Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 26 - Chapter 5.3

3

Five days later, we got the news that the path through the forest’s edge had been fully cleared. They had originally been expecting it to take until the very end of the red month, but it was now only the twenty-fifth, so they had finished with a good five days to spare.

The reason the work had gone so quickly was that after the giba attack and all the injuries resulting from it, dozens of northerners had been added to the project. Prior to that, they had been falling behind schedule a bit, so it had been decided that more people were needed. And with hunters of the forest’s edge providing protection from further attacks, everything had gone smoothly from then on.

As the leading clan heads had decided, those hunters had come from the Ravitz in the first half of the month and the Sauti in the back half. Only one starving giba had shown up during that time, and the Sauti hunters who had noticed it swiftly drove the beast away, with most of the people at the worksite not even realizing it had been there.

The next day—the twenty-sixth of the red month—was a day off from work at the stalls, which I wanted to take advantage of to go see the newly completed path, planning to visit early in the morning so that Ai Fa could come with me. And so, after we took care of the minimum amount of chores that we absolutely needed to do, we set off in Gilulu’s wagon.

The new road stretched off into the distance in either direction, like it was just natural for it to be there. It was a good bit wider than the path stretching from north to south through the settlement at the forest’s edge, so that wagons of any size could easily pass one another. We were at a three-way intersection where the road met the path that headed north toward the settlement, with one branch going west to the southern extreme of the Daleim lands, and the other extending east with a gentle curve toward the rocky area that created an open space in the forest of Morga, beyond which it eventually arrived in the Eastern Kingdom of Sym.

“They also said they’re going to make a fence or something blocking the path to the settlement. It’d be a real hassle if travelers wandered in, after all,” Ludo Ruu said. He’d previously told us that he would like to come along too if he managed to get up early enough, so we had stopped by the Ruu settlement at his request. Rimee Ruu, Jiza Ruu, Shumiral, and Giran Ririn all joined us as well.

“At the end, of this path, is the center, of the continent. It is an area you pass, while traveling between, Sym and Aboof.”

“Aboof is the name of a city in the western kingdom, isn’t it?” Giran Ririn asked.

“Yes,” Shumiral replied with a nod. “Aboof is on, the northeastern border, of the western kingdom. It takes a month, to go from Genos, to Aboof.”

“Hmm... And it takes two months to travel from Genos to Sym, doesn’t it? So if you use this path, how much would that speed things up?”

“I do not know exactly, but it would be, at least ten days. Also, you could avoid, traveling through, the harsh, desert region. There would be, a greater risk, of bandits, but there are many, post towns, so it would not, be a difficult journey.”

“Ooh, so there are still towns out there past the forest of Morga? I didn’t think anyone lived between us and Sym,” Ludo Ruu chimed in, but then he tilted his head. “Huh? But didn’t you just say that Aboof was at the northeastern end of Selva? And Genos is at the southeastern end from what I’ve heard.”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“Then who owns the towns farther east than that? Were they built by Sym rather than Selva?”

“They are, a mix of Sym and Selva. Independent settlers, control them, rather than the western kingdom.”

“You’re talking about those folks who’re sometimes descended from westerners and sometimes from easterners, but they don’t belong to any kingdom, right? I don’t really get what that means, honestly.”

“The independent settlers, devote their souls, to the four great gods. But they do not, swear loyalty, to any kingdom. Was that not how, the people of the forest’s edge, used to be?”

“You mean back when Jiba Ruu and our ancestors lived in the black forest? I believe that place was supposed to be a part of Jagar territory, but we didn’t have any contact with the outside,” Giran Ririn remarked.

“Yes,” Shumiral replied with another nod. “Back then, the people of the forest’s edge, were independent settlers. But when you moved, to Genos, you became, citizens of the kingdom. Genos is a town, that recognizes, the king of Selva, and belongs to, the kingdom.”

“Hmm. So then, does that mean we could have avoided having to deal with nobles and all of their nonsense if we had moved elsewhere?”

“Yes. But I, do not believe, such an abundant forest, exists outside of, the lands of, the kingdoms. That is why, your people chose, the forest of Morga.”

It was true that there couldn’t be many forests in the world capable of supporting such a large population of hunters. There had been over two thousand people living in the black forest when it was lost to the fires of war. On top of that, they were a people who had likely lived hidden away in the forest for hundreds of years, so even if they technically could have called themselves independent settlers, they undoubtedly wouldn’t have known what the significance of that was. It probably hadn’t even occurred to them that they could look for a new home outside of the territory of the four kingdoms.

“Mount Morga is a sacred land that people have been forbidden from setting foot on since ancient times, and the forest’s edge at its base is filled with vicious giba. That is why a path has never been cleared through this abundant forest until now,” Jiza Ruu stated in a low voice as he stood there solemnly in the rain. “Our ancestors undoubtedly came here looking for a land where they could live as hunters. Even if they could have lived freely elsewhere, they would never have chosen a place other than a forest as their home.”

“That’s for sure. It’s not like I wish I was born somewhere else either. Besides, dealing with the townsfolk and everyone from the castle hasn’t been all bad,” Ludo Ruu said with a big grin.

Rather than replying to him, Jiza Ruu turned to face Shumiral. “Shumiral of the Ririn clan, I understand that your work as a merchant has taken you to many places around the continent. Allow me to ask you...is there truly no forest outside of the territory of the kingdoms that can support this many people?”

“There is not. All abundant forests, fall under the control, of the kingdoms.”

“In that case, even if we decide the nobles and the people of the capital are not to our liking, we have nowhere else to go.”

Ludo Ruu reacted to those words from his brother. “Were you thinking of leaving Morga or something, Jiza? I suppose there was some talk about that back when we were fighting with Cyclaeus.”

“The first one to suggest it was Gulaf Zaza. I do not approve of casting Morga aside...but as one who will eventually inherit the role of leading clan head, I believe it is important for me to properly understand the state of the world.”

Was he bringing that up because he was concerned about the observers from the capital that Melfried and the others had mentioned? Things were currently going well with Marstein, the lord of Genos. But the people of the capital held an even higher position than he did, and we didn’t know what they would think of the people of the forest’s edge. That concern had been on my mind ever since we had gotten involved with the northerners.

“At any rate, we simply need to follow the path we believe is right. The rest comes down to the forest’s guidance.”

“It’ll be fine. When we’re having this much fun, this has to be the right path!” Ludo Ruu declared.

Shortly after that, we turned around and went back the way we came. The newly cleared road that no one had traveled down yet sat there underneath the steadily falling rain, a white mist hanging in the air.

Afterward, I heard a number of additional details regarding the newly cleared path through the forest’s edge.

Firstly, no one was allowed to use it for the moment, the reason being that even once you got past the forest of Morga and the rocky area, you would still have to travel for a full day to reach the next post town. It wasn’t clear if unprepared travelers could make it there safely, and if some kind of unfortunate incident resulted in deaths, that would be a black mark on the honor of Genos, which the castle really wanted to avoid after all the work that had gone into clearing the path.

That was why they were planning to wait until the Sym merchant group known as Black Flight Feathers returned from the western capital, so they could be granted the honor of being the first travelers to use the new road. After all, their leader Kukuluel was the one who had proposed the plan to clear a path through the forest’s edge in the first place. They were one of the largest merchant groups in all of Sym, so they would have no trouble making it through safely. And then they would inform the people of Sym about the new path that had been cleared.

Once that happened, Radajid and the rest of Silver Vase were sure to take that route for their next trip to Genos. Of course, they were probably still right around the midpoint of their trip back to Sym right now. In fact, it was likely that they had only recently left the area where the rainy season was happening. But if this meant their future trips were at least a little easier, I was happy for them.

Then there was the matter of the fence in front of the path to the settlement. Apparently, the castle town had made a number of suggestions about how it should be constructed. However, the topic was apparently of little interest to the leading clan heads. After all, no matter how sturdy of a fence they made, people would still be able to get around it and into the settlement by simply stepping a short distance into the forest at either end. Besides, there was already a path from the forest to the farms fairly close by, and it wasn’t like there was a law preventing entry in the first place.

Basically, only the folks from the castle town thought there was any need to be concerned about the fact that the new road that had been carved through the forest was right next to the settlement. Once it started seeing general use, then there was a possibility that somebody with bad intentions could more easily slip into the settlement, but the intruder would be the one in danger in that situation. Still, everyone involved did want to avoid the trouble such an incident would cause.

Furthermore, the hunters headed out into the forest during the day. If some outlaws sneaked in during that period when only women, young children, and the elderly were about, that would be a lot more serious. On top of that, if their brethren were endangered, the hunters would seek retribution. If that happened, it could lead to the outside world coming to fear the people of the forest’s edge once more.

Thinking back, Melfried had asserted in the past that the people of the forest’s edge needed a lawful way to display their strength to the world at large. When we started doing business in the post town, it became clear that our people weren’t vicious barbarians, and the townsfolk grew less scared of us. Prior to that, though, the townsfolk had been downright terrified of the people of the forest’s edge, which had the side effect of ensuring that none of them would ever try to infiltrate the settlement and cause trouble. It was important to make sure that even if that fear abated, other folks would know not to mess with the people of the forest’s edge. That line of thinking was what had led to Shin Ruu participating in the swordsmanship tournament.

Another part of the issue was that security wasn’t even really a concept for the people of the forest’s edge. Our houses didn’t have locks installed, a fact that had been quite surprising to Myme. They were only equipped with bolts, which generally weren’t used except at night. Locks just hadn’t been seen as having any purpose, as even the poorest people of the forest’s edge would never do anything as foolish as trying to rob someone else.

Because of all that, it had also been suggested that perhaps we should order locks from the castle town for our houses. At the very least, the Sauti and their subordinates could give them a try, as they were located closest to the freshly cleared path. Then even if thieves did sneak into the settlement, they would have to leave empty-handed. The folks from the castle town also argued that if the bandits got shut down right away like that, they probably wouldn’t bother trying other houses.

At least for now, though, that matter had been put on hold. Apparently, there were plenty of other topics that were still being hotly debated in the castle town, with other proposals including setting up a guard station in front of the fence, or even making it outright illegal to intrude upon the settlement.

“They went to all that trouble just to clear a path through the forest’s edge. I have no clue how much wealth it will earn them, but it certainly was quite an undertaking,” Dari Sauti had said at a meeting between the three leading clan heads. Baadu Fou, who had also been also in attendance, had passed that along to me, and judging from the expression on his face, he must have been in agreement.

A few days after that, I got some more information about the goings on in the castle town from a very different source: platoon commander Marth of the guards. He had been given time off due to his injuries in the giba attack, and had been coming by our stalls regularly since then.

Perhaps as could be expected, I didn’t recognize him right away when he first visited the stalls. Without his armor and helmet on, he just looked like an ordinary westerner. I only managed to figure it out a few moments before he gave his name because his left arm was in a sling under his rain gear.

“Ah, it’s been a while. How are your injuries doing?”

“Hmph. You can tell just by looking. I broke my left arm, so I’m not going to be on duty for some time.”

Despite that, he was a platoon commander, so he was still getting paid at least a little, and he would be reinstated right away once he healed. There were a number of people who had been injured worse than him, though, and they had ended up having to retire from the guards.

“Rather than learning their lesson, now they’re planning to construct a guard station inside the forest’s edge. As if anyone would willingly accept such a dangerous posting.”

“I see. I hope that they’ll put enough thought into it to ensure everyone’s safety.”

“They’re also planning to construct a new post town on the far side of the forest of Morga. The amount of greed they’re displaying is astonishing to me.”

I was seriously surprised to hear that too. This was the first I was hearing about the nobles considering such a wild idea.

“A-A new post town? If it’s on the other side of the forest of Morga...then it would have to be beyond the rocky region too, right?”

“Indeed. It takes a full day after passing Morga to reach the first post town run by independent settlers, so if they do build a town in between, the number of travelers passing through it would be more than enough to make it. People have already been sent out to search for water sources and places where fields could thrive.”

“So after the path, they’re working on a town? I have to admit, I’m impressed.”

“Yeah. Practically speaking, Mount Morga is Selva territory in name only, but what they’re planning will effectively expand the kingdom beyond it. If it really does happen, maps the world over will need to be redrawn.”

The implications of that were more than I could wrap my head around. And I was certain the leading clan heads of the forest’s edge were simply going to shrug and dismiss it all as not being their problem.

“Well, it has nothing to do with little people like us. If it seems like we’re going to get wrapped up in it somehow, we can worry about it then.”

“Like us?”

“What, are you trying to say you’re of higher status because you’ve got ties to nobles?”

“No, of course not. I’m just surprised to hear you put yourself on the same level as the people of the forest’s edge when you’re a soldier of Genos.”

Marth made a face like he had swallowed a stone or something. “Don’t pounce on people’s words like that. And don’t you have work you should be getting back to?”

“Huh? But weren’t you planning to order something?”

“You think I have nothing better to do with my money than to line your pockets?”

“I mean, you came all the way out here, so I figured it was at least partially for a meal. Sorry if I jumped to the wrong conclusion.”

The look on Marth’s face soured even more. “I was taking a walk because I have too much time on my hands. I’ve never bought food from your stalls before, have I?”

“Yes, but up until now you’ve always been on duty. If you were planning to eat later anyway, why not have something now?”

Marth’s frown deepened again, but rather than leaving, he hesitantly looked over the row of stalls.

“If you’d like, you could try a sample. Um, how about a soup dish? It should warm you up on a cold day like this.”

I was in charge of the daily specials—deep-fried giba for today—which couldn’t be made in advance. Leaving the stall to Toor Deen, I stepped away and guided Marth over to the traip cream stew stall.

“Hey, I didn’t say so much as a word about eating anything. I’m living off my pension right now, so finances are tight.”

“Our cooking isn’t all that expensive. And a taste doesn’t cost anything. Please, go ahead.”

As I pulled Marth along, I found Rimee Ruu manning the stall.

“Oh, you’re on today, Rimee Ruu?”

“Yeah! I traded places with Morun Rutim! Ah, you’re that man I met at the Sauti settlement, aren’t you? Are your injuries healing okay?” Apparently, Rimee Ruu remembered Marth’s face. And since she tended to leave a pretty strong impression on people, he hadn’t forgotten her either.

“Aren’t you that girl from before? I owe you and your older brother a great deal.”

“I was just helping Ludo out. I’m glad you’re feeling good enough to walk around!” Rimee Ruu’s smile was as warm as the sun itself in the drizzling rain.

“Rimee Ruu, would you mind serving Marth here a sample?”

“A sample? It’s been a long time since we’ve done one! I’ll add some meat on top, then!” Rimee Ruu replied with a smile, serving up a small amount of stew on a dish with a bit of giba rib on top. Then she placed it on the counter with a spoon. “Here you go.”

Marth looked suspicious, but he went ahead and grabbed the spoon, then brought the bit of giba meat and orange stew to his mouth...and let out a strange sound. “Gyuh. So this is giba cooking?”

“Yeah! Isn’t it good? If you want to eat enough to fill you up, it’ll be three red coins, but a half size is only one and a half! A half size is around this much, and it comes with a bit of fuwano bread,” Rimee Ruu explained as she scooped up a ladle’s worth of stew.

Marth gulped. “Th-Then I’ll take a three-coin helping.”

“Do you just want stew? A lot of customers will go with half stew and then purchase a different dish as well.”

“B-But I don’t know what is what.”

“The neighboring stall serves giba burgers, which are made with really soft meat! Asuta is selling giba curry, giba manju, and a fried dish. Aside from the giba curry, they should all pair well with the stew.”

Marth gave a troubled glance around. When his eyes met mine, I saw that his face had gone red under his rain gear. “Wh-What is that look you’re giving me?! I’m free to eat whatever I please, am I not?!”

“Of course. Thank you for the purchase.”

And so, Marth finally ended up purchasing giba cooking.

If I recalled correctly, I first met him nine months ago on the day I had been abducted by Lefreya. Back then, I hadn’t known his rank or even his name. He had been stubbornly avoiding giba cooking all that time, but now he was finally having some. Looking at it one way, you could call this another twist of fate brought about by the rainy season.

The days continued to pass by after that until we arrived at the thirtieth of the red month. The weather had been unstable all morning. There were times when bits of blue sky would show through the clouds here and there, but the rain still came down hard. Then gloomy clouds filled the sky once more, accompanied by miserable drizzle. A few hours later, blue sky would make an appearance again, and it would all repeat.

Apparently, this was a sign that the end of the rainy season was approaching. Short and heavy squalls were a common feature of Genos’s normal weather patterns.

On top of that, the temperature seemed like it had been steadily creeping upward over the course of the past few days. Long-sleeved clothing now felt like too much while we were working with fire, and Ai Fa had stopped wearing her long waist wrap indoors.

“The rainy season is coming to an end, huh? It feels like the last two months really flew by,” I said after dinner during our usual pre-bed chat. Back at Dora’s house, Ai Fa had chided me for getting ahead of myself when I had brought that up, but I was sure she wouldn’t have any objections at this point.

As she leaned against the wall with her hair down, sitting on top of her bedding, my clan head nodded and replied, “Indeed. Tomorrow is the beginning of the vermilion month. We will likely have a few more days of rapidly changing weather, but the end of the rainy season is definitely not far away.”

“I guess the traip and onda will be gone soon too. Thankfully, we’ve got enough in stock to last us for another half a month or so.”

“As long as the tarapa and tino come back, I’ll have no complaints. But thanks to all of you, I’ve had nothing to complain about during the rainy season either.”

Ai Fa had a really soft feel about her today. Back when I had been recovering from my illness, she had made the deliberate decision to act more strict, but she seemed to have loosened up again and was now a lot closer to her usual self. That also felt like a sign of the rainy season coming to a close.

“Then once the vermilion month ends, we’ll finally be back to the yellow month. It’ll officially be a full year since I first came to the forest’s edge,” I said, worrying I might get called out for getting ahead of myself again. As I said that, a bit of a shadow appeared over Ai Fa’s gentle expression. “What’s the matter? Are you worried about something?”

“No. But do you remember how I stopped saying something back at Dora’s house?”

“Yeah, of course. It was pretty unusual for you.”

“Indeed. The red month still hasn’t come to a close, so perhaps this is premature...but keeping it to myself makes me feel uncomfortable, so perhaps now is the right time for me to say it.”

“Hey, there’s no need to hold back. You know, the way you’ve been acting lately has been feeling less and less like you, Ai Fa. What in the world is going on?” I turned to face Ai Fa, sitting cross-legged on the neighboring bedding. She sat up and faced me as well. However, she had her legs neatly folded beneath her and her back was straight, which was unlike her. “You seem sort of formal somehow. It’s not something bad, is it?”

“No, it is not. I don’t believe it is, at least. I still cannot say for certain.”

“You’re making me really curious here. Whatever you want to tell me, I’ll listen until you’re done, so just go ahead and say it.”

“Very well. It involves your birthday. Were you planning to invite anyone to the house for the occasion?”

I tilted my head a bit. “No, I don’t have any plans like that yet. But why are you worried about something like that?”

“Well...I’m sure there are countless people who would like to celebrate the birthday of someone as popular as you. The members of the Ruu, Rutim, Lea, Ririn, and all of our neighboring clans, for example. Don’t you agree?”

“You think so? But birthdays are generally meant to be celebrated just between clan members, aren’t they?”

“For my birthday, you invited Rimee and Jiba Ruu, and we held our festival of the hunt alongside our neighboring clans. There is no taboo against doing such things, so people wouldn’t consider it to be that strange.”

She was definitely right about that, but I still had no clue what Ai Fa was getting at. “Well, nobody’s said anything to me. After all, my birthday’s still nearly two months away.”

“Then it’s possible someone could make such a proposal sometime in the next two months?”

“I haven’t got a clue. Honestly, only a few people even know that I’ve set the twenty-fourth of the yellow month as my birthday in the first place.”

Ai Fa cast her gaze downward, clearly still worried about something.

I leaned forward and stared at her face. “So, what do you really want to say?”

“Well...you see...if possible, I would like to request that we celebrate on your birthday with just the two of us, alone, as clan members.”

“Ah, I see. Yeah, I’d be happy with that,” I reflexively replied.

Ai Fa brought her face close to mine and asked, “Is that truly how you feel?”

“Y-Yeah, it is. Why would I lie about that?”

“Yes, lying is indeed forbidden. You really do feel the same as well,” Ai Fa said, closing her eyes and giving a big sigh.

Pushing down the bliss I was feeling, I smiled and said, “What’s the matter? Have you been worrying about that all this time? I hadn’t intended to invite anyone over for my birthday, and I really am thrilled to hear that you want to spend it with just the two of us.”

“But getting to spend time with Rimee and Jiba Ruu on my birthday made me so happy, and you are the one who made that happen, so if you had said you wish to invite guests for your birthday, I wouldn’t have any grounds to complain.”

“I don’t see an issue with that. You’re my clan head, so you can complain about whatever you like.”

“As if I could simply disregard my clan member’s feelings about something like this. But if you wish to do the same, I’m very happy to hear that,” Ai Fa said, suddenly breaking out in a smile of her own. It was like seeing the sun peek out from behind a dark cloud. “Your birthday is also the anniversary of the day when you first came to the forest’s edge, and the first time we met, so I couldn’t help but want to spend it alone with you.”

“It makes me really happy that you see it that way.”

“No, I’m the one who has the greatest reason to be happy,” Ai Fa said, tilting her head a bit. There was still a brilliant smile on her face. It looked like she had temporarily let the strictness that was demanded of her as a clan head fall away so she could dote on me without reservation. In short, she looked absolutely adorable.

“In other words, if someone proposes anything like that to you in the future, you don’t intend to accept it?”

“Y-Yeah, you can look at it that way.”

“I see,” Ai Fa replied, bringing her hand to her mouth and smiling again. Each and every thing she was doing was so girlish that my heart was starting to pound like a jackhammer. “I’m happy. So very happy, Asuta.”

“Y-Yeah. Me too. Thanks.”

“And I shall take care of preparing dinner on your birthday so that you may spend the day relaxing.”

Now it was my turn to tilt my head with a “Huh?” However, the smile on Ai Fa’s face didn’t shift.

“It wouldn’t make sense to have the person being celebrated prepare the celebratory banquet, so for that day alone, I should man the kitchen and prepare the meal.”

“U-Um, have you cooked anything at all in the last few months, Ai Fa?”

“You should know the answer to that question just as well as I do, yes?”

In other words, she had not. Back during the sun god’s revival festival, Ai Fa had helped out with sales at the stalls for a brief period, but that was the only time I could think of when she had been even tangentially involved in cooking.

“D-Don’t push yourself too hard, okay? Preparing the meal for myself wouldn’t break any taboos, would it?”

“It isn’t a matter of taboos. It’s what I want to do. Of course, it will come out far worse than if you cooked instead,” Ai Fa admitted, but then she gave another joyful smile. “However, preparing a celebratory meal for family is something I haven’t been able to do in so long. That is another reason I would be happy to do this for you.”

“I see,” I replied as the unease I was feeling inside melted away. No matter how poorly it might turn out, Ai Fa wanted to cook for me. I would have to be a real blockhead to let my worries get in the way of how happy that would make both of us.

“I’m really looking forward to it. The next two months can’t pass quickly enough.”

“Two months, huh? I might have gotten rather ahead of myself, but still, I’m glad that I spoke up about this.”

As we sat there illuminated solely by candlelight, we exchanged soft smiles.

The red month and the rainy season came to a close...and ahead of us, we had many more lively, bustling days to enjoy.