Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 3 - Chapter 3.6

6

And then, night arrived.

This was now my third time eating dinner at the Ruu house. The members of the house were already at their seats, and the plates of food were laid out. Roast and leg steak, aria and tino soup made from a shoulder meat stock, a mountain of baked poitan... and my experimental “poitan soup,” mark 1.

Granny Jiba was the last one to take her seat, and when she did, I said, “Um... This lower pot contains an experimental dish for the banquet. I ask that you not think of it as part of the dinner on offer, and just something for those of you with an interest to give a taste test. To be honest it’s still a work in progress, so the taste still isn’t perfected.”

Nobody said anything.

“Well, with that said, if nobody tastes it my experiment will never move forward, so I’d appreciate it if as many people as possible could give it a try. And if you could tell me your impressions, it would be a big help.”

“What are you prattling on about?” the clan head asked, making a face like he found this a real pain. “The Rutim asked us to lend them their aid. Lala, hand that out to everyone.”

“Huh?! Why me...?”

“You manned the stove, didn’t you? You’re the closest to it, so you should serve it.”

The displeasure was clearly showing on her face, but even so, Lala Ruu promptly started pouring the poitan soup into bowls.

“Chef of the Fa clan...”

“Yes? What is it?”

“You have entered into an agreement with the eldest son of the main Rutim house. Then, the Rutim put in a request to the Ruu. That’s all there is to it, so there’s no special connection here between you and our clan.”

“Yes, that’s exactly right.”

“...If you understand that, then just do your job.”

I’m sure he was just telling me not to worry about anything unnecessary, but with his usual intensity added on, it was a little frustrating to hear. Actually, maybe I still had some leftover hesitation and trouble dealing with the Ruu clan, and Donda Ruu saw through that.

That thought only made me more frustrated... Frustrated at my own lack of experience.

“We give thanks for the blessings of the forest...” Donda Ruu muttered, starting off that familiar chant. “We offer our gratitude to Mia Lea, Sati Lea, Lala, and Asuta, who manned the flame and gave us our life for this night...”

With that, the combined dinner/taste testing began.

After all that work from before, I ended up involved in dissecting those other two giba, so almost all of this dinner was made by members of the Ruu clan. I at least supervised the whole time they were handling the meat dishes, including the hamburger for Granny Jiba, but the women were the ones who actually made all that.

And so, I spent the whole time handling just this initial test dish.

Rimee Ruu was the first one to speak up.

“Huh? We just get one bowl each?” she asked in surprise, peering into the lower pot where the flame had already been cut off.

“Yeah, since this is still ultimately just a test product, after all. I’d guess it makes up about two of the three poitan each person needs to eat.”

“Hmm, I see...” she said, not sounding all that disappointed as she put down her empty bowl.

“How was the taste?”

“Huh? Um... I don’t really know.”

I see. Well if she doesn’t really know, then there’s no helping that.

Perhaps because of the understanding that poitan stew tasted even worse if you let it cool, everyone in the family had chosen to gulp down my test dish first, it seemed. As I stole glances at everyone’s faces, I wasn’t exactly feeling all that confident. Granny Tito Min wore a look of doubt, Vina was expressionless, Reina Ruu looked troubled, and Ludo Ruu had a clear frown on his face...

By the way, the reaction from the three of us who manned the stove and thus got to taste it in advance was, “It’s missing something...”

I lacked the skill to tell what the rest of the men were feeling right now. And Ai Fa was amongst that same group, silently continuing on with her meal and placing down her bowl. From what I could see, she had already finished the test dish completely.

“Ah, Ai Fa, about the taste of that dish—”

“It was bad.”

Huh? She seemed like she was in an especially bad mood for some reason. But I was holed up in the kitchen all day, so this was my first time talking to her since this morning. Did something happen while I wasn’t around?

“So, what’s the deal with this poitan stew?” Granny Tito Min asked after about half an hour had passed and the majority of the folks present had finished eating.

“Right. I’ve been experimenting with a poitan soup that would be easier to eat, and for this time, I only added in gigo, tino, and salt.”

“Oh, so there’s gigo in it? I didn’t realize at all.”

I still couldn’t quite identify the gigo. In terms of texture, though, it seemed closest to a Japanese yam.

It crumbled when you boiled it, making for a real viscous gigo stew. It wasn’t bad, eating it just like that, but it lacked any defining flavor. Plus, since I didn’t scrape it all down, that meant a bit of fiber remained.

So next, I tried boiling it together with poitan so that floury nature and viscosity canceled each other out, which made for a rather mellow dish.

Then, I tried pairing it with a number of vegetables and ultimately went with the tino since it seemed safest, then seasoned it with salt.

I was still only at the point where I’d built a foundation, but everyone’s reactions were as follows.

Mia Lea: “I don’t exactly dislike it, but...”

Sati Lea Ruu: “It doesn’t really seem like a food dish, does it?”

Vina Ruu: “I don’t really know...”

Reina Ruu: “It goes down smoothly.”

Lala Ruu: “Seems like a work in progress, still.”

Rimee Ruu: “I just don’t have a clue, either...”

No, well, I mean, it was still just the foundations of a work in progress. I guess it really was difficult to come up with impressions on something that was neither gross nor tasty. I mean, with that manju from the post town, all I could think to say was it tasted “normal.”

“I don’t get why I’ve gotta eat something like this. Don’t go making such boring crap. You’re betraying my expectations, here,” Ludo Ruu said, looking the most dissatisfied of all of them. But then before long, he continued on with a brazen smile, “On the other hand, these baked poitan are crazy tasty. I ate three of them before I even realized it.”

“Ah, yeah! They were yummy! They were all fluffy and bouncy, so I ate lots too!” chimed in Rimee Ruu, who had just been moving all around and looking bored.

“Yeah, we mixed gigo into those, too. They were made by baking up the failures, but they ended up with a rather nice texture, didn’t they?”

Now that I thought of it, I think I’ve heard that if you mix Japanese yam into okonomiyaki it gets all soft and fluffy. At any rate, this was a happy accident... but my main focus was on making a hot poitan stew.

Then everyone switched over to praising the baked poitan and meat dishes, so apparently the opinions about my test dish had come to a dead end.

Meanwhile, Ai Fa was currently helping Granny Jiba eat her meal. Once Mia Lea Ruu, who had been handling that task up till now, and Granny Jiba herself finished eating, the dinner would be over.

“It may have been a test dish, but my apologies for feeding you all something so dull. I would be grateful if you would continue to help me out from tomorrow on in spite of that.”

I’d intended for that to be the end of things, but after staying perfectly silent up till now, Jiza Ruu said, “Asuta. Our clan head Donda agreed to assist the Rutim, so there’s no need for you to worry yourself over the matter any more than necessary. However... would it be alright if I offered my opinion on the poitan soup from before?”

“Yes, of course.”

“I do not really know what makes a taste good or bad. But I believe that eating the previous sort of stew that we have had up until now would be preferable to this... I had no such thoughts when it came to the baked poitan or the other dishes.”

“I see...”

It seemed like the reaction wasn’t good. Had I made a mistake in the path I chose?

With that, silence fell over the room, and Ai Fa stood up as Granny Jiba had finished her meal. It was then that a voice suddenly resounded through the air, “...Why did you not put in any meat?”

That had come from Donda Ruu.

I was so surprised that I was at a loss for a moment before responding.

“Th-This is ultimately just a test dish, so I decided not to add any as I thought it best to solidify the foundation before starting to consider what sorts of meat would have an affinity with it.”

“Did you really think we’d have nice things to say after you fed us such a half-baked dish?” His tone didn’t exactly make it sound like he was attacking me, but he sounded just as displeased as always. “We heat everything together in the pot, because it’s simplest that way. When we boil meat, we do it together with vegetables. We may eat meat on its own, but it’s unheard of to eat a stew with just vegetables... Never feed us crap like that ever again.”

With that, Donda Ruu slowly got to his feet.

“The dinner is over now. I’m going to sleep.”

That was the signal to disperse.

Those of us who manned the stove cleaned everything up, while everyone else went back to their personal rooms. As I gathered up dishes with a real half-hearted feeling settling over me, Ai Fa returned, a look of displeasure no less than Donda Ruu’s on her face. Then, she told me nothing but, “Granny Jiba is calling for you,” snatched up the giba cloak she had left on the floor, and then exited the house.

Well, Ai Fa didn’t man the stove tonight, but didn’t she feel any obligation thanks to the night’s stay and meal? Or could it be that it was actually rude to try to help out when you were a guest? At any rate, I headed towards Granny Jiba while thinking to myself that I’d have to ask Ai Fa why she was in such a bad mood once I made it back to the vacant house.

“Asuta, thank you for the delicious meal today, too... The food you make really is good...”

“No, you see, Mia Lea Ruu made the hamburger for you tonight. Plus Ludo Ruu is the one who prepared the meat. I may have been giving instructions all the while, but I can definitely say that I didn’t lift a finger there.”

“Is that so? Mia Lea didn’t mention that at all...”

“I’m sure she was just feeling shy about it, right?”

Or maybe she just wasn’t the type to brag about her own achievements. Either way, it was just like her.

“So I’m sure you’ll be just fine from tomorrow on. Please, eat your fill of delicious meat and live a nice long life, Jiba Ruu.”

“I’m glad. Truly, truly glad, Asuta...”

With that, Granny Jiba’s hand, like a shriveled branch yet still warm, took hold of mine. Reina Ruu was by her side, apparently tasked with escorting her back to her bedroom, and her eyes started watering up a bit.

“You’ve brought light to our Ruu clan. All of us have started to enjoy life so much more, not just me. Your blessings have grown to ten in total, and I’m sure one of those came from Donda, yes...?”

“...Yes,” I replied with a nod, only for Reina Ruu’s eyes to open wide in shock.

“Even that headstrong Donda couldn’t help but acknowledge your strength... You truly are a splendid man, Asuta...”

“That’s not true at all. Even now, I’m still just a half-baked chef in training.”

Suddenly, Granny Jiba’s slender back started to tremble.

“What’s the matter? Are you in pain?” Reina Ruu asked in a panic, clinging to Granny Jiba’s back. However, to me, it seemed clear that she was laughing.

“But it’s up to the ones around you to decide that, right, Asuta? Yes, you should live the way that you find proper... Just keep on living in your own way, Asuta...”

“Thank you,” I said, bowing my head.

I felt bad being so overestimated, but I couldn’t help also feeling a little overwhelmed hearing such words from Granny Jiba.

“So, about what Donda said...”

“Huh?”

“To us, a giba stew with all the ingredients heated together is like a symbol of our life force... Young folks like Reina may not understand, but to us obtaining life force and eating that stew made from giba meat and the blessings granted from their tusks and horns are one and the same. And so, it seems that a stew without giba meat just feels lacking to us, after all...”

“...Right.”

“So if your goal is to come up with a delicious stew for old folks like myself, it may be good to keep that point well in mind...”

“Got it. Thank you... ma’am.”

It was like there was something squirming around in the back of my mind.

Meat. It has to be meat, huh?

Maybe the people of the forest’s edge don’t even want something that goes down so easy in the first place...

But more important is the meat. It’s that meat that makes it a giba stew.

A giba stew, with the meat and vegetables in harmony...

If I leave that core part for later, I may not make it in the four days left to me.

“Well then, Asuta...”

“Right. Goodnight, Jiba Ruu.”

I parted ways with Granny Jiba and Reina Ruu, and then got back to cleaning up.

Meat... Meat, meat, meat, huh...?

I was finally paying attention to vegetables for the first time in a while, but here I was getting dragged right back to giba meat.

Still, giba meat was definitely an ingredient worth taking on. It was a food packed with potential, which also gave it some major versatility.

But man, I never thought I’d get a hint from something Donda Ruu said...

It was a complicated feeling, both vexing and yet somehow pleasant at the same time.

Still, aside from the fact that Darmu Ruu stayed silent from start to finish, I felt it was a rather fruitful test dinner. At this rate, I’d be able to keep on running full sprint for the next few days. With such thoughts in mind, I felt a little uplifted as I finished up cleaning and left the main Ruu house behind.

After lighting up a borrowed candle, I made my way through the now silent nighttime plaza by my lonesome.

Now that I think of it, Ai Fa headed back without even visiting Granny Jiba in her bedroom...

As that thought ran through my head, I made it back to the vacant house where Ai Fa was waiting. However, when I opened the door, I found that the room inside was pitch-black.

“Huh? Are you here, Ai Fa?”

As I held the candlestick in my hand forward, I lit up the room. Ai Fa was there, lying down in front of a wall with windows. Her back was to me, as per usual. Was she not feeling well, maybe? But she was like a big bundle of vitality, wasn’t she?

While feeling seriously worried, I latched the bolt in a hurry, and then ran over to Ai Fa.

“Ai Fa... are you asleep?”

She didn’t respond.

Still, the elegant contours of her back weren’t moving all that much. From my experience, when someone was sleeping they took much larger breaths, but who knows if that was the case here...

At any rate, I was just so overcome with worry that even if I was hesitant to do so, I decided to try to wake her.

“Hey, Ai Fa—” I said, touching her exposed shoulder. In that instant, her hand came flying at an incredible speed and smacked mine away. “Ow! Are you awake? Then you should’ve responded!”

“I’m sleeping...”

“No, you’re clearly awake! Hey, what’s going on? Are you feeling bad or something?”

Well, I’d at least heard Ai Fa’s voice, so I was feeling halfway relieved.

I realized now that my back was sweating so hard that my t-shirt was downright plastered to my body. I must have been panicking a lot more than I thought. But that made sense, seeing how outside of the norm Ai Fa was acting.

I took a seat beside her, figuring if she was just sulking for some stupid reason she would probably say something.

“Hey, if you’re not feeling bad, then get up and look at me already. You’ve been acting strange today. What in the world is up with you?”

“I told you that I’m sleeping...”

“No, you’re totally awake! Hey, if you don’t give it a rest already, I’ll get mad too, y’know?”

“Mad...?”

Huh? Was I just imagining things, thinking I could see an angry aura coming off of the beautiful contours of Ai Fa’s back, which was at the same time both womanly yet taut like a leather whip? Yeah, of course that was it, even if I could practically hear that familiar sound effect of menacing anger crashing over me. I mean, it’s not like I was in a manga or something.

“Did you say just now that you were mad with me...?”

Gyah.

She lifted the upper half of her body so smoothly that it called to mind a wild leopard.

Her long hair was already undone, so it was sensually spilling over her shoulders and down her back.

I was so frightened that I couldn’t even speak.

“...I’m the one who’s mad.”

She glanced at me over her shoulder, her blue eyes shining. Ah, thank god, that wasn’t the look of a hunter in her glare. But still, she was seriously pissed.

“W-Why are you so angry? We were acting separately all day today, right? And you weren’t mad when we parted in the morning, right?”

My thoughts were racing, thinking maybe when Ai Fa came back in the evening, she peeked into the kitchen or something. But still, I couldn’t think of even a single screw up that would have earned me her anger. I mean, nothing happened between me and the three women there with me. Mia Lea joined in later and was the same as always, and I got the feeling that Sati Lea and Lala Ruu were only just barely starting to open up to me.

“Yeah, I really didn’t do anything shady! If you’re mad, then at least tell me why!”

“...” A mumble under her breath.

“Hmm? What was that?”

“...Hamburgers.”

“Hamburgers? What about hamburgers?”

“...You said we would have hamburgers for dinner tonight.”

Huh?

Looking closely, I noticed that Ai Fa’s lips had twisted into a childish frown. Her eyes were super angry, but her lips made her look like a little kid.

“H-Hold on! Did I promise that? But Ama Min came this morning, so—”

“...You did, on the way back yesterday.”

Ah, now I remember.

It was on the way home from the post town. Around when we were passing the washing place and just about back to our familiar home, I had said, “Then we’ll go with hamburgers tomorrow.” I mean, she had been begging me with this same sort of childish face back then, after all.

“Y-You’re right. I’m sorry! I ended up forgetting completely when I immersed myself in experimenting. Plus I had to explain the dissection process to the men, too, so today was really busy!”

“I have no words for a fool who would break an agreement...”

With that, Ai Fa laid back down.

“An agreement?! You’re overblowing this thing! Hey, don’t get so sulky over something like that! Ow...!”

I tried to place my hand on her shoulder again, only for it to once more get slapped away.

“Hey, I’m sorry, already! Tomorrow! Tomorrow, for sure! I absolutely won’t forget! Ai Fa! Ai Fa-san!”

That was how it went, bringing a rather peaceful close to my first day of work in the lead-up to the banquet.