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Once we finished up our work at The Sledgehammer, we headed out for The Great Southern Tree next.
The Sledgehammer was a bit removed from the stone highway, in the middle of what could be called a residential area. And so, we ended up having to pass through a complex web of narrower roads first.
Currently, it was about an hour or so after the sun had hit its peak. By this time most folks were working in either shops alongside the highway or the farms to the south, so there weren’t as many folks passing by.
“Man, today sure has been productive. My new dish went over well, we got a hold of some dried milk, and I even made arrangements to sell giba meat.”
Vina Ruu was still looking listless, so I didn’t want to get too worked up in front of her. Even so, I couldn’t help but want to whisper that to Ai Fa.
“It certainly sounds like good news. But you still need to prepare an additional dish for that shop to sell, correct?”
“Yeah, but thanks to Gilulu we can cut down the time spent commuting to the post town by quite a bit, and it looks like I’ll be able to leave preparing the giba burgers to Reina and Sheera Ruu, so that should earn me plenty of time to spare. I’ll be able to make it work out somehow.”
“Then are you saying you’re going to keep feeding me food made with those red seeds...?”
“...Maybe, but like I said, I’ll make your portions less spicy.”
“Such consideration from you only makes me feel all the more annoyed,” Ai Fa said with a pout, angled so that the others couldn’t see.
“Don’t sulk so much. I’ll make you some hamburger steak with dried milk in between the taste tests.”
“Do you think you can earn my favor whenever you please just by bringing that up?”
“Huh? Well, it makes you happy, right?”
That earned me a kick in the leg.
With that, I decided to hold myself back from getting too excited.
Still, Nail’s definitely a unique case. He was born here in the western kingdom, but his thinking may be closer to someone from Sym. But it’s not like everyone’s going to accept giba meat that easily.
Even so, this was still a big step forward.
It was possible that Naudis of The Great Southern Tree might grow interested in cooking with giba meat before long, and it was looking hopeful now that I could forge a bond with The Westerly Wind. Plus if I could talk Milano Mas into it, maybe I could even get him serving giba cooking at The Kimyuus’s Tail.
Just a few days ago things had been feeling hopeless, but today I had managed to make a huge breakthrough.
But it’s times like this where it’s most important to handle things slowly and carefully rather than rushing, I thought to myself, my footsteps growing lighter as I went. Today is the fourth day of my fourth round, so that means there are six days left till I enter into new contracts with the stalls. Maybe this time I’ll ask for two days off to devote to experimenting with my cooking...
I was talking about my first time off in over 20 days, and yet that was where my brain went. I really might have been a bit of a workaholic.
Anyway, as I walked along feeling exhilarated by such thoughts, Ai Fa suddenly grabbed my right arm. With that, I had to come to a sudden stop, and the same was true for everyone following behind us.
Before I could ask her why she had done that, though, I spied the answer walking our way.
“Asuta, what a coincidence. What are you doing in, a place like this?” a voice asked with a slightly stilted command of the western tongue.
And sure enough, when the man flipped back his leather hood and revealed his long chestnut-colored hair, I also recognized his smiling face. It was Sanjura, who had visited my stall just yesterday.
“Ah, hello there. It really is quite a coincidence. We’re on our way back from work.”
“You do work in a, place like this?” he questioned, steadily approaching.
Ai Fa still seemed oddly on guard, but he was wearing just as gentle of a smile as yesterday.
“Yes. I’ve actually taken on the task of making food for inns, and we’re on our way to another one now.”
“‘Inns...’ Could you perhaps be, speaking of The Sledgehammer?”
“Huh? Yes, that’s correct.”
“I knew it. After all, that place has been serving, giba meat dishes,” he replied, his lightly colored eyes narrow as he smiled even more deeply. What a truly charming grin...
“Ah, have you been staying at The Sledgehammer too then, Sanjura?”
“Yes. I was raised in the western kingdom, but I love, eastern cooking. And so I always choose inns, that serve easterners.”
It was true that if you just ignored the one point that he didn’t hide his emotions, Sanjura seriously looked like someone from Sym. And so, it seemed totally natural for him to be staying at The Sledgehammer.
Mixed blood from the east and west, huh...? I guess he probably had a rather complex upbringing, too.
I didn’t feel especially on guard or anything around Sanjura. But even so, he did have something of a mysterious feel about him. It wasn’t obvious what it was, but something about him drew my attention in a different way than Shumiral’s charms or Kamyua Yoshu’s fishiness.
Well, it might just be that it’s strange to see someone who looks like he’s from Sym letting his emotions show like that.
Whatever it was, it just gave me a real favorable impression of him more than anything. And so, I wore a big grin on my face as I went to say farewell.
“Well then, we have work to get to. But if fate allows, then I’m sure we’ll—”
“Hold on. Don’t go moving on your own, Asuta,” Ai Fa suddenly stated, once again grabbing hold of my arm.
And I was in for a shock when I turned to face her, as her blue eyes had a hunter’s fire burning brightly in them.
“W-What’s the matter? It’s not like he’s done anything, right?”
“This man has nothing to do with it. Someone is watching us again,” Ai Fa whispered. “It’s the same sort of gaze as yesterday, like a poison needle. There’s no one else around right now, so I may be able to trace their presence. Just keep feigning ignorance, and make sure not to interfere with what I’m doing.”
Taking care to move only my eyes, I glanced around the surrounding area. However, I couldn’t spy anyone other than us.
Sanjura, meanwhile, tilted his head and looked a bit perplexed.
“What’s the matter? I can’t sense anything...”
“Sorry, but shut up for now,” Ai Fa crudely stated, then she glanced over at Shin Ruu.
The boy gave a nod, then casually walked up beside my clan head.
“Well? Can you sense it?”
“Yes, faintly... But it’s like feeling out a hunter holding their breath.”
“Right. I can’t imagine any townsfolk are able to hide their presence this well... But anyway, they’re to the right.” Then, Ai Fa shot Sanjura a quick glance and whispered again to Shin Ruu, “I’ll stay here to protect Asuta and the eldest Ruu daughter. Now that you have hold of the presence, can I leave the rest to you? It may be something of a dangerous task...”
“Understood. It’s on the right, and ahead of us... Which means they’re between those two houses, right?”
“That may be so. Shall we walk a bit closer?” she asked, then shot Sanjura a clear, open stare. “Man of the east... no, wait, that’s not accurate, is it? At any rate, I have something to ask of you.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“I’d like you to swiftly depart from this place. Assuming you have nothing to do with this presence, that is.”
Sure enough, Sanjura’s eyebrows drooped and he just plain looked confused.
“I don’t quite understand. But Asuta has work to, take care of next, yes? In that case, I will leave.”
“Ah, sorry about this. Er, please don’t worry about it, alright?”
I hadn’t quite grasped what was going on yet myself, so that vague apology was the best that I could offer.
Sanjura shot me one last refreshing smile, and then he pulled back up his hood.
“I will come by your stalls again, tomorrow. Right now, I’m on my way back from, eating your cooking.”
“Ah, really? Thanks so much for the purchase.”
“Right. I’ll come earlier, tomorrow.”
Then, Sanjura likely intentionally took a detour around Ai Fa and Shin Ruu before departing down the path we were coming from, towards The Sledgehammer.
“Alright, let’s move. Asuta, eldest Ruu daughter, casually move over to my left side as we walk. As long as you do it before we reach that side road you can see there, that’ll be plenty, so make sure not to act unnaturally.”
With that, Ai Fa started walking, the hunter’s look blazing in her half-lidded eyes. But aside from that frightening glare, she was acting completely natural.
Was someone seriously observing us again?
What in the world is going on? The timing’s real questionable, with how it started yesterday morning. If it was someone under Cyclaeus, wouldn’t they at least wait till after the meeting to make a move...?
I could feel my heartbeat speeding up.
My legs were growing stiff but I forced them to move, and moved bit by bit over to Ai Fa’s left side.
There weren’t even five meters left till we reached that side path on the right. It was then that I noticed Shin Ruu was standing to Ai Fa’s right, while Vina Ruu was walking directly behind me.
Sure enough, I still couldn’t sense a thing. It would just take a few minutes of walking till we made it back to the main road, but for now, it was as quiet as a ghost town.
This certainly didn’t seem to be a wealthy area. The tightly packed houses were similar to the ones at the forest’s edge for the most part, just one-story homes made of wood. And there was a narrow side road between two of them... When we reached it, Shin Ruu suddenly leapt.
Until that very instant he had been walking along like normal, but suddenly, he vanished from sight. With his hunter’s cloak fluttering in the wind, he had taken off in a sprint down the side road.
“Ah!” I shouted without thinking. That was because a small rock had come flying towards Shin Ruu with incredible speed, out of the shadow of the houses. However, the boy charged forwards just as fast, and successfully dodged the attack just by slightly tilting his head.
There was another rock flying our way too, but Ai Fa deflected it with a flash of her sheathed blade.
In the same instant, a small figure leapt forth from the shadow of the houses. With its back to Shin Ruu, it was fleeing further down the path.
The figure was small enough to be a child, and was wearing a fur cloak of some creature other than a giba.
“Halt!” Shin Ruu shouted out in a piercing tone, then he reached out for the mystery figure’s shoulder. In that same instant, though, his body suddenly lifted off the ground.
I had absolutely no clue what was going on.
Regardless, Shin Ruu’s body flipped through the air, and his back slammed down into the ground.
As the boy let out a low groan, the assailant then turned our way. I couldn’t see their face, though, as their hood was pulled down as far as folks from Sym wore them.
They were certainly small, though. In fact, they looked even shorter than Ai Fa or Shin Ruu.
The fur cloak was a spotted yellowish-brown that reminded me of a leopard, but they just seemed to have plain clothing on underneath. As for their skin... it looked like an ivory white? Honestly, it was hard to tell, as it looked thoroughly tanned and a bit filthy. But at the very least, they didn’t look to be from Sym or Jagar.
That small assailant stood five or six meters from us along with the groaning Shin Ruu, and was looking us up and down. Then, they suddenly reached for their hips, slender enough to belong to a woman or child, grabbing for the small crescent-shaped blade dangling there.
“Stop!” Ai Fa loudly shouted. “It is forbidden to draw a blade in town! Why are you prowling around after us like this?!” my clan head demanded, brandishing her still-sheathed blade as she yelled. Then, with her glare firmly fixed on the assailant, she whispered to us, “Stay right behind me, no matter what.”
The assailant’s gaze also seemed to be firmly on us, their hand still gripping the handle of that crescent blade. At their feet, Shin Ruu was attempting to get up, looking to be in a lot of pain. However, in the next moment, the attacker’s small foot smashed into his face, sending blood flying as the boy once more collapsed to the ground.
“I said stop! If you intend to point your blade towards the people of the forest’s edge, then you’ll have to deal with me!”
That statement was quite unlike her, but she must have judged that she wouldn’t be able to save Shin Ruu otherwise. After all, at this distance, no matter how fast Ai Fa ran, the assailant’s blade would come down quicker.
The attacker shook their head, looking hesitant. Perhaps they were at a loss as to whether it was better to turn their back and run, finish off the opponent at their feet, or to go all out and try to strike down this second foe.
After a few seconds of intense silence, our assailant chose the third option: they came running towards us and Ai Fa.
“Get down!” Ai Fa shouted to those of us behind her, then she swiftly bent her knees.
The assailant covered several meters in a flash as they drew their crescent blade. Then, they leapt forwards with a strange yell, and Ai Fa also brandished her blade.
However, neither side’s sword cut into the other’s body. Instead, the assailant suddenly disappeared.
Even watching from up close, I couldn’t immediately tell what had happened.
The small attacker had disappeared from view, and in their place was now a tall figure clad in a cloak. The figure had swung down a sheathed sword like Ai Fa had done, and looking at his face from the side... It was Sanjura, of all people.
“My apologies for interfering, unnecessarily. I was just concerned, so I turned around,” he calmly stated, then stood straight up from his squatting posture. As for his long sheathed blade, he was holding it with just his left hand. “You aren’t injured, are you? I think the danger, has likely passed.”
With that, I breathed a sigh of relief and glanced to my left. Ai Fa’s gaze, of course, had long since been fixed that way.
Having been hit from the side by Sanjura, our assailant was now writhing in pain on the ground and clutching their left shoulder.
Sanjura took just three steps forwards, then placed his foot atop the crescent blade lying there.
“Thank you for lending us your aid...” Ai Fa muttered, still brandishing her blade and looking seriously on guard.
As he looked down on the anguished assailant, Sanjura smiled and said, “Think nothing of it. It is the duty of the people, to help protect order in our, society. We should hand this one over, to the guards.”
With that, there was a swift flash of his blade. With just the tip of his sword, he had flicked back the hood of our flailing attacker, revealing their face. And instantly, my vision was drawn by a brilliant red.
Our assailant was apparently every bit as much of a redhead as Lala Ruu.
“Please don’t resist. Are you a bandit?” Sanjura calmly asked.
With that, the little attacker who had been writhing on the ground sat up while holding their left shoulder.
“You’re calling me a bandit?! Don’t mess with me, asshole!”
That was a boy’s voice, and it sounded far younger than I had expected.
However, his face looked incredibly fierce. His disheveled hair as red as flames reached all the way down to his cheeks. And his yellowish eyes half-hidden behind it were like those of a beast.
On top of that, there were angry wrinkles centered around his brow and he was baring his teeth, with an expression that made him look like some sort of feline predator. His face was just so twisted with rage and hatred that I couldn’t even imagine what it looked like normally.
“You Sym bastard... If you’re going to call me a bandit, then should I take care of you first?”
“You’ve drawn your blade in town, and attacked innocents. If you are not a bandit, then what are you?” Sanjura calmly retorted, looking over the boy... No, that felt like too gentle of a word for this little hellion. “Still, with that appearance... You look more like a hunter of Masara than a bandit.”
“A hunter...?” Ai Fa repeated, reacting ever so slightly.
With that, the raging youth suddenly turned towards my clan head.
“I will never, ever forgive you filthy people of the forest’s edge...”
“What was that? If you have some sort of grudge, then speak it. But if you point a blade my way, then I have no choice but to respond in kind.”
“Shut up!” the boy shouted, suddenly shaking off Sanjura’s right hand.
Silver flashes tore through the air, only for Ai Fa and Sanjura to simultaneously deflect them. Being hit by both their blades, the small throwing knives fell to the ground.
They really did both have some insane reflexes.
Sanjura had needed to shift his posture to swing his blade, and the boy used that opening to snatch up the crescent-shaped sword he had been standing on. And he was inhumanely agile when he did that, too.
“You are all gonna get what’s coming to you! I swear it on my honor as Jeeda, son of Goram Redbeard!”
“What?” Ai Fa questioned, but the boy had already turned around.
For a second it looked like Sanjura was going to chase him down, but with a sigh, he returned his blade to his hip instead.
“He certainly is swift. I wouldn’t be able, to catch up to him.”
Ai Fa was making a face like she was holding herself back from clicking her tongue, but sure enough, she placed her blade back at her hip, too.
My clan head probably could’ve caught up to him considering how quick she was, but she apparently felt she couldn’t leave our side. At any rate, that small figure in the leopard-print cloak disappeared between the buildings in no time flat.
“Goram Redbeard... Hey Ai Fa, that’s the name of that bandit leader that came up yesterday, right?”
The leader of the Redbeards, Goram Redbeard... I was pretty certain that was what Kamyua Yoshu had said. And he had taken along hunters of the forest’s edge on a journey outside of Genos to search for the man’s wife and son.
“Oh, man. Kamyua’s group went the wrong way entirely, huh? What should we even do in a case like—”
“Don’t lose your composure. We have to treat Shin Ruu first,” Ai Fa stated, an intense look in her eyes.
Then, her gaze shifted over towards Sanjura.
“So, he really was a bandit? It is rare for them, to appear in town when, it’s bright out,” Sanjura said with a carefree grin.
I didn’t know if he had nerves of steel or what, but regardless, it looked like I definitely had to revise my initial impression that he wasn’t the sort to get involved with anything violent.
“Still, I felt his shoulder bone break. He won’t be able to get up, to any wrongdoing for the, time being. I think you just need, to let the guards know.”
“Right... Thank you,” I replied, but I was thinking all the while how that was the one thing we really couldn’t do. It seriously made me want to sigh.
Goram Redbeard’s wife and son were crucial witnesses Kamyua Yoshu was searching for. And ultimately, the town guards fell under the jurisdiction of Cyclaeus’s younger brother, the militia captain. So, we needed to capture that boy before the guards could get their hands on him.
When he said he couldn’t forgive the people of the forest’s edge, was he referring to how his father had false charges thrust on him and was executed? In that case, we’ll just have to tell him the truth.
And if the boy still keeps on hating the people of the forest’s edge even so... Well, we’ll just have to deal with that when we get there.
I almost sighed at how complicated everything was getting, but ultimately, I held it back.
This was surely an ordeal that the people of the forest’s edge needed to overcome. Zattsu Suun was the one behind all that wrongdoing, but his people were unable to call him out for his deeds. And there was no guarantee that everyone would think like Milano Mas and Leito, who believed Zattsu Suun’s death was enough to atone for the crimes of the people of the forest’s edge.
That kid’s even smaller, so for him to hate someone that deeply... It’s just not right.
As I stared down the street where the redheaded boy had disappeared, I prayed in my heart that we could meet him once more, and that he would get a chance to talk to the new leading clan heads.
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