Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 25 - Chapter 3.1

Chapter 3: People of Mahyudra

1

On the fifteenth of the brown month, Ai Fa and I visited the Sauti settlement in the morning as planned. The observers from the castle town had said they wanted to start by watching the Mahyudra women cook, so we left the Fa house practically first thing in the morning.

Along the way, we met up with a few members of the Ruu clan. Rimee Ruu had taken charge of the lessons in my place when I fell ill, and since it was in the morning, they were able to provide us with some bodyguards too. And since Melfried would be joining us personally today as one of the observers, it was decided that Jiza Ruu should also come along to speak with him.

“It seems you’ve fully regained your strength,” Jiza Ruu stated, the same expression as always on his face. I really couldn’t ever tell what he was thinking. I figured he didn’t see me as a nuisance anymore, but I still couldn’t help feeling nervous.

“I was really glad to hear Kota Ruu recovered so quickly.”

“The western god and the forest of Morga have acknowledged Kota’s right to live on as one of our people,” the eldest Ruu son replied, moving right into the wagon.

As he watched his brother go, Ludo Ruu whispered to me, “That means you’re qualified to live as one of us too, Asuta.”

I wasn’t sure if Jiza Ruu’s words actually held that kind of subtext, but I decided to think positively and replied, “Right.”

Before heading to the Sauti settlement, though, I received a number of well wishes regarding my recovery. Lala and Sheera Ruu, as well as quite a few others, had stopped by the Fa house at least once over the course of the last several days, but there were a number of older women who couldn’t leave the house so easily calling out to me now.

Granny Jiba, Mia Lea Ruu, Granny Tito Min, Sati Lea Ruu, Tari Ruu, and several women from the branch houses all smiled and congratulated me on overcoming the trial posed by the illness. Kota Ruu had gone through the same ordeal, but he was back to smiling now, and looked even more energetic than before.

Then you had Mikel and Myme, who were staying at the Ruu settlement. Myme had come to visit me while I was sick, but it had been quite a bit longer since I had seen Mikel. Mikel was still recovering, but he still got up just as early as the women and was also now able to walk around freely with a cane.

“You told me to heal up, and now look at you,” Mikel muttered right at the start, looking terribly displeased.

Myme then tapped him on the chest with a laugh and said, “Jeez.”

Feeling all warm inside, I replied, “I’m really embarrassed about that.”

I was also able to speak with Mida and Ryada Ruu, who occasionally got up early. When he saw me casually walking about, Mida’s cheeks started trembling, which made me feel really happy too. Unfortunately, Donda and Darmu Ruu were still asleep, so I wasn’t able to see them. I went ahead and returned to my own wagon at that point, saying I’d stop by again on the way back.

There were five members of the Ruu clan coming along with us: Rimee, Reina, Jiza, Ludo, and Shin Ruu. Apparently, Reina Ruu had been quite curious about the work at the Sauti settlement for a while now. Since it was a day off from the stalls, she had asked to come along.

Rimee Ruu alone rode with me, while the rest were going to the Sauti settlement in Ruuruu’s wagon. Naturally, Ai Fa was driving for us. Since you got pounded by rain in the driver’s seat and that could impact your health negatively, even if I were to resume work in the post town, I wouldn’t be taking the reins for the time being.

I sat as far forward in the wagon as I could so that my voice would reach Ai Fa in the driver’s seat, and spent the trip having a casual chat with Rimee Ruu.

“You really look like you’re doing a whole lot better now, Asuta! Do you think you’ll be able to work the stalls again soon?”

“Well, I figure I’ll decide based on how today goes. If it wipes me out too much, I may end up taking a few more days to rest.”

“Sure! It’s not good to push yourself too hard, after all! Still, I know Tara and Yumi will be happy to see you looking all better... They’ve been really worried!”

Naturally, I was also eagerly waiting for the day I could see everyone from the post town again. I’d been able to talk with the folks around the forest’s edge who I had ties with quite a bit, but I hadn’t seen anyone from town in ten whole days now.

I hadn’t continuously stayed in the forest’s edge for this long since I first opened for business with the stalls. We had taken some time off in the period between Cyclaeus’s crimes being exposed and his remaining subordinates getting rounded up, but even then, I had kept on delivering food to the inns.

“Now that I think about it, Shumiral’s friends will be heading back to Sym soon, won’t they? If they could’ve waited another two months or so, they might have been able to use the new path through the forest’s edge, huh?” Rimee Ruu remarked.

“Yeah, that’s true... But Radajid and the others will be visiting Genos again half a year from now, so I’m sure they’ll be able to use it then.”

And when they did, would they be able to stop by the settlement at the forest’s edge first rather than the post town? The thought got me a bit excited.

“So that means Shumiral’s been back in Genos for about a month now, huh? Time sure does fly!”

“That’s for sure. It’s pretty surprising, actually... And speaking of Shumiral, how has Vina Ruu been lately? She returned to the Ruu house a few days ago, didn’t she?” I asked.

Swaying left and right with the motion of the wagon, Rimee Ruu energetically responded, “Oh yeah! Vina’s been sighing even more than before she left! She even got in a big fight with Darmu a little while ago!”

“D-Darmu Ruu and Vina Ruu got in a big fight? Haven’t they always been really close as siblings?”

“Yup! But that might actually make them get into fights even more... Darmu got angry and said, ‘If you’re that crazy for the guy, why don’t you just join the Ririn clan already?!’ and Vina snapped back, ‘Yeah, well, when are you gonna get married, huh?’ and they were throwing stuff and pulling hair... And it kept going until Papa Donda started shouting at both of them.”

“Hmm. Is it okay if I think that sounds adorable?”

“Yeah! I thought it was fun too!”

In that case, I hoped it wasn’t all that serious of a fight after all. Shockingly, though, I could hear Ai Fa giggle with trembling shoulders upon hearing that.

“My apologies. This is a serious matter for the Ruu clan, but I couldn’t stop myself from laughing when I pictured it.”

“Yeah, Ludo and Granny Tito Min laughed too! Reina got kinda panicky, though, and Jiza was all quiet and just looked astounded!”

Hopefully that was all that it amounted to. After all, this was basically an incident where Shumiral’s presence had stirred things up in the Ruu clan. Still, I figured Vina Ruu was the one at fault here, due to her difficult personality.

Our chat continued like that until we finally arrived at the Sauti settlement.

There were already a pair of luxurious totos-drawn box carriages off to the side of the main house, one bearing the crest of the house of Genos and the other the house of Daleim. I noted that though the house of Turan was also involved with this matter in a big way, I couldn’t see their crest anywhere.

However, as we were heading over to the kitchen, I saw the familiar face of Torst standing there under the hastily constructed overhang. Lefreya was the head of the house of Turan officially, while he acted as her guardian. And when Ai Fa noticed who the person standing next to him was, I could see her expression grow tense. That was because it was none other than Lefreya’s attendant Sanjura, wearing a hooded cloak of the kind favored by easterners.

“Thank you for coming all this way. I am glad to see you looking well, Jiza Ruu,” Melfried started by saying, clad in Jagar-style attire that looked easy to move in rather than his usual white leather armor. Naturally, he was wearing rain gear much like Sanjura as well. His choice of clothing seemed to be meant to show that he was here in his capacity as the mediator between the nobles and the people of the forest’s edge rather than as the head of the ducal guard. However, his cool and commanding presence hadn’t changed in the least.

“Indeed,” Jiza Ruu replied with a nod, taking note of each of the visitors who were present. Melfried served as the mediator with our people, and Polarth was his aide. Torst and Sanjura were Lefreya’s guardian and attendant, respectively. Those were the four that I recognized, with the rest looking like officers from the guards. There were more than ten of them in total.

Dari Sauti and one other young hunter were also standing there under the large overhang. If my memory wasn’t failing me, he was the head of the Vela, a clan under the Sauti. The previous clan head had been injured by the lord of the forest, and was no longer able to hunt, which led to the responsibility falling to this young man.

We lined up beside Dari Sauti, and Polarth shot me a bright smile. “I heard about your illness, Sir Asuta! I never knew Amusehorn’s breath could afflict a visitor from overseas in such a manner. I feel relieved to see you looking well now.”

“Yeah. Thank you.”

“Be that as it may, I never expected I would set foot in the settlement at the forest’s edge like this! You truly can never tell where fate will lead you.”

Right. This was only the second time in eighty years that nobles had visited the settlement at the forest’s edge. The first one to do so had been none other than Lefreya herself. After her father’s wrongdoings had been exposed, she had visited us here to ask that I make one final meal for Cyclaeus using giba meat... And then she cut her long hair as payment. Sanjura had accompanied her back then as well. He had an eastern mother and looked entirely like a citizen of Sym. Currently, he was staring my way with a calm expression.

“Allow me to make a statement before we begin,” Melfried said, a chilly light shining in his gray eyes. “Sanjura has already been whipped as punishment for his crimes, but I’m sure you are not overly pleased with him being here at the forest’s edge. Out of consideration for your position, we have removed all blades from his person. Lady Lefreya, head of the house of Turan, was insistent that he should accompany us, and I decided to allow it. However, Sir Torst is in charge of the house of Turan and is here with us today, so I believe there is no pressing need to have Sanjura present as well. As such, if you take offense to him being here, I shall have him return to the carriage. What say you?”

“I don’t think we have any reason to object at this point... If you have dealt with him in the way you believe is best, it should be no issue,” Dari Sauti replied.

“However,” Jiza Ruu added, “I would like to know why she was so insistent about having this Sanjura man accompany us. He is nothing more than Countess Lefreya’s attendant, is he not?”

“That is in fact the crux of the matter. Put simply, it was none other than the head of the house of Turan, Lady Lefreya herself, who has been pushing for sufficient food to be provided to the northerners,” Polarth declared.

“Oh?” Jiza Ruu questioned, turning toward him. “But that Lefreya girl is supposed to be the head of her house in name only, while that Torst man there is actually in charge of handling its affairs, correct?”

“That is indeed the case. That is why it is necessary to clarify the circumstances to you, our esteemed friends from the forest’s edge. After all, as per the agreement between Duke Genos and the leading clan heads, Lady Lefreya has not been granted the power to act as the head of her house,” Melfried said.

That agreement was the reason Lefreya had not been imprisoned for the crime of abducting me, and it had been negotiated because if she had been held accountable for those crimes, the nobles would have had to strip her of her title. But in exchange for accepting those conditions, Bartha’s crimes from her bandit days had also been pardoned. Apparently, it had been important for Marstein to transfer the title of Countess Turan to Lefreya as quickly as possible so he didn’t have to unilaterally get rid of the noble house entirely, as that would have caused him to lose face in the capital of Selva.

“In order to prove that we have not gone back on that agreement, allow me to offer an explanation. Lady Lefreya is the one who made the proposal, but it was her guardian Sir Torst who gave his approval... That is correct, is it not, Sir Torst?”

Melfried sent a glance at Torst, who lowered his gaze until he was looking at the ground and replied, “Y-Yes.” He was an older nobleman with a timid air about him, and his face was all wrinkly like a pug’s. He probably wasn’t always this fainthearted if he had been assigned the role of Lefreya’s guardian, but I couldn’t remember him ever not looking exhausted. He had been a social outcast when Cyclaeus had been in charge, but then he’d had the full responsibility of the noble house suddenly thrust upon him, which must have caused him all kinds of hardships. “I-I myself was bewildered at first, as I did not understand the lady of the house’s intentions. After all, what good would come of showing favorable treatment to northerners? Laughable as it may be, I was even starting to wonder if she intended to stage a revolt using the northerners, or something like that.”

“That is no laughing matter. Still, if the northerners of Turan revolted outside of the stone walls, they would be no threat to the castle of Genos. Especially since the slaves who were taken to the Turan lands have no experience with war.”

“R-Right. So I inquired as to her thinking...and it seems that she feels compassion for the northern woman who works as her servant.”

“Her servant? You mean that huge woman?” Ludo Ruu asked. He had been staring at Sanjura this whole time, but that had gotten him to turn his gaze in Torst’s direction out of curiosity.

Torst wiped his brow, clearing away his sweat before it started to bead up. Then he nodded and replied, “Yes. She was the only maid out of those who served the house previously who was permitted to stay by Lefreya’s side, and her name is Chiffon Chel. You people of the forest’s edge have met her multiple times now at the manor. And as the lady of the house has grown closer to the girl, she has started to become more and more troubled by how the northerners are treated.”

This was a really unexpected turn of events. Still, at this point Sanjura and Chiffon Chel were the only people Lefreya had by her side. As she was the daughter of the criminal Cyclaeus and a kidnapper in her own right, Marstein and the other nobles were quite cautious of her. She had been cast out from high society, and had become the head of her house in name only.

“Still, we could not change our treatment of the northerners based on her sentiments alone, and so instead, she began insisting that we should make an effort to ensure that the northerners will continue to benefit the Turan lands and Genos in its entirety as much as possible.”

Melfried and company must have heard this already, but the people of the forest’s edge all looked perplexed. It seemed like Dari Sauti was unhappy with the circumstances the northerners were facing because he had interacted with them up close, but generally such matters had nothing to do with us.

At any rate, with everyone’s attention fixed on him, Torst seemed to be trying to shrink away from us.

Then, Sanjura finally spoke up. “Treatment of northerners, varies greatly, throughout Selva. I cannot say, I have traveled to, that many places, around the nation...but to the north, and near the capital, they are treated more roughly, while in other areas, they are treated more gently. It changes, based on how much, northerners are hated, in an area.” His voice was just as calm as Shumiral’s, and he was a bit more fluent than my good friend. The hunters—Ai Fa, Ludo Ruu, and Shin Ruu in particular—watched him with vigilant gazes. “That is what, led to the change, in Lefreya’s thinking. If the northerners, are treated more kindly, they can exhibit, greater strength. If their meals, and treatment improve, they will bring more wealth, to the Turan lands and Genos, than the cost of those improvements, she believes.”

“And, well, in this case, that means providing ingredients like fuwano, sugar, and tau oil. They provide nutrition, of course, but also, if the northerners are given good food to eat, perhaps they will work harder. At least, that’s the idea,” Polarth chimed in. “Apparently, exceptional workers in the Turan lands are given something of a reward. Those who can understand the western tongue or who do more work than the others will be given better meals and bedding. Lady Lefreya’s proposal is to raise those standards further.”

“This town of Genos is located quite far south in Selva’s territory. We live our lives completely removed from the war at the border, and do not have much reason to hate northerners as a result. Even so, it is absolutely forbidden by the laws of the kingdom to grant northerners their freedom, so they must remain as slaves. However, it seems that there are a few places where northerners are paid wages, and some are even permitted to marry among themselves,” Torst stated, his words flowing a bit smoother now that the other nobles had spoken. “I intend to inquire with the merchants who visit Genos so that I may thoroughly ascertain how true all of that is, but at any rate, the previous head of the house had the northerners brought here on his own initiative, and so figuring out how we should handle them has been quite a problem for us.”

“On top of that, it seems there is no shortage of citizens of Sym and Jagar who do not approve of the mistreatment of northerners. It seems the east and south have no policy of taking slaves from enemy nations... Of course, we do not do any such thing here in Genos either.”

“However, it is also forbidden by the laws of the kingdom to return captured northerners to Mahyudra. After all, to our countrymen fighting at the border, that would be tantamount to giving assistance to the enemy. If released slaves were to take up arms as northern soldiers, that would worsen the danger our forces are facing, so that is also not an option.”

Dari Sauti looked rather stumped after hearing all of that from Torst, Polarth, and Melfried. “It seems the northerners have proved to be quite difficult for you to deal with. I suppose that is yet another ‘gift’ that Cyclaeus thrust upon you.”

“Indeed. On top of that, the majority of the work in the fields of the Turan lands was reassigned to the northerners, leaving many of the townsfolk without jobs, which has caused matters to deteriorate on that front as well. The recent robbery is clear evidence of that.” As Melfried spoke, the look in his gray eyes grew even chillier. Naturally, the incident being discussed was the one where Mikel and Myme’s house had been attacked. Donda Ruu had pressed Melfried about it quite harshly, questioning what in the world was wrong with the state of the Turan lands. “What it all amounts to is that we will have to decide how to handle the northerners with the utmost care and consideration for many different factors... I also have a message I would like to convey to the leading clan heads of the forest’s edge.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“We would like to have you be mindful about how you interact with the northerners from here on out as well. To be specific...please refrain from making proposals to us out of compassion for the northerners.”

Suddenly, the atmosphere started to feel a bit tense. Melfried had been rather amicable lately, but he was once again showing how formidable he could be, like a frigid blade.

“So our request was out of line, then? But we share the head of the house of Turan’s opinion that giving them more proper meals would allow them to work harder,” Dari Sauti calmly replied.

“Yes,” Melfried answered with a nod. “But the house of Turan is responsible for the northerners, while the people of the forest’s edge are of a different standing entirely. As mentioned before, treating northerners with kindness could run afoul of the laws of the kingdom. And please understand that as you people of the forest’s edge are common citizens of Genos, you would generally not be permitted to offer such proposals in the first place.”

“I see” was all Dari Sauti could say in response. Meanwhile, Jiza Ruu’s narrowed eyes remained fixed on Melfried.

The tension in the air steadily rose. However, Polarth then interjected from off to the side with a smile, cutting right through it. “It all just goes to show how cautious we must be in handling the northerners. And that is not because of the laws of Genos, but rather of the kingdom. If Genos were to make a mistake with them, then Duke Genos would face punishment from the king of Selva.”

“The king of Selva, you say? But does the king not live a whole month’s travel on totosback from here?”

“That is precisely the case. But Genos is one of the most prosperous towns in all of Selva, so the capital watches it very carefully. After all, they fear that if Genos grows too powerful, it may free itself from the kingdom’s control and declare itself an independent city-state.” That was apparently why the Genos duchy had also been divided into three counties. They feared what would happen if the house of Genos had a monopoly over that much influence and wealth. “Given that, inspectors do visit us every now and then, typically in conjunction with the delivery of foodstuffs from the capital. That happens two to three times every year, and I am certain we will see them again once the rainy season clears up.”

“If those people from the capital hear of this matter, the people of the forest’s edge will be the ones in danger. If the capital determines that you are a dangerous group that opposes the monarchy, we would be utterly unable to save you,” Melfried said, staring down Jiza Ruu and Dari Sauti. “As the mediator with the people of the forest’s edge and the heir to the house of Genos, I would like to form proper bonds with you all, which is why I need to ask you to refrain from acting rashly. The current ruler of this land, Duke Marstein Genos, feels much the same.”

“It seems this issue is too complex for us to fully discuss it standing out here in the plaza,” Dari Sauti said, his square face breaking out in a reassuring smile. “I assure you, I have taken your message to heart, as one of the leading clan heads of the forest’s edge. We have our own thoughts and feelings on the matter, but we have not forgotten that Duke Genos is the lord of this land. When we three leading clan heads next gather, we will debate this matter until all of you are satisfied.”

“Understood... However, as I see it, I believe it may be insufficient for the leading clan heads of the forest’s edge to only meet with us once every three months. I would like to increase that to once a month, or at least every other month.”

“I see. I shall tell the other leading clan heads that as well, but personally, I’m in full agreement.”

With that, the tension lingering in the air finally calmed.

“Well then, why don’t we get started with today’s work? It seems the northerners’ chefs have arrived,” Polarth stated.

I turned to look, and sure enough, I saw another carriage approaching. There was a westerner in rain gear in the driver’s seat, most likely a guard. I could see he was wearing a leather breastplate under his rain clothes.

After getting down from the carriage and saluting to Melfried and the other nobles, he opened the door of the passenger compartment...and at last, the northern women appeared from inside.