Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 29 - Chapter 6.3

3

“We caught twelve today, huh? I suppose that’s tolerable,” a Jeen hunter stated as the group returned to the Suun settlement in the evening.

When he heard that, one of the Dana hunters went wide-eyed in shock. “Twelve giba is just tolerable? Our clan couldn’t even dream of taking down this many in a single day.”

“Well, since you and the others joined us today, we had a pretty large team, so yes, this result is merely adequate.”

“But we and the Suun hunters only contributed about as much as hunters in training would have. All of you from the Jeen and Sudra are truly impressive, even more so than the hunting dog,” the Dana hunter said, and then he got lost deep in thought. “Actually...do you get such impressive results because you’re all so good at using the hunting dog, the Suun included? You Jeen and Sudra hunters are incredibly skilled, but it seemed like it was the strength of that dog that allowed us to hunt so many giba without facing any serious danger.”

“That’s right. A hunting dog can show its true strength when paired with skilled hunters, and that’s how we’re able to achieve so much,” the Jeen hunter replied, bending down his massive frame to pat the dog on its flat head. “There are still a lot of different opinions regarding the Fa clan’s actions. But there isn’t a single hunter among us who would refuse to make use of these hunting dogs. I would like to get ahold of more of them, no matter what it takes.”

“Yeah. Even when we split up today, we clearly had too many hunters for one dog. With one hunting dog for every five hunters or so, we would be safer than ever before, and able to hunt so many more giba.” The Dana and Havira hunters all heartily nodded along. Then they all glanced at Raielfam Sudra. “And you Sudra hunters. During the next hunt, other men from our clans will be joining you, so we likely won’t meet again for some time...but I would very much like to share a drink with you someday.”

“Agreed. We’ll be looking forward to that day as well.”

The Dana and Havira hunters had been subordinates of the Suun not that long ago, and had previously despised the Sudra. However, back then, they had only ever seen one another at the clan head meetings. It was the sentiment that they were expressing today that represented their true feelings, now that they had gone into the forest together. That was what Raielfam Sudra believed.

“Our next visit to the Suun settlement will be five days from now. I wish you good health until then,” the blunt Jeen hunter said. After returning the farewell, Raielfam Sudra boarded the wagon his clan had borrowed.

On the way back, Cheem Sudra sat in the driver’s seat. Inside the wagon, there were a large number of wooden boxes piled up. Since the Sudra were more interested in the meat than anything else, they had been given a larger portion of it in exchange for letting the others take all of the horns, tusks, and pelts. Half of the giba had been bloodlet properly and their meat was suitable for being sold.

“The Suun clan isn’t allowed to sell meat directly to the Fa clan, right? It was the previous clan head, Zuuro Suun, who was opposed to the Fa’s actions, so that’s pretty unfortunate,” the one young man stated, and Raielfam Sudra shrugged in response.

“They all acknowledged Zuuro Suun as their clan head, so there’s no helping that. And if they need new blades or medicine, they can use the reward money from the castle town for that. They can even hunt on their own at this point, so they shouldn’t be wanting for anything.”

“Yes, they’re a lot better off than we were up until last year,” the older man interjected. He was around the same age as Raielfam Sudra, who was now forty-two. They had lived through the same bad times and had seen the same things. He and the younger man were father and son, and had formerly been part of the Meema. “But for the last ten years, they were forced to live under even worse conditions than we were. We were poorer than any other clan and faced countless tragedies, but we cared for our clan members and lived with pride, so we must have been much happier than they were, given how they were ordered to cast aside their pride and pillage the fruits of the forest,” the man said, his eyes narrowing as he looked nostalgic. “I am so glad that you were our clan head, Raielfam Sudra, and not Zuuro Suun. And I’m sure that the souls of our relatives who have returned to the forest are relieved that things have turned out like this.”

“But that is all because we encountered the Fa clan.”

“Yet you were the one to form a proper bond with the Fa, clan head Raielfam. Without you, the Sudra would never have been able to take hold of the happiness we now enjoy.”

That’s not true, Raielfam Sudra thought to himself. He had only been able to bring that happiness to eight of his clan members. When he thought about the souls who had been lost over the course of the more than twenty years he had served as clan head, his heart ached. But that is precisely why I must show those who remain the proper path forward. Otherwise, there will be no point to one as pathetic as me having become clan head.

After that, the young man and Cheem Sudra up in the driver’s seat chatted casually with one another. Naturally, the main topic of discussion was the fast-approaching festival of the hunt and the planned marriage with the Ran. And since a Sudra woman was also supposed to marry into the Fou soon as well, they had plenty of things to discuss.

Their surroundings were starting to grow dark as they approached the Sudra settlement, at which point Cheem Sudra said, “Hey, there seems to be a bit of a commotion around our house. Are those...Fou women?”

“Hmm? Did they come to pick up meat to be sold in town?”

“No, this doesn’t look like anything so routine.”

A sense of unease filled Raielfam Sudra’s chest, and his heart started beating faster. He didn’t know why, but for some reason the imagery from that morning’s nightmare flashed through his mind.

As he leaned forward out of the wagon next to the driver’s seat, he saw women heading in and out of the path to the Sudra settlement. This was clearly some sort of emergency.

“Hey, what in the world is going on?!” Cheem Sudra called out to a woman as she was stepping out onto the main path, leaving to head somewhere else.

The Fou women turned their way, her face pale. “Ah, so you’ve returned from the Suun settlement? Please, hurry back home.”

“We will, but what’s going on?”

“Well, you see...Li Sudra has gone into labor.”

“What?!” Raielfam Sudra exclaimed, seriously astounded. “That can’t be... There was supposed to be half a month or even twenty days left until our child was to be born. So why...?”

“We don’t know. But the Fou and Ran women have gathered in order to look after Li Sudra.”

Raielfam Sudra leaped down from the wagon and took off running toward the house.

There was a crowd gathered out front. Most of them were women, but Baadu Fou and the Ran clan head were also there.

“Baadu Fou, what in the world is going on?!” Raielfam Sudra asked, practically tackling the clan head as he grabbed ahold of the tall man.

Baadu Fou stared down at him with a tense expression. “Apparently, Li Sudra went into labor shortly after you departed for the Suun settlement. My wife and all the women who have experience with birthing children have gathered to assist her.”

And then, anguished panting sounded out from inside the house, almost like a drawn-out scream. Raielfam Sudra had never heard his wife make such sounds. As he tried to head toward the entrance to his home, though, Baadu Fou firmly grasped his shoulder.

“It is customary that men are not to approach until the child is born. You should stay here and pray to the forest for your child to be born safely.”

“But Li has never suffered this much from giving birth before! She was just fine this morning, so why is this happening?!”

“I do not know either.”

“She hasn’t been suffering from starvation this time! Li’s stomach is larger than it has ever been, and the child inside of her was moving about healthily! So why...?” As Raielfam Sudra clung to Baadu Fou’s chest, he shouted out passionately, “The other women said that the birth should go just fine too! Why?! Is the mother forest going to steal a third child away from me?!”

“Calm yourself, Raielfam Sudra. The forest would never abandon us; we are its children.”

“But we have been abandoned by the forest again and again!”

Raielfam Sudra’s knees started trembling. An incredibly strong feeling of anxiety and fear enveloped his small figure. He could sense the dead surrounding him and giving him regretful looks.

“Raielfam Sudra!” a young man’s voice shouted out. Still clinging to Baadu Fou’s chest, the clan head slowly turned in that direction. And when he did, he saw a pale young man and a woman with a sword hop down from a wagon and come running over. “We just heard from one of the Fou woman. Li Sudra went into labor sooner than expected, right?”

It was none other than Asuta and Ai Fa of the Fa clan. Ai Fa’s blue eyes were shining intensely, and Asuta’s brow was furrowed. He looked terribly worried. “I’m sure Li Sudra will be fine,” he said. “I know it’s difficult, but please try your best to hang in there, Raielfam Sudra.”

Asuta’s hand was now covering one of Raielfam Sudra’s own, which was still grasping Baadu Fou’s chest. His fingers were slender like those of a woman, and very warm. And so, Raielfam Sudra let go of Baadu Fou and clasped his friend’s hands instead.

“Thanks to you, Asuta, Li and the child inside of her have been healthy. I believed I would finally be able to greet my child without worry, so why is something like this happening?”

“I don’t know much about childbirth myself. Is it rare for a child to be born half a month early?” Asuta asked someone else.

One of the women who was standing around replied, “It is unusual, but by no means unheard of. From what I’m told, I myself was born ten days sooner than expected.”

“I see. Then I’m sure Li Sudra will be just fine too. With this many people praying for things to go well, I’m sure the mother forest will show mercy.”

Raielfam Sudra half absentmindedly glanced around. Baadu Fou and the Ran clan head, the Fou and Ran women, Ai Fa, Toor Deen, Yun Sudra, Cheem Sudra, and the others who had been in the wagon were all gathered around them with serious looks on their faces.

“My apologies, clan head. We were examining new ingredients at the Ruu settlement today, so I was late getting back home,” Yun Sudra said, stepping forward with tears in her eyes. Apparently, she had been riding in the same wagon as Asuta. “I’m certain Li and your child will be fine. We’ll finally have a healthy baby born to the Sudra clan. Let’s choose to believe in that.”

“Yes... Yes, I know...” Raielfam Sudra said, letting go of Asuta’s hands and turning back toward Baadu Fou. “My apologies for losing control... I am grateful for the assistance of the Fou and Ran.”

“We are relatives, and also fellow people of the forest’s edge. Let us pray together for the safety of Li Sudra and your child,” Baadu Fou said.

Raielfam Sudra gave a powerless nod, then sat down right beside the entrance to his home. From the other side of the door, he could hear Li Sudra’s endless pained cries. He had never heard her suffering so much, even during childbirth.

Why...? Our child has grown bigger than either of our previous ones, so has that increased the pain that Li is experiencing?

As a man, Raielfam Sudra knew that he would not be able to arrive at a clear answer to that question, no matter how hard he thought about it. And yet, despite forcing himself to accept that, the unease he felt seemed as if it would crush his heart. He had to steel himself so that he wouldn’t fall down onto his hands and knees.

Mother forest, please grant my wife and child mercy! You can take my life here and now! If I lose the two of them...I won’t be able to survive it!

As he closed his eyes shut, terrifying images assaulted him. There was a swarm of the dead around him, just like in his nightmare. Raielfam Sudra could never bear the thought of Li Sudra and their latest child being added to those ranks.

His father and elder brother stood there, looking filled with regret. His mother’s and younger sister’s eyebrows were dropping sadly. The two young children he had lost, his brother’s wife, the members of the branch houses, and the Meema... All of those he had lost over the past twenty years stood there surrounding Raielfam Sudra, pale and flickering.

Within the crowd, only one person was not a relative of his. It was the criminal who Raielfam Sudra had struck down. That middle-aged Suun hunter with gray hair and vacant eyes. Upon seeing the man, Raielfam Sudra’s mind focused in on him with eerie clarity.

It couldn’t be... Is this your curse...? I took the life of a fellow comrade from the forest’s edge, even if he was a criminal, so is this the judgment that I face...? Raielfam Sudra began grinding his teeth. But if I did not kill you, Asuta would have died! I could not possibly leave him to such a fate! If I have sinned, though, then kill me, not my wife and child!

A light filled the dead hunter’s eyes. It was the same calm gaze he had looked at Asuta and Ai Fa with as he had been on the verge of death, breathing his last as they had watched over him. Raielfam Sudra had seen it himself over Asuta’s shoulder. The man had been howling like a mad beast mere moments before, but in his final instant he had shown them a gentle, terribly human expression. And when he had seen that, a terrible sense of guilt had filled Raielfam Sudra.

Did... Did I kill someone I should not have? Is someone as sinful as myself not even permitted to pray for the happiness of my wife and child?

Raielfam Sudra felt as if he was being dragged down into the depths of despair. But then, the dead hunter suddenly smiled. He seemed to be trying to say something... But just then, beyond the darkness, a crying baby’s voice rang out like a flashing spark.

“Raielfam Sudra, your child has been born!” a voice called out as someone grabbed his shoulder and shook it vigorously. As he looked up in a bit of a daze, he found Baadu Fou staring down at him with delight.

The baby’s cry was reverberating in his head. The sound seemed to echo so unnaturally, he couldn’t help but wonder if it was real or not.

Asuta and Ai Fa were also there, leaning over Raielfam Sudra. There was a look of anticipation and worry on their faces.

And then, the door was opened from the inside.

“Come this way, Raielfam Sudra. You should enter alone first, as the father.”

That was Baadu Fou’s wife.

With Baadu Fou holding his hand to support him, Raielfam Sudra shakily rose to his feet. With the door open, the baby’s crying sounded stranger still.

Feeling that something was wrong, that this wasn’t normal, Raielfam Sudra passed through the entrance as if in a trance. There in the center of the main hall, a large mat had been spread out on the ground. It had been prepared for this very day, and Li Sudra was sitting on top of it. She was covered by a large sheet from the waist down, and a Ran woman was supporting her back.

In her hands, she held a bundle. The moment he saw that, the doubts and fears that had been welling up inside of Raielfam Sudra melted away.

Li Sudra was holding two small infants.

“It is rare for twins to be born, but your wife managed to deliver them both without any issues. This is why Li Sudra’s stomach grew so big,” Baadu Fou’s wife said.

There seemed to be a number of other women there in the room, but Raielfam Sudra wasn’t able to properly perceive them.

“Go ahead and hold them. Your children are waiting for their father.”

His hands felt cold. Apparently, someone had cleaned them with water at some point.

Raielfam Sudra stepped forward, feeling as if he were floating through the air, and then knelt down beside his beloved wife. Li Sudra looked utterly exhausted, but she was also smiling more happily than he had ever seen her before.

“We’ve been waiting for you. Clan head, these are our children.”

The two newborns were clad in white and crying heartily. The sounds were overlapping with one another, which was why they had seemed so strange to Raielfam Sudra before.

With trembling fingers, he reached out, and with assistance from Baadu Fou’s wife, he cradled one of the infants in his arms.

The baby was so incredibly small. Perhaps even smaller than the infants that had been born to them in the past. But the baby’s wrinkly face was noticeably less pale than those of their other children, and nice and plump as well.

“This is the first time any of our children have cried so heartily. They may be small, but I am sure they will grow big soon enough,” Li Sudra whispered, passing the other infant to him. Sure enough, their other child was also wrinkly, round, and a healthy crier. “The one on your right is the elder sister, and on the left you have the younger brother. I believe the brother and sister from the main Zaza house are also twins, aren’t they? I hope our children grow up to be people as fine as they are.”

The twins kept on crying in Raielfam Sudra’s hands. They were so small, yet they felt heavier than anything he could imagine. Their incredibly adorable little figures suddenly started to grow blurry. Tears had started flowing from his eyes.

Mother forest...I offer my deepest gratitude for your kindness.

Raielfam Sudra’s tearstained face then turned toward the entrance.

“Asuta, Ai Fa, come look. These... These are my children.”

“Congratulations, Raielfam and Li Sudra.”

Asuta and Ai Fa were now standing in the entrance. Baadu Fou must have urged them to follow behind Raielfam Sudra, which he felt deeply grateful for.

“Asuta, Ai Fa, I wish for you to hold these children as well.”

“Huh? But we...well, we don’t really know how to hold babies properly,” Asuta said.

“Please. Without your aid, they never would have been born.”

“I-I really don’t think that’s true...”

Asuta and Ai Fa both looked hesitant, but the women guided them inside. After their hands were cleansed, Raielfam Sudra handed them the infants.

Asuta accepted the boy, and Ai Fa the girl. The babies kept on crying as loudly as ever all the while, causing Ai Fa’s eyebrows to droop as she looked at a loss.

“They cry so loudly. The two of them will undoubtedly grow up healthy if this is how they are now.”

“Yes, and this is all thanks to the two of you. We were only able to grasp the hope and joy we now have because we formed a bond with the Fa clan.”

“Can we go ahead and hand them back, then? I feel a chill running up my spine when I think about what would happen if I dropped her,” Ai Fa said. Then she turned toward Asuta, and her expression changed to one of astonishment. “Once again, I have to ask why you’re crying. As a man, how weak can your spirit possibly be?”

“Hey, there’s no helping it,” Asuta said with an emotional smile as he cried as intensely as Raielfam Sudra was. “Raielfam Sudra, Li Sudra, seriously, congratulations. I want to give you and these two children my blessing with all my heart.”

“Yes, thank you very much,” Li Sudra said. “Asuta and Ai Fa, as our clan head said, the happiness we feel today is all thanks to the two of you.”

“No, not at all. This is the end result of how the Sudra have continued to walk the proper path forward instead of giving in to the difficulties you’ve faced,” Asuta replied, his tears still constantly flowing.

As he looked at the young man, Raielfam Sudra started crying again as well. “And I wish to make sure that the Sudra will continue down the proper path from here on out alongside the Fa. I have no idea when I may perish out in the forest, but I hope that the two of you will continue to watch over these children.”

“What are you saying? You told me before that you won’t die until you see them grow into proper adults, right? You need to keep living for a long time yet so you can watch over them yourself, Raielfam Sudra,” Asuta said with a terribly warm smile as he held that small infant in his arms. “And you should watch over them as they get married and have your grandchildren too. I’m sure you’ll feel as much joy as you do now if you live to see all of that happen.”

“Indeed. The Ruu clan elder is still doing well at the age of eighty-six. You have led the Sudra with incredible strength, so I believe you have earned the right to experience that happiness,” Ai Fa added with a gentle look on her face.

As he snuggled up close to Li Sudra, Raielfam Sudra nodded and said, “Perhaps you are right. It is all down to the will of the forest, and yet...I hope to keep on living alongside these children, my precious family, and you who I call friends as we walk down the proper path forward together.”

“Absolutely. Here’s to many years to come,” Asuta said as he and Ai Fa handed the infants back. Li Sudra took their daughter while Raielfam Sudra cradled their son.

Feeling unbelievable joy wash over him, Raielfam Sudra offered up a prayer to the dead.

I shall never forget you all, until the very moment my soul returns to the forest. But until then, I will live my life alongside these children. Please, watch over us.

Naturally, no one replied. But even so, Raielfam Sudra no longer suffered from worries and terror.

The two young children kept on crying loudly, surrounded by the loving gazes of the people who cared for them.