Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 27 - Chapter 1.4

4

The days continued to pass on by unremarkably until the twelfth of the vermilion month arrived. It was five days after the night when Geol Zaza had visited the Fa house, and the competition he had proposed was set to be held today. After a number of meetings in both the settlement at the forest’s edge and the castle town, Geol Zaza’s proposal had ultimately been accepted. In short, he would demonstrate his strength as a hunter of the forest’s edge, in the hopes of easing Sufira Zaza’s aching heart at least slightly. Sufira Zaza’s feelings for Leiriss had first taken root when he had beaten Geol Zaza, so Geol Zaza believed he could alleviate her feelings if he negated that loss.

Looking at it as an outsider, it didn’t feel like there was all that much meaning in having another match, but ultimately, Donda Ruu, Dari Sauti, and the nobles of the castle town had accepted Geol Zaza’s logic. In all likelihood, they had only agreed to it because regardless of how things played out, Sufira Zaza and Leiriss could never be wed. Even if Geol Zaza lost again, the situation wouldn’t change in the least. Sufira Zaza had no intention of casting aside the forest’s edge or her people, and the same went for Leiriss and his noble status, so this was basically just an attempt to settle the matter on an emotional level.

“It would’ve been best if we could have taken care of this without troubling the nobles, but if we can have a frank discussion with them about this, based on the premise that marriage would be impossible, that wouldn’t be so bad,” Dari Sauti had said at a meeting between the leading clan heads. “And if we inform them of what is happening, it should be no problem for us to learn how this Leiriss fellow actually feels. Then perhaps Sufira Zaza will be able to find the resolve to cast aside her feelings.”

Ultimately, it was just an assumption on our part that Leiriss would never let go of his rank. It would undoubtedly be quite difficult for Sufira Zaza to bury her feelings without knowing that definitively. That was why Dari Sauti felt it was worthwhile to proceed with Geol Zaza’s proposal, if only to resolve that issue.

Then, the day after that, a message was sent to the castle town early in the morning about the proposal...and we learned that our assumption had been correct.

“As expected, Leiriss would never be willing to marry into the forest’s edge, nor would such a thing be permitted.”

“However, the nobles are willing to agree to a match if it would help to ease Sufira Zaza’s feelings.”

That was the reply that had come from the folks in the castle town. With that, it became an unassailable fact that Sufira Zaza’s desires would never be realized. What had Sufira Zaza thought when she’d heard that news, and how had she reacted? Naturally, that particular piece of information had not been shared outside of her clan.

And then, the day of the match arrived. Melfried had decided that it should be held somewhere within the settlement at the forest’s edge rather than the castle town because he wanted to keep the matter as private as possible. Apparently, only a very small number of people in the castle town had been informed of it in the first place.

The Ruu settlement eventually ended up being the location chosen for the match, since the Zaza settlement was too far away from the castle town. The time was set for early in the morning, at the upper fourth hour, which I figured was the equivalent of nine a.m. That was out of consideration for the hunters’ schedule—if they finished up before the sun hit its peak, the match wouldn’t interfere with giba hunting.

I opted to take the day off from work in the post town so I could go to the Ruu settlement instead to observe. As the one who was always insisting that we needed to form proper bonds with outsiders, I felt like I needed to do at least that much. Ai Fa had no objections, and even decided to accompany me.

We arrived with time to spare, but there was already a large crowd in the plaza. The Zaza and Sauti had both sent as many people as their wagons could carry, and since the Zaza had bought a new totos recently, there were more than ten of them present. Among them, I recognized Geol, Sufira, and Gulaf Zaza; Deek and Lem Dom; and the Jeen clan head. The Sauti group also seemed to mostly be composed of the heads of their clans.

On top of that, a number of folks from the Ruu and their subordinate clans had also gathered. They included the six clan heads, Dan Rutim, Morun Rutim, Yamiru Lea, Tsuvai, Oura, and Shumiral, so there were quite a few familiar faces.

Most of the spectators were standing around the perimeter of the huge plaza, with the three leading clan heads in the center, along with Geol and Sufira Zaza. As we had no blood ties to the leading clans, Ai Fa and I naturally waited off to the side for Leiriss’s group to arrive.

“They sure are making us wait. I’m getting sort of sleepy, honestly,” Dan Rutim remarked. He was standing next to us and seemed to be holding back a sigh. It looked like all of the members of the main Rutim house were present, aside from their elder, Raa Rutim. Since the Rutim had their own totos named Mim Cha, they were able to get around easily. They had also brought Tsuvai and Oura along instead of the heads of their branch houses, which was a very Rutim thing to do.

Gazraan Rutim looked as composed as usual, while Morun Rutim was wringing her hands nervously. It felt like she had been doing that a lot recently. Actually, I think the first time I noticed her acting like this was when someone brought up Deek Dom during that one party. If I recalled correctly, it had been at the banquet that Dora and the other townsfolk had been invited to, which had also been held here in this plaza. I hadn’t understood why at the time, but after seeing it happen twice, even a thickheaded guy like me could figure out that Morun Rutim had special feelings for the head of the Dom clan.

Deek Dom himself was on the other side of the plaza—I was able to spot him by looking for the giba skull he wore on his head. If not for that and his height, I would have had a pretty hard time picking him out of the crowd.

“Yeah, I’m getting really sleepy now. Maybe I’ll take a nap until the nobles arrive. Tsuvai, let me through,” Dan Rutim said.

“You just can’t stand still, can you?! If you’re that tired, you should have stayed home!”

“And miss a show like this?! There aren’t many folks in town who can compete with a hunter of the forest’s edge!”

“Hmph! The Zaza are putting their pride on the line here, but to you it’s nothing more than a spectacle!”

“Well, yeah. The Rutim and Zaza don’t have any blood ties, and there’s no chance that a marriage between a noble and one of us will be allowed, so all that’s left to do is to enjoy the show,” Dan Rutim said with a big grin. “But I suppose you and your mother must know Sufira Zaza well, don’t you? Even if your blood ties have been severed, you can still worry about her as a friend.”

“I was never friends with Sufira Zaza! In fact, I’d enjoy seeing her cry a bit!” Tsuvai declared loudly, but Sufira Zaza took no notice. She simply kept standing where she was with the same chilly look as always on her face.

Since she was in the center of the plaza, I could see her quite well. Positioned between the huge frames of her father and brother, she was holding her head up high and facing her destiny directly, not letting any weakness show.

There were also members of the Deen and Liddo on the other side of the crowd. They had come here in Fafa’s wagon, wanting to attend because the Zaza were their parent clan and this was a very serious matter for them. I was pretty sure Toor Deen was among them, and she would no doubt have been staring right at Sufira Zaza this whole time. After all, she was as close with Sufira Zaza as she was with Lem Dom.

Baadu Fou and the Beim clan head were in attendance too, standing beside Ai Fa and me. They had asked to observe so they could later convey what was about to happen to the small clans. There were probably more clans represented here today than I had ever seen gathered at the Ruu settlement before.

“This sure is quite the turnout. It’s almost like a festival,” Ludo Ruu called out as he strode over to us. “I wonder who’ll win. What do you think, Ai Fa?”

“I do not know. Judging from their actual capabilities, I would assume Geol Zaza, but he tends to rely too much on his physical strength.”

“Yeah. He’s about as strong as Ji Maam, isn’t he? He wouldn’t make it to the top eight among the Ruu like that,” Ludo Ruu said. Then he got a gleam in his eyes. “By the way, our festival of the hunt is coming up soon! The number of giba hasn’t been dropping off as quickly as we expected, though, so there’s been some talk of combining the festival of the hunt and Granny Jiba’s birthday’s celebration.”

“I see. If it would be permitted, I would appreciate the opportunity to give her a celebratory flower.”

“Oh come on, you have to participate in the contest of strength too. Everyone wants to compete with you.”

“I am not related to your clan. I should not overstep my bounds,” Ai Fa replied.

“Heh heh,” Ludo Ruu snorted. “Are you worried that you’d make us lose face if you came out on top? I promise, it won’t be that easy. Me, Jiza, Darmu, Shin Ruu, Rau Lea, Mida...we’re all way stronger than before!”

“I’m well aware that all of you would be very hard for me to defeat. I would never dare to think otherwise.”

“Then there’s no problem. Ah, sounds like they’re finally here,” Ludo Ruu said.

A few seconds later, I also heard the sound of carriages approaching, and before long the buzz of conversation among the crowd started to quiet down.

A group of three carriages pulled by two totos each soon rolled into the plaza one after another. Each of them looked big enough to carry at least ten people, so it was quite an entourage.

The carriages eventually stopped several meters away from where the leading clan heads stood. The first ones to descend from inside were a group of soldiers clad in white armor. They all wore white cloaks and had long swords hanging from their hips, so I assumed they were from the ducal guards, who were under Melfried’s direct command.

Nearly thirty of them got out of the carriages and lined up before their masters finally emerged: Melfried, Polarth, and Leiriss. The first two were here to act as intermediaries with the people of the forest’s edge for this match.

“The totos and carriages will get in the way, will they not? Send them outside of the plaza, and have two men stand by with each of them.”

Following Melfried’s orders, six of the soldiers then left, taking the carriages along with them. Melfried watched them go for a moment, then stepped toward the leading clan heads. He was clad in beautiful armor today, with a tassel on his helmet that was fancier than anyone else’s.

“Preparations took longer than expected, so we ended up arriving later than the agreed upon time. Allow me to offer my apologies.”

“No, we’re the ones who made this an unreasonable request, so you have nothing to apologize for. We’re just grateful to you for coming all this way,” Dari Sauti replied, speaking as the representative for the three leading clan heads.

Melfried and the soldiers seemed unflappable, but Polarth looked quite nervous. He was the only one among the nobles who didn’t have combat training.

“S-Still, it’s quite a sight, seeing all these people of the forest’s edge gathered. There must be around a hundred here, correct?” Polarth asked.

“We haven’t counted, but that should be about right. None here will do you any harm, so please be at ease.”

“I-I of course trust in our bond with your people.”

Polarth was a man with more guts than you might assume at a glance, but it was no surprise that he felt on edge under the circumstances. Between the people who lived at the Ruu settlement, those with direct ties to the leading clans, and the handful of members of the small clans, there probably were around a hundred of us present. On top of that, over half of them were muscular hunters, which undoubtedly made this a very imposing scene.

“As we mentioned at the meeting the other day, we are terribly sorry to be imposing on our friends from the ruling class simply because it’s a convenient way for us to resolve this situation,” Dari Sauti continued. “I hope you understand that we aren’t trying to make light of your stations.”

“I am sure I said something similar when I imposed on you people of the forest’s edge with my summons to the swordsmanship tournament. That was the cause of these events, so I do hold some responsibility for them,” Melfried replied in a low yet clearly audible voice. “Besides, the madness of the first son of the house of Saturas and the former knight leader Geimalos have caused you all a great deal of trouble. In light of all that, the house of Saturas could hardly refuse your request.”

“I’m grateful to hear you say so.”

Apparently, that concluded the formal introductions.

“Well then, let us proceed right away. We have the armor and blades here.” With that, two of the soldiers carried a large box over and set it down in front of Melfried. “We have prepared the same kinds that were used in the tournament. I would now like you to confirm that they have not been tampered with in any way.”

This step was seen as essential because of the trickery Leiriss’s father Geimalos had once employed. Dari Sauti and Gulaf Zaza stepped forward to inspect the contents of that box, and while they were doing that, I glanced over at Leiriss.

The young noble was already clad in armor—a silvery set that was rather different in design from what the soldiers were wearing. It was dueling armor, made of leather with metal plates on top. His face guard was still up, but I wasn’t able to make out his expression from this distance. However, he seemed to be looking in Geol and Sufira Zaza’s direction with his eyes slightly downcast.

“There don’t seem to be any issues. You don’t have any objections either, do you, Gulaf Zaza?”

The Zaza clan head silently nodded. I wondered how he felt about all this, considering his own son and daughter had caused this whole commotion? I had no way of knowing.

“Very well. Go ahead and dress Geol Zaza in his armor. In the meantime, the rest of us will set up the arena.”

Under Melfried’s instructions, two of the soldiers began doing something a little unusual. One of them stood in the center of the plaza holding one end of a rope that looked to be about five meters long, while the other held the opposite end and walked around in a circle, drawing a shallow curved line in the dirt using a wooden stick. The circle ended up being around ten meters in diameter, and fifteen of the guards arranged themselves at even intervals around it.

“The match will be held within this circle, and anyone who steps outside of it will automatically lose. All other rules are the same as during the tournament,” Melfried explained. “Is that acceptable?”

As a soldier helped him put his armor on, Geol Zaza replied in a low voice, “Yeah.”

“As it has been some time, allow me to remind everyone of the rest of the rules. The match shall be concluded when the judge determines that the life of any participant is in danger or when one side admits defeat. No equipment may be replaced once the match begins, even in the event of a sword breaking, and bare-handed attacks are considered valid. Is all of that understood?”

“Yeah.”

“Well then, leading clan heads, will you please exit the circle? I shall serve as the judge.”

The three leading clan heads, Sufira Zaza, and Polarth (who was surrounded by soldiers acting as his personal bodyguards) stepped out of the circle. The only ones left behind were Geol Zaza and Leiriss, each clad in armor, and Melfried.

“Both of you, swear your oaths to the western god.”

“I, Leiriss of the house of Saturas, swear to Selva to fight honorably.”

“And I, Geol Zaza, son of the leading clan head of the forest’s edge Gulaf Zaza, swear to the western god and the mother forest to fight in a way that shall bring no shame to the hunters of our people.”

The two drew their long swords simultaneously. They were rather slender blades without sharp edges, meaning they had been made specifically for competitions like this one.

Melfried raised his right arm into the air and sharply called out, “Begin!”

The crowd didn’t make so much as a sound. Around a hundred people all around the plaza just watched in silence, barely moving except to breathe. And in the middle of it all, the two warriors shuffled their feet without moving closer to each other. Leiriss held the hilt of his sword with both hands, pointing the tip toward his opponent. Geol Zaza, meanwhile, held his blade with one hand in a relaxed stance and glared at his opponent.

Despite how reckless Geol Zaza could be, he didn’t instantly rush in and start slashing. He must have been wary of how nimble Leiriss was. In their previous fight, Leiriss had primarily made use of thrusts. His style focused on quick jabbing motions that reminded me of fencing, as opposed to kendo.

Naturally, since the swords lacked cutting blades, they wouldn’t pierce through armor, but even so, they were still long pieces of steel, and the armor the two combatants were wearing was little more than thin metal over leather, so a single blow in the wrong place could knock someone unconscious.

“Last time, the two of them were both completely exhausted,” Ludo Ruu whispered, barely disturbing the weighty silence hanging in the air. “They’re both coming into this fight fresh today, but which side will that benefit more?”

Neither side made a move for a while. All they did was steadily circle around each other while maintaining their distance. It was a psychological fight, and just watching was making me feel a knot in my stomach.

Then, suddenly, the silence was broken. Leiriss lunged forward with his sword. Geol Zaza leaped backward with beastlike agility, and as he did so he raised the sword in his right hand. In all likelihood, he was trying to deflect Leiriss’s thrust. However, the young noble swiftly pulled his blade back, preventing any collision from happening.

Leiriss moved quickly to fill the gap created by Geol Zaza’s leap, and as he did, Geol Zaza swung his blade in a huge motion from left to right, carving an arc perfectly sideways through the air.

The young noble pulled back, before almost immediately moving in again, but by the time that he did, Geol Zaza’s arm had returned to its original position. After stumbling forward one more step, Leiriss retreated once more, guarding against a follow-up attack.

Both of them were deadly serious and extremely cautious, no doubt because they were fully aware of how strong their opponent was.

The sun was mercilessly shining down upon the pair. It was as hot as early summer, so it had to be incredibly exhausting just to wear that armor.

And with a helmet on, you can’t even wipe away your sweat. If this match stretches on, will Geol Zaza be at a disadvantage? I thought.

As if in response, Geol Zaza once again made a move. This time he raised his blade and slashed at Leiriss diagonally.

Leiriss dodged the attack, then adjusted his grip on his blade and thrust with it. Geol Zaza twisted his huge frame to dodge, then swung his sword once more, this time upward from below.

His form was seriously rough, but it had the strength of a hunter of the forest’s edge behind it. A single blow like that would surely be enough to settle the match on its own if it landed. However, the young noble avoided it with skillful footwork and launched a counterattack, grazing Geol Zaza’s armor with the tip of his blade.

The Zaza hunter undoubtedly had an overwhelming advantage in terms of physical strength and reflexes. Honestly, the physical capabilities of pretty much every hunter of the forest’s edge were beyond exceptional. However, this was still turning out to be an even match. The greatest reason for that was the level of swordsmanship of both sides. Like Ai Fa and Raielfam Sudra had once said, hunters honed their techniques to take down giba. Leiriss had refined his swordsmanship skills for fighting human opponents.

Put bluntly, Geol Zaza’s movements were all huge. Because of his pride in his strength, he relied on it quite a bit, and that was necessary for fighting giba, which were even larger and more monstrously strong than he was. To take down a giba, you needed to swing a blade with your whole body, meaning huge swings that utilized your body’s full momentum were the norm. I had never seen an actual giba hunt myself, but even for me, it was easy to understand that much.

On the other hand, Leiriss specialized in speed and primarily used thrusts. A fighting style like that would never work against giba, so Geol Zaza had next to no familiarity with such techniques.

The bottom line was, Geol Zaza’s movements were big, while Leiriss’s were as small as possible as he probed for an opening. The difference in their styles undoubtedly worked out in Leiriss’s favor, which was why the fight was so even despite Geol Zaza’s strength advantage.

On top of that, Geol Zaza had a handicap, as he wasn’t used to wearing armor. It stopped him from moving his body as nimbly as he normally could, and the visor hindered his vision. Hunters of the forest’s edge relied on smell, hearing, and various sensations on their skin in order to hunt giba, so even if the weight of the armor itself was no issue, Geol Zaza’s true strength was doubtlessly being hindered in a number of ways.

“What are you doing, Geol Zaza?!” someone suddenly called out. It was such an intense shout that it made two men visibly shudder and stop their fierce battle for a moment, backing off from one another as if by reflex. “You think you can ease your family’s anguish like that? Show us a battle that won’t cast any shame on your role as the next leading clan head and a hunter of the forest’s edge!”

After the reverberations from that roaring command died off, there was an explosion of supportive yells. The people of the forest’s edge who had been watching with bated breath all began cheering for Geol Zaza. The members of the ducal guards who seemed like distinguished veterans ducked their heads and started glancing around, and poor Polarth was cradling his head and looked ready to collapse on the spot.

The people of the forest’s edge were so full of vim and vigor, it was sometimes hard to believe. It only took a few moments for the Ruu plaza to erupt with feverish excitement. If there were any giba prowling about the area after waking up early, they must have been fleeing in a panic after that.

“Was that voice just now Deek Dom? I didn’t think he could shout out that loudly,” Ludo Ruu whispered to me.

I had no way of knowing. However, Geol Zaza and Leiriss were both being spurred on by the boisterous cheering and started swinging their swords once again.

Geol Zaza launched a fierce attack like a raging storm, with Leiriss barely dodging each swing while constantly thrusting his sword at his opponent’s chest and legs.

Leiriss’s swordsmanship really was something, but if his offensive were ever to slacken, he would probably get caught up in Geol Zaza’s assault in an instant. He was somehow managing to hold on by counterattacking and forcing Geol Zaza to shift his posture to dodge. However, before long, there was a shift in their movements. Geol Zaza was picking up the pace, while Leiriss’s footwork seemed to be growing sloppier. He was also dealing with the weight of the armor he was wearing, and even if he was accustomed to doing so, that wouldn’t save him from the fatigue it caused.

Bit by bit, Leiriss’s movements became larger and rougher. It wouldn’t be surprising at all if his blade were to be knocked away at any moment, followed immediately by him taking a powerful hit from his opponent.

But just as I was growing certain of Geol Zaza’s victory...Leiriss took a big leap backward. Geol Zaza’s sword had been an instant away from clashing with the young noble’s, so the hunter ended up stumbling a bit before catching himself. Seizing that tiny opening, Leiriss tightly gripped his blade’s hilt and kicked off the ground with incredible force.

It was the sharpest movement he had shown yet. He removed his left hand from his blade after having been holding it two-handed this whole time, then turned his body almost perfectly sideways as he thrust his sword straight out. Despite the significant amount of distance between them, it was clear that his attack had more than enough reach to hit his opponent.

Geol Zaza finally regained his footing without a single moment to spare as Leiriss’s blade hurtled toward his solar plexus. The Zaza hunter let out a beastly howl, twisting his body with tremendous force, and as he contorted himself, his blade—which had been pointing down toward his feet—swung up.

A harsh clang rang out and something gray and shiny—a blade—flew through the air, plunging into the ground at the feet of one of the soldiers guarding the edge of the arena. Which is to say, Leiriss had lost his sword.

Geol Zaza’s weapon was now pointing directly at the noble’s chest. Slowly, Leiriss lifted both hands. He might have said, “I surrender,” but if he did, it was drowned out by the cheering of the people of the forest’s edge.

“The match is over! The hunter of the forest’s edge, Geol Zaza, is victorious!” I faintly heard Melfried announce amid all the shouting.

Geol Zaza’s shoulders were heaving heavily up and down, and a moment later he tossed his sword aside and had a seat on the ground. Leiriss soon fell to one knee as well. The two combatants stayed like that for what seemed like around two or three minutes, completely drained of energy.

With a signal from Melfried, the soldiers hurried over to Geol Zaza and began removing his armor. The three leading clan heads and Sufira Zaza started walking toward the center of the arena at the same time.

“That was a splendid fight. Geol Zaza and Leiriss, both of you are excellent warriors,” Dari Sauti loudly declared. With that, the cheering all around us finally started to quiet. “And I’m truly glad that you were able to finish this match without shedding a single drop of blood. You did extremely well, Geol Zaza.”

As the soldiers speedily pulled the armor off him, Geol Zaza snorted, “Hmph. Even so, this match dragged on way too long. It might have ended up doing nothing but proving how inexperienced I am and how skilled this guy is.”

“You don’t have to worry about that, I promise,” Sufira Zaza chimed in, speaking up for the first time. With that, the few people still cheering finally went silent. “You showed even more strength today than you did at our last festival. As a warrior, you do the Zaza clan proud. I’m sure our father feels the same way.”

Gulaf Zaza just silently stared down at his children. Because of the giba pelt he wore, I couldn’t make out his expression.

“And I am truly, deeply grateful to you for fighting so hard to make up for my shortcomings. Thank you,” she finished.

“Cut it out. Hearing you say stuff like that makes my back feel itchy.” Geol Zaza scratched his head with one of his hands which had just been freed from its gauntlet. He looked surprisingly young without his hunter’s cloak on.

After giving her younger brother a gentle nod, Sufira Zaza turned to face Leiriss. The noble had removed his helmet and was still breathing heavily. He was a young man of seventeen years old, with a face that really fit my image of a noble. He stood up and turned toward Sufira Zaza.

“Leiriss of the house of Saturas...I let my emotions get out of control and caused you a great deal of trouble. As a member of the leading Zaza clan, I am terribly embarrassed. I hope...that you will be willing to continue forming proper bonds with our people in the future,” Sufira Zaza said with a deep bow.

Leiriss’s eyes rose to stare up at the sky for a moment. He took a deep breath, and then lowered his gaze to look at her once again. “Please raise your head, Sufira Zaza. My father once committed an unforgivable act against your people. Coming here today was the least I could do in return.”

Sufira Zaza did indeed raise her head and silently stared back at Leiriss. The young noble’s dark-brown hair was stuck to his forehead with sweat, and he had a faint, gentle smile on his face.

“And, well...I hesitate to say this in front of such a crowd...but I cannot imagine anyone considering a woman such as you having feelings for them to be a hardship.”

“That ends today. I shall never again set foot in the castle town. I hope that you will be able to simply forget me forever,” Sufira Zaza declared, her expression not budging in the slightest.

Leiriss looked pained as he cast his gaze downward. “That may prove rather difficult. But I suppose I have no other choice. Neither of us are able to cast aside our house or our status, after all.”

“Yes, it is as you say.”

“I am proud to have been born into the house of Saturas. My father committed a crime unbefitting of that name, but even so...I wish to live a righteous life in order to atone for his sins.”

“And I’m certain you will someday.”

“You think so? I had to work up a lot of resolve before I could decide to follow this path.”

Sufira Zaza tilted her head a bit, questioningly.

Still with that small smile on his face, Leiriss raised his lowered eyes. “Why am I not able to live more freely? That thought has been tormenting me constantly for the last two months.”

“What do you...?”

“Just like you, I have lamented my lack of freedom. Because I met you.”

Sufira Zaza staggered. Leiriss started to reach out a hand to support her, but then he stopped himself and clenched his fist.

“However, I have decided that my destiny is to protect my house. After what became of my father, I must act as the head of the house and protect my remaining family members. That is why I cannot marry into the forest’s edge, nor would I be permitted to take a wife who is not a noble. No matter how strong my feelings for that woman may be.”

“Leiriss, you mean...”

“But now I know you have felt the same pain...and that, I think, will be my heart’s salvation. I wish to keep this joy and sorrow with me as I move forward with my life.”

Sufira Zaza was no longer able to hold back the tears that were now pouring down her cheeks. “Th-That’s... Leiriss, you know that lying is a crime, don’t you?”

“Yes. I’ve only spoken the truth.”

“But how could a noble ever fall for a woman of the forest’s edge...? It’s ridiculous...”

“You don’t believe my words?” Leiriss asked, his smile turning terribly sad. “Sufira Zaza, even if I can do nothing to change our fates, I do not want you to think my words are lies. I am not being frivolous like my cousin Leeheim was. I truly...truly would want to take you as my bride, if only it were permitted.”

Sufira Zaza continued to sob silently. Leiriss shook his head as if to drive some thought away before getting down on one knee and looking up at Sufira Zaza’s face from below.

“Please, just this once...allow me to speak free from all logic and restraint.”

“Leiriss...”

“Sufira Zaza, could I ask you to cast aside your status as a woman of the forest’s edge and become my bride?” Leiriss said, holding out a hand now freed of its gauntlet toward Sufira Zaza. Her tears were now dripping down onto his outstretched palm.

“No... That is the one thing I cannot do... I cannot abandon my family, my home, and my people...”

“I see...” Leiriss replied, closing his hand around her fallen tears. He rose to his feet, but as he did, Sufira Zaza began speaking.

“Leiriss, allow me to ask you as well... Won’t you please cast aside your rank and live as my husband, as a person of the forest’s edge...?”

“No... That is also the one request I cannot fulfill,” Leiriss said, staring at her with an open smile.

As she stared back at him, Sufira Zaza also smiled for the first time. “Well then...this is it.”

“Yes, it seems so.” Leiriss just kept on smiling, clenching his fist as if trying to steel himself. “When my life comes to an end, my soul will return to Selva. After that, I shall be invited to live in the heavenly realm or otherwise be born again into this world. Whatever my fate may be, I hope that I can spend my next life by your side, Sufira Zaza.”

Sufira Zaza continued to stare at Leiriss, tears still streaming from her eyes. Then, Geol Zaza walked up beside her with an angry look on his face. However, Leiriss simply glanced at him with an unchanging expression.

“Geol Zaza, thanks to you, I am now confident that the path I have chosen is the correct one. I am not a fitting partner for Sufira Zaza. I hope that you will continue to watch over her as she searches for happiness in life.”

“I don’t need you to tell me that.” Wrapping an arm around his older sister’s head, Geol Zaza pulled her into his burly chest, and Sufira Zaza hugged her brother tightly in return as she kept on sobbing. “Still, I’m grateful to you. I’ll be praying for you to live a happy life too.”

“You have my thanks. Farewell,” Leiriss declared with an elegant bow before turning away from the Zaza siblings and departing. As he left, the people of the forest’s edge who were gathered in the plaza continued to watch over the embracing pair in silence.

And that was how a love shared between the forest’s edge and the castle town ended before it could even begin. However, this was just the prelude to yet another incident that would soon bring about a significant change for our tribe.