Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 24 - Chapter 1.4

4

As the sun approached its peak and the number of passersby started to rise, Ai Fa finally returned from the Turan lands.

“Thanks for going to all the trouble. Were you able to talk to Myme and Mikel?” I asked as she pulled the cart around to the rear of the stall.

After untethering Gilulu, she nodded. “Yes, I was.”

“I really appreciate it. So, what happened? Did Myme buy the giba meat?”

“This isn’t the sort of thing to be discussed during a spare moment. Once you are free from your work, you should ask her directly.”

“Huh? You brought her along?”

“Yes. She is in the wagon.”

Why hadn’t she come out, then? I felt really uneasy, but I didn’t, couldn’t run over to Gilulu’s wagon until I had finished up a few things first.

“Myme, are you there?” I called out.

A weak voice responded, “I am...” from beyond the hanging flap. Then Myme pulled it back and showed herself, her eyes swollen and red from crying.

“M-Myme? What happened?”

“Asuta... I’m so sorry. I couldn’t even contact you...” Myme said, biting her little lip in a desperate attempt to keep herself from sobbing.

“Never mind me. Why are you...” I started to say, only to notice something that left me at a loss for words. Mikel was lying there behind his daughter in the dim interior of the wagon on bedding that had most likely come from their house. Even at this distance, I could see that his head and right leg were wrapped in bandages. “M-Mikel! What in the world happened?! How did you get those...?”

“Oh, we’ve already made it to the post town?” Mikel said as he sluggishly tried to sit up, only for Myme to fly back to his side and cling to him.

“Dad! You shouldn’t force yourself to get up!”

“Stop fussing. I’m not hurt so bad that I can just keep sleeping all day.”

Despite his response, Mikel was obviously worn down. His already slender face was now even more gaunt, to the point that I could easily see the outline of his bones. His chin was coated in grayish stubble, and the bandage around his head was bloodstained. I noticed that his tightly bandaged right leg also had a splint keeping it straight. He had clearly been treated for a fractured bone.

“We were robbed not long after the start of the gold month.” Myme weakly explained.

“A robbery? At your house in the Turan lands? Did you tell the guards?”

“Yes...but we have yet to hear anything, even after ten days... I’m sure the culprits have left Genos by now.”

“Hmph. Or maybe they bribed the guards,” Mikel muttered, with Myme supporting him by his shoulders. “Only the folks who live in the Turan lands would know there was a mountain of coins in our house. They must have seen her heading to the post town during the festival to do business.”

“S-So you’re saying someone from the Turan lands broke into your house to steal your money?”

“That’s right. They made off with every last coin we had. Turns out, having a bodyguard in town isn’t much help against scoundrels who live in the same area we do.”

Myme had hired Bartha as a bodyguard to protect against such dangers, and since she would have kept an eye out for anyone tailing them, it was unlikely that this was a crime committed by an outside party.

“Everyone who lives there is poor, like us. And when poor folks get more than their fair share of fortune, it’s just asking for trouble.”

“I couldn’t leave my father alone, and it would’ve been too dangerous for a child like me to go to the post town all by myself... I’m so, so sorry that we weren’t able to contact you.” Myme said, hanging her head deeply as tiny tears fell to the floor of the wagon.

Ai Fa had been silently standing beside me as I struggled with what to say, but now she spoke up. “Given the situation, I could not simply leave them there, so I brought them back with me. Asuta, give any spare coins you have to me.”

“Coins? What are you going to use them for?”

“Medicine, of course. I was able to treat his fractured leg properly, but his head wounds require medicine, and he also has a fever. The kind that can be bought in town will help him recover quicker than romu leaves.”

“I-I see. Got it. You can take all of our earnings for today.”

“I don’t need that much. You two rest here until I can deliver the medicine.” Without waiting for the pair to respond, Ai Fa closed the flap, hiding the wagon bed from view. Then she turned toward me, her eyes burning with rage. “Also, make sure to set aside some food for the two of them. You can give it to them after his wounds have been treated.”

“Food? Got it. But is Mikel in any state to eat?”

“If he doesn’t eat at least a little, he won’t last. All of their coins were stolen, correct? For the last ten days, they have had to survive solely on what they already had in the house. No one around them ever offered any assistance...” Ai Fa suddenly kicked at the ground. Then, seeing my surprise, she muttered, “My apologies. I’m angry at myself for failing to realize how bad their situation might’ve been when we spoke last night. If I had headed to the Turan lands then and there, I could have rescued them half a day sooner.”

“W-Well, if that’s how you’re going to look at it, it took me ten days to even bring it up.”

“But if you hadn’t said anything, we never would have discovered the misfortune that had befallen them. And if I hadn’t been free from work, I might have put it off until later as an unnecessary concern. I’m furious about my own carelessness.”

Personally, I didn’t think she had any reason to beat herself up. The people of the forest’s edge could never truly understand the idea of hurting someone else for the sake of money. Even more so when it was people living in the same town rather than bandits.

“Regardless, now that we know, we are going to save them from this predicament. I will gather their personal belongings so that they can stay at the settlement at the forest’s edge for the time being. You have no objections as a member of the Fa clan, do you?”

“Of course not. I’m really grateful that you’re so willing to take them in.”

“Don’t be foolish. Mikel lent us his aid from the shadows when that noble kidnapped you, did he not? I still haven’t repaid that debt,” Ai Fa said. She turned resolutely, making her hunter’s cloak sweep out behind her. “We must obtain Donda Ruu’s consent before returning to the Fa house. Of course, I have no intention of not taking action, regardless of what the leading clan heads say.”

“I’m sure Donda Ruu, at least, will be fine with this if we try to convince him together.”

And so, that day ended up being even more hectic than the previous one. Compared to this incident, the invitation to the dance party from Polarth seemed almost laughably trivial.

After wrapping up our business in the post town, we first headed over to the Ruu settlement. Sheera and Lala Ruu were on duty for the day, and they made it clear that they weren’t going to argue against us. After all, they were happy to call Mikel and Myme their friends at this point.

It didn’t take long for Donda Ruu to meet us in the main hall of his house. The men were out hunting at the moment, so Jiza Ruu and the others weren’t present. Meanwhile, Reina Ruu and most of the other women were busy with preparations for work tomorrow, so only Mia Lea Ruu was there beside him.

“I see... So it is not just bandits who commit such vicious acts in town.” Donda Ruu took a sip of chatchi tea in place of fruit wine. Even though his right shoulder was nearly healed now, he was apparently still not allowed to drink.

There were seven of us there in front of him: Ai Fa and myself, Mikel and Myme, Sheera and Lala Ruu, and Bartha, who had come running after hearing what had happened. Mikel had insisted on being here for the talks too, even though simply getting down from the wagon had caused him a lot of pain.

“So, the shameless bastards who did this are still free, even now?”

“Yes... It’s likely that even if they do live in the Turan lands, they aren’t people we know. If they were, they probably would have robbed us sooner... They must have seen me at the morning market or something and realized how much money I was making in the post town,” Myme replied, desperately trying to hold herself together.

Donda Ruu’s eyes were blazing as he looked at the admirable young girl in front of him and snorted. “Hmph. The way you put that, it sounds like even the people you do know would have done such a thing, given the opportunity.”

“You’re right... We cannot trust everyone we’re acquainted with.”

“Hrmm. This is why you can’t trust townsfolk.”

Myme’s shoulders trembled when Donda Ruu said that, but then Ai Fa instantly chimed in, “Donda Ruu, saying it that way makes it sound like you think everyone living in town is a fiend, and that is not true. Not when it comes to these people, at the very least.”

“Nobody said it was. I can see that you’re angry just by looking at your eyes, but don’t go picking fights with anyone and everyone.”

That seemed to stop Ai Fa in her tracks, at least for a moment.

“So, what is it you want from us, Mikel of the Turan lands?”

“Like I said...” Ai Fa started.

“I’m talking to Mikel. If you can’t hold your tongue, then wait outside the house,” Donda Ruu harshly retorted, leaving my clan head to grind her teeth. It had been a while since there had been such a dangerous feeling in the air between the two of them, which was making me get pretty anxious.

“I have only one request, leading clan head Donda Ruu...” Mikel said, slurring his words slightly with his splinted right leg stretched out in front of him. Myme was helping him sit up; his mind seemed to be a bit hazy due to the fever-reducing medicine he’d been given. “We want you to shelter us here at the forest’s edge... My daughter can earn money on her own... If you let us stay here awhile, she’ll be able to repay you for it in full.”

“Oh? And how long is ‘awhile’?”

“Until I’m able to walk again...” Mikel’s face was as pale as a corpse, but his eyes were shining brightly. I had never seen him so desperate. “With the way things are, we’re pretty much just waiting for death to arrive... No matter how much Myme earns, if we return to the Turan lands, we’ll simply be attacked again... But if I can get to the point where I can walk...”

“You being able to walk won’t change the situation. They’ll keep attacking you regardless, won’t they?”

“If that happens...I’ll send my daughter to the castle town on her own.”

I stared at Mikel’s grim face in shock.

Mikel, meanwhile, was still glaring straight at Donda Ruu. “I was originally from the castle town... If I cast aside all pride and shame, I should be able to find someone who will take her in... I’m certain I can... So I want you to let us stay here until I can move freely...”

Myme was biting her lip with her eyes fixed on her father’s face.

Looking back and forth between the pair, Donda Ruu snorted once more. “You seem to be suffering from a serious fever. There’s no point in discussing this further as long as you’re in this state.”

“That’s not true! I...”

“The Ruu clan will welcome the two of you as guests. Determining the duration of your stay will wait until after your wounds are healed. You shouldn’t have anything to complain about, then, right?”

I was once again shocked. Feeling similarly, Ai Fa immediately interjected, “You say you’re willing to let them stay at the Ruu settlement, Donda Ruu? I was planning to take care of them at the Fa house.”

“How will you care for them when there are only two of you in the Fa clan? And you’re always leaving your house and running around the forest, even though you’re supposed to be resting.” After swiftly shutting down Ai Fa’s protest, Donda Ruu then turned to face Bartha. “Bartha, you will allow them to stay in the house where you are living. A branch house would probably work fine too, but I suspect this will be more convenient for everyone.”

“Understood. I’ll keep an eye on Myme while she’s working too,” Bartha said, flashing a bright smile. Seeing that, Donda Ruu once again turned toward the father-daughter pair.

“Bartha and her son Jeeda are guests of the Ruu clan. However, Jeeda has been assisting in giba hunting, so we take no payment from them. And they seem to have had no trouble earning the coins they need to support themselves.”

“Yeah. We sell the birds we hunt in the morning. We’re getting our meals provided to us too, so we don’t need much money to begin with.”

“There you have it. We’ll provide housing and food for you. Anything else you need to buy, you should earn the coins for it yourselves. If you can accept those conditions, you can stay at the Ruu settlement.”

“Th-Thank you,” Myme replied, no longer able to keep the tears from streaming down her cheeks.

Hanging his head, Mikel quietly said, “I thank you for your kindness...”

“There’s no need for thanks. You have given a great deal of aid to the Ruu clan’s chefs. Isn’t that right, Lala?”

“Yeah! They’re the ones who taught us how to make delicious dried meats!”

“Right. And they have assisted us in many other ways as well,” Sheera Ruu quietly added. Myme in particular had inspired her and Reina Ruu to be even more passionate about their work as chefs.

“I don’t call townsfolk friends lightly. But you, girl, are doing business using giba meat, and we have welcomed the two of you as guests twice before. On top of that, when Asuta of the Fa clan was kidnapped by that noble girl from the house of Turan, you are the one who told Jeeda his location, Mikel.”

“Yeah... I just told him where the Turan manor was, though...”

“Asuta of the Fa clan might not have been rescued without that advice, and since the Fa clan head has accepted him as a member of her house, that means you saved one of our comrades. We owe you a great debt for that,” Donda Ruu curtly stated before drinking more of his chatchi tea. “We’ve talked long enough. If you’ve got no complaints, go rest up at Bartha’s place. Any further discussion can wait until you can speak properly.”

Bartha stood up with a smile to help Myme support Mikel’s body. With a teary smile, the young girl bowed to her. We were about to rise as well, but then Donda Ruu grumbled, “Ah, there was one more crucial matter I almost forgot about... You said that the guards in town might have been paid coins in order to overlook this wrongdoing, didn’t you?”

“Uh, yes. We don’t have any proof, but...the guards were way too disinterested about this incident. Besides, that sort of thing isn’t uncommon in the Turan lands...”

“That isn’t something I can turn a blind eye to. We’ll have to ask the nobles about how exactly those guards are being trained.” Donda Ruu’s eyes were shining with such intensity that he was clearly frightening Myme. Of course, his anger wasn’t directed at the young girl, but elsewhere. “At the very least, that Melfried isn’t the sort to overlook such crimes. It seems we’ll need to send him a messenger.”

“Oh, if we can wait until tomorrow or the day after, the nobles should be sending a messenger to us, so why not bring it up then?” Lala Ruu said.

“What’s this, now?” Donda Ruu asked, furrowing his brow.

Right, we needed to report about the invitation to the dance party as well.

“We can discuss that among ourselves. You all take care of Mikel and Myme, Asuta,” Sheera Ruu said kindly.

“Okay. Thank you.”

Taking her up on that offer, we went ahead and left, though we were going to have to come right back after leaving Mikel in Bartha’s care. After all, the dance party the house of Daleim was holding wasn’t something that we could treat as secondary.

“I never expected Donda Ruu to personally invite the two of you to stay here as guests. At first, I felt pretty anxious about talking to him, since he seemed to be in such a bad mood,” I said while laying Mikel down in the wagon.

“That’s for sure,” Bartha replied with a chuckle. “He seemed really angry, hearing how those villains acted. It’s the same for you too, right, Ai Fa? It was actually kind of funny, seeing how you were both in such a bad mood for the exact same reason.”

“‘Funny’ is not the word I would use. It felt like he was taking out his anger on me.”

“I’d say that goes for the both of you. For a hunter of the forest’s edge, it must be unthinkable for someone to force their way into a house in order to rob the owners of their hard-earned money, right?” Bartha said, reaching down and patting the top of Myme’s head. “Hey Myme, the kind of doors they have here at the forest’s edge only have bolts keeping them closed. None of them can be locked from the outside. Do you know why that is?”

“Huh...? Because they have so many family members that there’s always someone there, even in the middle of the day?”

“Nope. Ai Fa and Asuta are a family of two, so their house is empty during the day. And it’s not like Asuta keeps the money he’s earned on him at all times.”

“Yeah. It would be pretty careless to go to the post town with so much money on me,” I said. As someone who wasn’t born here, I already understood what Bartha was getting at. Unfortunately, Myme was left staring in confusion.

“It means there isn’t a single person at the forest’s edge who would try to sneak into someone else’s house. No matter how much money Asuta earns, and even if everyone nearby knows about it, nobody would ever try to rob them. If I remember right, you get a toe cut off for entering someone else’s house without permission?”

“Yes, that is the law here at the forest’s edge,” I confirmed.

“That verbal promise alone is enough to protect the peace for them. That’s kind of unthinkable for us townsfolk, isn’t it?” Bartha said as she rustled Myme’s hair. “To be blunt, you don’t often come across people as ridiculously earnest as they are. So you can rest easy while you’re here. Personally, I find it such a pleasant place to live that I just haven’t felt like leaving.”

“Really?” Myme asked while wiping her teary eyes. Then she bowed deeply to me and Ai Fa. “Um, thank you so much! You put in a good word for us, and I swear to do my best to not cause you any trouble!”

“You don’t need to worry about that. Honestly, we were thinking of inviting you to the Fa house to begin with. Isn’t that right, Ai Fa?”

“Indeed,” Ai Fa answered with a nod, still looking rather dissatisfied, possibly because she had been fully ready to welcome them as guests of the Fa clan, only for the idea to be brushed aside unexpectedly. Seeing as how we were already disrupting things throughout the forest’s edge, though, it was probably better for the leading Ruu clan to take on this duty themselves. They had been the ones who had allowed Bartha and Jeeda to stay with them as guests before, so it likely wouldn’t be difficult for them to get even a stubborn man like Gulaf Zaza to give his approval.

Oh, right. We never would have gotten permission to sell sausages in the castle town without help from Mikel and Myme either. I’ll have to tell Donda Ruu about that as well.

As that thought was running through my mind, figures were approaching us from two different directions. They were Toor Deen’s group, who had been waiting for us in the plaza, and Reina Ruu’s group, who had been working in the rear kitchen.

“What did he decide, Asuta?”

“We’re not going to send Myme and Mikel back to town, are we?”

They must have already heard what was going on from Yamiru Lea. Reina Ruu looked deadly serious as she pressed me for an answer.

“Well, they’ve been welcomed as guests of the Ruu clan for now. The other leading clan heads and the nobles are going to have to be consulted about this later, but I’m sure Donda Ruu can handle it.”

“Ah, I’m so happy to hear that.” Reina Ruu said, bringing her hands to her chest and sighing heavily in relief before turning to face Myme with a smile. “Myme, welcome to the Ruu settlement. Please, make yourself at home and take it easy while you’re here.”

“I’m so glad, Myme. If there’s anything we can do to help, please don’t hesitate to ask,” Toor Deen said. She, Yun Sudra, and the others all surrounded Myme with their expressions full of affection.

Tears once again started streaming down the young girl’s face. “Thank you so much, everyone.”

“There’s no need to cry. We’re your friends, after all!” Rimee Ruu added, pulling out a towel from her chest pocket and wiping Myme’s cheeks.

Bartha’s eyes narrowed happily as she looked down at them, and then she loudly said, “Now then, we’ve got to get your old man to bed first and foremost! Let’s leave the chatting for after that!” She then grabbed hold of Gilulu’s reins and gently got the wagon moving.

I watched them go with a small sigh. For now, Myme and Mikel would be just fine. I once again felt truly honored to be able to call myself a person of the forest’s edge.