Chapter 2: Woven Bonds

1

It was now the following morning.

I had finished the preparations for work without incident, and headed out to the Ruu settlement right on schedule.

And when Toor Deen and I arrived, we found Mia Lea Ruu there in front of the main house greeting us with a smile.

“We’ve been waiting for you, Asuta. Our clan head is here inside the house, so could we have just a bit of your time?”

“Huh? Donda Ruu got up this early and has been waiting for me?”

“Our clan head can wake up as early as needed when necessary. Well, not that I would call this especially early.”

Still, normally Donda Ruu would sleep in till around when the sun hit its peak. I had just expected him to leave me a message in regards to Myme, so I felt quite obliged as I stepped through the door.

“So you’re finally here, eh? Have a seat,” Donda Ruu called out, sitting cross-legged at the head of the table as always.

And I only felt more obliged as I noticed his three sons seated to his left and right, as well as Jeeda off to the side.

I really wasn’t expecting all this. Did I anger Donda Ruu or something?

He hadn’t fought back at all when I invited Shumiral as a guest, which was why I hadn’t been especially concerned about bringing up this matter regarding Myme.

Jiza, Darmu, and Ludo Ruu were all staring at me with the same sort of looks as usual. Jiza Ruu smiled with narrowed eyes, Darmu Ruu looked annoyed, and Ludo Ruu shot me a relaxed grin as I took a seat.

“I already heard everything from Mia Lea and Reina. You want to invite townsfolk here to the settlement at the forest’s edge again, right?”

“Y-Yes. Mikel, who you already know of, and his daughter Myme. Myme has said she wishes to observe my cooking skills...and I want to see her cook too.”

“Hmph...” Donda Ruu snorted.

Though he didn’t seem especially annoyed, the man was just as grave and intimidating as always. His blue eyes blazed bright, and as he rustled his mane of blackish-brown hair, he seemed like a lion staring at prey it didn’t particularly feel like eating.

“Jeeda, I’ve been told you met with that Mikel man. What sort of person would you say he is?” Donda Ruu asked.

“Hmm,” Jeeda murmured as he thought about it. The young yet formidable hunter of Masara had blazing red hair and unusual yellow eyes. “I only met him the once, so I can’t really be certain...but I’d say that he seemed resolute. After all, he wasn’t intimidated in the least when he saw me.”

Back then, Jeeda had been madly obsessed with revenge. And it was in the midst of a big uproar in which I had seemingly been kidnapped by the noble of Genos who was the target for his vengeance, so the boy definitely would have been even more unstable at the time.

“He must have suffered deeply, having that noble Cyclaeus twist the course of his life. If not, he probably never would have answered a question from someone as suspicious as me, even if I held a blade to him. But because he sensed I was also burning with rage toward Cyclaeus, he decided to lend me his aid.”

“Hmm? Then you didn’t tell him about yourself or anything, Jeeda?” Ludo Ruu asked, clearly curious.

“Of course not,” Jeeda shot back. “Why would I tell someone about that when I’d only just met them? All I asked was where I could find Cyclaeus.”

“I see. But how did you know that Mikel guy could tell you that in the first place? You never met him before, right?”

“He was furious when he went to the stall run by the Ruu women and heard Asuta was abducted. ‘That was why I told him not to get involved with that noble! Why didn’t he listen to my warnings?!’ and so on. Listening to him, I could tell he had ties with Cyclaeus, so I called out to him once he was alone.”

He certainly did have ties to Cyclaeus, but not in a good way. That vicious noble had wanted to hire Mikel as a chef, but when he was refused, he cruelly had the muscles in the chef’s arm severed.

When he heard Jeeda’s explanation, Jiza Ruu chimed in, “I see. Mikel was someone who knew of Cyclaeus’s crimes already, and he also has ties to Asuta, as well as the one who informed Asuta of him, Shumiral.”

“Right. When he heard that the people of the forest’s edge were fighting with Cyclaeus, Shumiral went out of his way to search for Mikel. And since Mikel currently lives in the Turan lands, his search must have stretched all the way over there,” I recalled.

Shumiral had met Mikel, Mikel had met Jeeda, and then all that had led to Jeeda setting the stage for me to be rescued from Lefreya. Thinking about all that, I really needed to be grateful for all of those different encounters.

“Shumiral sure was a friendly guy. Normally it’s hard to tell what easterners are thinking, but I was actually pretty fond of him,” Ludo Ruu said with a grin.

In response, Donda Ruu grumbled with a sour look, “Quiet, you.”

Shumiral had left Genos in order to carry out his work with his merchant group, but before that he had confessed his love for Vina Ruu. When he departed, Shumiral told us that if he made it back to Genos safely in half a year’s time, he would officially request to marry into her house. That certainly had to be a troubling matter for Donda Ruu as her father.

“We won’t get anywhere by chatting about people who aren’t even around these days. More important is that Mikel man. He can no longer man the stove himself, right?”

“Yes,” I confirmed. “Cyclaeus had the muscles in his right arm severed. But I’ve been told Mikel was a renowned chef in the castle town, and he seems to have passed on his techniques to his daughter Myme.”

“Hmph... Is she really that skilled of a chef?”

“She is. I sampled the dish she made with kimyuus, and I have to say that I believe she’s exceptionally talented.”

When I said that, Ludo Ruu leaned forward.

“You think she’s even more amazing at manning the stove than you are, right? That’s what Reina said last night.”

“Ah, yes. That was how it felt to me. But at any rate, I can say for sure, that dish was shockingly good.”

“I find that hard to believe. I mean, she’s still just ten or so, isn’t she? A little kid like that could never be better than you.”

It wasn’t just Ludo Ruu, as Jiza and Darmu Ruu were also suspiciously furrowing their brows.

And in the midst of all that, Donda Ruu solemnly asked, “So, those words are no joke, then? Reina also seemed upset, saying that such a thing simply wasn’t possible.”

“That’s because I’m the only one who tried her cooking. I can certainly see how it would be rather hard to believe through words alone. And that’s exactly why I wanted to have everyone else taste her cooking too...”

At that, the Ruu clan head and his sons exchanged some serious looks. Still not really sure what was passing between them, I just held my tongue, but then Jeeda chimed in from next to me.

“What’s going on? You all seem awful suspicious of Asuta’s words. Is it really that hard to believe what he has to say?”

“I mean, we’re talking about Asuta here. It just doesn’t seem possible for such a little kid to make food even more delicious than he does.”

“Hrm... Even so, I don’t really get what you guys are acting so serious for,” Jeeda commented with a tilt of his head. Though the young hunter still wore a piercing gaze and stern expression, the gesture was as cute as you’d expect from someone his age. “In fact, you look even more serious than when we were discussing Mikel. Was the real reason you summoned Asuta here because you wanted to ask about this Myme girl instead?”

“Hmm? I mean, anyone would be curious after hearing something like that, right? And we know how skilled Asuta is better than anyone!”

“But wouldn’t it be normal to be more concerned with finding out about Mikel and Myme first? I mean, they’re going to be coming here to the settlement in the middle of the day, while the men are all out hunting giba.”

“There’s no way an older man whose right arm doesn’t work and a little brat of around ten or so could do anything to women of the forest’s edge. If they tried, Vina could just kick them in the butts and send them running,” Ludo retorted.

I was well aware of just how surprisingly powerful Vina Ruu was despite looking like sex appeal incarnate. Actually, the women of the forest’s edge were generally quite strong.

“Then why not take them at their word and invite them here to the settlement at the forest’s edge? Unless you do, and actually try her cooking for yourselves, you’ll never know just how skilled that Myme girl really is,” Jeeda stated, sounding rather exasperated.

“Hmm...” Donda Ruu grumbled as he fiddled with his beard. “Asuta, you’re planning to invite them to not just the Fa house, but here to the Ruu settlement too, right?”

“Ah, yes. I know Reina Ruu and the others are interested in Myme’s cooking, so I was thinking we could give it a try together...”

“Then I leave the rest up to the women. This has nothing to do with us.”

As I blinked in surprise, I called out, “Um...then does that mean I have your permission to invite Mikel and Myme to the forest’s edge?”

“Did you ever hear anyone say you couldn’t...?”

“No, not at all! I’m just glad to have your okay.”

Slowly, Donda Ruu rose to his feet.

“Then go ahead and get back to your work already. I’m going to go sleep a bit more, myself.”

“Right. Thank you very much.”

For some reason, I couldn’t help but feel a bit let down somehow as I exited the Ruu house.

When I left through the front door, Toor Deen came running over from next to the wagon, where she had been waiting.

“I-Is everything all right, Asuta? You were in there for quite some time, so I was concerned.”

“Yeah, it’s fine. I got permission to invite Mikel and Myme here.”

“Ah, I’m glad to hear it. I couldn’t help but worry that you had earned the leading clan head’s rage or something.”

“Yeah, I thought so too at first.”

But instead, it turned out everyone had just been interested in hearing about how I said Myme was a more skilled chef than I was.

Just a few months back, they used to say there was no good or bad taste when it came to food... Well, that’s certainly a happy change from my point of view, though, I thought to myself, then I went ahead and gave Toor Deen a smile.

“Looks like our departure got delayed a good bit there. Is Yamiru Lea already in the wagon? If so, then let’s hurry on over to the post town.”

With a bashful smile, Toor Deen nodded back, “Right.”

2

At last, we made it to the post town.

Thanks to the unexpected delay, we ended up in quite a rush to open for business.

Since the Fa clan was in charge of delivering the meals and fresh meat to the inns today, I left transporting the stalls to Yamiru Lea and the members of the Ruu clan, then headed to The Sledgehammer first.

“Ah, Asuta, I’ve been waiting for you. My apologies, but I’m a bit busy here so I cannot come greet you.”

As I carried my luggage into the kitchen, a seriously spicy aroma filled my nostrils. Apparently, the owner, Nail, was in the middle of cooking already despite how early in the day it was.

“That’s a nice smell you’ve got going. So you’re already preparing meals?”

“Yes. I had a bit of an idea, and so I’ve been testing it out. If you don’t mind, would it be possible to have you give it a taste test?”

That proposal was just what I had hoped to hear. Ever since it became possible to purchase a greater variety of ingredients throughout the post town, Nail had been striving to develop new dishes each and every day.

What he had boiling now was supposedly kimyuus meat and vegetables. The Sledgehammer was an inn frequented by easterners, who tended to prefer strong spices, and so the contents of the pot gave off a truly powerful aroma.

After scooping up a bit of that broth onto a small wooden plate, he held it out toward me. It was transparent, with a thin film of fat on top. And as I put it in my mouth, a striking spiciness hit me hard.

“This sure is spicy. But it definitely has quite a bit of depth, and it’s tasty too.”

“Thank you. Last night a customer shared some of an unusual herb from Sym with me, and so I tried pairing it with chitt seeds.”

Nail kept his expressions flat like an easterner, but I could still spy some satisfaction vaguely showing on his face.

As she took a sip of the same dish, Toor Deen let out a weak, “Ugh... M-My apologies, but it seems this dish is a bit too spicy for me...”

“It is all right. Even most westerners would find this too spicy. As it is ultimately a taste meant for customers from the east, perhaps there is no helping that,” Nail replied, not looking offended in the least as he stirred the pot. “I’m certain this flavoring would match well with giba meat too. I was thinking I would see how it was received with this kimyuus dish, and then if that works out, give it a try with giba.”

“Right. I’ll look forward to hearing how it goes.”

After receiving our payment for the meals and fresh meat we delivered, Toor Deen and I left The Sledgehammer.

And as I led Gilulu by the reins, we headed toward our next stop, The Great Southern Tree. It was a splendid inn, located off to the side of the main road running through the post town. The owner’s wife was seated at the reception desk, and she guided us to the kitchen where Naudis was waiting.

“Ah, thanks for coming, Asuta. Could you leave everything on that table there?”

“All right. Are you preparing food...?”

“Yes, that’s right. I was thinking of changing the proportion of tau oil and sugar in my simmered dish a bit, so I was giving that a try.”

Naudis seemed overjoyed at being able to use plenty of sugar from Jagar, his father’s homeland. And with a gentle smile on his bearded face, he tossed some firewood into the stove.

“If you don’t mind, could I have you give it a taste test, Asuta? I would very much appreciate hearing your opinion.”

“I’d be glad to.”

The time to open the stalls was drawing near, but even so, my curiosity still won out. Once again, I gratefully accepted a small plate with a bit of broth.

Unlike the powerful impact of the previous dish, this one had a truly gentle flavor. The soy sauce-like tau oil and the sugar created a salty-sweet taste, and then the stock from the ingredients seeped into it.

“What do you think? It certainly isn’t anywhere near the cubed giba meat stew you make, but I’m personally rather proud of it.”

“Yeah, it’s delicious. If it were me, though, I might want to add just a bit of fruit wine...”

“I see. I used quite a bit of sugar, but was it still not sweet enough?”

“No, it would be for the flavor, not the sweetness. I think that the taste of fruit wine would pair very well here.”

“Ah, so that’s why you’ve still been using fruit wine in the cubed giba meat stew, even with sugar available. In that case, I’ll also give it a try,” Naudis replied with a joyful grin.

As someone especially concerned with the quality of the dishes he offered among the inn owners of the post town, he had been the first one to approach me about selling him giba cooking.

“Well then, this is your payment for the giba meat and dishes. I’ll be counting on you all again tomorrow.”

“Right, but tomorrow it will be the members of the Ruu clan delivering everything.”

After a brief hello to Naudis’s wife too, we left The Great Southern Tree. The Westerly Wind only purchased fresh meat from us every few days, so for today we headed to meet up with the rest of the group at the stalls.

As we walked down the street, Toor Deen called out, “Asuta, I thought that previous dish was tasty too. That inn owner is good at cooking, isn’t he?”

“Yeah. Naudis had a passion for cooking to start with, after all. Apparently he’s been in charge of the cooking at his place for quite some time now.”

“But you still think that Myme girl’s cooking is way tastier, don’t you?”

Without the slightest hesitation, I replied, “Yeah. It’s a little hard to explain, but Myme’s cooking...it’s special.”

“Special, huh...? If you don’t mind, could you explain what you mean?” Toor Deen very timidly asked.

She hadn’t brought up Myme at all yesterday, but had she just been refraining? After all, as someone every bit as passionate about delicious food as Reina and Sheera Ruu, there was no way she wasn’t interested in the girl.

“Let’s see... For example, Nail and Naudis have an advantage in that they have access to more ingredients than most. That’s because they were able to purchase rare ingredients from their customers, Nail from the east and Naudis from the south.”

“Right... If I remember correctly, you bought chitt seeds, dried milk, and tau oil from those inn owners, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. Cyclaeus had bought up most unusual ingredients to be had, but Nail and Naudis were purchasing them in secret for personal use. But, well, even then they weren’t able to get a hold of stuff like Jagar-made sugar or honey.”

As we walked along, Toor Deen enthusiastically nodded. And while we hurried along the path that was steadily growing more and more crowded, I continued my explanation.

“And Nail and Naudis have one more point in their favor too. It’s a little embarrassing to say this out loud, but, well...it’s me.”

“Right, your presence is a point in their favor, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Lately we’ve been delivering the completed dishes to them, but in the past I used to prepare them in their kitchens. Thanks to that, Nail and Naudis had plenty of opportunities to see me, Reina Ruu, and Sheera Ruu cooking giba.”

It wasn’t as if I had taught them like I had with Milano Mas at The Kimyuus’s Tail. But those two inn owners had enthusiastically watched as we cooked. And even after we started delivering completed meals, they would always give them a try under the guise of a taste test.

“As a result, I had quite a bit of impact on both Nail and Naudis. But that’s not the case with Myme. Well, it seems like she took inspiration from me to use fruit wine, but other than that it was all the result of Mikel instructing her.”

“I see... So you say she’s special because you weren’t involved in her cooking...?” Toor Deen questioned, suddenly looking up. “But that Mikel man was a chef in the castle town, wasn’t he? When you all ate cooking from the castle town, didn’t you think it wasn’t especially tasty?”

“Yeah. I guess I’d explain it as, some of it was good, but most just wasn’t to our tastes,” I replied, recalling the dishes that had been prepared by the chef Timalo in the castle town.

Timalo’s flavorings and cooking techniques were pretty out there, so we all had to struggle a good bit to get them down. He paired karon milk with sour herbs, and injected extra fat into karon meat... The only dish I could truly say was delicious was the vegetable dish made from a giant tarapa.

“But you think Myme’s cooking is tasty, when she studied under Mikel?”

“That’s right. The cooking I’ve had from the castle town used way too many ingredients and was a bit overly complex. But Myme’s dish from yesterday only used salt and fruit wine for flavoring.”

Besides, I got the feeling that Myme wouldn’t ever ruin the flavor no matter how many ingredients she used. That was more my intuition than logic, though. But that just went to show how splendid the dish Myme had prepared really was.

“I see... If you’re saying all that, then this Myme girl really must be an incredible chef...” Toor Deen replied, then she looked up at me with an entreating gaze. “Umm... When Myme and Mikel are invited to the forest’s edge, would it be all right for me to attend too...?”

“Yes, of course. I want everyone to give Myme’s cooking a try, so I certainly have no intention of leaving you out. Please, come and give it a shot.”

“Thank you,” Toor Deen said with a joyful grin.

It was the sort of charming smile that made me want to just reach out and pat her on the head. But since it was best to refrain from doing so with girls over the age of ten, I just grinned back instead.

“I’m sure Myme and Mikel will stop by again today. If she brings cooking again, would you like to try some?”

“No, if possible...I would like to taste a dish she made with giba...”

“Ah, that sounds nice. Since we’ll have the chance, how about we have her take a crack at making a dish like that?”

As we had that exchange, the stalls where everyone was working finally came into view. And as they were taking care of the prep work, there were already a large number of customers waiting. Somehow, it looked like even more than usual.

“You’re late, aren’t you? Were you planning on pushing all of the work onto me?” Yamiru Lea questioned with a chilly glare.

“Sorry,” I replied, bowing my head. It seemed she had borrowed Lala Ruu’s help to get things ready.

“It seemed like you weren’t going to make it in time, so I figured I would help out. You were late from the start today, so the customers were starting to get impatient,” Lala Ruu stated, then she shot Toor Deen a grin. “Everything’s ready now, so let’s give it our all again today!”

“Ah, r-right. Thank you, Lala Ruu.”

The two of them had gotten close a good while back at the clan head meeting. When Toor Deen had been burned by boiling water, Lala Ruu had helped her out.

The hostile relations between the Ruu and Suun from back then had since been wiped away, and Toor Deen had joined the Deen clan on top of that. The young girl had regained more and more of her natural emotions and started helping out with the stalls, and no one in the Ruu clan was happier about that fact than Lala Ruu.

“Well then, shall we open for business?” Sheera Ruu asked with a smile, as she was in charge for today. She and Tsuvai had also finished the preparations over at the Ruu stalls, apparently.

And so, we began another busy yet satisfying day of work.

3

Myme and Mikel eventually showed up around the same time they did yesterday. And when Myme heard Ai Fa and Donda Ruu had given their permission, she was so overcome with emotion that she grabbed hold of my hands.

“Thank you! I never expected we would be given permission so quickly!”

As it happened, the custom to avoid touching members of the opposite gender unnecessarily was particular to the people of the forest’s edge. That was why Myme could grip my hands now, looking like tears of joy were about to start flowing from her eyes.

And next to her, Mikel gave a deep sigh, his brow clearly furrowed.

“So you really got permission, huh? You people of the forest’s edge are surprisingly lacking in caution.”

“It’s because you two would never cause the people of the forest’s edge harm,” I replied, then suddenly felt concerned with what Mikel might be feeling at the moment. “But, um, is it all right with you, Mikel? You aren’t worried about letting your precious daughter come to the settlement at the forest’s edge?”

“You lot have no reason to harm us either... I’m just ashamed of how restless this idiot daughter of mine can be.”

At that, Myme snapped back to her senses and turned toward Mikel.

“I’ll be all right! I swear, I won’t cause anyone any trouble! So is it okay, dad...?”

Mikel didn’t respond.

“Please! I just have to watch Asuta cooking! It’s the first time I’ve had food made by anyone but you that’s moved me this much!”

After giving yet another sigh, Mikel glared back at his begging daughter.

“I’m telling you, I can’t go foisting a tomboy like you off on other people all on your own.”

“Yup, naturally! You’re coming along too of course, dad!” Myme retorted, spreading both arms wide and hugging her father.

Mikel just turned away, a deeply displeased look on his face.

“Naturally, we want to invite both of you. I truly am honored to be able to welcome you to the forest’s edge, Mikel.”

“Hmph. I’ll just be there to keep an eye out and make sure this tomboy doesn’t go doing anything stupid,” Mikel shot back just as bluntly as always.

And after having tightly hugged her father’s bony yet solid frame, Myme turned back my way.

“Well then, when should we schedule it for? My dad shouldn’t have any work tomorrow.”

“Ah, really? On our end, we’ve got no problems with having you over whenever.”

“Then tomorrow it is! That’s all right, isn’t it dad? Ooh, it’s like I’m dreaming!”

Myme looked so blissful that just looking at her raised my spirits. I really was honored that she was so happy just from the thought of seeing me cook.

“Ah, if you don’t mind, I have something I’d like you to taste test again! For today, I brought a karon dish!”

The dish in question was already sitting in the wagon. Once again, I had slipped away from the stalls for a bit to talk with the father-daughter pair.

I went ahead and pulled the container out of the woven basket, and sure enough it was piping hot. Just like with yesterday, she had used a clay container that really seemed to hold in the heat. And when I opened the lid, a sweet smell once again filled my nostrils.

“Hmm, this one seems to be a lot like the dish from yesterday.”

The karon meat was still soaking in a thick red soup. Though the kimyuus meat from before had been swapped out, the color and smell of the soup seemed identical to yesterday.

Still, karon meat was akin to beef. Meanwhile, kimyuus was like chicken, and that alone was enough to cause a change in the overall aroma. And that richer smell from the karon meat was seriously getting my expectations up.

Still, this must be karon leg meat...

In the beginning of my time here, only karon leg meat had been sold in the post town. That restriction had since been lifted, but since torso meat cost more than double as much, I doubted many people were purchasing it. And besides, the stuff used here looked just like the karon leg meat I had seen at inns.

Karon leg meat didn’t have any fat on it at all, and it was very sinewy in exchange, making it quite tough. In fact, it was so tough that you had to cut it as thin as possible when grilling it, or let it cook for quite some time when boiling.

Still, it had a richer flavor to it than kimyuus meat, and there was some appeal to the chewy texture. So my expectations were pretty high as I pressed the prepared wooden spoon up against the meat.

The meat had been cut into even slices, and it offered no resistance as the spoon dug right into it. It really was every bit as tender as the kimyuus meat from yesterday.

I brought it to my mouth along with some of the red soup...and I was struck by an indescribable flavor.

It really was fantastic. Even more so than yesterday’s dish, in fact. The taste of the karon meat worked to accentuate the splendor of the soup even more. The sweetness of the fruit wine, with just the right amount of salt, and the smattering of grated vegetables... It was all in amazing harmony with the karon meat.

“Ah, this is fantastic... I had thought yesterday’s dish couldn’t be perfected any further, but this is even tastier.”

“Huh? Then yesterday’s dish was a failure. What exactly would you say was wrong with it?” Myme questioned with a serious look, pressing in close.

“Oh, no, there was nothing wrong with yesterday’s. This dish is just so wonderful...”

“But I prepared each of them according to the qualities of kimyuus and karon meat. So if today’s is tastier, then that means something went wrong with yesterday’s dish.”

I was definitely more than a little shocked to hear that.

“You adjusted the broth between yesterday and today? I was sure they must be the same...”

“The basics are all identical. But I tweaked the amount of ingredients and heating time a bit,” Myme replied, then she stopped and thought a little. “Karon meat, of course, has more flavor to it than kimyuus, so if you compared them it could make sense to see that dish as better. But kimyuus has a delicious flavor all its own, and I tried my hardest to fully draw it out... It seems I still need to give it more thought, though.”

“I’d say they’re both delicious... I’m sorry for the unnecessary comment there.”

“No, such impressions are just what I was looking for. It might have been an issue with the proportions I used. I’ll try out a variety of things when I get back home.”

When Myme looked up at me, she was once again wearing a cheerful smile. And I could spy a truly inquisitive mind shining behind her light brown eyes.

She really is something else. That passion of hers must be why she was able to make dishes on this level, I thought as I polished off the rest of the food.

Once I was done, I gave Myme a smile.

“Thanks for the food. It really was delicious. I’m looking forward to finally seeing your skills firsthand tomorrow.”

“I’m hardly able to contain myself even now!”

“In that case, I’d like to work out a rough schedule... Could I have you cook twice, Myme?”

“Of course. But why twice?”

“Once for the Ruu clan, since they’ve helped us out so much, and then again at the Fa house where I live. We always have people gather at the Ruu settlement for cooking study sessions, so I’d like you to participate there first.”

“A study session?! I’m really looking forward to it!” Myme replied with a beaming smile.

Meanwhile, Mikel just kept on frowning and looking like none of this was his problem.

“Then once that’s over, could I have you come to the Fa house to prepare a dish for dinner? I’ll make one too, of course, and then we can give each other’s a try for our meal. And once that’s done, my clan head said she will escort both of you back to the Turan lands.”

“Thank you! To not only get to see your skills firsthand, but even eat dinner together...I’m truly, deeply overjoyed!”

I grinned back while feeling much the same, but then I remembered something important we still needed to discuss.

“Oh, there’s one more thing I’d like to propose. If you don’t mind, could we have you cook with giba meat? The people of the forest’s edge don’t have much interest in karon or kimyuus meat, so I think they would appreciate that more.”

After looking dumbfounded for a moment, Myme once again grasped my hand.

“Y-You would let me cook giba meat? But it’s a good deal more expensive than karon leg meat or skinless kimyuus, isn’t it?”

“We have more than enough of it at the settlement at the forest’s edge, though. So much so that it’s cheaper for us if we’re the ones providing it.”

Myme’s eyes teared up as she shouted for the umpteenth time, “Thank you! I’ve always wanted to try cooking with giba meat! To think I’m going to get to use such a wonderful ingredient... It really is just like a dream!”

“Then, do you want to take a bit of giba meat back with you to prepare for tomorrow? It’d be tough in a lot of ways to perform without any practice.”

“Ah, no! I don’t think I could improve much with just a single night of study! And I don’t want to waste such precious meat, so the opportunity to use some tomorrow is already plenty!”

If Myme was fine with that, then I didn’t have any objections.

“All right, then I’ll look forward to working together tomorrow. We run the stalls until the lower second hour, so could you arrive around then?”

“Understood! I’m really looking forward to it!”

Then, just like yesterday, Myme and Mikel bought giba dishes from the stalls and headed back to Turan.

As I watched Yamiru Lea hand over one completed giba meat poitan wrap after another to the wave of customers pressing in on her, I offered her an apology. “Sorry. I’ve had to leave the stall to you a lot today. You haven’t had any issues, have you?”

“No. Fortunately, no ruffians have attempted to threaten me with blades or anything of the like,” Yamiru Lea replied with a composed expression as she continued with her work. Since the sun was approaching its peak, the number of customers was only growing all the while. “So, did you indeed invite that father and daughter pair to the settlement at the forest’s edge?”

“Yes. They’ll be coming tomorrow. And she’ll be participating in our usual study session, so I hope you’ll look forward to it too, Yamiru Lea.”

“I’m nowhere near passionate enough about manning the stove to be excited about such a thing,” Yamiru Lea retorted, and then she suddenly sighed.

Her proud profile wore a sort of pensive-looking expression.

“What is it?” I asked.

Her reply came quietly. “It’s nothing. Just... It’s certainly difficult to think such a day would come, considering how the members of the Suun clan used to intimidate the townsfolk. Back then, we people of the forest’s edge were feared every bit as much as giba.”

For a moment I was at a loss for words, but I soon smiled back. “That’s true. And everything is a result of the hardships the people of the forest’s edge have overcome. So let’s keep on working together and giving our all.”

After falling silent for a bit, Yamiru Lea shrugged her shoulders with a, “Hmph. It’s not as if I have any strength to lend anyone. I’m a weak, pathetic woman who cannot even carry a metal pot on her own.”

“That’s not true at all,” I replied, earnestly feeling that way.

And then, suddenly, there was a strange commotion coming from the street.

When I turned to look, I found a huge totos-drawn wagon approaching from the north. It was a fine rectangular wooden vehicle, pulled by two of the massive birds. A soldier in formal armor and a helmet held the reins, and the body of the wagon was decorated with the emblem of a count’s house.

“Oh, my. Which noble is it today, I wonder?” Yamiru Lea sarcastically whispered.

There were currently only two nobles who would come to purchase food from our stalls: Polarth of house Daleim and Leeheim of house Saturas.

Showing no care for the commotion from the surrounding crowd, the totos wagon came to a stop. The man who emerged was past middle age, holding a large bouquet, and flanked by two guards armed with blades.

The crowd in front of the stalls all ducked their heads and started to move aside, but the man gently called out, “Ah, everyone, please remain as you were. I have not come as a customer of this stall, so I ask that you pay me no heed.” After making that declaration, he came around to the side to speak to us. “My apologies for interrupting your work. Are there any members of the Ruu clan present?”

Lala and Sheera Ruu shared a look.

The norm in situations like this was for a member of the main house to take charge, however in this case Sheera Ruu was in charge of the stalls. After Lala Ruu whispered something to her with a frown, Sheera Ruu nodded and stepped forward.

“Yes, I am a member of the Ruu clan, the eldest daughter of Shin Ruu’s house. My name is Sheera Ruu. What business do you have with me, exactly?”

“I am acting as an envoy of the first son of the house of Saturas, Sir Leeheim. If you would, I ask that you please deliver this bouquet to Lady Reina Ruu.”

At that, Sheera Ruu’s eyes opened wide.

“To Reina Ruu? She isn’t here in town today, though...”

“I am aware. Sir Leeheim is also busy with other affairs today and unable to leave the castle town, so I was dispatched to deliver this item,” the man said with a refined smile as he held out the bouquet. The colorful array of flowers were wrapped in truly expensive-looking silk. It was a magnificent collection of flowers like you would rarely see, not only at the settlement at the forest’s edge, but in the post town as well.

“These flowers are for Reina Ruu? My apologies, but what is the reason behind this gift? We have no custom of giving flowers at the forest’s edge for any occasion other than a birthday...”

“Sir Leeheim has been unable to visit this place for ten days now, so he wished to offer these flowers in apology. Please, go ahead and accept them without reservation.”

With a troubled look, Sheera Ruu turned to face Lala Ruu. With a heaving sigh, the younger girl gave an exasperated shrug of her shoulders.

“Very well... Then, for the time being, I will accept them,” Sheera Ruu stated with a listless smile as she took the flowers.

Seemingly satisfied, the older man gave a bow.

“Well then, please send Lady Reina Ruu our regards. And for now, I shall be excusing myself.”

And with that, the man and the two guards accompanying him got back in the totos wagon. After seeing them leave, Sheera Ruu returned to the stall.

“Good work there, Sheera Ruu. What are you going to do with that bouquet, though?”

“For now, I have no choice but to take it back to Reina Ruu. After that, I suppose the decision will be up to Donda and Mia Lea Ruu.”

She must have decided she couldn’t just reject a gift from a noble solely on her own discretion. And if I had been in her position, I’m sure I would have done the same.

“What exactly did they come for anyway? They didn’t even buy a meal or anything,” Lala Ruu said while sticking out her tongue as she prepared giba burgers. Sure enough, if it were Polarth he would have ordered his underlings to purchase a bunch of giba dishes.

Well, not that Polarth would be sending a bouquet to start with.

Leeheim of house Saturas was one of the participants in the dinner party held in the castle town. But before he departed afterward, he stopped by to give his regards to us chefs from the forest’s edge, which is when he seemed to catch feelings for Reina Ruu.

Roy and Welhide fell for her charms too, but for him to go and send a bouquet... I thought to myself, only for Yamiru Lea to whisper into my ear.

“Quite the troublesome individual has set his eyes on Reina Ruu. If she isn’t careful, we could end up at war with the nobles again, wouldn’t you say?”

“Well, yeah, that’s true... But the heir to a count’s house would never ask a woman of the forest’s edge to marry him. So I’m sure it’ll be just fine.”

Through the chain of hardships we had overcome, the people of the forest’s edge really had formed ties with all sorts of people. Though most of those were things we could be glad for, I suppose it made sense that occasionally some people would have feelings that were not reciprocated.

Still, that’s what it meant to open up to the outside world. You just had to keep clearing up any misunderstandings that arose one by one. And the people of the forest’s edge had still only just gotten started down this new path.

If it comes down to it, we can always discuss the matter with Polarth or Marstein. So it really isn’t the same as when it felt like we were surrounded on all sides by enemies, I thought as I laid out some fresh giba meat atop the tray.

And as the totos wagon from house Saturas departed for the castle town, the intimidated crowd got their nerve back and started returning to the stall.

4

There weren’t any other incidents of note after that, and so we were able to safely finish out the day’s business.

But when we returned to the settlement at the forest’s edge and headed for the main Ruu house’s kitchen, the bouquet from Leeheim naturally became a matter of discussion.

“That noble sent this for me? What in the world could he want?” Reina Ruu questioned with a greatly troubled look as she accepted the bouquet, having been working on preparations for tomorrow.

Unsurprisingly, Reina Ruu wasn’t the only one troubled. Mia Lea Ruu and the others couldn’t help but tilt their heads while they worked on their own tasks.

“You can’t go accepting flowers when it’s not even your birthday. Even more so when they aren’t from family,” Mia Lea Ruu stated, and then she turned toward Bartha. “Just what is this all about? Do you have any idea?”

“Huh? What are you asking me for? It’s certainly nothing to brag about, but nobody’s ever given me flowers in my entire life. Haven’t given ’em to anybody either.”

“But you were raised in a town, weren’t you? Then you should at least be familiar with the customs of such a place.”

With a shrug of her thick shoulders, Bartha chuckled, “Ha ha. I may have been born in Masara, but half of my childhood was up on the mountain. I suppose with stuff like this, don’t you send them to someone you like?”

“Hmm, so that really was it, huh? Even I was able to guess that much...” Mia Lea Ruu said with a strained chuckle, unusual as that was for her. And then, she turned toward Reina Ruu. “Well, go ahead and put those flowers in water for now. We can just leave what comes next up to the clan head.”

“Right... But since this goes against the customs of the forest’s edge, wouldn’t it be better to return them?”

“It’s the clan head’s job to decide that. It’s not like he asked you to marry him, so you have nothing to worry about,” Mia Lea Ruu replied with a laugh. “Just to be sure, even if that noble did ask you to be his bride, you wouldn’t accept, right?”

“Of course not,” Reina Ruu immediately replied, briskly and without the slightest hesitation. “Dad would never accept me marrying someone from the castle town, and even if he did give his permission, I wouldn’t want to.”

“Hmm, so that noble isn’t especially charming?”

Mercilessly, Reina Ruu nodded back. “That’s right.”

By the way, Leeheim was an overly thin young man who always wore a faint, cynical-looking smile. It was difficult to say just what his true nature was like, and he was the sort where it seemed like it would take some time till we could truly understand one another.

“Besides, there’s no way he would ever ask a woman of the forest’s edge to marry him in the first place. I can’t even imagine a noble of the castle town doing such a thing,” Reina Ruu continued.

“Right, and that man has a fairly high standing among nobles too, doesn’t he?”

“Yes. As the oldest son of a count’s house, he’s supposed to be quite important. So he’s probably just teasing me, right?”

“No, not at all,” Bartha interjected. “It hasn’t been that long since the lord of Genos declared that proper bonds should be formed between the nobles and you people of the forest’s edge. So there’s no way one of them would mess with you at a time like this.”

“Then you’re saying this noble actually wants to marry me?”

“Nah, he’s probably just expressing his affection for you; it’s nothing as serious as what you’re thinking. I’d imagine most men out there would be fond of a looker like you, after all.”

Though Bartha’s claim was completely obvious, it was a notion that would be difficult for the people of the forest’s edge to accept. After all, to them, love affairs between men and women were directly tied to marriage.

Seeming to not fully grasp the matter even still, Reina Ruu glanced down at the bouquet in her hands.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this somehow... Hey Asuta, that Leeheim noble is the one who tried to buy up lots of giba meat, isn’t he?”

“Ah, yeah, that’s what I was told.”

“I don’t want to believe this could be true...but he wouldn’t have raised that idea in order to put the people of the forest’s edge in his debt, right?”

“I really can’t figure that’s the case. I think he just simply recognized the value of giba meat as a product to be sold.”

Still, ultimately Duke Marstein Genos put a stop to that. Now, after the price of giba had been reevaluated, we were observing to see what impact that would have on the sales of karon and kimyuus meat.

“Like I said, it’s nothing for you to worry yourself over. Just leave such difficult topics up to the clan head. I’m sure he’ll settle everything smoothly,” Mia Lea Ruu stated with a bright smile as she patted Reina Ruu on the head.

Looking embarrassed at being treated like a child, Reina Ruu shrugged her shoulders and replied, “Yeah...”

“We’ll never understand what nobles are thinking, no matter how much we try. We just have to keep on carrying out our own work. And the longer we keep dawdling about, the less time Asuta has to help instruct us.”

And so, under Mia Lea Ruu’s orders, work recommenced.

Meanwhile, my group also started with preparations for tomorrow.

While I cut up the giba meat along with Toor Deen, Reina Ruu seemed to get her spirits back and called out, “By the way, did you manage to talk to Myme and Mikel?”

“Yeah. I ended up inviting them to the settlement at the forest’s edge tomorrow. We’ll be stopping by the Ruu settlement first, so we’ll see you then.”

“Oh, really? I’ll be looking forward to it.”

While Toor Deen had seemed overjoyed, Reina Ruu now wore a serious expression. Since she was still doubtful of Myme’s skills, she saw it as a chance for the girl to show what she could do.

Still, if Reina Ruu acknowledges Myme’s cooking, then this is sure to get her seriously excited. Especially since, unfortunately, she found Timalo’s cooking to be such a letdown.

It had been quite a surprise for Reina Ruu when she first tasted the cooking from Yang’s stall in the past. And since she was so much more passionate about delicious food than most, meeting Myme was sure to be huge for her.

“By the way, it seems like we’ll be able to have Myme prepare a dish with giba meat, so if you don’t mind, I’d love to have everyone give it a try,” I commented.

“Ooh,” Mia Lea Ruu said with her eyes going wide. “So a girl from town is going to cook with giba meat? That certainly is something to look forward to.”

“Right, though there are already inn owners from the post town who cook with it.”

“Things sure have changed a lot in just a few short months... By the way, Dan Rutim showed up again today, before he headed out to the northern settlement.”

“The northern settlement? Oh, that business about taking in a Dom woman, right?”

“Yeah. That ended up getting approved too. Preparations on their end will take a couple days, and then she’s supposed to be brought here to the Ruu settlement,” Mia Lea Ruu replied with an amused smile. “A girl from town is being invited to man our stove, and we’re welcoming a member of the Dom clan into our homes. Just a little while ago, all of it would have been impossible to imagine. And then there’s the noble sending flowers too.”

“That thing with the noble isn’t exactly anything to be happy about, though,” Reina Ruu retorted in a sulky tone, but her mother just kept on smiling and shook her head.

“That may make for a bit of a hassle, but we’re still talking about someone liking you. So in the end I’d say that’s something to be happy about. After all, up until now none of us but the leading clan heads had so much as glanced at a noble.”

“But still...it really won’t be happy news if it leads to some sort of quarrel.”

“What’s a bit of a quarrel matter anyway? We’ve been granted much greater happiness than something like that could ruin. And regardless, it’s not like we can avoid every little issue as we keep moving forward, so we just have to keep on following whatever path we think is best.”

“I agree,” I chimed in without thinking, earning me a reproachful look from Reina Ruu.

“That sort of makes me sound like an unreasonable child or something.”

“Ah, no, I really do feel sorry for you, Reina Ruu.”

“Whatever,” the girl retorted, turning away.

While it was a very adorable response, I really did feel apologetic toward her. I mean, if some noble’s daughter went and gifted me flowers out of nowhere, I wouldn’t exactly be happy about it either.

“At any rate, our visitors tomorrow come first. And I’m certainly looking forward to seeing what sort of dish she’ll prepare, Asuta.”

“Right. I definitely am too.”

By this time tomorrow, Myme and Mikel would already be standing here in this space. Just imagining it was enough to get me all excited. And I was elated not just due to my personal interest in Myme, but also the fact that there were townsfolk being invited to the settlement at the forest’s edge as guests.