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

Bonus Short Story

A Joyous Night

“The second son of the Ruu main house Darmu Ruu and the eldest daughter of a Ruu branch house, Sheera Ruu, have vowed to be wed! The wedding shall be held in the coming days, and I hope that you will join us again on that occasion to give them your blessing!”

After Donda Ruu made that declaration, roaring cheers erupted throughout the plaza.

Today was not only the Ruu clan’s festival of the hunt but also the birthday of the elder Jiba Ruu. On top of that, three former members of the Suun had been granted clan names, which had elevated everyone’s spirits to even greater heights.

As he stood there atop the stage next to Donda Ruu, Shin Ruu was in extremely high spirits himself. His older sister Sheera Ruu was finally getting married. And he was even happier about the fact that it was to an exceptionally skilled hunter like Darmu Ruu.

I’ve been nothing but a burden on Sheera.

There were six members of Shin Ruu’s house: him and Sheera Ruu, their father Ryada Ruu, their mother Tari Ruu, and their two younger brothers. Since there were only two women in their family, handling all of the housework that needed to be done was difficult for them, and Sheera Ruu was the first child, so she had always had to look after her three younger brothers. As the next oldest, Shin Ruu had been able to see up close and personal just how hard she worked to support their household.

On top of that, Ryada Ruu had been seriously injured last year and was no longer able to work as a hunter, so Shin Ruu had become the head of the house despite his young age. Amid all that, Sheera Ruu had been tasked with managing the stalls in the post town, so that made for a lot more of a burden than what other houses faced.

But working at the stalls has unmistakably made her stronger.

Sheera Ruu had always been a reserved girl. Her body had been rather weak from a young age, which had given her a sense of inferiority. Growing up in the Ruu clan with so many incredibly strong people constantly surrounding her had made her into a modest young woman, a woman who reminded Shin Ruu of a small flower.

But last year, she had started helping Asuta with his business and had begun changing bit by bit. The fact that Asuta acknowledged her cooking skills had undoubtedly given her confidence a tremendous boost. She had become a remarkably stronger person since then, to the point that when the Ruu had been forced to start running the stalls independently, she and Reina Ruu had taken charge together.

Even now, though, Sheera Ruu was still physically weaker than other women. Illness no longer kept her confined to bed, but she wasn’t good at carrying anything heavy or chopping wood. But on the other hand, she was a truly exceptional cook. According to Asuta, she and Reina Ruu stood far above all other women at the forest’s edge in that regard. Apparently, Rimee Ruu and Toor Deen were the best at making sweets, but when it came to cooking in general, they couldn’t measure up to the older girls.

Up until Asuta appeared, though, nobody ever paid any attention to whether a woman’s cooking skills were good or not.

Before Asuta, none of the people of the forest’s edge had cared about how food tasted. Either they would boil giba meat in a pot along with vegetables, or they would heat it over a flame. No special skills were needed for that.

That had been enough to satisfy their people. As long as they hadn’t been starving, they’d been happy enough. On top of that, the Ruu hunted more giba than most, so they had been able to buy all sorts of vegetables to give their bodies more strength.

However, they had only been able to feel happy with that because they hadn’t known the joy of delicious food. No matter what ingredients they had bought, giba meat had such a strong flavor that it overpowered everything else, making it impossible to perceive any other tastes.

Asuta had insisted that the reason the meat had been so unpalatable was that they hadn’t been bloodletting the giba they’d hunted, leaving it with a powerful stench. Once they had learned how to bleed the beasts, as well as how to properly butcher them, though, the taste of the meat had changed dramatically.

On top of that, Asuta had come up with all sorts of delicious ways to prepare giba meat. But using his methods required skill as a chef...which was what had led to Sheera Ruu discovering her own strength.

And so, I’m certain that if Sheera hadn’t met Asuta, she never would have been able to properly convey how she felt, Shin Ruu thought to himself as he looked over at his sister, who was standing on the stage along with him.

Sheera Ruu’s smile was full of joy. Though her eyes were teary, she didn’t look timid or embarrassed in the least, letting her happiness show openly with a hundred of her relatives arrayed before her. She wouldn’t have had the fortitude to do that in the past. She had grown strong. That was undoubtedly how she had gotten the attention of Darmu Ruu, who had previously been so fixated on Ai Fa. Shin Ruu was certain of it.

“Sheera...I know it may be too soon to congratulate you, but I’m truly happy to see your feelings bear fruit,” Shin Ruu said.

“Thank you,” his sister replied, her unrestrained smile unwavering.

Meanwhile, Darmu Ruu was staring down at his relatives with an almost angry glare. Despite being such an exceptional hunter, he looked a whole lot more tense than Sheera Ruu. But as he looked at the man, Shin Ruu couldn’t help but feel an even greater warmth well up inside.

“This is seriously getting out of hand. You two go do something about it,” Donda Ruu grumbled, prompting Sheera and Darmu Ruu to step down from the stage.

Instantly, a huge number of their relatives surrounded them. The wedding banquet was still some time away, but it was clear that everyone was absolutely thrilled with this development. Shin Ruu was extremely pleased to see people responding so enthusiastically. It felt like proof of how much their relatives loved Sheera Ruu.

All thanks to the skill she’s gained as a chef.

In the past, nobody had paid any attention to Sheera Ruu at all. But at this point, she had given cooking lessons to women from every clan under the Ruu, and there was no one among their relatives who didn’t know her name.

Sheera and Darmu Ruu walked to the center of the plaza, and the crowd followed them. Shin Ruu watched them for a while longer, but then he spied Lala Ruu off in a corner by herself.

Why isn’t Lala Ruu congratulating them?

Darmu Ruu was her big brother, and she got along with Sheera Ruu quite well. He would’ve expected her to have been the first one to run over to them at a time like this. And yet, Lala Ruu was standing all alone in the dim light. After a moment of hesitation, Shin Ruu stepped down from the stage and walked over to her.

“What’s the matter, Lala Ruu?” he called out, only to find the girl weeping like a child.

Dressed in her banquet attire and with her long hair down, she looked far more mature and beautiful than usual. The sight of her crying like that threw Shin Ruu terribly out of sorts.

“Wh-Why are you crying? Do you...not want Sheera and Darmu Ruu to get married?”

“Of course I do!” Lala Ruu tearfully replied. “I’m not upset... I’m happy. Sheera Ruu’s hopes are finally going to be fulfilled,” she said, her face all scrunched up.

It was like she was a little kid again. Seeing Lala Ruu’s tears of joy made Shin Ruu feel even happier.

“Thanks for thinking about Sheera so much. But this is a happy occasion, so please stop crying,” Shin Ruu said, causing Lala Ruu to smile, though her tears did not stop.

“It’s been a while since I’ve heard you say ‘thanks,’ Shin Ruu... You’ve been much more formal lately.”

“Yeah. But the way you were crying made you look so much like a child that maybe I couldn’t help but feel a little childlike myself.”

Still smiling tearfully, Lala Ruu gave Shin Ruu’s chest a shove and said, “Jeez!” And then, she grabbed on to his clothing.

Even if they were related, men and women who didn’t belong to the same house weren’t supposed to touch one another unnecessarily. That was their people’s custom, so Shin Ruu begged for the mother forest’s forgiveness as he gently gripped Lala Ruu’s hand. The girl let go of his clothing so that she could hold his hand as well.

The pair stood together, hand in hand, watching their precious family celebrate in the light of the bonfires.