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

Bonus Short Story

The Snake Star and the Dog Star

“Hey Yamiru, it’s the sun! I can see the sun!” Rau Lea, the young Lea clan head, excitedly shouted as he jumped into the kitchen through the door.

Yamiru Lea, who was baking poitan alongside the hunter’s mother, replied indifferently. “Hmph. The sun sometimes shows itself even during the rainy season. It’s nothing to raise a commotion over at this point.”

“The sunlight looks totally different now, though! That’s gotta mean that the rainy season will be over soon! You should come out here and take in some of this warmth, then I’m sure you’ll understand how I feel!”

“As you can see, I’m in the middle of some important cooking work right now.”

“Never mind that, just come out front! If you wait too long, the sun’s gonna hide behind the clouds again!”

Yamiru Lea gave a small sigh. However, Rau Lea’s mother then smiled at her and said, “It’s fine, you can leave for a bit. I can handle things here, so by all means, go keep our clan head company for a while.”

“That sounds like a much more troublesome task than manning the stove.”

“Stop babbling and get out here already!”

Rau Lea grabbed Yamiru Lea by the arm and tugged. She was weaker than most women, but even if she hadn’t been, there was no resisting a hunter’s strength.

“Hold on, can’t I at least put on my rain gear?”

“The sun is out, so there’s no need for that! C’mon, this way!”

Rau Lea dragged Yamiru Lea along over to the kitchen’s exit, and instantly the two were awash in white light. The sun really was bright enough to make one forget that it was still the rainy season.

“Well? Isn’t it great? It’s actually warm enough to make these rainy season clothes feel stiflingly hot!”

“I get it, so would you please let go of my arm already? I’ve told you again and again, though we are clan members, we are not connected by blood, so you should not go around touching me unnecessarily.”

“You’re really strict about that rule, and only that rule, aren’t you? Do you hate me touching you that much?” Rau Lea asked with a childish frown, finally releasing Yamiru Lea’s arm. The sunlight streaming through the clouds was illuminating him brilliantly, with his blond hair—a rarity at the forest’s edge—shining especially bright.

Rau Lea had graceful facial features, just like his mother’s. However, the expressions he made were always either fittingly fierce for a hunter, or extremely childish. Even among the hot-blooded clans under the Ruu, he was definitely unique.

“Hmm? What is it? Is there something on my face?”

“No. I was just thinking about how much you look like your mother.”

“Oh yeah? I only ever see my face when I’m looking at it in the river, so I don’t really know it too well, but people have been telling me that since I was young,” Rau Lea said. Then he looked Yamiru Lea up and down with his light blue eyes. “You’re either the first or second most beautiful woman in all of the forest’s edge, Yamiru. Was your mother this beautiful too?”

“I have no idea. My mother died soon after I was born.”

“Well, someone must have told you about her, though, right?”

“Nobody at the Suun settlement would ever bring up such topics with me in casual conversation,” Yamiru Lea replied bitterly.

Despite that, Rau Lea still looked cheerful as he replied, “I see! Well, I’m sure you resemble your mother too, since you clearly don’t look anything like your father Zuuro Suun! She must have been quite beautiful, so I wish I could have seen her at least once!”

“You really don’t know the meaning of the word restraint, do you?”

“Hmm? What do you need restraint for when you’re talking with family?” Rau Lea asked with a tilt of his head, seeming honestly confused.

Back on the night when the townsfolk had been invited to the Ruu settlement for a friendship banquet, Yamiru Lea had asked the Gamley Troupe’s star reader Railanos to tell her fortune. Over three months had passed since then, and in that time, the forest’s edge had acquired hunting dogs. That man Shumiral, who was asking to marry the eldest Ruu daughter Vina Ruu, had brought them from the western capital.

This clan head of mine really does look like a dog sometimes. That was certainly the case right now, with that look of confusion on his face and his head tilted to the side. And when the hunting dogs played with the young children of the forest’s edge, it greatly reminded her of Rau Lea’s childish side.

I’m sure they’re also the same in how they look like completely different beasts when they’re on the hunt for giba.

Even so, there was of course no guarantee that someone born under the dog star would be doglike. However, Yamiru Lea had been born under the snake star and people had long said that she was cold like a snake behind her back, so she couldn’t help but feel on edge.

The dog star will protect the snake star until it regains its strength, huh?

Yamiru Lea recalled how Railanos had declared that in a hoarse voice. But sensing her thoughts growing increasingly enraptured by those words, she hastily shook her head to drive them away.

Why am I still thinking about that? Star reading is hardly something we people of the forest’s edge should care about.

“What’re you shaking your head for?” Rau Lea then asked, looking confused again. “That surprised me. If something’s bothering you, you shouldn’t hide it from your clan head.”

“Nothing’s bothering me. And why should I open up to someone like—” Yamiru Lea started to say, only for something chilly to drip onto the tip of her nose.

Despite how bright the sunlight had just been, the sky had turned cloudy again in no time at all, and in the next moment, a sudden downpour started to fall upon the pair. Yamiru Lea sighed heavily, while Rau Lea gave an amused laugh.

“This is why I wanted to get my rain gear.”

“Yeah. But don’t you think this rain feels a lot more pleasant than the damp, gloomy rain we had before? That must be a sign that the rainy season will be ending before too much longer.” Rau Lea said with a chuckle, sweeping his blond bangs back. As the heavy rain ran down his graceful face, he shot Yamiru Lea a smile. “I was just thinking that it was getting a bit too warm around here, so in a way, that was honestly perfect timing! Ooh, and you look even sexier than usual soaked in the rain, Yamiru Lea!”

“Quiet, you,” Yamiru Lea replied, unintentionally letting a laugh escape her. She was usually very particular about keeping her appearance prim and proper, so her getting caught in the rain and soaked as if she were a careless child must have been quite a comical sight.

And as Yamiru Lea started to laugh, Rau Lea’s laughter grew louder in turn. Rather than trying to flee from the rain, the pair just kept on laughing together, looking for all the world like a pair of innocent young children.