Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 25 - Chapter 4.3

3

After returning to the Fa house from the Ruu settlement, we set about handling preparations for tomorrow.

There were already nine women awaiting us there in the kitchen when we arrived. They included the Matua and Meem women who helped out with work in the post town, Lili Ravitz, and two women each from the Fou, Ran, and Liddo. Then you had me, Toor Deen, and Yun Sudra, bringing our total up to twelve. But even still, our newly built kitchen space was big enough to allow us all to work without issue.

“Welcome back, Asuta. We’ve largely gotten the spices ground down into powder already.”

“I see, thank you.”

I could smell the aroma of the spices used to make the curry base wafting throughout the kitchen. Since we couldn’t make pasta due to the poitan shortage, it was imperative for us to make sure our curry base production continued to go as smoothly as it had been before the rainy season.

The women all got right to work without needing any instructions from me. At this point, our workflow was sufficiently well established that they could carry on just fine without needing me to tell them what to do. Even with a few inexperienced cooks in the mix, the practiced hands could support them, so they were able to wrap up their tasks quickly and efficiently.

“How have things been with the Ravitz clan lately?” I called out while giving Yun Sudra pointers on how to cut the meat.

Lili Ravitz, who was currently stirring karon milk, tilted her head a bit and replied, “There have been no real changes of note. The biggest thing is the number of giba being hunted has fallen off because of the rainy season.”

Lili Ravitz hadn’t previously been participating in these prep work sessions, but thanks to the rainy season, she had more leeway with work around her house now, so she had started joining in on days when she was on duty.

The Ravitz clan only purchased a very limited variety of ingredients, so she wouldn’t have much opportunity to put the knowledge she gained here to use. Even so, I was happy to see that a man who opposed our actions like Dei Ravitz had asked his wife to take part in this work.

Dei Ravitz was also greatly interested in hunting dogs. If the Ruu clan decided it would be acceptable to keep using them, he was planning to purchase some soon after the end of the rainy season. I secretly thought to myself that it would be nice if that led to the Ravitz hunting more giba and starting to buy more kinds of ingredients than they did now.

“Ah, right, now that Asuta’s feeling all better, isn’t it about time to move forward with that one matter, Yun Sudra?” the older Fou woman asked.

Yun Sudra’s gaze fell down to her hands, and she quietly replied, “You’re right... But even so, I’m in no position to interfere... I just want to wait for my clan head’s decision.”

“Oh? But you’re an involved party too, aren’t you? We’re definitely looking forward to the day when we can welcome you all.”

I had no idea what they were talking about, which one of the Ran women who was working on my other side noticed, and she provided an explanation with a smile. “You see, the Fou, Ran, and Sudra were all thinking of holding banquets where we would send our young women off to one another’s houses in the hopes of pairing them up with young men.”

“Ah, I understand now.”

They were talking about something similar to the sort of arranged meetings some people in my home country participated in when they were looking for someone to marry.

Yun Sudra just kept on quietly slicing meat.

The Fou and Ran women continued their explanation. “The Sudra don’t have many clan members at the moment, right? That’s why we figured it would be a problem to have your men pulled into other clans.”

“So if a Sudra woman marries into either the Fou or Ran clan, and we send a woman to marry into the Sudra, the number of people in your clan would stay the same.”

“It’s easier for a woman to adapt to the customs of another clan than it is for a hunter, after all! And if we form blood ties, the men can hunt together, giving them a chance to learn each other’s ways. That’s why we want to see whether we can have the women marry into other clans.”

The Sudra only had two unmarried women, which meant that even though Yun Sudra was only fifteen, she had been selected to be one of those potential marriage candidates. I had been told a little bit about this plan previously, and I still suspected that Yun Sudra was going to have a rough time being a part of it, considering her personal feelings.

“Well, if there really aren’t any men you like, it’d be fine for us to just marry into the Sudra. Then we’d be proper relatives!”

“Um, that Cheem Sudra man who won that archery contest isn’t married, right? He’s small, but he seems like a fine hunter, and he has a pretty cute face, so I can definitely imagine lots of women being happy to marry him!”

Judging by the Fou and Ran women’s grins, they looked like they were really enjoying themselves. It would definitely be a blessing for the dwindling Fou to add a new clan to their list of relatives. At any rate, I considered all of those clans to be important comrades, so I secretly prayed to the forest that things could be settled in a manner that would satisfy everyone.

It was then that the Liddo woman who had been listening to our conversation with a smile said, “Oh, the sun’s out! Asuta, the poitan and pico leaves are in the neighboring room, right?”

“Yeah. Everything’s ready over in the pantry.”

With that, all the women who weren’t handling flames took off out of the kitchen so fast it was like they were racing each other. During the rainy season, the sun only came out for very brief periods, so it was important to take advantage of that precious sunlight while it was available to dry out poitan and pico leaves, the supply of which was dwindling by the day.

Yun Sudra and I also quickly got to a good point to take a break from cutting meat and followed after them. Looking up, I saw widening gaps in the thin gray clouds above us, and white sunlight streaming down, gently illuminating the ground.

The women were running around excitedly like children, spreading thin layers of pico leaves across cloth sheets. They were also bringing out wooden crates full of all the poitan we could get our hands on, which we had previously boiled down in preparation for this stage.

“You can also dry it out by setting it near a stove, but it really is best to use the sun!”

“The folks back home must be in a big hurry too. We’re getting a pretty good amount of light right now, even though it’s already close to sunset.”

The apparent temperature seemed to have shifted dramatically with the appearance of the sun. When the sunlight hit your cheeks or the back of your hand, it felt like being gently embraced by some kind of great presence.

I called out to the women who had remained in the kitchen through a latticed window. “Once you reach a stopping point, why not take a bit of a break? It’s a rare opportunity, so I think we should all have a chance to take some time to enjoy the sun god’s blessing.”

“All right,” one of them replied. “The curry base is almost boiled down, so this is perfect timing.”

A few minutes later, Toor Deen and three other women came outside holding pots. The curry base also needed to be dried out in the final stage of its preparation.

And so, we all got to spend a few moments just basking in the sun god’s blessing. It was a joy we only got to really appreciate because of the rainy season. I wasn’t sure how much time passed as we took it easy, but eventually I heard the sound of a wagon approaching. It was a huge one pulled by two totos that appeared from beyond the thicket. Holding the reins of the vehicle was an easterner clad in a leather hooded cloak.

“Welcome to the Fa house, Silver Vase. You guys are earlier than expected.”

“Yes. We finished work, sooner than expected. The hunter Shumiral, has not yet returned, so we decided, to visit, the Fa house first,” the young easterner whose name I didn’t know replied, stepping down from the driver’s seat. Eight more easterners streamed out of the wagon in turn, and an especially tall one stepped over to stand in front of me.

“Asuta, we came, to say farewell. I am glad, the rain stopped.”

“Yeah, that’s for sure. From what I hear, long trips are difficult during the rainy season.”

“It is, no issue. After traveling, for a bit, we shall enter, a land where, the rainy season, has no impact,” Radajid said as he pulled back his hood. “You have, many women, who help you, with your stalls. I thank you all, for this past month. We had, a wonderful time, eating your, delicious food.”

“We can’t quite tell you all apart yet, but you’re the easterners who came by every single day, aren’t you? We’re really happy to hear you say that,” the Meem woman said with a bashful smile.

“Of course, we only started working recently,” the Matua girl added with a similar expression.

Once they were done greeting each other, I said, “Hold on just a moment,” and headed into our pantry. Yun Sudra followed and helped me carry out their farewell gift.

“Radajid, this is my gift to you.”

It was just a perfectly ordinary box. However, the size of it caused Radajid’s eyes to open a bit wider.

“This is, jerky? There is, quite a bit, of it.”

“Actually, there’s something else in there in addition to the jerky. This is packed with all the spices you need to make curry, like the mixture that’s drying in that pot over there.”

“Spices for curry,” Radajid repeated, his eyes opening even wider.

“I portioned out the proper amount of each and dry roasted them. We sauté them with aria and milk fat in order to make the curry base. You can toss these spices into soups, stews, or even stir-fries as well to lend the dish the taste of curry.”

“But...herbs and spices from Sym, are valuable, in Genos, are they not?”

“Even so, I really want the people close to you and Shumiral to taste it. It would be more than enough for me if you would tell me their impressions when you next visit Genos.”

“But...”

“Oh, and please bring lots of seasonings back to Genos with you. This is a dish we can’t make without them, after all. We’ll be counting on you.”

Radajid gave a small sigh before accepting the box. Then another member of the group ran over and politely took it from him.

“Asuta, thank you, for your kindness.”

“Ah, no. It’s to show my gratitude to all of you for coming by the stalls each and every day. I also hope you’ll see it as proof of our friendship, considering we have a shared friend in Shumiral, so there’s no need to repay me.”

“We cannot, accept that,” Radajid said, signaling to one of his people with his eyes. Another young man approached holding a flat wooden box. Radajid accepted it, and then held it out to me. “This is our present, to you.”

“Uh, but I can’t accept such a—”

“We accepted, your gift.”

This was probably not a good time for Japanese-style modesty, so I simply accepted with a bow and a “Thank you.” It was a flat wooden box, square in shape with thirty centimeter sides and a depth of around twelve or thirteen centimeters. It felt quite a bit heavier than it looked.

“This is a leftover, item we, did not sell, but it is, most certainly, not of poor quality.”

“Thank you. Is it okay if I open this here?”

Radajid gave a nod, so I had Yun Sudra support the underside as I lifted the lid off the box. Instantly, the contents caught and reflected the sunlight that was coming down on us from overhead. Inside was a large glass plate. The whole thing had been finely engraved, and it sparkled like a gemstone.

“Ooh!” As Yun Sudra and the other women peered in from the side, they all exclaimed excitedly.

“Th-This must cost quite a bit, right? I know it may be tactless to discuss prices, but still.”

“It is, no issue. This is not just, proof of our friendship, but also payment, for a request, we wish to make, of you.”

“A request?”

“Yes. We ask, that you please, watch over Shumiral,” Radajid replied, his tall frame bending down in a deep bow.

The other eight members of the group all bowed as well.

“Shumiral’s destiny, belongs to him. You need not, lend him, your strength. We simply wish, for you, to watch over him. We cannot do so, and as such, we must ask this, of you. Please watch, over him, as his fate, plays out.”

“Got it. I’ll swear on my name and this wonderful gift that I will see that promise through.”

“Thank you,” Radajid stated, slowly raising his head.

Naturally, there was no expression on his face. But even so, in his black eyes I could clearly sense his concern for Shumiral and his trust in me.

A few hours passed by after that, and night arrived.

As we ate dinner in the candlelight, I told Ai Fa the origin of the glass plate now adorning our main hall.

“I see. Shumiral and his group genuinely seem to possess a bond similar to that of blood,” Ai Fa stated in an incredibly solemn tone. She had gotten excited like a child when she first saw the glass plate, so perhaps now she felt a need to regain her dignity. At any rate, my clan head adored such beautiful glasswork. “When they next return to Genos, Shumiral will leave the forest’s edge for half a year, correct? You should watch with your own eyes to see if he will be granted the Ririn name before then, and if he shall be permitted to marry into the Ruu.”

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I intend to do,” I replied, thinking back on the tears and the smile Vina Ruu had shown me earlier in the day.

In the meantime, we steadily ate our meals. For tonight’s dinner, I had made a sirloin sauté with tarapa sauce, a giba meat cream stew, a side dish of bell-pepper-like pula stuffed with minced meat, and a fresh vegetable salad.

This was the last of the tarapa and pula we would be getting for a while. For the salad, I had used plenty of the cabbage-like tino, and added a specially made dressing prepared from ground sesame-like hoboi seeds.

Watching Ai Fa eat those dishes was enough to cause my heart to bubble up with joy. It had been several days now since I had resumed making dinner, and the feeling was just as strong now as it was then.

“You taught the northern women how to make this stew with karon milk, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. But I’d prefer to find a way to make a better stock for it, both when I make it and when they do. If I could boil kimyuus bones for half a day, that would probably produce a deeper flavor.”

If I paid them coins, I could ask the neighboring woman to do that. But I felt awkward about hiring people to help make an everyday dinner, and besides, I wanted to make meals for Ai Fa all on my own as much as possible.

“Ah, right, there’s something I wanted to discuss with you, Ai Fa. Would it be okay if I buy some bricks in town?”

“Bricks? You mean those things that are used for making houses in the castle town?”

“Yeah, those are the ones. I want to use them to make a stone oven here at the forest’s edge. It would probably be difficult to gather stones and clay during the rainy season, so I figured it would be quicker to simply buy bricks. What do you think?”

“Naturally, I am fine with leaving that decision in your hands, but can you not wait until the rainy season is over?” Ai Fa asked, seeming a bit confused as she reached out for the salty-sweet stuffed pula ground meat dish.

“Well, I’ve been interested in getting a stone oven for a while now. And besides, I’d like to perfect the process before the end of the rainy season for the northerners.”

“For the northerners?”

“Yeah. Right now they’re being given fuwano, but it’ll be back to poitan once the rainy season is over, right? And poitan doesn’t stick together like fuwano does when you just knead water into it, so it takes a bit more effort to cook. But with a big stone oven, you should be able to bake a lot of poitan all at once.”

“Hmm.”

“With fuwano you can steam it like we do now, or boil it like wontons, but poitan are difficult to handle. We could also look into ways to make some kind of poitan soup that actually tastes good, like what Toor Deen and Yun Sudra tried to cook for me, but I think it’ll seem a lot more substantial if we make it into bread, and be tastier to boot.”

Ai Fa just sat and listened.

“If we could dissolve poitan in water, put it on a large plate, and bake it in a stone oven, that would allow us to make real baked poitan without all that much effort. At the very least, it should be much cheaper to build an oven with bricks than to buy a bunch of metal trays. So, if we have the northerners build a stone oven in the kitchen they’re currently using, they should be able to keep eating delicious meals even once the rainy season ends.” Ai Fa placed the wooden plate she was holding down on the rug and stared straight at me. Her deadly serious gaze caused me to feel a bit flustered. “Of course, it isn’t as if I’ve forgotten Melfried’s warning to not interfere too much when it comes to the northerners. But Polarth said we should voice our opinions freely, and Melfried himself said they might borrow our knowledge when it comes to meals.”

“Such matters do not particularly concern me. I am simply impressed, seeing how you’re even thinking about how to utilize the poitan soup you ate while you were bedridden,” Ai Fa said with an incredibly solemn expression. “Your body has recovered around seventy percent of the way, but your heart and spirit seem to be completely back to normal. That makes me incredibly happy as your clan head, Asuta.”

“I-I see. But you know, you’ve had some amazing results since you started hunting again.”

Ai Fa had returned today carrying a giba in the eighty kilo range, and on top of that, she had the horns and tusks from another one. Apparently, she had run into a starving giba out in the rain, and the fight to take it down had been fierce enough to ruin both its meat and its pelt.

“I took more than ten days off, so I still haven’t done enough. I swear I will do even better in my work as a hunter from tomorrow on.”

“You’re amazing. On my end, we’re in the middle of a slow period, so I don’t know how much I even can work hard.”

“That’s not how I see it. You are constantly coming up with all sorts of ideas as you do your job, are you not?” Ai Fa calmly stated after gulping down the remainder of her stew. “I am proud of you. And I feel truly overjoyed to be able to eat your cooking again like this, Asuta.”

“Yeah. And I feel so ecstatic whenever you eat my cooking that I can barely stand it,” I said with a smile.

Ai Fa furrowed her brow a bit in response as her shoulders gave a little twitch.

“What’s wrong? Did I say something that rubbed you the wrong way?”

“Of course not. I simply do not like it when you look so vulnerable.”

“Huh? Are you saying I have to hide my feelings around you?” I asked, taken aback.

Obvious wrinkles were now forming on Ai Fa’s brow. “Oh. I seem to have badly misspoken. Forget everything I just said. I take it all back.”

“Okay, got it. But I’m kind of worried about you. If there’s something troubling you, let me know, okay?”

“Nothing is troubling me. It’s simply that for those ten days, things were so far outside of what is normal that now I feel like I need to force myself to focus constantly so I can properly act as a clan head and as a hunter.”

“Ah, so that’s why you’re wearing such a serious look. You can be really inflexible, you know,” I said, letting a laugh slip out.

Ai Fa’s body then began to sway. She looked irritated. “It’s almost frustrating, how much you seem to be back to normal, Asuta.”

“Really? I’d say my emotions have been pretty unstable, no matter what I might look like. In fact, just seeing how satisfied you were while you were eating the food I cooked for you made me so happy, I almost cried.” Those were my honest feelings, and I was sure they were showing on my face as well.

Ai Fa rose to her feet in a way that felt full of intent, took three steps toward me, then got down on her knees as gracefully as a carnivorous beast.

“Wh-What is it? You’re staring at me like you’re going to strangle me or something.”

“As if I would ever do such a thing,” Ai Fa said as she gently wrapped her arms around me. Her fingers lightly touched my back as she rubbed her cheek against mine. She had done this many times since I had gotten over my illness, but naturally, it still caused my heart to start pounding intensely.

“Wh-What are you doing? You’re acting really strange, Ai Fa.”

Rather than replying, my clan head just hugged me a bit tighter.

Her warmth, her softness, her strength, and her sweet smell all flowed over me.

I started to wrap my arms around her back as well, feeling like the weight of my happiness might be about to crush me. But in that very instant, Ai Fa let go of me and stood up. Feeling much like I did when she suddenly ripped my bedding away from me on a cold morning, I looked up at her face and the serious expression upon it.

“My apologies. I swear here and now that this is the last time I let my weakness get the better of me.”

“Huh? Ah, um... Sorry, I don’t really understand what you mean.”

“Normally, we would not be permitted to touch one another unnecessarily. Because of our recent circumstances, I had no choice but to break that taboo. However, starting now, I intend to make this a clear line that we shall not cross.”

“Well, I suppose that makes sense.”

“That is why I decided to settle things tonight. I swear that from here on out, I shall not let our bodies touch solely because I feel charmed by you,” Ai Fa stated, returning to her spot and starting to finish off the small amount of food left.

But of course, I was left feeling completely unsatisfied. “H-Hold on a moment. I have a lot of respect for how serious you can be, I really do! But what am I supposed to do with my feelings when you go and draw a line between us all on your own?”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“Isn’t it obvious?! I wasn’t prepared! I moved too slow because I thought I had time!”

Ai Fa tilted her head like a kitten. Her stern expression softened, causing her to look almost content, and throwing my emotions even more out of whack. “I see. I was resolved to make that the last time, but you were not prepared to do the same.”

“Y-Yeah, I guess that’s about right.”

“In that case, you should gather your resolve too, and then you may feel free to touch my body.” Ai Fa remained seated as she stretched out both arms toward me.

With my hands on the rug, I heaved a sigh with all my strength. “I think the sentiment is plenty on its own... Please, continue with your meal.”

“Is that really all right with you? Starting tonight, we will be sleeping separately again, you know.”

“It’s fine, okay! It’s embarrassing when you make me say it again!”

“I truly do not understand you.”

That was because there was a major disconnect between our points of view. However, that was just one more aspect of Ai Fa’s personality. She was still more precious to me than anyone. This was simply the kind of person she was. Both simple and complex at the same time. Though we both valued one another above all else, we couldn’t get married, so how were we supposed to deal with our feelings? I kind of felt like I knew what I had to do, but at the same time, I felt like I had no clue whatsoever.

“I feel sort of exhausted,” I uttered with a sigh, and Ai Fa brought her face close to mine, looking worried.

“That’s because your body isn’t back to full strength yet. If you’re getting too tired, you can take every other day off work.”

“No, that’s not what I meant... Well, whatever,” I said with a chuckle.

Ai Fa seemed puzzled, but said nothing.

“If I wasn’t feeling better, I wouldn’t be able to chat with you like this now. So I’ll just be grateful for that.”

“Right...” Ai Fa had a slightly bewildered look on her face for a short while, but eventually she bounced back and resumed eating.

Outside of the house, the rain continued to fall. The weather that had cleared up in the early evening had gone back to raining off and on again right before the sun set. The rainy season had gotten off to a wild start, and this was just the beginning. We had only made it through half of the first of two months so far. There was no telling what kind of difficulties still lay ahead of us. I vaguely pondered that thought as I continued to enjoy the time we had alone together—just me, Ai Fa, and the giba meat we were eating.