Chapter 3: Day of Speculation

1

Our Fa clan had decided on opening a shop in the post town.

Though with that said, there was still a whole ton of stuff we needed to consider first. In fact, there was so much to consider that we were at a loss as to where we even had to start.

However, after thoroughly thinking over that matter too, I came up with three main problems.

In brief:

-Could this be done alongside my work at the house?

-What should I do about carrying supplies?

-How much should I be aiming to sell it for?

Those three key points.

As long as those matters remained unsolved, I couldn’t even begin figuring out my menu.

To be honest though, I already had an idea of what I wanted to do in regards to the menu, so all that was left was to calculate it all out backwards and form a plan, I figured.

First up, could this be done alongside my work at the house?

My lifestyle continued to be rather disorderly, but the tasks assigned to me were ultimately concentrated in the morning and before sunset. If I reassigned the time around when the sun hit its peak that I’d been using to experiment for work and the commute, then it seemed like it’d work out.

It was obvious, though, that the more time I spent preparing my dishes, the less time I would have for work.

I’d need to construct a careful plan so that work could progress smoothly.

Next, the method of carrying supplies.

This was a tough one.

If the plan was to sell hot cooking, then that would require carrying a metal pot and firewood to the post town. And for that I’d need someone to help, but I couldn’t count on Ai Fa for that. After all, she had her work as a hunter, so I couldn’t ask her to hang about the post town. In that case, it took an hour just getting there one way, and it would require two round trips. And obviously, I couldn’t ask her to sacrifice her hunting work just to help me carry stuff.

So that meant I had no choice but to count on a part-timer.

At any rate, it would be a bit dicey trying to run a shop all on my own, anyway. I’d have to leave now and again to use the restroom, and the post town wasn’t exactly my home field, so leaving the stall empty could prove dangerous. After all, you never know where some thug who hated the people of the forest’s edge may be hiding.

And so, at the very least I’d need one person assisting me.

Lastly, how much should I be aiming to sell it for?

This was a pretty tricky one, too.

In my mind, as long as I didn’t come out in the red that’d be fine, but thinking of the future, I couldn’t go selling it too cheaply now.

One of my main goals was getting folks to acknowledge the value of giba meat, so at the very least, I’d like to price it around what the other meat dishes in the post town were going for.

Plus, if I didn’t, I could throw off the prices in the marketplace. After all, if giba meat was going for too low of a price, it could end up strangling the other meat sellers out of business.

Thanks to that, I reached the conclusion that I should go with the same sort of price and size as those kimyuus manju.

All that was left was to calculate out how much of a profit I’d make after subtracting the cost of my ingredients.

With those thoughts in mind, I went to ask Gazraan Rutim his opinion first thing in the morning, and I seemed to have left him quite bewildered as a result.

“My deepest apologies, Asuta. I can’t understand what you’re saying at all...”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Ah, it’s not that I don’t understand the meaning of the words themselves, but even if you ask about profits and prices and hours spent working... I really just don’t know what to do with all that, or how to help you.”

It seemed I had over-explained a bit, there.

It really didn’t make any sense bringing up work hours and price setting to Gazraan Rutim. I just had to work all that out by myself.

“Sorry, you’re right. Um, the point I really wanted to discuss with you was that I need someone to help out in order to open the shop. I’d have trouble carrying a metal pot stuffed full of ingredients all on my own, and I’d also like to have some help around the shop. I believe my only option is to ask a woman of the forest’s edge to assist me, but do you think it would be possible to buy that time and labor with horns and tusks?”

With that, a questioning look appeared on Gazraan Rutim’s earnest face. It really was an unusual expression for him.

“I believe that should be possible, of course. But wasn’t Ai Fa going to be working alongside you when it came to opening a shop in the post town?”

“Huh? No, Ai Fa has her work as a hunter, so that wouldn’t be possible. And if she were to stop hunting giba, then we really would end up going broke.”

“But if you earn coins in the post town, can’t you use those to purchase aria and poitan?”

“If the business is successful, but if it fails, we won’t get a single coin. Actually, we wouldn’t even have the giba meat to sell in the first place without her hunting...”

“We Rutim could provide that. Just like I said yesterday, we have more meat then we can possibly use.”

“Right. And if the time comes when the business is a success, then I was thinking we’d start counting on you. But what we need at this stage is coins to buy the vegetables we’ll need for my cooking.”

I kept on talking, still unable to read how Gazraan Rutim was really feeling at all.

“Selling cooking made with giba meat in the post town is going to be incredibly hard. As such, I have to keep in mind the worst case scenario that I don’t sell even one over those ten days. If that happens, we could lose all the horns and tusks that Ai Fa has stored up. And so, I believe there’s no path forwards but to have Ai Fa continue her work as a hunter... Plus, I don’t believe Ai Fa has any intention of ever shirking that duty in the first place.”

By my side, Ai Fa nodded.

Gazraan Rutim gave a small sigh, then said, “That’s true. I believe it’s just as you say, Asuta. You firmed up your resolve to open a shop in the post town while facing the possibility of your horns and tusks being wiped out, didn’t you? I was naive in my thinking... But unfortunately, the Rutim clan is shorthanded when it comes to women, so we can’t go lending anyone out to another clan. Just as I mentioned yesterday, the Rutim women are few in number...”

“Is that so? In that case, I guess the Ruu are the only other ones we can discuss it with... Considering Donda Ruu’s attitude, though, I’d imagine that’ll be a bit tricky. Well, if it comes down to it, I guess I’ll just have to come up with a menu where I can handle transporting everything on my own.”

“That’s hopeless,” two voices said in sync.

“W-What is?”

Ai Fa moved her face in close, her anger clearly showing.

“Think about if you happen to succeed, then. You would be wandering around the post town with those coins all on your own, wouldn’t you? Do you really think you are capable of protecting yourself from the ruffians around there?”

“Huh...? Well, that may be true, but isn’t shopping in the post town considered women’s work? If that’s alright, then I should be—”

“So you think you’re stronger than the women of the forest’s edge?”

It felt like the word “Shock!” must’ve just popped up above my head.

Naturally, I wasn’t confident I could carry more than Mia Lea, but I at least wanted to believe I wouldn’t lose out to Reina or Lala Ruu.

“It’s just as Ai Fa says. But with that said, even if you were stronger than the women of the forest’s edge, that still wouldn’t change how dangerous it is.”

“W-What do you mean, Gazraan Rutim?”

“No one from the post town would dare point a blade at a person of the forest’s edge of their own volition. Even if we were discussing a weak child or elder, it was already established several decades ago just what would happen if someone from the city of stone were to harm a person of the forest’s edge.”

Gazraan Rutim’s tone was calm, but what he had said was seriously intense.

Had some sort of huge incident happened back then?

“...But even if you wear the clothing of the forest’s edge, your appearance is still that of someone from the city of stone. If a ruffian in the post town decides your outfit is just for show, then you would be in great danger.”

“Right...”

“On top of that, there’s also the possibility of running into members of the Suun clan in the post town. That matter actually worries me even more.”

Ai Fa gave a big nod in response to Gazraan Rutim’s words.

“I’ve of course thought of that, too... But even if they are part of the Suun clan, would they really openly try to pull something so awful in the middle of the day?”

“...Doddo Suun drew his blade in the post town in the middle of the day, didn’t he? And he did the same at my wedding banquet, too.”

“Yeah, well... That’s true, but... But they wouldn’t be let off if they actually cut someone, right?”

“Of course not. Neither the laws of the city of stone nor the forest’s edge would forgive such an action. And if such a thing were to happen, I would make sure the culprit paid for their crime, even if it cost me my life.”

As he said that, Gazraan Rutim leaned forward, seemingly unconsciously.

“But even if judgment is cast upon the culprit after you’re gone, that wouldn’t make up for it at all. There’s no way trading your safety for the life of some ruffian would be a fair exchange, right?”

The distress in Gazraan Rutim’s eyes and the irritation in Ai Fa’s showed me just how short-sighted I had been.

Apparently, my sense of danger really had been lacking.

“Of course, no matter how much of an outlaw one may be, they aren’t going to do that which can’t be undone in front of others so lightly. If they did, it would clearly lead to their own destruction as well. But try thinking about it... If you commute to the post town each and every day, eventually there will be a moment when nobody’s watching. Would it not be simple for a ruffian from the Suun clan to simply lie in wait alongside the path between the forest’s edge and the post town? And if that were to happen...”

“H-Hold on a second! In that case, wouldn’t it be just as dangerous even if a woman from the Ruu or Rutim clan was accompanying me?”

“No. As they are now, the Suun clan lacks the guts to try that. If they were to harm someone under the Ruu clan, Donda Ruu would surely unleash all the anger he’s been holding back up till now, after all.”

As he said that, there was a more intense light in Gazraan Rutim’s eyes than I had ever seen from him before.

“If that time came, the Suun clan would surely be destroyed. And at the same time, a great deal of blood would be shed by the Ruu clan and those under them... It’s possible this very settlement could even meet its end.”

“...Right.”

“The head of the Suun clan is well aware of Donda Ruu’s personality. That’s why I’m sure he must have actually been annoyed at his sons for meddling. After all, the Suun clan’s head values protecting their current carefree lifestyle above all else.”

“...And they crashed the banquet like that even so?”

“Yes. Because they’re big enough fools to even neglect their clan head’s orders.”

That was the first time I had ever heard this earnest young man clearly speak ill of anyone.

This really was a morning of firsts.

“But as I see it, even they don’t have the resolve to lead the forest’s edge towards destruction. Ultimately, even Doddo Suun drawing his blade at the banquet was solely a means of intimidating you, Asuta. Like I said before, I think they lack self-control when it comes to the Fa clan, who are not under the Ruu.”

“Yeah...”

“Even so, Ai Fa is capable of protecting you. That’s why I didn’t feel any threat from the Suun clan, but if Ai Fa won’t be acting alongside you... I believe you do indeed have no choice but to make a request of Donda Ruu. If you can hire a woman from the Ruu clan, you will naturally be safe.”

“Right... But will there really not be any danger there? I mean, I wouldn’t be exposing that Ruu woman to danger in the process, would I?”

“You wouldn’t be. I fear such an incident leading to the destruction of our forest’s edge more than anyone, I swear that on my life.”

There wasn’t so much as a hint of hesitation in Gazraan Rutim’s gaze.

An oaf like me was one thing, but surely the Suun clan couldn’t trip up someone as mature as this. His gaze was just so firm that I couldn’t help but believe that.

That was enough for me to shore up my resolve, but Ai Fa’s gaze was still burning with frustration by my side.

“Asuta, why are you so indifferent when it comes to protecting yourself? There’s no way I would ever let someone as weak as you head to the post town on your own, right?”

“Please don’t stress that point so hard. I’m already painfully aware of how weak I am...”

“I can’t help it. A hunter has their own job, and so does the chef who mans the stove. And the Ruu, Rutim, and Fa clans all have their own roles, too. And I believe that even if we aren’t all under the same clan, we should support each other’s faults so that we can hope to all live better lives.”

With that, Gazraan Rutim smiled for the first time in a while.

“And Ai Fa, is it not the custom of the Fa clan to not rely on others and instead take everything on yourselves? You and Asuta seem quite alike to me, in the way that you push onward towards your goal without thinking of your own safety.”

Gazraan Rutim really was quite the man.

As for why I couldn’t help but think that... Hearing that, Ai Fa was pouting and looking incredibly displeased.

I figured this was probably the first time Ai Fa had shown a face like that to anyone but me.

And as I admired Gazraan Rutim’s greatness... at the same time, for some reason I also felt really jealous (or something like that).

I couldn’t help but sigh as I pondered just how petty I was.

2

We headed towards the Ruu settlement, aiming for a time before the sun hit its peak, when Donda Ruu would be awake. We were in a group of four including the newlyweds, and were carrying our new pot.

Ama Min Rutim had asked to come along with us because she said she wanted to see Kota Ruu.

“Didn’t you come to the Ruu settlement just yesterday, though?”

“That was to study cooking. I didn’t get a chance to see Kota Ruu.”

“After this, don’t you having cooking lessons today, too?”

“That’s right. If the other women all come for them and I don’t, then I’ll end up the worst cook among all the Rutim women. Or would you be just fine with that, Gazraan?”

“But...”

“And besides, if I don’t go with you now, then I won’t even see your face till dinner. If you don’t mind that either, though, then I can head right on back to the Rutim house.”

“I’m not especially telling you to head back or anything.”

That sort of newlywed talk went on for 30 minutes as we walked.

All I could think was, Thanks for all that.

At any rate, after that we arrived at the Ruu settlement.

It had only been three days since the banquet, but somehow it felt like it had been quite a while longer.

The women of the branch families were busy with all sorts of work, but when they noticed us, they all waved and bowed. I mean, I had spent six days here, so the place sort of felt like a second home to me.

“Oh, my, what’re all of you doing here?! And you’re carrying a pot, too! You know the banquet ended a while ago, don’t you?” Mia Lea Ruu greeted us in front of the main Ruu house.

She looked surprised, or perhaps I should say taken off-guard, but afterwards she broke out in a joyful grin. That smile somehow felt really nostalgic to me.

“We came to discuss something. Is Donda Ruu up?”

“Yeah. He’s chewing on dried meat in the main hall. Jiza and Ludo should be with him, too... Well then, allow me to take charge of your steel. Do you mind just leaving your pot there?”

“Right.”

Ai Fa and Gazraan Rutim handed over their blades, and I passed my knife to Mia Lea Ruu.

“Now then, welcome to the Ruu house! Clan head, you’ve got visitors!”

We stepped through the door and found Donda Ruu and his sons there in the middle of the hall.

“Huh? Oh, it’s Asuta! What are you doing here?!” Ludo Ruu asked, hopping to his feet when he noticed us.

Meanwhile, the clan head and his heir also slowly turned our way. They... didn’t look to be in an especially good mood.

“What’s this, another gathering of good-for-nothings? This smells like nothing but trouble to me,” Donda Ruu said, a surly look on his face that called to mind a wild beast.

Gazraan Rutim, meanwhile, gave a single bow.

“My apologies. Could we have just a bit of your time, Ruu clan head Donda Ruu?”

“Hmph...” Donda Ruu grumbled, seating himself to be at the head of the group.

Jiza and Ludo Ruu also sat down so that they were facing us.

“Mia Lea Ruu, I came to visit Sati Lea and Kota Ruu. Are they around?”

“They’re in their room. Yes, let’s leave this bothersome talk to the men.”

After laying our blades down next to the clan head, Mia Lea Ruu led Ama Min Rutim down the right hallway and disappeared.

“It’s almost time to head into the forest, so please allow me to go ahead and explain... The truth is, the Fa clan made a request of the Rutim for aid on a job, but we were unable to help out, so we’ve come to ask your Ruu clan.”

“A job...?”

“That’s right. Asuta, could you explain?”

“Right. The thing is, I was thinking of opening up a shop in the post town.”

“Huh?!” Ludo Ruu loudly questioned. “What do you mean?! Hey, Asuta! Are you planning on leaving the forest’s edge?!”

“No, the idea is ultimately to open a booth for selling giba meat dishes as a member of the forest’s edge... It may sound completely absurd, but that’s the plan. And I’d like to have a woman helping me out with the work, so... We came to ask if you had anyone we could borrow.”

Donda Ruu looked displeased to start with, so I didn’t spy much of a change.

Even if that wasn’t the case for Jiza Ruu, I just plain couldn’t read his expression.

As for Ludo Ruu... he cradled his stomach and broke out laughing.

“What the heck is that? You’re saying you’re gonna have townsfolk eat giba? Those guys who call us ‘giba eaters’? You’re funny, man! Seriously, how’d you come up with such a crazy idea?”

“It’d take way too long to explain... What do you say, Donda Ruu?”

“...Are you the one who thought up this idea?” Donda Ruu asked, suddenly cutting to the core of the matter.

I naturally sat up straight.

“I’m not the one who came up with it. The one to recommend it was Kamyua Yoshu, that man from the city of stone.”

“I figured it was something like that. So, that aloof man appeared at the Fa house just as he declared, did he?”

“Yes. However, I’m by no means trying to conspire with him. I don’t know what he was thinking when he raised the idea, but after talking it out, I figured it sounded reasonable and decided I wanted to take on the challenge.”

Donda Ruu didn’t have as furious of a reaction as I had expected. In fact, if I had to say, I felt more of a restless air about Jiza Ruu as he sat there silently.

“I served him my cooking at the Fa house, you see. And then he said that it’d be a waste not to sell such delicious meat. Plus, if giba meat could be exchanged for coins, it would bring a whole lot more prosperity to the forest’s edge. So I would need to open a stall in order to teach the townsfolk how delicious giba meat really is, right? Then, we visited the post town and investigated whether or not this crazy idea really was possible after all. One thing led to another, and so here we are.”

And then, I earnestly told of what I had thought and felt on that second day, just as I’d done with Gazraan Rutim.

About how it seemed like we could do it without earning all that much opposition from the townsfolk.

How it seemed possible I could sell giba cooking if I did it well.

And about how we couldn’t tell what Kamyua Yoshu was really thinking, but that he appeared to hold an attachment or even fixation towards the people of the forest’s edge deep down, and that he didn’t seem to be trying to trick us.

“What a hard to understand old-timer... But still, it’s true that your cooking is crazy tasty! I’d love to see the faces of those townsfolk as they eat giba meat, too!”

“Shut up, Ludo,” Donda Ruu scolded, sounding displeased.

Well, he may have sounded that way, but his expression remained perfectly calm.

I was starting to think this may work out, when Jiza Ruu called out, “Asuta,” in a low voice. “It’s only natural for you to act as a merchant in town. No matter how I look at you, that’s where you belong... And yet, wouldn’t it be far simpler if you just went ahead and lived in that place instead?”

“Right. That may be how things seem to you, Jiza Ruu, but as I told you before, I like it here at the forest’s edge. If you told me I had to give up on either living here or opening a shop in the post town, I’d obviously give up on the shop in a heartbeat.”

I heard a “Hehe,” and turned to look where it came from, only to find Ludo Ruu staring off into the distance and laughing. He looked downright giddy, somehow.

“It doesn’t seem like anything but a farce to me...” Donda Ruu grumbled. “I can’t imagine folks from the city of stone happily chowing down on giba, or something as insane as being able to sell giba meat for coins ever coming to pass.”

“Yeah, I don’t know what kind of results I’ll get, either. But even so, I want to take on this challenge.”

I leaned forwards just a bit so that I was staring right into Donda Ruu’s daunting face.

“However, Ai Fa and I can’t take it on alone. I’d be short on hands just for running the shop itself, and I’d also have to deal with the danger of coming and going to the post town. Considering I have no idea when I might run across someone from the Suun clan, I thought it best to make this request of the Ruu clan... That’s the basis of our request, so won’t you please consider it?”

“Hmph...”

“I won’t go so far as to ask you to trust I’ll be successful. This much should be obvious, but I’ll pay up properly regardless of how things turn out. After discussing the matter with Gazraan Rutim, I decided I would pay six red coins per day, or the equivalent of both a horn and tusk from a large giba put together.”

I had been told that it took two women half a day to peel a pelt. For that, they would get the equivalent of two horns and tusks, or between eight and twelve red coins.

Kamyua Yoshu had said roughly 10 red coins, but after checking with Ai Fa and the others, I found out that the value really did change based on size.

And so, I had arrived at that number on the assumption that I would be borrowing one woman’s help for around half of the day.

“However, there’s discord between the Fa and Suun clans, so please keep that fact firmly in mind. Gazraan Rutim said that just having someone from the Ruu clan at my side would be enough to prevent any wrongdoing from them, but you never know what scum like Doddo Suun may do under the influence of alcohol.”

“We don’t need you to tell us that. Don’t go underestimating the women of the Ruu clan, you brat.”

“Clan head...” Jiza Ruu spoke up.

Donda Ruu held up a hand, commanding him to stop.

“A horn and tusk worth for loaning you a woman for half a day, huh? That’s not such a bad deal. And we Ruu do have an excess of women at the moment...”

“Right.”

“I’ve got one condition, though.”

“A condition...?”

“If it turns out you’re plotting something with that blond aloof fellow, then I’ll be taking that right arm of yours.”

A chill ran down my spine.

And even though I didn’t look her way, I could sense bloodlust from Ai Fa for a second there.

“If you accept, then I’ll loan you a woman.”

“...I’m not personally plotting anything. However, I honestly have no idea if Kamyua Yoshu is.”

“If he’s up to something, then I’ll just take his head. Then if you were his accomplice, that’s when I’ll take your arm.”

A heavy silence hung in the air.

I audibly gulped down my saliva.

“I’ll swear on whatever you want that my thoughts and feelings on the matter don’t extend beyond what I already told you, personally. But... on the off chance that Kamyua Yoshu is plotting something, it’s possible that I may not be able to prove my own innocence clearly when that comes to light.”

“I’m not expecting all that. If you get tricked by him too, then I’ll just laugh at you for being a foolish kid... alongside Gazraan Rutim, as well as the Fa clan head.”

“Right,” Gazraan Rutim calmly responded, while Ai Fa just silently glared at Donda Ruu.

Sure enough, I could see a deep anger burning in her eyes.

“Do you two trust this brat’s words?”

“Of course. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here in this place.”

“What about you, head of the Fa clan?”

“...My response goes without saying. What sort of clan head couldn’t even believe in the people under her?”

Even her voice was quaking with anger.

Donda Ruu, on the other hand, looked calm and composed.

“In that case, we’ll just say if these two keep on believing in your innocence until the bitter end, that’ll be good enough. And if the time comes when both of them decide you’re a traitor, that’s when I’ll go ahead and take your right arm.”

“If that’ll satisfy you, then I’m willing to make that promise,” I replied, wiping the sweat from my brow. “I promise you that I will never betray the people of the forest’s edge.”

“You swear your right arm on it?”

“I do.”

In that instant, Ai Fa called out, “Hold on,” in a pointed voice. “This shouldn’t be down to Asuta personally, but the whole Fa clan. If such an unthinkable thing were to happen, the fault would lie with the clan head, yes?”

Ai Fa’s eyes had finally started blazing with the look of a wildcat again, while Donda Ruu just silently stared back at her.

“If such a shameful thing were to occur, you should take my right arm, not Asuta’s.”

“Hey, Ai Fa—”

“I have no use for your arm, head of the Fa clan,” Donda Ruu stated, cutting my words off with a serious tone of voice. “There’s no way that someone like you would ever plot something alongside a man from the city of stone. That brat was born in another country, though. What I want to know is his intentions and determination.”

“But...”

“You’ve already given your answer, haven’t you? All I’m asking is if this child is trying to deceive us here and now. If he’s not, then there’s no need for the brat and his arm to be separated.”

The light in Donda Ruu’s eyes grew just a bit stronger as he stared at Ai Fa’s angry face.

“Are you trying to trample all over the kid’s resolve? Or could it be that deep down, you doubt his intentions...?”

Ai Fa rose halfway to her feet, but I hurriedly grabbed her arm.

“Calm down, Ai Fa. I’m not betraying you all, so nothing’s going to happen.”

This was probably a necessary step. After all, the Ruu clan head had the future of the forest’s edge on his shoulders, so he probably couldn’t go trusting me so lightly.

And yet, Donda Ruu had entrusted things to Ai Fa’s and Gazraan Rutim’s judgment.

Even if he couldn’t trust me personally, if his brethren from the forest’s edge could... It was a decision that felt earnest and even pleasant to me.

However... It sure was a bad habit he had, voicing the idea using such harsh words.

Still, I was satisfied.

Ai Fa silently stared at my face for a bit, then before long she sat herself back down. She cast her eyes still swirling with anger downwards and bit firmly on her lip.

“...The agreement has been made,” Donda Ruu muttered in a low voice. “Well then, who should I be loaning you...?”

“Ah, the work will involve carrying ingredients and my pot, as well as helping to man the store. So the work would need someone with enough strength to walk a mountain path while carrying heavy luggage.”

“Hmm...”

“I don’t mind if they’re from the main or branch houses. I leave it up to you to pick out who will do it.”

As I said that, I could feel dark clouds starting to build up inside.

I hadn’t met Reina or Vina Ruu even once since the night of the banquet.

Vina Ruu wanted me to take her somewhere far, far away.

Reina Ruu, meanwhile, wanted me to leave the Fa house and become a member of the Ruu.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to grant either of their wishes.

Still, I didn’t want to keep avoiding them forever, and I wanted to try rebuilding a peaceful relationship with them. I just had no clue as to how I’d bring that about.

Just who would he choose?

I felt my heartbeat rising as I waited, until Donda Ruu finally muttered, “Vina, then.”

3

And so, after all those twists and turns, I found myself standing in the post town for the third time.

This was after I had my discussion with Donda Ruu in the main Ruu house.

Yesterday morning we left the Fa house and visited the Rutim, went to the post town, returned to the Rutim house and spent the night there, visited the Ruu house, and then went back to the post town again. It really had been a hectic two days.

Anyway, this was my second day in a row coming to the post town.

I found that little by little, I was starting to grow accustomed to the disorderly layout of the town.

However, it wasn’t Ai Fa who was currently standing by my side.

It was now the fourth day since the Rutim wedding. Ai Fa naturally couldn’t keep shirking her hunting duties any longer, so she returned to the Fa house on her own with the pot.

In exchange, I had Vina and Ludo Ruu here with me instead.

We really did make for a strange trio.

“Hehe! It’s been a while since I’ve been to town! It sure is just as suffocating as always!” Ludo Ruu merrily proclaimed.

“I love the post town. It’s just, it’s tough to relax when everyone’s staring at me...” Vina Ruu said, sounding like she was in a pretty good mood, too.

Even now, I could still clearly recall the sight of her in Shin Ruu’s kitchen begging me with tears in her eyes to just not get together with Reina Ruu. But now as she was walking down the stone highway alongside her brother, she had an even brighter, more relaxed smile on her face than usual.

Meanwhile, I was feeling a bit exhausted.

In order to bring the plan in my head to fruition I needed to visit the post town, so Donda Ruu ended up loaning me these two to take Ai Fa’s place, a favor I was sincerely grateful for. However, Donda Ruu had added the condition that I should have Ludo Ruu meet with Kamyua Yoshu.

It must have been a measure to feel out the unknown presence known as Kamyua Yoshu at least a little.

Anyway, the question of whether or not this group could meet with Kamyua Yoshu without causing some sort of incident was a worry that was weighing heavily on me at the moment.

“B-But Ludo Ruu has his duty as a hunter, right?” I had tried asking, but apparently the Ruu clan had called off heading into the forest for the day.

The reason why was simple: There were too many giba about.

There were so many that they had captured over two day’s worth just yesterday, and on top of that, several men from the branch families as well as Darmu Ruu had gotten injured.

Now that they had lost Ryada Ruu, they couldn’t exactly keep pushing themselves overly hard and risk losing any other hunters. And so, they decided to take a day off, which was apparently when we came to visit.

It was an urgent situation that impacted more than just the Rutim.

I was worried about Ai Fa’s safety in continuing to head out into the forest, but naturally she just gallantly replied, “It’s nothing to worry about. Actually, it may be a sign that the giba have been steadily moving south. The houses surrounding ours are all small and can’t hunt down all the giba, so perhaps the giba who have eaten all the food in their area have started moving on down.”

“I see...”

“And if they keep on moving south, eventually they’ll start ransacking fields. They may cause a lot more damage than usual this time around.”

Ai Fa’s voice was matter of fact, but sure enough the flames of anger were burning away in her blue eyes.

“Even so, all I can do is hunt the giba where my blade can reach, carrying out my own work... So Asuta, you carry out your work, too.”

“Got it.”

With that, Ai Fa and I headed our separate ways.

And so, I ended up here in the post town with the eldest daughter and youngest son of the main Ruu house...

“Ah, look, it’s a totos! Its face looks just as ridiculous as always! Hey, what do you think it tastes like, Asuta?”

“U-Um, Ludo Ruu, could you be a little quieter—”

“It’s like a dream, being able to work with you for 10 whole days... Thank you for this wonderful job, Asuta.”

“I-I mean, it’s still a job, y’know? So work hard, okay? And hey, make sure you keep your private and professional lives properly separated!”

We had only just arrived in the post town, but I was already in the midst of this whole commotion.

The number of gazes on us now was on a whole other level compared to normal, too.

By the way, Ludo Ruu was of course in his hunter’s ensemble, complete with fur cloak, but Vina Ruu was a little different today. She had a slightly transparent veil on her head, something like a shawl around her shoulders, and a single cloth with whirling patterns on it wrapped around her waist and extending on down to her ankles.

“It’s proper manners for women. Can’t go exposing skin to folks who aren’t our brethren, after all...”

That idea was all well and good, but unfortunately such thin fabric had no hope of concealing the sublime contours of Vina Ruu’s body.

On top of that, the way that you could see her cleavage through the upper portion of her outfit, or her feminine legs through the slits in the cloth, only made her seem more sensual than if they were all merely exposed. Well... thanks to that, she was currently gathering more gazes from overwhelmed men than we were getting looks of fear and contempt.

“Wonder if we’ll run into those fools from the Suun clan? If one of them goes and draws a blade, I’ll break both their arms!”

“Hey, cut it out! I’m begging you, don’t cause a commotion, Ludo Ruu!”

“Huh? Do I look like a big enough fool to go starting something on my own?”

He may not have looked like a big fool, but he sure did look to be overflowing with the stuff it took to kick something off.

Ludo Ruu was attracting a lot of attention with his loud voice and actions, but even so, Vina Ruu wasn’t losing out either.

But... the emotions pointed towards Ludo Ruu were a bit different.

Ludo Ruu was like the norm when it came to the forest’s edge. Personally, I didn’t have even a hint of a negative impression about him, like finding him overly noisy or dangerous, instead seeing him as being energetic and carefree.

Perhaps this town full of people and buildings was just too cramped for him, though.

I’m sure this boy was the type to need some space to stretch his limbs.

“Ah, it’s someone from Sym! They sure are dark-skinned! Is he a magic user too?”

That said...! At least don’t go pointing and yelling at people you don’t know!

“L-Let’s get going! At any rate, the first thing we’ve gotta do is meet with Kamyua!”

We hurried along towards The Kimyuus’s Tail, with me practically dragging the two of them.

“Geez... We stood out way too much because you caused a fuss, didn’t we, Ludo...?”

“What’re you saying?! It’s because you’re swaying around that huge butt of yours, Vina!”

“Cut it out, Asuta’s listening...”

Now that I thought about it, this was actually the first time I’d really seen these two have a conversation. That wasn’t enough to calm me down, but still, I wouldn’t mind getting my fill of seeing them interact at the forest’s edge.

“Welco— Oh, it’s you again,” the owner of The Kimyuus’s Tail, Milano Mas, greeted us, the look on his face growing sour again.

“Ooh, so this is an inn?” Ludo Ruu said while looking around nervously with eyes full of curiosity.

“Um, is Kamyua Yoshu here?” I questioned.

“Not today. I don’t know if he’s got work or is just playing around, but he’s been out since this morning.”

Is that so?

I felt relieved, but on the other hand, it’d be a problem if I couldn’t carry out my agreement with Donda Ruu.

As I was pondering that predicament, suddenly young Leito popped out of the back of the dining hall, where we had been yesterday.

“Asuta, welcome back! Who are these people...?”

“Vina and Ludo Ruu, from the forest edge’s Ruu clan.”

“Oh, from the Ruu clan?” Leito repeated with a smile.

It seemed he had already heard the name from Kamyua.

“...Who’re you?” Ludo Ruu questioned, his eyes narrowing a bit.

“I’m Kamyua’s apprentice, Leito. I’m pleased to make your acquaintance.”

“Apprentice? What sort of apprentice?”

“As a bodyguard, of course.”

I still didn’t know the full extent of that job, but from what I understood it involved making sure travelers were safe, so it definitely included fighting.

“Kamyua is out setting things up for next month. He left early in the morning, so I can’t imagine he would be out too terribly late.”

“I see. In that case, we’ll come again once we’ve done our shopping,” I replied, then I turned to face Milano Mas. I had business with this old-timer today, after all. “Um, I heard from Kamyua that this shop managed spaces and rented out stalls, but would you rent one out to someone like me?”

“Huh?” Milano Mas questioned as he turned to face me. “I’ll rent them out to anybody, provided they pay up. But just what are you even planning on selling?”

“Ah, the truth is, a bit of giba meat cooking.”

Instantly, the old-timer let out a displeased sounding snort.

“It’s up to you what you sell, but you’d better not go getting some strange stench all over the stall. If you do, you’ll have to buy it outright. Are you okay with that?”

“I can’t go so far as to say my cooking won’t make any smell at all since it does use meat, but are such things not allowed?”

“There’s no problem when it comes to kimyuus or karon. But if that giba stink seeps into it, it won’t be usable afterwards, right?”

He threw out another new noun for me there. Just what sort of animal is a karon, I wonder...?

“Man, you sure do go on and on, old-timer. You don’t even know how tasty giba meat is, but you’re still prattling on? If you’ve got some sort of problem, then you should at least try it first.”

The man’s thick eyebrows raised when he heard Ludo Ruu’s words.

“In that case, have you eaten karon or kimyuus? I’m sure you’re just grateful for stinky giba meat because you haven’t, right? If you don’t want me prattling on, then don’t go bringing stuff like that into town!”

Ludo Ruu’s expression still looked composed, but I still felt like I probably needed to chime in.

“Um, I know that people’s tastes vary, but there’s no point in having an argument over foods that the other side hasn’t tasted, right? And I’ve tried kimyuus meat multiple times now, but I don’t think giba meat falls short of it, personally.”

“You come from a town to start with, don’t you...?”

“Yes. I wasn’t born here in Genos, though.”

“I can tell that just by looking at your pale face. So you say that giba meat’s tasty, even so?”

“If I didn’t, I would never think of opening a shop and selling it, right? I ate all sorts of different meats back where I came from, too, but giba meat would still compete for first or second on my list.”

“Ridiculous... Did you eat mundt or giiz meat before eating giba or something?”

It seemed like this really was going to be rough going.

But as I thought that, Leito interjected, “Um, Kamyua gave me some dried giba meat. I ate that yesterday, and it was different than karon, but I still thought it tasted good.”

Naturally, that dried meat had been properly bloodlet beforehand, so I was glad to hear he liked it.

The old-timer, meanwhile, was furrowing his brow and looking doubtful. Before long, though, he shook his head and looked like he had given up.

“...Anyway, as long as you don’t get any strange smell all over it, then this is just business. I’ll loan out as many stalls as you want. With the fees for the stall and the space combined, it works out to two white coins in total.”

“And with that I can do business for ten days, right? By the way, about how big will the stall be?”

“If you go out and look, you should see plenty of stalls that I loaned out. This place’s name is written on their signs.”

“Got it. Well then, I’ll come talk to you again in the near future.”

It was best that I just went ahead and retreated already.

“I’ll see you again when Kamyua’s back,” young Leito called out, and then I took my two companions and left The Kimyuus’s Tail.

“That was amazing... You really are from town, Asuta...” Vina Ruu said, nonchalantly drawing in close to me. “I don’t think I could handle someone like that at all... I’m not Ludo, but I could definitely see myself slapping him without even thinking...”

“Um, you know you’re set to help me run the shop, right?”

“Right... If it’s for your sake, I’ll put up with any shame.”

Shame, she said.

Would I really be able to work together with her for ten whole days? I couldn’t help but be concerned about the future...

“Well anyway, for the time being, let’s take care of the shopping. Hmm...? What is it, Ludo Ruu?”

“No, it’s just... That kid from before...”

“Ah, you mean Leito? He’s a bit of an oddball too, isn’t he?”

“More than him being an oddball... I feel bad for him.”

“Feel bad for him? Why?”

I could see feeling sorry for him because he’s an apprentice to such a weirdo, but Ludo Ruu hadn’t even met Kamyua yet, so he shouldn’t know anything about that.

“Well, whatever. It’s got nothing to do with me. Anyway, let’s get going. I wanna look at the blades and stuff, it’s been a while.”

And with that, our incident-filled journey recommenced.

It really was a strange feeling, strolling through the post town alongside these two.

“First up, we’ve got to exchange our horns and tusks for coins. Are you going to finally use up those blessings you extorted out of us, Asuta?”

“Extorted?! Yeah, I had intended to use them, but these actually aren’t the ones that I got from you all.”

There was a necklace made with ten horns and tusks dangling from my neck. However, they weren’t the ones I had received at the Ruu settlement, but rather ones that Ai Fa had given me.

I had been planning on paying for the initial supplies for the shop using horns and tusks I had earned, but when I said that Ai Fa looked incredibly displeased.

“You intend to take everything on yourself, don’t you?”

“That’s not my intention! I mean, these ten alone won’t even cover the initial expenses, right? But even so, I don’t want to have all the cost fall on you this time around.”

“...I’m the clan head.”

“I get that, but... Put another way, if I don’t pay even a single coin of the expenses, I’ll feel like I’ve thrown the whole burden onto you.”

With that, Ai Fa started thinking. Before long, she pulled a necklace out of her cloak and adjusted it so that it had ten horns and tusks, then held it out to me.

“Give your necklace to me in exchange for this one.”

“Right... So, what are you thinking?”

“If your business in the post town ends in failure and we lose coins rather than gaining them, then I’ll buy aria and poitan with these horns and tusks I’m holding onto for you.”

As she talked, Ai Fa carefully stored away the necklace she had received from me.

“But if your business is a success and you gain a great many coins, then this necklace will end up back around your neck.”

“Ah... Yeah, that sounds fine to me. But you—”

“You already taught me last night just how frustrating it is, feeling like you’re leaving everything up to someone else,” Ai Fa said with a scary look on her face. “In that case, you shouldn’t have any issue with this... You didn’t truly want to exchange the blessings you received from Granny Jiba and the others for coins, right?”

“Y-Yeah. I’m surprised you knew, though. I don’t remember discussing that with you.”

“I can tell that much just by looking. I have absolutely no clue as to why you think that way, but... Well, as long as you’re not causing anyone trouble, there’s no need for you to force yourself to suppress your feelings like that,” Ai Fa said, with a somewhat gentle look in her eyes at the end there.

“What are you thinking about...?” I was asked, and suddenly my right arm was wrapped up in warmth. “It couldn’t be that you’re feeling lonely being separated from your beautiful clan head, right...?”

Vina Ruu had wrapped herself all around my right arm as we were walking through the post town.

I tried to pull my arm away in a panic, but she really was a person of the forest’s edge, so it didn’t budge an inch.

“Hey! Like I said before, you have to keep your private and professional matters—”

“I get all that. But it’s not work for today, right...? We just came here together to town because we each had shopping to do...”

Right, which is why Donda Ruu had said I didn’t need to worry about paying her for today.

“B-But Ludo Ruu is right here, right? Is it really okay to be doing stuff like that?” I whispered to her, only for her to shoot me her signature sensual sidelong glance.

“Ludo wants you to marry into our family anyway, so it’s totally fine. Hey, what did you think of my dance?”

“Dance?”

“For the banquet. I danced my hardest, just for you...”

Huh? What was she talking about?

I don’t recall a lively event like that at the banquet.

“After all the meat was gone, the unmarried women danced, right? Doing that draws a whole lot of attention from the men, so normally I wouldn’t ever do it, but I gave it my all for you, Asuta...”

After all the meat was gone...

That must have been around when Ai Fa and I were talking to Gazraan Rutim. After receiving my payment, I fell asleep while talking, then Ai Fa carried me back to the vacant house.

So does that mean the dancing all happened after I fell asleep, then?

“It couldn’t be... Did you not see...?”

“Huh? Ah, no, you see, I was just so busy that day, so I fell asleep right after I finished working.”

Vina Ruu stared blankly at me for a moment before casting her gaze downwards, then she squeezed my right arm tight.

She was insanely strong, as if she was a giant madarama snake or something.

And yet, though it was impossible to explain, I was also feeling a very soft sensation.

“That’s just awful... You’re just terrible, aren’t you, Asuta?”

“Owww! That hurts! You’re going to break it! Hey, Vina Ruu!”

It hurt like hell, and I was also touching places I really shouldn’t be.

Considering we were standing in the street in the middle of the day, this was bad.

“You better not tell Reina that, no matter what...”

“Owww! Huh...? What’s that about Reina Ruu?”

“Her dance was like a blazing inferno... She’s such a mature girl, so I never imagined she had such intense emotions hidden inside. She must have had her heart stolen by you, too...”

Vina Ruu smoothly slipped away from my arm, then gave a little sigh.

“I figured if you weren’t going to take me far away, I could at least just take you as a husband, but that’s no good either... If I did that, then I’m certain that Reina would hate me...”

Then, she shot me a pained sidelong glance.

“What a sinful man you are...”

I don’t recall committing any sins.

Still, it certainly was true that Reina Ruu had special feelings towards me.

Now that I failed to respond to those feelings in her wanting me to join the Ruu clan, just how would I interact with her, and what sort of relationship would we have?

I lifted my gaze up towards the clear blue sky, but naturally, I found no answers written there.

4

While I may have been cradling a question I couldn’t find an answer to in my heart, I still had work to do.

And that meant first off, exchanging the horns and tusks for coins via that old person with a smile like a toad.

“What, is that all, Asuta?”

“Yeah. We just bought aria and poitan, after all. Thanks to that, this should be plenty for now.”

I currently held six red coins in my hand. I had chosen the biggest horn and tusk I had available and offered up those, earning me my war funds for the day.

“You guys sure are amazing, though. Guess that’s what you should expect from a family of 12.”

The pair from the Ruu clan had exchanged five giba’s worth of horns and tusks for coins. They received six coins for that too, only theirs were white coins, which were worth ten times as much as red.

“Hehehe... This will only buy us three days’ worth of food, though.”

“Huh? Then, you come to town once every three days?”

The answer was yes. Or sometimes when they had the people to spare, three of them would come and buy five days’ worth.

Since the Fa house had just the two of us we could buy food for up to 20 days, but they had six times as many people as us, so that was their limit.

From doing the math, three days worth for them would be 108 aria and 72 poitan.

Meanwhile, 20 days for the Fa house was 120 aria and 80 poitan, so it wasn’t all that different.

“We’ve got to get the fruit wine dad drinks, too. I don’t get how that stuff’s supposed to be tasty at all.”

“That leaves five reds... Which other vegetable should we buy today?”

I had thought the same when I did so with Ai Fa, but it really did feel like an incredibly fresh experience, discussing shopping about town with the people of the forest’s edge.

And honestly, I couldn’t help but smile seeing the eldest daughter and youngest son, their heights not all that different, happily chatting away. The pair sure did smile an awful lot, which only made them feel more and more out of place considering the looks of fear and contempt we were getting from the folks about the post town.

Ludo Ruu doesn’t give off the same sort of violent aura as the other men unless he turns it on, and looking at his face it’s actually pretty cute, so I can’t imagine finding him scary at all.

I had been all nervous about Ludo Ruu’s actions at first, but somehow, it now seemed stupid worrying about stuff like that.

Ai Fa was Ai Fa, and Ludo Ruu was Ludo Ruu. I knew just how wonderful of a person he was, and what other people thought wasn’t about to change how I felt.

And so, I decided to stop worrying about people staring.

“Well then, want to go look at vegetables? There’s this old-timer with a shop at the northern tip who—”

“Ah! Hold on a second! The weapon shops! They might have something interesting, so let’s go check!” Ludo Ruu yelled out, pushing through the crowds towards one stall in particular. Well, actually, it was less like he was pushing, and more like the crowd was pulling back around him.

“Sorry. He’s already 15, but he’s still such a child... Though I suppose a woman like me who’s hit the age of 20 without even marrying doesn’t have any room to talk...” Vina Ruu said with a smile. In a way, it actually may have been the most charming expression that I’d seen from her yet.

As I approached the stall, I thought to myself, If she gets that much happiness from being with her family, then she doesn’t need to be so fixated on the outside world...

Ludo Ruu, meanwhile, was going, “Ooh!” like a child as he grabbed one of the bladed weapons. “What is this, a hatchet? It looks like it’s meant for killing people or something.”

“Hahaha. Advancing forces need to clear their way through the forest when in war, too. So if they run into the enemy in the middle of that, they can charge right into battle with that, right?” the ivory-skinned old-timer replied, the expression on his face stiffening a bit.

Ludo Ruu had called it a “weapon shop,” but Genos was far removed from the enemy nation of Mahyudra to the north, so the place never saw actual war. And so, what the shop actually sold were hatchets, axes, knives, and other such bladed tools used as part of everyday life.

“Ah, is this a cooking knife?” I asked, only for the old-timer to look a bit troubled. The expression on his face seemed to say, “What’s a pale kid like you doing dressed in the clothing of the forest’s edge?”

“Yeah, for vegetables.”

It was a size smaller and thinner than my old man’s knife, but it still seemed to have a rather nice cutting edge. I’d seen a lot of knives in the Ruu and Rutim kitchens, but seeing them here at the market really was a different, enjoyable sort of experience.

My old man’s knife is already 20 years old. The next time it gets any significant damage, it’ll probably end up unusable. I can use the knife I’m borrowing from Ai Fa for cutting meat, but eventually I’d like one for vegetables, too.

“...That one costs four white coins and five reds,” said the old-timer, speaking with a bit of restraint in his voice.

Hmm. Roughly four giba’s worth, huh?

If the time comes when we’re living prosperous lives or whatever, then I really would like to buy it.

“Thank you. Ludo Ruu, isn’t it about time we got going to check out the vegetables?”

“Huh? Hold on a second,” Ludo Ruu said, and he started stepping away from the stall. And he was still gripping the hatchet with its thick blade in his hand.

“H-Hey, wait!” the old-timer yelled out, but Ludo Ruu still stood dauntingly in the middle of traffic.

“Sorry, but please don’t come near me!” he yelled out loudly, but none of the passersby would approach a man from the forest’s edge to begin with. And so, the people around him looked a bit annoyed, but they all detoured around the hunter.

“That goes for you too, Asuta and Vina, alright?” Ludo Ruu added, then he swung the hatchet down. Next he swung it back upwards, then all around with a fwoosh, fwoosh.

He was slashing so fast that I half expected to see scorch marks hanging there in the air.

The owner of the weapon shop had gone pale as a sheet. The passersby, too. Some of them just froze in place, while others went ahead and made a quick about-face.

Despite all the fear and discomfort being directed his way, Ludo Ruu just kept on swinging around the hatchet, then at last loudly proclaimed, “I like it! I feel like I could smash a giba’s skull in one blow with this thing! How much does it cost, old-timer?”

“E-Eight white coins.”

That would be six giba’s worth even using big horns and tusks, huh? That sure was quite a price.

Considering you could get roughly 60 meals worth of aria and poitan for that price, it went to show just how reasonable the prices on those ingredients really were.

“Got it! Asuta, hold onto it so nobody else buys it! I’ll be right back!”

With that, he thrust the hatchet into my hands and then took off running like the wind.

The sea of people stepped back around him like he was Moses parting the Red Sea.

“He really is a child...” Vina Ruu said with a smile, but I couldn’t imagine a child ever managing to swing around a hunk of steel like that.

It was one centimeter thick, 10 centimeters wide, and the length of the blade itself looked to be around 30 centimeters, making for a meaty hatchet with a slightly curved cutting edge. It felt like it weighed enough that it’d have to be measured in kilos. Yeah, I could certainly see this thing shattering a giba’s skull.

Why is he able to swing around something like this even though he’s littler than me...?

The physical strength of a hunter sure was frightening.

At any rate, Ludo Ruu came running back and bought the hatchet, so it was dangling from his hip when we finally stood before a stall where vegetables were sold. Naturally, it was old man Dora’s shop.

“A-Ah, welcome!”

The old-timer’s smile twitched when he saw I was with a hunter of the forest’s edge other than Ai Fa, but he energetically greeted us even so.

“Ah, yes, so it really was this place. There aren’t many shops that sell aria and poitan in bags, so I thought that may be the case...”

Apparently this wasn’t Vina Ruu’s first time here.

“Could we get 100 aria and poitan?”

“Got it. The aria will be two white coins, while the poitan will be two whites and five reds.”

“Huh? Isn’t that a lot of poitan?” I questioned, whispering into Ludo Ruu’s ear.

“That’s because dad and Darmu eat a whole lot of them,” the boy replied.

Right, Ai Fa had said that three aria and two poitan a day was the bare minimum to live a healthy life, but it seemed the men of the Ruu clan ate enough for three or four people.

“There, 100 each of aria and poitan. Please check them over,” Dora said, plopping down the bags, and the siblings began happily checking away.

I decided to carry out my own objective in the meantime.

“Hey Dora, there’s a few things I’d like to ask you.”

“O-Oh, what is it?”

“This tino, do people eat it raw?”

Tino was a vegetable like a rose made out of lettuce. It was about the same size as a head of that more familiar vegetable, but its taste and texture was a bit closer to cabbage.

“Of course they do. I prefer it cooked, though.”

“I see. Is it normal to heat up this tarapa before eating it, too?”

Tarapa was about the size and shape of a pumpkin, but it was bright red. It was packed in tight on the inside like a pumpkin, too, but it had some strong sourness to it, and when you heated it up and dissolved it, it tasted just like a tomato.

“That’s right. There are folks who eat it raw too, but it’s just too sour unless you cook it with other vegetables, right? I like to heat it up along with aria.”

“Because aria is real sweet, right? If you chop up the aria finely first and then fry them before cooking them, that’ll draw out even more of the sweetness.”

The old-timer’s eyes went wide in surprise.

“Y-You sure are knowledgeable about vegetables, aren’t you?”

“No, not at all. I don’t even know which vegetable you can eat raw. Ah, by the way, are aria eaten raw?”

“Yes, of course.”

“And then, there’s... gigo, huh? Do you sell gigo here?”

“We don’t. My soil’s not suited to growing it. If it’s gigo you want, Granny Mishil has thick, tasty ones that are real popular.”

“Huh? Which shop is that?”

“I-It’s in the central area, between a leatherworker and a cloth seller. A little old lady runs it by herself, so you would know it as soon as you saw it.”

“Got it! Thank you!” I replied, smiling without even thinking.

In response, the old-timer broke out in the gentlest smile I had seen from him yet.

“Alright, it all adds up. Are you not buying any, Asuta?”

“Ah, right. I’ll take two tino and three tarapa, please.”

“Huh? Three tarapa?”

“Right. I was thinking of using it for the shop I’m opening. Ah, by the way... It’s probably best to eat tarapa the same day as you cook it, right? Also, if you cut a fresh one in half, how long will what’s left over last for?”

“Hmm, if you cook it, then it’ll probably last for two days at the most. And if you cut one and leave it out, the moisture will drain from it, but if you just add water when cooking it, it’ll taste the same.”

“I see. You’ve been a huge help. Thanks a ton.”

Tarapa and tino were both bulky, so the five together were enough to fill up a bag.

By the way, tarapa cost one for a red coin, while that same price got you two tino.

I had two coins left in my war funds.

All that was left was buying gigo and fruit wine, and then we’d be done.

“Hmm, what should we do...? Should we just buy tino again...?”

“Tino is stupidly big! Let’s go with something smaller.”

“Then how about pula...?”

“We don’t need any pula.”

“Then what...? I like tino...”

“Let’s go with chatchi, chatchi! It was crazy tasty in that stew!”

“But you need to heat it for a very long time to get it soft like that, right...?”

Chatchi was a vegetable with a texture a whole lot like a potato.

In their giba stews up till now they had just used a strong flame for a short period of time, so the surface was all goopy while the inside was crunchy, which apparently didn’t make it all that tasty.

“It’s fine. I think it should come out like the stew if you just make your soup by heating it up slowly over a low flame. Also, don’t add it after it starts boiling, but heat it up from the start,” I interjected, causing Ludo Ruu to jostle Vina Ruu’s round shoulder as if bragging about his victory.

“See, that’s what Asuta says! So let’s go with chatchi!”

“Alright, alright. I’m fine just as long as it comes out delicious. Um... so we shouldn’t add it once it’s boiling, but instead put it in before lighting the flame...?”

“Yes.”

“Hehe!” Ludo Ruu chuckled, getting his elder sister in a headlock.

“Oww, that hurts...” Vina Ruu complained, wriggling her body in a sensual manner.

These two got along even better than I had thought.

“Huh? There aren’t any chatchi, though. Do you not sell them here?”

“I-If you want chatchi, try Granny Mishil’s place,” the old-timer replied, looking towards Ludo and Vina Ruu with upturned eyes. “Y-You two are rather different, aren’t you? That’s the first time I’ve seen people of the forest’s edge being particular about vegetables.”

“Hmm? I hate pula! You should sell chatchi instead of that stuff!”

“I-It grows on trees, so it’s hard to raise it from scratch.”

“Hmm. There really are all sorts of vegetables, huh?”

Ludo and Vina Ruu were acting the same as always, but the old-timer’s expression had clearly changed. He looked surprised, perplexed, and... happy?

He had openly displayed quite a bit of fear of the hunters of the forest’s edge, but for some reason, he was now staring intently at Ludo Ruu’s face. Was he really that happy to hear what vegetables a person of the forest’s edge liked and hated?

The words, “When it comes to food, there is no good or bad taste,” had seriously upset me. Maybe this old-timer had been cradling similar feelings for a long time now.

As those thoughts ran through my head, a girl’s voice called out from behind, “Ah! It’s Asuta!”

It was Tara. The little girl was holding a kimyuus manju in her hands as she came running on over my way.

When she noticed Vina and Ludo Ruu, though, she suddenly froze in place.

“Huh? What’s with the runt?”

“Ah, she’s this old-timer’s daughter, Tara. I mentioned her before, right?”

“Oh, the kid that you saved, and then she helped you out?”

Ludo Ruu blithely strode over towards the still frozen Tara.

It was a sight that made you feel nervous just to watch, like a nearly grown German shepherd approaching a kitten.

The look of wonder from before had been wiped clean from the poor old-timer’s face, and he had gone completely pale.

“You sure are a runt! You’re just about as tiny as little Rimee. How old are you?”

“E-Eight...”

“The same as little Rimee, huh? But you’re so skinny it makes you look smaller than you should.”

Ludo Ruu crouched down, and looked back and forth between the girl’s face and the manju.

“Something smells good. Is this thing tasty?”

“...Yes.”

“Hmm...”

“D-Do you want a taste?”

Tara had been preciously cradling the manju in both hands, but now she nervously held it out towards Ludo Ruu.

Ludo Ruu, meanwhile, tilted his head a bit.

“Is it alright?”

“I-If it’s just a bite!”

“Ah, got it. Then I’ll take you up on that,” Ludo Ruu replied, then bit into the manju without even using his hands. The way he was going at it, it almost seemed like he was going to bite into Tara’s fingers, too.

Horrified, the old-timer let out a voiceless scream.

Ludo Ruu barely even chewed the manju before swallowing it, then ruffled his yellowish-brown hair, and stood up.

“Hey, it’s not tasty at all.”

“R-Really?”

“Not in the least. Asuta can make way tastier cooking, you know?”

“I-Is that true?” Tara questioned, turning my way with a look on her face that made it seem like she was smiling and crying at the same time.

I gave a single sigh, then stepped closer to her.

“Well, everyone’s sense of taste is different. I don’t know if it’ll meet the taste of everybody from around town, but, actually, I’ll probably be opening a shop around here soon.”

“Really?! You have to let me try some!”

“Well, it’s a shop, so I’ll be selling it... But I’d love to have you and your dad try it and give your impressions.”

“Yeah!”

She really was a cute little girl.

Ai Fa wasn’t around right now, so I could have this warm interaction with her without getting shot a strange look, too.

As that thought was running through my head, though, I turned around and found Vina Ruu standing in front of the stall, staring intently at me and Ludo Ruu.

The female mind truly was a mystery.

“Well then, we’re going to get fruit wine and chatchi. What about you, Asuta?”

“Right. I’ll get fruit wine too, plus some gigo, then I’ll be done.”

“Ah, gigo! We’ve got to buy gigo too, Vina! The baked poitan won’t taste like that without it, right?”

“It’ll be alright. Even after buying ten bottles of fruit wine, we’ll still have five coins left...” Vina Ruu started to reply, just in time for the sudden appearance of the last member of our cast.

“Hey there, Asuta. What an honest pleasure, getting to meet you three days in a row. Have you finally made up your mind?”

It was Kamyua Yoshu. He had approached us with his long cloak dangling down, not making so much as a sound as he slipped through the crowd.

“I heard from Leito and came looking. And sure enough, here you are at Dora’s place.”

“Right. My business here is done, but I’m glad we ran into you, Kamyua.”

I glanced out of the corner of my eye at Ludo Ruu, but the boy had the same look on his face as always. However, he was tapping away rhythmically at the handle to the hatchet dangling from his hip.

Vina Ruu also smoothly stepped closer, stopping diagonally behind her brother.

“Ah, these two are—”

“Vina and Ludo Ruu of the Ruu clan. I heard from Leito. I figured it would be bad if we missed each other, so I left him back at the inn.”

He was wearing the same aloof expression as always. And his purple eyes, like those of both an old man and a child at the same time, happily looked back and forth between the two siblings.

“I believe I’ve likely already met you once at the Ruu settlement, Ludo Ruu, but allow me to properly introduce myself once again. My name is Kamyua Yoshu, and I make a living keeping travelers safe as a bodyguard. I don’t really have a proper home, but well, this post town has been acting as my headquarters, and I’m a wanderer from the west.”

“Huh,” Ludo Ruu replied, sounding utterly uninterested. His fingers were still tapping away at the hatchet’s handle, though.

“I heard from Milano Mas, too. Sounds like there won’t be any problem with you renting a stall.”

“Right. Now I just need to finish up the menu, then I think I’ll be ready to move forward with opening the shop.”

“So you’ve finally made up your mind, huh? I’m so glad! If it means I get to eat your cooking, then I’ll be coming to see you each and every day.”

“I’ll give it my all effort to prepare a menu worthy of that.”

With that, I had finished my business with Kamyua Yoshu.

Noticing that, Ludo Ruu nonchalantly said, “Kamyua Yoshu. I have a message for you from my father, Ruu clan head Donda Ruu. Will you receive it?”

“Of course! Let’s hear it!”

“‘The forest’s edge will wipe away its own disgrace. If you go sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong, it’ll get bitten off along with the rest of your head.’ That’s all.”

“Understood. I’ll control myself,” Kamyua Yoshu replied, bowing and generally looking like he was putting on airs.

Ludo Ruu’s expression didn’t budge, and he just glanced over my way.

“Well then, let’s go buy the chatchi and gigo. If we waste too much time dawdling around, the sun will end up setting.”

“Right. Well then, Kamyua, sorry since you just went through the effort of finding us, but we still have shopping to take care of, so...”

“Ah, don’t worry about it! After all, when you open the shop, I’ll be seeing you daily for at least ten days straight. I’ll be praying your business is a success, Asuta.”

“Thank you.”

With that, Kamyua Yoshu slipped away just as smoothly as he had appeared.

Kamyua vaguely felt a bit like a ghost today, somehow.

“That man pisses me off...” Ludo Ruu suddenly threw out there.

“Huh?”

“My blade is for cutting giba. I don’t especially want to use it to cut people, but... Guys who I couldn’t cut even if I wanted to make me angry. Especially when they’re from town.”

“L-Ludo Ruu? You mean...?”

“Me and Darmu would be no match for him. Even Jiza may not be good enough. Dad’s probably the only one who’d have a real chance to take that skinny guy’s head.”

As he said that, Ludo Ruu ruffled his yellowish-brown hair, and then he gave a childish “Tch” with his tongue.

5

Roughly a day later, I finally made it back to the Fa house. It really had been over 24 hours since I’d been there last.

The friendly pair of siblings were standing on either side of me. It was important that Vina Ruu grasped where the house was for our work in the post town, and even more importantly, they were also concerned about what moves the Suun clan may make.

“Hmm, doesn’t look like there are any fools getting drunk in the middle of the day around,” Ludo Ruu said as his piercing gaze glanced over our surroundings. He was carrying the heaviest load of the three of us. “Still, to think you’ve gotta cross that huge ravine to get to the post town from the Fa house. Now I get why you need a hand.”

“Right. If we were traveling from the Ruu house, it wouldn’t be so much of a struggle.”

There were numerous routes to get from the settlement at the forest’s edge to the post town. The shortest path from the Ruu and Rutim houses didn’t have a rope bridge and just took 40-50 minutes, making for a rather agreeable route.

But it took nearly an hour just to get from the Fa house to the Ruu settlement, so I hesitated at the idea of using that route. So in that case, even if it meant carrying luggage over that rope bridge, going that way cut down on the amount of effort needed.

On the way back today, we treated a bag of vegetables as if it was my metal pot to simulate transporting one. As a result, we found that as long as I could work up the courage, the two of us could safely make it over the rope bridge.

It was just that on our initial try today, it took me quite a bit of time to work up that courage and determination. Vina Ruu kept a relaxed, friendly expression on her face the whole time, but I couldn’t help but worry that I may have been hurting her respect for me as a shop owner.

Well, I don’t know if it was fortunate or not in the end, but no matter how much unbecoming terror I may have displayed, I never spied much of a difference in Vina Ruu’s sensual flirtatious glances.

“Well then, I’ll see you later. I’m looking forward to when we start working together...”

“Give my regards to Ai Fa, too. And hey, let us enjoy your cooking too now and again instead of only ever feeding it to folks around town, alright?”

With those parting words, the siblings departed.

Ludo Ruu was carrying 70% of the load, but Vina Ruu still had a bag full of 100 aria on her back. Even so, she kept on walking along lightly and easily without even missing a step, unsurprisingly.

It really was just like Ai Fa had said: I shouldn’t go around underestimating the strength of the women of the forest’s edge. They must have just been built differently, whether it was down to a different quality of their muscles or density to their bones or whatever. After all, it seemed that even a woman of Vina Ruu’s height was stronger than I was.

There was no helping that, as we had grown up in completely different circumstances, but I still couldn’t help but sigh.

Will my constitution improve at least a little bit too by eating giba each and every day like I have been? I pointlessly pondered while walking towards the Fa house.

The sun was currently positioned halfway between its peak and sunset. That meant there was still plenty of time left for baking poitan.

I needed to prepare a delicious dinner for Ai Fa, who was out chasing giba in the forest. With that thought in my mind, I readjusted the bag stuffed with tarapa and tino, as well as the giant burdock-esque gigo, which had been cut to a size of around one meter in order to be sold, then opened the door.

When I did so... I saw Ai Fa’s cloak hanging from the wall.

“Huh?”

Was she already back this early in the day?

Well, it wasn’t all that strange if she took down a giba early on, so she had to be around here somewhere.

“Ai Fa, are you here?” I called out, heading towards the pantry.

I opened the door... and Ai Fa wasn’t there.

I went ahead and stored the fruits of my battle today in there, then checked in the storage rooms to either side.

Sure enough, she wasn’t there either.

“Hmm?”

The new pot was left there properly, next to the stove.

I couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary other than that, though.

No, wait... Looking closely, her cloak was hanging there, but her blades were missing.

Ai Fa would only take her knife off her person when she slept, but she leaned her sword up against the wall alongside her cloak when she returned home.

Just what was going on, here?

She took off her cloak, but she was walking about with her blades. I only ever saw her like that when she was heading to wash stuff in the morning.

Was that where she was, then?

No, but the water jug and pots were still in the room. Plus, she never washed stuff after the morning, anyway.

Getting more and more nervous, I went flying out of the house.

Was she drying out pico leaves in a sunny spot?

No, I didn’t smell anything like that in the air.

On the other hand, a suspicious offensive odor was filling my nostrils.

It had a bit of the smell of oxidized metal to it, too... Yeah, it was the smell of blood.

Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine.

Where...?

Where was that smell coming from?

From behind the house.

My knees felt like they were about to start quaking, so I gave them two or three hits, and headed around the house.

It’s fine... I shouldn’t be thinking such ominous things. Even if the Suun clan were ruffians, even they wouldn’t go and do something so stupid when the sun was high in the sky like this.

Something stupid...

No way. I don’t ever want to imagine it.

Before I even realized it, my heart was pounding in my chest and my breathing had grown violent.

It was fine.

Nothing crazy had happened. There was no way that it could have.

I questioned myself so much it was growing repetitive as I rounded the corner, stepping out behind the house. And then...

There was a pure, white skinned giba dangling there.

...

“Ah, so you’re back, Asuta?”

Ai Fa was seated with her back against the wall so that she was facing the dangling giba.

I stomped forwards and stopped right in front of Ai Fa, bent down, and grabbed hold of her smooth shoulders.

“Don’t... Don’t startle me like that!”

Ai Fa’s eyes suddenly went wide open.

“Asuta... were you crying?”

“I’m not!”

Suddenly, I headbutted her. Despite her giving an annoyed sounding “Ow,” I kept on grinding my head forwards.

“What? What is it? What has you so out of sorts, Asuta?”

“Shut up! I was so worried I thought I would die... Why are you skinning a giba?! I smelled blood and it had me seriously scared!”

“It’s a hunter’s job to skin a giba, isn’t it?” Ai Fa responded in a pouty voice.

At this close of a distance, I couldn’t see the expression on her face.

“The Ruu and Rutim men carry out such work, so it makes no sense that I cannot do the same. And so, I was practicing on a giba I had hunted. I’ve seen you do it countless times by now, after all.”

“Then... Then at least tell me first... I thought my heart was going to explode...”

“As I said, just what has you so out of sorts?”

“...Your blades were gone and I smelled blood, so I thought something might have happened and some real nasty thoughts started running through my head.”

I gave a deep sigh, our foreheads still pressed up against one another.

“My blades are here. Even without you worrying about me, I’m well aware that you never know when or where those scoundrels may appear. Preparing for that is only obvious.”

Ai Fa sounded like she was in an incredibly bad mood.

“So, were you picturing the men of the Suun clan chopped to bits? After all, those scum would never get the better of me.”

“I know that, but...”

“...Do you understand how I feel at least a bit now?”

I suddenly pulled my head back, while Ai Fa averted her gaze and pouted her lips.

“My fear in welcoming a powerless man like you into my clan is far beyond that. If you can understand that much, then control your temper at least a little better.”

“...Right.”

“On top of that, why did you not only have such a misdirected worry, but then go so far as to yell at me? Don’t you have any words of gratitude to your clan head for taking on such time-consuming work?”

“No, um... I was wrong.”

“I wasn’t seeking an apology.”

“...Thank you?”

Ai Fa then stood up with a “Hmph.”

Her pout gave way to a frown, and then she haughtily folded her arms.

Could it be... that she had imagined me with sparkles in my eyes, jumping up and down while proclaiming, “What’s this? You’re amazing!”

Ai Fa was currently sulking childishly enough that I figured that had to be it.

I gave one more sigh, worked up my nerve, and then stood up.

Then, I roughly rustled her blonde hair while saying, “Good girl,” only to get a strong blow to the solar plexus.

“I don’t know the fine details of what comes next. What do I do after slitting open the abdomen?” Ai Fa said from above as I struggled with having forgotten how to breathe.

“Owwww... So you mean you’re intending to dissect it, too?”

“The Ruu men do that too, don’t they?” she replied, making a scary face with wrinkles forming atop her nose. It was the first time in a while I had seen her looking like a wildcat.

“Alright, I get it. Then I’ll teach you, but... If I have you do all that, then the work left for me will dwindle away, won’t it? Do you intend to just keep taking on more and more of the burden?”

“What are you saying? What about the time while you’re at the post town, then? Are you saying you’ll come back to the house and then have time to both prepare the giba and bake the poitan? Because I’ve got no interest in chugging down that plain poitan soup ever again.”

I thought it over again.

In actuality, I had planned to bake the poitan for the shop along with the portion for dinner in the morning. But even so, it generally took me between three to four hours to dissect a giba at best. So whether it would be a little or a lot, that would interfere with me preparing dinner.

Ai Fa really was thinking ahead better than I was. Or more accurately, she had more fully considered what me opening a shop would do to our workload.

The feeling that I shouldn’t rely too much on Ai Fa may have still been strongly lingering there inside of me. By my values, that didn’t seem like it was wrong, but... This wasn’t my world, it was the forest’s edge. And it definitely was wrong to try to just force through my sense of values.

I shouldn’t let her spoil me, but I also did need to lean on her. Otherwise, we surely wouldn’t be able to share our happiness together.

“Got it. What you said makes sense. If you’ll take on the skinning and dissection, then I’ll work hard on some other stuff instead.”

“Hmph.”

“You’re just far too reliable of a clan head. I’m working like a madman so that you won’t toss me out.”

“Don’t say such foolish things. All I’m doing is work that any hunter would,” Ai Fa said, drawing her knife while still sulking a bit. “You’re the only one who can do your work, though. Strive your hardest and make a delicious meal.”

“I know. But still...”

I really did think that Ai Fa was doing work that only she could handle, too.

Before the sun hit its peak, she carried out her work as a woman, and then afterwards she did her duty as a hunter. And I’d have to imagine that Ai Fa was probably the only person doing that here at the forest’s edge.

6

“Well then, I’ve done all sorts of calculations,” I said, deciding to lay out the plan I had constructed in my head to Ai Fa now that we had eaten dinner. “The ingredients I’ll use are aria, poitan, tino, tarapa, and gigo mixed into poitan. Thinking purely on profits, maybe it would be best to just stick to the cheaper aria and poitan, but I think it would be hard to get folks from around town to try it like that. And so, I decided to try to appeal to them.”

“Hmm.”

“And like Kamyua Yoshu had said, this isn’t a dinner, but a midday snack, so I don’t think I need to worry about the daily intake needed of aria and poitan or anything. And so, I’ll mostly use the aria as seasoning, and only one poitan each. I’ll be using tarapa and tino in exchange, so the nutritional value shouldn’t be all that different from that manju I ate.”

“Hmm.”

“So I tried roughly calculating the cost of ingredients for one dish, and it looks like it’s about 0.65 red coins. Half a day’s worth of aria and poitan works out to 0.55 red coins, so it’s not all that crazy of a number. And so I think it’s best to use a variety of ingredients to improve the overall taste and presentation.”

“...Hmm.”

“On top of that, if I’m creating 10 meals a day while spending that amount on ingredients, I’ll end up with quite a lot of excess tarapa. Even if I make 20 meals in one day, I think I could manage with just 1.5 tarapas. In that case, the tarapa is the most expensive item, so if I make 20 meals in one day, I should be able to keep the unit cost under 0.6 red coins per unit. And if I go up to 30 or 40 in a day, then the price of the ingredients will gradually decrease.”

“......Hmm.”

“Then there are the other sundry expenses. The location and stall fees for ten days add up to two white coins, which converts to 20 red, and then there’s the pay for Vina Ruu, as well. That’s nothing to sneeze at when you add it up. A horn and tusk a day is equal to six red coins, so ten days means 60 of them. That makes the initial expenses 80 red coins. So right now, I calculate that I’ll need to sell at least 40 meals in order to not end up in the red.”

“Hmm.”

“Then, adding in the fee for the ingredients at that highest rate of 0.65 red coins, we won’t go in the red if I sell 60 meals in this ten day period. If I think of that as six meals a day, it sounds like a pretty meager goal. But if I can’t even sell that much, it will mean the taste of giba meat just can’t break through to the folks of the post town and they’ll just keep on avoiding it. Even if I don’t do much selling in the first few days, though, I’ll just have to bear it and hope that the word of mouth spreads.”

“...Asuta.”

“Even if I just sell one or two for the first few days, if I just aim to sell 20 on each of the last three days I’ll come out in the black, so I don’t think my odds are too bad. After all, my research showed that most places were selling between 20 and 50 meals a day there. And I’d just like to reach that bare minimum number.”

“Asuta. Asuta.”

“But even if I think I’ve got a real fighting chance, I still can’t deny that it’s a gamble. This isn’t just a battle of tastes, but to see how much I can overcome the prejudice against the people of the forest’s edge, so there’s a risk that if things go badly I might not even sell a single one. So for the first few days I’ll prepare a conservative ten per day, keeping the costs down so—”

“Asuta!”

“Huh? What is it?”

When I looked, I saw that Ai Fa looked like she was practically clinging to the wall, tilting her head, and glaring my way.

What the heck? Her legs were actually seated in a proper ladylike fashion rather than with one knee up in the air, which was really cute.

“...Do you have some sort of clear purpose behind making me suffer so?”

“Hmm? What do you mean?” I asked back, tilting my head.

It was hard to tell because it was dark, but Ai Fa seemed like she was tearing up a bit.

“I don’t get what you’re saying at all! My head just keeps hurting worse and worse!”

“Ah, was it hard to understand? Sorry about that. So to simplify...”

“Enough already! I leave it all to you! My head is pounding!”

It was such an explosion of irritability that it called to mind Lala Ruu.

Even for someone who showed off as much emotion as Ai Fa, this was unusual.

“B-But you told me to explain, right? And since we’re both involved in this, I really do think it’s best that you grasp the fine details, too...”

“I said enough already, geez! My head won’t stop aching!”

Geez?! Did she just say “geez”?!

W-W-W-What should I do? Was Dan Rutim’s childishness contagious or something?

Before my panicked eyes, Ai Fa pressed her head up against the wall and collapsed on down.

“My head hurts...”

“Gah, are you alright?! Hey, Ai Fa!”

I scooped up the now limp Ai Fa and cradled her in my arms.

When I held my hand up to her forehead, she felt just a bit feverish.

“A-A fever from overloading your brain? Hey, are you in pain? Should I get you some water or something?”

“I’m fine... Just stop talking so loud...”

Ai Fa knitted her brows in pain, then closed her eyes tight.

“Don’t move from that position... My head hurts...”

“G-Got it.”

I quietly waited for Ai Fa to revive, cradling her body atop my knees.

Naturally, I wouldn’t get all stirred up considering the circumstances, but we were normally never this close, so the feeling of Ai Fa’s warmth certainly made it hard for me to relax.

“Are you alright...?”

“...A little longer,” she replied, tightly gripping my t-shirt.

Her chest wrapped in cloth in the style of the forest’s edge was moving greatly up and down.

She really did look like she was in pain.

“Sorry. I really did over-explain the details, huh...? I guess there’s no need for you to worry about the financial calculations. I mean, I don’t know how to hunt giba or anything, so I guess just leave the money stuff to me.”

Rather than reply, Ai Fa just kept rubbing her head against my chest.

Did her head still hurt?

“Even if I screw up, I’m prepared in order to keep the losses at a minimum. I don’t want to waste even a single one of those treasures you risked your life hunting giba to gather.”

“...How many horns and tusks will we lose if you fail?” Ai Fa asked, seeming to have mostly settled back down.

Feeling a bit relieved, I replied, “If I don’t sell even one up to the bitter end, 12 giba’s worth at worst. It’s pretty unbelievable, right?”

“It is.”

“Yeah, it’s just crazy. But from that, two heads’ worth go to the location and stall fee, while the rest is split in half between the ingredients and what I’m paying Vina Ruu. So the only place I could really cut would be the ingredients.”

“...Right.”

“I hardly saw any shops selling dishes that were just meat in the post town. There was a place that sold bird legs cooked up with just a bit of vegetables, too, but that was apparently meant to pair with alcohol. So I think that in order to compete, I need to come up with something that seems like a proper snack... If I was just focused on the money, though, I could try selling grilled and dried meat.”

“There would be no point to that. We’re living just fine, so you don’t need to worry about money problems,” Ai Fa said, jingling her necklace with her open hand.

Between that and the ones she had in the inner pockets of her cloak, she must have had at least 12 giba’s worth. That only made sense, considering she was taking down a giba every other day despite us being a clan of only two.

However, that was also proof that the number of giba in the forest had started multiplying, and that the danger Ai Fa was exposing herself to was growing in turn. Ai Fa was challenging the post town to a fight, using those horns and tusks she risked her life to obtain as her bet.

To bring prosperity to the forest’s edge... For the sake of her brethren whose names she didn’t even know, out there suffering like the Fa clan once had.

“I cannot speak with words that strongly rouse one’s will the way that Gazraan Rutim can. But... I will have no regrets, even if we lose that many horns and tusks. So just muster your own strength, Asuta, the way that you did when facing off with Donda Ruu, and when you agreed to cook for that wedding banquet.”

“Yeah. I’ll do the best that I can, with my pride as a member of the Fa clan on the line. Is your headache really alright...? How about taking it easy and turning in early for the night?”

“...Right,” Ai Fa replied, not moving.

“Um... Do you think you’re going to lie on the floor?”

“If I’m too heavy, then I’ll lie down there.”

I mean, even if you were heavy, it’s a super comfy sort of weight. And I didn’t exactly feel like forcing you to get off if you didn’t want to...

“...When will you open the shop?”

“Four days from now. The Ruu clan will be going to buy stuff again in three days, so I’ll tag along then and take care of the preparations for the shop. Until then, I’ll be using trial and error to see if I can’t improve anything about the dish I prepared today. Actually, you didn’t say anything but, ‘it’s tasty,’ so do you have any other thoughts?”

“None.”

“I see... What’s tastier? That, or a regular hamburger?”

“...They’re both delicious.”

“If you absolutely had to chose one?”

“Are you trying to make my head hurt again?” Ai Fa said, sounding angry and turning over atop my lap. However, now she wasn’t facing outward, but towards me instead. “If they say that tastes bad, then those townfolks’ tongues have all gone rotten. So if that happens, just give up on opening a shop and only cook for me.”

“That sounds like a pretty happy life in its own way. But first, I have to give it my all to try to succeed.”

“Right,” Ai Fa said with a nod, then she pushed her head up against my chest. “Your happiness is my happiness, Asuta.”

“Yeah.”

“So your success... gives me pride,” Ai muttered, positioned like she was whispering right into my heart.

...It’s fine.

All sorts of problems were sure to pop up after I opened the shop. That was just how reckless of a fight we were taking on.

How much of the preconceptions of the post town could I overturn, faced with 80 years of prejudice and descrimination against giba and the people of the forest’s edge?

At the very least, I wanted to try to do whatever I could.

For the sake of the people most precious to me, and the place where they lived...

I felt proud, being able to call myself one of them.

Suddenly, I realized that Ai Fa had fallen asleep in my arms.

...As long as you’re there for me, I’m sure I’ll be fine, I thought to myself as I felt that pleasant warmth and weight up against my body.