Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 25 - Chapter 2.1

Chapter 2: Amusehorn’s Breath

1

On the morning of the fifth day of the brown month, two days after the start of the rainy season, I was sleeping away all warm and cozy under my newly purchased blanket.

It had always felt like the temperature fell to around fifteen degrees Celsius at night—though that was of course just based on what my senses were able to tell me—yet now it seemed to be going down to seven or eight degrees, or thereabouts. Whatever the specific numbers actually were, it was undoubtedly chilly enough that it would be really tough to have to spend the night without bedding.

The sheets and blankets you could get ahold of in the post town were only about as thick as a terry cloth blanket at best, but we had bought a pretty decent number of them so that we could stack them up to give us both cushioning and protection against the cold. Even at the forest’s edge, that was the typical method for making it through the cold nights of the rainy season, at least for clans that weren’t especially impoverished.

If I consulted with a resident of the castle town like Yang, I would probably be able to purchase the sort of soft down quilts they used there. I had learned that they had that kind of thing in the castle town back when I’d been abducted and taken to the Turan manor. However, up through last year, Ai Fa had gone without any bedding at all, simply pulling a fur cloak over herself when going to sleep, so even though we did have the funds to afford such quilts now, spending that much on them would be a very unfitting act for a person of the forest’s edge. Besides, we had been sleeping in a huddle atop a fur rug up until the last few days. Hanging curtains over the windows, layering up sheets to sleep on top of, and then pulling a blanket over myself was already enough to satisfy me.

Additionally, neither the people who lived at the forest’s edge nor the post town seemed to use pillows, so I had wrapped up an extra sheet I had bought and laid it under my head. At first Ai Fa had looked at me with a dubious gaze when I had done that, but in the end she’d said, “This isn’t half bad,” and had done the same.

Bottom line, we had successfully ensured that we would be able to sleep soundly even during the rainy season. I had already been sleeping deeply enough that I rarely dreamed, but I seemed to be sleeping even deeper since we’d started using the bedding.

However, that deeper sleep had led to a bit of a shift in my internal cycles. On this particular day, I failed to wake up at the usual time, leading Ai Fa to mercilessly snatch away my blanket.

“Do you intend to keep sleeping forever, Asuta? Dawn has long since broken.”

“Gah, cold!” I said, sitting up atop the bedding as my body trembled. “Well, okay, maybe it’s not that cold, but having the temperature drop that much is pretty uncomfortable.” I took off my coat when I got in bed, so I was only wearing my long-sleeved undershirt and pants, and the morning chill was harsh enough that it had made me yelp a bit there.

Ai Fa was standing there holding the blanket she had stolen from me, shooting me an astonished glare. “You slept rather heavily yesterday too, until I called out to you. I was the one who suggested that we buy bedding, but now I have to wonder if I was mistaken to do so.”

“D-Definitely not. It’s just that we don’t get much sunlight coming in during the rainy season, so I ended up oversleeping.”

“Hmm... Still, this is quite concerning for me, to think that I may be spoiling my clan member,” Ai Fa remarked with a troubled look.

I was starting to get a bit flustered, raising my voice a little as I said, “H-Hey, you’re not planning on banning the bedding, are you?”

“Hmm...”

“I’ll be more careful tonight! Please don’t make any hasty decisions, clan head!” I called out, clinging to the bedding in her hands.

My beloved clan head’s expression grew even more exasperated. “Why are you so desperate, Asuta?”

“I mean, the nights are even chillier than I expected. If you take away the bedding, I’ll end up catching a cold.”

“What do you mean...? How can one grab on to coldness?” Ai Fa questioned, a doubtful look in her eyes as she pulled on the sheets.

As I pulled back just as hard, I thought about what to say for a moment before answering, “Um... A cold is a type of illness from my home country. It’s easy to catch when it’s cold out, and when you get one you run a fever and get all snotty. It’s awful.”

“Hmm. So, something like Amusehorn’s breath?”

“Amusehorn’s breath? Amusehorn is the name of this continent, right? There’s some sort of local ailment that goes by that name?”

“You have nothing to worry about. It is an illness that only affects young children. But that said, more than a few impoverished families here at the forest’s edge have lost children to it,” Ai Fa explained, tugging at the bedding all the while.

“I see,” I replied, tugging back.

“Asuta, why do you refuse to let go?”

“I mean, it feels like if I do, you’re going to shove it into storage.”

“Do you really think I’m that stubborn?”

“I-I’d say you’re pretty darn stubborn, yeah... Ah, not that I mean that in a bad way!”

After giving a small sigh, Ai Fa leaned over beside me. Her beautiful blue eyes stared at my face with a look so clear even a young child could understand it. “It’s true that I’m worried you may become spoiled, but that isn’t something to be decided in just two days. I was simply planning to help put the bedding away.”

“A-Ah, I see. Sorry, it’s not like I don’t trust you or anything.”

“Do you really think I would push ahead with something you were that opposed to? That is...a bit sad to hear.”

“S-Sorry! I really didn’t mean it like that!” I said, letting go in a hurry.

“Of course not.” Ai Fa had a serious look on her face. “Even if I put it into storage, there would be no purpose as you could easily get it back out. Should I burn it in the stove instead?”

“Gyah!”

“I’m joking. That’s quite a sound to be making so early in the morning,” Ai Fa remarked, hiding the lower half of her face with the blanket she stole from me as she giggled.

I slumped over weakly, thrown for a loop by that adorable laugh, and muttered, “Give me a break.”

“It’s true that this bedding is quite pleasing. Take care that you do not fall prey to its appeals.” As she was saying that, Ai Fa began folding the bedding. Naturally, hers had already been folded and was off in the corner of the room. With a childish click of my tongue, I started cleaning up the sheets beneath me.

Naturally, my teasing yet adorable clan head had also changed her outfit for the rainy season. She was wearing a top with long sleeves, like me and the other men, while on the bottom she wore a long skirt like the women, making for something of a hybrid style. The long skirt was meant for everyday use, but she swapped it out for her usual short one whenever she went out hunting. Having her legs on display like that with her upper half almost completely covered by her cloak and long sleeves gave her a whole new kind of appeal. But naturally, I would absolutely never express that thought to anyone.

“By the way, about that illness we were just discussing...”

“Hmm? We have no small children at the Fa house, so you have nothing to be concerned about. It is true that Amusehorn’s breath is a terrible ailment, but it only ever afflicts the young.”

“So an adult won’t get sick even when it’s this cold out?”

“Never. But if your body grows too cold, you will lose strength, which can lead to you experiencing pain in your chest or stomach...so the cold of the rainy season still isn’t something to simply be disregarded.”

Based on what I was hearing, there really seemed to be no equivalent to the common cold here in this land. Colds were caused by specific kinds of viruses, so if those viruses didn’t exist here, you would never catch a cold no matter how cold it got. Now that I thought about it, I had heard that it was hard for viruses to live in Antarctica, so despite how frigid it was, the chances of catching a cold there were close to zero.

If I had been sick when I came here, it could have led to a really awful pandemic... But then, I don’t think I’ve even caught a cold in the last couple years at least.

I knew that river and rainwater could be drunk directly here at the forest’s edge. Naturally, without any filtration you couldn’t hope to remove any fine impurities, but no one seemed to treat boiling it or the like as a necessity, so it seemed that there were definitely far fewer pathogens here than in my old world. As a result, there was pretty much no need to go to the washing place during the rainy season, as you could just do laundry and clean tableware and the like with the rainwater that filled up your water jugs. And if you tried to bathe in the river, it would be too cold, so we either used water from a jug for that too or simply took natural showers.

And so, we once again carried the tableware and pans we’d used for last night’s dinner over to the front door and washed them. As we did, the two of us stared out at the gentle drizzle together, with our shoulders close enough to almost touch, and I found myself taken by a feeling of quiet contentment.

“There are a ton of hassles that come with the rainy season, but it isn’t all bad,” I said.

“Hmm? Why are you saying that now?”

“Well, I’ve been spending more time in the house, which means more time with just the two of us. And that makes me happy.”

Ai Fa looked shocked, as if I had caught her completely off guard, but in the end she frowned and jabbed me in the side with her elbow.

“Still, you mustn’t underestimate the challenges presented by the rainy season. Both visibility and footing are poor, so exercise special care when driving the wagon.”

“Yeah, I know. And you take care when hunting giba, Ai Fa.”

“That goes without saying. Even putting aside what happened to Shumiral over in the Ririn clan, I know full well the dangers the rainy season can bring,” Ai Fa said with a sigh as she wiped off the cleaned tableware with a cloth and stacked it by the entrance. “And since the rain drowns out the scent of giba-summoning fruit, I’m no longer able to catch as many as I did before. It would be ideal if I could have a break period coinciding with the rainy season, but it all comes down to the will of the mother forest.”

“I see. It’s an off season for business in the post town too, so it really is rough these days.” However, spending time with Ai Fa like this made my heart feel at ease. The sound of rain and the white mist hanging in the air felt gloomy when I was working, but now it was only adding to the sense of peace I felt.

Our normal everyday lives will return once these two months are over, so for now I should try to fully experience both the good and the bad of this season, I thought to myself as I splashed the water in the pot I was holding out the front door.

Things hadn’t changed much at all since yesterday in regard to our business in the post town. We had a similarly scant number of passersby, and though we had reduced the number of meals we prepared by more than half, we still just barely managed to sell out. And actually, it was possible that we were only able to do even that well because there weren’t very many other stalls open. If the inns started serving giba meat in the morning, I could see them snatching away every last one of our customers.

“Naturally, I would never do anything to betray your trust. Our contract says that I am buying food for dinner, so even if it is delivered in the morning, selling it in the afternoon isn’t something I would ever attempt,” Nail of The Sledgehammer told me.

We had a tacit agreement that he would only sell giba cooking in the evening, so as to not interfere with our stalls. That applied to the whole year, not just the rainy reason. However, it wasn’t like we were selling the fresh meat under a contract that explicitly said it could only be used for dinners, so we wouldn’t have any grounds to complain if the inns started selling giba cooking they prepared personally during the day, but Nail, Milano Mas, Naudis, and even Sams of The Westerly Wind had all decided that they wouldn’t do anything like that.

“If I were to displease the people of the forest’s edge and you stopped selling me giba meat, that would lead to huge losses. I can’t imagine any of the inns even thinking about doing something that might interfere with your business,” Naudis of The Great Southern Tree had said. Now that I thought back on it, Naudis and Yumi had both asked for our permission to run stalls during the revival festival. Naturally, since our goal was to show as many people as possible how delicious giba cooking was, we’d had no reason to object.

That didn’t just go for the revival festival; I figured it would be fine for them to sell giba cooking during the day all the time as well, but the inn owners hadn’t changed their stance. Of course, it was customary for people in the post town to eat a midday snack from a stall, so if they did something to upend that, it would hurt their reputation with the other folks out there who ran stalls.

“It’s different during the rainy season, though. There are a lot of customers who stop by our inns for snacks during this time of year, so we will be serving giba cooking during the day whenever your stalls are taking a break. Of course, that means our daytime sales are going to soar when that happens. That’ll be a huge boon for us,” Naudis had added.

On top of that, the humble inn owners also all shared the opinion that even during the rainy season, they wouldn’t be able to expect much of an increase in sales when we were open for business anyway. So, what it all amounted to was that even though the inns had been cutting back on their orders of cooking and meat since the end of the golden month, on the days our stalls weren’t open, they were going to be purchasing more than ever.

“Still, you haven’t had any more inns trying to purchase giba meat? That’s a bit of a surprise,” Milano Mas of The Kimyuus’s Tail asked me.

“That’s true. I figure that has a lot to do with the fact that karon torso meat became available for purchase around the time of the revival festival. A chef named Yang is working hard over at Tanto’s Blessing to help popularize it.”

“Hmph. Or maybe it’s because there’re still lots of folks out there who lack the nerve to work with you people of the forest’s edge. When we innkeepers have meetings, a bunch of the others ask us about you, but it seems like they’re not able to take that last step.”

The stall spaces were under the management of the inns, so it made sense that we were a topic of discussion at their meetings. Folks in the same occupation who did business in town had organizations that were referred to as “firms,” which periodically met to make all kinds of decisions. But aside from traveling merchants, most of those who worked stalls only did so as a side business, so there was no stall owner firm.

“As for selling meat, Genos only deals in the karon from Dabagg and kimyuus from the Daleim lands, and that’s all under the control of those folks in the castle town, so there’s no need to have a firm to handle them.”

“I see. But we people of the forest’s edge are officially citizens of Genos, so normally we’d belong to some sort of firm too, right?”

Due to the poitan shortage, we had used fuwano instead, aiming for small profits and quick returns rather than raising prices. But that wasn’t something I had discussed with anyone; it had just been me nervously fumbling about and making a decision on everyone’s behalf. So far, I hadn’t ever really had any serious problems with doing things that way, but I couldn’t help but worry that people might start thinking, “That outsider’s really making a killing.”

“Well, you haven’t attracted any real opposition from the people who live around here yet, so there’s no need to worry about it. But if you want to talk with some townsfolk...” Milano Mas started, only to fall silent with a sour look on his face.

“What is it? If you have any ideas about how I could start a dialogue with some more people from around town, I would really appreciate hearing them.”

“Right, well...in that case...you might be able to come along to an inn meeting as an associate of my shop... The stalls selling snacks all fall under inns, so that’d be the most appropriate meeting for you to intrude on...probably.” Milano Mas seemed strangely evasive, for some reason. “But if you do that, everyone will think you’re on the best terms with my place.”

“Isn’t that exactly right? Oh, wait, would it be inconvenient for you somehow if people thought that?”

“Of course not! But I don’t exactly buy as much from you as the other inns.”

“Please don’t worry about stuff like that. The Kimyuus’s Tail is the first inn I formed a connection with, so this place is special to me.”

And so, Milano Mas ended up promising to set things up so I could eventually come along to an innkeepers’ meeting. But apparently, those events were typically held at the beginning of the month, and the one for the brown month had already happened, so that wouldn’t be happening until next month at the earliest.

As for the other matter of note that happened on that day in the post town, I was able to tell Radajid and company about what happened to Shumiral. As a man of Sym, Radajid didn’t easily let his emotions show, but I saw his shoulders tremble as he leaned forward when I told him. He didn’t go so far as letting his facial expression shift, but the worry and unease in his black eyes was easy to see.

“Is Shumiral, all right? I am, worried.”

“Well, apparently he’ll be able to move around just fine in a few days... But I suppose that doesn’t make things any less worrying.”

I also ended up telling them that I got permission from the Ririn clan head for them to stop by and see Shumiral.

“I see. Asuta, you have, our gratitude. We will definitely, head there, soon.”

“Got it. He should be doing a lot better by tomorrow or the day after, so I think you should aim for around then.”

With that, our business day came to a peaceful close.

Afterward, we headed to the Sauti settlement for another visit. There was no need for the members of the Ruu clan to keep accompanying me at this point, but Rimee Ruu and Bartha came along once again anyway.

“We gathered a whole lot of firewood and pico leaves before the rainy season, so there’s not much to do around the house. That’s why Papa Donda told us we should go ahead and check out how things are going with the Sauti!” Rimee told me.

“That was probably just an excuse, though. I’d wager that he’s actually worried about you going there all on your own, Asuta. We didn’t see them yesterday, but there are a whole lot of guards and northerners in the area,” Bartha said.

Ai Fa was rather concerned about that too. It still wasn’t clear how close the Sauti settlement and the worksite really were, which made her pretty anxious.

“I’d like to have a look at the worksite at least once too. I was thinking about asking to do so on our next day off, but I guess the clan heads wouldn’t allow that without any guards to accompany us,” I remarked.

“That’s true. Northerners are known for being savage barbarians, after all. Even if they are held in chains, there are over a hundred of them in the forest, so you’ll need to be very well guarded.”

That would make things rather difficult, if it was decided that Bartha and Ryada Ruu alone wouldn’t be enough. The clans around the Fa and the Ruu had already finished their break periods, and there was no way I could ask hunters to take time off their work for something like this.

For now, I’ll try consulting with Ai Fa tonight. If any of the other clans are in the middle of a break period right now, we may be able to borrow some men from them, I thought as we stopped by the Ririn settlement first. In the end, Vina Ruu had indeed been permitted to stay at the main Ririn house after all, with Rimee Ruu being given the task of checking up on her.

I knocked on the door just like yesterday, and as expected, Uru Lea Ririn once again greeted us. Unsurprisingly, she still had the same strange fairylike air about her. When her clear, pale blue eyes directed themselves at me, I started to feel all out of sorts for no reason whatsoever.

“The Ririn clan welcomes you. Please, come inside.”

“Ah, sorry, today we’re only here to deliver something to Vina Ruu. How is Shumiral doing?”

“His breathing has settled today, and he is much more at ease. Right now, he’s sleeping.”

“Then I think we’ll be leaving as soon as we make our delivery. We still have work to do with the Sauti, after all.”

“Understood,” Uru Lea Ririn said before disappearing behind the curtain, and then Vina Ruu came out in her place. Once again, she was deeply hanging her head today, with her long bangs still hiding her expression.

“What sort of business do you have with me? Did you come to laugh at me, perhaps?”

“Wh-Why would we laugh at you? Were you expecting us to get on your case about this or something?”

“I mean...it’s almost as if I’m the one asking to marry him now, isn’t it?” No matter how low her bangs drooped, her mouth was still visible to me, and once again, I could see that her face was red from embarrassment.

“That doesn’t matter, does it? Didn’t Mama Mia Lea say that you should do whatever you need to so you can figure out how you feel?” Rimee Ruu said.

Vina Ruu offered no response.

“Besides, everyone’s way more worried about how you still haven’t gotten married. We’ll all be super happy if Shumiral’s the right husband for you!”

“Oh, be quiet, Rimee...” Vina Ruu replied, wriggling her body in that sensuous way she sometimes did and looking like she was trying to shrink down into herself. Before she could completely shrivel up, though, I held out the bundle I had prepared.

“Er, this is a gift from me. Could you feed it to Shumiral for dinner?”

“What is it? Our customs say that dinner must be made at a house’s own stove to be eaten there.”

“This isn’t a finished dish, so it shouldn’t go against those customs. Please, make it into something tasty.”

Naturally, the bundle contained curry base, made by sautéing a variety of herbs and spices, aria, fuwano, and milk fat together and then drying it out. I had filled a lidded container I had bought in the post town with enough to serve everyone at the main Ririn house for around three days.

Perhaps realizing what it was from the scent leaking out of the package, Vina Ruu muttered, “Jeez,” as she squirmed a bit more. “What is with you all? Are you trying to kill me with pressure?”

“No, not at all. Anyway, give my regards to Shumiral and everyone in the Ririn clan.”

With that, we swiftly departed, before Vina Ruu’s strength could give out entirely.

Once we were on the move again in the wagon, Bartha chuckled and said, “Good grief. It’s ridiculous how naive and innocent she is when she’s that pretty and charming. There’s no way she could have lived to the age of twenty without having any experience with romance, right?”

“Well, Vina’s had a bunch of people ask to marry her, but she turned them all down instantly, so she hasn’t actually talked much with men from other clans,” Rimee Ruu explained.

“So if she does get married, the whole family really will have a reason to rejoice, huh?”

“Yup, that’s right! Papa Donda will probably be a bit sad, though.”

Personally, I couldn’t even imagine Donda Ruu looking sad, but Rimee Ruu was incredibly perceptive when it came to people’s emotions, so she undoubtedly had a much better grasp of her father’s feelings.

However, Shumiral would have to secure the Ririn clan name before they could get married. The thought of the clan head deciding that Shumiral was unsuited to being a person of the forest’s edge while the two of them had feelings for one another was the worst outcome I could possibly imagine.

Still, I’m certain that Shumiral is going to be accepted as a fine man of the forest’s edge.

Even Shumiral’s injury had been the result of covering for a member of the Ririn clan, so no one would be able to say he had been careless. And furthermore, it had resulted in the unexpected plot twist of Shumiral and Vina Ruu spending time together after not seeing one another for quite a while.

It was entirely possible that all of this was only being allowed because there was less work to do both at home and in the post town thanks to the rain. If so, that was just more proof of how the rainy season could bring both hardships and blessings.

It’s not all good, but it’s not all bad either.

Feeling as emotional as I had been that morning, I hurried Gilulu along toward the Sauti settlement.