Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 24 - Chapter 3.2

2

After waiting for a while in the antechamber, we were finally invited to proceed to the event hall.

We passed by numerous pages and maids, all rushing around in a hurry. There must have been all kinds of things they still had to do, from greeting guests to final preparations for the dance party. Our destination was a door guarded by men with longswords, with a reception desk staffed by a neat and tidy woman in a beautiful outfit. Our guide, Sheila, whispered to the woman, who approached us with a woven basket under her arm.

“Pardon me. Please allow me to attach these floral ornaments.”

“Floral ornaments, you say?” Dari Sauti asked.

“Correct. The red flowers indicate that you are married, while the blue ones show that you are accompanied by a partner.”

So this was the method for avoiding romantic approaches that had been mentioned. The woman pinned red flowers to Dari’s and Mil Fei Sauti’s chests, while most of the rest of us got blue ones. However, I was confused when the Zaza siblings stepped back from the woman without being given anything. Sufira Zaza noticed and shot me a chilly glare.

“We are brother and sister, which apparently means we are not protected in the same way you are, so according to the customs of the castle town, Geol and I do not get flowers.”

“Huh? Doesn’t that mean you don’t have any grounds to complain if someone approaches you romantically?”

“Yes, but even so, the nobles of Genos have been told that they aren’t permitted to approach us people of the forest’s edge frivolously.”

Sufira Zaza stopped talking after that, while Geol Zaza stifled a yawn. He had been uninterested in any of this from the very start. Had Gulaf Zaza intentionally selected these two in order to test the ethics of the nobles? I couldn’t see any other reason for him to have intentionally sent this pair while being aware of the customs of the castle town.

Of course, Polarth did say that he was going to be really sure that people knew what was and wasn’t allowed on that front, because of what happened with Leeheim...but will it really be okay?

Geol Zaza was one thing—he still had the presence of a hunter even when clad in banquet attire—but Sufira Zaza had a remarkably graceful face. Sure, her gaze tended to be awfully sharp, but some people might see that and think it was simply a sign of her being highly intelligent. Plus, she was undeniably pretty in her fine banquet outfit.

Also, among those with blue flowers, there was Sheera Ruu, who was charming in a very different way. She wasn’t overly flashy, but it had already been made clear back at the Rutim wedding celebration that she had a totally different feel about her when she was wearing banquet attire.

Even in the finery of the castle town, she was as lovely as a small flower blooming under the light of the moon. Obviously, when it came to charm, Ai Fa was in a class all her own from my perspective, but Sheera Ruu was definitely no less attractive than Sufira Zaza. Anybody could see that she and the handsome second son of the Ruu looked good standing next to each other. Actually, a quiet girl with a strong heart was probably a perfect fit for a fierce guy like Darmu Ruu. That might have just been wishful thinking on my part, but I couldn’t help feeling that way.

Even Mil Fei Sauti with her red flower made a very strong impression. She was a resolute woman, a bit like Sufira Zaza, and it was easy to see the difference her age made, despite the fact that she looked younger than she actually was. She was ten years older than Sufira Zaza and was a mother of three, so even though this was her first time visiting the castle town, she looked perfectly dignified.

Needless to say, neither the men nor the women seemed to be feeling nervous. In fact, the person who was the most out of sorts in our group seemed to be me. But while I was ruminating on that, the doors to the event hall opened wide, and one of the pages declared in a clear, boyish soprano, “Presenting Sir Dari Sauti, leading clan head of the forest’s edge, and his wife, Lady Mil Fei Sauti.”

With that, Sheila led the two of them inside. Apparently, the guests attending the dance party needed to be announced. Next, the Zaza siblings were ushered in, followed by the pair from the Ruu clan, and finally Ai Fa and myself, which was likely based on our ranking at the forest’s edge. In order, we had a current leading clan head, an heir to that post, the second son of a leading clan head, and then a couple members of a clan not connected to any of the leaders.

As we passed through the door, I saw around forty or fifty men and women clad in beautiful banquet attire already there. I had heard this was going to be a fairly exclusive event, but it turned out that there were still quite a few attendees. However, the event hall was large enough that even with this many guests, it felt a little empty. I figured it could probably fit around two hundred people if you really crammed them in.

Fittingly for an event hall, it was gorgeously decorated. There was a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, as well as candlesticks atop the round tables that were dotted about, making the room as bright as the outdoors during the day. There were also a large number of open windows on the upper portion of the walls, to allow for proper ventilation.

All that light was doing a good job of illuminating all the showy decorations I had come to expect of an event in the castle town. The floor was covered by a thick rug, and there were velvet tapestries hanging from the walls. An especially large banner with the Daleim family crest on it was hanging from the wall directly across from the entrance, and there were huge statues carved from white stone on either side of it. The one on the right was a man, and on the left there was a woman. Both of them were clad in long robes, and the man was carrying a disk that looked like a wheel, while the woman held what appeared to be a chalice. They were so lifelike that they felt as if they’d start moving at any moment. Were those gods that appeared in the myths of this continent?

The pleasant sound of music was filling the room. There was a group of six musicians over by the right wall, giving an enchanting performance. I saw that one of them had the same seven-stringed guitar-like instrument the traveling performer Neeya used, and there was also a percussion instrument like a bongo drum, a string instrument that was plucked with the fingers similar to a sitar, and a fife, among others. Together, they wove a gentle melody that sounded like it came from somewhere in the eastern part of my old world.

Some of the members of the crowd casually glanced in our direction as they chatted with each other and enjoyed the performance. For most of them, this was probably their first time seeing people of the forest’s edge. Even if we were dressed similarly to them, there was unsurprisingly nobody else around with a build like Dari Sauti’s or Geol Zaza’s, and their dark skin caused them to stand out all the more.

“Dear guests from the forest’s edge, this way, please.”

Sheila guided us to a table farther in on the left hand side. However, I didn’t see any sort of chairs. It seemed that this would be a standing buffet party. On top of the table sat a large number of bottles and drinking cups made of glass and clay.

“We have been waiting for you. I am glad to find you in good health, Dari Sauti,” someone said, quietly approaching us from a neighboring table. It was Melfried, clad in white formal clothes that were more western in style by the standards of my old world.

“Ah, finally a familiar face. I’m glad to see you looking well too, Melfried.”

“Indeed... Is this your wife, Dari Sauti?”

When Melfried’s chilly gray eyes turned her way, Mil Fei Sauti remained undaunted and gave a small bow. “I am Dari Sauti’s wife, Mil Fei Sauti. I am not familiar with the customs of the castle town, so if I fail to show proper respect in any way, I apologize.”

“This is a dance party, so there is no need for such formalities. And you are the Zaza clan head’s son and daughter, correct?”

Geol Zaza had of course fought him in the swordsmanship tournament, and Sufira Zaza had met him as well at the celebratory banquet. Faced with a man who had once defeated him, Geol Zaza glared at Melfried with a look of great displeasure.

That just left the members of the Fa and Ruu clans. Darmu Ruu was the only one among us who was essentially meeting him for the first time. That said, the remaining three of us had a rather unusual relationship with him.

“I’m glad to see that you’re doing well, Melfried. Er, it feels kinda strange to reintroduce myself now, but...”

“Asuta of the Fa clan. It is true that we have seen one another here and there, but this seems to be our first time formally introducing ourselves to one another.”

I had been invited to the castle town as a chef many times now, and I had often stood in the same space as Melfried, as he was the mediator with the people of the forest’s edge. Moreover, the first time we had met had been long before any of that. However, back then I hadn’t been aware of his true identity. In order to expose the crimes of the Suun clan, Melfried had wrapped his face in bandages and used the fake name Haan of Dabagg, working alongside Kamyua Yoshu. He had also been there when I watched Zattsu Suun being taken away after the old former clan head had been captured in the forest, when I was attacked by Tei Suun, and when we directly confronted Cyclaeus and Ciluel. But even though we had both been present for so many major events, we hadn’t directly spoken much at all, leaving our relationship in an odd position.

“Oh? How unfair of you, going on ahead without us. Will you not introduce us to our guests from the forest’s edge as well?” Two figures came up behind Melfried—Eulifia and Odifia, his wife and daughter. I had spoken with them fairly frequently at dinners and tea parties.

“My... Are you perhaps the one who was dressed like an officer at the tea party?” Eulifia asked.

“Indeed,” Ai Fa replied with a nod. “I am the head of the Fa clan, a woman of the forest’s edge known as Ai Fa. I’m not sure how to speak politely, so I ask your forgiveness.”

“My, you have the appearance of a woman but you speak like a gentleman. How delightful,” Eulifia said with a smile, looking like she was truly enjoying herself. Ai Fa remained politely expressionless as the noblewoman continued. “And you... My apologies. We’ve met a number of times, have we not? I believe you’re from the Ruu clan...”

“I’m a member of a Ruu branch house, and I am the older sister of Shin Ruu, the head of my house. My name is Sheera Ruu. This is Darmu Ruu, the second son of the main Ruu house.” Sheera Ruu bowed elegantly, while Darmu Ruu just nodded with a sour look on his face.

When she saw him, Eulifia once again remarked, “Goodness. The men and women of the forest’s edge are all so handsome. Were you not wearing that blue flower, your entrance might have caused quite a commotion.”

Darmu Ruu offered no response.

“If you are of the main Ruu house, that means you are the son of that imposing man, Donda Ruu, correct? His first son, Jiza Ruu, is equally large; however, you... Ah, but those eyes like blue flames are exactly like your father’s.”

Darmu Ruu remained silent as he listened to Eulifia talk. He was starting to show a bit of tension around his brow, which might have been a sign that he was worrying about how he should respond. Sheera Ruu stole a glance at his face from the side, then once again bowed her head and said, “Darmu Ruu has always been untalkative by nature, and this is essentially his first time ever speaking with nobles. I hope that you will forgive him for being a touch uncommunicative.”

“My, there’s no need to worry about that. Except on the occasion that an odd mood strikes him, my own husband tends to be as silent as a stone,” Eulifia replied with a laugh, then she pointed at her daughter down by her feet. “Allow me to introduce our beloved daughter as well. This is our first daughter, Odifia. Odifia, greet the nice people.”

Odifia remained silent, her little fingers pinching at her frilly skirt. Like always, she was as adorable as a French doll, and was utterly lacking in sociability. After glancing down at the young noble for a moment, Darmu Ruu’s gaze returned to Melfried, looking like he had swallowed a stone or something.

“Your daughter’s eyes look just like her father’s too.”

“Oh, you think so as well? She gets her stubbornness from her father, while her free-spirited nature comes from me,” Eulifia said with an amused laugh, and Darmu Ruu rustled his carefully styled hair.

Had that been Darmu Ruu attempting to communicate with them in his own way? Though the father and daughter pair remained expressionless, with their gray eyes gleaming, it was still kinda heartwarming to see them interacting with each other.

“By the way, Dari Sauti, though it may be a bit boorish to discuss such a matter in a place like this, there is something I wish to inform you of,” Melfried said now that his wife had stopped talking. “It is regarding the robbery in the Turan lands. Unfortunately, we have been unable to find any evidence that the guards intentionally turned a blind eye toward the culprit who attacked Mikel,” Melfried said in an emotionless tone, but his eyes were growing more and more chilly as he spoke. “However, based on what I have observed, it is impossible for me to believe that the guards in charge of the Turan lands have been properly maintaining order. They were not even able to tell me which unit was patrolling the area in question that night, much less who was responsible. Therefore, if a guard were ever to be accused of aiding and abetting a criminal, they would have no way to clarify the matter. I intend to hold a meeting with the head of the militia and take steps to thoroughly enforce proper discipline.”

“The head of the militia would be the person placed in charge after that Ciluel man was judged for his crimes, correct?”

“Indeed. Though the person in question is trustworthy, half a year is not enough time to rebuild from ten years of corruption. But from here on out, I intend to put all of my efforts into seeing them restored to full competence.”

I didn’t know the actual extent of their corruption, but the guards had quite a negative reputation throughout the post town. There were some honest guys like Marth among them, but nothing that small handful did could overcome people’s impression that most of them were the lapdogs of the nobility. After ten years of a villain like Ciluel being the head of their group, their public image had fallen greatly. However, I believed that with Melfried’s coolheaded gaze watching over them, there was still a chance that they could improve in the future.

“Goodness, you certainly do become talkative when it comes to your work. You truly are boorish, Melfried,” Eulifia chided with a laugh, at which point a page called out from the entrance once more.

“Announcing the head of the house of Daleim, Lord Paud, and his wife, Lady Littia.”

Finally, the head of the house had arrived. We turned toward the entrance, and soon enough, a middle-aged man with a great deal of presence about him appeared alongside a short and rotund woman. They both looked to be around halfway through their forties. The man had a sturdy build, abundant sideburns, and a mustache, while his wife’s hair, which had started to go white, was done up at the top of her head. The pair of them were wearing flowing silken robes and transparent purple shawls.

“Announcing from the house of Daleim, the first son, Lord Addis; the second son, Lord Polarth; and the second son’s wife, Lady Merrim.”

Their sons and daughter-in-law entered in turn after them. This was the first time I had seen Polarth’s older brother. He had a rather stern appearance and almost looked like his father with the mustache and sideburns removed. He also seemed to be pretty stout and burly for a westerner. Polarth and Addis were also wearing white robes with purple shawls, presumably coordinated in advance to match.

And then there was Polarth’s wife...who was something of a surprise to me. She appeared to be quite a bit younger than Polarth and was a real beauty. The light pink dress she wore suited her well. Her chestnut-colored hair was curled into ringlets in a way that was really striking, and she had big eyes that reminded me of a rabbit. If I had to say, I’d guess that she was on the smaller side, and was brimming with vitality. The way she walked made her steps look oddly light too.

The Daleim family advanced straight through the middle of the room, then stood in front of the far wall. Beneath the house’s crest, Count Paud proclaimed in a deep voice, “We are deeply grateful that you all accepted our invitation to come here to our manor today. But this is no stuffy formal gathering, so please, relax and enjoy yourselves.” With that, the guests placed their glasses down on the tables and gave a refined round of applause that sounded like the murmuring of a stream. “Furthermore, we have some special guests today from outside of the castle town... Polarth?”

“Of course. Sir Dari Sauti, could I ask you to come this way?”

Dari Sauti went ahead and approached without the slightest hesitation. The whole time he was making his way over, I could see the crowd trying to hold themselves back from making comments to each other.

“This is one of the leading clan heads of the forest’s edge, Sir Dari Sauti. We have invited seven additional guests from the forest’s edge as well, and it is our hope that the friendship between us shall deepen this evening,” Polarth said with a smile.

Meanwhile, Polarth’s father and older brother stared up at Dari Sauti’s massive frame. As this was their first time meeting him, they looked rather nervous.

“Polarth, could I offer a greeting as well?” Dari Sauti asked.

“Yes, of course. You do not mind, do you, father?”

“N-Not at all... Well then, Sir Dari Sauti, leading clan head of the forest edge, shall offer a greeting.”

“You have my thanks. I am not a noble, but rather a hunter of the forest’s edge, so I ask that you pardon my clumsy words.” Dari Sauti slowly looked out over the people present throughout the hall. “Because we people of the forest’s edge were not able to form a positive connection with the former head of the house of Turan in the past, we brought great trouble and even disaster to the people of Genos. In order to ensure that such tribulations will not be repeated, we wish to form a more suitable bond with all of you as we head toward the future together. It is true that occasionally our thoughts and feelings may not align due to the differences between our values, but I still hope that we can find a way to respect one another even so,” he said in a completely calm tone, and then he turned to face Polarth’s father. “I would also like to thank you for this opportunity to expand our friendship with you who live in town. If we happen to do anything that goes against the customs of the castle town, please rebuke us without hesitation... That is all I have to say.”

“Very well. I shall properly introduce myself to you later, so until then.”

“Understood. Well then, please excuse me.” Dari Sauti bowed, and then calmly returned to us. Even though he was still only twenty-six years old, his demeanor was incredibly dignified. He was also being careful to act as unintimidating as possible.

“Well then, please go ahead and enjoy the food and the musicians’ performance,” Count Paud declared as the doors swung open wide. Pages and maids started bringing in food on silver carts, one after another. I was sure the sun hadn’t set yet, so it seemed we were eating an early meal.

“First everyone enjoys a light snack, then the guests can do as they please. You are free to dance, or to simply chat. There is no need to think about your choice too much,” Eulifia explained with a smile as various appetizers were laid out atop the tables. Each large plate had a single kind of food piled high on top of it, confirming that this was a buffet-style event where we could eat what we pleased. “It would be impolite for us to use plates here, so each dish was prepared in small servings. If anything is not to your tastes, you can simply dispose of it in this empty pot.”

I had already heard about that from Reina Ruu, who was currently working as a chef. In fact, I had given her advice on how to prepare her contributions with that in mind.

“Thank you for the explanation. Ah, this looks delicious!” I said earnestly, only for a displeased voice to sound out from behind me.

“This is all food from town. What are those chefs from the forest’s edge thinking?” Naturally, that complaint had come from Geol Zaza. He had grabbed a wine cup at some point, and he was already turning a little red around his eyes.

“Our chefs got here late, so they’re probably still cooking. The giba meat dishes will be brought out soon.”

“Hmph. This is all food for nobles. There’s no way it’d taste good to a hunter,” Geol Zaza quietly grumbled. He still looked displeased, but he seemed to be exercising at least a little self-restraint. As for Ai Fa and Darmu Ruu, they didn’t voice any displeasure, but they looked utterly uninterested in the piles of food. Perhaps they figured there was no need to force themselves to eat now if there would be giba cooking coming out eventually.

“I think we need to take the lead here, Sheera Ruu,” I said.

“Yes, you may be right.”

With that, we walked over to the nearest table, and the plate sitting on it. Just as Eulifia had said, the food had been prepared in bite-size portions. The most common style of appetizer seemed to be ones that had a flat piece of fuwano with a diameter of around six or seven centimeters, topped with a variety of different things. I also noticed some skewered dishes, but they had generally also been prepared to be easily eaten in a single bite. There were also sweets and pastries that had been brought out at the same time.

“Hmm, these are exactly what I’d expect from Yang’s and Varkas’s apprentices. It’s hard to tell how they taste just by looking at them,” I remarked.

“That’s true. This one seems to primarily be a meat dish, though,” Sheera Ruu said while picking up a piece. There was a faintly reddish meat on top of the fuwano, along with slices of dried milk, covered in some kind of green sauce. When she popped it into her mouth, Sheera Ruu’s eyes opened wide as soon as she bit into it. “This...is shockingly soft. And the taste... What in the world is it?”

My curiosity piqued, I took a bite of the same appetizer.

“Ah, this is probably something similar to my roast giba. They must’ve cooked the karon meat in a covered pan. But this tenderness...”

Karon chest or back meat was more tender than giba, sure. But the meat used in this appetizer was around seven or eight millimeters thick, and yet it practically melted in my mouth.

“Asuta, isn’t this kind of similar to that one dish? The one that we had a long time ago in the castle town?”

“Right, the one Timalo served. It reminds me of that too.”

We were referring to the dish that had made Ludo Ruu shout that it was nothing more than a sack of fat when he had tried it. As I recalled, before cooking the meat, Timalo had opened countless holes in it with thin needles and injected it with fat, with the end result being unbelievably tender. This appetizer had the same sort of texture. However, it lacked the overwhelming fattiness. Of course, a lot of fat had been used in the dish, but the flavor of the meat overcame that. It tasted like a steak that had been artificially marbled before being cooked in a covered pan, with a texture as smooth as tofu.

“It’s certainly an unusual flavor. Still, it isn’t unpleasant in the least,” Sheera Ruu commented.

“I agree. And the sauce is fantastic. It seems to be a combination of mamaria vinegar and multiple herbs, but I can’t tell exactly which ones were used,” I added.

As we were talking, I glanced around at our other companions, only to find that all six of them were shooting us astonished looks.

“All of that, just from a single bite? By the time you sample all of them, dawn will likely be breaking,” Ai Fa said, speaking for the group.

“Yeah, but it’s always like this, right?”

“That is the norm for you all? I truly admire your passion,” Dari Sauti chimed in, trying the same dish. Shortly after I had finished talking, he popped the whole thing into his large mouth. “Hmm, it’s definitely odd. Perhaps it’s best that you don’t try it, Geol Zaza.”

“Hmph. I had no interest in having any from the start.”

“Then I suppose we’ll simply have to find something else that will better suit your tastes,” Dari Sauti said, eating an unfamiliar dish from the neighboring plate. “Hmm, this is a strange one too. I can’t quite tell if it’s meat or some kind of vegetable.”

“D-Dari Sauti, you don’t have to force yourself. We can handle this.”

“But the nobles of Daleim kindly prepared these for us. As a leading clan head of the forest’s edge, it would be wrong of me to complain about them without even trying them first,” Dari Sauti replied with a cheerful smile. “Besides, I’ve eaten a fair amount of food from the castle town at this point. It won’t take me by surprise so easily anymore.”

This was one way in which Dari Sauti was probably the best of the three leading clan heads. He was definitely cautious and consistent, but he also seemed to be capable of the same kind of flexible thinking as Gazraan Rutim. And so, the three of us started thoroughly sampling the cooking of the castle town, launching into a search for dishes that would suit the tastes of the people of the forest’s edge.

There really were a huge variety of appetizers on offer. Even the fuwano bases could either be grilled, baked, or cooked in a kiln or pan, depending on the recipe. Some of the dishes were really wild too. There were these wraps of fragrant karon skin that were full of thick sauce made with tomato-like tarapa, pickled-plum-like dried kiki, and mamaria vinegar, as well as a dish made by marinating karon meat in super sugary arow jam; neither of these seemed like they would suit the tastes of the people of the forest’s edge at all. In fact, even I felt like I was going to break down crying as I forced some bites down.

Citizens of the castle town tended to consider a meal to be high-quality if it was complex or unusual in some way. For example, Polarth and the other nobles had no issues with Timalo’s cooking, which we had great difficulty eating. That culinary cultural gap was on full display here as well.

Still, they also had universally delicious food that caused no offense in this world. Or, if calling them universally appealing was too much of an overstatement, you could at least say that most people would enjoy them. There were certainly tastes that the people of the forest’s edge, the citizens of the castle town, and even myself, a person born in an entirely different culture, could all find delicious. And by going around to the various tables, we were able to find a number of offerings among the multitude that had been presented to us that fit that description.

“Ai Fa, this is good. Why don’t you give it a try?”

My clan head offered no response.

“Yang, Shilly Rou, and the others made these dishes. It’d be a bit of a waste to not at least give them a try, right?”

“Now that you mention it, that Shilly Rou girl prepared the food for the dinner party at the house of Saturas as well,” Ai Fa said, her expression shifting a bit as she picked up a piece of the appetizer I had pointed out. It consisted of thin strips of karon meat that had been marinated in tau oil and herbs, and then grilled, most likely. The reddish brown strips of meat were arranged in a strange spiral shape, but I found the flavor to be incredibly delicious.

“Hmm. It seems tastier than the food I ate in Dabagg.”

“Right? I’d give this one a pretty strong recommendation too.”

The next one I pointed out had been made by sandwiching small pieces of grilled fish between raw gigo slices, with a sauce made with herbs, sugar, and red mamaria vinegar poured over the top. Gigo was reminiscent of Japanese yam, and its texture when combined with the grilled fish worked exquisitely. The chef had done a wonderful job of balancing the spiciness, sweetness, and sourness in the flavor as well. On top of that, the fish had also been smoked, so it must have taken quite a bit of effort to prepare.

The fuwano base had been fried in reten oil, the effect of which had also undoubtedly been part of their careful calculations. I felt confident that this was the work of one of Varkas’s apprentices.

“What a strange flavor. Still, it does indeed seem to taste good.”

None of the others seemed dissatisfied with it either. It was possible that Dari Sauti’s initial comment had made Sufira Zaza reconsider some things as well, judging by how she didn’t refuse any of the appetizers we recommended, and she even forced her younger brother to try them too. Geol Zaza looked displeased about that, but he didn’t call any of them bad.

“What do you think, Darmu Ruu?” Sheera Ruu asked.

The stubborn second son of the main Ruu house bluntly replied, “So this is the sort of cooking Jiza and Ludo were talking about, huh? I doubt I’ll ever be able to say that a meal lacking giba meat is delicious without any reservations...but I can see how townsfolk would think so, and I don’t think this is particularly awful either.”

“Good. I’m sure Shilly Rou and her fellows were the ones who prepared it,” Sheera Ruu said.

“Shilly Rou?” Darmu Ruu repeated, looking puzzled. “Oh, that girl from the castle town who came to the banquet at the Ruu settlement? So she’s involved in all this too, huh?”

“Yeah. You were able to get to know her a bit, weren’t you, Darmu Ruu?”

However, his reply was a confused “No? We were there in the same place, but I don’t recall ever talking with her. And she didn’t seem to have any business with me either.”

“But I entrusted her to you for a while, didn’t I? When I went to get the whole roast giba for her.” Darmu Ruu’s head remained tilted doubtfully, though, which Sheera Ruu couldn’t help but smile at. “It seems you really don’t remember. I suppose you must’ve had a bit too much wine to drink that night.”

“What are you talking about? It’s true that I ended up falling asleep partway through the night, but I’ve never lost my memory due to drinking.”

“Or you lost your memories and simply don’t remember doing so. Make sure to be more careful today, please.”

“I’m telling you, I would never let people see me that drunk,” Darmu Ruu childishly insisted, which I personally found pretty amusing. Sheera Ruu looked pleased too. Just as I had predicted, Darmu Ruu’s eyes had opened a bit wider when he saw Ai Fa in her banquet attire, but he hadn’t shown any particular interest beyond that.

But on the other hand, he seems to be treating Sheera Ruu the same as always. Still, they make a great pair.

Surprisingly, it seemed the people of the forest’s edge were able to act naturally even in a place like this. Their bold willingness to do as they pleased without paying any attention to how outsiders saw them was working out well in this case.

However, we hadn’t interacted with any of the other guests after we had separated from Melfried’s family. This event was meant to foster friendships, which wouldn’t happen if we just stuck to ourselves. But just as I was starting to worry about that, a group approached us as if they had heard what I was thinking.

“Why, hello there. My apologies for the late greeting. Have you been enjoying yourselves, dear guests from the forest’s edge?”

When I turned to look, I found that Polarth had come over to talk to us. He was smiling, of course, and his parents, his older brother, and his wife were all standing there behind him as well. An opportunity for us to deepen our bonds with the members of the house of Daleim had finally appeared.