Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 26 - Chapter 5.5

2

A few members of the Gamley Troupe, including the man himself, were off in a dimly lit corner of the plaza without any mats, enjoying fruit wine and food. However, the two people who were with the leader of the group were wearing their cloaks with the hoods up, concealing their faces. One was that strange creature Zetta, and the other was the person Rolo had referred to as Old Man Rai.

“Boss, these people have come to talk with you,” Rolo called out.

“Hmm?” Gamley murmured as he turned her way. He was every bit as unusual as his companions. He was missing an eye and an arm, though that wasn’t really particularly noteworthy. Serious injuries such as those were hardly unheard of at the forest’s edge. And he was wearing a number of jangling accessories despite being a man, but that was also a common sight when it came to people from Sym and the nobles of Genos. Rather than his appearance, it was the aura he gave off and the light shining in his single eye that set him apart from ordinary folks.

“I’m Rau Lea, clan head of the Lea, who fall under the Ruu. Yamiru Lea here is a member of my clan. We heard you’re leaving Genos early tomorrow morning, so we came over to say our final farewells.”

“Oh? Well, thank you very much,” Gamley replied with a grin, holding the bottle in his right hand up high. He was sitting on the ground and leaning up against a tree in a spot where he could observe the entire plaza. There were a number of wooden plates with a variety of dishes atop them lined up at his feet, perhaps carried over by his troupe members, so he seemed to be doing just fine.

“For a man who looks like he really knows how to enjoy a party, you sure did pick a secluded place to hide away in.”

“Yeah. We perform for a living, so we couldn’t survive without big celebrations like this one. But we don’t get invited as guests very often, so a lot of us don’t know what to do with ourselves when we’re not performing,” Gamley said, taking a swig of his fruit wine. “Once the musical performance is over, I’ll show off my fire again. Can you look after these two while I’m gone, Rolo?”

“Uh, yes, understood.” Rolo had sat down and was nibbling on some meat from one of the plates. Beside her, Rau Lea stared at Zetta.

“You went out into the forest with the hunters too, didn’t you? From what I’ve heard, you have a real strange appearance. What exactly are you?”

Zetta was already mostly concealed by his hood and cloak, but when he was addressed, he shrunk in on himself to become even more hidden from view. Seeing that, Gamley chuckled and patted him on the head.

“Zetta’s parents were a black ape and a human. You’re free to believe that or not, as you please...but he’s a timid fellow, so please forgive him for being unfriendly.”

“He’s timid? But I heard he was quite daring when he was out on the hunt and when those bandits attacked.”

“He’s every bit as capable a fighter as Rolo and our black ape, but he has trouble dealing with anyone who isn’t his enemy.”

“I see. I suppose there are all sorts of people out there.”

It was then that someone started singing over in the center of the plaza, in a voice that was clearly audible over the din. It belonged to Neeya, the minstrel. Rau Lea turned to look in that direction with annoyance on his face and furrowed his brow a bit.

“I think I just heard the Gaaze mentioned.”

“Yes, he did indeed say that name.”

The song was one that recollected events from several hundred years in the past. It was a tale of a people known as the Gaaze fleeing from Sym and encountering the people of the white queen in the black forest. A strange shiver ran through Yamiru Lea as she listened.

The Gaaze had been the leading clan before the Suun. After moving to Morga from the black forest, they had died out along with their subordinate clan, the Reema, and the Suun had come to rule the people of the forest’s edge after that.

If the people of the white queen were a tribe from Jagar, it would match with the legends told at the forest’s edge... So, had the people of the forest’s edge been born from a mingling between Sym and Jagar after all? Yamiru Lea was so shaken by the possibility that it was honestly surprising to her. Our ancestors were called vagabonds until they arrived at the forest’s edge. And I suppose when they did, they decided to end their nomadic ways and live as hunters again from then on.

Even after Neeya’s song came to a close, Yamiru Lea just couldn’t regain her composure.

However, Rau Lea, seated next to her, snorted skeptically. “Hmph. What a suspicious fellow. How can he tell a story from hundreds of years ago like he saw it with his own eyes? Lying is a crime, after all.”

“Oh, is that a rule at the forest’s edge? Unfortunately, it’s a minstrel’s job to talk big like that.”

“I see. Sounds like a fitting role for that guy,” Rau Lea said dourly, and then he leaned over in Gamley’s direction. “Still, those performances you all put on sure are amazing. What kind of things can these two do?”

“Zetta is training in acrobatics, while Railanos sees the past and future by reading the stars. What do you say? Do you want to have him read your fortune?”

“Fortune-telling, eh? The people of the forest’s edge have no need for such things,” Rau Lea said bluntly, and Gamley responded by smiling in amusement.

“It’s true that the stars’ guidance is of no use to those without doubts or worries. I can certainly see why a resolute hunter of the forest’s edge might consider it worthless.”

“Right. But it’s still a fine job—a good service to provide for those who seek it out. It’s not like I’m trying to belittle star reading or anything,” Rau Lea added. It was unusual for him to try to explain himself so carefully, but perhaps he was feeling apologetic for how he had acted before. Gamley, meanwhile, just nodded with a smile and held out a fresh bottle toward him.

“Well then, why not share a drink as proof of our friendship? You know, I think it’s delightful, how bright and courageous you people of the forest’s edge are. Not that I’m trying to bring up that song again or anything, but I’d say that’s something you have in common with southerners.”

“Hmm. So you lot have traveled to Jagar and Sym too?” Rau Lea asked while accepting the bottle.

“That’s right,” Gamley replied with a nod. “We’re planning to head to Jagar once we leave Genos. And we were in Sym before this. Now, Sym’s got a lot to recommend it, but the people there don’t smile at all, so it feels so much more worthwhile to ply our trade in Jagar.”

“Yeah, those folks from Sym don’t seem to even know how to make proper expressions. But then again, there are a lot of people like that here at the forest’s edge too, and I’m plenty fond of them,” Rau Lea remarked with an amused smile, glancing up at Yamiru Lea. “Are you just going to keep standing there forever? It’s not like you’re in banquet clothes, so you shouldn’t have any problem with sitting on the ground.”

“Yes...that’s true,” Yamiru Lea replied, kneeling down beside Rau Lea. Gamley and Rolo both smiled, while the remaining pair kept their heads lowered.

“You all spend your lives constantly going from place to place, don’t you? How does that feel?” Yamiru Lea then asked.

“How does it feel? Well...I don’t think that’s something I can explain simply. In some ways it’s the best, and in others it’s the worst,” Gamley said with a grin as he skewered some meat. “Still, this is the only way that we can live. Just imagining what it would be like to live in the same place for years on end makes my head hurt.”

“I see.”

“Do you have an interest in the nomadic life? We’d gladly welcome a beautiful girl like you into our ranks.”

Yamiru Lea gulped without thinking.

However, Rau Lea just laughed. “Our people can’t live away from the forest. We spend our lives here, and this is where our souls will return to. That’s our way of life.”

Yamiru Lea stared at her clan head from the side. He looked as graceful as any woman, yet he had a bold, resolute smile on his face. His light blue eyes shined with a strength fitting for a hunter of the forest’s edge. He could be a bit short-tempered and childish, but he was managing to lead the Lea clan successfully at the young age of only seventeen. That made him around the same age as the Dom clan head, from what Yamiru Lea recalled. The two of them were also similar in their daring nature and lack of restraint too.

Their resoluteness seemed dazzling to Yamiru Lea, and it was something she was deeply jealous of. It was a strength the people of the forest’s edge had that allowed them to believe with certainty that what they were doing was right, and to proudly, boldly charge forward down the path they thought was correct without any hesitation.

Yamiru Lea lightly bit her lip as she stared at the old hooded man. He hadn’t moved at all as he quietly sat, leaning against a tree. Honestly, he looked more like a lifeless decoration than anything.

“Railanos, was it? Do you require payment in order to read stars?”

Rau Lea turned to look at her dubiously, and Gamley seemed amused as he played with his beard. “We can’t accept any coins at a banquet we were invited to as guests. If you wish, I will do any reading you please.”

“You’re interested in star reading, Yamiru? You sure are an eccentric woman,” Rau Lea said. At the same time, Sheera Ruu started calling out that the whole-roast giba was ready, so he rose to his feet, his eyes sparkling with anticipation. “Well then, I’ll go grab us some meat. You guests can wait here.”

“Ah, I’ll assist you,” Rolo chimed in, and the two of them departed, leaving just Yamiru Lea and the three troupe members. She then moved closer to the old man and sat in front of him.

“In that case, could you tell me my fortune—the future that lies ahead of me?”

“Very well,” the man said, his hand emerging from his cloak. In it he held a necklace made up of transparent stones.

“Could I ask for your name and age, and the month in which you were born?”

“My name is Yamiru Lea. I am twenty-one, and I was born in the green month. Do you not need the day of my birth as well?”

“Oh, the people of the forest’s edge remember the day as well? It’s rare to find westerners who keep track of that,” Gamley remarked.

Still facing the old man, Yamiru Lea nodded and replied, “Yes. We celebrate that date as our birthday alongside our clan members. But as you say, westerners do not have any such tradition.”

“Yes, and southerners don’t either. But your star can be read more accurately with that information.”

“How fortunate. I was born on the thirtieth of the green month.”

“The thirtieth of the green month,” the old man repeated while fiddling with the jangling necklace, his lightless eyes fixed on Yamiru Lea. Apparently, he was blind. His gaunt face, his cheeks and forehead included, had strange patterns drawn across them.

“You fall under the snake star...and rather unusually, it is the two-headed snake star.”

“The two-headed snake?”

“Yes. It is a star of ill omen, which invites calamity that shall throw the world into chaos.”

Yamiru Lea gripped her skirt around her hips as a chill ran down the back of her neck.

“And this star was born of the even more calamitous fire dragon star. They are both stars of misfortune that greedily devour the fates of others.”

Yamiru Lea was dumbstruck.

“However, the fire dragon star that gave rise to the two-headed snake star has perished. The grand lion star led a great many others to snuff it out. What a brilliant shine.” The old man’s eyelids that hid his sightless eyes fluttered slightly. “The grand lion star led the wolf star, the dog star, the leopard star, the hawk star, the cat star, the monkey star. This brought forth a radiance akin to a meteor shower, wiping out the fire dragon star. And this is...a black abyss?”

“A black abyss? I’ve never heard of such a thing in a reading before,” Gamley muttered in a low voice. He must have been taking care not to interfere with the old man’s revelations.

“A black abyss...? No, a black star...? Ah, my apologies, I was mistaken...”

“Mistaken?”

“I cannot read this black abyss. It is a star that is not a star at all, so there is nothing to be said about it. However, it did bring about the chance encounter between the grand lion and the dragon, which led to the dragon star’s destruction.”

“But I’m the snake, not the dragon, correct?” Yamiru Lea asked in a whisper.

“Yes,” the old man replied in a hoarse voice. “The two-headed snake lost its father, the dragon, as it devoured its own tail. It is akin to a ring of repeating agony, an unending death.”

“Repeating agony?” Yamiru Lea almost let a laugh escape her. It was as if something wicked sealed away deep in her chest were trying to wriggle free—a mix of tremendous terror and pleasure coiling around her heart.

“So repeated agony and an unending death are to be my fate?”

“No,” the old man replied, his fingers fumbling with the jangling necklace. His gaunt face was damp with sweat. “Since this is a two-headed snake, it cannot form a perfect loop. It has two heads, but not two tails.”

“I don’t understand. I want to know the ultimate conclusion to all this, whatever it may be.”

“There is no conclusion to tell.”

“There isn’t? Then what exactly have I been listening to you for?” Yamiru Lea sensed that something was wrong with her cheeks. Perhaps she was grinning? She didn’t want to smile, yet her lips had gone and pulled back all on their own. It was a truly strange sensation, like her whole body was convulsing.

“The circle has collapsed. The head that ate the tail and the tail eaten by the head have broken off and fallen into the dark depths. All that remains is the other head. Instead of a two-headed snake, it is now a single snake head.”

“But isn’t the snake star itself related to death and rebirth?” Gamley quietly interjected, and the old man nodded in response.

“This snake head shall shed its old skin and be reborn. It will take time, as it lacks a body, but it should eventually shine brighter than it ever did before. But until that old skin is shed, I cannot read this star’s future.”

“Is the snake head a star of misfortune?”

“No,” the old man answered. “The two-headed snake is such a star, indeed, but it is no longer that star. It is merely a simple snake head, more helpless than a tiny newborn snake, unable to even move on its own. A weak star that laments its own powerlessness.”

Yamiru Lea listened silently as he continued to speak.

“But the dog star beside this snake star shall protect it...until the day that it reclaims its powerful glow.”

Just then, someone suddenly tapped Yamiru Lea’s shoulder. Having been half entranced by the star reader’s words, she barely managed to stop herself from shrieking as she turned around.

“What are you so surprised about? Here, I brought some whole-roast giba.”

It was Rau Lea, holding a huge plate with both hands. Yamiru Lea almost fell to the ground, but she caught herself and slowly shook her head.

“You’re still doing that star reading thing, huh? You really are an eccentric one.” After setting the plate down, Rau Lea flopped to the ground. Then he leaned in close to Yamiru Lea’s face and said, “Hmm? What are you crying for, Yamiru?”

“I’m doing no such thing. I ask that you refrain from suggesting such nonsense.”

“But there are tears running down your face,” Rau Lea retorted, reaching out a finger. He gently touched Yamiru Lea’s cheek beneath her eye, making her pull back with an angry frown, but shockingly enough, the tip of his finger was indeed slightly damp. “Old man, what in the world did you say to Yamiru? Depending on your answer, I may need to have a word with you”

“Stop that, clan head. This man did nothing wrong. I simply got a bit of dirt in my eye.”

“Really? It’s a crime to lie, Yamiru,” Rau Lea said, bringing his face in closer. His light blue eyes were shining, strong and bright like the stars in the night sky.

Yamiru Lea quickly wiped her eyes and smiled. “I mean it. Have I ever lied to you before?”

“You lie all the time. Do you not get how much that worries me?” Rau Lea asked in a firm tone, grabbing her shoulder tightly. “Lying is a crime, but more importantly, there’s no reason for you to lie in the first place. You should just speak your mind honestly. If your words are mistaken, I’ll correct you, and if you’re right and make someone else angry, I’ll protect you. So don’t hide your heart from your companions.”

“You can’t even imagine how difficult that is for me.”

“Of course I can’t. But I at least get that you’re suffering, Yamiru.” His light blue eyes were staring straight at Yamiru Lea, as if they were looking right into her core. They were the wild, merciless eyes of a hunter of the forest’s edge. Yamiru Lea didn’t understand how he was always able to keep looking forward. He was so dazzling that she found it difficult to face him head-on.

Yamiru Lea gave a small sigh, and slapped her clan head’s hand off her shoulder. “Even if we are clan members, it isn’t proper to touch a woman not related to you by blood so lightly. That is a greater crime than lying, is it not?”

“You sure do like to run your mouth. But if that’s how you want it, you shouldn’t worry me so much,” Rau Lea grumbled as he lowered his hand. However, Yamiru Lea could still feel its heat on her shoulder.

That repulsive wriggling feeling deep in her stomach had completely vanished, as if it had been a bad dream. The old man, meanwhile, returned his necklace to its place within his cloak and stared at the ground once more, as lifeless as a statue.

More helpless than a newborn snake, unable to even move on its own... That was undoubtedly the truth. Yamiru Lea was likely weaker than anyone else at the forest’s edge. Or were Diga and Doddo still struggling just as much, unable to find their own paths forward? Without knowing the right path to take, one could never truly have peace of mind.

“Sorry for the wait. I brought some fruit wine too,” Rolo said as she returned.

“Well done!” Gamley cheerfully called out. “All right, why don’t we celebrate our meeting with the people of the forest’s edge once more? How does that sound to you all?”

“Yes, I’ll have some,” Yamiru Lea said, accepting a bottle from Rolo.

“What’s that? You’re drinking too? It’s been a while since I’ve seen you drink fruit wine, Yamiru,” Rau Lea remarked, pouting a bit as his eyes opened wide in surprise. Yamiru Lea just stuck her tongue out a bit at him.

“I simply feel like it today. I don’t think you have any right to complain about that, considering how often you get full-on drunk.”

Rau Lea did not respond to that, though his expression did change.

“Why are you making such a strange face?”

“Well, it kinda shocked me, how childish you looked for a moment there. It was really cute. And it wasn’t just childish, it was sexy at the same time.”

“If letting your thoughts spew out like that is supposed to be an appropriate way to act, I’d rather take my own path.”

Yamiru Lea took a sip of fruit wine. The strong alcohol in the drink burned her throat. It had indeed been a while since she’d last had any, so there was definitely a chance that she could end up drunk by the end of the night.

But now that I think about it... What sort of animal was a dog, again? Yamiru Lea pondered that question while staring at her frowning clan head.

Lively sounds still filled the air from behind their group. Having eaten their fill of whole-roast giba, the troupe members had resumed their musical performance as well.

It seemed it would still be quite some time before the night’s festivities came to a close.