Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 29 - Chapter 6.2

2

Raielfam Sudra had originally been the second son of the main Sudra house, and the youngest son at that. He had no younger brothers, and his younger sister’s soul had returned to the forest at a young age due to illness.

However, his older brother was a truly remarkable hunter. The eldest son had been raised with great care, in order to protect the bloodline of the main house. And the expectations placed on him were even greater still because the second son, Raielfam Sudra, was such a small, weak boy.

During the times when they weren’t able to hunt enough giba and were suffering from starvation, the eldest son alone was given as much food as possible. That never changed as the brothers aged. Perhaps because he wasn’t given enough food to eat, Raielfam Sudra didn’t grow much at all as he aged, while the expectations placed on his older brother’s shoulders most certainly did.

Soon after turning fifteen, his older brother married the most beautiful woman among their relatives, the oldest daughter of the main house of their subordinate Meema clan. They were the same age, and she was tall with voluptuous proportions. She had also been raised with great care by her family, with the fate of her bloodline placed on her shoulders.

The Sudra and their subordinate clans had repeatedly suffered from misfortune, so at that point, the Meema were the only clan left under them. But the two clans shined with strength and beauty, and everyone believed that they would still be able to carve a path to a proper future.

However, there was still more misfortune on the horizon for the Sudra.

Even after a few years passed since they had gotten married, the oldest Meema daughter still hadn’t given birth to a child.

During the first year, no one was particularly concerned about that. But once two years had passed, the worried whispers started. Eventually, after three and then four years had gone by, the eldest son lost his composure, abusively criticizing his wife for not granting him a child. He started using up their scant resources without permission, getting drunk on fruit wine, and acting violent. The clan head at that time, their father, became angry and reprimanded him, but an even greater tragedy soon overshadowed all of that.

In the fifth year, the souls of the father and eldest son both returned to the forest on the same day. They were attacked by a starving giba while they were out hunting, and lost their lives all too soon. Raielfam Sudra survived, as he had been hunting with members of a branch house elsewhere, and when he heard the news, he was left speechless for some time.

His mother had passed away several years prior, so the only members of the main house who were still alive were Raielfam Sudra and his older brother’s wife. It also wasn’t long before the woman grew sick and perished, as if trying to follow after her husband. In no time at all, Raielfam Sudra had become the sole member of the main Sudra house.

He was seventeen years old then. And yet, he hadn’t grown taller at all since turning thirteen, and was smaller than most women. On top of that, he had gloomy sunken eyes, a smooshed nose, and wrinkles across his face. Particularly cruel folks would mock him for having a face that looked less human than those of the savages of Mount Morga, and even at that age, he had been unable to find a bride. And yet, Raielfam Sudra found himself called to lead his people as the head of the main house.

To make matters even worse, their subordinates, the Meema clan, had started to feel animosity toward the Sudra. They had placed all of their hopes on their eldest daughter, but when she had married into the Sudra clan, she had been abused by her husband.

After a great deal of worrying, Raielfam Sudra came to a conclusion. He had all of his relatives gather in front of the main house and declared to them, “As my father’s and brother’s souls have returned to the forest, it has fallen to me to lead the Sudra and Meema from here on out. I would imagine many of you are displeased by that, but we cannot overturn the customs of the forest’s edge just because I am such a sad specimen. I wish for us to bury our regrets inside, and attempt to live properly as children of the forest of Morga.”

Not a single person appeared to be happy as they listened to him speak. The members of the branch houses looked as if they had been plunged into the depths of despair, while the Meema glared at him with open hostility in their eyes. But as they were all watching him, Raielfam Sudra continued on, “I would like to make a promise here and now. I will not take a bride in the future, nor will I have children. After me, the branch family head who is most closely related to me should become the head of the main house. However, since the individual that duty would fall to has suffered a severe injury and his child is still young, I will continue to lead you until that child can be raised into a fine hunter.”

Everyone present looked surprised. Surely, that had to have been the most foolish thing any person of the forest’s edge had ever said. But that was the most proper path forward that Raielfam Sudra had been able to see.

“I would also like to apologize for the mistakes made by my father and brother. My father placed all of his expectations on my older brother, and gave him more to eat than anyone else. The Meema clan head judged that to be the proper path and did the same for his daughter. Due to that mistake, my brother and his wife suffered greatly for a long time, and inflicted that same suffering upon our relatives. Just because you see your eldest child as the most precious member of your family, that does not mean it is proper to ignore the other members of your clan.”

As his relatives stood there frozen in shock, Raielfam Sudra continued to passionately argue. “It is the custom of the forest’s edge to value an older child over a younger one, a main house over a branch one, and a parent clan over a subordinate one. That may well be correct, but it is not proper to take that too far. Especially seeing as we have so few people to our name. For us, there is no point in dividing things up into main houses and branch houses and the like. While I am clan head, I believe that we should not let ourselves be bound too tightly by that custom and should instead treat all of our relatives as precious members of our family. And if I am straying from the proper path by doing this, then I am certain the forest shall judge me and take my soul, just as it took the souls of my father and brother.”

That was everything that Raielfam Sudra wished to convey.

And so, at the young age of seventeen, he ended up leading his people.

Even after that point, the path that the Sudra and Meema found themselves upon remained harsh. Many infants had their souls returned to the forest at a young age, and their numbers slowly but steadily crept downward. They were unable to form blood ties with other clans, and the leading Suun clan even ridiculed them and called them weaklings. Each and every day, it felt as if they were being forced to eat mud.

Ten years passed like that, until the eldest son of the branch house, the one who was expected to become the next clan head, grew old enough to be sent out into the forest. And yet, in less than half a year, he perished. He had been an only child.

“In that case, a child from the next closest branch house shall be the clan head after me. Until that child becomes a fine hunter, I shall continue to watch over the Sudra,” Raielfam Sudra declared.

At that point, he was nearly thirty years old, but as he had promised, he had not taken a bride. Perhaps as a result of that, his relatives had all followed Raielfam Sudra’s words and were loving to one another.

But no matter how properly they lived, that didn’t bring them any coins. It was difficult for them to hunt enough giba with their lacking strength, and so they suffered from constant poverty. When their swords broke, they hunted giba with just their bows, and when they fell ill, they were unable to purchase medicine in town. At times, they even had difficulty purchasing aria, poitan, and salt. They somehow managed to fill their stomachs by eating giba torso meat, but they were undeniably growing weaker and weaker.

Another seven years passed, and around when the once-seventeen-year-old Raielfam Sudra reached the point where he had spent half of his life as clan head, the youth set to become the next clan head perished out in the forest.

“Lamenting won’t get us anywhere... We’ll just have to have the next closest by blood serve as the next clan head,” Raielfam Sudra declared to all of his relatives, who were once again gathered in front of the main house. He felt like he had to be the most heartbroken of them all, but he refused to let that weakness show. “We have no male children left, but your house still has a young eldest daughter, does it not?” he asked one of the family heads.

“Yes,” a young woman said, stepping forward. She was slender and tall, and also quite beautiful.

“Then the man that you take as your husband shall become our next clan head. Your child shall inherit the role of head of the main house, so choose your husband with that in mind and give birth to a strong child.”

“Understood. I already have a man I wish to marry.” There were only so many young unmarried folks, so that wasn’t especially strange.

“In that case, you can go ahead and marry that man as soon as possible. You are already fifteen, are you not?”

“Yes. I turned fifteen last month.”

“Then all the more reason to make the request here and now. I cannot imagine anyone refusing to marry a woman like you.”

“I am glad to hear you say that, but I am not so certain,” the girl said, breaking out in a gentle smile. “I am Li Sudra, eldest daughter of a Sudra branch house, and I wish to marry you, Raielfam Sudra of the main house. Will you grant this wish?”

“What?” Raielfam Sudra asked, his eyes shooting open wide. “What are you saying? Were you not listening to me at all?”

“I was, and I know that you swore not to take a bride before I was even born. But I have no desire to marry anyone aside from you.”

“Ridiculous,” Raielfam Sudra muttered, at a loss for words.

A man around Raielfam Sudra’s age stepped forward—Li Sudra’s father. “I have been discussing this matter with Li since her birthday. She has remained firm in her decision, so would you be willing to accept?”

“N-Now you’re giving voice to this nonsense too? You haven’t forgotten my words from seventeen years ago, have you?”

“Of course I haven’t. But now that we’ve come this far, I’m sure that not a single one of our relatives sees you as a ‘sad specimen’ at this point.” The man then looked around the crowd gathered there. “I ask all of you who fall under the Sudra and Meema: Would any of you be opposed to our clan head Raielfam Sudra taking a wife and having children? And if one of their children can be raised to be the next clan head, would any of you be dissatisfied?”

Not a single person objected.

Looking satisfied with that result, Li Sudra’s father turned back toward Raielfam Sudra.

“And that’s how it is. For the last seventeen years, you have continued to demonstrate your strength as clan head. Your father and brother strayed from the proper path, but you have not. All of us acknowledge that.”

“Ah, but...”

“Though the two of us are related by blood, it is only through our grandfathers, who were brothers. It is a shame that our bloodline has been whittled down this much, but the connection between us is distant enough that it should be no issue at all for you to marry my daughter.”

Raielfam Sudra didn’t know what to say to that.

“Now the only thing left to do is to sort out your feelings. If you feel that Li would make a proper wife, then please, marry her.”

Feeling terribly bewildered, Raielfam Sudra turned to face Li Sudra. “You truly wish to marry someone like me?”

“Yes, of course.”

“But I am terribly ugly.”

“Your face doesn’t matter. You are the greatest hunter of our bloodline, are you not?”

“But I’m smaller than you are.”

“There are many men out there who are shorter than me. And nobody in either the Sudra or the Meema is especially tall.”

“But...I’m thirty-four years old.”

Li Sudra brought her hands together as if praying. “Raielfam Sudra, your soul is what drew me to you. If I cannot marry you, then there is no point in me having been born into this world. Please, won’t you take me as your bride?”

And so, Raielfam Sudra and Li Sudra ended up getting married. He took a girl nineteen years younger and more than half a head taller than him as a bride, and she was smart and beautiful to boot.

He felt blessed. For a while, Raielfam Sudra had trouble believing that what was happening was actually real. And he was even more shocked and overjoyed by the fact that all of their relatives had given the pairing their blessing.

Raielfam Sudra had been serving as the leader of all of his precious family members, but he hadn’t placed himself among them. His intention had been to try to make up for at least some of the suffering brought about by his father and brother, and then to entrust the future of his people to the next clan head before dying alone. However, his plans had been cut short rather decisively by the love of his relatives.

And yet, the Sudra clan’s suffering was still not at an end.

They held one another dear and trusted that they were walking the proper path, and yet the Sudra were still steadily marching toward their own destruction.

The number of people in their clan continued to decrease. Li Sudra became pregnant twice, but both children had their souls returned to the forest at a young age. The Sudra were constantly short on food and couldn’t provide enough milk to help the children grow, so their lives had been snuffed out by Amusehorn’s Breath.

The sadness of losing them continued to eat away at Raielfam Sudra’s heart. Everyone had celebrated when the children had been born, but they had both perished before they could grow up. Their deaths had been the only two times when Raielfam Sudra had cried and wailed out loud in his life. Li Sudra had also shed silent tears, her face haggard.

Four years had passed since Raielfam Sudra’s marriage to Li Sudra. It had been twenty-one years since he had become the head of their clan, and he was now thirty-eight years old. The number of people in the Meema clan had decreased so much that they had cast aside their name and merged with the Sudra. There had only been six members of the Meema in the end, and half of them had been less than thirteen years old. And the Sudra clan itself had been reduced to just twelve people, including their branch houses.

“At this point, all we can do is wait for ruin to come for us. We should consider this to be the end of not only the Meema name, but the Sudra as well,” Raielfam Sudra said to his seventeen relatives, who were gathered before him.

The man who had previously been the head of the Meema shot him an intense glare. “Clan head Raielfam, are you saying we should cast aside the Sudra name and join another clan?”

“What other path is left to us? As things stand, there is no chance that we will be able to give our children any sort of future.”

“But no clan other than either the Suun or the Ruu would be able to accept eighteen new members... Those two clans value strength so highly that I cannot imagine them welcoming us into their midst, and even if they did, we would surely not be treated well. And if we merge with another small clan, we could end up more impoverished than we are now.”

“I know that, of course. But we cannot simply accept our destruction without trying anything.”

“Can’t we? I think I would prefer that to casting aside our pride,” the man said as he started to tear up. “I cannot imagine a finer clan head than you. Even now that we have given up the Meema name, I wish to remain a member of the Sudra until my soul returns to the forest.”

“But...”

“As you told us, I see everyone here as if they were my own parents or children. No matter how poor we may become, I am happy, and I am proud of my current self. I do not wish to throw away that pride and joy just so I can live a little longer.”

Their other relatives nodded along with intense determination in their eyes, and so, Raielfam Sudra made his decision as well.

“Understood. As long as I remain clan head, I promise to lead you as I always have. If I happen to perish in the forest, then the next clan head can search for the path that they believe is best for our people.”

Three more years passed after that, and their number dwindled down to just nine. And yet, Raielfam Sudra was still alive, and still the head of his clan. Was the Sudra clan facing destruction because he had so stubbornly kept living all this time? That was something he thought about every single day.

Though four of the nine were still young and unwed, they were unable to seek out partners. Believing that they could not properly raise children when they were in such poverty, none of them were even trying to get married.

Even Raielfam Sudra himself had not tried to have a child in the last several years. After losing their previous children so young, he and his wife felt as if they would be crushed by despair if they were to lose another.

The Sudra were quietly walking down a path that was leading to their demise. With only four hunters left in their clan, they were barely scraping by. At this point, it was clear that they would only be able to survive for a couple more years. With deep love for their few remaining clan members and pride in their hearts, their souls would soon return to the mother forest.

They all understood and accepted that, but then, that very year, they met Asuta of the Fa clan.