Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 10 - Chapter 3.2

2

Turan was the name of the domain in the northern part of Genos that Cyclaeus ruled over.

From what I heard, there were orchards there that were more valuable than the plantations to the south, so a wooden fence had been built around them to protect against giba, and on top of that the people there were worked like slaves to increase profits.

Maybe it was just my own preconceptions, but I figured more pretentious folks lived there than in the post town or plantations, and that they tended to live in luxury while leaving all the hard labor for their slaves.

However, this Mikel man was dressed even filthier than folks around the post town, and on top of that he was drunk in the middle of the day.

It wasn’t like he had all that seedy of a look about him. It was just that his vests and pants were strangely blackened, and he smelled like something burnt. Did he do some sort of work involving flames?

As for his age, he looked to be just under 50. While he had a pretty solid frame for a westerner, his face and arms were unusually bony. It made him look a little out of proportion overall, like he had a sturdy skeleton but little in the way of muscles.

There was some white mixed into his unkempt hair, his eyes were a dark brown, and his skin was quite tanned. He had a finely chiseled face, though his age was definitely starting to show in it.

However, that face was dyed red from drinking, and his eyes were bloodshot. He was half-collapsed on the wooden table, and a bottle of fruit wine dangled from his left hand as he glared at us. It was like he was the word “slovenly” personified.

“Hmph... Looks like I wasted my time coming here,” Mikel grumbled in a hoarse voice, taking a gulp of his wine. “Well, I’ve only got one thing to say regardless. Don’t go anywhere near Cyclaeus. Defying nobles will only lead you to ruin... Anyway, I’m off,” he added, swaying as he rose unsteadily to his feet.

“Ah, please hold on a moment,” I hurriedly yelled out. “You came to see me because of Shumiral, right? I’m certainly grateful for that, but I really don’t understand what’s going on.”

“There’s no need for you to get it. I’ve already done enough to pay my debt to that guy from Sym... So move it, kid.”

Now that he was standing, I finally realized that he was taller than me. Thanks to his drinking, though, he looked unsteady on his feet. In fact, if I just gave him a little nudge, he’d probably fall right over.

Even so, Ai Fa remained cautious, her hand on her blade’s grip as she carefully observed the man.

“At any rate, it’s not like Cyclaeus will be paying attention to a brat like you anyway... I don’t care if it’s giba or giiz cooking or whatever, just go ahead and keep on earning your coins like you have been.”

“It’s not like I’m picking a fight with Cyclaeus as a chef or anything... Um, what did Shumiral tell you, anyway?”

As he placed his right hand on the table to support his weight, Mikel of Turan’s cloudy, drunken gaze turned my way.

“That there’s a kid selling giba cooking in the post town, and that he may be feuding with Cyclaeus. And that he wanted me to loan you some wisdom. And so, I told you what I had to say. Don’t go anywhere near Cyclaeus.”

“I’d like to avoid that if I could too, but... Didn’t you hear anything about the people of the forest’s edge?”

“They’re the only ones around who’d be selling giba meat of all things, obviously. Well, you look more like you were born in the west or east, but that’s got nothing to do with me,” Mikel stated, and then he cast a disinterested glance at Ai Fa and Vina Ruu. “Still, I’m impressed with you bringing women to work. You sure are one heck of a chef. Just keep on enjoying yourself there, kid.”

“She’s my cooking assistant, and she’s here as a bodyguard. I won’t deny that I enjoy my work, but I certainly wouldn’t say I’ve been making light of it,” I replied without thinking.

But Mikel just kept on drinking and said, “What do I care?”

As I forced back the hostility I could feel swelling up inside of me, I said in as calm of a tone as I could manage, “Err, Shumiral told me that you knew of the crimes Cyclaeus has committed, and that talking to you would prove helpful for the people of the forest’s edge. Would you mind if I asked for a bit more detail?”

“You sure are an eccentric one, kid. You’re just gonna find it unpleasant, y’know?” Mikel said in a harsh tone. Even so, he plopped himself back down in his chair.

Seeing that, Nail whispered to me, “Well then, I’ll be waiting over that way. Once you’re done talking, can I count on you to set about today’s work?”

“Ah, of course. Sorry about this. I’ll try to wrap it up as quickly as possible,” I replied to Nail with a bow before taking a seat in front of Mikel.

Unsurprisingly, Ai Fa chose to stand right behind me.

“That man, Cyclaeus, is so much of a gourmand it’s ridiculous...” Mikel started, holding his wine bottle in one hand. “He employs numerous chefs, runs expensive restaurants, and has food made in his own manors... And on top of all that, I’ve heard the chefs in Genos castle fall under his patronage. Everybody’s got an interest in eating tasty food, but for him, it’s like a sickness.”

“Cyclaeus is that obsessed with good food?”

“You didn’t even know that much? Thanks to that, most chefs in the castle town are mainly polishing their skills in the hopes of being acknowledged by him. After all, if you catch his eye you’re pretty much guaranteed success. Anyone who thinks otherwise is gonna end up ruined, sooner or later.”

“Ruined...”

“If a chef isn’t skilled then they’ll have to close up shop, and if they are, they’ll end up serving Cyclaeus. But if they have the skills and refuse to become Cyclaeus’s servant... They’ll either be cast out of Genos, or have their arm muscles severed so they can’t keep on living as a chef.”

“What...? Do they really allow something that insane to happen in the castle town?”

I could fill a hot lump burning intensely in the pit of my stomach as Mikel’s lips twisted into a grin that didn’t look amused in the least.

“Cyclaeus is a noble with authority second only to Duke Marstein, who rules this land. And over the past 20 years, his power and position have become completely unshakeable. You folks from the forest’s edge helped him out with that too, didn’t you?”

“Huh?”

“That incident from ten years back, where the envoys from Banarm were all wiped out... And the one where the leader of the militia was killed. You people of the forest’s edge got rid of those hindrances for Cyclaeus, right?”

Unsurprisingly, I was taken completely off guard by him saying that.

“Why do you know something like that?”

“Some of the soldiers who guard Cyclaeus let it slip at a bar. Booze tends to loosen lips, after all.”

Was he referring to the same soldiers who accompanied the man to the meeting with the leading clan heads?

Honestly, that sounded like good news for us, as it meant that some of his soldiers weren’t absolutely loyal to the man. And though Mikel’s words caught me off guard, I felt that ultimately everyone in Genos needed to learn of the truth behind those horrific murders.

“Anyway, thanks to that, there’s nobody in Genos who’d try to judge Cyclaeus for his crimes. Maybe things would be different if it was other nobles coming after him, but dealing with a chef or two is nothing at all for a man like him.”

“What an awful story. I feel sick just from hearing it.”

“Hmph. But in the end, there’s not a single chef in those stone walls who would dare oppose Cyclaeus. After all, if you just shut up and listen, things will work out just fine for you... All you’ve gotta do is make what he likes, using the tools and ingredients he gives you. Do that, and you can live a life of comfort. Anyone who opposes him is nothing but a fool.”

“Then I guess that makes me a fool. After all, I’ve got no intention of cooking for someone like him.”

“You’re not gonna win over Cyclaeus with damn giba cooking, so you’ve got no worries there...” Mikel sneered as he once again brought his fruit wine to his lips. However, the bottle must have been empty, as he snorted and placed it back down on the table. “No matter how many coins you may earn in the post town, it’ll still be a trifling sum to a noble. And cooking from a kid like you wouldn’t ever attract their attention to begin with. So I’m telling you, just keep on working away like you’ve been doing up till now.”

“Why are you insulting Asuta’s cooking when you haven’t even tasted it...?” Ai Fa suddenly interjected. “I’m well aware that westerners tend to avoid giba and the people of the forest’s edge. But I’d like you to stop repeatedly insulting Asuta’s skill. To be blunt, I find it unpleasant.”

“I’m not insulting him or anything. I’m just saying a kid like this would never catch Cyclaeus’s eyes, so he can relax,” Mikel said, showing no signs of fearing Ai Fa despite her being a hunter of the forest’s edge. “Cyclaeus would never crave cooking made with giba meat and cheap vegetables. Well, a first-rate chef can make a tasty dish with any ingredients, but I can’t imagine that’d apply to this kid...”

“See, you really are insulting him, aren’t you?” Ai Fa retorted, both eyes burning bright with irritation despite the fact that she remained expressionless.

“It’s fine, Ai Fa.” I told her. “That’s not exactly what we’re concerned about here. So, is that all you had to say, Mikel of Turan...?”

“Yeah. Or was there something else you wanted to ask me about?”

“I see. No, and thank you for your help. I’m grateful to you for coming all this way.”

In the end, no shocking new facts had come to light.

And Mikel of Turan didn’t seem to have any interest at all in the people of the forest’s edge to begin with. Honestly, I couldn’t see any reason to think that he had any useful information for us at all.

The only thing worth mentioning was that there were critical whispers about not only the people of the forest’s edge but also Cyclaeus in some bar in Turan or wherever. But still, there wasn’t much meaning to that without facts to back it up. Pretty much the only use I could see there was for Kamyua Yoshu to add it to his pile of damaging information.

Well, Shumiral was acting without any knowledge of what was going on internally with the people of the forest’s edge. I guess things ending up like this just makes sense, huh?

What was with that prophecy from the star diviner then, though? He had said that meeting this man would bring greater strength to the forest’s edge.

Maybe it’s not his information itself, but that this meeting will somehow lead things in a beneficial direction?

Still, I had no way of inquiring, so I couldn’t see any point to putting such weight behind that divination. And so, I just said, “Thank you,” once more and rose to my feet.

But when I thanked him, Mikel shot me a disquieting look as he said, “Guess this is about all I can expect from a chef from the post town. You don’t have even a single complaint about me mocking your skills, eh?”

“What? Well, it’s not like I’m preparing food for nobles or anything. As long as I can make my customers in the post town happy, that’s plenty enough for me.”

“In that case, do you think you can impress me? After all, I’m nothing but a lowly old man who makes charcoal for a living,” Mikel goaded, thrusting a finger my way.

Just like his clothing, that finger was also darkened. I could see charcoal caked in under his nail. Apparently, that was what had been making the sooty smell I had noticed earlier.

“You’re a charcoal maker? So you can buy charcoal here in Genos? I’ve never seen it in the post town, though.”

“What, you think folks from the post town or the plantations would go spending coins on stuff like that? More importantly, what do you say...? Do you think you can make a dish that would satisfy me, kid?”

“Giba meat has a strong quirkiness to it... Since some people may not like that aspect of the ingredient, I can’t say anything for certain.” There was no point to taking on a challenge from a drunkard like this. And since Shumiral had sent him my way, I didn’t want to go needlessly agitating things. That was why I offered what I felt was a sensible reply... only for him to snort at me.

“That’s some pretty shabby determination you’ve got there. That guy from Sym was praising you real hard, but I can’t see a gutless chef amounting to much.”

“Hey, you’re going too far,” Ai Fa stated, placing her right hand on the table as her eyes blazed.

“Cut it out, Ai Fa. Umm... How someone shows their determination varies from person to person, right? Would you say that if someone says to make a dish that will satisfy anyone and everyone, then just recklessly responding, ‘Alright, I’ll do it!’ is showing a strong will? Because I don’t agree.”

“Hmph, are you more skilled with your tongue than a pot?”

“I don’t believe I’m all that eloquent of a speaker at all. If you’re interested in my cooking, then it’s sold right here at The Sledgehammer, and I also offer it through my stalls. I’d certainly welcome you stopping by if you so please,” I said, truly intending to put an end to the conversation.

However, that apparently didn’t get across to Mikel.

“Then bring out that cooking of yours, here and now! If it’s enough to satisfy me, then I’ll acknowledge you as a full-fledged chef.”

I personally still thought of myself as just a chef in training... but if I said that now, it would probably just make this into even more of a mess.

“Alright. Please hold on for a short while, and I’ll bring out the dish. And I ask that you pay the inn’s owner for it.”

“Hmph, you sure do know how to get on my nerves, kid. Hey...! Bring me another bottle of fruit wine!”

Nail then calmly entered the dining room, holding a bottle.

Things sure have taken sort of an odd turn here.

Somehow, we ended up in a situation weirdly similar to my meeting with Diel. Still, if I didn’t hurry up and get started on my work, it’d end up causing trouble down the line. After all, I was finally going to be able to teach Milano Mas and his daughter cooking techniques, so I was supposed to head to The Kimyuus’s Tail after this.

However, today’s dish was chitt hot pot. After we left, Nail would still need to boil it for an additional 30-40 minutes before it was complete. That would just take far too long, and so instead, I made up a single serving of giba sauté arrabbiata with the spare meat.

“Sorry. It seems like I ended up inviting a pretty troublesome guest, there,” I apologized to Nail while sautéing up the meat.

“I don’t mind,” the inn owner calmly responded. “He’s still a paying customer. And since I’m getting to sell an additional meal on top of the usual 30 from you, it’s also certainly profitable for me,” he assured me, though he looked a bit worried. He then added, “However... Cyclaeus is the name of the count who rules Turan, is it not? It seems dangerous getting involved with a noble like that.”

“Ah, yeah... I’d like to have as little involvement with him as possible too, but he seems to have ties of a sort to the people of the forest’s edge.”

Still, I figured there was virtually no chance of my cooking ever ending up in Cyclaeus’s mouth. From what I heard, nobles pretty much never set foot in the post town, and since I didn’t have a pass I couldn’t exactly go visiting the castle town.

Still, if they had an interest in my cooking, then a noble could surely use their privileges in any number of ways to do something about that. At least for now though, there hadn’t been any signs of that. And if Kamyua Yoshu’s words that Cyclaeus didn’t even see the people of the forest’s edge as human were true, then there’s no way the man would ever be interested in giba cooking to start with.

As those thoughts were running through my head, I finished up the giba sauté arrabbiata.

“Let me come with you too,” I told the owner. “I’d feel bad if he foisted his complaints on you, after all.”

“Right. I appreciate that.”

Leaving Vina Ruu to man the flames for the chitt hot pot, Ai Fa and I headed back to the dining room alongside Nail, who was holding my completed dish on a plate.

“Hmph, that was pretty darn quick, there,” Mikel said, chugging away at his second bottle of fruit wine while shooting me a wild glare.

“This is a dish that Asuta made for my establishment. Without the fuwano it costs three and a half red coins, while with fuwano it’s five.”

“You seriously think I could eat fuwano while the sun’s this high in the sky? Nah, this fruit wine’s plenty,” he said with breath that stunk of booze as he slapped his coins down atop the table.

Nail placed the plate down, and then carefully picked up the three full red coins and the one that had been split in half.

“Hmph,” Mikel snorted as he casually grabbed hold of his spoon.

Atop the plate sat steaming hot giba sirloin coated in a red sauce made with the chili pepper-like chitt and tomato-esque tarapa.

I had heard a lot of westerners were also fond of the spiciness of chitt, but how was it for Mikel? For the time being, he at least wasn’t showing any signs of being intimidated by the mouthwatering aroma.

Perhaps because of all the booze in his system, his movements were a bit awkward as he scooped up a bit of meat and tossed it in his mouth.

Instantly, there was a glimmer in his eyes like a lightning strike.

He carefully chewed the meat, then he washed it down with fruit wine. After processing what he’d tasted, Mikel shot me a seriously intense glare.

“You mixed diced aria in with this tarapa, didn’t you...?”

“Yes, in order to suppress the acidity of the tarapa.”

“And this taste, it’s fruit wine and myamuu, eh? And you used tau oil, too...”

“That’s right. Just a bit, as a subtle seasoning.”

I was honestly feeling pretty astonished that he could pick all that out despite the spiciness the chitt gave to the dish. Apparently, he had a rather discerning palate. So much so that he likely had a keener sense of taste than anyone else I had met here in this world.

“Sure seems giba’s a first-class meat. If we were talking kimyuus or karon leg instead, they would’ve easily gotten lost under all the strong seasonings you’ve got going on here. Hey, kid...”

“Yes?”

“Don’t go anywhere near Cyclaeus.”

“Huh?”

And then, something happened in the next moment that took me completely off guard.

Mikel’s rugged fingers reached towards my chest with surprising speed... Only for Ai Fa to grab him by the wrist even quicker.

“I’ll ask you not to act so rudely, Mikel.”

“Geez, that hurts. You’re gonna snap my scrawny arm, there.”

Her point made, Ai Fa casually shoved aside Mikel’s wrist.

Giving a “Tch,” the man firmly slammed his now free left hand on the table. “You’re hopeless. If you want to live a peaceful life, then you shouldn’t go anywhere near that corrupt noble bastard... Well, it’s a different story if you want to let him use you up for coins, I guess.”

“If you’re praising me, then I suppose I should thank you...”

“What part of that was praise? I’m just here to warn you because of how persistent that oddly smooth-talking guy from Sym was, remember?” There was a restless light in Mikel’s eyes, spilling out bits of emotion like a boiling giba soup. “There’s no shortage of chefs out there who take pride in being able to earn more. If you’re one of them, then I’ve got nothing to say to you... But if you aren’t, then you absolutely have to keep away from Cyclaeus. If you aren’t willing to trade your self-respect for coins, then all that awaits you with him is ruin...”

“You’re talking about chefs having their arm muscles severed so they can’t cook anymore, right? Yeah, I think I’d like to avoid that.”

“Right? Even if you survive, that’s a life no different than death,” Mikel grumbled, lifting his right hand off the table and slowly bringing it to about eye level.

As he thrust his blackened palm in front of my nose, I saw that those bony fingers were surprisingly long.

And on that hand, his pinky and ring fingers were teetering oddly.

“On my right hand, these are the only two fingers I can still move. I can’t even hold a cooking knife or a pot with this arm.”

My breath caught in my throat.

As Mikel’s eyes, filled with regret, moved closer, he said, “If you don’t want to end up like me, don’t go near Cyclaeus, no matter what. In fact, you’re better off leaving Genos entirely... This town is no place for a proper chef.”