Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 26 - Chapter 5.4

Intermezzo: A Night in the Daleim Lands

On the night when a large number of people of the forest’s edge visited Dora’s house in the Daleim lands, Ai Fa stepped into the women’s bedroom after talking with Asuta, and found that the three others who had entered the room before her had not yet fallen asleep. In fact, they were seated on top of their bedding and were merrily chatting away.

“You three certainly are lively. You aren’t tired, Rimee Ruu?”

“Not one bit!” Rimee Ruu replied, turning toward Ai Fa with a blissful smile on her face. She was a bundle of energy to begin with, and she looked especially enthusiastic about being able to spend the night with her friend Tara and the elder Jiba Ruu. “We all get to be together, so it’d be a waste to just go to sleep! Right, Tara?”

“Yeah! I’ve really been looking forward to having everyone over!” Tara was a small girl the same age as Rimee Ruu, whose eyes were shining every bit as brightly as her friend’s. “Have a seat here, Ai Fa! Come talk with us!” Tara called out, patting the bedding.

Rimee Ruu turned and gave the girl a confused look. “By the way, I noticed how you talk all casually to Ai Fa. And you do the same with Asuta, right?”

“Yeah. Is that weird?”

“Not really, but you’re a bit stiffer around Ludo, don’t you think? Is it the same with other people too?”

“Yeah, you may be right! But Asuta and Ai Fa are the first people of the forest’s edge I ever talked to, so they feel special somehow.”

As Ai Fa sat down atop the bedding, she turned toward Tara and tilted her head.

“But there should only have been a few days at most between when you met us and when you met Ludo Ruu. In fact, you may have spoken with him before me.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Indeed. I am not a very friendly person, and I tried to speak with townsfolk as little as possible back then.”

And now Ai Fa was going to sleep beside Tara, who was from town. Back then, she never would have imagined that fate would eventually bring her to this point.

“But you saved me, Ai Fa! So you really are special!” Tara declared, beaming at Ai Fa.

Rimee Ruu leaned forward. “A drunk man from the Suun clan almost trampled you, right?! And then Ai Fa saved you!”

“Yeah! Asuta protected me, and Ai Fa took care of the bad guy!”

“Huh?! But Asuta’s so weak because he’s a chef! I’m glad he wasn’t trampled too!”

“Yeah! Ai Fa looked super cool!”

The pure look in Tara’s eyes as she made that declaration left Ai Fa at a loss. She had trouble dealing with young children other than Rimee Ruu, and she wasn’t particularly fond of having other people heap praise on her.

“I simply couldn’t overlook a member of the Suun clan acting so atrociously, but you need not think anything more of it. You should instead try to form deeper bonds with Ludo Ruu and the others.”

“I really like Ludo Ruu! But I started getting along with everyone from the forest’s edge thanks to you and Asuta. So you’re special!”

“No, it was Asuta’s efforts that led to all of that. I had nothing to do with it.”

“That’s not true,” Jiba Ruu finally interjected. “We were able to form bonds with the townspeople thanks to both you and Asuta. The reason Asuta has been able to do so much is because you have been there to support him with all of your strength.”

“In that case, we can’t ignore the efforts of the Ruu clan either. Without their assistance, he never would have been able to start running those stalls.”

“Hmm. But now, many other clans are also helping Asuta with that, so I would say the Ruu clan’s assistance was of little importance.”

“That isn’t true at all. The other clans only started to join in because they were following the Ruu’s example.”

“Even so, the role you played was still more important, Ai Fa. The Ruu wouldn’t have taken the step of aiding him if you hadn’t done so first, after all.”

Ai Fa broke out in a strained smile. “I cannot possibly win an argument with one as wise as you, Granny Jiba. But I simply wish to say that I am not someone who should be treated as special.”

“Yes, the fact that we have been able to find and follow the proper path forward for our people is thanks to all of us working together. In that regard, nobody should be treated as special. But you are still special to Tara, Ai Fa.”

Tara then tugged on Ai Fa’s arm with an apologetic look on her face. “Did I make you feel bad, Ai Fa? I’m so sorry if I did!”

“No, that’s not it. But why do you talk to Asuta and I as if we were family in the first place?”

“Huh? But don’t you talk to people you like as if they’re family at the forest’s edge?”

“No, we have no such custom for doing so with anyone outside of our immediate family.”

“Ah ha ha! But you say Granny Jiba too, don’t you, Ai Fa?” Rimee Ruu pointed out.

Ai Fa was stunned by the sudden strike that had poked a big hole in her logic. It was true that Ai Fa had no blood ties to Jiba Ruu, so she didn’t have any reason to be addressing the elder like that.

“You call her Granny Jiba because you really like her, right? So what’s wrong with Tara talking to you like you’re family?”

“Yeah. Do you really not want me to, Ai Fa?” Tara said with a sad look on her face as she clung to Ai Fa’s arm. Even Ai Fa couldn’t raise a complaint at this point.

“It’s not as if I’m firmly opposed. It just sounded odd to me because I am not accustomed to hearing it.”

“Then you don’t mind if I keep talking to you like that?”

“If that’s what you wish, I have no reason to refuse.”

“Hooray!” Tara cheered, the smile returning to her face.

Rimee Ruu looked happy too. “You really do love Ai Fa, don’t you, Tara?! I never noticed, since I don’t see you two talking that often!”

“Yeah, but Ai Fa’s just so cool! She has such a pretty face, but she’s really strong too!”

“Yup, Ai Fa’s cool and pretty and strong, for sure!”

Stuck between the two excited young girls, Ai Fa had to hold back a sigh.

Now that I think about it, something similar to this has happened before in the post town.

Rimee Ruu was a precious friend of Ai Fa’s, and it was impossible to hate Tara, so Ai Fa was truly happy that their bond had grown to be this strong. However, she did hope they would leave her be and have fun with each other instead.

“Hee hee, this makes me feel so happy,” Rimee Ruu said as she wrapped herself around Ai Fa’s other arm.

“What exactly are you so happy about?”

“I mean, I love both you and Tara! So it makes me really happy that Tara likes you too!”

“Yeah! I love you Rimee Ruu, and you Ai Fa, and you Granny Jiba! Oh, and Asuta! You love Asuta too, don’t you, Ai Fa?”

The unexpected strike made Ai Fa hesitate once more. Her cheeks heated up, and her heart started pounding in her chest. But she tried her best to suppress those reactions, and managed to reply, “Indeed. Everyone cares deeply for their family, don’t they? And there are only the two of us in the Fa clan.”

“Then everybody loves each other, right?! I’ll work hard so that you’ll love me too, Ai Fa!”

Tara and Rimee Ruu then carried on excitedly, and as they did, Jiba Ruu gave Ai Fa a kindly look...which only made her feel all the more embarrassed.

Why am I letting a child’s words get me so out of sorts? Ai Fa thought, but she still found that she couldn’t calm herself down.

In her mind, she could see Asuta, who she had just been talking to, and he was smiling at her, which made her chest feel incredibly tight. At last, he had shaken off the last vestiges of his illness and was back to his usual energetic self.

Ai Fa loved Asuta from the bottom of her heart. Not simply as a precious family member, but as someone she would absolutely marry if she could. On top of that, Asuta had told her that he felt the same way. They had promised that if she ever stopped hunting, they would wed...and that no matter what happened, they would always keep the other in their thoughts. Remembering that made Ai Fa feel so much joy and embarrassment that it seemed it would tear her apart.

Rimee Ruu and Tara had long since moved on to getting all excited about some other topic, but Ai Fa’s heart was still pounding, and the heat in her cheeks showed no signs of abating.

What in the world? To have the topic brought up again so soon...

Since the bedroom was only illuminated by a small candle, it was very dimly lit. Even so, Ai Fa let her hair down so that the others couldn’t see the color of her face. Then when she removed her hair band, Tara excitedly proclaimed, “Wow! Your hair is so pretty! I really like it a lot, Ai Fa!”

“Apparently, it’s rare for westerners to have this hair color...”

“Yeah! It’s really nice! Are you still not going to get married to Asuta yet, by the way?”

This time, embarrassment caused Ai Fa to twist away. “I-I am a hunter, so I cannot treat marriage so casually!”

“Oh, really? My dad’s been worrying about when the two of you will finally get married too.”

With the heat in Ai Fa’s cheeks intensifying to a mighty blaze, she couldn’t think of a response.

Then, with a resolute look on her face, Rimee Ruu called out, “Hey Tara, you shouldn’t get too involved with the affairs of other houses! That’s a rule at the forest’s edge!”

“Oh, really? Did I make you mad, Ai Fa?” Tara said with another worried look, causing Ai Fa to scratch her head.

“I’m not mad, no! But as Rimee Ruu said, I would like you to refrain from meddling.”

“Got it! I’ll just think it in my head, then!”

The Tara that Ai Fa thought she knew was supposed to be a much shyer girl than this. But because of the excitement of having everyone over tonight, she seemed to have far more energy than usual.

Rimee and Jiba Ruu were both looking at Ai Fa now, the young girl with a smile, and the elder with her eyes narrowed affectionately.

Hiding her burning cheeks with her hands, Ai Fa glared back at them. “Why are the two of you staring at me like that? Please stop saying such things about us.”

“Yeah, okay. We don’t want to make you upset. But you look kinda happy too, and that means so am I!” Rimee Ruu declared.

“Yes. It’s as if you’ve become a child again, Ai Fa. Seeing you act like this is absolutely adorable,” Granny Jiba added.

“J-Just stop, already!” Ai Fa responded in a manner that was truly childish indeed.

And so, the curtain fell on that night in the Daleim lands, accompanied by a surprisingly raucous commotion.