Chapter 1: The Fourth Day—Frivolous Gluttony

1

The fourth day of work had arrived.

I got to the post town at the usual time alongside Vina Ruu, borrowed the stall from the grumpy-as-always owner of The Kimyuus’s Tail, Milano Mas, then finally we headed for the northern tip of the bazaar while getting the usual suspicious looks from passersby.

I could see a crowd was forming a couple dozen meters removed from our usual spot. I braced myself and approached, and the people from the west who had gathered mainly out of curiosity parted to make way.

Waiting on the other side were folks from the south with rather scary-looking faces, and expressionless people from the east staring back at them. There must have been around thirty of them in total, making for an even bigger crowd than yesterday.

On top of that, there were the guards standing between the two and glaring our way as we approached, looking like judges.

“Hey, did you properly prepare enough meals this time, like we discussed?”

“Yes. I have 40 of the first dish and 30 of the second, making it enough to feed 70 people in total.”

Yesterday, I had prepared 40 meals for the shop, but we still sold out before the sun even hit its peak. And if that was all that happened, it wouldn’t make sense for anyone to complain about it, but the folks from Sym and Jagar were pretty much fated enemies to begin with, so they ended up causing a commotion over my food.

If something like that happened again, the guards might force me to shut down the shop. And since I wanted to avoid that no matter what, I had prepared 40 giba burgers and 30 myamuu giba for today.

“Alright, first off we’ll start with the giba burgers. Vina Ruu, could you please get the fire ready?”

“Right!” Vina Ruu replied, sounding like she was in a good mood once again today.

It looked like she barely even noticed the hatred seething around the customers and the guards. And that was definitely reassuring to see.

“Oh, my, that’s a nice fruit wine smell... That’s the new dish, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. In addition to fruit wine it also uses a spice called myamuu, so I decided to call it myamuu giba,” I replied, pulling up the sealed bag filled with six kilos of giba meat and marinade.

I narrowly opened up the mouth of the bag, then poured just the marinade into a different bag.

I had determined it needed an hour for the marinade to soak in, so the time spent traveling from the Fa house to the post town was perfect for that.

“Once things quiet down a bit, how about you try the myamuu giba?”

“Right. Teeheehee, I’m looking forward to it...” Vina Ruu said with a seductive laugh while stirring the tarapa sauce in the pot. Her always drowsy-looking eyes peered into the pot, looking puzzled about something.

“Oh...? This one seems like it smells a bit different than it did yesterday, too...”

“Ah, I tried adding a bit of myamuu to the tarapa there, too. Today’s a test, so I just went with a tiny amount, but you still can tell, huh?”

“Yeah, it smells really good... I feel like I just got hungrier, somehow...”

Myamuu was a spice with a strong aroma and taste that resembled garlic. And so, it went without saying that it paired well with the pseudo-tomato, the tarapa.

It seemed like a bit of a stir was starting to spread among the folks from Jagar surrounding the stall. I was certain that was down to the massive impact of the myamuu and tarapa aroma on their appetites.

I tried not to pay it any heed, but even so, the number of folks standing around staring was growing steadily as I worked.

“There sure are a lot of people... It’s like all the folks from Sym and Jagar in town have gathered...”

“And I’m certainly grateful for it. But with this, the giba burgers we’re starting with will sell out in no time, huh?”

I was planning on shifting to two stalls and increasing the amount of food from tomorrow on. And so, I just prayed in my heart that we’d somehow safely make it through today.

“Does it look about ready? Well then, we’re open for business!”

Under the guard’s guidance, the folks from Jagar came forward first. They had shaggy, dark brown hair and beards, as well as firm, stout builds. They also had white skin with a tinge of red to it, and every last one had an intimidating face.

At the head of the group was the man in the prime of his life known as Aldas, who seemed to be the vice-leader of the construction group. He was pretty tall for the generally stout people of Sym, so you couldn’t mistake him for anyone else.

“...Hey, sorry for causing that commotion yesterday.”

“Ah, no, I messed up by not preparing ten more meals to start with, so please don’t worry about it.”

“Yeah, you got that right. With food that good, you’d never satisfy demand with just 40 plates, so that really was clumsy of you,” he said while looking discontent, but his eyes somehow still looked pretty sorry. “But still, I’m sure glad you didn’t end up getting driven out of the post town. We were the ones making a fuss, so why’d the guards have to go and blame you?”

“That’s... because we’re people of the forest’s edge, I suppose,” I replied while preparing a giba burger, causing Aldas to look even more displeased.

“The people of the forest’s edge cast aside the southern god, Jagar, so I can get why older folks from the south curse them as traitors, but I simply can’t understand your new comrades in the west looking down on you. If the people of the forest’s edge didn’t hunt giba, this Genos region could never have turned out as prosperous as it has.”

I was completely in agreement.

But I couldn’t stand around having a discussion with a customer right now, so I handed over the completed giba burger.

A sour look had remained fixed on Aldas’s stern face up until that moment, but suddenly he exploded with joy.

“Hey, why don’t you work till night time? I’d love to have your cooking for dinner, too.”

“Hmm, that’d be a bit tricky... It’d be nice if the inns wanted to start handling giba meat too, though,” I said, gently extending my feeler, but Aldas just shook his head and looked disappointed.

“Giba meat is one thing, but the bottom line is, your skill’s just that good. Ever since that day, Pops has been in a bad mood... Apparently, he doesn’t like us all happily discussing how delicious your food is. I figure if you used karon or kimyuus meat, Pops would probably drop his work right away and come flying.”

“I’m honored you’d say that. Um... Like I discussed yesterday, once morning passes, I should be selling a new dish, so could you tell Pops that I’d love to have him come again sometime to try it?”

“Hmm? Got it. I’ll tell him.”

As we discussed that, someone from behind impatiently called out, “Hey, are you still not done?”

And so after that, I just focused intently on preparing giba burgers.

Nobody insisted on trying a sample, so I flew through those first 20 giba burgers in no time, selling to the full set of Jagar customers and two or three from Sym.

“Sorry! Please hold on a bit longer while I get the next 20 prepared!”

Considering the size of the pot, 20 patties and sauce was the most I could cram in at once.

I diced up the two tarapa I had bought from Dora on the way here, and then threw them into the pot.

“Asuta, I should turn up the heat, right...?”

“Yeah, please do.”

As I replied, I picked up two fruit wine containers, then shook the lighter of the two into the pot. Inside was diced aria and myamuu that I had sauteed back at the house, and then about 1/4th of the contents was actual fruit wine. The other container was just full of fresh water, for when the temperature of the pot went too high.

The folks from Jagar had mostly dispersed while I was heating up the extra sauce, so the guards left too, looking exasperated.

The onlookers burning with curiosity also started leaving around then, just leaving the dark skinned, slender folks from the east.

“Teeheehee... It kind of reminds you of the Rutim banquet somehow, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, this hustle and bustle certainly is familiar.”

“I’m not skilled at manning the stove, and I never especially liked it, but... When I’m with you, Asuta, it’s not a bother at all...”

I felt honored to hear that.

Plus, Vina Ruu wasn’t putting on a coquettish look or anything. No, she just plain looked happy.

When she was focusing on work, it wasn’t hard to deal with Vina Ruu in the least. It sure would be nice if that could lead to a nice peaceful relationship between us... But I still didn’t think I could afford to let my guard down.

“Alright, I guess that’ll do it.”

I added just a bit of water, then tweaked the flavor with pico leaves and salt.

Then, I pulled patties which I had only cooked on the surface out of the third bag.

That leather bag had cost 15 red coins, so it was a notable expense, but it had a wide mouth making it convenient to use, and apparently it was meant for carrying fruit wine to start with, so it was made such that the smell of the food wouldn’t transfer to it. In fact, coming across this convenient item was precisely what caused me to make up my mind to sell myamuu giba in the shop.

I had to make sure it sold, so that the bag wouldn’t turn out to be a wasted purchase.

“Thank you so much for waiting! I’ll be selling the next 20 meals now!”

As soon as I said that, the customers from Sym started approaching.

Folks from Sym seemed to generally like wearing leather cloaks with hoods, but it wasn’t like there weren’t people in lighter clothing, too. And those folks all had on cloth outfits with beautiful swirling designs like what the people of the forest’s edge wore, accessories made with layered stones and metals, and thin short swords hanging from their hips.

I couldn’t help but think that those people reminded me of the people of the forest’s edge. It wasn’t just the outfits, but also the way that they didn’t really show much expression and were quiet with their movements, which was just like the men of the forest’s edge.

However, most of the men of the forest’s edge were ferocious, with intimidating builds. And their skin was more of a creamy chocolate color, too.

But I guess guys like Shin Ruu are a bit like the people of the east. He’s quiet, plus he has those almond shaped sort of eyes...

As that thought ran through my head, I sold 12 giba burgers. In no time at all, we were down to just eight of them.

On top of that, a cloaked group of ten was just a bit removed, staring straight at the stall. Just as I started wondering if they might be The Silver Vase, one of them pulled back his hood and approached.

And sure enough, when he did so his long silver hair came into view.

It was the leader of The Silver Vase, Shumiral... something or other.

“Is the giba, still not, sold out?”

“It isn’t. I just have eight of these dishes left, but as I mentioned yesterday, I’ll be selling another type of giba dish.”

“Eight...” Shumiral said, looking like he was pondering something.

Then he returned to his group, only for five of them to approach in turn. They just silently slapped down their coins, so I said, “Thanks,” and set about preparing five giba burgers.

“So, three left?” Shumiral asked, coming up to me again.

“Yes. What do you want to do?”

“...We’ll wait.”

“What?”

“We want, to eat the new dish. Five of us, had work, so they gave up. Me and the other four, will wait.”

“I see. But I was thinking I’d start selling the new dish first thing in the morning tomorrow, too.”

“We can’t wait, till tomorrow. So we will wait, today.”

As we had that exchange, someone even taller than Shumiral smoothly approached.

“Well then, I guess I’ll jump ahead of you and make a purchase. Two please, Asuta.”

It was Kamyua Yoshu.

I’d built up enough of a resistance by now that such sudden appearances no longer surprised me.

“Thanks for your continued business... Sorry that we ended up selling out yesterday.”

“Seriously! There was nothing I could do about it, so I bought a snack from another place yesterday, but I felt so dissatisfied that it was like I hadn’t eaten at all. I’m really interested in the new dish too, but I’ll save that for tomorrow.”

When I was returning the cart yesterday, I ran into Kamyua Yoshu at The Kimyuus’s Tail and explained the situation to him.

He made quite a look of surprise when I told him, but I assumed he’d probably watched the whole thing from the shadows.

“Right, here’s your two. Thanks for waiting.”

“Thanks! Well then, keep on giving it your all!”

After giving one last bow to Shumiral, Kamyua Yoshu then casually departed.

He didn’t seem to be getting much involved with me while I was working, perhaps out of consideration and not wanting to interfere with my business.

“...That person, is he an acquaintance?”

“Huh? Ah, yes. I’m reluctant to say so, but he is.”

“I see... His hair and eyes, are the color of the north. His skin color, matches the west. How odd.”

Ah, so for people of this world, it was possible to guess at Kamyua Yoshu’s mixed blood just from looking at him, huh?

Still, I shouldn’t go leaking the oldtimer’s personal information to an ordinary customer like this. And so, I just agreed with a “Yeah.”

“...Also, his heart, is like the people of the east. It is hard, to read, his thoughts, and feelings,” Shumiral said with a pensive look. “He smiles. And yet, I can’t see, how he’s feeling... How strange.”

Once again, all I could respond with was “Yeah.”

I couldn’t read how either Shumiral or Kamyua Yoshu were feeling at all.

At any rate, I figured it would be dangerous to try to push the remaining one left on his numerous companions, so I was just going to set about preparing the next dish... when a lone man from Jagar came running up.

“Hey! Are you already sold out?!”

“No, I have exactly one left.”

“Ah, thank goodness! I ended up oversleeping today, so I almost ended up missing out!”

I didn’t especially recognize him, but he must have been one of the customers who came yesterday, too. And so, I gave a friendly, “Thanks for your continued business!” and prepared the final giba burger.

When I saw off the customer with a big grin on his face, I had completely sold through the giba burgers.

Sure enough, it hadn’t even taken an hour. It was a truly shocking sales pace.

“Alright. Now let’s move the tarapa sauce into the leather bag... But, well, we probably need to let it cool down a bit first.”

“Yeah... There’s a lot left today, isn’t there?”

Vina Ruu shot me a joyful sidelong glance, but I thought with a “Hmm...”

“Well, it only took a little bit to all sell out, so the sauce couldn’t have heated up all that much. If we reuse it tomorrow, we could probably cut down the expenses a fair bit.”

“Huh...?” Vina Ruu questioned, looking like she was about to cry.

She just looked so sad that I sighed without even thinking.

“I’m just kidding. Heated tarapa would probably last for two days, but since there are meat juices mixed in, it would be safest to eat it tonight. Please, go ahead and take it home with you.”

“Asuta, you’re so mean...” Vina Ruu said, puffing her cheeks.

So she was the type to do that rather than just pouting, huh?

And then, Shumiral muttered, “So lovely...”

“Huh? Did you say something?”

“She’s lovely. And also, very beautiful.”

Even while he was saying such things, his facial expression didn’t budge in the least.

As for Vina Ruu, she gave a smile that was shockingly lacking in warmth and replied, “Thank you for saying so...” Perhaps she’d grown sick of hearing praise from the opposite sex by this point.

At any rate, after three minutes of letting the pot cool, we transferred the tarapa sauce to the leather bag and I finally set about making the myamuu giba.

Well, from what I can tell, the pace of people passing won’t be picking up for a while yet, so for now I’ll just make enough samples for the folks present.

First up, I sauteed the aria I had sliced, then I eyeballed out about a kilo of the giba meat that had been steeped in the marinade and tossed it in. That alone was enough to cause the scent of myamuu, fruit wine, and cooking giba meat to explode forth.

It was a shame that there weren’t many passersby around. After all, this dish had an even more stimulating smell than the giba burgers. Even Shumiral, with his face naturally still completely expressionless, couldn’t help but mutter, “The myamuu, smells good.”

Once it was done cooking, I moved it to the wooden plate, coated it in plenty of heated marinade, and then wrapped it up in a poitan together with the diced tino.

“Ah, Vina Ruu, could you move the brazier outside?”

“Got it.”

If we didn’t move the brazier out when few people were around like this, the inside of the pot would end up burning. That made it a bit more of a hassle than the giba burgers, but on the other hand that meant it used up less firewood, so I suppose that made them about equal.

As I thought to myself that a charcoal fire or something would probably be ideal, I put together five myamuu giba. With the remaining meat, I made up samples.

“Thanks for waiting. This dish costs two red coins each.”

Sure enough, the group with Shumiral at their head just silently nodded and handed over their coins. Apparently they didn’t feel the need to try a sample.

Then, they bit into their myamuu gibas while minding their manners, but... What did they think of the taste? The way that their expressions were so hard to read sure was inconvenient at times like this.

“...That was delicious. From tomorrow on, we will eat them, in order.”

“Huh? In order?”

“Yes. It’s hard to say, which is tastier. And so, we will eat them, in order.”

At any rate, it seemed that they liked it.

I couldn’t help but think how reserved they were, giving a smile.

“Thank you. It makes me incredibly happy to hear that.”

“I am also happy, to have encountered, such delicious food.”

As he said that, Shumiral suddenly turned his gaze towards Vina Ruu.

“Asuta, may I ask you, one question?”

“Yeah. What is it?”

“Is she, your wife?”

I was so caught off guard that I momentarily couldn’t even respond, but in that moment Vina Ruu gave a wide grin and coiled about my arm.

“That’s a secret...”

“I see. Excuse me.”

Shumiral then let an ever so slight bit of emotion show via his mouth. The silver haired youth from Sym gave a gentle, relaxed, and ever so slightly pained... smile.

Then he put his hood back on, and left with his other four comrades.

“Thanks for your continued business!” I yelled out, then yanked my arm free of Vina Ruu. “Hey! Vina Ruu, don’t you think stuff like that is kind of a problem?”

“But... It’s nothing but a hassle, isn’t it? Having someone from the east like me... Or are you saying I should have turned on the sex appeal...?”

Vina Ruu was always giving that off and causing chaos to begin with. But well... Figuring it was probably best that she kept things nice and simple with the customers after all, I gave a bit of a sigh.

“Still, it sure is amazing... We only just opened, but we’ve already sold even more than yesterday, right?”

“That’s true. Well, I get the feeling it was because all the customers worried about us selling out swarmed us immediately, though.”

And once that was over, the number of people passing by suddenly petered out. We were dealing with some serious extremes here.

“At any rate, we have 25 myamuu giba left. As long as we really do sell out of them, I’d like to move to the plan that we discussed yesterday.”

“You mean increasing to running two stalls, right...? It seems the intention is to lend you one woman from the main house and one from a branch family to help out...”

“Ah, we’ll be getting help from a branch family, too?”

“Well, there’s still work to handle around the house, so we can’t exactly loan out three women from the main house all at once, now can we...?” Vina Ruu said, then gave a little sigh. “Geez... So today may be the last day it’s just the two of us working together, huh? It was a blissful four days...”

“I-I mean, it should be fine having other people around, right?”

“But, I mean... Doesn’t it seem like Reina will be chosen from the main house...?”

I’d already firmed up my resolve for that.

Carrying the pots would be too much for a little girl like Rimee Ruu or Granny Tito Min, while Sati Lea Ruu had Kota Ruu to take care of. Setting aside Mia Lea, as she was the one who led the women, that just left Reina and Lala Ruu.

And this time I asked for at least one of the women to have some skill at manning the stove, so it was practically like I had gone and specified Reina Ruu.

Vina Ruu was doing a great deal better than I had expected with focusing on the work. Ideally, it would be nice if I could form the same sort of peaceful relationship with Reina Ruu.

“Someone from the main house should be coming here to the post town soon, so when they do, perhaps they’ll tell us who was chosen to help out...?”

“Huh? But wasn’t tomorrow the day that the Ruu family was set to stock up again?”

“Yeah... But I asked them to take care of something else too, so they moved it up by one day to today.”

I was about to ask just what she was talking about, but before that, she said, “Oh, my... We were just talking about them, and there they are. They sure are here early...”

I followed Vina Ruu’s gaze, and spied an unexpected pair. No, well, one of them wasn’t really all that surprising, but still...

Either way, the second son and daughter of the main Ruu house were heading straight our way.

2

“Asuta, long time no see,” Reina Ruu called out.

The expression on her face was almost shockingly calm.

“Yeah, right back at you. I guess it’s been around ten days now, right?”

Ten days since we had that unpleasant parting of ways at the Rutim banquet. When she asked me to leave the Fa clan for the Ruu, but I wasn’t able to grant her wish.

And yet, she declared that she wouldn’t give up and then left, leaving me to worry over how to deal with her. Ultimately, I decided I needed to remain firm.

But now, Reina Ruu was standing before me with a calm, gentle smile on her face.

In fact, she was so relaxed right now that it was as if the previous childlike innocence she used to give off had been locked away.

“Vina, here’s what you asked for.”

“Ah, thanks. It was probably heavy, right...?”

“No, not at all,” Reina Ruu replied, lowering something on her back to the ground next to the stall.

It was a large bag meant for carrying vegetables. It seemed like there must have been something solid in there, as it settled down into a sort of angular shape.

“What’s that? It looks like firewood...”

“It is. I gathered it up over the last three days...”

I still didn’t get what was going on.

“We finished way ahead of schedule the last three days, right...? So Mia Lea said I should spend that extra time finding more work to do for you. And the only thing I could think of that I could do was gather firewood...”

“Oh, so that’s it?! Man, thanks for that. We’ll be using more firewood than ever starting tomorrow, after all.”

“But you and I always have our hands full as it is, so I asked Mia Lea if it could be brought when someone comes to do shopping. And my mom replied with a smile, saying that was a cheap price to repay the leftover tarapa you’ve been giving us every day...”

Then, she shot me a bitter glance.

“I was thinking the whole time about how I’d surprise you, but then you went and said such a mean thing...”

“S-Sorry. That really was just a joke. And I’m really glad, thank you,” I hurriedly apologized, half covering up the sound of bags being roughly plopped down. That was from Darmu Ruu dropping the bags he had been shouldering.

He had been holding three bags of firewood. Three times as much as Reina Ruu. It was possible to get to the post town in less than an hour from the Ruu settlement, but it would definitely still be difficult for me or one of the women to carry that much.

“Thanks to you too, Darmu... But is it alright for you not to be resting...?” Vina Ruu asked.

Darmu Ruu didn’t reply.

I couldn’t see his expression, as he had what looked like grey bandages wrapped all around his head and face.

But as always, those blue eyes he inherited from his father were lit up like those of a wild wolf, which made it clearer to me than anything else that this really was Darmu Ruu.

“You see, Darmu got a head injury while protecting a hunter from a branch family... It was a very serious injury, enough that he had a hard time walking around on his own until three days ago...”

“You don’t need to tell him that,” Darmu Ruu muttered in a low voice.

I hadn’t even seen Darmu Ruu on the night of the banquet, so this reunion had taken even longer than my one with Reina Ruu.

On top of that, he hadn’t been doing any talking around me, so this may have actually been my first time hearing his voice since that argument he had with Ai Fa, a month ago.

I had heard he got hurt, but that was already seven days ago. It was that serious of a wound...?

He had let his emotions get the better of him and run his mouth on that night a month ago, but he didn’t show any signs of trying to make a move on Ai Fa since then, so I didn’t see any reason for me to hold a grudge.

And so, I said, “Thank you very much,” and earnestly bowed my head.

Of course, what I got back was a disapproving glare and some unfriendly words.

“I did this work to repay you for the tarapa you’ve been sending to the Ruu house. There’s no reason for you to be thanking me.”

“Geez, you sure are stubborn... Are you perhaps like dad in that way...?” Vina Ruu said with a giggle.

Darmu Ruu shot the same sort of glare her way, but that wasn’t enough to quiet his daring older sister.

“Still, I’m glad to see you’re feeling well enough to carry all that... You’ll be able to head back out into the forest again soon, but don’t push yourself, alright?”

“...I haven’t fallen so low that I need someone like you worrying about me.”

“Oh, my, what a horrible thing to say to your big sister... See, isn’t he adorable?” Vina Ruu stealthily whispered to me.

I suppose it was the sort of adorableness that only relatives could see. In fact, if any of the folks from the Suun clan could give off that sort of pressure, I would feel at least 50% more in danger.

“...Asuta, I have a message from our mom and dad. Could you listen to it?” Reina Ruu quietly interjected. “If you need more help from tomorrow on, then they’ll loan you Lala Ruu from the main house, and Sheera Ruu from one of the branch families.”

“Ah, so it’s Lala and Sheera Ruu?”

“Yes. I told them that I would absolutely like the opportunity to work with you, but that request wasn’t granted,” Reina Ruu said, and then she smiled.

Was she always the type of girl to make that sort of face under such circumstances?

What was it...? For some reason, I couldn’t read her feelings at all.

“This is your new dish, isn’t it?” Reina Ruu asked, her eyes falling on the plate of samples.

“Y-Yeah. If you’d like, you could try a sample. They’ve cooled down though, so I’ll heat it back up for you.”

“No. These are meant for the people of the post town to eat, aren’t they? If I ate one, then there would be less left to feed them. And I don’t want to do anything that would interfere with your work.”

Reina Ruu cast her eyes downward and smiled.

When she saw that, Vina Ruu gave a listless sigh.

“Hey, Asuta... It’s alright for me to have a taste test, right? If it’s alright, could I do that now...?”

“Huh? Ah, yeah. Of course I don’t mind.”

More or less sensing Vina Ruu’s intentions, I threw some fresh firewood into the now half-empty brazier and set it back in the stall.

Then, while the pot was heating up, Darmu Ruu called out “Hey,” to Vina Ruu. “No one from the Suun clan has shown up today, have they?”

“That’s right. In fact, it’s not just the Suun clan... We haven’t seen any people of the forest’s edge in general, right...?”

“That’s true. I mean, even if they were coming here for shopping they wouldn’t come all the way over here to the outskirts, so it’s possible none of them have even realized we’re here yet.”

“I see,” Darmu Ruu said with his gaze fixed on Vina Ruu, and then he gave a small nod. “What about that Kamyua Yoshu man, then?”

“He just bought some of Asuta’s cooking and left... Though with him, I suppose it’s still possible he’s hiding in the shadows of the trees somewhere and watching...”

“...I see,” Darmu Ruu replied, shooting an even fiercer glance at the grove behind our stall.

That guy really could be hiding out somewhere right now, eavesdropping on our conversation... It was a truly unpleasant thought. He’d expressed an affection for the people of the forest’s edge, but we didn’t exactly have a mutual understanding in the least, so it was always hard to tell whether he was really an ally or an enemy.

“Alright, I’ll go ahead and whip it up.”

I dropped some aria into the freshly heated pot, then the meat, and next I went ahead and prepared a single serving of myamuu giba.

As Vina Ruu accepted it, she said, “It really does look delicious...” with a joyous smile on her face, and took a bite. “Yeah, it’s tasty... But it’s a really sweet flavor. I feel like our dad may hate it...”

“That’s true. I used plenty of fruit wine, after all.”

“But still, it’s incredibly delicious... I think I like it just as much as the giba burgers...”

Vina Ruu took one more bite, and then she held it out towards Reina Ruu.

“Reina... This is my portion, so there’s no need to hold back. Won’t you at least try a bite...?”

“Huh, but...?”

“If you won’t have any, though, then I’ll eat all of it...”

As she said that, Vina Ruu took another bite.

A childish, anxious look flashed across Reina Ruu’s face. Yes, now she looked like the girl that I knew from before.

“Well then, just one bite...” she said, timidly reaching out.

Then, her little mouth bit down on the myamuu giba... and her face erupted in a smile that made it look like she simply couldn’t contain her joy.

“It’s... delicious. It’s a really powerful taste, isn’t it...?”

“Yeah. I thought that this strong of a spice might better meet the tastes of the townsfolk.”

“You really are amazing, Asuta... Ah, I wish I could help out too...” she said while looking down at the ground. She really did seem like her usual earnest self again.

“...It’s not as if Asuta will actually close up shop after these ten days, and it’s not like it has to always be the same women helping him, right...? It’s perfectly possible that your turn will come, Reina.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Reina Ruu replied with a bashful smile.

Then, she somewhat timidly glanced my way.

“If that time comes... I look forward to working with you, Asuta.”

“Ah, right, same here.”

When she heard my reply, she broke out in a joyous smile, so overly sweet that it felt like it was giving me a toothache.

“If that finishes our business here, then we’re leaving,” Darmu Ruu called out, sounding irritated.

“Oh, my, don’t you want to try some too, Darmu...?”

“As if I’d need something like that...” Darmu Ruu muttered, then he glared my way once again with his wolf-like gaze. “Hey... What’s the deal with that look in your eyes? Are you pitying me for being clumsy enough to get injured so badly I can’t go out into the forest?”

“Huh? That wasn’t my intention at all! I’ve even been nearly killed by giba twice, myself. I don’t think getting injured while hunting giba makes you clumsy at all.”

As I scratched my head, I thought to myself how I really just didn’t seem to get along with him. It was then that Vina Ruu slipped out of the stall and wriggled herself around Darmu Ruu’s robust right arm.

“That’s no good. If you get all hotheaded like that, you might open up your wounds again, right...? If you want to be healthy again soon, then you’ve got to take care.”

“Oh, shut it. And don’t act all clingy like that,” Darmu Ruu replied, violently shaking off his sister.

Then he just started walking south, so Reina Ruu hurriedly bowed her head.

“My apologies for interrupting your work. And please take good care of Vina... You should make sure you take care too, Asuta.”

“Right, thanks. Give my regards to Donda and Mia Lea Ruu.”

After shooting one last joyful smile our way, Reina Ruu hurried after her brother. Vina Ruu gave a little sigh, still holding the partially eaten myamuu giba in her hands.

“Did I do something I shouldn’t have...? But still, it was just too painful, watching Reina crush her own feelings like that...”

“Huh? W-What do you mean?”

“Reina has carried a look like she’s deep in thought ever since the night of the Rutim banquet... I don’t want to see Reina suffer, but I also want to see you and her be joined together even less...”

I just stood there in silence.

“Hey... Why don’t you and Ai Fa just get together already?”

What sort of face must I have been making when I heard that? As for Vina Ruu, she looked completely and utterly serious.

“...If I did that, would it somehow settle everything smoothly?”

“Yeah... When it happened, my heart would be probably be shattered into itty bitty pieces, to the point where I’d even be prepared to go and do something crazy...”

“What?”

“And so I’d just have to seduce you, so the two of us can leave the forest’s edge together. After all, Ai Fa would never forgive us, so we couldn’t remain at there... And I’m sure Reina wouldn’t care what happened to us at that point, once she hears how far we’ve fallen...”

“Hey! That doesn’t sound like it’s settling things smoothly at all!”

“That’s about the only future I can imagine anymore in which the two of us are tied together...” Vina Ruu muttered in a pathetic tone, hanging her head, but what she was saying was completely nuts. I gave a sigh, putting all my strength behind it.

“Just like I said before, I’ve got no intentions of marrying anybody. And there’s no way I’d play along with such a disturbing plan for the future, anyway.”

“Then what would you do if Ai Fa asked you to marry her...? Do you really think you could turn her down...?”

I wasn’t able to immediately answer back that I could.

The idea of a future in which Ai Fa asked me to marry her just seemed way too unreal.

But if that were to actually happen, then what...?

I had thought that I didn’t want to take anyone as a spouse when I had no idea when I might disappear, but at the same time, I also wanted to stay by Ai Fa’s side for the rest of my life.

If Ai Fa asked me to marry her... Just what would I do?

As she started toying with the tips of her chestnut-color hair, Vina Ruu shot me a sidelong glance while I stood there at a loss for words.

“Or perhaps Ai Fa could make up her mind to marry another man... Just let me say, I’m pretty sure Darmu still has strong feelings about wanting to make Ai Fa his bride... After all, he’s turned down countless requests over these past two years, too.”

“A-Ai Fa has no intention of becoming a bride or marrying anyone into her house either, so that future will never come.”

“Even if that’s true now, people’s feelings change, you know... After all, Ai Fa once cut off all ties to everyone, but then she went and welcomed you into her clan, didn’t she? Even Ai Fa herself doesn’t know how she’ll feel in a year or two...”

“That... may be so, but still...”

“So even if Ai Fa offered to marry you, you would turn her down...? And if she then decided to turn around and marry Darmu instead, could you give them your blessing...?”

This time around, I really was stunned to silence.

At least looking at her now, I just couldn’t imagine Ai Fa ever choosing to not be a hunter any longer.

But even some sudden accident could lead to a big change in how someone felt.

And plus, even if her feelings didn’t change, it was possible she could suffer a big injury and never be able to work as a hunter again, like what happened to Shin Ruu’s father, Ryada Ruu.

If that time came... Just what would I do?

“Hey. Are you still not closed up for today?” a voice I had never heard before suddenly called out, bringing me back to my senses. “The folks from Sym and Jagar all left, right? Even if you stick around in the post town, nobody else will buy giba meat, you know.”

Not only was his voice unfamiliar, so was his face.

It was a man... Or I guess I should say a youth. He may have been around the same age as I was. And he seemed to be awful punkish, too.

His skin was ivory-white, his dark brown hair was in a plain style, and his eyes were a lighter brown. He had on a vest that opened wide at the chest, and had a knife dangling from his hip. He also had friends who looked to be about the same age gathered behind him. Of that group of five, only one of them was a girl.

“...Welcome,” I said with a smile.

They were clearly ridiculing me, but they were also customers from the west, like I’d wanted from the very start.

The sight of Ai Fa was still firmly burned into my mind, but now wasn’t the time to be worrying about that.

“Giba meat is delicious, you see. If you’d like, you could sample it to see how it tastes,” I said, pointing out the plate of samples. With that, the youth looked at me with a chuckle that made it clear he thought I was nuts.

“There’s no way anyone from the west would eat that. And you’re from somewhere else, aren’t you? How’d you get yourself roped into selling giba meat by a giba eater woman? And you’ve already earned plenty of coins today, haven’t you? So scurry on back to the forest’s edge.”

It was like what Pops from Jagar had said two days ago, but there was far more animosity behind this youth’s words.

And I was certain it must be contempt and fear at the root of all that. As he spat out those aggressive words, his gaze started wandering a bit. He was laughing at me, but he didn’t especially sound like he was enjoying himself. I was starting to get the feeling that this was the bad kids around town challenging each other to prove their bravery by picking a fight with people from the forest’s edge.

And yet, these were exactly the sort of customers I had been waiting for. My true test here was to see if I could get them to keep an open mind and try giba meat.

“It’s true that I wasn’t born at the forest’s edge. However, I still believe that giba meat is incredibly delicious even so. That’s precisely why I opened this shop, to show the people of the post town just how tasty it can be,” I cheerfully responded.

The youth, though, got a little twitch in his cheek and said, “Hmph! The only ones who’d find that crap delicious are poor people who come here from the south and east for work! We don’t want your shop here, so hurry up and get lost!”

“You think so? It’s true that I still haven’t had many customers from the west try my food, but fortunately, those that did gave it their praise. Tastes of course vary from person to person, but still, would those folks there care to give it a try, too?”

As I said that, I signaled to Vina Ruu with my eyes. Or at least I was about to, but before I could get to it, I saw that she was already setting the brazier into the stall.

“...Sounds interesting. Go ahead and eat it,” the only girl said, sounding like she was enjoying herself as she gave the youth a rough nudge on the back.

This girl had a seriously sensual look about her, though not quite as much as Vina Ruu, and she looked to be about my age, too. The only part of her torso covered was her chest, but she also had on a skirt that reached from her hips down to her heels, making for an appearance that reminded me of Vina Ruu’s post town look. But she didn’t have on a veil or shawl, meaning she was showing even more skin, the colors of her outfit were quite flashy, and there were jangling accessories dangling from her neck and arms.

All of the group, that sensual girl included, had ivory-white skin. Some of them seemed to get plenty of sun though, making their skin look more yellowish-brown. In the back of my mind, I pondered that even the people of the west were part of the same humanity, and must have shared the same roots as everyone else.

“Don’t be crazy. Why should I have to eat giba meat of all things?”

“What’s the problem? If it’s good, I’ll eat it too.”

“Then you go ahead and eat it first! And if it’s good, then I’ll give it a try.”

“Hmph, how pathetic. No matter what you say, you’re ultimately just scared of giba, aren’t you?” the girl questioned with a smile meant to provoke the boy, then she brushed her hand through her long, dark brown hair.

Sure enough, this seemed to be a test of courage and some teasing. But even so, it was just what I wanted.

As they were bickering like puppies the pot had heated up, so I went ahead and grabbed a pinch of giba meat out of the leather bag.

When I tossed that into the pot, it gave a delightful sizzling sound, and a sweet aroma started spreading through the air.

Instantly, the two of them stopped talking.

And the group hanging back all approached the stall, looking like they were getting pulled along by an invisible string.

Once the surface of the meat was cooked, I added a spoonful of marinade, which caused even more fragrant white smoke to fill the air.

“...Myamuu, huh? Of course it would smell good when you’re using that stuff,” the initial youth scoffed, but nobody chimed in to agree with him.

Just when it seemed like it was about done I added the portion from the plate back to the pot, got everything nice and stirred, then moved it all back to the plate.

Vina Ruu swiftly placed the brazier outside, while I laid out my grigee toothpicks atop the plate.

“Now then, would you care to give it a try? Just getting a taste would be fine. Even if it isn’t to your tastes, it would make a fine topic of conversation, wouldn’t it?”

The five youths, including the one girl... All of their faces made it clear that they were at a loss.

It was obvious that they were feeling greatly conflicted, and didn’t know how to proceed.

They didn’t want to eat giba meat and found the idea unpleasant, but they didn’t want their pride to be hurt by causing the others to think they were afraid of giba, and then there was their animosity towards the people of the forest’s edge, and the delicious smell in front of them now spurring on their curiosity... Their hearts were being tugged in all sorts of directions by all sorts of matters.

“Y’know... It looks really tasty, doesn’t it...?”

“B-But it’s still giba meat, isn’t it, dummy?”

“That’s right! Proper people would never be caught dead eating giba meat!”

“And my granny said if you eat this stuff, you’ll grow horns and tusks like a giba...”

“It’s totally obvious using myamuu will make something smell good.”

“Yeah... But it really does look tasty, too...”

“That’s for sure! It looks delicious!”

Hmm?

I suddenly noticed a little dark brown head amidst the crowd of youths.

It was Dora the vegetable seller’s beloved daughter, Tara.

“Asuta! This is your new dish, right?! The myamuu smells really good!”

“Ah, if you want, you can go ahead and try a sample.”

I added another toothpick, which Tara grabbed and excitedly proclaimed, “Yay!”

Then, with the bewildered youths all staring at her, she joyfully exclaimed, “It’s delicious! It’s not soft like the giba burgers! But it’s still really tasty! Four please!”

“Thanks! But do your dad and the rest not need to try it for themselves first?”

“Nope! They said if I tried it and it was yummy, I should buy them before they sell out!”

I was really grateful to hear that.

It was all thanks to Dora that the guys from the pot and cloth shops had any interest in giba cooking in the first place.

And I was sure it was thanks to Vina and Ludo Ruu that Dora ever became so open-minded to start with.

As that thought ran through my head, I smiled back at Tara.

“Alright! Could you hold on just a moment? I’ll have them ready shortly.”

“Right!”

The brazier that had just been set outside was placed back in the cart, and I sauteed up enough aria and meat for four dishes.

I even thought I heard the sound of one of the youths gulp down their saliva.

Now that I had a moment to think about it, my first Sym customer had seen Tara ordering a giba burger and gotten interested in the shop as a result, too. I keenly felt just how much good fortune was coming my shop’s way thanks to my association with her.

“Thanks for waiting! That’ll be eight red coins.”

“Yup! Thanks!”

Tara then took off running, carefully cradling the four myamuu giba in her arms.

As I scooped the impurities out of the pot with my wooden spatula, I smiled at the hesitant youths.

“Now then, would you like to try it? They’re samples, so it’s completely free.”

“Alright... I’ll eat it,” the single girl said, reaching out towards the plate.

“Y-You idiot, cut it out! What’ll you do if you end up growing horns?!”

“There’s no way that’ll happen. You seriously believe that dumb superstition?”

As she said that, the girl was making a face like she was deep in thought about something.

“T-That little kid ate it like it was nothing, so we look like idiots being so scared about it. If you all don’t want to be called cowards, then you should give it a try, too.”

“I-It’s not like I’m scared or anything!”

As I saw that youth raising a fuss out of the corner of my eye, the girl grabbed a toothpick.

Then, while shooting a fierce glare at me and Vina Ruu, she got a do-or-die look on her face and tossed the meat into her mouth.

She gave it two or three chews, then her eyes opened wide and she went, “Whoa...”

“H-Hey, are you alright?” one of the youths asked, putting his hand on her shoulder, only for the girl to cruelly swat it aside.

Finally, she muttered, “It’s... really good...”

I stealthily breathed a sigh of relief as the youths started raising a fuss.

“What did you just say? It’s giba meat, you know. Is something wrong with your head?”

“Shut up! If you think I’m lying, then try it yourself! If you still think it’s gross, then I’ll strip naked here and now!”

Ah, no, that seems like it’d get the guards summoned, so please don’t.

Still, this sure was some response.

At last, a citizen of the west who I’d never met before had eaten giba meat and called it delicious. On my fourth day of work, I had finally reached this point.

“Damn it, fine! Make sure you don’t forget that promise, alright?” the boy said in an exasperated tone, then he finally grabbed a toothpick.

While making a face that half looked like he was about to cry, the youth picked out the smallest looking piece of meat and slowly carried it up to his mouth.

“Whoa...” he muttered, his eyes going wide just like the girl’s had.

“Well? Isn’t it delicious?” the girl asked, puffing out her chest with pride at her victory.

Then, the other four started reaching out one by one.

Fortunately, not a one of them called it gross. Instead, all of them just opened their eyes wide in surprise.

Did the folks from the west have a better affinity for giba meat than the ones from the south, or was myamuu giba more generally appealing than giba burgers...? The answer to those questions remained a mystery, but this was definitely a step forward compared to the second day, where half the people were dissatisfied.

“...Hey. It was two red coins, right?” the girl asked with a harsh look in her eyes, to which I gave a friendly, “That’s right.”

“H-Hey, Yumi, you aren’t actually planning on buying one, are you?”

“What’s the matter? There’s no reason not to buy such delicious food, is there? Do you really want to buy something from a different shop after eating that?” the girl called Yumi firmly stated, then she slapped her coins down on the counter.

“What about you all? Are you not buying any? I’ll warn you now, I’m not sharing even a single bite with you guys.”

The youths looked at each other with bewilderment on their faces.

As she haughtily shrugged her shoulders, the girl glared my way again.

“Now hurry up and make it. Thanks to you, now I feel like I’m starving.”

“Right! Just one moment, please!”

We really were having to constantly pull the brazier out and then put it back in. Still, I greatly welcomed being busy like that.

There was still time till the sun hit its peak, and besides, even if none of them had bought anything this was still precisely the development I had been waiting for.

“Vina Ruu, please handle the brazier, alright?” I said with a smile, turning to face her.

However, Vina Ruu wasn’t moving.

Her seductive, slightly droopy eyes were narrowed and looking even sleepier than usual.

“Um, Vina Ruu...?”

Was she really getting struck by drowsiness at a time like this?

...No, underneath those sleepy-looking narrowed eyelids, Vina Ruu’s pale eyes were filled with a sharper light than I’d ever seen from her.

So even Vina Ruu’s eyes could get like that?

Still, just why did she need to make a glare like that? And besides, where she was looking made no sense.

She wasn’t looking at me by her side, the customers in front of us, or even the bustling south... No, Vina Ruu was staring north.

I slowly followed her gaze, and the customers did the same.

Then, we were all left shocked or trembling with fear.

That was just the natural reaction to what we were looking at.

It was a massive inflated body like a blimp made of flesh, around two meters tall. That bundle of meat that made you question if you were really looking at a human being was stomping along the stone path, heading straight towards us.

It was the youngest son of the main Suun house, Mida Suun.

3

One of the youths let out a helpless “Gah!” and slumped to the ground.

The other youths were all pulling back, their faces completely pale.

Meanwhile, Mida Suun, third son of the main Suun house, was coming up towards my stall so quickly that it looked like he was going to kick them out of the way, then he grabbed hold of it. It, not me. As in, my stall.

He had a hand around each of the pillars that supported the roof, and was panting heavily.

Mida Suun asked in a shrill voice, “What are you doing...? It smells really good. Hey, what are you doing...?”

His voice was high-pitched and had a lisp to it, making it sound like the voice of a small child.

The youth slumped on the ground let out a pathetic shriek of “Eep!” That was just how creepy and repulsive Mida Suun looked.

His face, body, arms, and legs all swelled out like fleshy balloons. In a manner of speaking, that was what they were, but combined with his ridiculous height, he looked like a real monster. His upper arm alone must have been as thick as Vina Ruu’s waist. And the legs supporting that massive frame were so thick and short that they just plain felt unreal. His torso was pretty much a perfect sphere, so it wasn’t even clear to me where his chest ended and his stomach began.

Technically, he was wearing a familiar outfit from the forest’s edge, but his must have required as much material as the one-piece outfits of two or three married women. He also wore a giba cloak, but it was so short in comparison to him that it looked downright tiny.

Plus, I didn’t see any of the giba tusks and horns that were a hunter’s pride and joy around his neck, but he had a massive club dangling from his hip.

No matter how I looked at him, his appearance was simply outrageous.

Ultimately, though, what made him look so utterly inhuman was that face of his. It was swollen to an unnatural degree, and all of his facial features were clustered around the center. And he was quite strikingly balding, with only a bit of disheveled dark hair clinging around his ears.

His expression was incredibly childish too. Actually, more babyish than childish... No, I guess it actually reminded me more of some sort of animal.

His nose, eyes, and mouth were all small. And his eyes were almost completely blocked by his plump eyelids, plus his nose hardly protruded out at all, just looking like two dark little holes. His lips were thick, but they weren’t especially large. Overall, his face was easily bigger than the average man’s, but it was like it had been put together using a nose and mouth that were a size too small, causing the proportions to look totally out of whack.

That blob of meat was holding onto the pillars of the stall and breathing heavily, a fire shining in his tiny eyes. Seeing his grotesque appearance in the light of day only stirred up the shock and fear I was feeling even stronger.

“Hey... I’m hungry now... And that smells really good, right...?”

The stall’s pillars had started to creak.

Hearing that ominous sound was what finally brought me back to my senses.

“W-What are you doing?! Are you trying to break the stall?!”

“But... I’m hungry...” Mida Suun muttered, looking down at me with a look of displeasure.

I felt like an orangutan squaring off against a lowland gorilla or something.

I had yelled loudly at him by reflex, but now I brought my hands to my chest and got my breathing back under control.

I had to stay calm... Completely calm while I was dealing with him.

“You were asking what I was doing, right? As you can see, I’m here selling food... But as I said before, could you please remove your hands? At this rate, the stall will end up breaking.”

If a member of the Suun clan appeared, how should I deal with them? That was naturally something I had taken under serious consideration with Gazraan Rutim and Donda Ruu.

At any rate, I would abide by the laws of the town. And if he moved to break them, I would call for the guards.

Even if they were in the wrong, I couldn’t go breaking any laws of the city or the forest’s edge, as that would just lend legitimacy to the Suun clan’s tyrannical acts. That was my basic policy here.

“Do you understand what I’m saying? If you want my cooking, then you’ll have to pay coins... And this stall was borrowed from someone in town, so if you break it, you’ll have to pay the money to have it repaired. So please, remove your hands,” I stated, trying to make it as easy to understand as possible.

With an animalistic look that made it impossible to read him, Mida Suun stared down at me.

His brothers are just plain tyrants... But I think he’s probably a different type...

The natural question then was what type he might be, but that was hard to explain. I guess I’d say rather than being some cruel fiend, he was likely the type of person who couldn’t tell right from wrong.

And so, as long as I didn’t slip up with what I said, he wouldn’t suddenly get violent... Or at least, that’s what I’d like to believe.

“But Tei Suun has the coins...” Mida Suun muttered in disappointment, but even so, he removed his giant caterpillar-like fingers from the stand.

As I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead, I replied, “Really? And where’s that Tei Suun person now? Did you come to town together?”

“Yeah...”

“Then where did he go?”

“I don’t know... We were together till just a bit ago...”

Man, it really was a lot like talking with an unreasonable toddler.

“...There was a nice smell, so I hurried up and ran here... It’s a really nice smell, isn’t it...?”

Now that I thought about it, back at the banquet Mida Suun had ignored what was happening around him and just reacted to the smell of the cooking.

I was wondering whether I should offer him a sample, and was reaching out towards the plate... and then someone new appeared.

“...What happened, Mida Suun?” He was an older man from the forest’s edge, looking to be somewhere in his fifties. He had appeared from behind the bundle of flesh while making no sign of his presence whatsoever, and was clad in the attire of a hunter.

Immediately, Mida Suun let out a big gasp. “Tei Suun! I’m really, really hungry...”

“I see,” the man replied, then he looked at me and Vina Ruu.

At a glance, he looked like a perfectly ordinary person of the forest’s edge. His grey hair was combed back, and he had a similarly colored beard and moustache. Overall, he was an older gentleman, but he had a nice clean-cut look.

He wasn’t all that tall, but he had a fittingly burly physique for a man of the forest’s edge. And there was nothing out of the ordinary about his hunter’s outfit, with his long giba pelt cloak, clothing with swirling patterns, shining horns and tusks dangling in front of his chest, and set of steel blades large and small.

But, what was it...? Everything about his appearance was perfectly in order, but something felt seriously out of place.

There was no strength at all shining in his dark eyes.

His expression was completely lifeless, like some sort of clay doll.

Though he looked able-bodied, I couldn’t sense any vitality or vigor about him.

It really may have been the first time I had ever seen a person of the forest’s edge so lacking in spirit.

“...How many coins does this food cost?” Tei Suun asked in a low voice.

“Two red coins... Do you want to make a purchase?”

“Yes.”

“Y-You can try the meat from this plate first to confirm the taste if you’d like.”

“No. That won’t be necessary.”

It was an extremely ordinary response. In fact, it was so ordinary that it somehow circled around to feeling a bit creepy.

Wasn’t there something he should be asking about before the price?

Such as why a woman of the forest’s edge like Vina Ruu and some random person who wore their attire like me would be running a shop in the post town, for example. Did he have no doubts or objections to that at all?

...Apparently, he didn’t.

Tei Suun just looked up at the bundle of meat by his side without so much as a hint of emotion.

“How many do you wish to buy, Mida Suun?”

“I want to eat lots and lots...”

“The clan head gave you one white coin. If you use that all now, you won’t be able to buy anything else later.”

“But I want to eat lots and lots...”

“I see,” Tei Suun replied, then turned back my way and placed down the white coin.

“Well then, five please.”

“Very well... But this customer here placed her order first, so please hold on just a moment.”

The customer in question, the girl from the west known as Yumi, still had a completely pale face, and she started to tremble. The rest of the youths were all in much the same state, too.

As I stifled a sigh, I added some firewood to the brazier and set it back in the stall.

Vina Ruu just kept on glaring at the pair from the Suun clan the entire time, the look in her eyes unchanging.

What the heck is going on...? This Tei Suun oldtimer is every bit as baffling as Mida Suun.

With the way he was deferring to Mida Suun, he must have been from a branch family.

But at least in the Ruu clan, I couldn’t imagine an elder man submitting to someone younger like that. Of course, the men of the branch families paid Jiza, Darmu, and Ludo Ruu an appropriate amount of respect, but it ultimately seemed like they treated each other as equals.

Did the Ruu or the Suun represent the proper way for the people of the forest’s edge to be? I wasn’t qualified to decide such things, but at the very least, I could firmly say that I found Tei Suun undeniably creepy.

“Ooh... It smells tasty, really tasty, Tei Suun...”

Excited by the aroma of the meat cooking, Mida Suun placed his hands on Tei Suun’s shoulders and started shaking away. And as he was being vigorously jerked around, Tei Suun just quietly replied, “I see.”

It was even harder to read his emotions than it was with folks from the east.

Actually... did he even have any emotions to begin with?

Was Kamyua just playing at merely acting as a spectator after all?

I certainly hoped that was the case.

If any more unfathomable characters showed up, I felt like my ability to handle them would steadily start crumbling away.

“Here, thanks for waiting.”

I handed the finished myamuu giba over to Yumi.

Yumi’s gaze remained fixed on Mida Suun, even as she half unconsciously grabbed the completed dish.

When I finished the next one I handed it over to Tei Suun, who in turn handed it to Mida Suun.

“Ooh...” Mida Suun exclaimed, his tiny eyes twinkling as his mouth opened wide.

His throat was buried in his fleshy chest, though, so his jaw didn’t look like it could lower all that much. And so, Mida Suun had to lean his head back in order to open his mouth nice and wide.

Just as I shrugged my shoulders, thinking that his mouth being so wide open made it look like his jaw may dislocate as his fatty cheeks rippled, he tossed the myamuu giba on in.

He took it all in one bite, and then licked his lips.

It was like something out of a nightmare.

Afterwards four more dishes made it to Mida Suun by way of Tei Suun, and in no time at all, five myamuu giba had disappeared from this world.

“It’s delicious... Really delicious...”

“Thank you,” I replied, forcing a smile.

As long as they paid, a customer was a customer. Even if I was dealing with a member of our hated enemies, the Suun clan, I had to treat them all equally.

“Tei Suun... I want to eat more...”

“But we already used all of the money.”

“But... I want to eat lots and lots more...”

“You only receive one white coin from the clan head per month. You’ll just need to wait till the next month.”

An allowance that came once a month, huh?!

I honestly felt really relieved, though I felt bad for thinking so.

Even if he didn’t actually have any ill intent, Mida Suun visiting my shop every day would definitely have an effect on the amount of customers I saw. Poor Yumi, for example, had gone and bought one, but she had been left standing there looking like she didn’t even know what she was holding the whole time.

“I want to eat lots and lots more...”

“In that case, let’s come back again next month,” Tei Suun replied without so much as a hint of emotion to his voice, then he finally nodded our way. “Well then, pardon us.”

“R-Right. Thank you for your purchase.”

Then they left, with Tei Suun looking like he was practically pushing Mida Suun along to the north.

Thinking about it, I’d heard that the Suun settlement was pretty far north, so perhaps they had a different route to get here from that way.

That was all well and good, but... Did they really come all the way to the post town just for Mida Suun’s snack?

On the one hand, I was relieved that they didn’t cause a huge disturbance, but on the other, I felt not just disappointed but also incredibly foolish, and ultimately just down in the dumps.

Seriously, what’s their deal...?

Not only did they not ask how the giba meat was made so delicious, they didn’t even ask what sort of meat it was in the first place.

I couldn’t tell if they were even aware that I was staying at the Fa house.

Perhaps they didn’t even know Vina Ruu was a member of the Ruu clan.

I didn’t know anything about them at all.

I was about to unleash my pent up sighs, but Vina Ruu beat me to it with a pronounced, “Haaaaah...”

Then she slumped to the ground and grabbed the fabric around my waist with her trembling fingers.

“Give me a break... Why out of all of them did he have to show up? Ugh... I feel like I’m going to vomit...”

“W-What’s the matter? Hold it together, Vina Ruu!”

“I can’t... At all... I just can’t stand him... That bloated, flabby body alone is enough to truly gross me out...”

“Is that so? You were making a brave face like one of the men, though...”

“Well, I didn’t want to look pathetic in front of the Suun clan of all people, you know? Ugh, so gross...”

“...That sure is impressive. I guess I should’ve expected that much from a woman of the Ruu clan, though,” I said with a sigh, feeling that from the depths of my heart.

Then, Yumi chimed in, “W-What was that monster just now...?” in a dumbfounded voice.

“You mean the customer from the forest’s edge, right? My apologies for all the commotion,” I called out, and Yumi’s shoulders suddenly jumped.

After that, Yumi’s eyes made it look like she had at last regained her senses, and then she stared at my face.

“You... You’re so skinny, but you’ve got some real guts, don’t you? These guys were shaking in their shoes and couldn’t do a thing.”

“W-We were not shaking! Besides, you looked like you were about to cry, didn’t you?!” the youth who had collapsed to the ground quipped back, rising to his feet with a beet red face.

It was around then that the other stupefied members of the group seemed to come back to their senses.

“I’ve met him once before. It’s a real shock the first time you see him, isn’t it?” I commented, forcing a smile to try and smooth things over. “Now then, please eat up. If it cools off too much, it won’t taste as good.”

“Ah, right...” she replied, biting into the myamuu giba while still staring straight at me.

Once again, her eyes opened wide in shock.

“Whoa, it’s so good... Hey, is this seriously giba meat? It’s even tastier than karon.”

“Yes. It’s one hundred percent authentic giba meat. I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying it.”

“Yeah... It’s super tasty,” Yumi replied, now shooting me upturned eyes. “Um... I’m sorry about before. I just kept talking shit about your shop...”

“Huh? Ah, think nothing of it. I’m well aware of how people think of giba here in Genos. And yet you all gave it a try today, which makes me very happy,” I replied, flashing yet another smile.

And then, after biting into her myamuu giba again, Yumi smiled back at me like it was only natural.

She may have looked like a mean girl normally, but she looked nice and innocent when she was smiling.

“What the heck’s wrong with you?! Don’t go making eyes at a man from the forest’s edge! If you do that, you’ll get dragged away to the forest, you know?!” the youth who had just been on the ground yelled out in a huff, only for Yumi to turn and shoot him a displeased glare.

“What are you, stupid? Why would you even think that?! All I did was say that good food was good.”

Yes, that’s exactly right.

I just wished that Vina Ruu would get that too and stop shooting me such a chilly glare.

“So? Are the rest of you not going to buy any after all? No matter what you say, you’re just scared of giba and the people of the forest’s edge, aren’t you? In that case, you shouldn’t have come over here in the first place. You were trying to look cool, but now you just look like asses.”

“What was that?! You were making fun of the idea of people of the forest’s edge opening a shop in town too, weren’t you?!”

“That’s because I didn’t know giba meat was this delicious... Plus, I only hate the people of the forest’s edge who break the law,” she said, her eyes glancing my way. “Besides, this guy’s so twiggy that he probably couldn’t make much trouble even if he wanted to. Plus, he’s not even a person of the forest’s edge to begin with.”

I wondered if I really looked all that weak, but I still kept a smile on my face.

“There are all sorts of folks among the people of the forest’s edge too. There may be scary people, but there are also kind people. And I believe that it’s only a small handful of the people of the forest’s edge who act poorly towards you townsfolk.”

“T-Then what about that monster from before?! He was a person of the forest’s edge too, wasn’t he?!”

I was about to reply that he was the only one of his type even at the forest’s edge, but a newcomer suddenly cut in and asked, “What are you all fussing about?”

He was from Jagar, and had a bit of a stern-looking face.

“If you’re not customers, then hurry up and get out of the way. I won’t let you off easy if you’re trying to interfere with this kid’s business.”

“W-What? You’re not involved, so butt out already!”

“That’s my line. If you’re not a customer, then you better be butting out,” he bluntly stated, then he turned my way.

Instantly, he broke out in a grin.

“So you managed to stay open this late for once, huh?! I had work this morning, so I’d just about given up on having a chance to taste your cooking today.”

“Thank you for that. We still have over ten meals left for the day, and if things keep going smoothly, I intend to add a second stall from tomorrow on.”

I recognized him, but only vaguely. He was probably one of the customers who had arrived first thing yesterday morning. The man may have had a stern face, but he also had a really gentle smile.

“The sun’s just about to hit its peak, but you still have around ten meals left, huh?! In that case, you’ll probably always stay open at least that long from tomorrow on, right? That’ll make a lot of folks happy, I’d imagine.”

“Ah, but the dish I’m selling today is different from the one I was selling up until yesterday. If you’d like, you can try a sample.”

As I said that I placed a new toothpick on the plate, but the customer from Jagar just said, “Nah, it’s fine,” and waved me off. “I can tell it’s delicious just from the smell. Hurry up and make me one. And how many coins does it cost?”

“Two red coins.”

“So cheap! It’s great for me, but the other food stalls around won’t be able to do any business like that, right?” he said with a hearty laugh, and then he turned and stared at the youths from the west. “I’m sure you all won’t eat giba meat because you’re scared of it, right? Then you’re just in the way, so get lost already. If you’re that afraid of giba, then you can just go and eat kimyuus or karon or whatever, right?”

“I-I already said I wasn’t scared! Don’t go shoving your nose in all high and mighty, you outsider!”

“Don’t be stupid. This whole post town is made up of outsiders, isn’t it? And if there weren’t any outsiders around, then who would you all do business with? Wait... your ancestors must have moved here to Genos from somewhere else too, right?” he said like it was all a pain, waving his hand as if swatting away a fly. “Well, whatever. If folks from the west are too scared to try it, we’ll just help ourselves to all of it. Hurry and serve it up, kid.”

“Right. Thank you.”

It wasn’t like I was caught up in their conversation and neglecting my work, as I had just been waiting for the pot to heat up.

Figuring it was about time, I went to toss in the diced aria... only for the youth with high eyebrows to slap down coins on my counter.

“Hey! Give me one too! I’m not scared of giba or anything!”

With that, just one of the group of frozen youths timidly approached. He looked like he wanted to say something, but instead he just silently offered up his coins.

“Hmph. I paid first, though,” the customer from Jagar said with a scary look on his face.

“It’s no problem! I can have enough for three people ready in no time at all, so just hold on a moment.”

“Ah... Hey, make one more for me, too,” Yumi said and held out her own coins, having completely finished her dish.

“What are you doing that for?! Are you that into this guy from the forest’s edge?!”

“I’m telling you, no! I want to take it back to my mom! I wanna see the face she makes when I tell her it was giba meat after she eats it.”

This girl certainly had some mean thoughts rolling around her head.

Still, despite the fact that she really looked the part of a delinquent, she was thinking about bringing back a snack for her mother, which I took to be rather charming.

“Thank you,” I replied, then I tossed in enough aria for four.

Then, around when I added in the giba meat, the youth who had looked like he wanted to say something finally chimed in.

“I... I know about that monster from before. Around once a month he comes into town, eats food from the stalls like that, and then leaves... And apparently if it doesn’t meet his tastes, he smashes the stall to smithereens.”

“T-The guards wouldn’t just stay silent about something like that though, would they?”

“Yeah. But in the end someone from the castle comes out and settles things like it’s nothing. If the people of the forest’s edge get angry at us, we’ll end up with giba ransacking our fields like they used to,” he said in an annoyed tone, then he looked me and Vina Ruu up and down. “I’m not especially scared of giba. But don’t you think that as long as something isn’t done about those guys, people will never really look at you as part of Genos like us?”

“...Thank you for the advice. I’ll be sure to keep it in mind.”

Despite what he said, this youth had bought my cooking too.

My power couldn’t do anything about the Suun clan... But still, all I can do is keep on fighting in my own way.

When I handed over the completed myamuu giba to the three youths from the west and the one man from the south, that left 11 meals.

As the sun rose higher in the sky, the crowds passing by also increased. No other people from the west really came close after that, but around when the sun hit its peak, we managed to completely sell out.

Selling out with 20 or 50 meals proved to be no problem here in the post town, and even with 70 we sold all of them in around two and a half hours.

And this time around, roughly ten percent of them had sold to folks from the west.

Mida Suun showing up had certainly been unexpected, but even so, I felt a far greater sense of satisfaction from this than I had on the previous days.

“With this, I can go ahead and increase the number of stalls from tomorrow on without any reservations,” I murmured as we were handling the cleanup.

With a bit of a gloomy look on her face, Vina Ruu replied, “That’s true... But that child of the Suun clan concerns me... Asuta, make sure you don’t get nabbed by him, alright?”

“Nabbed? Me?”

“Yes... He seems like he would do something that foolish, doesn’t he?”

“...If he tries, then I’ll run away as fast as I can. Fortunately, I’m at least pretty confident that I’m faster than him.”

“Yes, if he happens to come after us on the way back, then you should run away on your own... I’ll manage to get the luggage back by myself, somehow.”

There really may have been a need to form a plan like that.

Mida Suun didn’t seem like he’d recognize the power of the Ruu, and he may not have even recognized Vina Ruu as a member of that clan in the first place.

“Ugggh, he’s so gross... I just can’t stand that babyish face and voice of his... Asuta, do you know how old he is?”

“No. And I don’t especially want to know, so you don’t need to tell me.”

“...Despite appearances, he’s even younger than Ludo.”

“I said you didn’t need to tell me!”

Somehow, I felt a chill run down my spine.

And also... I found that Tei Suun man every bit as creepy as Mida Suun. It wasn’t about liking him or not. No, I just plain found him eerie.

“From tomorrow on, let’s be even more watchful of our surroundings, alright...?”

“Yeah.”

I was doing something this flashy, so I didn’t expect to escape the Suun clan’s notice forever. Still, apparently I needed to watch out not just for Diga and Doddo Suun, but everyone from the clan.

It was a battle being fought atop thin ice, but still, I just had to keep giving it my all.

With those feelings refreshed, I pushed the cart alongside Vina Ruu, through the now more crowded highway full of passersby.

4

Vina Ruu and I returned to the Fa house together, at which point we happened to run into Ai Fa out front.

There were still about two and a half hours till sunset. We wrapped up our sales around when the sun hit its peak, but we still ended up returning home right around when we were scheduled to, as we were taking care of preparations for tomorrow.

As for Ai Fa, I suppose she was returning home just a bit early.

Vina Ruu and I were carrying the metal pot, while Ai Fa had a giba in the 50-kilo range on her back. It would probably make for a pretty amusing composition to an outsider looking in.

“Hey. I’m so glad to see you made it back safely.”

“Yes, you as well... Eldest daughter of the Ruu, thank you for your hard work.”

“Ah, yeah... Did you take that down, Ai Fa?”

“...Is there any other reason I would be shouldering a giba?” Ai Fa replied in a puzzled tone, then promptly moved towards the house. With that said, though, she still had her heavy luggage weighing her down. “This still needs to be skinned, so I’ll be around back.”

“Right, good work there. I’ve got to set about preparing for dinner and tomorrow, myself.”

“Understood.”

I had bought a lot today, so I actually had Vina Ruu help me carry things all the way to the door.

As the amount of dishes I was making climbed and climbed, the number of ingredients I needed to bring back increased in turn. When I had bulky items like fruit wine or the giant burdock-esque gigo, the difference in weight was on a whole other level compared to the trip there.

I set down the pot stuffed with those ingredients in front of the door, gave a “Phew...” then turned to face Vina Ruu.

“Well then, good work again today. And I’ll be counting on you to do just as well tomorrow too, Vina Ruu.”

“Right...” she replied with a nod, a bit of a gloomy expression on her face.

“What’s the matter? Is something worrying you?”

“No, it’s got nothing to do with work... I was just thinking how Ai Fa really is something...”

“Huh? W-What are you talking about?”

“It’s kind of hard to believe, that a woman all on her own could take down a giba that size...” Vina Ruu said with a sigh. “I can certainly understand what you were saying, about how you could never imagine Ai Fa as a bride... She has such a beautiful face, but it feels almost like it would be more fitting for her to be the husband taking some other woman as her bride...”

She sure did have an imagination on her.

But well, it was true that Ai Fa was a lot more gallant than any ordinary man. But despite appearances, every now and again she would show a girlish expression on her face... Still, some things were better left unsaid.

“Well then, I’ll be leaving. See you again tomorrow, right...?”

“Yeah. See you tomorrow.”

I went ahead and entered the house, checked to make sure nobody was in the storage space just to be safe, and then put the food away in the pantry.

I returned on schedule today, but I was baking the poitan for our dinners in the morning, allowing me to get plenty of preparation done. For the time being, I decided to start by dicing up the aria for the patties, pulling the knife and cutting board out of the bag, only for Ai Fa to enter the house.

“Huh? What’s up?”

“Well, I still had on my hunter’s attire. If I don’t clean it off first, the smell of blood and meat will cling to it.”

She must have meant the giba pelt cloak.

“I see. Ah, in that case, I’ll clean up for you.”

“Don’t worry about it. I simply wanted to rest a little, after hanging up the giba. There’s still plenty of time till it gets dark, though.”

“Got it. In that case, go ahead and get plenty of rest.”

I glanced over at Ai Fa as she started removing her footwear, while heading over to the pantry to grab some aria.

“You were late today... Actually, this was supposed to be your normal time, wasn’t it?”

“Hmm? Ah, yeah. This is my first time getting back on schedule.”

“So it actually took a fitting amount of time to sell 70 meals?”

“Ah, no, that wasn’t it. We’re going to be increasing the number of stalls from tomorrow on just like we discussed yesterday, so we stopped by the Ruu settlement to discuss that matter.”

After hanging her cloak on the wall and ladling a sip from the water jug, Ai Fa sat down up against the wall by the stove and shot me a dubious look.

“So then, how did your work go?”

“We were done just a bit after the sun hit its peak. Ah, right... Today, the youngest son of the main Suun house, Mida Suun, showed up with a man named Tei Suun.”

“What?” Ai Fa questioned, her face suddenly growing tense.

“I’ll give you the details later, but I think we’ve got to keep an eye on him for a totally different reason than with someone like Doddo Suun. Seriously, everyone in the Suun clan is just totally unbearable.”

“If the clan head is corrupt, it’s only natural that the same will be true of his clan. But, well... I’m just glad that you’re alright,” she said with a nod and a serious look on her face. She tilted her head. “By the way, did you say just now that you finished your business when the sun hit its peak?”

“Hmm? Yeah, it was just past that.”

“...You’re saying you sold 70 meals in that short of a period of time?”

“That’s right. The customers were pretty much all from the south and east like always, though. But today, I finally managed to sell to three passersby from the west!”

With a smile, I turned to face her without even thinking, only to find Ai Fa a lot closer than I had expected, frozen in an awkward position, half-standing with her right arm extended out towards me.

“...What is it, Ai Fa?”

“Ah, no, it seems I was just on the verge of grabbing your head again without thinking,” she replied with a stern look on her face, then she slowly lowered her arm. “That was a close one.”

Is that so?

I mean, you didn’t need to go that far just to slam on the brakes...

A hug would be pretty bad for my heart, but I’d just feel a bit embarrassed from having my head stroked.

Wait, what did she mean when she said she was going to grab my head, there?

“Well anyway, we’re going to increase the number of stalls from tomorrow on, as planned. We’ll also move to having four people working them. The plan is that the Ruu clan will also loan me Lala and Sheera Ruu.”

“Sheera Ruu?”

“Shin Ruu’s elder sister. Um, you should have seen her back during the Rutim banquet. Do you not remember her?”

“Ah... That willowy girl with the heavy-lidded eyes, is it?”

“Willowy” was a pretty un-Ai Fa way of phrasing things.

“She certainly was charming.”

“Huh?”

“She looked a little weak, but I’d imagine she’s just the type of woman you’d want as a bride.”

Even you were looking at people with a male gaze, now?

Well, at least it wasn’t as bad for my heart as hearing her talk about what an ideal man would be.

“Yeah, and she’s a skilled cook. I couldn’t ask for better help. I’m looking forward to seeing how things will go from tomorrow on.”

Ai Fa fell silent.

“Hmm? What is it?”

“This is a big difference compared to that pathetic face from last night. Your face and eyes are both brimming with power.”

“Give me a break about last night already. I really was just plain tired,” I said with a strained smile, scratching my head.

With that, Ai Fa got down on her knees right in front of me.

Soon, she drew in close to my face, and weirdly stopped.

“W-What is it, Ai Fa?”

“Ah, I was just about to unthinkingly cradle your head in my arms again,” Ai Fa said with a big nod and a stern look. “That really was a close one.”

Is that so?

Wait, just how serious was she being, anyway?

Well, she was probably being completely serious about all of it, knowing her.

“Don’t worry. I’m striving to not do things that you find unpleasant.”

Finding it unpleasant was not exactly the problem.

Feeling how steep the path to mutual understanding was, I gave a little sigh.

And then, I noticed a sweet aroma creeping into my nostrils the second Ai Fa drew near.

“Huh...? This is the smell of giba summoning fruit, isn’t it?”

Instantly, Ai Fa’s face turned beet red right in front of my very eyes.

“Asuta, no matter how many times I tell you—”

“No, that’s not what I meant! Did you start doing sacrificial hunting again?”

Ai Fa shifted to a pout, her cheeks still red.

“It’s not sacrificial hunting. I’ve just been setting traps using giba summoning fruit. But when you cut that fruit, the smell spreads at an incredible pace, so a considerable amount of the scent clings to me.”

“I see... But you didn’t need to start using the giba summoning fruit the second the number of giba started decreasing, right? If it’s about the meat for my cooking, if we run out then we have plans to get more from the Ruu clan. You’re already doing plenty enough to fulfill your duty, aren’t you?”

Apparently, the giba had eaten up the food in this area and were now in the process of heading south, but Ai Fa was still managing to catch them at a rate of one every other day. Just looking at yesterday and today, she caught one each day.

It was true that the more hunting was done, the less damage there would be to the western fields, but earning the horns and tusks she needed to live should be plenty for handling her duty. The Ruu and Rutim also thought like that when calculating out how many they needed to hunt.

As a house of two, we only needed one giba every five days in order to have enough horns and tusks. And Ai Fa had done that multiple times over these past twenty days, so I didn’t think she needed to go and expose herself to danger by using the giba summoning fruit...

Even so, Ai Fa kept on pouting.

“I told you, I’m not doing sacrificial hunting. I’ve used giba summoning fruit in traps since before I met you. Stop grumbling pointless complaints.”

“I’m not really complaining or anything, it’s just... I mean, you remember how when we visited the Ruu settlement together, we heard about Darmu Ruu getting injured? That turned out to be pretty serious, and he apparently still can’t head out into the forest.”

“...What of it?”

“No, it’s just... Aren’t you worried about getting injured?”

“Hmph!” Ai Fa snorted, turning away.

Then, she glared at me out of the corner of her eye.

“If I’m injured, then I’ll deal with that when it happens.”

“Ah, but...”

“Before I met you, I got injured more frequently. There were countless times when I couldn’t head into the forest for several days... But it’s also a hunter’s duty to strive to live just a little longer, and hunt even a few more giba. I’m not treating my life as frivolously as you believe.”

“I see,” I replied, having to just accept it at this point. “Got it. Sorry, I was in the wrong there. I guess my resolve about this kind of thing still isn’t quite firmed up...”

“...It’s only natural to worry about the members of your house. I’m not criticizing you about it or anything,” she said in a somewhat gentle tone, but there was still a bit of a light shining in her eyes. “But stop bringing up how I smell all the time. I find it unpleasant.”

“Oh, so that was the issue?” I said, unwittingly letting an awkward chuckle slip out. “I wasn’t going out of my way to comment on your smell or anything. I was just curious because I smelled the giba summoning fruit. Wouldn’t you find it strange if I was giving off a different scent than normal, too?”

“...I’ve never paid attention to how people smell.”

“It’s not like I pay a ton of attention to it either. It’s just... the giba summoning fruit smells really good, so I notice it right away.”

“Like I said! I told you to stop saying stuff like that!” Ai Fa firmly stated, grabbing me by both arms.

And her face was positively beet red all the while.

“I’m striving not to do anything you find unpleasant, but what about you?! Do you enjoy making me feel such unpleasantries?!”

“N-No, of course not! I was talking about the smell of the giba summoning fruit, not you! And come on, you’re way overreacting here!”

In a panic, I lifted my hands up to try to get her to tap the breaks on this car.

And then, Ai Fa grabbed me by the collar and uttered in a low voice, “...Isn’t that unfair?”

“Unfair?”

“You just act as you please, so why do I alone have to whittle away at my own heart?”

“W-Whittle at your heart? Do you mean how you were holding back from stroking my head? You don’t have to force yourself that hard...”

“...In that case, can I act as I please, too?”

Huh?

Was she talking about squeezing me all tight again?

“W-Well, I mean, if it’s causing you a burden, then I think you can just go ahead and do as you please...”

Seriously, what was with this exchange?

If I were looking in from the outside, I would probably burst out laughing at how ridiculous it was.

“...Hmph,” Ai Fa snorted, pushing me away.

Was she going to go for a hug? Was that it?

No... With her face still all red, Ai Fa gallantly rose to her feet.

“You and I are different. You may be a completely baffling fool, but I intend to follow my own way.”

What an exaggerated way of putting things.

But even so, I bowed my head and said, “You have my deepest apologies. I’ll strive harder to make sure not to cause you to feel unpleasant. Now, how about we put an end to this fruitless argument and get to our work?”

“Hmph,” Ai Fa snorted again, and walked towards the door. “What will tonight’s dinner be?”

“It can be anything. What should we go with?”

Ai Fa suddenly stopped.

Then, after a rather sizable wait, she uttered, “Hamburgers,” then puffed up her chest with pride as if to say, “How about that?”

In all likelihood she was boasting about how she didn’t give a knee jerk response, but that apparently still hadn’t changed her answer.

“That’s right. Last night was myamuu giba, while the night before was shabu-shabu, so let’s just go with normal hamburgers for tonight.”

“Yes,” Ai Fa replied, putting on her footwear.

With that, I at last turned to face the cutting board.

Hmm... Right, I was making patties for giba burgers.

First was chopping up aria.

I calculated that I had enough time to make the patties first then get to work on dinner as I pulled my old man’s knife from its white magnolia sheathe.

In that very instant, I got an incredibly strong hug from behind.

My whole body was hugged, arms included, and soft hair brushed up against my ears.

Just when I was about to shriek out a “Wah!” that warm body that felt anything but unpleasant smoothly pulled back.

“You fool. You let your guard down,” Ai Fa said with a smile, boasting of her victory. “If you don’t wish to face such unpleasant feelings, be more careful with your words and actions in the future.”

That wasn’t it. That wasn’t it at all, my lady.

As I wrung my hands in frustration, I thoroughly reflected on how harsh the path to mutual understanding truly was.