Cooking with Wild Game: Volume 24 E-Book

EDA

• Herausgeber: J-Novel Club
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Serie: Cooking with Wild Game
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 413

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

Things have been exciting recently for the people of the forest’s edge: Shin Ruu has been crowned the victor in the Genos swordsmanship tournament, Lem Dom has earned the right to walk the path toward becoming a hunter, and the smaller clans surrounding the Fa have held their joint festival of the hunt at the start of a new break period.
With all the time off they now have, the clans are now working together to finally show the last holdouts at the forest’s edge how to make delicious food. But will everyone they’re trying to teach appreciate their efforts? Also, what has happened to Myme and Mikel? And perhaps most importantly of all, when a familiar face returns to Genos for the first time in half a year, will things with Vina Ruu work out the way he hopes?
See all this and more in the exciting twenty-fourth volume of Cooking with Wild Game!

Leseprobe

Chapter 1: Restless Days

1

In the aftermath of the festival of the hunt, the six clans, including the Fa, entered a break period. Normally, the hunters would use this time to rest. However, there was work that needed to be done during this period, so we had been sure to make arrangements for that ahead of time. One such task was spreading knowledge of how to bloodlet and carve up hunted giba to as many of the clans that had missed out so far as possible.

During our last break period, the other clans had put in a lot of effort on this front in order to make certain that we would have meat to use for our business. Thanks to Ai Fa instructing them on the basic procedures, the Gaaz and Ratsu—as well as their subordinate clans, the Matua, Meem, and Auro—were now all thoroughly acquainted with how to process meat.

Then the northern clans, the Beim, and the Dagora had all learned the techniques, leaving only six clans out of the thirty-seven at the forest’s edge who were unfamiliar with them. Teaching bloodletting and carving techniques to those remaining six clans was our goal for this break period.

“If we divide ourselves up into groups, we shouldn’t have any difficulty teaching those clans the techniques with half a month at our disposal,” Raielfam Sudra suggested.

We all agreed to his plan, with him and Baadu Fou taking the lead on getting things organized. The Deen and Liddo officially fell under the Zaza, so they couldn’t provide much help, which meant we only had the hunters of the Fa, Sudra, Fou, and Ran to handle the task. Bloodletting in particular had to be done soon after a giba was taken down, so they would need to accompany the other hunters into the forest, despite it being their break period.

I was deeply grateful to them, but Raielfam Sudra simply waved off my gratitude and told me, “No thanks are needed. This is no longer a task being carried out for the sake of the Fa clan alone. Are delicious cooking, your business in the post town, and the prosperity we now enjoy a medicine or a poison for us people of the forest’s edge? It is my belief that we all need to be on equal footing when deciding the answer to that question.”

Our actions would be judged at the clan head meeting roughly half a year from now. Raielfam Sudra was asserting that when that time came, all of the people of the forest’s edge had to be fully equipped to make that judgment.

I was being saddled with more work as a chef too. Just learning proper bloodletting and carving techniques made giba meat taste so much better, but that alone wasn’t enough. I was going to travel all over the forest teaching the women of those clans how to make baked poitan and some other basic cooking techniques. As part of that, I ended up purchasing three new wagons. Since our hunters and chefs would be visiting all these distant clans, Gilulu’s and Fafa’s wagons would no longer cut it on their own. After this job was done, the three new totos and wagons would be made available to be used freely for going shopping or visiting other clans, like Fafa already was. Gilulu alone would remain permanently with the Fa clan.

With all that in mind, I decided to temporarily cancel the study sessions at the Ruu settlement during this period. Reina Ruu and the others seemed rather disappointed about that, but they said they would also work hard at instructing their more distant subordinate clans, like the Ririn and Muufa, in the meantime.

The first clans we would be working with were the Dai and Ren, who were located south of the Ruu clan. The Dai and Ren shared blood ties, with the Dai being the parent clan. I had heard they were similar in size to the Fou and Ran as a result of merging with some of the clans under them that had collapsed.

Our business in the post town didn’t shut down during break periods, so we had to wait till after work to provide lessons. That meant that our schedule during this period had us teaching the other clans for two hours each day and then hurriedly returning home to take care of the prep work for the next day, as well as throwing together dinner for ourselves. And since Ai Fa would be heading out to hunt with some other clan every day as well, this was such a hectic time for both of us that it was hard to tell it was a break period.

The hunters were also putting together plans for another job: constructing a kitchen hut for the Fa house.

“The rainy season will be here soon. When it arrives, it will be difficult for you to do your work with the amount of cover you have, so we should build you a proper hut, with a roof and walls,” Baadu Fou proposed, with the Deen and Liddo clan heads offering to help out.

“Since we can’t accept the task of running around to hunt with the other clans, at least let us help out with this,” the Liddo clan head, Radd Liddo—who I remembered from the festival of the hunt—remarked with a hearty grin. “There’s no need for a floor with a kitchen hut, so it should only take a few days for us to set it up.”

Still, it would require them to cut a fair amount of lumber, so it was a pretty large job—one that all of the Deen and Liddo men would be involved in during the hours that we were away. Since it was her house, Ai Fa seemed to want to help out too, but she ultimately ended up leaving it to them, having concluded that as the clan head of the Fa giving lessons to the other clans was more important.

Days passed, and we eventually arrived at the tenth of the gold month, the eighth day of our break period. We were working hard in the post town like always when the vegetable seller Dora and his daughter Tara visited our shop.

“Hey there, Asuta. Seems business is booming again today.”

“Welcome. Thanks for your continued patronage.”

He shot me his usual smile, and I returned it. A month and ten days had passed since the revival festival, so it was back to business as usual at his shop. However, he had brought us some rather unexpected information today.

“Asuta, the rainy season is set to arrive just twenty days from now, so I figure it’s about time for us to talk business. What do you say?”

From what I had been told, during the rainy season a number of vegetables would become unavailable, while others were only available at that time of year. Obviously, that was no small problem for us... However, today Dora had a slightly different issue that he wanted to raise with me.

“You see, the price of poitan, fuwano, and aria is going to go way up during the rainy season.”

Poitan and fuwano were wheat-like grains, while aria was a highly nutritious vegetable similar to an onion. The less well-off clans at the forest’s edge were forced to subsist on nothing but poitan and aria, so this was a matter that demanded my full attention.

To sum up what Dora had to tell me, apparently the aria and poitan sold during the rainy season only grew to a small size due to the limited sunlight. And in Genos, prices were set by quantity rather than by weight. In other words, the price of produce remained the same, while the size of the produce shrunk to two-thirds at best or barely half the size at worst.

“The fact is, we’re only borrowing our land from the nobles. The taxes levied on us don’t decrease, which is why pricing works the way it does. It means that we can still earn the same amount of money, but only at the expense of anyone who has to purchase vegetables during the season. It’s such a problem that people say the rain is the Saturas county crying.”

The Saturas county was the official designation of the domain that contained the post town. As the post town consumed a huge amount of vegetables produced by the Daleim lands, its people were the ones left to suffer during the rainy season.

“So, let’s get to the main topic at hand. Even though we’ve expanded our poitan fields significantly, the amount we harvest during the rainy season is going to decrease by a lot. Until recently, only the people of the forest’s edge and travelers ever bought them, so it wasn’t a serious issue. But now, people from all over are using poitan. I think there’s a real risk that we’re going to sell out.”

“That’s pretty serious. And the price of fuwano is going to go up too, isn’t it?”

“Right. Fuwano doesn’t just grow smaller, it becomes unharvestable. That means whatever we can grow before the season starts needs to last the whole two months, so the price pretty much doubles.”

So, that was the situation. It certainly explained why the northerners from the Turan lands were going to be available to be used to clear a path through the forest’s edge—they didn’t have much other work to do.

“With fuwano so expensive, poitan are sure to sell extremely well. That’s why I’m worried about running out of them.”

“That certainly is concerning. The people of the forest’s edge have eaten poitan for so long, it’ll be a real problem if they can’t buy them anymore.”

The poorer clans in particular lacked the leeway to purchase expensive fuwano. And the reason poitan were such a popular item in the first place was purely because I had come up with a way to make them delicious. I couldn’t stand the thought of that possibly causing my comrades to starve.

“For our business, I don’t especially mind if we have to use fuwano,” I continued. “But if there isn’t enough for everyone at the forest’s edge to eat...”

“Right, which is why I wanted to discuss this now. In the Daleim lands, we sometimes do these things called purchasing agreements, so I thought I could make one with you.”

Apparently, they involved paying in advance in exchange for a promise that goods would be supplied long-term.

“To sum it up, it’s an agreement to provide what is paid for no matter what. There are...five hundred people of the forest’s edge in total, right?”

“Ah, lately I’ve been thinking that it might actually be six hundred or so.”

“I see. In that case, assuming each person eats two a day at a minimum, and with two months being sixty days... Umm...?”

“Two times six hundred times sixty would be seventy-two thousand.”

“That was some quick calculating! Then you can buy four poitan for a red coin, so...”

“It would be eighteen thousand coins. Or converting that to silver coins, it would be just eighteen,” I said, breathing a sigh of relief. “My clan can cover that amount. If I give you eighteen silver coins as an advance payment, can you provide that many poitan for us?”

“Yes, but eighteen silver coins is quite a fortune. Are you sure you can manage that?”

The Fa clan’s stalls alone earned around eight hundred red coins in profit each day. Even when we had to buy all of our giba meat from other clans, it still left us with five hundred red coins of pure profit, so earning eighteen silver coins wouldn’t take me much more than a month. And since I would just be covering for the other clans temporarily, I saw no reason to hesitate.

“It won’t be an issue. Oh, but if the poitan are going to get smaller, I guess we’ll end up needing more of them. After all, the clans with coins to spare won’t want to cut down on their portion sizes in order to save money.”

“In that case, you might need as much as twice that amount. That would mean doubling the advanced payment, though...”

“That’s fine. I can make it work.”

Buying three new sets of totos and wagons only cost me around fifty-two hundred red coins. Considering that the Fa clan had been doing business in the post town for half a year now, we still had plenty of savings to spare.

“That’s reassuring to hear! Oh, I suppose I shouldn’t talk about this kind of thing so loudly...” Dora remarked while hurriedly lowering his voice. Then he brought his face close to mine. “There are still twenty days left until the rainy season, so I don’t think there are many folks thinking about buying poitan yet. And even if they are, I doubt they’d be able to spend such a fortune just like that. So assuming you trust me, of course, I believe it would be good to form a contract now. What do you say?”

“Of course I want to. I’m really grateful that you’ve been thinking about the needs of the people of the forest’s edge.”

“Stop acting so distant. We’re friends, aren’t we?” Dora said with a joyful smile. Then Tara’s little hand tugged on his arm.

“Are you done talking? I’m getting hungry.”

“Ah, sorry about that. Well then, why don’t we eat? Once you settle things with the leading clan heads, go ahead and stop by my shop whenever.”

“Got it. Thank you.”

After buying today’s daily specials of giba-meat egg-drop soup and giba curry, along with some myamuu giba from the Ruu clan, the pair headed over to the restaurant space. As I watched the father and daughter leave, Fei Beim shot me an astounded look.

“Asuta, can the Fa clan truly spend such a large amount of money that easily?”

“Well, yeah, since we earned so much more than usual during the revival festival. It might have been a little more difficult to manage this before the violet month rolled around, though.”

“Oh really...? If you’re that well-off, I don’t see any reason for the Fa clan to fixate on poitan.”

“That’s true. Still, if the people of the forest’s edge couldn’t buy poitan anymore, that would mean my actions caused a serious tragedy, so the way I see it, it’s crucial for the Fa clan to step in here.”

If Dora hadn’t made that proposal, I would have ended up having to scramble to fix this at the last moment. I really was incredibly grateful to him.

Still, thinking about it carefully, two poitan a day probably wouldn’t be enough for the men of the Ruu clan and other guys like them. I’m sure the clans of the north eat just as much too.

At any rate, this was my first rainy season, so I was totally fumbling about. It would be best to discuss matters with the leading clan heads and carefully calculate how many poitan would be necessary before entering into a contract with Dora. With that in mind, I brought it up with the members of the Ruu clan after we finished with our work. Reina and Vina Ruu were the ones on duty today.

“I see. It’s true that aria and poitan get smaller during the rainy season. I know our clan usually ends up spending about twice as much as usual during this time of year,” Reina Ruu said.

“So you don’t decrease the amount you eat?”

“Of course not. The Ruu clan has plenty of money to spare, so we’ve never had to cut back because of the rainy season. Right, Vina?”

“Hmm...? What were we talking about?” Vina Ruu listlessly replied as she packed up the stalls.

“We’re talking about how much food we eat. Haven’t you been listening to Asuta?”

“Sorry, I was spacing out a bit, so I can’t quite recall...” Vina Ruu said with a deep sigh before heading over to the wagon.

“Is Vina Ruu feeling ill or something?”

“No. She’s just been like that recently. All the time. Our mother, Mia Lea, has had to chew her out a ton for spacing out or getting snappish.”

“Huh? It’s hard for me to picture Vina Ruu getting chewed out. Despite how she seems sometimes, she normally has her act together really well.”

“That’s true. Maybe it’s because of that easterner, Shumiral?”

Reina Ruu’s words caught me off guard. Shumiral’s merchant group, the Silver Vase, had departed from Genos on the first of the white month. Then the gray, black, indigo, violet, and silver months had passed, so that had been six months ago, as it was now the tenth of the gold month. His promise to be back in half a year had reached its deadline, but he still hadn’t returned to Genos yet.

“But Shumiral’s final destination was the capital, which is over a month away from Genos by wagon. A ten-day delay should be no big deal, right?”

“I agree, but I can understand why Vina might be worried,” Reina Ruu said with a worried sigh of her own. “I haven’t mentioned this to you before, but...lately, Vina’s been focused entirely on learning how to make curry.”

“Ah, I’ve been thinking a lot about how to make it tastier myself. So, she’s been working hard on it in the background?”

“Yes. It’s bad enough that Ludo’s been teasing her about how she always makes curry when it’s her day to cook. Regardless of whether she’ll accept that merchant’s marriage proposal, she wants to show her appreciation for his feelings and effort in her own way.”

I was so happy to hear that, I could feel a lump forming in my throat. But at the same time, my heart was heavy at the thought of what this situation must’ve been like for Vina Ruu.

“On the off chance that man doesn’t return...Vina will be crushed...”

“Th-There’s no way that’ll happen. They have ten easterners in their group, so bandits or whatever should be no problem for them.”

“But long journeys are dangerous, aren’t they? We heard that countless times while we were traveling to Dabagg.”

I had heard that plenty of times myself, but I didn’t even want to think about the possibility of Shumiral having an unexpected accident during his trip.

“At any rate, all I can do is pray to the forest that no misfortune befalls Vina, because I can’t imagine praying for the safety of a foreigner who is nowhere near the forest would accomplish anything.”

Without thinking, I looked up at the clear blue sky. I had to believe that Shumiral was still okay, somewhere out there under the same sky.

2

After business was done for the day, we once again headed to the Dai settlement.

We eventually arrived a little past the lower third hour. It would take forty minutes to return to the Fa house from here, so I only had about an hour allotted for cooking lessons. However, I had already been teaching the women here for six days, so I had more or less covered the techniques I wanted to. Baking poitan, how to properly cut meat and vegetables, how to heat the stove in order to grill meat and cook soup, the most effective way to flavor with salt, pico leaves, and myamuu... And one day when the hunters had returned early with their prey, I had also explained how to prepare offal. That was good enough for their initial training. I figured they’d had enough of a culture shock already, considering they had just been boiling raw poitan with giba meat that hadn’t been bloodlet until now.

“We are so grateful to you for everything you’ve done, Asuta of the Fa clan. Now we can finally share in the surprise our clan heads felt at that meeting all those months ago.”

The Dai and Ren had supported the Fa clan’s actions from the start, so they had been very kind to me whenever we spoke during my visits.

“There don’t seem to be any issues with your bloodletting and carving skills, so I believe we should be able to purchase meat from the Dai and Ren in the future. I hope I can count on you for that.”

“Yes, of course.”

“When that time comes, you’ll need to be able to handle a totos and wagon. I’m planning on entrusting you with one of each when this break period is over.”

“Huh?”

“You’re offering a totos and wagon to the Dai clan?”

“Yeah. It would be difficult for you to deliver meat to the Fa house otherwise, right? Plus, a wagon would help you cut down on the time you need for shopping, so I’d like to have you use that time on something meaningful instead.”

A round trip to the post town would have taken them around three hours on foot. If they used a wagon, that could be brought down to around an hour, and it would even let them transport a great deal more cargo with just one or two people to boot. The cooking techniques I had taught them required more time and firewood than the ones they had used before, so if they couldn’t free up some labor, it would be difficult for them to keep using these new methods. Besides, their situation was similar to that of the clans that lived near us, like the Gaaz and Ratsu, so it only felt natural for me to offer them the use of a wagon too.

“Thank you... We’ll never forget our debt to you, Asuta of the Fa clan.” the Dai clan head’s wife said with teary eyes.

“That concludes our cooking lessons, but if you have time in the future, you can feel free to stop by the Fa house if you want to. If you do, I can teach you all sorts of other things.”

“Yes, thank you. We most certainly will.”

With that, we said farewell to the Dai and Ren clan members, hopping back in our wagon. Since the Ruu clan were using Jidura to visit the post town today, we only had Gilulu’s wagon available to us at the moment, but that was enough to get me and five of my comrades home.

“That finally wraps up the lessons for the Dai clan. Yun Sudra and Toor Deen seemed to be on top of things, but I feel like the rest of us were being instructed as well,” Fei Beim said as we went. She was on rotation today, along with the Dagora and Ratsu women.

“That’s true. The bits about how to cut vegetables and manage a flame were very informative,” the Dagora woman chimed in.

“I’ll be able to make even more delicious food for my family now,” the Ratsu woman added.

They had been working since this morning, but they didn’t appear tired in the least. We still had preparations for tomorrow awaiting us back at the Fa house, though.

“Asuta, you said we will be taking tomorrow off from the lessons, didn’t you?” the Ratsu woman asked.

As I manipulated Gilulu’s reins, I replied, “Yeah. I’ve been having you all working hard during what should be your break period, so I figured I’d pick a good day for some actual rest. The men are going to take time off tomorrow as well.”

“I see. It is important to have time to deepen our bonds with our families too. The Ratsu clan isn’t in a break period, though, so it won’t quite be the same for us.”

We would also be carrying on with our work in the post town, so Toor Deen and Yun Sudra were only going to get around two to three hours of free time. But even a couple hours was precious time they could spend with their families, so I had suggested that we let the men who were working so hard rest a bit too.

“Then the day after tomorrow, we’ll be visiting the Ravitz clan. They don’t approve of the Fa clan’s actions, so there’s no telling what kind of welcome you’ll get from them, Asuta.”

“Who can say. They at least agreed to be instructed on bloodletting and carving, so I figure it should be fine as long as I don’t ask them to sell us meat.”

With the Dai and Ren out of the way, that left four clans: the Ravitz, Naham, Vin, and Suun. The Ravitz and Naham shared blood ties and were opposed to the Fa clan’s actions. The Vin, meanwhile, had given us their support, but had become a subordinate clan to the Ravitz in the last several months. Even though they agreed with us, they had no choice but to establish blood ties with the Ravitz for their clan name to live on.

“The Zaza and Beim used to have the same opinion, and they’ve accepted the value of delicious food, so it should work out somehow. We’re all fellow people of the forest’s edge, so I want us to get along.”

“Then, once we’re done with the Ravitz, it’ll finally be time for the Suun,” Toor Deen timidly interjected. After asking the leading clan heads, we had received permission to give lessons to the remaining members of the branch houses living at the Suun settlement. The leading clan heads had determined that they were no longer criminals and that there was no need to treat them any differently on this front.

“You were originally a member of the Suun clan, weren’t you, Toor Deen? Are you worried about going back there?” the Ratsu woman asked, sounding concerned.

“No,” Toor Deen replied. “I stopped by for a little while when I headed to the northern settlement recently, and I saw that everyone in the Suun clan was trying really hard to live proper lives. I’d be very happy to help them realize how wonderful delicious food is.”

“I see. I’m glad to hear that.”

As I was in the driver’s seat, I couldn’t see Toor Deen’s face, but I was certain she was smiling her usual gentle smile. I was also looking forward to heading to the Suun settlement. I hadn’t been there since the clan head meeting, after all.

According to Toor Deen, the women whose eyes used to look like they belonged to a dead fish had regained the strength to want to keep on living. It made me really happy to have a chance to offer them cooking lessons again.

“Is something the matter, Yun Sudra? You’ve been looking down for a while now,” I heard someone say.

Yun Sudra replied, “No, it’s nothing. There’s just a lot I need to think about.”

“Hmm? You could talk it through with us if you’d like. I don’t know if we’ll be any help, though.”

“Thank you. It’s enough to just hear you say that.”

The Dagora woman was the one talking with Yun Sudra. They had been working together ever since the revival festival, and their relationship had grown as deep as the one between the Fou and Ran.

I was concerned about Yun Sudra too, though. Just like with Vina Ruu, there seemed to be something worrying her. Thinking back, it seemed like she hadn’t said much since this morning.

Should I try having a bit of a talk with her later?

First, though, was our return to the Fa house. After continuing north up the long and narrow path for roughly forty minutes, we arrived at our destination, where there were already a number of Fou and Ran women handling preparations.

“Thank you. Sorry for always asking you for help,” I told the women.

“What are you saying? You’re paying us for our services, so there’s no reason for you to apologize.”

It was already the lower fifth hour at this point. Normally, everyone would be preparing dinner by now, but instead they were handling prep work for me.

“Oh, Asuta! You’re back!” a voice called out as a man’s face peaked out from behind a wall. It was the Liddo clan head, Radd Liddo—a man with a plump and goggle-eyed face. “Perfect timing! We’ve finally finished the surface work!”

“Huh?! Really?!”

I hurried around to the rear of the house, where I found a large building standing tall on the other side of our covered outdoor kitchen. It was the new kitchen hut I had been eagerly waiting for them to finish. It had been pretty close to completion yesterday, but now it was finally done.

“Of course, it’s still empty inside. We’ll set up the stoves and workstations and the like tomorrow, and then you’ll be good to use it whenever.”

“Thank you! Seriously, thank you so much!”

It was a wonderful kitchen, as fine as the one at the main Ruu house. Large enough for ten women to fit inside easily. The room was divided into three parts, with enough space for a dedicated pantry and a butchering area. It was really surprising to me that they could make such an amazing kitchen hut in just a few days.

“It was no trouble at all! Between the Deen and Liddo, we had fifteen men working on this, you know! And if you treat us to some delicious food as thanks, that would make this a pretty good deal for us!” Radd Liddo remarked with roaring laughter. As always, he was being just as frank as Dan Rutim. “Well then, we’ll go gather the stones for the stoves, and that should be it for today. See you later, Asuta!”

“Yeah. Please take care.”

With that, the men who were hanging around all walked off toward the forest. However, Toor Deen grabbed ahold of one of them as he went.

“Good work, father. If you’re going all the way to the riverside, make sure to watch out for giba, okay?”

“Of course. But there aren’t any giba to be found in the area, so you have nothing to worry about.”

He then nodded to me and departed. Each of the other men I was acquainted with also gave me a polite greeting before leaving. Even if I didn’t know their names, I had seen all of them during the contests of strength during the festival of the hunt.

“This is really something. How many stoves are they going to build inside?” the Fou woman asked.

“Four,” I replied.

“Then you’ll have eight in total if you include the ones you have now. You won’t be able to use the ones outside during the rainy season, but it seems like this hut will be quite convenient in all kinds of ways the whole year round.”

“That’s for sure. Ai Fa and I never would have been able to build a hut this nice on our own, so I’m incredibly grateful to those guys.”

“Hee hee. This is going to be an important work space for the rest of us too, so we’re just as happy as you are.”

I was glad to hear that too, and felt thankful for those words. It was starting to seem like the six clans that lived around here were gaining a sort of solidarity similar to that of the Ruu and Rutim, who were related by blood. Even clans under the Zaza like the Deen and Liddo were freely lending us aid. It looked like our bonds with them really had grown stronger thanks to the festival of the hunt.

“I feel kind of jealous. I wish I could have celebrated the festival of the hunt along with you,” the Ratsu woman chimed in. Fei Beim was wearing her usual pout, while the Dagora woman was squirming a bit. Considering their allegiance, they probably couldn’t openly agree with the Ratsu woman, but on a personal level, they might have felt the same way.

“Well then, let’s get to work. I’m counting on you all today.”

I still had more thoughts on the matter, but we had work we needed to take care of. And so, we divided the tasks up like always and got started. Fortunately, quite a few of them had already mastered the art of preparing pasta and the curry base.

While we were doing that, I whispered to Yun Sudra, “Yun Sudra, are you okay? Are you tired after working so hard with the Dai clan?”

“Of course not. I’m proud to have been entrusted with such responsibility.” At the Dai settlement, I’d had her and Toor Deen take on the role of instructors. As if to show she wasn’t lying, Yun Sudra smiled brightly...but then her eyes turned down to the ground sorrowfully. “However...I guess I really do need to talk to you about this, Asuta. You see, the idea of the Fou and Sudra forming blood ties is being discussed.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. There are only two unmarried men and two unmarried women in the Sudra clan...so naturally, I’ve been brought into those discussions as well,” Yun Sudra said with a sigh, sounding as if she couldn’t hold it back. “The clan head told me directly that I should see if I can find a good partner in order to deepen our ties with the Fou and Ran. I was hoping to have at least another year to do as I please, but it doesn’t seem like that’s going to work out. I have to gather my resolve to do what needs to be done as a member of the Sudra clan.” Yun Sudra smiled as if to encourage herself. “It’s all down to the forest’s guidance. I’ll be searching for a proper path forward that I won’t regret, so please do your best too, Asuta.”

“Yeah,” I replied, but I didn’t really know what I was supposed to be doing my best at here. Fortunately... Actually, it might have been disrespectful to put it like that, but anyway, even now, after several days had passed since the festival of the hunt, we still hadn’t gotten any marriage requests at the Fa house. Well, except for an offer from Jou Ran, that is.

It seemed that the Fou, Ran, and Sudra had taken the position that they should simply watch over the Fa clan’s actions. Ai Fa was a female hunter and I was a male chef, so what sort of future awaited us? Did we have any intention of forming blood ties with other clans? It did seem like they were actually putting our feelings about those questions above all other considerations, though. That was something Ai Fa and I were incredibly grateful for. But it was also why I felt so apologetic toward Yun Sudra.

Vina Ruu has it tough in her own way too. Ai Fa and I really have been blessed. Even though I was prepared to remain single my whole life, I couldn’t help but feel that way. Ai Fa and I understood one another better than anyone, which was more than enough to satisfy me.

Still, now that I was really thinking about it, perhaps the reason we felt so at ease was that we had simply accepted that the Fa clan was fated to die out with Ai Fa’s generation.

“You seem kind of tired, Ai Fa.”

Time had continued onward, and now it was dinnertime. In response to my comment, Ai Fa, who had been eating silently, gave a weary nod.

“I am... This is our sixth day of going out to visit other clans, is it not? To be honest, doing this may be more tiring than my usual hunts.”

“Oh, really? Are those Ravitz folks difficult to handle?”

The hunters had split into three groups in order to carry out this task. The Ran were handling the Dai, the Sudra the Suun, and the Fa and Fou the Ravitz. The Ravitz opposed the Fa clan’s actions, so Ai Fa had declared that she wanted to go to them herself.

“It’s true that the Ravitz clan head is a rather odd one. But more than that, I’m just not well suited to such work.”

“Ah, yeah, when you went to visit the Gaaz and Ratsu clans way back when, that seemed to make you pretty tired too.”

Ai Fa had trouble spending time with unfamiliar people, and trying to teach in general. As she bit into a piece of baked poitan dipped in curry, she nodded once more. “Indeed. On top of that, the Ravitz hunters frequently let giba slip away from them. They also won’t let me or the Fou hunters lend a hand, so our attempts to teach them aren’t going anywhere. It’s incredibly vexing.”

“I see. That does sound like a troublesome job for you.”

“Still, I can’t start whining over something like this. And tomorrow we’re taking a break from work, so I should be able to recover a bit from my exhaustion.”

I found myself at a bit of a loss, since I had been planning on asking Ai Fa for something today. “Er, I’m pretty hesitant to raise this topic after everything you’ve said, but...”

“What is it? Are you planning on foisting another troublesome burden upon me?”

“Yeah. Well, it shouldn’t be that troublesome, but I do have a request I want to make.” Ai Fa was shooting me a reproachful look, making me feel even more apologetic. “I know I shouldn’t be asking you to do something on your day off, but it’s really been weighing on my mind. You see, it’s about Mikel and Myme.”

“Mikel and Myme?” Ai Fa’s eyes had been half closed, but now they were wide open. It seemed I had really caught her off guard, but this was as much of a source of concern for me as Shumiral’s late return.

“Yeah. I haven’t seen either of them at the stall in the post town since the gold month started. Before then, we never went more than five days without seeing them, but it’s been around ten days now.”

“Hmm.”

“Mikel has his charcoal-making work, while Myme could be busy with her cooking practice, but the last batch of giba meat we gave them should have run out a long time ago... Myme’s supposed to be experimenting with giba meat, so how is she supposed to keep practicing if she doesn’t have any? That’s why I’m so concerned about them.”

“So, what is it that you want me to do?”

“Well, I’d like to have you go check on the two of them. You and Ama Min Rutim know where Mikel’s house is, right? But Ama Min Rutim is in no state to travel that far, so I figured you were the only one I could ask.”

My clan head fell silent.

“But don’t worry about it if it’s really impossible for you. I can always try to ask someone else in that case, so if you could just more or less explain where they live...”

“What are you talking about? As if I could meaningfully describe that convoluted maze of a town with words alone,” Ai Fa shot back solemnly, setting the dish in her hand down on the rug. “You just want me to go to Mikel’s house and see if they’re all right, correct? It is no great request.”

“You really don’t mind? I know I’m the one who brought this up, but shouldn’t you rest on your day off?”

“Even if I do rest, you’ll still be out there working in the post town, won’t you?” Ai Fa said, suddenly frowning. Her expression had instantly changed from solemn to childish. “So, what is your plan? I doubt it’s to leave a totos at home for me to ride to the Turan lands by myself, is it?”

“N-No. Naturally, I was thinking of having you come to the post town with us so you could go check on them while we’re working.”

“That would be fine with me.”

Ai Fa’s frown swiftly vanished, and she slurped down some giba soup from her dish. It was as if her melancholy had melted away, with a much more positive mood taking its place.

The Ratsu woman’s words from before vividly came to mind. It is important to have time to deepen our bonds with our families too. It felt like my chest was filling up with warmth.

“What are you staring at my face for? If you don’t hurry up and eat, the food will get cold.”

“Yeah. You’re right.”

If Ai Fa came to the post town with us, it would be the first time in a while that we had been together from morning to night. But if I were to voice that thought, I would surely earn a pinched cheek or kicked knee, so I simply ate my meal instead.

3

The next day arrived.

As planned, Ai Fa accompanied us to the post town before swiftly heading over to the Turan lands in Gilulu’s wagon, bringing a box of giba meat preserved in pico leaves with her so that if Myme wanted to buy any, they’d be able to complete the transaction with no further hassle.

Maybe Mikel or Myme are sick and resting up? That would be rough, though, since they’re a family of only two people.

I wanted to make sure they were okay, and I was sure the members of the Ruu clan, Toor Deen, and Yun Sudra all felt the same way. Over the course of the revival festival and the following friendship banquet, the pair had become two of the few friends the people of the forest’s edge had in town.

At any rate, as long as the two of them weren’t both away from home at the moment, I was sure Ai Fa would be able to find out what was going on with them. For now, I just had to focus on my own work and wait for her to return.

“My, this is the first time we’ve had a noble come by in quite a while,” Yamiru Lea remarked from the neighboring giba manju stall.

The morning rush had just ended and we were taking a bit of a breather. I turned my gaze to the north, and sure enough, I saw a fine totos-drawn carriage protected by soldiers approaching. It was none other than Polarth, the second son of the house of Daleim, who appeared from inside.

“I am glad to see you looking well, Sir Asuta.”

“It’s been a while, Polarth. Is the conference at the castle all wrapped up, then?”

“Indeed. We were finally dismissed this morning. But it certainly left me with stiff shoulders.”

The elites of Genos had been holding a conference in the castle over the past several days. And incidentally, it was during the last such conference that Lefreya had kidnapped me while her father was away. Polarth hadn’t been summoned to attend that one, since he hadn’t had an official post then, but he had received a special invitation this time.

“I was granted two roles for this conference. One was to assist Lord Melfried in his role as mediator between us and the people of the forest’s edge, and the other was to aid the foreign affairs officer tasked with handling the merchant groups visiting Genos.”

“Ah, I don’t know anything about that stuff, but it sounds amazing that you were given two jobs at once.”

“Well, it is more like I was granted roles that were applicable to the work I’ve been doing for a while,” Polarth stated, but he didn’t look especially proud. He did have his usual jolly smile on his face, though. “One additional job I have taken on is that I must attend any future meetings between Lord Melfried and the leading clan heads of the forest’s edge. It is my hope that this will lead to an even tighter bond being forged between our people and yours.”

“Oh, okay. I think Melfried’s pretty trustworthy on his own, but it’s reassuring to know you’ll be there too, Polarth.”

“Yes, indeed. I’m looking forward to the next such meeting, whenever it should happen.”

We then invited him to step into the space behind our stalls, as he had another more complicated matter to discuss. Sheera Ruu had been working the restaurant space, but she was similarly beckoned over.

“Now then, you will be receiving an official messenger regarding this matter later on, but I wished to discuss it with you in advance, Sir Asuta. You see, the right to deal in giba sausage in the castle town has just been officially granted.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Indeed, though only sausage. Since it was approved at our conference, the new rule is now set in stone.”

When I asked for more details, Polarth explained that Count Luidross Saturas had vigorously supported the idea, which was what had allowed it to pass. In short, Luidross was quite taken with the sausage I had given him as a gift, and he had expressed great interest in purchasing more. We’d hardly had any interaction with the nobles for the past month, but it seemed things had been steadily progressing behind the scenes.

“Naturally, this doesn’t mean it can only be sold in the castle town. But even without being restricted in such a way, it costs enough that it would be difficult for townsfolk or travelers to afford, correct?”

“Yeah. Giba meat’s already expensive to begin with, and when you dehydrate it, the weight decreases by quite a bit... Plus, it takes a lot of effort to grind the meat and wash out the intestines, so I’m sure it’s going to cost much more than ordinary jerky.”

“How much were you thinking, specifically? Anything you can tell me would be helpful, even if it’s only a rough estimate.”

Well, bottom line, four hundred grams would cost ten red coins. The market price of karon and kimyuus jerky was four times that of fresh meat, so I applied that factor and added a bit more on top to account for the difficulty of preparing sausages. If giba bacon was allowed to be sold as well, its price would have to be set at fifteen red coins. The price of sausages could be kept down thanks to the fact that you could use scrap meat in them, but bacon required comparatively expensive breast meat.

“Ah, I see. That would make it more expensive than even gyama jerky, which means that only those who are especially well-off, even among the residents of the castle town, will be able to afford it. But at least there will be no risk of too much being ordered and depleting your stock of meat.”

“That’s good to hear. It would be pretty silly to run out of giba for the post town even after the ban on selling fresh meat in the castle town just because we want to sell sausages.”

“Indeed. Well then, I’ll see to it that talks proceed with that information in mind. I am certain Lord Luidross will be overjoyed.” Polarth then glanced between me and Sheera Ruu. “I have another unrelated matter I wish to discuss as well. The house of Daleim would like to throw a party to foster friendship with the people of the forest’s edge. From what I have been told, our maid, Sheila, has brought this to your attention before during some small talk.”

“Do you mean the invitation to the dance party?”

“Yes, that is the one. Though I am of the house of Daleim, I am not that deeply involved, but the people of the forest’s edge have not had much direct interaction with our house before, correct? Cutting through all the formalities, we would like to invite members of the leading clans and yourself to our manor, Sir Asuta. My mother is the one who proposed the idea of it being a dance party.”

“Oh, I see.”

“So, I have heard from Sheila that the Ruu and Fa clans have given their permission. Is that indeed true?”

“I think there’s something I need to explain...”

Sheera Ruu shot me an imploring look, and I went ahead and told him what the issue was. Namely, that Ai Fa had mistakenly assumed the dance party was a tournament, as much as that sounded like some sort of joke. Polarth started to laugh when he heard that.

“What an amusing misunderstanding. I suppose that’s what one should expect from a gallant person of the forest’s edge. Lady Ai Fa truly is quite a modest woman, isn’t she?”

“I-I’m really embarrassed about this.” I said, bowing in place of my absent clan head. “But even so, it’s an honor to have the house of Daleim invite us to your party, and I know at least I’m happy about it, but the people of the forest’s edge don’t have a custom of dancing for fun.”

“There is no need to be so tense. Forcing those who do not wish to dance to join in would be terribly crude of us. It would be enough to simply eat, chat, and enjoy the music.”

“But it would be necessary to wear banquet attire to this kind of event, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes. Would that be inconvenient somehow? The clothes Lady Ai Fa wore when she rescued you were quite magnificent, were they not?”

“Not exactly inconvenient, but Ai Fa’s a hunter, so she’s not too fond of wearing that kind of outfit, no matter the occasion.”

“I see,” Polarth replied with a nod. “How disappointing. But if that is how Lady Ai Fa feels, then we shall not force her. Do you think you might be able to participate on your own, Sir Asuta?”

“Ah. I would like to, but...would it be possible to have Ai Fa accompany me just as a guard?”

Ai Fa would never accept me heading to the castle town on my own, even if there were other men coming along as guards.

Polarth looked troubled for the first time as he replied, “Hmm... Naturally, it would be no issue for her to accompany you to the manor, but she would need to stay out of the event hall.”

“She would? But we’ve always been allowed to bring our guards in with us before.”

“Yes. It is a rule particular to our house. My mother does not allow soldiers to set foot inside our banquet hall. She is quite insistent that if they wear swords, they must wait outside.”

“Then, would she be allowed inside if she turned over her sword?”