Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 26 - Chapter 5.8

Group Performance: Two-Headed Snake

1

“Sorry for taking so long, but I have your food here,” Oura called out, carrying a large number of plates. Mida was also standing behind her, holding at least twice as many plates as she was. Seeing that, Yamiru Lea moved to the edge of the mat she was sitting on so the two of them could sit as well.

It was the tenth of the silver month, the day of the friendship banquet when people from town were invited to the Ruu settlement. Though darkness had descended upon the world around them, the plaza was illuminated by a number of brilliant bonfires. In front of the largest of them—the ritual fire—two traveling performers were having contests of strength with the hunters.

“They’re amazing, aren’t they? I never imagined there would be anyone out there who could compete with hunters of the forest’s edge,” Oura said while laying out the plates.

Tsuvai then stuck her head out from behind her mother. “I’m astounded by how you only got meat dishes. I was just starting to like poitan too.”

“Mida brought the poitan. Could I have that plate, Mida?”

“Yeah...” Mida replied, his cheeks trembling. He had shed a decent amount of excess fat over time, but he was still too rotund to simply set the plate down next to his feet.

“Oh my, those townsfolk left?” Oura asked.

“That father and daughter pair left not long after you two. They’re chefs as well, so they didn’t feel like waiting around for food to be delivered,” Yamiru Lea answered.

She had been asking about Myme and Mikel, who were residents of the Turan lands. Asuta’s group had also dropped by after Oura and Mida had stepped away, but they had left even sooner, leaving only a handful of women of the forest’s edge sitting on this particular mat.

The Min and Muufa women noticed Mida’s arrival and moved aside to make space for him, since there still wasn’t enough for him to sit in with his huge frame after Yamiru Lea had changed positions. Mida’s eyes blinked on his plump face, and then he said, “Thank you...”

“Ah, think nothing of it,” the Min woman answered with a giggle. Both of those women had been helping out with business in the post town, so neither of them felt any need to avoid Mida at this point, even though he was a former member of the Suun.

“You brought back quite a lot of food. Are you not going to take part in the contests of strength, Mida?”

“Contests...?”

“Over there, with those traveling performers, see? That big one has already sent three hunters of the forest’s edge flying.”

Sure enough, that massive man named Doga was grappling with one hunter after another in front of the ritual fire. After absentmindedly staring that way for a bit, Mida’s cheeks trembled once more and he replied, “But I’m hungry. I’m sure I can’t beat that guy when my tummy’s this empty.”

“Oh, then what about trying once you’re full? I’m sure you could win then.”

“Right,” Mida answered, not sounding especially interested as he sat down atop the mat.

Tsuvai gave a little snort as she looked at his huge body out of the corner of her eye. “Hmph, you’re able to talk pretty casually with other women now, huh? Just a little while ago, nobody would talk to you at all.”

“Mida’s made it into the top eight in the contests of strength between hunters twice now. He also played a big role in that whole ordeal with the Sauti clan and the lord of the forest, so everyone related to the Ruu is proud to call him one of their own now,” Oura calmly said, but Tsuvai only shrugged in response. Meanwhile, Mida was reaching out for some herb-grilled rib meat, his eyes sparkling all the while. “I’m sure you’ll be granted the Ruu clan name soon, so keep doing your best, Mida.”

“Right. I’ve gotta do my job as a Ruu hunter.” Mida still had a bit of trouble with making proper facial expressions, but there was a happy light shining in his little eyes.

Yamiru Lea gave a small sigh before turning to Oura. “Rather than worrying about Mida, what about you, Oura? Or should I say, the two of you?” she asked, keeping her voice low enough that Tsuvai couldn’t overhear.

“What do you mean?” Oura questioned, bringing her face closer.

“It isn’t proper to only spend time with your former family during such banquets, wouldn’t you agree? It’s one thing with Tsuvai, since you both fall under the Rutim, but Mida and I belong to different clans.”

“But...times like these are the only chances we get to see one another. And Mida and Tsuvai both look so happy.”

“I’m asking if it’s truly acceptable to be focusing so much on your short-term happiness like this. Tsuvai in particular still seems to be rather spoiled.”

Tsuvai was currently eating some of the food that had been brought over while noisily chatting away at Mida. From an outsider’s perspective, it might have looked like she was being hostile to him, but it was abundantly clear that the pair were both enjoying being able to talk for the first time in a while.

“Tsuvai is still only twelve, and Mida is just fourteen. They aren’t even permitted to marry until they’re granted a clan name anyway, but regardless, can’t we forget about all that until they turn fifteen?”

“But you’re twenty-seven... Actually, aren’t you twenty-eight now?”

“Yes, I turned twenty-eight in the violet month. But what does that matter?”

“At that age, you should still have plenty of time to have more children.”

Oura’s eyes opened wide. She looked like she truly hadn’t expected that. “What are you saying, Yamiru Lea? My husband Zuuro Suun’s soul hasn’t yet returned to the forest. He’s still off somewhere atoning for the crimes of the Suun clan.”

“But you had your clan name taken and your blood ties severed, so you can no longer call Zuuro Suun your husband, correct? In which case, shouldn’t you carry out your duty as a woman of the forest’s edge?”

“You say that, but you still haven’t married anyone yet, Yamiru Lea, even though you are permitted to wed at any time,” Oura remarked with a gentle smile.

Yamiru Lea roughly tousled the bangs hanging down over her face. “The clan head of the Lea, being the sort of man he is, simply gave me his clan name before I had done anything to atone for my crimes. Your Rutim clan is far more reasonable, so they’ve rightly refrained from doing so.”

“Yes, but Tsuvai and Mida still need you and me, Yamiru Lea. They always carry out their work properly as members of the Ruu and Rutim, so at times like this, I want to let them do as they please. And neither Donda Ruu nor Gazraan Rutim see that as them acting improperly.”

Yamiru Lea had no response to those words.

“Even so, thank you for worrying so much on our behalf. The fact that their older sister is such a kind person is the reason Tsuvai and Mida don’t want to give you up.”

“I’m no longer their sister.”

“That’s true. Still, that doesn’t change anything. I don’t want to lose my bond with you either,” Oura said, narrowing her eyes and staring off into the distance. “I wonder how Diga and Doddo are doing. Are they carrying out their work properly under the Dom clan? And what about the members of the branch houses still at the Suun settlement, and Zuuro Suun?”

That was a topic Yamiru Lea and the others were forbidden from inquiring about, as their blood ties had been severed.

It was then that the noisy Lea clan head Rau Lea returned. “Hey there, Mida! So this is where you were, eh?! It’s almost our time to shine!”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“None of the hunters who’ve challenged those traveling performers have been able to knock them to the ground! So now it’s up to those of us who reached the top eight in the Ruu to bring them down! If we let them walk away victorious, it’ll be a disgrace to all hunters of the forest’s edge!”

“Yeah...?” Mida replied, seeming like he didn’t really understand what was going on. But after shoving the rest of the giba meat he was eating into his mouth, he stood up.

“All right!” Rau Lea cheered out in high spirits, and the pair headed over to the performers. Rau Lea challenged the girl that was dressed in male clothing, while Mida took on the mountain of a man.

“Wow. That guy with the shiny head is even taller than Mida! Mida’s wider than him, but he still might get beaten, huh?” Tsuvai commented, scooting over to Yamiru Lea and Oura now that Mida was gone. Though she was short tempered and had quite a mouth on her, Tsuvai very much feared being alone. The unusual environment in the main Suun house had somehow resulted in her and Yamiru Lea having personalities that were complete opposites.

Twelve... So Tsuvai is twelve now...

Yamiru Lea vaguely pondered what sort of girl she had been at that age. As she was twenty-one now, that would have been nine years back.

Nine years ago, Tsuvai had been three, Mida five, and Oura eighteen. It had been about a year since Zattsu Suun had fallen ill and Zuuro Suun had inherited the title of leading clan head, and also since the vicious man known as Migi Suun had perished.

That was back when it was beginning to become normal for us to pillage the fruits of the forest, and the members of the branch houses started steadily losing the will to live.

Zattsu Suun had become terribly ill, and Migi Suun—who had once been just as feared—had no longer been among them either, yet the dark cloud hanging over the Suun settlement hadn’t cleared up in the least. Instead, everyone had grown all the more nihilistic and had started questioning if Zattsu Suun’s grand ambitions had come crashing down, becoming uneasy as to whether the northern clans would remain fully obedient, and if the Ruu could truly be defeated.

Amid all that, the members of the main house had begun living for pleasure. Zuuro Suun had stood at the head of them all, and Diga, Doddo, and Tsuvai had believed his path had been the right one, becoming lazy in the process. Tei Suun and Oura, who had been brought in from the branch houses, had started to look like they had the eyes of corpses, while Mida became little more than a beast as he immersed himself in enjoying food and little else. Even confined to his sickbed, Zattsu Suun’s influence still hadn’t abated, so everyone had just kept on steadily rotting away, trapped in the cage known as the Suun clan.

Yamiru Lea herself had been no exception. The former leading clan head Zattsu Suun had been more of a living poison than a man. First he had corrupted the members of the main house, then the branch houses had fallen too. In time, his malice would have swallowed the northern clans as well, followed by the small clans, and eventually even the Ruu. At the age of twelve, Yamiru Lea had already understood that quite clearly.

Either that or the Ruu would destroy the Suun first. I believed those were the only two possible paths.

However, the Suun had not been destroyed. The members of the main house had been stripped of their clan name, but the branch houses remained members of the Suun clan. Even now, there were dozens of people belonging to those families living at the Suun settlement. The pillaged fruits of the forest would have recovered by now as well. With the Ruu and the northern clans showing them the way, were they now properly carrying out their work as hunters? She didn’t know, but whether they were doing well or doing poorly, at least there would be nobody calling for their destruction at this point.

Well, I’m sure they’re managing to get by, despite their suffering. And it’s clear that those who used to be their subordinates, like Toor Deen, are living exactly the way they’re supposed to.

The members of the main house who now fell under the Ruu were also living proper lives, more or less. Mida was finally starting to distinguish himself as a hunter, while Tsuvai and Yamiru Lea were helping out with work in the post town. No doubt Oura had her own work at the Rutim settlement that she was taking care of as well. Seeing that satisfied look on the older woman’s face, Yamiru Lea fully believed that she was finally free of Zattsu Suun’s curse.

Even Yamiru Lea was getting along just fine at the Lea settlement. Oura had always been kind, and since she and her daughter Tsuvai had been allowed to remain together, it should have been easier for her to thrive in her new situation.

However...

Zattsu and Tei Suun had lost their lives.

Zuuro Suun had been sentenced to hard labor that was said to be worse than death, and was off somewhere in the western kingdom serving that sentence. He would not be permitted to return to the settlement at the forest’s edge for ten years.

Why did they alone have to face such harsh punishments? Even now, Yamiru Lea was unable to fully wipe that thought from her mind.

Zattsu Suun had been the root of all this evil. For the sake of his ambitions, he had tempted his fellow people of the forest’s edge down the path to destruction, so it was only natural that he would need to pay for his sins with his life.

Then you had Tei Suun, who had assisted in all sorts of wicked deeds as Zattsu Suun’s right-hand man. At the time, Yamiru Lea hadn’t had any way of knowing what sort of deeds those had been, precisely, but he’d had the same sort of ominous feel and smell of blood about him as Migi Suun. When everything had been exposed last year and she’d heard he had killed townsfolk in secret, it had all made perfect sense.

Tei Suun had always seemed like he had wished to meet his end, so Yamiru Lea believed it had been through his own will that he had met the same fate as Zattsu Suun. As such, nobody could have prevented what had happened to those two.

The issue was Zuuro Suun. There was no denying that the man had committed serious crimes after inheriting the role of leading clan head. And yet, Yamiru Lea had serious misgivings about everything that had happened with him.

Zuuro Suun had inherited his father’s position because he had been the eldest son, simple as that. However, Zattsu Suun had been plotting to have Yamiru Lea succeed him instead. The idea had been to have her marry Migi Suun when she turned fifteen and then set her up as the de facto ruler of the Suun. The right to that inheritance was supposed to have belonged to Diga, but marrying him off to a subordinate clan would have taken care of that issue. And as for Zuuro Suun, an injury received in the forest that robbed him of his ability to hunt would have forced him out of his position as well.

That had been Zattsu Suun’s plan, which Yamiru Lea had been told about at a young age. After Migi Suun perished, she had been instructed to find a husband suitable to serve as leading clan head. And Zattsu Suun’s curse had continued to fall on her even then, with his decree that she would not be permitted to marry anyone he did not approve of.

You... You can properly carry on my will. My blood is thicker in your veins than in anyone else’s, Yamiru.

When she remembered that man’s terrifying appearance, face gaunt as a skeleton with black flames burning in his eyes, Yamiru Lea shuddered.

I have more of that horrifying man’s blood in my veins than anyone else. It just doesn’t make sense for my punishment to be lighter than Zuuro Suun’s, does it? She thought to herself, right before a tremendous round of cheering filled the air. Rau Lea and Mida had taken down the traveling performers.

Rau Lea was standing tall and giving a beastly victory cry. It must have been a very close match—he looked even happier than when he had won the contest of strength at the last festival of the hunt.

Rau Lea then held out his hand and helped pull the girl he had beaten back up to her feet, and then the two of them headed over toward the mat where Yamiru Lea was sitting.

“Did you see that, Yamiru?! I beat this girl when nobody else could!”

“Yes, splendid work.” In actuality, she had been lost in thought and hadn’t seen any of it, but it felt like saying anything else would lead their conversation in an annoying direction.

Lying is a crime at the forest’s edge, isn’t it? Yamiru Lea thought. She really hadn’t changed at all.

And then that thin, lanky girl was pulled forward and presented to her.

“Still, she was super strong! I’m shocked that there’s another woman other than Ai Fa who’s this strong! Go ahead and give her some fruit wine!”

“Ah, no, I’m quite clumsy, so I’d prefer meat if you...” the girl started to say, but then she let out a strange cry of “Hwah?!” Her eyes had already been big to begin with, but now they were open even wider. “Y-You’re so beautiful! This is the first time I’ve seen a woman even prettier than Nachara!” she said. A luminous blush was rapidly overtaking her slender face. “Ah, s-sorry! I only just met you, and here I am shouting strange stuff like that... I really am a fool.”

“It’s rare to find someone who would call themselves a fool! But you’re a woman yourself, so if you want to heap praise on one another, it’s no issue here at the forest’s edge!” Rau Lea remarked, sounding like he was in a great mood as he patted her on the shoulder. It went against their customs to touch a woman unnecessarily, but it seemed he had forgotten about those rules. “If it’s meat you want, then have as much as you please! Yamiru, get a plate for her.”

Yamiru Lea shrugged, then held out a plate with rib meat that looked like it could be eaten by hand. “Th-Thank you!” the girl replied, bowing multiple times before grabbing the smallest piece of meat. All the while, her eyes remained fixed on Yamiru Lea with rapt attention.

“By the way, what’s your name again? I remember hearing something about a knight king...” Rau Lea said.

“P-Please don’t bring that up! I’m Rolo.”

“Rolo, is it? What an amusing name. At any rate, you did a great job of entertaining us with those skills of yours, so go ahead and enjoy the banquet as much as you like!”

“R-Right, thank you.”

That Rolo girl kept on stealing glances at Yamiru Lea as she started pecking at the rib meat.

She seemed like a rather silly girl who resembled a totos in many ways. She was tall for a woman, but she was lanky and had bad posture, which made it difficult to believe she possessed strength equal to or even greater than that of most hunters of the forest’s edge. Really, she seemed so undependable that observing her felt like looking at a child who had simply grown larger without learning proper judgment.

Meanwhile, the traveling performers had started playing music in front of the ritual flame once more. There was a beautiful woman playing the flute, a small man banging on a drum, and a pair of twins using metallic pole-like instruments. And just like at the banquet in the Daleim lands, the girls from town and women of the forest’s edge were starting to dance at a leisurely pace.

“Ooh, the women are dancing? Why don’t you join in on that too, Yamiru?”

“How many times must I tell you that I’m bad at physical activities like that?”

“But you’re so pretty that it’s a waste not to dance! And I want to see you do it too.”

Yamiru Lea gave a halfhearted shake of her hand, skipping the effort of even opening her mouth.

With a “Tch!” Rau Lea turned toward Rolo instead. “By the way, where are the other traveling performers? I haven’t seen them at all tonight.”

“The troupe leader’s group is over there enjoying fruit wine. As for old man Rai and Zetta, they’re not fond of such festivities.”

“In that case, I guess I should go greet them! We’ll be heading back to our own settlement after the banquet wraps up, after all, so this will be farewell,” Rau Lea said, holding out a hand toward Yamiru Lea. She just stared at him, tilting her head a bit.

“What is that hand for, clan head?”

“What do you mean? You’re coming with me. You’ve already talked plenty with Tsuvai and everyone, haven’t you? So you should deepen your bonds with other folks a bit too.”

Yamiru Lea thought for a bit, and then she slapped his hand away.

“I may be bad at physical activities, but I’m perfectly capable of standing on my own. Farewell, Oura and Tsuvai.”

“Yes, see you later,” Oura replied with a gentle smile, and Tsuvai just silently nodded. It seemed that someone had dragged Mida off elsewhere, so this would be a good chance for the two of them to deepen their bonds with others as well. There were a huge number of their relatives and guests gathered here, after all.

After that, Rolo started leading Yamiru and Rau Lea over to Gamley’s group. However, they had only taken a few steps when another traveling performer moved into their path.

“Ah, if it isn’t Rolo. That was a rather tasteful performance for you. I think it’s been quite a while since I last saw you run wild without any armor on.”

“C-Cut it out, Neeya... Ah, this is our minstrel, Neeya.”

It went without saying that Yamiru Lea remembered the man. He had made several passes at Ai Fa at the stalls and then had later thrown Asuta all out of sorts with a strange song.

He wore an unusual hat on his head and an odd instrument on his back...and when he saw Yamiru Lea, he loudly called out, “Ah, another beautiful woman! There are so many beauties here at the forest’s edge, but you’re in another class altogether. I am a minstrel, by the name of Neeya.”

It seemed that he had no memory of Yamiru Lea. He must’ve only had eyes for Ai Fa when he’d been at stalls. She didn’t feel any need to introduce herself to him, though, so she simply bowed in response.

“Ah, you’re so seductive it’s almost sinful! Oh beautiful woman, may I offer you a song?”

“There’s no need. I can’t say I have much appreciation for the value of such gestures.”

“Oh, the value of a mere song pales in comparison to your beauty. A single smile from your lips would be more than payment enough. But before that, why don’t we enjoy a bit of fruit wine together? Just the two of us, if at all possible.” The man’s voice was oddly saccharine and nasally. His singing voice had been quite beautiful when she had heard it that night, but she felt no charm whatsoever from the voice she heard now.

“Hey, weren’t you infatuated with Ai Fa before? That’s what I heard from Ludo Ruu,” Rau Lea interjected, turning to face them. Neeya gave him an annoyed glance out of the corner of his eye.

“Ai Fa is that beautiful woman hunter, correct? She is like an elegant leopard, while this woman possesses the beauty of a mysterious snake. My heart soars freely, and cannot help but feel charmed by both of them.”

“I see. Here at the forest’s edge, we call that being faithless.”

“Hmm? What a rigid way of living.”

“Rigid or not, it’s the custom at the forest’s edge,” Rau Lea replied, raising his left arm. An instant later, his fist hit the musician square in the forehead, and the man let out a “Gyah!” as he tumbled backward. “Besides, Yamiru here is a precious clan member of mine. I ask that you not act like that toward her.”

“What are you doing, clan head?” Yamiru Lea asked in astonishment, grabbing ahold of Rau Lea’s arm. The hunter thrust out his lower lip like a child in response.

“His voice and words were annoying me for some reason. Besides, I can’t overlook someone acting like that toward the two most beautiful women at the forest’s edge, you and Ai Fa.”

“Even so, you shouldn’t simply hit him out of nowhere. These people are guests of the Ruu clan, aren’t they? Didn’t you hear Donda Ruu say not to cause trouble?”

There were a large number of people around, and many of them were staring blankly at the commotion. Rolo was rustling her own hair wildly with both hands in a fluster, while Neeya was holding his head and groaning, “Ugh...”

“But I used my left hand, so it shouldn’t have been that painful.”

“That’s not the issue here,” Yamiru Lea said, sighing deeply.

Then a small vermilion figure smoothly slipped through the crowd and approached them. It was that girl Pino who Asuta and Jiza Ruu had formed ties with. “Oh my, what’s all this about? Has one of the members of our troupe been misbehaving himself?”

With the same look as before on his face, Rau Lea turned to face her. “That man was trifling with my clan member, so I hit him.”

“My, it seems that we’re the ones at fault for this disturbance, then,” Pino replied, giving the crouched Neeya a whack on the head.

With tears in his eyes, Neeya wailed, “What was that for?! Nothing I did could possibly have justified him hitting me! Rolo saw the whole thing!”

“Quiet, you blockhead minstrel. Did you already forget that the leader said not to cause any trouble?” Pino questioned with both hands on her hips, leaning in to glare at Neeya’s face from up close. “Besides, how many times has the way you treat women caused an issue at this point? This happens so often that I’m not going to bother listening to your excuses anymore, and if you think the leader and I will just keep letting it slide, you’re sorely mistaken.”

“H-Hey, why do you always treat me like a villain?!”

“How can we not when you always act like one? You are a complete and utter fool, after all.” With that, Pino stood, and fixed Neeya’s hat that her blow had knocked askew. “Now then, you have work to do, don’t you? We got the leading clan heads’ permission, so get ready to show off that voice you’re so proud of. That’s your only redeeming feature, after all.”

“Hmph!” With a childish snort, Neeya left straightaway without looking back once.

As she watched him go, Rolo slid closer to Pino. “U-Um, Pino, well...”

“Don’t worry about it. I know you’re not equipped to keep that blockhead under control. Sorry for the commotion, folks. Please, continue enjoying the banquet!” Pino said to the surrounding people of the forest’s edge, looking around at them with an enchanting smile. Then her gaze stopped on Yamiru Lea’s group. “You don’t mind letting him go, do you? Allow me to apologize in his place.”

“There’s no need for that. We’re the ones who laid a hand on him,” Yamiru Lea said. Then she directed a pointed glare at Rau Lea, who rather reluctantly bowed his head.

“Yeah, you’re right, I was probably a bit too quick to lose my temper there. But still, he didn’t apologize to us, so I have no intention of apologizing to him either.”

“That’s fine. We can just exchange bows and call it settled,” Pino said, bringing her hands together in front of her and bowing deeply. When she raised her head, though, she was grinning. “Well then, I have someone I need to go speak to, so please excuse me. I leave the rest to you, Rolo.”

As the last one left, Rolo timidly approached the pair from the Lea clan. “U-Um, do you still wish to greet the other members of the troupe?”

“Of course. I’ll do my best to keep my short temper in check from now on, so please show us the way.”

Rolo smiled in relief. It was a surprisingly charming expression, overflowing with childlike innocence.