Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 8 - Chapter 6.2

2

The kitchen allocated to us for the day was the one in Shin Ruu’s house.

Of course, I was only tasked with making the meat dish for the winner of the competition, so that was no trouble at all. As for the other kitchens, they should have been moving ahead with the dinner preparations under Mia Lea Ruu’s command.

Between the men participating in the competition and the women watching while preparing the banquet, there were apparently around 70 people gathered here. Honestly, this festival of the hunt celebration was large enough in scale that I couldn’t help but feel like they should’ve just gone all the way and gathered the whole hundred or so folks under the Ruu.

As the sun hung high in the sky, things were getting seriously heated up at the Ruu settlement. Even after Ai Fa and Ji Maam’s match ended, the hunters kept on competing in the center of the plaza. And so, I couldn’t help but glance at the crowd over that way out of the corner of my eye as we headed for Shin Ruu’s house.

“Ah, Shin Ruu! What are you doing here?” Lala Ruu questioned. Shin Ruu was seated there in front of the house we were coming up on, and Mida was there next to him, panting heavily. As for Shin Ruu, he looked up at Lala Ruu a bit listlessly.

“Nothing in particular. This is my house, so what’s so strange about me being here?”

“That’s not what I meant! Did you lose already...?”

“Yeah. It looks like I still can’t beat Ludo Ruu after all.”

“You dummy! Why do you two always, always have to be the ones to fight each other? Despite how he looks, Ludo’s seen as a full-fledged hunter even in our house! If you chose someone other than him, you could get an easy win, right?”

Was the competition a knockout tournament? I couldn’t help but feel a little concerned that that would mean Ai Fa would be obligated to participate in a second match.

But still, Lala and Shin Ruu came first.

“But if I were to challenge someone else before beating Ludo Ruu, it just wouldn’t feel meaningful to me...”

“If that’s the case, then that’s fine. But don’t go getting so down, alright?”

“I’m not down.”

“Yes you are! In a contest of strength between hunters, even if a victory is something to be proud of, a loss is nothing to feel ashamed about. So hold your head up high and enjoy the banquet!” Lala Ruu argued at Shin Ruu, and then she glanced over at Mida. “So, what about you? From looking at you, I’m guessing you participated too, right?”

“Yeah... I gave it my all...” Then, Mida’s eyes turned my way as he breathed heavily, coated in sweat. “Asuta... If I win all the matches, I’ll get to eat your cooking, right...?”

“Yup, that’s the plan.”

“So I’m fighting real hard... If I beat four more people, I can eat the food you’re making...”

“Huh? You already won two matches? That’s amazing!” Lala Ruu exclaimed, sounding more astounded than impressed.

I didn’t really know, so I asked, and apparently in this contest of strength, whoever won three preliminary and three finals matches was declared the winner. The preliminaries were held in a rough round robin style, and the first eight to win three matches got to move on to the finals. In other words, it was a survival tournament in which two losses disqualified you while three wins let you advance. Then, in the finals it shifted to single elimination, with the one to win all three of their matches emerging as the victor. It seemed like a pretty rough set-up for handling the preliminaries, but it was ultimately a means to whittle things down from the 30-40 participating to a more manageable number.

By the way, it seemed that Donda Ruu and Dan Rutim had both already earned their three wins. Fittingly for people of the forest’s edge, they had received a great number of challenges off the bat thanks to their overwhelming strength.

Jiza and Ludo Ruu, as well as Gazraan Rutim had already taken down two, and so Lala Ruu had been so surprised since that put Mida on the same level as them.

“Still, in the end you’ll need to either beat my dad or Dan Rutim. That’ll be pretty tricky, but well, give it your all, I guess.”

“Yeah, I will...” Mida replied, his fatty cheeks trembling.

Lala Ruu gave him a nod, and then turned back towards Shin Ruu.

“So, did you give up already? If you beat three more now, you can still make it into the top eight, right?”

“I haven’t given up. I’m just building up my strength for now.” I couldn’t tell if that was true or not, but Shin Ruu then decisively rose to his feet. “Everybody else should have their second win by now. I better get going so that I don’t fall too far behind.”

“Yup! Good luck!” Lala Ruu responded with a satisfied smile.

However, after Shin Ruu departed, she cast her gaze downward pensively. Figuring I needed to make up for my denseness earlier, I nonchalantly called out, “Well then, how about we go watch Shin Ruu shine, too? We should still have time to spare.”

“Huh?” Lala Ruu questioned, her eyes opening wide with shock. “Is it alright to be taking things that lightly? You’ve still got to prepare for tomorrow too, right?”

“But you all are helping me out too, aren’t you? So it’ll be easy.”

“You’re taking things way too lightly! If you present some weird dish to him, my dad’ll probably send you flying, you know,” Lala Ruu stated, but despite her words I could see the joy shining in her eyes.

And so, we placed down our luggage and approached the crowd, only to be blocked by a tall figure. It was Darmu Ruu, second son of the main Ruu house. A man about half a head taller than me who reminded me of a wild wolf.

“Ah, Darmu! When did you get back?! Ah, and thanks for the flower from before, too!” Lala Ruu loudly exclaimed, while Vina Ruu silently smiled and nodded his way.

“The Jeen clan are going to be keeping an eye on the Suun settlement from here on out, so I was finally able to come back home,” Darmu Ruu replied, and then his sharp gaze turned my way... or more precisely, towards Ai Fa, who was standing beside me. “Clan head of the Fa, Ai Fa... Allow me to challenge you in the contest of strength, as a hunter.”

“Hmm? My apologies, but I have to help with manning the stove. And besides, as I don’t fall under the Ruu, this is no place for me to be showing off.”

“Are you running from my challenge? Manning the stove is more important to you than proving your strength as a hunter? Then you should stop calling yourself one, and devote yourself solely to cooking instead,” Darmu Ruu quietly spat out, stepping closer and bringing his face, with a deep scar down the right cheek, in close to Ai Fa’s ear. “I swear that if you beat me, I’ll acknowledge your strength as a hunter and never make light of you again. However, if I win, you’ll join the Ruu clan.”

He was speaking so quietly that I was probably the only other one able to hear it, since I was standing right beside Ai Fa.

As Darmu Ruu glared at her from up close and personal, Ai Fa replied in just as low of a voice, “In that case, what would happen to Asuta?”

“If you want, then I’ll smooth things over with my old man to get that chef accepted into the Ruu, too. You shouldn’t have any complaints about that, right?” As Vina Ruu looked a bit troubled and Lala Ruu was just plain confused, Darmu Ruu stepped back away from Ai Fa. “If you truly have any pride as a hunter, then you’ll accept my challenge. And if you don’t, then I’ll never acknowledge you as one.”

With that, Darmu Ruu walked off towards the center of the plaza.

After giving a small sigh, Ai Fa went to follow after him, and I reached out and grabbed her arm without thinking.

“Hey, you can’t possibly be thinking of accepting that one-sided challenge, right?”

“Now that my pride as a hunter has been questioned, I can’t back down. And that second son must have worked up a fair bit of resolve to make such a statement, too...”

“But still...!”

“The Ruu are also currently one of the leading clans of the forest’s edge. If I don’t form proper bonds with them, I could invite disaster once again for those close to me. And so, I see this as an opportunity to right things between me and that man.” Ai Fa’s gaze remained calm, but I could see some serious determination shining deep in her eyes. “I can’t say we have a very good relationship with the clan head, eldest son, and second son of the main Ruu house. However, Donda Ruu seems to have softened quite a bit because of your efforts, Asuta. That’s why I would like to do what I can to improve things with the second son as well,” Ai Fa said with a gentle yet reassuring grin.

And maybe she did it unconsciously, but she also gripped the blue stone hanging around her neck.

“As long as the conditions are fair, that second son won’t get the better of me. So just stay there and watch, Asuta.”

With that, Ai Fa also left us.

“Hey, you’re all back?” Ludo Ruu asked as he nonchalantly wandered over our way. “Was that Darmu and Ai Fa with you? Are they gonna have a go at it?”

“Seems like it. I can’t imagine Ai Fa managing to beat Darmu, though,” Lala Ruu replied.

“Hmm...” Ludo Ruu muttered while ruffling his yellowish-brown hair. “Guess I should go look for someone else to fight, then. If I just leave those two be they’re bound to advance, anyway.”

“Ludo Ruu! If Ai Fa and Darmu Ruu fight, then which one will win?” I asked, unable to hold back the unease swirling about inside of me.

However, Ludo Ruu just replied, “I’ve got no clue,” with a shrug of his shoulders. “In a contest of strength, any little thing can lead to a weaker opponent beating a stronger one. Well, unless there’s a huge gap between them.”

“So which one’s stronger? Ai Fa or Darmu Ruu...?”

My rather blunt question was met with the youth sticking out his tongue.

“As if I’d tell you that. Ooh, is Shin Ruu up?”

Just as Ludo Ruu had said, Shin Ruu had advanced to the center of the plaza alongside a youth I wasn’t familiar with.

Meanwhile, Ai Fa and Darmu Ruu were standing behind the tall old man who seemed to be acting as judge, the Rutim elder Ra Rutim. They must have been up next.

“Umm, is that the youngest son of the Min? Shin Ruu may be able to beat him, then. Huh...? What’s the matter, Sheera Ruu? It’s Shin Ruu’s time to shine.”

Those words hit me hard, and I turned to face Sheera Ruu.

The girl looked like she hadn’t even noticed Ludo Ruu calling out to her, as she stood there fixated on the center of the plaza. However, her lightly teary eyes may have been staring at the pair in the back rather than at her younger brother.

In the meantime, Shin Ruu showed some splendid close combat skills and defeated that youngest Min son. And as heated gazes and cheers fell over them, Ai Fa and Darmu Ruu moved into the center of the plaza in their place.

“On the right, Darmu Ruu of the Ruu clan. On the left, Ai Fa of the Fa clan. Display for us your pride as hunters,” Ra Rutim declared, his voice coming through clearly despite the commotion.

Ai Fa and Darmu Ruu stood about five meters apart as they faced one another.

Their difference in terms of height was around half a head. However, he probably had over 10 kilos of weight on her. Darmu Ruu had a pretty slender physique compared to the surrounding men in their prime, but Ai Fa was even thinner than that.

Could my clan head really beat him?

Since the loser was determined by whoever’s torso touched the ground first, the match wouldn’t be decided by physique and strength alone, though. I could at least understand that much. Still, in that case, it felt like a large man like Ji Maam would be a lot easier for her to handle.

For an extreme example, I felt like Ai Fa could definitely win a match against Mida. Even Vina Ruu had managed to trip him up with a grigee pole, after all.

But what about when she was up against an opponent like Darmu Ruu? There was an obvious gap between them because of their genders, but they both seemed to have the same body type. They each had a physique taut as a leather whip, yet honed like steel, as well as long limbs and an equal amount of agility and strength. On paper, Ludo or Shin Ruu may have been closer to Ai Fa, but overall Darmu Ruu gave off a very similar impression.

And though they were extremely similar types, Darmu Ruu was still a size larger. He would be a seriously troublesome opponent, right? For example, it was like boxers fighting with a 10 kilo deficit on one side.

If we were talking a boxer versus a sumo wrestler, I feel like the former could find an effective way to fight despite the disadvantage in terms of physique. The same was true for a boxer versus a pro wrestler or a karate master. What would decide things then would likely be down less to their different builds and more to the rules of the contest.

There were no real advantages or disadvantages from the rules here, though. They probably worked against Mida, but I certainly didn’t think the same applied to Darmu Ruu.

Just how exactly can Ai Fa grab ahold of victory here...? I worried, just as Ra Rutim gave the starting signal.

“Begin!”

Darmu Ruu lowered his stance, and Ai Fa did the same.

Even watching from 10 meters away, I could clearly sense the animalistic glares in their eyes. It was like a wolf and a wildcat were squaring off, staring one another down.

Darmu Ruu started by reaching out with his right arm, almost like a casual gesture. In turn, Ai Fa made a prompt leap to the outside to dodge it. However, before she could close the distance, Darmu Ruu swiftly moved her way.

There really didn’t seem to be all that great of a difference in how agile they were.

If it really were a battle between a wolf and a wildcat, it’d come down to who could land a crippling blow on the eyes or throat or whatever first, but such attacks were off-limits in this match.

Darmu Ruu carefully thrust out his legs and arms over and over again, and Ai Fa somehow managed to dodge each time. As time kept stretching on, it was looking more and more like a one-sided battle.

It was then that I noticed all of the surrounding crowd had gone silent. It was like the tension between the two fighters had infected them, too.

And then, things finally shifted.

Ai Fa had been doing nothing but defend up till now, but suddenly she boldly leapt forward, slipping past Darmu Ruu’s guard. Her head was down low, like she was trying to headbutt him in the stomach or something. However, Darmu Ruu nimbly twisted and dropped his right elbow down towards Ai Fa’s neck.

As if she had eyes on the back of her head, Ai Fa saw the attack coming and dropped down even lower to dodge it. Then, she slipped past his right side and reached out towards his back. And sure enough, she managed to grab ahold of his clothing.

“Wha?!” the youth angrily proclaimed, swiping his right elbow back towards Ai Fa. However, she moved just as much as he did, remaining right behind him so that the attack completely whiffed.

With that, Ai Fa grabbed hold of Darmu Ruu’s clothing with her other hand, too. She was right up on his shoulders, so much so that it was sort of reminding me of a conga line.

“You coward! Fight me face to face, fair and square!” Darmu Ruu wailed, swinging at Ai Fa with his elbows and heels. However, thanks to their positions, none of his blows landed.

“Attacking an opponent where their guard is down is a perfectly valid fighting technique,” Ai Fa replied, spinning her back to face his but still holding onto his clothing. And as she did so, she kicked out Darmu Ruu’s left heel with her right. With that, Ai Fa bent down, and with his posture already crumbling from her kick, Darmu Ruu’s legs both lifted into the air. His body did a single backwards flip before crashing headfirst into the ground.

It was a mysterious, frightening technique, a backwards shoulder throw or something. If this were judo, it’d probably be judged as one heck of a foul.

However, it was a contest of strength rather than judo, and so Ra Rutim declared, “Stop! The winner is Ai Fa of the Fa clan! Darmu Ruu of the Ruu clan must withdraw.”

It looked like Darmu Ruu managed to guard his head with his arms at the last second, at least. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder if he had a concussion in spite of that. After all, he was laying on the ground holding his head and groaning.

A wave of cheers exploded forth like a dam had burst, and Ai Fa stood there silently for a moment before worriedly leaning over Darmu Ruu.

With that, Darmu Ruu’s right arm shot up like a snake and grabbed hold of Ai Fa’s shoulder. I had been in the middle of breathing a sigh of relief, but with that, I froze in place.

However, Darmu Ruu didn’t make any further moves. He just lay there on the ground, holding onto Ai Fa’s shoulder and glaring up at her face.

“Ooh, she sure got you there! Can you breathe alright, Darmu Ruu?” a loud, cheery voice called out as Dan Rutim stomped on over. It was my first time seeing him in quite a while.

After the clan head meeting Gazraan Rutim had become Donda Ruu’s right-hand man and was sent running all over, while Dan Rutim was apparently tasked with protecting his own clan instead. So for me and Ai Fa, it had been around half a month since we last saw him.

Of course, he didn’t seem to have changed at all in that half month, still wearing a carefree grin on his genie-like face.

“To think there was someone around other than me and Donda Ruu who could send Darmu Ruu flying like that! Man, that was an exciting match! Hey Ai Fa, hurry up and win another one so you can face off against me, alright?” Dan Rutim stated while he slipped his arm under Darmu Ruu’s left armpit and lightly lifted him to his feet. As he leaned heavily on the rotund man’s frame, the youth finally let go of Ai Fa’s shoulder.

“Ah, no, I don’t want to interfere in your banquet any further. And I have to help out with manning the stove, too, so I was planning on withdrawing at this point,” Ai Fa replied while standing up straight.

“That’s no good!” Dan Rutim replied loudly with a big grin. “Darmu Ruu’s strong enough to be considered one of the five best hunters among all the men under the Ruu. And you beat him that flawlessly, so it’d ruin the festivities to not show everyone just how strong you really are!”

“No, but...”

“This is a festival of the hunt, isn’t it? An event for hunters to show off and celebrate the strength that lets them take down giba out in the forest! Chefs have their work, and we hunters have our own job, too! And you’re a splendid hunter, so that’s what you should be doing!”

With that, Dan Rutim left while supporting Darmu Ruu, without Ai Fa offering any further objections. And with thundering praise raining down on her again all the while, my clan head once again triumphantly returned to us.

“Good work out there. At any rate, I feel seriously relieved.”

Ai Fa just sighed rather than giving any sort of response.

And then, a small figure came popping into view, clinging onto her back from behind.

“Ai Fa, that was amazing! You didn’t just beat Ji Maam, but even Darmu! You’re so awesome!”

“You’re heavy... Let go of me, Rimee Ruu.”

“Don’t wanna!” the girl retorted with a satisfied grin, rubbing her cheek up against Ai Fa’s.

It was then that I remembered my concern from earlier and turned to face Sheera Ruu. Her eyes were firmly shut, and she was gripping her hands tightly in front of her chest, as if she was desperately praying away.