Chapter 4: The Welcome Banquet

1

It was now the tenth of the indigo month, the day of the welcome banquet.

Since we had taken the day off from working at the stalls, we were able to leave the forest’s edge and arrive at the gates to the castle town just when the sun hit its peak. That made for a pretty early departure, but it allowed us a lot of wiggle room in the schedule. Delays wouldn’t be acceptable when it came to a dinner party for nobles.

At any rate, we had to cook for twenty-three people today. That was ten more than the last time around. And since we were talking about making six different dishes for each of those guests, it was quite the undertaking. To compensate, we increased the number of chefs on our team from the four we had for the previous banquet to seven. But more chefs meant even more meals to prepare too. When adding in the four who would be joining us as guards, that came up to thirty-four in total. And then on top of all that were the portions for Varkas’s group to sample, so we had to make even more still.

“We’ve been awaiting you. Please, step into this carriage.”

Under the guidance of a guard who had been waiting at the gates, we got into a totos carriage belonging to the house of Daleim. We were only bringing giba meat, poitan flour, and my cooking knives with us, so it was a light load.

“Humm, it’s been about three months now since my last trip to the castle town, eh?!” Dan Rutim, head of the group guarding us, made that ridiculously loud announcement as he stepped into the carriage. Actually, it was kind of hitting me too now, the realization of just how long it had been since that meeting with Cyclaeus.

Since one of the members of the guard group was from the Sauti clan, he would be arriving with Dari Sauti, meaning there were ten of us at the moment. On the chef side you had me, Reina Ruu, Sheera Ruu, Rimee Ruu, Toor Deen, Ama Min Rutim, and Morun Rutim. Then, guarding us were Ai Fa, Dan Rutim, and Deem Rutim, who was the only one of the group I was meeting for the first time.

“Why the serious face, Deem Rutim? It’s not like we’re going to cross blades with the nobles or anything. No need to be that on edge,” Dan Rutim advised the boy with a hearty grin.

Deem Rutim did seem to be kinda stiff as his eyes constantly scanned the area around us.

“But we’re still dealing with nobles here, and it’s impossible to know what they’re thinking, isn’t it? So don’t we need to be ready for anything and everything?”

“Yes, and that’s exactly why you won’t last if you stay so tense. You just need to be prepared to handle anything that may occur while acting normally.”

“Right,” Deem Rutim nodded back, but sure enough, he still wore a stiff expression. The boy was just thirteen, and had a small build too. He was slimmer than even Ludo Ruu, and had a pretty childish face.

From what I heard, two months back he had several ribs broken by a charging giba. Half a month ago, he was finally able to move again properly, and currently he was in the middle of training to regain his strength as a hunter.

As for Dan Rutim, even though he was full of energy, he still had to rely on a cane. Thinking about it like that, Dan Rutim’s dislocated ankle and injured muscles might have been a more serious injury than Deem Rutim’s broken ribs.

“Apologies for the wait. We have arrived at the Turan manor.”

Half an hour later, the door at the rear of the carriage swung open. This was my fifth time now, so I was used to the sight of the huge brick building.

Just like half a month ago, Chiffon Chel was the one to greet us, saying, “Welcome to the Turan manor... Allow me to first guide you to the bathhouse.”

After the seven of us chefs and Ai Fa (who was dragged in by Rimee Ruu) cleansed ourselves, we moved to the kitchen.

There were two guards standing in front of the kitchen again today. Since she had cleaned herself too, Ai Fa ended up tasked with guarding us inside the kitchen. Meanwhile, Dan and Deem Rutim remained outside along with the guards.

As soon as the guards opened the door, we were awash in heat and the aroma of herbs.

“Has Varkas’s group already started cooking?”

“Yes... Sir Varkas has been in the kitchen since the break of dawn...”

Apparently, Varkas intended to spend nearly the whole day preparing his dishes. Bracing my nerves, I stepped into the kitchen, where I found the man himself and two assistants working away busily at the far end.

So there are only three of them, huh? That certainly would take time, yeah.

After setting our luggage down atop the closest workstation, we went over to greet them.

“Sorry for bothering you when you’re so busy, but I look forward to working together today, Varkas.”

Only Varkas’s eyes moved to glance up at me as he focused on a boiling pot. Sure enough, he was wearing the same long-sleeved white outfit and a mask with holes for his eyes, nose, and mouth again today.

Astoundingly, his two assistants were dressed up in identical costumes. But one of them was small like Reina Ruu, while the other was tall like someone from Sym, so there was no mistaking them for Varkas.

“I look forward to working with you as well, Sir Asuta. You seem to have brought along quite the crowd...”

“Yeah, and it’s just the three of you on your end?”

“No, there is one more manning the flames in the smoking room. Tatumai, what time is it?”

“It will be half past the hour shortly,” the tall masked figure answered in a strangely hoarse voice.

“Then I will also head to the smoking room. Shilly Rou, you man the flames here.”

At that, the small masked figure silently moved our way. From how slender they appeared, I got the impression they might be a woman.

“My apologies, but I’ll be stepping away. Sir Asuta, will you be using that work station?”

“Yes, that’s the plan.”

“Very well then. I also believed it best that we cook as far from one another as possible so that the aromas will not interfere with one another,” Varkas stated rather curtly before swiftly departing. Still, he seemed to be working away quite intently.

The rest of us offered a bow to his helpers, Tatumai and Shilly Rou, before we returned to our own workstation.

“Well then, how about we hurry up and get started too? First up is securing our ingredients.”

Since we had told them in advance what we would need, everything was assembled in the pantry. After picking out the freshest-looking vegetables from the lot, the seven of us carried everything out.

Once all the ingredients were gathered, the first task was cutting the vegetables. Naturally, we had hammered out a solid step-by-step plan for this over the course of the last few days.

“I heard about them before, but what truly odd appearances they have. It’s a bit eerie, not knowing what someone’s face looks like,” Ama Min Rutim whispered while slicing up aria. Though this was her first time in the castle town, she didn’t seem at all intimidated.

“But that guy is an incredibly skilled chef, right? They say it’s hard to decide whether or not his cooking tastes good, but it all sounds really interesting to me,” Morun Rutim added from my other side as she skinned chatchi, her eyes sparkling. She and Rimee Ruu had gotten all excited in the totos carriage, but now she was just smiling as she worked, with her usual cheer.

If I had to say, it was Reina Ruu and Toor Deen, who had already been shaken up by Varkas’s cooking, who were looking the most tense. Meanwhile, Rimee Ruu and the two Rutim women were innocently humming along as they moved on to chopping up nenon.

The combination of deadly seriousness from Reina and Sheera Ruu and everyone else seeming so relaxed was very reassuring for me. Satisfied with what I was seeing from them, I kept on working as usual while trying to maintain an appropriate level of focus.

They sure seem to be making a real strange dish over there.

Varkas’s small assistant, Shilly Rou, was stirring the pot entrusted to them, occasionally adding some firewood to the stove. And the tall one, Tatumai, just kept on cutting up vegetables atop the work station. Since Varkas had gone to the smoking room, it must’ve been to check on something being smoked inside, right? Or was he using the flames to do something else? I couldn’t help but look forward to the moment I would get to taste their dishes.

Roughly an hour after we started working, when it was about time to light the stoves, a knock from outside the kitchen interrupted us.

“Asuta, there’s a girl here who wants to talk to you! Says you know her! If you’ve got the time for it, then go ahead and pop your head out here!” Dan Rutim shouted through the thick door, rather than one of the guards. I entrusted the prep work for the stoves to Sheera Ruu, then headed over to the door with Ai Fa.

“Hey, Asuta! Sorry for bothering you when you’re busy.”

“Oh, Diel? What are you doing here?”

Diel was the daughter of a metalwork trader from Jagar. Similarly to the other times we’d met in this manor, she had on a nice blue dress and wore accessories in her short hair. And as always, Labis was standing there in wait behind here.

“Eh heh heh, you see, I’ll actually be attending tonight’s dinner party too. Which is to say, I asked the second son of the house of Daleim to get me in!”

“Ah, so that’s how you did it? I haven’t seen Polarth for the past ten days, so I had no idea.”

“Yeah. I mean, not only is this a chance to eat your cooking, I’ll even get to make connections with the nobles of Banarm, so there’s no way I could let this chance slip by me. And since I managed to get invited, I wanted to drop in and say hi,” Diel said with a totally carefree grin. With the dress she was wearing and her hair pulled to the side by her accessories to show a bit of her forehead, she looked more girly than usual.

“So you’re plotting to strike up business dealings with the folks from Banarm too? But don’t you have trouble handling nobles?” I asked, making sure to whisper the back half there.

Diel came in close too so the guards didn’t overhear. “More than that, I flat out hate them. But work is work and I’ve got to see it through, or I don’t know what I’ll tell my dad later.”

“I see. Well, good luck. And I’d love to hear your impressions of the food afterward too.”

“Of course. I’m looking forward to it,” Diel said with a grin, poking me in the chest.

Then, her gaze turned toward Ai Fa, who was standing next to me.

“Ah, you do know I didn’t hit him just now, right? So don’t shoot me that scary glare of yours.”

“I can tell that much just by looking...” Ai Fa briefly replied before glaring my way too out of the corner of her eye. She was even stricter than most when it came to the custom of the forest’s edge that said men and women who weren’t family weren’t supposed to touch one another.

“You’re quite the energetic girl, aren’t you? What were you again, the daughter of some noble or something from Jagar?” Dan Rutim interjected.

Diel turned his way and smiled. “I’m no one all that important. I’m the daughter of Grannar, a metalwork trader from Jagar, and my name is Diel. And you, big guy, are a hunter of the forest’s edge, right?”

“Indeed. I am in fact a person of the forest’s edge, and the former head of the main Rutim house, Dan Rutim. I had heard that folks from Jagar avoided our people just as much as the townsfolk.”

“Ah, I can’t say I had all that great of an impression of the people of the forest’s edge either before I met Asuta. But it’s been eighty years now since you all left Jagar, so when you think about it, what’s the point of making a fuss over something like that now.”

“I see. Well, I really ran my mouth about Asuta’s cooking before I tried it, so I guess I’m not all that different.”

It was a strange feeling, seeing this pair I was so well acquainted with having such a casual conversation. But they both had such bright and open personalities that they seemed to get along surprisingly well.

“By the way, what are you doing here so early, Diel? It’s still only around the second hour, isn’t it?”

“Ah, well, yeah... I figured I’d say hello to Lefreya too,” Diel replied, awkwardly scratching the tip of her little nose. “I was able to apologize to you, so it just makes sense for me to apologize to her too, right? Like you said before, I tried to help you in some ways... But in the end I was too indecisive, and that wasn’t fair to either of you.”

“You’re still worrying about that? You’re surprisingly lacking in nerve, aren’t you?” Ai Fa questioned, her expression more or less back to normal. “You simply provided aid to help indict a criminal. It would be one thing to feel shame at turning a blind eye to a crime, but I cannot understand wanting to offer a criminal an apology.”

“Oh, shut it. I’ve got all sorts of stuff to deal with on my end too, you know.”

Diel had said before that she couldn’t really bring herself to hate Lefreya. And since she had ended up having to deceive the noble girl on the night I was saved, she probably still had some feelings to work through about what happened.

“Well, whatever. I’ll be seeing her on my own, so let’s just drop it. And Asuta, I’m looking forward to the banquet!”

“Right, I appreciate it.”

Diel and Labis then departed along with Chiffon Chel, who was guiding them.

As we watched them leave, Dan Rutim stroked his chin and said, “Hmm... I know it’s a little late to be saying it now, but it’s really something how such a pretty young girl doesn’t show any fear toward us hunters of the forest’s edge.”

“You think so? Well, she’s spent a lot of time around Ai Fa and Ludo Ruu.”

“I see. It’s been years since I last talked to anyone from town, so it felt really fresh to me. No matter how much I may have heard from the women about how things had changed, it just didn’t feel real to me till now.”

The hunters of the forest’s edge tried to head into town as little as possible, to avoid scaring the townsfolk unnecessarily, so though Ludo Ruu and the others had made frequent trips to guard us, Dan Rutim hadn’t had a chance to join in since the meeting with Cyclaeus.

Thanks to that, most of the men are like him, and have only ever heard how things are in the post town second hand. That may make it tougher to really reach a point of mutual understanding. That was a concern that had been lingering around in my head for a good long while now.

Still, this was no time to be worrying about stuff like that, so after Ai Fa and I said farewell to Dan Rutim, we headed back into the kitchen.

“You took a while, Asuta, so we went ahead and started on the soup dish because we couldn’t wait any longer.” It was Rimee Ruu rather than Sheera Ruu who was stirring the pot atop the stove as she said that.

I approached her with a smile. “Sorry about that. You took over for me, right? Did things with the stock go okay?”

“Yeah, since Reina and Sheera Ruu handled it.”

The veggies, mushrooms, and giba meat tossed into the pot were boiling away with the stock made from dried fish. If those two had handled it, then there wouldn’t be any problems on that front.

“Well then, while that’s boiling, I suppose we should get to work on the poitan dish. Rimee Ruu, Ama Min Rutim, could I ask you two to man the flames?”

When they energetically accepted the task, I shot them another smile before turning toward the workstation.

Today’s poitan dish required quite a bit of effort to make. Facing the poitan flour we brought, fuwano flour from the pantry, and a pile of kimyuus eggs, I went ahead and grabbed some measuring cups. After all, getting the proportions right was crucial.

“Your family got stuck eating the test dishes every single day, so what did people end up thinking about it at the Ruu house?”

“Well, impressions were split so heavily that it was almost funny. If I had to say, more of the men disliked it while the women tended to enjoy it,” Reina Ruu answered while cracking a kimyuus egg. “But Ludo seemed extremely taken with it, while my mom said she prefers ordinary baked poitan. Ah, and Sati Lea liked it a lot.”

“Sati Lea Ruu, huh? She really liked the okonomiyaki too, didn’t she?”

“Yes. I’m sure Sati Lea is fond of poitan in general. Aside from the gooey stuff you get when you boil it, of course,” Reina Ruu replied, showing her first smile of the day. “So for the past several days, we’ve been preparing normal baked poitan for dinner too. That dealt with any complaints we were hearing... Thinking about it like that, I’d say it was more that they were upset they couldn’t eat ordinary baked poitan rather than disliking the dish.”

“Ah, gotcha. Well, the dish does have a totally different feel to it than baked poitan.”

“That’s true. Oh, and Granny Jiba really enjoyed it too. It must be a lot better than baked poitan soaked in soup.”

That was good to hear. It was definitely true that it was a good bit softer than baked poitan, so with a bit of effort, it could serve as a dish well suited to Granny Jiba. And it seemed the stubborn men were displeased when they thought the dish was a replacement for baked poitan, but that disappeared once it was treated as a separate dish. Even though baked poitan was only introduced to the forest’s edge a few months ago, it had seemingly become an indispensable part of their cuisine.

“At any rate, it seems worth having put in the effort to develop it. At some point, I’d like to unveil it in the post town too.”

“Right. It could turn out to be as surprising to folks as giba curry. At the very least, it definitely surprised me.”

As we had that exchange, we steadily progressed on our prep work. And the same seemed true of Varkas’s camp too. However, in the end it seemed his assistants really were just that—assistants, and nothing more. Varkas appeared to be guiding their every action, and that meant he was moving about the kitchen several times more than they were. Plus, that third assistant had never returned from the smoking room. And Varkas appeared to be making frequent trips there too.

Then, roughly four hours after we had started working, there was another knock on the kitchen door. When I went over there in response to Dan Rutim’s summons, I found Polarth and Arishuna waiting for me.

“I see you’re working hard there, Sir Asuta. Is your cooking going smoothly?”

“Yes. We haven’t run into any real issues as of yet, so we intend to wrap everything up by the time that was agreed on.”

“I see, I see. That’s good to hear... However, a problem has arisen on our end. It seems our guests from Banarm will be arriving rather late.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Indeed. From what I’ve been told, they lost several totos when they were attacked by a swarm of poisonous insects along the way. Though the humans were unharmed, they were unable to pull their carriages due to a shortage of draft animals.”

So such accidents could occur even on a short two-day trip by totos, huh? That was something I couldn’t overlook, considering we were planning a trip to Dabagg.

“Well, they tried to prepare for such an eventuality, but they were truly unfortunate. That kind of poisonous insect rarely ever appears during the day... Regardless, in the end, a number of their attendants had to turn back to the previous town to procure totos, so they lost nearly half a day. Initially, they had been scheduled to arrive today around when the sun hit its peak, but now they should make it just around sunset.”

“I see. That certainly sounds rough.”

“Indeed. So in order to allow them time to change out of their traveling clothes, we would like to hold the banquet an hour after sunset. My apologies for the sudden shift, but we only just received word via a messenger ourselves.”

“I don’t mind at all. But you can’t use a sundial once the sun has set, right? So how should I measure the passage of an hour?”

“Hmm? Ah yes, you’ve only had sundials to work with, haven’t you? At times like this, you use an hourglass. I would imagine Sir Varkas should have one prepared for his cooking.”

Now that he mentioned it, I had spied a variety of unfamiliar devices atop his work station. If hourglasses existed, then I would definitely want to purchase one to use as a kitchen timer.

“And my apologies, but could you inform Sir Varkas of this matter as well? From what I hear, he gets incredibly angry when you summon him from the kitchen while he is cooking.”

“Understood. I’ll let him know.”

“Oh, and there is something Lady Arishuna wishes to tell you as well.”

My gaze shifted over to Polarth’s side. Arishuna’s face soon came into view as she slowly removed her hood.

“It’s been some time. So, you have some business with me?”

Arishuna looked straight at my face with those eyes I couldn’t read any emotion from. It seemed she really was a bit shorter than me, maybe around the same height as Ai Fa.

“I wish, to apologize...”

“Apologize? You mean to me?”

“Yes... I spoke of your star, without you asking. That was, careless of me.” As she spoke, Arishuna’s face remained perfectly expressionless. And I couldn’t pick up any emotion from her low, clear voice either. “My grandfather was banished, from Sym for reading, his sovereign’s star. It can be frightening, to know one’s fate... I did not read, your star, but I spoke, on how you were, truly unique. I believe I acted, quite carelessly.”

“Ah, that’s what you meant. Please, don’t worry about it... I was a bit surprised, but I’m not upset at you or anything,” I replied in as bright of a tone as I could manage, considering Ai Fa was standing there next to me.

However, Arishuna remained just as expressionless as always.

“You do not, hate me?”

“Hate you? Of course not! I’m more impressed than anything at how incredible your ability to read stars really is.”

“So you will not blame me, even though you were, so hurt...?” Arishuna questioned, casting her gaze downward while still remaining expressionless. “I caused you, unnecessary suffering, through my carelessness. For that, I apologize to you, from the depths of my heart.”

“L-Like I said, please, don’t worry about it. I really am fine.”

“Well, I suppose Lady Arishuna cannot help but be concerned about it, considering the incident with her grandfather. It is fortunate that you are such a magnanimous fellow, Sir Asuta,” Polarth interjected as if to mediate. “Still, I keep my distance from oracles and the like, myself. My apologies, but I have no interest in having someone else decipher my future. I believe it would be best if you only displayed that skill of yours for those who seek it out, Lady Arishuna.”

“Yes. I deeply regret, my actions.”

“Then that should reconcile matters! Ahh, as the one who brought you two together, I’m truly glad this didn’t end up as a serious incident.” Polarth sighed with a smile, his gaze suddenly shifting sideways. My eyes followed his, and found that Dan Rutim had been watching over our exchange with a look of great interest.

“Ahem, do you have some sort of business with me, O guest from the forest’s edge?”

“No, I was just impressed at how friendly you seemed to be, for a noble. You are a noble, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am the second son of the house of Daleim, Polarth.”

“Ah, so you’re Polarth?! Then you’re that noble who played a big part in rescuing Asuta!” Dan Rutim loudly exclaimed with a broad grin. “I’m the previous head of the main Rutim house, Dan Rutim. Asuta is an irreplaceable friend of mine, so I was thinking I really needed to offer my gratitude to you at some point, Polarth!”

“I’m grateful to hear it. But it is the fault of all the nobles of Genos that the previous head of the house of Turan was allowed to act as he pleased. I am not worthy of your gratitude.”

Now it was a chance meeting between Dan Rutim and Polarth.

Though they both had plump builds, one of them was one of the foremost hunters of the forest’s edge, while the other was a noble of Genos. I couldn’t really see any common traits between them aside from their bellies jutting out.

Still, the sight of the two of them earnestly smiling at one another was definitely soothing just to look at, somehow. Well, I didn’t know how it would be for other people, but it at least felt that way to me.

“Um...could I have a moment of your time?” a new voice interjected. Turning to look, I saw Reina Ruu timidly peeking out through the gap in the door. “I’m terribly sorry for interrupting your conversation. I’m the second daughter of the main Ruu house, Reina Ruu...”

“Ah, so you are Reina Ruu? Sir Leeheim of the house of Saturas truly acted with terrible discourtesy toward you the other day.”

It had been half a month now since Leeheim trying to give Reina Ruu an expensive necklace had led to a bit of an argument. The ones to smooth that over were none other than Marstein and Melfried of the ducal house of Genos and Polarth himself.

Reina Ruu now stood there with both hands joined together in front of her and her head deeply bowed. “But I was short-tempered, and I’m truly sorry for that fact. I’m incredibly grateful for how you helped protect the bond between the nobles and we people of the forest’s edge.”

“Ah, no, it was Sir Leeheim who was lacking in prudence. I believe that we informed Sir Donda Ruu of our conclusion on the matter as well.”

“Right... But even so, that doesn’t change the fact that I let my temper get the better of me... Is that Leeheim man here today?”

“Yes, he was invited to participate.”

“In that case, would it be possible that I could have a chance to apologize to him after the banquet?” Reina Ruu asked with a serious look on her face.

However, Polarth tilted his head and replied, “Hmm, so that’s what you were getting at...? Yes, I understand your intentions. However, it was determined that Sir Leeheim was entirely the one at fault. There is no need for you to apologize.”

“But if I were to do so, wouldn’t it at least somewhat soothe his feelings?”

“I don’t believe so,” Polarth said with a somewhat strained smile. “If such an apology were to go poorly, Sir Leeheim could start making a commotion and say that he wasn’t truly in the wrong. After all, he has a tendency to act overbearing if you are not careful in how you handle him.”

“So if I apologize, it could cause more unnecessary trouble?”

“Yes, that’s precisely it! After receiving lectures from every direction, I am certain he must be itching to vent his frustration. If you were to then go and bow your head to him, there is a real risk he would insist that he was entirely in the right.”

That certainly sounded like quite the immature reaction.

When Reina Ruu replied, “Right...” I couldn’t quite make out the expression on her face.

“And, well, that’s why I believe that the smoothest way to settle things will be for you and Sir Leeheim to not see one another. No matter what attitude you may take, he could easily react badly.”

“All right... I understand, and will abide by your advice,” Reina Ruu said with another bow of her head. “I want to try my hardest not to let my temper get the better of me in the future, so I beg your forgiveness. And my apologies for interrupting you in the middle of such an important conversation...”

“No, think nothing of it. And give my regards to Sir Donda Ruu.”

After Reina Ruu disappeared behind the door, Polarth gave an exasperated sigh.

Looking down at the man, Dan Rutim rubbed his shiny head. “Hmm, I suppose there really are all sorts of nobles too. It’s probably best that I keep away from anyone with a character like that.”

“That’s true. The thought of him angering the hunters of the forest’s edge is enough to cause me to shudder,” Polarth replied, and then he turned my way and exclaimed, “Well then! I suppose we shall go ahead and take our leave... Ah yes, and I heard from Yang about that dish using all the herbs! When I accompany Lady Arishuna into the post town again in the future, can I count on you to let us try it out then?”

“No problem. And I’ll be counting on you too.”

With that, Polarth departed along with Arishuna, who had pulled her hood back up. With a sigh, I turned to face Ai Fa.

“So that’s the star reader...” my clan head stated as she watched them disappear through half-closed eyes with a piercing glare. “It’s not that I think she is an especially bad person or anything like that...but I simply cannot see any meaning or value in star reading.”

“Oh, right, now that I think about it, that one comrade of Shumiral’s said something about you falling under the cat star. Well, I figure when it comes to fortunes, there’s no issue with just listening to whatever’s convenient to you.”

“Hmph. Fate is something to be carved out through your own strength,” Ai Fa grumbled, only for Dan Rutim to break out in a hearty chuckle.

“It can be hard to read the emotions of folks from the east, but that girl seemed to be apologizing from the bottom of her heart, don’t you think? I don’t know what she said, but why not just go ahead and forgive her?”

“Quite. I had no intention of laying any blame on her from the start.”

Somehow, it really made me happy to hear Dan Rutim say that. Somehow, I felt that there were similarities between the people of the forest’s edge and both the jovial folks from Jagar and the untalkative citizens of Sym, so I generally had a favorable impression of both of them. And even if we had an unusual first meeting, Arishuna was no exception.

“I figured just standing in front of a door would make for a boring job, but I’ve gotten to see some pretty interesting stuff today. It seems that beyond the forest’s edge there are all sorts of things unfolding that are worth taking a look at.”

“I’d say so, yeah. Every day of work for me has been really enjoyable.”

“Right! Now that I’ve handed over my position of clan head, I figure maybe I should help the women with their shopping and so on while I’m on break.”

I couldn’t help but feel that this was a wonderful change in mindset on his part. After all, up until now, Ludo Ruu was pretty much the only man I ever heard express interest in the post town. And I could definitely see a cheerful and earnest guy like Dan Rutim serving as a bridge between town and the forest’s edge.

While I was thinking about that, I returned again to the kitchen, just in time for Varkas to step out of the door to the smoking room.

“Ah, Varkas, could I have a moment of your time?”

When I delivered Polarth’s message, the older chef replied, “I see,” in a muffled voice, and his green eyes narrowed. “But if the banquet will be held an hour after sunset, that means it will be rather late when we finally finish. In which case, shall we finish our own meals first? With that much time to spare, it should be possible to sample one another’s dishes as well.”

“Ah, that sounds good. It would be pretty rough, having to watch over all the guests while our own stomachs are empty.”

“Then that is what we will do.”

With those brief parting words, Varkas swiftly got back to cooking. But that final look I saw in his eyes... Well, it was hard to say for certain because of the mask, but it looked to me like he was excitedly smiling.

Was Varkas looking forward to trying my cooking too? For me, I was as excited, if not more so, to hear his impressions of my food as I was to hear the thoughts of the guests.

And so, despite those minor interruptions, our work progressed smoothly.

2

It was now sunset, at the lower sixth hour. In the room nearest to the kitchen, we were gathered to eat our dinner before the guests would be having theirs.

There were two large oblong tables, with fifteen of us seated around them: seven chefs from the post town and four from the castle town, as well as the four hunters guarding us now that the man from the Sauti clan had arrived. Though the majority of those present were people of the forest’s edge, Varkas’s group showed no signs of being intimidated.

The all-important food was waiting on a neighboring table for its time to shine. There was a huge variety of dishes, but many of them wouldn’t taste as good if they got cold, so quite a few were currently covered by lids and being kept warm over a charcoal heater.

“Since our faces were covered in the kitchen, allow me to at least introduce everyone by name,” Varkas stated in a calm tone, wearing some sort of vague expression on his face, like before. “This is Tatumai, who coordinates my cooking assistants.”

The tall older man with dark skin bowed his head. Around half of his long black hair had gone white, and he wore it tied off behind his head. He looked overly skinny, his eyes were black, and his deeply wrinkled face didn’t show any expression whatsoever. His skin was just as dark as the people of the forest’s edge, so maybe he really did have some Sym heritage.

“Next to him is Shilly Rou.”

This one was a short, slender woman.

She had her long dark-brown hair pulled up, her eyes were reddish brown, and her skin was the general shade I had seen from westerners. She was probably a pure-blooded citizen of Selva. Ah, and she looked to be around my age. The force of will I could see in her eyes was especially striking.

“Continuing down the line, you lastly have Bozl. They are all my pupils, who I will one day entrust with the kitchen of The Silver Star.”

That man who had spent nearly the whole day working in the smoking room was every bit as big as Dan Rutim. On top of that, he looked to be a southerner. He had stiff dark-brown hair and a mustache, large wide-open green eyes, and white skin that looked a bit sunburned. The stern look about his face reminded me of a former regular of mine, Aldas the construction worker. Though southerners tended to be short, you still sometimes saw really big guys from Jagar.

“Now then, let us go ahead and give this cooking a try before it gets cold. I hope that you will pardon us for being unable to provide a satisfactory amount.”

“Even just a single bite is enough for a taste test, so no worries.”

After the people of the forest’s edge said their pre-meal chant, we set about serving the dishes.

First up came the appetizer. When the wooden plate with the unusual dish atop it was placed in front of him, Dan Rutim loudly proclaimed, “Ooh! So this one uses raw fish, does it?! I never even imagined the day would come when I would eat something like this!”

“Right. I hope that it’s to your liking.”

What I had prepared was a carpaccio using that char-like fish. It was accompanied by parboiled ro’hyoi and raw aria, and had a dressing overtop. The dressing was something I had prepared specifically for this dish too. Its base was mamaria vinegar and reten oil, to which I added pico leaves, myamuu, juice from a lemon-like sheel, stingingly spicy chitt seeds, and an herb from Sym that was similar to a bay leaf.

Ro’hyoi was spicier and more bitter than the arugula I was familiar with, but parboiling it made it a lot easier to eat. I had sliced the fish into pieces thin enough to be about half a bite each.

Naturally, there was no custom of eating raw meat at the forest’s edge, so even though Ai Fa and the members of the Ruu clan didn’t complain when I had them try some test samples, they didn’t seem happy about it either.

The amount of food on the plate was just a meager serving, though.

“Hmm, it certainly has an unusual taste.”

The members of the guard group didn’t need to wait for the dish from Varkas’s side, and they all scarfed down the appetizer in a single bite. The hunter from the Sauti who had showed up around sunset alongside Dari Sauti was furrowing his brow as he chewed on the fish.

“Our appetizer is a fish-based recipe as well.”

Varkas had personally served up his dish, though solely to the chefs present.

When I saw it, my eyes opened wide. Atop the clay plate that was roughly the size of my palm sat a truly modest-looking dish.

“Normally, there would be nine of these per person. Since there are seven of you, I was only able to prepare one for each person.”

“I see. Well, that’s no issue at all.”

It really was a mysterious dish. It consisted of a thin one-square-centimeter chip, atop which sat a little dollop of an apricot-colored paste.

The chip was likely made by stretching fuwano dough out thin and then baking it. It looked to only be around one or two millimeters thick. Since he had called this a fish recipe, that paste must have been minced fish...but at a glance, it just looked like a transparent, glistening jam to me. I thought I could see some kind of tiny seeds mixed into it too.

“Well then, let’s dig in.”

It might have been bad manners, but I went ahead and picked the appetizer up with my hand and took a bite. Even though it was only a small portion, a truly complex flavor and aroma spread throughout my mouth.

“So, you used raw fish for your appetizer too, huh?”

“Yes. I finely diced a rillione fish and then kneaded it together with tau oil, reten oil, arow fruit, and sarfaal herbs. The fuwano bread below it contains karon milk fat and panam honey.”

Rillione must have been that char-like fish I had also used. As for sarfaal, it was undoubtedly an herb that was similar to mustard. It wasn’t all that spicy, so he must have used it without adding any additional liquid. Still, that mustard-like scent was clearly at the core of the aroma. Then he mixed in the saltiness from the tau oil and the sourness from the arow, as well as reten oil to give it a smooth texture.

I thought that the crispy fuwano chip was perfectly fine too. There were no issues with the taste from the milk fat or honey, and it was a similar taste and texture to a sweet pie crust.

However, what sat atop it was a fish paste. Though it was a much simpler taste than the dish using herbs and karon milk that I had tried out before, it was still definitely a combination I never would have personally considered.

“I decided on this dish when I heard you were using raw rillione for your appetizer, Sir Asuta,” Varkas calmly stated. “Fish are not eaten in Banarm either, so such cuisine should likely seem quite novel to them. Still, even if they have a custom of eating raw karon, they may well avoid the thought of doing the same with raw fish. Normally, I would think a cooked fish would be most fitting for the appetizer.”

“Huh? Then why did you go with this recipe, Varkas?”

“As I said, it was because I heard you had chosen a raw fish offering, Sir Asuta. But if two chefs were to present similar-looking dishes simultaneously, the guests from Banarm could end up mistaking that for the custom in Genos.”

After being taken aback for a moment, I bowed my head and said, “Sorry for that.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. I made the decision to do so myself.”

He didn’t criticize my thoughtlessness or try to console me. He just kept things vague instead. It really was impossible to tell exactly what he was thinking deep down.

Still, what would he think of the taste of the carpaccio I had prepared? After all, Varkas’s group had all cleared their plates at some point, it seemed.

“It was very delicious. I felt the pico and the spiciness of the chitt clashed ever so slightly, but I don’t imagine any other chefs here in Genos could flavor a raw fish with such precision.”

Naturally, Varkas and his three cooking assistants remained expressionless.

Meanwhile, the chefs on our side didn’t have much interest in raw fish, so they seemed to have difficulty figuring out how to appraise Varkas’s dish. Since it didn’t seem like either side would be saying anything further, we hurriedly went ahead and served up the next dishes.

“Hey Asuta, you can’t expect us to eat these little portions one by one all the way till the end, right?” Dan Rutim asked in a concerned voice.

“Right, after this I plan on bringing out a number of dishes at once. Is that all right with you, Varkas?”

“Of course. I leave the format of the meal to our guests from the forest’s edge.”

We went ahead and started off with the soup and poitan dishes. After removing the lids from both pots, all sorts of aromas started filling the room.

Nobody was surprised by our soup dish. However, when the poitan dish was set before him, Dan Rutim loudly questioned, “What is this stuff? Is it really poitan? It doesn’t look like it at all, Asuta!”

“Well, it was made by mixing poitan and fuwano, then kneading in kimyuus egg and reten oil.”

It was no surprise that Dan Rutim was so taken off guard. After all, everyone who saw the dish for the first time, be it Ai Fa, the members of the Ruu clan, and even chefs like Reina and Sheera Ruu, all stared at it in wonder.

The dish in question was the poitan and fuwano pasta that I had finally completed after nearly a month of working on it.

Both poitan and fuwano were similar to wheat flour, but neither matched the ingredient exactly. In particular, the amount of gluten and the resulting viscosity, and how much they expanded differed a bit from the flour I was familiar with.

Poitan flour got all dried out if you just baked it as is, while it solidified if only mixed with water. As for fuwano flour, while it could be baked up nice and springy, it was overly viscous. It had me seriously scratching my head for a long time now over whether it was possible to blend the two pseudo-wheat flours properly to end up with something suitable for making noodles.

Honestly though, I was trying to make something more like soba or udon.

However, that ended in failure. I had actually managed to make something similar to udon before the pasta, but it wasn’t suitable for the people of the forest’s edge. Not because of the taste, or anything. Actually, it was because they weren’t able to slurp noodles. Ai Fa had looked so sad when she asked me, “What in the world is this dish, and how do you eat it?”

When I thought about it, I remembered one person back in my home country who couldn’t slurp noodles either: a classmate in middle school who had returned from living abroad.

He had lived somewhere in South America up till then, and had no experience with eating noodles using chopsticks. The first time we visited a ramen shop, the look on his face was just like Ai Fa’s, and he said pretty much the same thing she did.

The guy was able to get the hang of slurping noodles after a bit of practice, but the people of the forest’s edge were even worse off, because bottom line, they didn’t use chopsticks at all.

Well, at least Ai Fa had eventually learned to handle them in her own unique style, so while she struggled, she managed to eat her food that night. Still, it would be quite an undertaking to teach everyone at the forest’s edge how to both use chopsticks and slurp noodles. I could just see Donda Ruu tossing his chopsticks aside halfway through the meal and just drinking it all down in one go, broth and all.

I didn’t exactly know much about cuisine in the castle town yet, but at the very least I’d never seen noodles in the post town either, so even though I had developed a way to make udon, it just didn’t seem suitable for selling. In light of that, I decided the first style of pasta I made should be some sort of spaghetti instead.

With spaghetti, you could eat it without having to slurp noodles. Though I had never seen anything resembling a fork outside the castle town, I was able to prepare a utensil that would work well enough by cutting notches into a wooden spoon. I came up with the idea figuring it might work as a stepping stone toward learning to slurp noodles.

Once I figured out the ratio of poitan and fuwano, making the pasta itself wasn’t all that tricky at all. However, it did require a good bit of time. First I mixed in egg and a bit of reten oil and salt with the two types of flour, kneaded it till it got soft, then let it sit for several hours to remove the moisture. Next, I sprinkled a bit of flour over it and flattened it out, and after a bit more moisture had seeped out, I cut it into noodles. If it was sticky on the ends, I added a bit more flour at this stage too. That was enough to make a perfectly serviceable raw pasta, after which I just needed to let it dry out completely.

This time around, I served my pasta with a cream sauce. The dish also included the spinach-like nanaar, the cabbage-like tino, and the brown beech-like mushroom from Jagar. Lastly, I added some thick slices of giba rib bacon made using the smoking techniques I had learned from Mikel.

As for the cream sauce, I had seasoned a broth made from seaweed with salt and pico leaves, along with a nutmeg-like herb for flavor. After that, I sprinkled it with some gyama dried milk I had reduced to a powder. Since I had heard that the people of Banarm used karon dairy goods, I had ultimately chosen this creamy pasta out of my repertoire.

Then for the soup, I went with minestrone. Tomato-like tarapa served as the base for a soup with a ton of vegetables in it. The ingredients included aria, chatchi, nenon, tino, zucchini-like chan, paprika-like ma pula, the common mushroom-like thing I still didn’t know the name of, and giba sausage.

In place of bouillon, I used the broth I had made from dried fish, then added salt and pico leaves, that herb that was like bay leaf, mamaria fruit wine, and finally tau oil and sugar for a bit of subtle flavoring. Since I had made tarapa-based soup plenty of times in the past, Ai Fa had no issues accepting the dish.

The real issue was the cream sauce pasta. The Ruu men didn’t seem to enjoy it all that much, so I stole a glance wondering what the guards thought of it...just in time for Dan Rutim to loudly proclaim, “Hrmm! This meat is delicious! It’s rich in flavor like the dried meat I received from the Ruu clan before, and it’s even tastier than ordinary meat!”

“I’m glad to hear it. What about the poitan?”

“Hmm, I’m finding it just a little hard to eat. I’ve got no issues with how it tastes, but it’s all slippery and keeps sliding off my spoon.”

Morun Rutim was sitting next to him and had seemingly taught him how to eat it, but he appeared to have trouble getting the knack of it in such a short period of time. Was the frustration the main reason why the men weren’t too fond of it?

“So that’s still an issue, huh? Well then, how about eating it like this?”

Based on a conversation with Reina Ruu from earlier in the day, I had brought along plenty of extra poitan flour and used it to prepare some thin baked poitan, out of a concern that pasta alone wouldn’t provide enough carbohydrate intake. Once Dan Rutim tried sandwiching the pasta and the other ingredients in the middle, his face lit right back up again.

“Ooh, this is good! I like this slippery poitan much better this way!”

“Really? I think it’s tastier the normal way, though,” Morun Rutim retorted.

“The taste may not be any different, but I don’t care for eating stuff bit by bit! Isn’t food so much more enjoyable when you stuff your cheeks full?”

“That’s just how you like things, dad. Ah, but it may be good to try dipping baked poitan in this soup, actually...”

The father and daughter pair from the Rutim really seemed to be enjoying a nice, friendly meal together.

As for the members of Varkas’s group...half of them were actually showing a reaction now: the girl from the west, Shilly Rou, and the large man from the south, Bozl.

“This...is tasty. And it’s my first time eating such a dish too,” Bozl stated in a deep, throaty voice. His rugged face wore a look of intense surprise.

Next to him, Shilly Rou sat there silently. If I had to describe her expression, I’d say it had grown stern.

“This meat especially! So this is the giba meat I’ve heard so much about, is it? You smoked it over herbs, didn’t you?”

“That’s right. It’s smoked meat made to emphasize taste rather than preservation.”

“Well, it’s delicious. And the sausage used in the soup dish is just as good too. To think such a high-class ingredient was overlooked for decades... It really is something else.”

I was a bit concerned by Shilly Rou’s silence, but Bozl seemed a lot like the other folks from Jagar I was familiar with, not putting on airs at all.

“You are Sir Asuta of the Fa clan, correct? Was this dish truly made from poitan?” the tall old man Tatumai asked. Varkas’s group seemed to be having no issues whirling the pasta around their three-pronged utensils and eating it.

“It was. Or to be precise, it’s a mix of around seven parts fuwano to three parts poitan. And then I added kimyuus egg and reten oil too.”

“I see. This dish is almost like shaska.”

“Shaska?”

“It is a grain gathered from the mountains and central plains of Sym. It’s eaten in long and thin strips like this.”

“Is that so? Then do folks from Sym have a custom of slurping dishes like this?”

“Yes, when it’s served along with hot broth. But when shaska is baked or boiled, it’s eaten by wrapping it around like this.”

So this old man really did have blood from Sym, then? In that case, Varkas had assistants from the west, south, and east all working under him.

Does that mean Varkas is well versed in the cuisine of Sym and Jagar too? I think I might be a bit jealous if he is, I thought to myself as I turned to look at the other chef, only for an unwitting “Huh?” to slip out of my mouth. The plates of pasta and minestrone sitting in front of him were both completely empty.

“Y-You already ate all of it, Varkas?”

“Yes. It was very good.” With scrutinizing eyes that were the same green color as Bozl’s, he stared back at me. “If you do not mind, I would appreciate you eating my dishes before they get cold, Sir Asuta.”

“Ah, right. Sorry about that.”

While I was distracted by Dan Rutim, the women had all finished their portions. Though Reina Ruu and Toor Deen had worn indistinct expressions before, they now looked just as serious as they had during the previous taste test with Varkas. Seeing their reaction, I hurried up and gave the soup and fuwano dishes a taste myself.

The soup was a familiar creamy white dish. It used both karon milk and a bunch of herbs, making for a truly complex aroma.

As for the fuwano dish, it had the appearance of a bread twist. However, it was ever so slightly pink. It had a clear sauce over it, giving it a glistening shine too.

I went ahead and started with the karon milk soup.

I thought I had steeled myself properly...but I was still left awestruck.

Varkas’s true nature had been restrained with the appetizer, but here it was on full display. It really was an incredibly complex taste. Just how many different herbs had he used here? I could taste spiciness, bitterness, and sourness in the dish. But above all else, it was sweet, and there was plenty of umami in it too.

The sweetness likely came from karon milk, milk fat, and sugar. And the umami, of course, was from the meat, vegetables, and countless seasonings. When I tried feeling around in the soup with my wooden spoon, I was able to come across karon meat and chamcham.

The karon meat was shockingly tender. It definitely had to be torso rather than leg meat. It was even softer than the karon meat in the dish Naudis had served me the other day, to the point that I didn’t even need to chew it to break it down.

On top of that, the texture of the bamboo shoot-like chamcham was quite pleasant. The fibers from the meat and the chamcham intertwined, until it almost felt like you could mistake the vegetable for the actual meat.

Beyond that, there were three varieties of mushrooms and two different vegetables in the soup. Pseudo-shiitake, cloud ear, and common mushroom; daikon-like sheema; and potato-like chatchi were all there in the dish.

Every last one of those ingredients had wonderful textures. That shiitake-like mushroom had been rehydrated and had the same chewiness as any high-class meat. And the cloud ear and common mushroom equivalents were nice and springy too... As for the sheema and chatchi steeped in flavor, they were quite soft from being boiled right to the brink of breaking down, and soon combined with the rest of the soup in my mouth.

I could sense intuitively that the amount of time he heated each ingredient for must have differed. Though he had boiled the meat and vegetables to the point that they nearly broke down, he had carefully adjusted the flames to emphasize the texture of the mushrooms and chamcham. It had to be the result of carefully examining each ingredient one by one and experimenting to determine how long each needed to be cooked.

And of course, the strange flavoring was worthy of special mention. Though there was even some bitterness in the mix this time around, it was still all in perfect equilibrium. If the bitterness were to be removed, the remaining sweetness, spiciness, and sourness would run wild and ruin everything...or at least, that was how it felt to me.

Aah... What a seriously strange flavor.

I had had numerous opportunities to try dishes that emphasized karon milk and herbs before now. Yang had served me one just the other day, and then there was Roy and Timalo’s cooking too. In all likelihood, karon milk soup was seen as a tried and true dish here in the castle town.

Also...this taste was probably what they were all aiming for.

This dish had what their cooking lacked, and it lacked what was excessive in their dishes too. I couldn’t help but think so, even though I still wouldn’t say it was perfectly delicious without any reservations.

“I created the stock for this soup using kimyuus bones, seaweed, and six varieties of herbs...and I marinated the karon breast meat in a combination of mamaria vinegar and fruit wine.”

“So you pickled it, huh? I didn’t sense any sourness from the meat itself, though.”

“I used significantly more fruit wine than vinegar. The sour flavor should have dissolved in the stock.”

It was definitely not a dish I ever could have come up with. I felt an uncontrollable stirring in my chest as I reached out for the fuwano dish.

It was like a pink twist roll. As I thought to myself how strange its shape was, I observed it carefully and found he hadn’t merely twisted fuwano dough, but rather combined a number of different strands together to make a braid of sorts. Since it was coated in a clear sauce, I went ahead and used utensils similar to a fork and knife rather than grabbing it with my hands.

Spread rather densely throughout the inside of the roll were these translucent milky white chips. Steeling my resolve, I took a bite, only for an unexpected taste to spread through my mouth. It was the scent of the ocean that had drifted up to my nose, and it felt similar to shrimp. Had he dried and sliced up some sort of sweet shrimp-like crustacean, then?

“I combined the fuwano dough with ground maroll meat and shells, which I then mixed with dried fish broth and baked it. There is minmi fruit kneaded into the dish as well.”

“Minmi? You mean that expensive fruit from Jagar?”

“Yes. Unripened minmi that hasn’t yet grown sweet.”

Minmi was a very expensive fruit akin to a peach. I had thought for sure those chips were made from that maroll crustacean, but I had been completely off the mark. Instead, it seemed he had actually flavored the fuwano dough itself here. The minmi fruit was just there to give it a bit of texture. And it was then that I finally realized that the dish had a finer texture to it than ordinary baked fuwano. It was so soft that you could mash it up in your mouth without even using your teeth.

If this dish didn’t include the minmi fruit, eating it might have been like eating a ball of flour. However, the texture didn’t stand out enough to draw your attention. And then there was that clear sauce... In all likelihood it had been made by combining milk fat with a variety of different oils, and it served to counteract the flouriness of the dish and allow it to slide smoothly down the throat.

As for the taste, aside from the slight saltiness from the dried fish stock, it actually wasn’t all that strong. Still, the scent from the crustacean sure did fill my nose. This one had a gentle, delicate flavor to it, completely unlike the soup dish.

“You didn’t use any herbs in this dish, did you?”

“I did not. If I were to use herbs in all my dishes, it would give the tongue no time to rest,” Varkas replied as he slowly rose to his feet. “There are three dishes remaining. We should finish up this taste test before too much time passes.”

3

We ended up bringing out the vegetable and meat dishes together.

For my vegetable dish I went with a caprese salad, while I had decided on Milan-style cutlets for my meat dish.

“Ooh! Are these giba cutlets?!”

“Yes, but I did something a little different with them.”

While it was probably a little late to be saying so, my theme this time around was Italian-style dishes. The Tsurumi Restaurant centered mainly on western dishes, but even aside from that, my old man just loved Italian cooking.

“Japanese cooking and Italian dishes are a lot alike. I’m not saying they taste similar, but in the way they think about cooking,” my old man had once said.

Japan and Italy were both sea nations that were blessed with plenty of ingredients both from the water and the mountains, and their climates were similar too. My old man’s pet theory was that they handled ingredients similarly in some ways as a result.

Well, it might have just been that he liked it, with no need to look for any such deeper meaning. I was personally quite fond of tomato sauce, and had once served a rather wild piccata dish to Lefreya, so perhaps that was something I had inherited from him.

Since I had heard folks from Banarm were fond of dairy products, I hit upon the idea to use Italian cooking rather than Japanese, Chinese, or western-style Japanese dishes, so my menu would emphasize milk fat and dried milk. But if that was the way I wanted to go, I didn’t have too many choices for my meat dish. With my limited knowledge, all I could come up with were Italian-style hamburger steak with tarapa and dried milk, piccata, and the Milan-style cutlets I ultimately went with.

On top of that, Polarth and Leeheim were already familiar with my giba burgers with tarapa sauce. It would probably put a damper on things for nobles like them if I served up something so similar to what was sold at the stalls in the post town. So, considering the favorable reception given to my giba tatsuta age last time around, I decided to go with the Milan-style cutlets.

However, I didn’t exactly know the proper way to make them. I couldn’t tell you the long official Italian name for the dish either. Ultimately, I just had to aim for Italian-style cutlets using the same reference points I did for the piccata.

There were two big things that made this dish different from my usual cutlets: the dried milk sprinkled over the coating, and the use of milk fat in the frying oil.

The cut I went with was naturally sirloin. After carefully cutting the tendons, I tenderized the fibers. After giving it some base-level seasoning with salt and pico leaves, I covered the meat in flour and kimyuus eggs, then breaded it with baked fuwano crumbs. The flour was mixed with a bit of the mustard-like herb Varkas had taught me was called sarfaal. I also added ground gyama dried milk to the baked fuwano crumbs I was using in place of panko.

Next, I fried it in reten oil with added milk fat. Since reten oil had a similar aroma to olive oil, it was a great fit with the dishes this time around.

I left it up to the guests to decide whether they wanted to use sheel fruit juice or tarapa sauce. But thanks to the abundant aroma from the sarfaal and milk fat, I figured some of them might decide it didn’t need any sauce at all.

To accompany it, I carefully sautéed up some ro’hyoi, nenon, and that brown beech-like mushroom in milk fat. In the end, I’d say it came out every bit as good as my usual giba cutlets and giba tatsuta age.

As for my vegetable dish that would be presented before the meat dish during the actual welcome banquet, I had gone with a caprese salad. It was a simple dish in which I used tarapa and dried milk. First I thinly sliced up those small sweet tarapa sold in the castle town, then made similarly thin slices of karon dried milk, and laid them out in a line of alternating, overlapping slices, dried milk and then tarapa, back and forth. Karon dried milk was a lot like a plain mozzarella cheese, which made it a good fit for the dish.

To add a bit of color, I gave it some parboiled ro’hyoi too, and then poured my specially made dressing overtop. I used less mamaria vinegar and myamuu than with the carpaccio, and finished with panam honey for a touch of subtle seasoning so that it would have a somewhat gentle flavor overall. In the actual banquet it would be served between the cream pasta and the cutlets, so I had chosen it to act as an intermezzo.

“Ah, this is tasty,” a voice loudly proclaimed from the end of the table. But rather than Dan Rutim, it was the Sauti man who said that. The large young hunter with a homely face shook his head with a look of great admiration. “All of the dishes are delicious, but this one is really something else. The Sauti women have received a few lessons from the Rutim, but they can’t match this at all.”

“Hmm... I think the giba cutlets I ate before were tastier, though,” Dan Rutim chimed in with a frown. “Why is that? It’s still delicious, but it feels like something’s lacking. Just what is going on here, Asuta?”

“I’m sure it’s because I didn’t use giba fat to fry them. Since the people of the forest’s edge have eaten giba for so many years, their fat is probably more to your tastes than reten oil or milk fat.”

This time around I was mainly aiming to serve nobles, though, so I used reten oil instead. After all, karon milk fat didn’t blend well with giba lard.

“I see. Well, this is a meal made for nobles, so there’s no reason for me to go complaining.”

Even as he said that, though, Dan Rutim’s frown remained fixed in place. But I figured I could wash away his displeasure just by showing him the special dish I had prepared.

“Well then, I figure it’s best for you people of the forest’s edge to not eat such a huge amount of fried food, so why don’t you have some of this to make up for it?”

It was a dish I had prepared solely for the people of the forest’s edge. I knew perfectly well that a single cutlet wouldn’t be enough to satisfy the formidable appetites of the men in particular.

When he saw the plate Ama Min Rutim was bringing around, Dan Rutim was overjoyed. It likely went without saying, but the dish in question was giba ribs.

“The kitchen here has a furnace, so I wanted to try baking the ribs in it. There’s more than enough, so feel free to grab seconds.”

“Asuta, you tease! You should have said so from the start!”

“Being disappointed at first means you’ll be even happier in the end, right?”

Having already done my research, I knew that the Milan-style cutlets hadn’t been especially well received by the Fa and Ruu clans. It seemed that giba cutlets were a special dish for the people of the forest’s edge, what with the way that frying giba meat in giba fat condensed that delicious giba flavor. Even Jiza Ruu had admitted they were tasty.

But I was sure folks from the castle town would prefer the Milanese cutlets, which were made with milk fat and dried milk. My decision was driven by my recent realization that nobles had cooking that was suited to them, and the same was true for the people of the forest’s edge.

“Sir Asuta, could I also try some of that dish?” the southerner Bozl’s deep voice called out from the opposite side of the table. “This fried dish is incredibly delicious. I’ve been left dumbstruck with shock ever since I tasted it.”

“Thank you. I’m honored to hear you say that.”

When I held out the plate of ribs to him, Bozl broke out in a big grin. Despite his fierce appearance, his smile was totally earnest. Any time a southerner smiled, I couldn’t help but think how charming it was.

“Please go ahead and try my cooking as well, Sir Asuta...” Varkas then chimed in.

Looking over, I saw that his plates were once again empty. I still had yet to even see the man take a bite.

“Right, I’ll do that now... Would you like to try some of these ribs too, Varkas?”

“Yes, I would be glad to.”

After offering Varkas some ribs, I went ahead and turned toward my own plates, containing the vegetable and meat dishes.

In terms of appearances, the vegetable dish was the one that really drew the eye. There were green, red, and yellow fibers wrapped up into a shape that was all round and poofy. It definitely was a dish with a bizarre appearance.

Looking closely, it was made of thinly sliced strings of vegetables that were then gathered together into a nice little sphere around the size of a ping pong ball. Their density was so low that it felt like you could see right through them, and a little wind would be enough to send them flying.

Though I was being figurative by calling them strings, they had to be so thin that you’d measure them in millimeters. And those reds and greens all had varying shades, giving it the appearance of a colorful decoration. However, there didn’t seem to be any sort of sauce or dressing over it. Was it a dish where he just thinly sliced raw vegetables and herbs into strips and then bundled them all together?

Timidly, I picked one up with my own personal chopsticks. Despite how soft it looked, the shape didn’t break down at all. It just bent slightly where I was applying pressure.

When I tossed it into my mouth and chewed...an aroma every bit as extravagant as the dish’s coloring burst forth.

He really had used herbs after all. It was stunningly striking. And it had a crispy texture that reminded me of shrimp chips. Apparently they weren’t raw, but rather smoked.

The flavor from the vegetables wasn’t very distinct. It was almost as if I was eating an aroma that had taken shape. Sweet, spicy, bitter, sour...a bunch of scents were racing around my nose in perfect harmony. It made sense that it didn’t need any sauce or dressing with that kind of flavor profile.

Still...can you really make a dish like this without seasonings?

As I had that thought, I tried focusing the nerves in my tongue, but I really couldn’t pick out the presence of sugar, salt, vinegar, or anything else like that at all. He had made something this sweet, spicy, bitter, and sour using only vegetables and herbs.

It wasn’t the sort of dish where you questioned whether or not it was tasty. It was just plainly unreal. In fact, it was difficult to believe it was made by human hands, only using primitive firewood-fueled stoves and the like.

Then, there was the meat dish.

Actually, it was more of a fish dish. But which of those four types was it? Since it was thinly sliced, I couldn’t tell what it originally looked like.

Nothing looked especially odd about this one. The white meat of the fish was wrapped in a dark brown coating. Despite there being no signs that he had used any oil, it had an appearance similar to fried food.

The green leaf spread out underneath it must have been boiled ro’hyoi. And the red bits sprinkled over top were probably chitt seeds. Compared to the other dishes up till now, this one was definitely the least showy. However, judging by what I could see of the fish’s cross section, it didn’t seem to have any moisture left in it at all. If it was completely dried out, I had trouble seeing how it could be something I would call delicious, even as flattery.

Still, Varkas wasn’t the sort to present any kind of dull dish, especially considering the meat dish was the main course. So though I had been thrown off by the vegetable dish, I worked up my resolve and took a bite.

And the taste that spread through my mouth...

“Ooh, yummy!” a voice energetically proclaimed from my side. Rimee Ruu was holding some of that sliced fish on a metal skewer, a beaming smile spreading across her face. “This dish is really, really good! I’m not sure about the others, but I love this one!”

“Yeah,” I agreed after swallowing.

Then, I turned back toward Varkas.

“I believe that folks from the castle town and the forest’s edge each have their own differing tastes. And as someone born in another nation entirely, it’s hard for me to find the words to describe your cooking...but it’s no exaggeration to say that I find this fish absolutely amazing.”

“I’m honored,” was all that Varkas had to say in response.

Reina and Sheera Ruu both looked to be at a loss for words. And the same was also true for Toor Deen. Ama Min and Morun Rutim both looked surprised, but even they were sighing in satisfaction.

It seemed that every last one of our seven chefs found the dish delicious. Despite the fact that they didn’t like complex tastes or perhaps didn’t even understand them, these people of the forest’s edge had accepted it as good.

Naturally, I had no objections either. While I found that vegetable dish impossible to analyze, this fish dish was incredibly tasty. It didn’t deviate from my personal tastes either. While I was certain he used all sorts of herbs to make it, it was all in splendid harmony.

It really was incredibly mysterious, how it didn’t aim in any particular direction and had all sorts of opposing tastes running along different lines, but with a firm core converging in the middle of it all.

Sure enough, I couldn’t sense any moisture or fat from the fish itself. However, the vibrant brown coating made up for that. Seriously, just what in the world was up with that coating? It was only around five millimeters or so thick, with a crispy outermost layer, while below that it had a light crunchiness, then the surface touching the meat had plenty of moisture and fat. It was as if it had hundreds of layers only micrometers thick all stacked atop one another.

The umami of the meat was wonderfully condensed. The fish taste was solid too, and didn’t get lost at all in the kaleidoscope of other flavors.

“For that dish, I seared a gilebuss fish over the course a day,” Varkas calmly stated. “I used eight herbs and twelve different ingredients, coating it every half hour with sparkling wine from Jagar that had the alcohol content removed. Personally, I see it as one of my greatest creations.”

“Twelve different ingredients, huh...? You used kimyuus egg and fuwano flour, right? Then salt, sugar, tau oil, and milk fat...and I believe I sensed the taste of ramanpa too.”

“Correct on all fronts. The others were arow and minmi fruit juice, panam honey, squeezed juice from a dried kiki, and boiled mamaria vinegar.”

“And then you added eight herbs to the mix, creating this complex yet delicate flavor.”

By using fuwano flour and egg, he was able to create a coating that made it seem as if the fish had been fried. With a shake of my head, I clasped my hands together tightly, as I felt like they were about to start trembling.

“My compliments to you. This meal...at the very least this fish course, is clearly better than the meat course I prepared.”

“What?! That’s quite the statement, Asuta!” Dan Rutim interjected, leaning forward and looking angry. “Didn’t you say you couldn’t judge whether cooking from the castle town was good or not?! And yet you admit your loss?!”

“I don’t think cooking is about winning or losing. I just feel that Varkas’s dish is tastier than the cutlets I made.”

Letting out a strange “Hrngh” sound, Dan Rutim energetically turned toward his daughter. “Morun! Let me try that too!”

“Huh? But I was taking it slow to savor it,” Morun Rutim protested, and yet she held out the plate for her father without hesitation. Dan Rutim grabbed it with his hand and popped a bite of fish into his mouth.

“I see... It really may be tastier than those cutlets that don’t use any giba fat,” he admitted, turning his bulky chest and belly away. “But normal giba cutlets definitely wouldn’t lose! And besides, I think this rib meat is even more delicious!”

Having heard that, Ai Fa now turned toward Rimee Ruu. “Rimee Ruu, my apologies, but could you share some of that dish with me?”

“Yeah, I don’t mind!” the young girl replied, holding out her plate with a smile. There was a custom that you shouldn’t eat food someone outside of your family had bitten into, but that didn’t apply when it came to little kids under ten.

When Ai Fa took a bite of Varkas’s main course, she nodded with a serious look on her face. “Yes, this certainly is good. Unlike the previous dishes from the castle town I have tasted, I find it delicious. In fact, it could even be better than giba cutlets,” Ai Fa stated, and then she calmly turned my way. “But I feel that hamburger steak is the most delicious of all, Asuta.”

“Right... Thanks.”

Neither Ai Fa nor Dan Rutim were the sort to lie because they didn’t like someone. Actually, nobody at the forest’s edge would do something like that. So they meant what they said. Hamburger steak was the dish most to Ai Fa’s tastes, and for Dan Rutim it was ribs.

“But that’s not how you feel, is it?” Ai Fa stated, seeing right through me. “In that case, your only choice is to continue training. Keep polishing your skills until you yourself are satisfied.”

“Yeah. That’s just what I intend to do, naturally.” In order to work up my resolve, I went ahead and stood from my chair. “Well, it seems like everyone is mostly finished, so let’s wrap things up with the final course. I hope that they’re to everyone’s liking.”

The last dish I had prepared for dessert was a quasi-pudding. Unfortunately, I lacked the knowledge needed to prepare Italian sweets like tiramisu or panna cotta, so I ended up having to compromise right at the very end.

On top of that, I didn’t even know how to make proper pudding either. In fact, I didn’t even know if it was possible to make it without a refrigerator. Ultimately, this was more of a mock pudding adapted from a recipe for steamed egg custard.

With steamed egg custard, you could use a steamer to make it. My plan was simply to use karon milk and sugar instead of the soup stock used in Japanese savory custards, so I’d end up with something approximately correct. But, well, it wasn’t exactly like I had any fixed standards when it came to making sweets.

Even so, it wasn’t as if I cut corners when making it. Since it was a simple dish that just involved diluting a beaten egg and steaming it, I did a bunch of experiments with the flavoring and texture.

After the pudding itself was fully steamed in a clay container and I poured caramel sauce made from sugar over it, I topped it with fresh cream and arow jam. Normally I would want to serve it chilled, but there was no way to do anything about that. Since the pudding itself wasn’t overly sweet, the cream and jam served to add more sugar to the mix. In the end, I felt it hadn’t turned out half bad, even served at room temperature.

“Yay, pudding!” Rimee Ruu excitedly proclaimed. She and Toor Deen, as well as Yun Sudra who wasn’t present, had really enjoyed the mock pudding when they taste tested it.

“Hmm, it’s not a flavor I’m accustomed to, but it’s still delicious,” Dan Rutim commented, looking to be in a good mood. Since Deem Rutim and the Sauti man didn’t look all that displeased either, Ai Fa might have been the one who was least fond of the dish.

As for the dish Varkas had prepared, it was another one with a really strange appearance. Honestly, they looked like marshmallows in various colors. However, when I gave one a poke, I found that it wasn’t soft. Instead, it felt hard like a cookie. Though the colors were all a bit indistinct, there were white, yellow, red, and blue ones.

When I took a bite, a gentle sweetness filled my mouth. I had chosen a white one, and from the peach-like flavor, it must have used minmi juice. The texture was like a slightly soft cookie, with only the surface being crisp.

“There are plenty of chefs out there who use strong flavoring for their sweets, but I find gentle flavors like this to be more fitting. This dish is made using kimyuus egg whites.”

In that case, perhaps it would be proper to call them meringue cookies.

“The white is minmi, the yellow sheel, the red arow, and the blue uses the juice of a scarce fruit called amansa.”

“Amansa? I’m not familiar with it.”

When I gave it a try, I found it had a rich and refreshing flavor similar to a blueberry. Overly rare and expensive ingredients weren’t sold in the post town, so I had no way to get my hands on them. And this amansa fruit apparently fell into that category.

At any rate, it felt like this dessert was gently comforting me after I was so thoroughly shaken by Varkas’s main course. Or maybe it was more than a feeling, and it was actually soothing my tongue after the shock from all those herbs. I figured that was Varkas’s thinking, at least.

While I was considering that, Varkas had apparently finished my steamed pudding, and his green eyes were now idly looking my way.

“You also used kimyuus eggs in this dish, didn’t you? The white substance is the fat from karon milk, the brown sauce is dissolved sugar, and then I believe you boiled arow fruit along with sugar and honey.”

“Amazing insight. Do you like it?”

“Yes. And not just this dish. Everything you prepared was delicious, Sir Asuta,” Varkas calmly stated, setting down his empty plate. “You’re just as skilled as I hoped... No, even more so. You are a truly wonderful chef. It’s quite astounding, considering your youth.”

“I’m honored. And I was impressed by your skills all over again, so if I didn’t betray your expectations then I’m glad to hear it.”

“I am truly glad as well. You really could become a worthy rival for me, Sir Asuta.”

While Varkas’s eyes remained expressionless, they took on a gentle shine. But just then, an unfamiliar voice cried out, “What are you saying?!”

When I turned in surprise to look, I found a brown haired girl standing there with anger written all over her face. It was Shilly Rou, who had remained silent up until now.

“It’s absolute nonsense, calling someone so young a worthy rival. I can’t just ignore such absurdity!”

“Such comments are ill-mannered of you, Shilly Rou. Did you not experience Sir Asuta’s skills yourself just now?” Varkas didn’t seem shaken in the least, and that appeared to stir up the girl’s fury further.

“It’s true that this Asuta chef is exceedingly skilled. No mere half-baked chef could possibly stand up to him. But even so, there’s no way that he measures up to your skill level, Varkas!”

“If that’s what you truly think, then you should be ashamed of your own ignorance, Shilly Rou.”

“But why?! Even...even I can cook better than that man!”

Varkas expressionlessly shook his head. “That is precisely the ignorance I spoke of. Sir Asuta, how many times have you handled rillione fish now?”

“Huh? You mean the fish I used for the appetizer, right? Since I also received one to experiment with, this would be my third time.”

“I see. And I believe you said that it was just two months ago when you first laid hands on herbs from Sym, and it has been merely half a month since you first used chan and ro’hyoi.”

“Y-You certainly know a lot about me.”

“Yes. I inquired about everything with Sir Polarth, as a matter of course. And you had not even set foot in the castle town until three months ago. From what I was told, you were cooking with just the shabby ingredients on offer in the post town up until then.” After saying that, Varkas slowly turned back toward Shilly Rou. “I understand that Sir Asuta did not have too much difficulty because similar ingredients existed back in his home country, but even if they were like one another, they most certainly were not identical. Even so, do you still insist that you possess the same level of skill as Sir Asuta, Shilly Rou?”

“B-But...!”

“Even if we are to assume you possessed a level of skill near Sir Asuta’s, that would still not be something to be a braggart about. I’m ashamed in you.” Varkas’s tone and expression hadn’t shifted. However, the words themselves caused Shilly Rou’s face to go pale.

“Master Varkas, I ask that you leave things at that. Shilly Rou is still only seventeen, after all,” the tall old man Tatumai interjected from his seat between them, turning toward Varkas. “I believe that young people need to have something of a rebellious spirit. And furthermore, her anger is grounded in her respect for you above anyone else, so I believe it is harsh to criticize her so.”

“That’s true,” Bozl chimed in with a somewhat strained smile. “Besides, Shilly Rou is the only one of us who could possibly measure up to Sir Asuta. It’s no surprise she couldn’t just turn a blind eye to your words, Sir Varkas.”

Varkas looked over his three apprentices in turn, and then turned back toward me.

“At any rate, I hope that you will forgive my apprentice’s rudeness, Sir Asuta.”

“Ah, no, please don’t worry about it.”

“Indeed! When you’re young, it’s far better to be brash than timid, don’t you think?!” Naturally, that bit of banter had come from Dan Rutim.

Still, his frank statement definitely helped to ease the tension that had sprung up. The relaxed atmosphere we’d enjoyed so far returned to the room. However, Shilly Rou alone had her lips tightly pursed, bitter tears welling up in her big eyes. And those eyes weren’t staring at Varkas, but rather were glaring my way with open hostility.

4

Exactly one hour after sunset, we headed to the hall where the banquet was being held.

After carrying the completed dishes to a room adjoining the banquet hall, the first course to be served up was the appetizers. If we weren’t bringing the dishes directly from the kitchen then I didn’t see the need to serve them to the guests one by one, but, well, this was how they did things in Genos.

The group that would be heading into the banquet hall included me and Ama Min Rutim, Varkas and Shilly Rou, and Ai Fa and the Sauti man to serve as bodyguards. We also borrowed the help of some pages, who were bringing a serving cart with utensils. Just like last time, Ai Fa and the other hunter stood by the door and watched over us as we worked.

“Ah, excellent work, everyone. Allow me to introduce you to our guests from Banarm. These are the chefs who manned the kitchen to prepare tonight’s dinner, Varkas of The Silver Star and Asuta of the forest’s edge.” The man who welcomed us was none other than Duke Marstein Genos, who I hadn’t seen for around two months and ten days. The ruler of Genos had long brown hair, a pretentious mustache fitting for a noble, a slim and youthful appearance, and a gentle manner overall...and yet, it was always difficult somehow to get a good read on him.

The nobles from the previous banquet were also present: Polarth from the house of Daleim, Leeheim from the house of Saturas, Lefreya and Torst from the house of Turan, Melfried from the ducal house of Genos, and Welhide from the house of Banarm.

The only other guests I recognized were Diel, Arishuna, and Dari Sauti, which left more than ten unfamiliar faces. But next to Welhide there were two men wearing the same sort of red formal attire as him, so I figured they must belong to the envoy group from Banarm. Then there were six additional middle-aged men and four young noblewomen.

“Well then, it’s already become quite dark outside, so shall we go ahead and get this banquet started?”

Apparently, they had already completely finished introductions, so we went ahead and started setting out the food quickly and efficiently. First up was my carpaccio and Varkas’s appetizer with the small chips and fish paste.

“These appetizers use rillione fish.”

Rather than leaving it to the pages, Varkas handled the task of serving his dish himself, alongside Shilly Rou. Though the girl had seemed to be on the verge of breaking down in bitter tears not that long ago, her face was now as composed as a theater mask as she worked.

“Ooh, I had heard rumors about such things, but you really can eat fish in Genos, can you? And this one is most certainly quite shocking. A dish that uses uncooked fish?” the older man seated beside Welhide said with a smile as he stroked his well-maintained mustache. The somewhat obese man beside him was looking at the two dishes with great suspicion.

“There’s nothing to worry about. The fish were brought here to the Turan manor from far off towns while still alive, so they are as fresh as a karon slaughtered just this day. Isn’t that right, Varkas?”

“Quite right indeed, Duke Genos.”

“Well then, let’s hurry up and get started. I haven’t had your cooking for several months now, so I’ve been greatly looking forward to it.” Perhaps noting how hesitant some of the guests were, Marstein took the initiative and reached for Varkas’s dish. “Ah, this is delicious. Even the head chef of the castle cannot hope to compete with you when it comes to cooking fish, Varkas.”

“I’m honored by your generous words.” The indistinct aura about Varkas didn’t change in the least, even when standing before Duke Genos. But now that Marstein had kicked things off, the guests all started eating the dishes one by one.

“Ooh, your dish is also excellent, Sir Asuta. There cannot be many chefs in Genos who can prepare fish so skillfully.”

Surprisingly, that comment had come from Torst. Polarth, meanwhile, was chowing down and seemed quite satisfied, while Leeheim...he clearly looked to be in an even worse mood than the last time I’d seen him.

The last time I had laid eyes on Leeheim was during that whole quarrel with Reina Ruu. Just as Polarth had said, his anger didn’t seem to have receded at all over the course of the past half month. If Polarth hadn’t warned me, I would have asked Reina Ruu to help with the serving rather than Ama Min Rutim, which definitely could have been problematic.

At any rate, all the other guests looked quite satisfied. However, not one of them was speaking up. It was probably just like with the taste testing—many of them were eating raw fish for the first time, so they found it hard to put their feelings into words.

I guess it’s the novelty of the experience winning out over the taste? It really might not have been suitable as an appetizer, just like Varkas said, I thought to myself, while the pages brought in the next dishes.

“This is a soup prepared with karon milk and karon breast meat.”

“My soup dish uses tarapa and giba sausages.”

With that, that karon soup with its complicated flavor and aroma was served alongside my minestrone. The first one to speak up this time around was Diel.

“Yes, this is quite tasty. The tarapa soup and giba meat are both delicious.” Her whole voice was sounding more ladylike than normal, even beyond just her tone. Though, at the exact moment I thought that, Diel’s eyes narrowed into a glare aimed at me from across the room. Her intuition might have been as sharp as that of a person of the forest’s edge.

“So this is the giba meat I’ve heard so much about, is it? Hmm, it certainly has an unusual shape,” the older noble said as he stared curiously at the plate of minestrone. It seemed that he wasn’t familiar with sausages.

“Still, aren’t giba those beasts that are considered symbols of calamity here in Genos? Is there really any value in eating such a thing instead of karon?” the plump noble by his side asked.

Instantly, Welhide furrowed his brow and replied, “This is part of a banquet Duke Genos had prepared for us. It is far too rude to say such things, so...”

“Ah, no need to get so worked up. How about I go ahead and give it a taste first?”

Maintaining a gentle smile, the older noble thrust his three-pronged utensil into a giba sausage. His healthy-looking teeth bit into it. He chewed several times with his broad jaws...and then his eyes shot wide open.

“Ooh. This...is delicious. And it is shockingly tender as well. This is smoked giba meat?”

“Yes. First I packed minced meat into an intestine casing, then I smoked it, and finally boiled it.”

“Hmm, it truly is amazing. This meat is certainly every bit as good as karon.”

“That can’t be right,” the plump noble grumbled, grabbing hold of the plate of minestrone. But before long, his eyes also shot open in shock.

“What do you think? I wasn’t lying, was I?” Welhide triumphantly declared, and then his gaze turned my way. The earnest and enthusiastic young noble seemed to be the same as I remembered. It honestly made me feel a bit self-conscious, thinking of how this young noble had been spreading the news of how delicious giba cooking was around his hometown of Banarm.

“My, it really is delicious.”

“I can’t believe it. Is this truly giba meat?”

“Even putting the giba meat aside, this whole dish is simply wonderful.”

The noblewomen were excitedly chatting away. All of them were young ladies dressed up in gorgeous attire, and they didn’t seem to hold any official posts. So were they ultimately invited to the banquet just to liven things up?

“But it certainly is not as if this other dish falls short of it, don’t you agree?” an unfamiliar noble in a neighboring seat chimed in. Instantly, the banquet hall was filled with voices appraising which one was better.

“Both are delicious. Asuta, your skills have grown so much over these past few months that they hardly seem recognizable,” Marstein declared in a gentle yet clear voice. “What do you think, leading clan head of the forest’s edge Dari Sauti? I hope that you are able to enjoy this banquet even more than the previous one.”

“Well, this dish definitely has an unusual taste, but it isn’t hard to get down at all,” Dari Sauti stated, at which point the room suddenly got a lot quieter.

It seemed hunters of the forest’s edge really were treated differently by nobles, and those under them as well. Dari Sauti possessed a larger frame than anyone else present, and when you added in the sword at his hip and the giba pelt he wore, I could certainly see how plenty of the lords and ladies would feel intimidated.

“This is also my first time eating Asuta’s cooking since our last shared banquet, so I’m very surprised myself at how much he’s improved.”

“I see. The settlement at the forest’s edge is wide, so does that mean not just anyone can enjoy Asuta’s cooking so easily?”

“That’s right. People in the post town have been eating it every single day, but those of us whose houses are far removed from the Fa clan aren’t able to. Something I can’t help but regret a little when eating such delicious food,” Dari Sauti said with a smile. He looked like a really gentle guy with that expression on his face. Well, he had an especially calm and mild nature for man of the forest’s edge to begin with.

But still, he didn’t smile even once at the previous banquet. Guess that goes to show how much his distrust toward the nobles has lightened up.

Or perhaps he was intentionally trying to put on a friendly face. Even if he wasn’t on the level of Gazraan Rutim, he seemed to have a solid understanding of the art of socialization.

“Well then, now for the next dish,” Varkas stated, presenting a fresh plate. “This fuwano dish has maroll meat and shells kneaded into it.”

“My dish uses fuwano and poitan and is called pasta.”

This time around, the hall filled with voices full of wonder. There seemed to be a great deal of surprise at the strange dish I had presented—my giba bacon cream pasta. Visually, my dish definitely left a stronger impression than the twist rolls.

“You eat this by twisting your three-pronged utensils around to wrap it up. If you support the underside with a spoon, that should make it a little easier.”

With a commotion still filling the air, the guests began digging into their pasta.

From somewhere in the crowd, Polarth loudly called out, “Ah! This is delicious! Delicious, but unlike anything I’ve ever had! I’ve been trying not to speak up too much. Considering my deep friendship with Sir Asuta, I thought it best to allow others to form their own opinions...but I cannot simply keep silent after tasting this!”

“My. You acting so well-behaved just causes those around you to worry something is wrong, Polarth,” a noblewoman with an especially extravagant appearance chimed with an amused chuckle. Youthful and gorgeous, her yellowish-brown hair was done up high, and she wore a flowy pure-white dress. The gemstone-adorned necklace she wore sparkled brilliantly under the candlelight. “Still, this certainly is a scrumptious dish, unusual though it is. Did it indeed come from your home country, Asuta of the forest’s edge?”

“Yes. The ingredients are all from Genos, but this dish comes from my homeland.”

“While you are a person of the forest’s edge, you are also a visitor from overseas, correct? How wonderful. I would love to have you serve as a chef at my manor,” the young noblewoman stated.

However, an emotionless voice soon retorted, “Do not speak such foolishness.” Melfried’s chilly gray eyes like moonlight were calmly fixed on the woman. “You should refrain from saying something like that when you know full well what occurred between Asuta of the Fa clan and the house of Turan. Try to keep your position at least somewhat in mind.”

That was an entirely reasonable statement, but it didn’t exactly feel like something to be bringing up in front of Lefreya. I worriedly glanced over her way, but she looked perfectly composed as she wound up some pasta.

“Oh? I simply said what I truly felt. Is it really so unforgivable? It is not as if I suggested taking Asuta away by force.”

“As I said, such thoughtless statements are—”

“Since you act so stiff and formal, things wouldn’t be in balance if I wasn’t uninhibited, would you not say?”

Caught off guard, I looked back over at the noblewoman. How exactly could she speak so bluntly toward Melfried? Just as I started pondering that thought, Marstein ended up providing the answer with a smile.

“My apologies for surprising you like that, Asuta. This is Melfried’s wife, Eulifia.”

“Ah... Is that so?”

“Indeed. Though she’s only my daughter-in-law, people strangely seem to think she’s more similar to me than my own son, which can cause some trouble now and again.”

“My, I don’t believe I’m anywhere near as wicked as you are, Duke Genos,” Eulifia replied with a pleasant laugh. She must not have actually had any ill will behind that attitude. The other nobles soon were all chatting away with smiles of their own.

“But Eulifia, Asuta has earned a reputation as the greatest chef in the post town with his skills. If he were to end up serving nobles, that could garner further animosity from the people. You should suppress your desires in order to maintain the peace in Genos.”

“Is that so? Then perhaps I should also make purchases from his stalls in secret like Polarth does.”

“Eulifia,” Melfried stated, a sigh mixed in with his voice. His wife really must have been quite the woman to make a coolheaded man like him sigh.

“It is not as if I go there in person every time...” Polarth chipped in. “Still, this is a splendid dish. More than that, it feels as if these two fuwano dishes are drawing out the flavor in one another, but you two cannot possibly have arranged that in advance, correct, Sir Asuta and Sir Varkas?”

“Arranged it? Of course not...” Varkas expressionlessly replied.

“I see,” Polarth said with a broad grin. “Still, Sir Asuta’s creamy dish and Sir Varkas’s baked fuwano seem to pair quite well. I feel fortunate to be able to eat both dishes together.”

I was a bit surprised to hear that, but, well, it was all just a matter of chance. However, when Polarth said that, I got the feeling that Shilly Rou was glaring at me for just a moment. Had she distorted his words to take it as him saying Varkas and I were both equally skilled?

At any rate, half of the six courses were now finished. Next up, it was finally time for the vegetable dishes. And this time it was Varkas’s offering that drew everyone’s eyes.

“Oh, my... This is just as unusual as the previous fuwano dish.”

It was the one made by slicing thin strips of vegetables and herbs, and its aroma was overwhelming. We had been served ones that were around the size of ping pong balls, but now that they were being served for real, their size was more like tennis balls. It seemed the dish really was an original creation of Varkas’s, as everyone but Lefreya were raising their voices in wonder.

“How mysterious!”

“It is like eating an aroma itself!”

“How exactly did you go about creating such a dish?”

Things were steadily heating up throughout the banquet hall. But even as the guests chatted, things pressed onward and the next dishes were brought out: Varkas’s amazing basted fish, and my giba meat Milan-style cutlets. The nobles of Genos and the guests from Banarm were all in a tizzy as they ate our dishes. Though I personally felt I came up short of Varkas in regards to our meat dishes, fortunately nobody ended up complaining. But as the only one familiar with the taste of normal giba cutlets, Dari Sauti had a bit of a complicated look on his face.

“Aah, delicious! They are all so good, are they not, Lady Arishuna?” Polarth asked.

After remaining silent all this time, Arishuna nodded back. “Yes.”

Though her expression hadn’t changed at all, I had stealthily been watching her and saw that she had cleared every plate from the appetizers up to the meat dishes.

“Everyone seems like they’re really enjoying themselves, don’t they? Even though we’re right in the middle of the city of stone, it feels like I’m looking at a banquet at the forest’s edge,” Ama Min Rutim whispered to me.

It was true that things were getting lively enough to make that comparison. Of course, considering how the events at the forest’s edge just burst with energy, this felt very modest in comparison...but everyone’s excitement was clearly coming across.

Marstein was wearing a satisfied smile, and Welhide and company were intently focused on cutting meat. It went without saying that Polarth was getting all worked up, but several unfamiliar noblemen and women were proving every bit his match. Aside from a few exceptions like Melfried, Arishuna, and Dari Sauti, everyone was clearly bursting with joy.

“These are the final dishes, the sweets meant for dessert.”

Now my kimyuus-egg-based steamed pudding and Varkas’s meringue cookies that similarly used kimyuus egg were served. And the nobles all kept on smiling right up till the very end.

“Ah, what a truly splendid meal. It certainly was worth coming all the way from Banarm,” the older noble said as representative for the envoys. “Just what I would expect from a city known for its delicious food like Genos. It’s enough to make my head start aching, thinking about what food we could possibly prepare to satisfy you all when you visit Banarm.”

“Well, Banarm has cuisine all its own. Personally, karon dried milk hat bake is a favorite of mine,” Polarth tactfully chimed in with a broad smile.

The banquet seemed to be in full swing. Once we left, they would probably start drinking, just like they did at the forest’s edge. But at any rate, my job seemed to be done. And so, I was standing there beside the wall along with Ama Min Rutim, waiting for Marstein to dismiss us. But then, a young man’s voice complete with a sarcastic-sounding laugh rang out clearly.

“Still, the difference in skill was quite apparent this time around. The greatest chef in Genos is undoubtedly Varkas of The Silver Star.”

The one to say that was none other than Leeheim. Now that I thought about it, this might just have been the first time I had heard him speak tonight.

“Oh, so you preferred Sir Varkas’s cooking, first son of Saturas?” the older noble innocently questioned.

“Of course I did,” Leeheim replied, his mouth twisting into a sneer. “The novelty of giba meat won out at the previous dinner party, but you cannot overcome such a vast difference in skill with only that. But, well, I suppose I should say it was handled well enough, since it did not get in the way of Varkas’s cooking.”

“That is surprising to hear. Personally, I felt that it was by no means inferior.”

But Leeheim pressed on. “To say such a thing seems a touch ill-mannered. After all, chefs do have their own sort of pride in their work.”

Somehow, I got the feeling that Leeheim’s words were dripping with more malice and animosity than was necessary.

Getting a bit worried, I glanced over at Ai Fa, who was standing beside the door. Fortunately, though, she was just shooting a chilly stare at Leeheim’s profile.

“Sir Leeheim, are you not the one who acted rudely? Today’s event is a welcome banquet, and was not meant as a place to compare tastes,” Torst interjected, seeming somewhat confused. However, Leeheim didn’t stop talking.

“I simply stated my earnest feelings. And I had no intention of insulting the chef from the forest’s edge. It is only natural to arrive at such a result when sharing a kitchen with the greatest chef in all of Genos.”

“Oh? Personally, I was rather surprised by how things turned out,” Eulifia now chimed in, looking amused rather than perplexed. “After all, if this were a taste comparison, then I would have to give my support to Asuta of the Fa clan. Truly surprising, is it not?”

“Surely you jest! I cannot possibly imagine that is how you truly feel.”

“Oh, but it is. I would give the victory to Varkas for the vegetable and meat dishes, but aside from those I felt that Asuta’s cooking was more delicious.”

“Eulifia, we are not comparing tastes, so there is no need to make such judgments.”

“It isn’t as if I started it. And I just said what I was truly feeling.”

Once again, a commotion started to spread through the room.

It was starting to feel like it would be best for me and Varkas to leave.

Though I was certainly interested in their opinions, more than that, I didn’t want to earn any more of Shilly Rou’s displeasure. And I felt it best we distance ourselves from Leeheim too, as he was clearly trying to provoke us people of the forest’s edge.

“If we were to judge the dishes one by one, I would place them as perfectly equal,” Welhide stated, not having the slightest clue as to what I was thinking. “Sir Asuta’s fuwano dish was simply splendid, while I was truly, deeply surprised by Sir Varkas’s vegetable dish, so I would place them equal in that way as well.”

“Hmm, I would have to give more wins to Sir Varkas overall... However, the soup and the giba meat in the fuwano dish were magnificent. I would find it incredibly difficult to assign a victor.”

That had come from the plump noble. Now that those two had gotten it started, the nobles I didn’t know started voicing their impressions.

Polarth, meanwhile, held his tongue as he smiled inscrutably. And though Diel looked perfectly calm and composed, she kept stealing glances my way with pursed lips.

“My support goes to Asuta,” Lefreya stated, speaking up clearly for the first time. “Perhaps it is because I am accustomed to eating Varkas’s cooking, but I felt that all of Asuta’s dishes were more delicious.”

“Ah, but...”

“With that last dessert...”

It got difficult to make out what any one person was saying at that point. As he watched with great interest over the commotion that I didn’t think belonged at a banquet like this one, Dari Sauti stroked his chin.

“This has certainly gotten out of hand. Now that it’s come to this, let’s go ahead and get it all out there,” Marstein said with a strained chuckle. The ruler with a mysterious air of authority about him seemed to have given up on something. “Varkas and Asuta, I’m terribly grateful for the unparalleled work you did. You will receive your payment later, so I ask that you go ahead and take your leave.”

“Of course,” Varkas and I replied, both bowing.

Around half of the guests signaled looks of goodbye, while the rest were all fixated on arguing, seemingly not having even realized what Marstein said. While feeling their enthusiasm hot on our backs, we exited the dining hall.

“It certainly turned out to be quite the turbulent banquet.” As we stood there in the carpeted hallway, Varkas’s expressionless face turned my way. Beside him, Shilly Rou was biting her lip and looking down at the floor. “Were it just either of us alone, I cannot imagine there would have been so much confusion. In all likelihood, there was an issue with the menus we presented.”

“Our menus?”

“Yes. Though both of us prepared dishes meant to give the tongue a rest, the other side’s dishes negated that. With no time to rest for either heart or tongue, their confusion was only natural.”

“Yeah, I suppose that can happen.”

“It is entirely plausible. After all, I felt similar bewilderment during our taste testing,” Varkas stated, and then he stared straight at my face. “Your strength exceeded my expectations. I am certain the four great gods sent us here to the same land in order to help polish one another’s skills, Sir Asuta.”

“I-I’m honored, but that might be a bit excessive.”

“It is not excessive in the least. It is the truth.” Varkas stole a glance at Ai Fa and quietly said, “My apologies,” before suddenly grasping my fingers with both hands. “Please take care of yourself, Sir Asuta. You are incredibly precious to me.”

“Right, and I think you’re important to me too...”

Though I was concerned about Ai Fa and Shilly Rou’s gazes, I went ahead and said how I truly felt.

I had learned a bit of discretion through my various failures, but at my core I was someone who hated to lose. And yet, even with the premise in mind that there was no winning or losing when it came to cooking...I simply couldn’t overlook this mysterious chef who could make food that was tastier than mine.

“I don’t know when we’ll next meet, but I want to keep on striving to make dishes I can be satisfied with. So I hope that someday you’ll try my cooking again.”

“And I also intend to keep on experimenting so as not to disappoint you... To speak honestly, I wish that I had been born into this world at the same time as you.” After giving my fingers one last tight squeeze, Varkas let go. “Chefs lose their strength as they grow older. I truly do wish I could have met you in the same era, at the same age... You may just be more fortunate than I am, Shilly Rou.”

“Maybe,” the girl replied in a stifled voice.

“Well then, please take care. And if you ever have business in the castle town, please stop by my restaurant.”

“Thank you. You take care too.”

With that, Varkas left, a smile in his eyes, if not on his lips.

Sighing heavily, I turned toward Ai Fa and Ama Min Rutim. “Looks like we finally finished the job, so how about we head back to the forest’s edge?”

“Indeed. Rimee Ruu may have already fallen asleep,” Ai Fa replied with a strangely gentle look in her eyes.

Ama Min Rutim was smiling kindly too. “Asuta, thank you so much for choosing me to help man the stove today. I wish to return to the forest’s edge as soon as possible to talk to Gazraan.”

“Gazraan Rutim? What are you going to tell him?”

“Everything I learned today. I’m sure he will be able to better connect what I’m feeling to the future of the forest’s edge.” Ama Min Rutim gently closed her eyes and said, “I can see now. Even nobles are all just people like us.”

“Yeah... That’s exactly right.”

Ama Min Rutim was really wise, so it was entirely possible I didn’t truly understand what she was feeling. But I was certainly able to wholeheartedly agree without any doubts.

And so, our second job in the castle town finally came to a close.