Intermission: An Unexpected Reunion
The remaining four days before the banquet flew by at an incredible speed.
While trying to develop my new menu all the while, I had to instruct the men on bloodletting and dissecting and the women on cooking techniques, and also work out the procedure for the day of the banquet. That made for some completely and utterly exhausting days.
But still, the men and women of the forest’s edge really were diligent and quick learners. I couldn’t just sum it up by saying they were highly skilled or good at swimming with the tide, but at any rate, they were all very serious about things. That must have been down to their work ethic, or perhaps their feelings towards their family.
At any rate, they were hard workers. For the sake of their families and to keep living on, they worked away without any complaints or grumbling. Rather than being cold like machines, it felt more like they were naturally giving their all to work as if it was the same as breathing, yet their emotions like joy and pain were still clearly present.
Should I just say that they were simply earnest, the way that the hunters of the forest’s edge saw working and living as directly tied together?
At any rate, it was a very favorable situation for me, and I thought of them as the perfect partners.
The women in particular warranted special mention.
From the second day of preparing onwards, several from the Ruu branch families hastened to join in, too. But even so, they were still incredibly busy. While the men were taking care of the hunting, a wooden stage and simple stoves needed to be constructed for the banquet, and the wood and stone for that needed to be collected, too. And by and large, that was all considered women’s work.
Their exhaustion had to be far beyond the norm, seeing how they had to fit in the lessons on cooking they had never seen before in the midst of all that backbreaking work. And traditionally, they would be done once they finished preparing the usual giba stew and grilled meat, as well as the basic meal preparations and securing of the firewood and ingredients, so I’m sure plenty of them must have thought I was just being a pain and needlessly increasing their workload.
But even so, once they tried out the steak and hamburgers, joy and surprise flashed over their faces, and afterwards they gleefully helped out.
We were able to dissect two or three bloodlet giba a day, so we got ahold of enough meat for the banquet in no time at all. And when we split up the excess meat to send to the five branch families afterwards, those girls shed tears of joy.
I already saw as much with the main Ruu house, but it seemed that women really did appreciate delicious food more than men.
Well, that wasn’t so strange, though. After all, it sure was a happy thing, bringing deeper joy and peace of mind to your family through your work. Just being able to share in those thoughts and feelings was enough to make it worth having accepted this job. I was getting a sense of satisfaction here which eclipsed the fear and dread I had, that a heretic like me being involved with the food culture of the forest’s edge may have been having a negative effect.
My path and Gazraan Rutim’s probably overlapped.
Gaining a greater happiness, and deepening bonds with family... I felt a bit embarrassed despite having been the one to say all that, but he was making his wedding into a manifestation of those ideals.
The men hunted the giba, bloodlet them, skinned their pelts, and dissected them.
The women gathered firewood and herbs, stoked the flames, and cooked the meat.
If either of them were missing, it would be impossible to make a delicious meal. It was only possible to accomplish with the whole family coming together and combining their strengths.
And that young hunter must have been thinking that he would share this greater happiness with 100 of those folks related to him, in turn deeping their bonds and gaining a greater strength amongst them.
I was giving all my strength in order to respond to that desire.
I felt a strong desire to carry out my work so that it could make even one person feel more happy in this harsh environment.
Amongst all of this, there was a bit of an incident two days before the banquet, at noon on my third day of staying at the Ruu settlement.
◇
“A-A-Asuta! It’s awful! Hurry up and come here! It’s the men, and it’s just awful!” Rimee Ruu yelled out to me, letting me know of the uproar.
I was holed up in the kitchen all morning on that day too, and around noon I was teaching a group of women how to prepare hamburgers.
“What’s wrong with the men? They’re only just heading out to hunt, right?”
There were five women with me in the kitchen. That included Reina and Tito Min Ruu, and the rest were from the branch families. When Rimee Ruu came flying into the mix, she looked like she was about to break out sobbing.
“Some strange guy showed up! It’s all about to break out with the men! Darmu even drew his blade! Anyway, it’s just awful!”
I could feel a tension running through my chest.
“A strange guy? It isn’t one of the Suun men, is it?”
“No! It’s a guy from the city of stone!”
“...What?”
“It’s a man with pretty hair like Ai Fa’s! He was asking where the Fa house was!”
I stood there dumbfounded.
A blond haired man from the city of stone... That was undoubtedly Kamyua Yoshu. I couldn’t imagine it being anyone else.
But what was that guy doing here, at the forest’s edge?
“...Sorry. I’m going to go check it out. You’ll have to handle things here as far as you know how to, but could you explain in my place, Tito Min Ruu?”
“I don’t mind, but you-”
“It’s too dangerous, Asuta!” Reina Ruu yelled, clinging to me.
She looked even more like she was about to cry than even Rimee Ruu did.
I got my breathing back in order a bit, then gently pushed her shoulders away.
“It’s alright. I won’t do anything dangerous. Just wait for me here, and don’t worry.”
I went flying out of the kitchen together with Rimee Ruu.
We slipped around the side of the house and into the central plaza, and I soon saw the sight that had Rimee Ruu so flustered: There was a crowd of people at the entrance to the plaza.
It was around the time that the men headed out into the forest. And so, the full group of Ruu hunters was gathered there, now numbering 16 since Ryada Ruu had retired.
And sure enough, I could see the colors of a familiar long cloak amidst the brawny group of men.
“Hold on! Just hold on, please!” I yelled as I ran. However, nobody turned around to look. But I sort of did get the feeling Donda Ruu shot me a sideways glance from his particularly high vantage point above everyone else.
“...Leave this place! This is no place for people from the city!”
Finally, I had heard a voice belonging to someone I recognized: the second son of the main Ruu house, Darmu Ruu.
Darmu Ruu was standing face to face with the man, brandishing his savage blade.
As for the man... He was about as tall as Donda Ruu, but he had a lanky figure. He wore a long leather cloak, and had a strange sort of gaze that made him look both like an old and young man at the same time. Yeah, it was Kamyua Yoshu standing right there.
“Hey. Looks like I finally found you, Asuta of the Fa clan,” he said in the same aloof tone of voice as always, despite the tip of the blade practically touching his nose.
If Darmu Ruu took just one step closer he would be close enough to cut the man’s head off. And yet, Kamyua Yoshu gave a relaxed look back, not even bothering to so much as open up his cloak.
“I just tried to ask where you lived, and this is how things ended up. But I’m seriously glad I met you. Umm, what has it been, four days now?”
“Silence! I’m the one talking to you here!” Darmu Ruu bellowed. His eyes looked like flames, and his face that reminded me of a wild wolf was pulled taut with rage. He was like a big, seething kettle of bloodlust.
I detoured around the group of men, and stood right beside the two who were squaring off.
Suddenly, Rimee Ruu clung to my left arm. Wait, she followed me this far? At any rate, I leaned over and tried to cover her tiny body at least a little.
“Asuta, won’t you tell him, too? I most certainly don’t mean any harm. I just came here to talk with you as part of my preliminary inspection before my job as a bodyguard.”
“Can you please just be quiet for a second! This seems like it’s already turning into a real complicated mess!”
My thoughts were seriously jumbled at the moment, but even so I wasn’t foolish enough to address Darmu Ruu directly, so I instead glanced up at Donda Ruu’s massive frame.
“Donda Ruu, he’s an acquaintance of mine! We met him when we went to the post town for shopping, four days ago! I don’t know if he’s a good person or not just yet, but... At the very least, I don’t think he’s the sort to cause any trouble!”
“Hey, come on, can’t you pick up on my innate goodness?”
“Enough already! You need to be quiet!”
While looking my way out of the corner of his eye, Donda Ruu walked up beside his son.
“You, from the city. You said before that you came to this settlement at the forest’s edge for work, didn’t you?”
“That’s right. I’m tasked with guarding a merchant convoy heading from the Genos domain to the eastern kingdom. They’re scheduled to pass through this settlement along the way.”
He was still acting like this, despite facing the usual pressure coming off of Donda Ruu.
They may have been the same height, but their widths and depths were completely and utterly different. It honestly felt like a brown bear and a praying mantis facing off.
“It’s been about a decade since we’ve had such eccentrics pass through. And those folks from ten years back got attacked by giba along the way and all ended up dead, from what I heard.”
“Yes. Apparently starving giba will even attack travelers for their rations... Well, it’s not known for certain that it was giba that got them, though.”
Donda Ruu’s eyes narrowed. I couldn’t spy any other changes in his expression or demeanor, but it felt like his gaze only grew denser and more powerful as his eyebrows lowered.
Suddenly, I got poked in the head from behind with a, “Hey, what are you idiots doing?” When I turned around, I saw Ludo Ruu, with his eyes halfway hardened into the glare of a hunter. He grabbed onto our arms.
“Stand back a bit further. You shouldn’t get so close to someone with a drawn blade... No wait, seriously, what are you doing here, Rimee, you runt?!”
“S-Shut up!”
Kamyua Yoshu must have overheard their conversation, since he broke out into a bit of a smile. And as a result, the look on Darmu Ruu’s face grew even more dangerous as Donda Ruu’s eyes narrowed further.
“...All work related to people from the city is supposed to be managed entirely by the Suun clan, who lead our people. Why are you wandering around in a place like this all on your own, not even accompanied by one of them?”
“Ah, well, there was a request to have someone show me around. But you see, I told them I was fine on my own for today as I was just doing a preliminary inspection, so they told me to do as I please. They didn’t contact you?”
Donda Ruu muttered a “Those scum...” towards nobody present at the moment, and his eyes blazed with rage for a moment.
“Well then, what’s this about you having business with the Fa clan? Just what sort of relationship do you have?”
That question was directed towards me.
This was the decisive moment.
Should I make up a harmless and inoffensive lie, or come out and tell the truth...? Which would be the best path for Ai Fa’s sake?
“Asuta, why not just tell the tale in a manner that’s most convenient to you?” Kamyua Yoshu asked in a somber tone. Naturally, everyone around us could hear him clearly.
As I thought to myself, Damn it, maybe it’d be quicker to just let Darmu Ruu cut him down... I made up my mind.
“...Ai Fa ended up in a fight with someone from the Suun clan in the post town. It looked like we were going to end up getting taken away by the guards, but then this man, Kamyua Yoshu, intervened.”
In an instant, Donda Ruu’s eyes exploded in blue flames. But his expression remained firm even so, and he asked in a low voice, “What was the name of that member of the Suun clan?”
“He gave the name Doddo Suun. He was a young man with a square face, and wasn’t all that tall but seemed well built.”
“Doddo Suun... The second son of the main house, is it?”
Donda Ruu’s beastly gaze moved from me to Kamyua Yoshu, only for the man to shoot back a satisfied smile.
“I don’t know if I should call it modest or what, but isn’t that explanation a little lacking, Asuta? I mean, you didn’t even clarify whether it was Ai Fa or that Doddo Suun man who was at fault. Ahem... That Doddo Suun fellow was intoxicated in the middle of the day, and pointed his blade at a citizen of the post town. And then, Ai Fa stopped him by force, which is the truth of the matter. Well, the townsperson was also at fault for speaking ill of him behind his back, but he didn’t have a weapon. And an action such as that is forbidden by Genos laws, too.”
Everyone was silent.
“And so, that man tried to use his privileges as a member of the Suun clan to trick the guards into believing Ai Fa was at fault. That was when I stepped in and offered my testimony, having seen the events in full, bringing things to a close without incident. That’s how it happened.”
“So, what business do you have with the Fa clan...?”
“Well you see, Ai Fa and Asuta just both seemed like such nice folks that I wanted to meet them again and talk. Ah...! I forgot to mention how you saved Tara at the risk of your own life, Asuta! You know, she wanted to see you, too.”
I ground my teeth, seriously wanting to just tell him to shut up already. He hadn’t told a single lie, but everything this guy said just sounded flimsy.
“...This kid here has a job. He doesn’t have free time to spend talking to a guy like you.”
“Ah, is that so? How unfortunate.”
“Leave.”
“I see. In that case, I’ll give up for today... Will I be permitted to try to visit the Fa house some other day?”
“...It should be singularly obvious that residents of the city of stone should not rashly set foot in the forest’s edge.”
“Is that so? Then I suppose I’ll have to fabricate a more serious job.”
“You bastard...!” Darmu Ruu growled, grinding his teeth. The whole time this conversation had been unfolding, his blade had remained up against Kamyua Yoshu’s nose.
However, Kamyua Yoshu’s expression was perfectly composed, and he went ahead and shot me a smile.
“Asuta, when will your work be finished?”
“I-I’ll finish up the day after tomorrow, but...”
“Then expect me again three days from now.”
Kamyua Yoshu then turned his unusual purple eyes towards Donda Ruu.
“I am a citizen of the west, Kamyua Yoshu the bodyguard. May I ask your name, hunter of the forest’s edge?”
“...The head of the Ruu clan, Donda Ruu.”
“Donda Ruu of the Ruu clan... Thank you. I do believe I’d like to drink together with you someday.”
With that, Kamyua Yoshu suddenly moved to leave.
Darmu Ruu looked like he was about to hurry after the man, only for Donda Ruu to place his thick hand on his son’s shoulder.
“Well then, take care,” Kamyua Yoshu said as he left, causing a real stir not just in me, but in the Ruu men as well.
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