, I’ll certainly take any requests.”

“...Of course that’s not what I’m saying.”

Ai Fa had a very complex look on her face, as if she was at a loss as to whether or not she should pout.

And so, the Fa house had a small celebration of its own before the one for Lala Ruu’s birthday.