Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 7 - Chapter 3.2

2

Once again, our business for the day ended without incident. Yes, our business ended just fine.

However, that group arrived just afterwards. It was after we had finished work with the stalls and The Great Southern Tree and had met up in front of The Kimyuus’s Tail, just as we had done yesterday.

The first one to notice anything was Ai Fa.

“There’s some sort of commotion from down the street...” she stated, pushing me off to the edge of the road and moving to cover me. I still hadn’t sensed anything at all, but Ludo Ruu and the others silently had the women step back and glared with hunters’ gazes towards the south.

“W-What is it? What’s going on?”

“I don’t know. But there’s a disturbance in the air... and it seems to be drawing closer.”

But we were right smack in the middle of the post town. Zattsu and Tei Suun couldn’t possibly just come striding in among the crowds in broad daylight, right?

“Then shouldn’t we return the stalls as soon as possible and leave the post town?”

“For now, don’t move. It doesn’t seem like the criminals have launched an attack. But this is—” Ai Fa started, suddenly halting mid-sentence. I could spy a great deal of caution and suspicion on her face.

Then... it showed up.

The passersby who hadn’t noticed anything all suddenly stopped and moved to the side of the road in a hurry.

There was a low rumble that felt like the prelude to an earthquake fast approaching.

Somewhere in the distance, a young girl let out a shrill shriek.

“What’s that...?” I questioned, putting my hand on Ai Fa’s shoulder and leaning forward without thinking. However, she didn’t budge in the slightest, so all I could manage was peering over her shoulder.

A strange group was approaching from the south, down the highway. There were quite a few of them, too. They all wore hooded leather cloaks, and they were walking at a relatively relaxed pace.

I could see totos heads popping up among them, too. There were two of them, and they looked to be pulling a large carriage.

Still, the road was around ten meters wide, so it should have been simple to go around them and continue on your way. However, everyone was moving to the side of the road, then stopping and holding their breath as the group passed. That was just how much of a strange air was hanging about them.

“Sorry about this! But you’re in no danger, so don’t worry! Just don’t get close enough to come within arm’s reach!” the muscular man at the head of the group said with a hearty chuckle.

Hearing that voice only made me feel even more taken aback. They were around seven or eight meters away and all had hoods up so I couldn’t see their faces, but I recognized that deep voice. It belonged to someone who shouldn’t be here... The leader of the merchant caravan heading for Sym, Zasshuma.

Did that mean the other hooded men were the other merchants? But they were all supposed to be in the middle of the forest by now.

And there seemed to be enough people, but there were only two totos as far as I could see, and they didn’t appear to have any other luggage with them.

On top of that, I finally realized that the strange air I had been sensing was coming through my nose. There were two scents in particular hanging about. One was a sweet smell like that of some overly ripe fruit, while the other was a nasty stench like rusted metal.

That’s...

The smell of giba summoning fruit... and blood.

I was left utterly dumbfounded, but as I stood there in a daze, the group kept on approaching. Sure enough, the man out in front was Zasshuma. I could spy his familiar dark brown beard and large mouth from beneath his hood.

And looking at him now, I noticed that his cloak was coated in dark red blood.

“Ooh, you’re that stall’s owner, aren’t you?” Zasshuma questioned, suddenly turning my way and stopping. The other men behind him followed his lead and slowly turned to face us.

Zasshuma had a grin on his face, but there was an overbearing aura about the other men.

“So you’ve got hunters with you today in addition to that sexy girl from before, eh? I’m sure the people of Genos are quaking at the sight of so many people of the forest’s edge coming to town at once.”

“You’re Zasshuma, right...? Um, what’s going on here...? Didn’t you all set off on a journey towards Sym?”

“That was our intention, yeah. But our goods got wrecked, so we had no choice but to slink on back! We can’t exactly do any business by heading to Sym empty handed, now can we?” Zasshuma stated with a cheerful smile. He had a villainous-looking face like the head of a group of bandits to begin with, but now that he was grinning like that while coated in blood, he seriously didn’t look even slightly like a merchant.

On top of that... I spied a long sword dangling by his hip. And he didn’t seem intimidated in the least even when facing over ten people of the forest’s edge.

I did my best to smile back at his utterly undaunted expression, only for him to continue on, “Anyway, this is the result of a just and official purge, following the laws of Genos! You all may be people of the forest’s edge, but you’re still under Genos rule, so don’t go getting any funny ideas.”

“An official purge...?”

“Well, I suppose this works out just fine... There’s no way we would mistake such a face, but since you lot are from the forest’s edge, you can confirm it for us. Consider this a last farewell, I guess,” Zasshuma said with a hearty chuckle, then nodded back towards his men.

The totos had been right in the middle of the cluster, but now the men split up to stand in front of and behind them.

With that, I was left completely at a loss for words.

There were three men standing behind the carriage being pulled by the totos.

One of them was Kamyua Yoshu. He had a hood up too, but there was no mistaking that lanky body of his, or his distinctive hook nose and blond stubble.

The second man was Haan of Dabagg. For some reason he wasn’t wearing a cloak, so his bandage-wrapped head, plain cloth attire over his robust physique, and twin blades dangling at his hip were all in plain view. And his chilly, almost reptilian gaze was apathetically fixed on us... on these people of the forest’s edge.

Then, there was one more man standing between the two of them. He was worn down to skin and bones and his clothes were practically rags, giving him the impression of a living skeleton.

This was the former head of the Suun clan, Zattsu Suun. I had absolutely no doubt as to that.

He really did have a gruesome appearance from having wasted away so thoroughly. I could make out the shape of his skull, his eye sockets looked hollow, it was like his cheeks had been shaved away, and his mouth was full of rotten yellow teeth. He had sparse black hair and deep wrinkles, his skin was coated in filth, and I couldn’t help but question if I was really looking at a living being.

His arms, legs, neck, torso... every last bit of him had shriveled up, reminding me of withered branches. And around his spindly wrists were iron chains binding him to the rear of the carriage. As for the rags clinging to his body, I could just barely spy a swirling pattern under all the filth.

He must have been rather tall to begin with. But now, he didn’t even seem to have the strength to stand up straight, as his waist and knees were heavily bent. It was thoroughly unpleasant just to look at him, as it felt like I was looking at a corpse that had crawled from its grave.

“This man is indeed the criminal from the forest’s edge known as Zattsu Suun, isn’t he? He threw some strange fruit at us, and then all of a sudden we were being assaulted by giba! That’s why we got so many injuries, had our goods ruined, and lost most of our totos. We managed to catch him alive, but none of the kingdoms have laws lenient enough to forgive such crimes!”

With Zasshuma’s words there, I finally realized what was inside the carriage being pulled by the totos. Seated in the roofless vehicle were men coated in their own blood. Some were like unmoving corpses, while others wailed in anguish, but they all looked to be in an awful state.

There were six men sitting there, out of the 23 total in the group. The rest of the men stood silently surrounding the carriage and criminal. Their leather cloaks were likely dyed red with the blood of the giba they fought.

Giba summoning fruit... I see, so that’s how he attacked the caravan...

At the very least, I knew that he wasn’t lying. After all, that powerful sweet smell was clearly lingering in the air. Heck, when it was this strong, Ai Fa was probably noticing it too.

“What happened to the Sauti clan... To the men of the forest’s edge who were escorting you?” I asked, still in a bit of a daze.

“Ah,” Zasshuma replied with a grin. “They plunged right at the giba, of course. But there were way too many of the beasts. The four of them got seriously wounded, so we carried them back to their settlement. It was a truly unfortunate result, but the people of the forest’s edge are tough, so I’m sure none of them will die from it.”

“Then what about Tei Suun...? Was Zattsu Suun here acting on his own?”

“That grey-haired old-timer got cut down by Twin Blades over there. Then he fell to the bottom of the valley, so the mundt are probably chowing down on him around now. Even if he somehow survived, he won’t be making it out of a place like that alive. As of today, there’s no more need to fear those criminals from the forest’s edge!”

“Tei Suun...?” a voice that sounded as if it was echoing from the depths of hell questioned, causing everyone present to tense up. With that, Zattsu Suun slowly lifted his heavily hanging head. “Where did Tei Suun go...? We need to regain the Suun clan’s lost honor by our own hands... Tei Suun...?”

“I’m shocked. You still have the strength left to talk, you damn walking skeleton?” Zasshuma questioned, wiping the slightly eerie grin from his face and turning towards Zattsu Suun. “Your buddy died out there in the forest! And you’ve only got tonight left to live, too! But go ahead and keep on chasing that dream that’ll never be fulfilled till then!”

“What are you saying, you damn corrupt man from the city of stone...? All of you have forgotten your debt to the people of the forest’s edge, and every last one of you will meet with a merciless end!” His eye sockets were sunken in so far that it was like I was looking at a skull, but there was an eerie black flame burning in them now. Then, he broke out in a wicked grin, his desiccated skin cracking as he did so. “You can’t even hunt a giba by your own strength, so why do you look down on us...? It’s because that’s the only way you know how to hold onto your pride! You fragile children of Selva! You disgusting people of the city of stone! May you all be damned!”

“Hmph. You’ve gotten awful cheeky all of a sudden, you criminal. What does that make you then, since you tried to steal away our goods? You’ve got no right to talk about pride, you scum!” Zasshuma shouted, unease showing clearly on his face. Perhaps he was being overwhelmed not by the contents of what Zattsu Suun was saying, but rather by the intensity and wickedness dripping from the man’s tone.

Honestly, I was feeling that way, too. There was a terrifying strength about him that made it hard to believe he really was on the verge of death. The monstrous intensity and twisted convictions that had frightened Diga and Doddo so badly were now thrust in front of our very eyes.

“It doesn’t matter what you say, you accursed city dweller... After all, your fortune was built upon our blood and pride! You ungrateful fools! You crafty thieves! Your peace and tranquility is protected by our efforts!”

“That’s enough! You’re the shameless fool who tossed aside his pride!” a voice as strong as steel rang out, cutting off Zattsu Suun’s curse. It had come from Ai Fa. “You monopolized the reward money, pillaged the forest, and neglected your duty to hunt, so how dare you talk of pride!”

“Oh... You’re that female hunter... That means you’re also the head of that shameless clan that has been pandering to those fools of the city of stone in order to amass a fortune...”

Zattsu Suun’s gaze was like a will-o’-the-wisp made of swirling hatred, and now it slowly turned Ai Fa’s way.

As for my clan head, she returned that frightening look with a glare of her own from her burning, blue, wildcat-like eyes.

“I’ve done nothing to merit being called shameless by the likes of you! You’ve chosen your path in life poorly, former clan head of the Suun!”

“No, you’re the one heading down the wrong path... The people of this town are our enemies! They are unforgivable criminals! Those disgusting bastards trapped us in the prison known as the forest’s edge, thinking only of their own peace and tranquility!”

“The forest is our god! You’re not fit to call yourself a man of the forest’s edge if you would dare refer to it as a prison of all things!”

“You fool... A forest we can’t collect a bounty from is no god! Our ancestors were tricked! How can you call us hunters when we’re told we must head into the forest and earn our coins like we’re told, or otherwise starve and die?! The pride of the people of the forest’s edge was crushed and trampled upon 80 long years ago! You all have just been risking your lives to earn coins under the name of giba!”

Ai Fa was gritting her teeth so strongly I could hear them. But before her lips could open again to angrily shout, Ludo Ruu jumped into the conversation.

“Seriously, what have you been gabbing on about? No matter what you say now, you’re the one who went and committed crimes. So you’re the one to sully the pride of our people.”

“You’re wrong... I’ve been trying to recapture our past pride... But Zuuro wasn’t able to carry on my ambitions... If I only hadn’t fallen ill, we would be a strong, prideful people once again by now! We would be living proper lives where we lived only in the forest and ate of its fruits, not having to pander to anyone else!”

“What are you, stupid? How do you figure the right way for our people to live is by attacking and robbing travelers?”

“But despite all that, those fools from the castle couldn’t cast judgment on us! Even ten years back, they had to pretend they didn’t notice! They lack the strength to hunt giba on their own, so ultimately they can’t do anything to the people of the forest’s edge!”

Those words flashed through my mind like a bolt of lightning. So... he really had committed the same crime ten years ago, after all. And he had been completely successful back then, too.

He had set giba on the merchants to kill them all, stole their goods, and then was able to go on laughing without ever being judged for those crimes.

“If we had just stored up a bit of power now, we could have grabbed hold of unshakable freedom! But all of you had to go and ruin it! You accursed Fa and Ruu clans! If you would have just stayed out of our way, the Suun clan could have led the people of the forest’s edge down the proper path!”

In that very moment, a sword in a leather sheath came swinging down upon Zattsu Suun’s back. Having been struck, the man let out a beastly wail and collapsed down upon the road.

The one to swing the blade had been Haan of Dabagg.

“You scum,” the bandaged man spat as he lifted his sword once more, only for Kamyua Yoshu to calmly interject.

“We have no right to pass judgment on a captured criminal. Or do you want to go and ruin our accomplishment with your own hands, Haan?”

Haan’s chilly reptilian eyes glanced back at Kamyua Yoshu, and then he silently returned his blade to his hip.

“Zasshuma, I can’t see any further point to this back and forth. This man is ill, and his mind no longer seems to even be functioning properly. So we should hurry up and hand the troublemaker over to the castle as soon as possible, right?”

“Y-Yeah... That’s true,” Zasshuma replied, shooting Zattsu Suun one last hateful look before moving north again.

“Can you stand? If you don’t, the skin’s gonna get peeled off your knees as you’re dragged along,” Kamyua Yoshu stated, causing Zattsu Suun to slowly rise.

Then, the man suddenly started laughing like a devil.

“You vile townsfolk and shameless false hunters who betrayed our Suun clan! Go on hating one another and fall together! Unavoidable discord and despair is all that awaits you in your future! A curse to the western god Selva and southern god Jagar! We chose our gods poorly twice now!”

With that, the men around him hid him from view once again and his cackling ceased, leaving a gloomy silence hanging in the air.

With Zasshuma at their lead, the cloaked group resumed swaying along. It was then that Kamyua Yoshu gave a stretch and glanced our way. He had his hood down so I could see his face, but rather than his usual aloof smile, he looked somehow apologetic... Like he was begging us to forgive him with that sad, strained expression.

“I guess with this, the Suun clan really is finally done for...” Ludo Ruu muttered with a shrug of his shoulders.

I turned to look his way, only to suddenly freeze mid-turn. The onlookers standing off to the side of the road were all shooting us a strange look. Their eyes were full of more fear, anger, suspicion, and bewilderment than ever before, as if they were staring at some sort of animal they had never seen.

Zasshuma’s group had already disappeared down the highway, but nobody was moving from where they stood. They just stood there, staring intently at us. It was as if they were afraid if they turned their backs we would cut them down, so they were left frozen in place.

As I was looking at them, a hand suddenly slapped down onto my left shoulder, causing me to almost leap out of my skin.

When I turned around, I found Milano Mas standing there. Now that I thought of it, we were still right in front of The Kimyuus’s Tail.

“M-Milano Mas...?”

“Stop talking, and just hurry on out of here.” The emotions blazing in Milano Mas’s eyes were no less than those of the surrounding crowd. In fact, there was an even greater hatred blazing away in them. “I’ll put the carts away. Just take your belongings and leave already. If not, there’s no telling what may happen...”

“Ah, no, but...”

“Don’t misunderstand. I don’t give a damn about you all,” Milano Mas muttered, his hate-filled eyes fixed to the north. “He’s the one who murdered my friend...” he added in a voice so quiet I almost couldn’t hear it.

It was then that I finally noticed Leito standing beside Milano Mas.

The boy wore a gentle smile on his face. It was the same innocent expression as always, and he was staring silently to the north. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking inside... but there were obvious tears sliding down his smooth cheeks.

A few hours later, the news of Zattsu Suun’s death was delivered. Donda Ruu had gone to the castle as the representative for the three leaders, and so he was the one to bring that report back to the forest’s edge.

Apparently, after being imprisoned in Genos castle the man passed away in the midst of interrogation, before night even fell.

Just as the fortuneteller from Sym had predicted, the fell star had vanished. And it had done so swiftly, as if sneering at those who remained, twisting a number of fates along the way.