Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 27 - Chapter 4.4

4

As the sun sank off to the west and the curtain of darkness descended, bonfires were set alight in various places around the plaza.

The lower sixth hour was approaching, and the banquet would be kicking off before much longer. The unwed women returned to their own homes for a bit, and then reemerged clad in dazzling banquet attire.

The largest bonfire was the ritual flame in front of the stage. Granny Jiba was standing next to that fire, accompanied by Vina and Donda Ruu.

“Head of the Ruu clan and leading clan head Donda Ruu...I grant you this celebratory crown, in honor of your triumph as the greatest warrior in all of the Ruu clans.”

Donda Ruu got down on one knee before the clan elder, deeply bowing his head. Herbs were thrown into the ritual flame and the grass crown was briefly passed through the aromatic smoke before being placed atop Donda Ruu’s head. The way it looked on him reminded me of a lion’s mane. In that instant, wild cheering filled the previously silent plaza.

Ultimately, Donda Ruu had emerged victorious in the contest of strength between the hunters. However, it had been a seriously intense competition.

The final eight ended up being Donda Ruu, Dan Rutim, Gazraan Rutim, Ludo Ruu, Giran Ririn, Rau Lea, Shin Ruu, and Mida. Jeeda ran out of time with two wins and no losses, so he didn’t make it.

In the first match of the tournament part of the competition, Donda Ruu defeated Giran Ririn. Following that, Dan Rutim beat Shin Ruu and Ludo Ruu took down Rau Lea. Finally, Gazraan Rutim beat Mida. All of the matches were close, and it wouldn’t have been surprising if any of them had gone the other way. Well, at least according to what Bartha told me.

In the semifinals, Donda Ruu faced Ludo Ruu and Dan Rutim squared off with Gazraan Rutim. Those matches were apparently even more intense, with each one taking a quarter of an hour, like when Ai Fa and Dan Rutim had fought.

In the end, Donda Ruu and Dan Rutim both defeated their sons. Then, after a break, the finals were held, and apparently Dan Rutim went down in seconds. That was quite a letdown for the crowd, who were excitedly expecting a fierce battle.

“Well, my wound is supposed to be completely healed by now, but my right leg wouldn’t listen to me at all! I guess defeating Gazraan and Shin Ruu pushed me to my limit!” Dan Rutim remarked with a hearty laugh as he lay there on the ground. “But it should be the same for you, shouldn’t it, Donda Ruu? I injured my leg, but you hurt your shoulder! I suppose that made the difference in the end, though!”

Donda Ruu had injured his right shoulder in the battle with the lord of the forest. As he looked down at Dan Rutim on the ground, the Ruu clan head snorted, “Hmph. It’s true that my right arm wouldn’t move properly. It doesn’t usually get in the way this badly on the hunt, though.”

“Well, that’s no surprise! It’s just proof that hunters of the forest’s edge are tougher than giba, wouldn’t you say?”

At any rate, Donda Ruu was the one who emerged victorious, while Dan Rutim came in second. What would the results have been like if Ai Fa and Jiza Ruu had been in the mix? Well, there wasn’t anything to be gained by thinking too much about that.

“All of the matches were splendid. I’m sure the mother forest has taken notice of the Ruu clan’s strength,” Granny Jiba said in front of the ritual flame. The crowd went silent for a moment before cheering loudly once more.

And after waiting for their shouting to die down, Donda Ruu bellowed, “Today is also the eighty-sixth birthday of our elder Jiba Ruu. Before we begin the banquet, I would like to offer her a blessing.”

With that, Granny Jiba was led back up onto the stage by Vina Ruu. Donda Ruu followed behind them and knelt down on the stage, holding out a large red flower toward her.

“I celebrate the fact that you, my grandmother and elder, have spent this past year in good health, and I pray that the same is true of the next year.”

“Thank you, Donda. I’d like to spend as many days as I can with all of you.”

Granny Jiba hugged the red flower to her chest as she took a seat. Then Donda Ruu sat down cross-legged a short distance away, and that seemed to be a signal for the crowd to approach the base of the stage. All of the Ruu relatives wished to offer Granny Jiba flowers.

“It’s okay if we go last, right, Asuta?” Yumi asked with a smile, standing next to me.

“Yeah,” I replied with a nod. “It’s the custom at the forest’s edge for guests without blood ties to wait for later. Why don’t we line up when the crowd thins out a bit?”

“Okay! I hope she likes it!”

Our group consisted of just me, Ai Fa, and the three guests. Myme, Mikel, Jeeda, and Bartha must have all been waiting for their turn elsewhere.

“This is really amazing. What must it feel like, having over a hundred relatives?” Telia Mas wondered.

“I’m not sure,” Yumi remarked with a tilt of her head. “But at the forest’s edge, if even one member gets married, the clans become related, don’t they? So it makes sense that she’d end up with such a huge number.”

“There aren’t many clans with this many relatives even at the forest’s edge. And in Jiba Ruu’s case, it’s likely that most of those relatives are actually related to her by blood,” I interjected.

“Really?” Yumi questioned.

“Yeah. The newest generation of the Ruu is Jiza Ruu’s son Kota Ruu, and Jiba Ruu is four generations back from that. Also, the Ruu tend to have a lot of kids, so the blood of Jiba Ruu’s siblings and children has been passed on to all the subordinate clans too.”

“There’re five generations here?! I can’t even imagine!”

“It’s really something, huh? For example, Dan Rutim of the Rutim clan is one of Jiba Ruu’s grandchildren. Jiba Ruu’s daughter married into the main Rutim house, creating a blood tie between them. And through Dan Rutim, his siblings, and their children forming ties with other clans, Jiba Ruu’s blood spread even farther.”

“I’m starting to feel dizzy here! That’s seriously amazing!” Yumi said, breaking out in a smile. “The fact that she’s been blessed to have this many children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren has got to make her so happy.”

That was probably a kind of happiness that would be difficult to even imagine for younger folks like us.

Even when it came to the Ririn, Uru Lea Ririn had married into that clan from the Lea, and the Lea had been connected to the Ruu for quite a long time, similarly to the Rutim. As a result, the children born to Uru Lea and Giran Ririn must have inherited either the blood of Granny Jiba Ruu herself or her close relatives.

Since they value blood ties so highly, that could eventually lead to things breaking down, as Gazraan Rutim said. That’s precisely why the laws need to be changed, so that they can form new ties while still maintaining the importance of family ties. I firmly believed that, and I got the feeling Donda Ruu felt much the same way, which was why he had accepted Gazraan Rutim’s proposal.

While I was thinking about that, the crowd in front of the stage had shrunk a good bit.

“I guess it’s about time. Are you ready, Ai Fa?”

“Indeed,” Ai Fa replied, though her expression was tense. She had been making that face ever since she had spoken with Jeeda after her match with Jiza Ruu.

“Ai Fa, I get how you feel, but you’ll worry Granny Jiba if you go up to her looking like that.”

“I know,” my clan head replied, suddenly slapping her cheeks with both palms and massaging her face.

“Feeling a bit less tense now?”

“Yes, more or less.”

Ai Fa would undoubtedly need to speak with Jiza Ruu before she could clear up the emotions swirling about inside her. We hadn’t seen him since he had headed back to his house to have his injury treated.

If Jiza Ruu insists he didn’t intentionally take that attack, I’m sure it’ll help Ai Fa feel at ease, I thought as I climbed the stairs to the stage alongside the others.

The top of the stage was already brimming with flowers, and Granny Jiba’s hair and chest were adorned with a ton of them as well. Vina Ruu had tastefully arranged the ones the elder couldn’t wear by her feet.

“Congratulations on turning eighty-six, elder! I hope you have a long life yet to come!” Yumi said.

“Happy birthday. Please accept this flower,” Telia Mas added.

“Congratulations, Granny Jiba Ruu! I hope you’ll come to my house again sometime!” Tara chirped.

Each of the girls handed over a fresh flower in turn, and Granny Jiba’s wrinkled face broke into a smile.

“Thank you. I never expected the day would come when people from town would celebrate my birthday. I hope your friendship with the people of the forest’s edge will last for a long time, Tara, Yumi, and Telia Mas.”

Fires were burning at the four corners of the stage, which illuminated Granny Jiba’s face as she smiled blissfully at us. I felt all warm inside as I knelt in front of her after our guests from town stepped aside.

“Happy birthday, Jiba Ruu. I’m really glad that I was invited to this celebration.”

“Thank you, Asuta. This is all thanks to you helping me remember the joy of living.” Her eyes, hidden behind half-drooping lids, then turned toward my clan head. “And Ai Fa...you were once so little, but now you’ve grown into such a fine hunter. Though we are not connected by blood, I’m as happy for you as I would be for my own child.”

“You say I was little, but I believe I was taller than you even when we first met,” Ai Fa noted with a natural smile. “I’m truly grateful to be here to celebrate your birthday. I pray that you will live for a long time yet and guide not just the Ruu but all people of the forest’s edge down the proper path.”

“You have been a guide for me as well, you know. It’s my greatest joy to be able to continue walking this path alongside my family and all of you.”

“Yes, I feel the same way,” Ai Fa said, handing Granny Jiba a large red mizora flower.

The older woman accepted it, holding it gently to her chest. “You’ll be staying at the Ruu house again tonight, won’t you? I’d like to have some time to talk to you later in the evening.”

“I’ll be looking forward to that as well.” Ai Fa moved back and rose to her feet. Tara and the other guests were already heading down the stairs. However, my clan head turned toward Donda Ruu instead. “Donda Ruu, I’d like to say something.”

“If it’s about Jiza, no need to apologize. When hunters are close in strength, sometimes bloodshed results. Consider the regret you feel punishment enough.”

“No, but...”

“There’s no point in arguing. Besides, I consider Jiza’s inability to dodge to be partly to blame for what happened anyway,” Donda Ruu said, leaning forward and then rising to his feet. “You’re the last ones to offer flowers, so let’s get the banquet started. I’ve got a hundred starving relatives waiting, so I can’t waste any more time prattling on.”

Ai Fa just nodded and stepped back.

As we returned to ground level, Donda Ruu called out, “Let this banquet commence! Relatives of the Ruu, give your thanks to the forest and turn this blessing into your own body and strength!”

Sounds of jubilation once again filled the plaza. I, meanwhile, hurriedly rushed to my workstation, since I needed to help set out the food.

There were simple stoves set up all around the plaza again today, surrounded by blankets laid out on the ground. Lately, Ruu clan banquets had always had basic accommodations like these so you could either walk and eat or have a seat and enjoy your food.

When I got in position, I found that Lala Ruu and a number of women had already gotten to work.

“Oh, Asuta, we’ve already got these two started.”

“Thanks. Take care not to burn yourselves.”

Two of the three types of dishes were already laid out atop the stand constructed from a plank and some wooden boxes. Specifically, those two were stone oven-baked pizza and oven-roasted giba meat.

We had made the pizza dough out of a mix of fuwano, poitan, a little salt, a little reten oil, and gigo. Like with the pasta, it required a blend of both fuwano and poitan to get the right consistency. I had added the gigo because I still hadn’t found an ingredient equivalent to yeast, so the dough didn’t rise enough without it. It had required some trial and error to get the ratio correct, but all that effort had resulted in a texture quite similar to the pizza I remembered.

I had kept the toppings simple, with karon dried milk and ripened tarapa, as well as slices of sausage and finely chopped pula. Basically, I had decided to go for something akin to pizza Margherita.

The karon dried milk was mild and not too quirky, like mozzarella cheese. And I had used fully ripened tarapa from the castle town because ordinary tarapa were too sour. These tarapa originally came from the Daleim lands, and I was able to purchase them from the castle town with Yang’s assistance.

In an ordinary Margherita, meat wasn’t necessary, but the people of the forest’s edge were so extremely fond of giba meat that I had decided to add sausage to it. I had laid out a sizable number of sausage rounds on top, so I was sure it would be plenty substantial. After being thoroughly baked in a stone oven, the sausages had only browned a bit around the edges, and the juices they released gave them an awesome shine.

The bell pepper-like pula was mostly meant to add some color, though actually, I liked pizza with green pepper in general. I hadn’t had much opportunity to bake the real stuff myself, but when I made pizza toast, I would always use a fair amount of them.

“If we only give it this much pula, even you should be able to handle it, right, Lala Ruu?”

“Yeah, I suppose. But I think it’d be just fine without any pula,” Lala Ruu replied while cutting the pizza into slices. As expected, it seemed she had already given it a taste test. Oh, and she was naturally wearing banquet attire, so she looked even cuter than usual. Not that she didn’t look cute all the time, but letting her red hair dangle naturally instead of putting it up in her usual ponytail made her look a lot more girlish. “Either way, this stuff is incredibly delicious. I’d like to have Sati Lea try it as soon as possible.”

“Sati Lea Ruu? Oh yeah, she’s fond of poitan, isn’t she?”

“Yeah. I’m sure she’ll enjoy it as much as she enjoys okonomiyaki.”

There was already a sizable crowd in front of the stand, so the pizza was being snatched up as fast as Lala Ruu could cut it. Once that initial flurry subsided, Yumi and company approached.

“Whoa, talk about extravagant! You used a ton of dried milk on this! I guess that means it’s gotta be delicious!”

“Yeah, it looks really tasty!” When I heard that voice, I looked down and saw that Rimee Ruu was there beside Tara again. Apparently, they had met back up at some point. “Hurry up and give us some, Lala! I’m starving!”

“Quiet, you. This is actually kinda tricky to work with,” Lala Ruu replied while using a metal skewer and a cooking knife to make fairly smooth cuts as she sliced the pizza. “If you’re that hungry, you can eat the food over there first. All you need to do with that stuff is load it onto a plate.”

“Hmm? Is this giba meat?”

“Yeah, but it’s super delicious.”

That was the oven-roasted giba meat. I had used many different cuts of meat, marinated in a mix of fruit wine, nyatta spirits, tau oil, keru root, myamuu, and chitt seeds, and then slowly roasted. I had thrown some chatchi and nenon in with it as well, and they were being served piping hot on the same big plate as the meat. It had turned out every bit as well as the roast giba I had made in the past, all thanks to the stone oven.

The parts of that particular dish that I would have recommended the most were the chunks of sirloin that had been cut to be as large as possible, and the rib meat that was still on the bone. The ribs had been prepared in a spare rib style, steadily cooked in the stone oven until they were nice and tender all the way to the center. The meat was as soft as if it had been boiled, and was easy to smoothly remove from the bone. The hunters of the forest’s edge tended to prefer tough meat, but I figured they wouldn’t complain about this texture.

“Yup, this is great! Now to follow it up with some wine!”

“Y-Yumi, please try not to drink too much, okay?”

“I’ll be fine! I’ve got a real high tolerance for the stuff. I promise not to make a show of myself or anything!”

The group were all excitedly chatting away as they smacked their lips in anticipation. And then, their portions of pizza were finally cut.

“Thanks for waiting. It shouldn’t be all that hot anymore, but still, be careful with it.”

“Thank you, Lala Ruu! Ooh, it really does look delicious!” Yumi bit down into the pizza. The dried milk must have still been plenty hot, since it stretched into a nice stringy strand as she pulled back. Rimee Ruu and Tara were also stuffing their cheeks with pizza. It didn’t take long for everyone to start smiling.

“Yummy! It tastes totally different from normal baked poitan!” Rimee Ruu remarked.

“Yeah, I love this stuff!” Tara chimed in.

The oven-roasted giba meat and pizza with dried milk and ripened tarapa both seemed to have earned rave reviews. After briefly watching the adorable sight of everyone enjoying them so much, I turned around to face Ai Fa, who had been waiting quietly behind me.

“Well then, why don’t we bring out the last dish too? Could you lend me a hand, Ai Fa?”

“Of course.”

The final dish was being kept warm in a stone oven that had already been extinguished. With Ai Fa’s assistance, I carried it out. Rimee Ruu’s group was still hanging around, and when they saw it the young girl said, “Wow, what big plates! Did you bring them from the Fa house?”

“Yeah. These are plates that won’t break even if you cook them in a stone oven.”

They really were quite large, around sixty centimeters in diameter. They were what had been packed inside the wooden boxes. We had six of them in total, and three of them were currently sitting atop the tray we were carrying out.

Atop those plates sat a gratin of sorts, piping hot and giving off steam. The rich aroma of karon milk and dried milk was evoking excited comments from a bunch of different people, not just Rimee Ruu.

“That’s amazing! You used dried milk in this one too?”

“Yeah, though this is gyama dried milk.”

Gyama dried milk had a taste similar to Camembert cheese. I had melted a load of it mixed with some karon milk, and then added that to a white sauce I had made. Inside it were aria, chatchi, nanaar, giba bacon, and the mushrooms that resembled brown beech and common mushrooms, as well as some specially prepared pasta. Rather than my usual spaghetti style, this time I was using something closer to gnocchi.

They were little flat balls around the size of my thumb, with jagged ridges along the surface. I had added that texture with a fork while smooshing them flat so that they would pick up more of the sauce. Also, unlike my usual pasta, where I added egg to the fuwano and poitan, for the gnocchi I used chatchi instead. The potato-like chatchi gave it that particular springy texture I had been aiming for.

“This stuff is really hot, so please be careful while eating it. If you burn your mouth, you’ll have a hard time fully enjoying the other dishes,” I explained while portioning out the gratin onto small wooden plates. It had come out of the oven thoroughly cooked, with some nice crispy browning on its surface. Meanwhile, a line had started to form in front of me without me even noticing. Naturally, it was the same elsewhere too, but there were around twenty to thirty people gathered around us specifically, making quite a commotion.

“Whoa, this really is hot! But it’s delicious too, Asuta!” Yumi said.

“Thanks. What do you think, Telia Mas?”

“It’s very good! I never knew an oven could let you make something so wonderful!” Telia Mas was more calm and composed compared to Yumi, but she sounded so happy that it brought a blush to my cheeks.

“Whoa, it’s vanishing before my eyes! Leave some for me, okay, Asuta?” Lala Ruu remarked with a bit of a worried look.

“No need to be concerned,” I replied with a smile. “I left the other half of it in the oven for that exact reason. I’ll take the other three plates out in half an hour or so.”

“Got it! Hey, Rimee, you should bring some food to Granny Jiba and Papa Donda instead of only stuffing your own face.”

“Okay! I’m sure even Granny Jiba could eat this gratin and rib meat!”

Having finished sampling each of the dishes, Rimee Ruu set about securing plates for Granny Jiba and her father. However, just in that short span of time, two whole plates of the gratin had already been wiped clean. No one was familiar with these dishes that relied on the use of stone ovens, but they seemed to be extremely popular.

It was then that I heard Ai Fa call out, “Asuta?”

“Hmm?” I turned, and was surprised when a little torn off bit of pizza was shoved into my mouth.

“I say this every time, but you need to eat properly too.”

Perhaps it wasn’t the best manners, but I chewed on that piece of pizza as I stood there, continuing to serve up food. It had cooled off to around skin temperature, but it was still delicious. The mellow flavor of the karon dried milk and the perfect sourness of the ripened tarapa created a wonderful harmony with the delicious flavor of the sausage and the bitterness of the pula, delighting my tongue. The crispy surface and moist interior of the crust was quite pleasant too.

The members of the Ruu clan were all eating my dish with smiles on their faces. This was the biggest banquet I had attended since our own festival of the hunt, so I was filled with a great sense of satisfaction.

Celebrations like this really are great, I thought to myself as the gratin ran out. There was only a bit of pizza and oven-roasted meat left too.

“Asuta, is there any of these dishes left?”

“Yeah. A lot of folks haven’t been able to try them yet, so I’m going to bring out more later along with the rest of the gratin.”

“Got it! Then once we finish this up, we’ll go enjoy the other food too!”

Just a few minutes later, all of the food was gone. Rimee Ruu and Tara’s group had already vanished on us, probably seeking out other dishes elsewhere in the plaza. At any rate, Ai Fa and I could now do as we wished for the time being.

“Well then, why don’t we go enjoy everyone else’s cooking? Or would you rather go see Granny Jiba again?”

“No, she’s got her family surrounding her at the moment. I’ll be able to speak with her after the banquet, so there’s no need to butt in.”

“I see. In that case...” I started to say, only for Ai Fa to suddenly turn to the side. Jiza Ruu was approaching us from somewhere in the darkness, gray bandages wrapped around his head.

“Jiza Ruu... You’ve been cleared to move around?”

“Indeed. The romu leaves put me to sleep, but I’ve finally awoken.” Jiza Ruu eventually stopped about a meter away from us, his narrowed eyes staring calmly at my clan head. “I hear our clan head Donda won the contest of strength. I would have liked to at least have seen the matches between the final eight.”

“How are your injuries? I heard they were nothing to worry about.”

“Yes, that’s correct. Even a slight wound to the head can bleed quite a bit. After taking a bit of a break, I’m essentially back to normal now.”

“I see,” Ai Fa replied, raising her head. “I am truly grateful to the mother forest. And Jiza Ruu, I must apologize for—”

“No, you have nothing to apologize for. In fact, I am the one who should be apologizing.”

When he said that, Ai Fa’s shoulders trembled slightly. “What do you mean? I injured you, so I cannot see any reason for you to apologize. Unless...”

“Hmm?”

“Do you mean to say you let yourself get injured so that I would lose?”

Jiza Ruu shook his head, the smile on his face not changing one bit. “It would be unacceptable to commit such a vulgar deed in a contest of strength at the forest’s edge. However...the thought did enter my mind for a moment. That is proof that I am still not fully mature.”

“Not fully mature?”

“Yes. I truly was aiming to defeat you. But then I saw your arm coming at me out of the corner of my eye, and a shameful thought passed through my mind for but a mere moment: that if I didn’t dodge, I would surely be injured and you would be unable to continue in the contest of strength.”

Ai Fa was totally silent as she listened to him.

“It was a mere moment of hesitation. I had no intention of taking any such action. However, in a match between hunters who are close in strength, a moment of lost focus can prove decisive. By the time I came to my senses, I was already staring up at the sky and bleeding.”

And then Jiza Ruu... Jiza Ruu of all people... He bowed toward Ai Fa.

“As a result, I sullied a competition between hunters. On top of that, I caused you to suffer from regret. This was all caused by my immature spirit, and so I feel deeply and truly apologetic.”

“There’s no need for you to bow your head. You were only driven to that point because I thoughtlessly joined your contest of strength,” Ai Fa said, furrowing her brow and looking pained. “Allow me to share my honest feelings. My loss to Dan Rutim in that previous contest of strength frustrated me. And you, Donda Ruu, and Gazraan Rutim are all splendid hunters, so I wanted to see how far my strength would take me against such opponents. However...that was a mistake on my part.”

“But our clan head Donda granted you permission to participate.”

“It was foolish to allow myself to rely on Donda Ruu’s accepting nature like that. Even if he gave his permission, I should have restrained myself.” Ai Fa closed her eyes for a moment, then stared up at Jiza Ruu once more with a look of determination. “We now hold a festival of the hunt with our neighboring clans. If someone from an outside clan were to participate and win in all the events, how would that make me feel? I am certain I would find it very aggravating. It isn’t proper to make others feel that way during a festival of the hunt, an event meant to deepen ties with your comrades. Because of that...I do not intend to take part in any further Ruu festivals of the hunt.”

“Not just the contests of strength, but the festivals as a whole?”

“Indeed. I am a hunter, so it does not make sense for me to participate in one but not the other. A celebration between relatives should not involve outsiders so casually.”

Jiza Ruu had a very calm look on his face as he listened to Ai Fa’s words. “I have felt the same way myself for some time. Our clan head Donda has acknowledged the Fa as friends, but participating in our contest of strength could endanger that bond.”

“And now I can see how true those words are... As I recall, there was a young Rutim hunter who once felt something close to animosity toward me for fighting a nearly even match with Dan Rutim. If I were to win the entire Ruu contest of strength, there would surely be plenty of hunters who would feel similarly.”

“Yes. We people of the forest’s edge are all comrades. We should try to deepen our bonds with the members of all clans, rather than hating one another. That is why I believe actions that would hamper that goal should be avoided.”

Jiza Ruu’s expression remained unchanged. However, I sensed something unexpected as I looked at his huge frame. It was something entirely different from the stifling pressure I had felt from him in the past. Now his aura felt gentle yet firm in a way that was unique to him. Even Gazraan Rutim, who had a presence like a sturdy, reliable tree, didn’t give me the same impression I was getting from Jiza Ruu.

“I still do not know if the path you and Asuta tread overlaps with my own. However...I can tell quite clearly that we are in full agreement right now, at this very moment.”

“Indeed.”

“It makes me quite happy to know that.” Jiza Ruu turned so that his side was facing us. He seemed to be smiling faintly. It was probably the first time I had seen him openly express what he was actually feeling.

“Well then, I believe I’ll go offer our elder Jiba a celebratory flower. But before that, there’s something I would like to say.”

“Hmm?”

“I am grateful that you have decided to no longer participate in our contests of strength and festivals of the hunt, and believe you are correct to do so. But I do not feel there is any need for you to distance yourself otherwise. A great many people would like you to participate in our other banquets,” Jiza Ruu said as he headed off toward the brightly lit plaza. “Rimee’s birthday will be coming up in the yellow month. She’ll be expecting you to be there, so please don’t disappoint her.”

“As long as you and Donda Ruu give your permission, I would certainly not wish to upset her.”

“Our clan head Donda would never do anything to make Rimee sad. And I feel much the same.”

Jiza Ruu walked off. After watching him leave, Ai Fa glanced over at me.

“My apologies for making a decision about our future activities all on my own, Asuta.”

“You’re the clan head, so no need to worry about that. Besides, I don’t have any objections on my end,” I replied with a smile. “Why don’t we go enjoy the food the Ruu clan prepared? I’m sure you must be starving by now.”

“Indeed,” Ai Fa answered. She’d had an intense look on her face all evening, but for the first time in a while, she was now smiling honestly.