Chapter 1: The Corrupt Clan
Chapter 1: The Corrupt Clan
1
I’d almost say nothing of particular note happened till the day of the clan head meeting, but I couldn’t quite go that far.
The day after the study session at the Ruu house, we were open again for business in the post town, and we ended up selling through all 200 meals we had prepared. The day after that, things slowed down a bit and we just prepared 170 meals, but we still managed to sell them all.
It seemed like the irregular schedule of one day off, two days of business, and then two more days off had an unusual effect on my customers’ purchasing habits. After all, before this, we were having a bit left over when we prepared 150 meals.
As always, the majority of my customers came from the east and south, but my giba cooking was definitely becoming a topic of discussion throughout the post town. And if we manage to sell it through inns from here on out, too, then that should help raise its reputation even further.
No matter what the Suun clan might have been planning, I had to make this business a success.
As I worked away with that feeling firmly planted in my mind, the eighth and ninth days of the blue month flowed on by, and the day of the clan head meeting arrived at last.
◇
“The Suun settlement sure is far...” I whispered to Ai Fa as we walked along the yellow trodden path at the forest’s edge.
As she moved along gracefully like a wild leopard, Ai Fa stealthily whispered back, “The Suun settlement is the cornerstone of the north, while the Ruu settlement has a similar position in the south. It’s only natural that it feels like such a long distance.”
The settlement at the forest’s edge was long and thin, stretching north to south. It seemed to have ended up that way because it was sandwiched between Mount Morga on the east, and the cleared-away land of the Genos domain to the west.
The Suun settlement was far to the north, then there were numerous houses belonging to small clans like the Fa along the way, and the Ruu and the Rutim were all the way to the south. From the position of the sun, we must have been walking for two hours by this point, but I still wasn’t really seeing any change in scenery.
“Hmm... So on the night of the Rutim wedding, those guys from the Suun clan walked all the way down this long path just to mess with everyone?” I whispered into Ai Fa’s ear.
She replied, “Right,” with a nod.
“If they’re not properly carrying out their work as hunters, then they must have plenty of time on their hands. Hmph, the thought of it makes my blood boil.”
“Yeah, seriously. If they’ve got that much time to spare, then they should go hunt a giba or two.”
“By the way, Asuta...”
“Hmm? What is it, Ai Fa?”
“Why are you saying everything so quietly?”
So she had just been going along with it without even knowing why?
“There’s no deep reason for it. It’s just, don’t you feel kind of hesitant about openly chatting away, considering the mood?”
We weren’t exactly heading to the Suun settlement on our own, as we met up with the Ruu and the clans under them along the way.
There were six clans under the Ruu, bonded to them by blood: the Rutim, Lea, Min, Maam, Ririn, and Muufa. For the meeting, each of the clan heads were accompanied by one man from their family. Then there were the women who were manning the stove with me, bringing our group up to 24 in total.
Plus, the men were an elite group of fearless fighters, making for an inspiring sight. They all must have been there for the Rutim wedding, but the only ones I was acquainted with were Donda and Darmu Ruu, as well as Dan Rutim.
They had split up the ingredients for tonight’s dinner and were carrying them. Even if none of them grumbled about it in the least, I still felt much obliged to them.
“Man, I’m feeling kinda sleepy, somehow...” I suddenly heard a loud voice proclaim from behind.
When I turned around, I saw what looked to be the youngest member of the group of men giving a big yawn.
“It’s been a while since I’ve gotten up this early. Donda Ruu, could I take a bit of a nap once we get to the Suun settlement?”
“Do as you please,” Donda Ruu bluntly responded.
“Thanks, that helps a lot. And well, I’ll wake up right away if there’s any sort of commotion, so no worries there... Hmm, what are you looking at, Fa clan chef?”
“Ah, sorry.”
“I wasn’t going for an apology. I was just asking what you were looking at.”
He didn’t sound especially annoyed, but his face didn’t look that calm, either.
As I was trying to figure out what to say, he hastened his pace and came up beside me.
“Now that I think of it, I still haven’t heard your name. Mine’s Rau Lea, so what’s yours, chef of the Fa house?”
“Ah, my name is Asuta.”
He looked like he may be younger than me, but I still decided it was best to speak to him politely. Or at least, that was what I was thinking, but then he shot me a bit of an annoyed look.
“I’m 17. How old are you, Asuta?”
“Oh, I’m also 17.”
“In that case, don’t worry about speaking all politely. Just talk normally, okay?”
For whatever reason, he was voicing the exact same complaint as Yumi.
Still, this youth had some serious presence. His long, pale, nearly golden hair was tied behind his neck. His eyes were a light blue, he had a prominent nose, and his lips were thin. He looked a bit more mature than Ludo Ruu and had a kind of androgynous face, but he was wearing a pretty wild expression.
Looking at him, I’d say he was a bit taller than me, and also on the skinny side. And yet despite his looks and his young age, he felt just as impressive as the men around him.
“Well, I didn’t really get any of that stuff Gazraan Rutim was saying about you doing business in the post town. But since the Suun clan are causing you trouble, I’ll lend you as much help as you need.”
“Right, thank you very much.”
“I told you to talk normally...”
“Ah, perhaps it’s because I’ve started doing business in the post town, but I’ve started finding it easier to talk that way.”
“I see. Then in that case, each time you talk all polite, I’ll slug you one.”
I didn’t know what to say to that.
“So you’re really the Fa clan’s chef?” Rau Lea asked, bringing his face in close. “You’re the one who sharply chastised the Suun sons when they came barging into the wedding banquet, right? You look like a totally different person now, though.”
“Ah, you see, I kind of lost my cool a bit back then.”
“Hmm... Then you should lose it today, too. If you show any weakness to the Suun clan, they’ll be sure to take advantage and do as they please.”
He really seemed to look at things in the complete opposite of the way I did. After all, in my mind, it was important to make sure you stayed calm and composed in a dangerous situation.
“By the way, Asuta, Gazraan Rutim taught our Lea clan how to bloodlet and dissect a giba. That certainly does make the meat taste good, but it’s still far from the food you served at the banquet. Just how exactly do you make that soft meat?”
“Ah, do you mean the hamburger? That’s made by chopping up meat and then balling it back together... But it’s a little hard to describe with words alone. The Ruu and Rutim women are familiar with how to make it by now, so I guess it would be best to learn from them,” I said, taking care not to be too formal so as not to get hit.
“In that case, Ama Min Rutim, teach the Lea women how to make it. I want to be able to eat that in my house,” Rau Lea said, looking back her way.
Ama Min Rutim was carrying a bag stuffed with vegetables on her back like everyone else as she walked along, and she politely bowed to Rau Lea in response.
“Very well. I’m not terribly skilled at making it myself, but I would certainly like to polish my skills alongside the Lea women.”
“Ama Min Rutim, how old are you...?”
“Ah, I’m 17 years old, Rau Lea.”
“Then don’t use such polite language. Like I told Asuta, just talk normally.”
“Ah, no. As one under the Ruu clan, I couldn’t possibly speak impolitely to the head of the main Lea house.”
Wait, this guy is the head of the main Lea house...?
“All the women started talking like that when I became the clan head. Even if you work the stove, you’re still technically a man, so you better still talk normally, alright, Asuta?”
It seemed like I was steadily growing closer to this difficult-to-handle youth.
I tried looking over Ai Fa’s way, but naturally my clan head was facing away and feigning ignorance.
“Ooh, what’s this? So the Lea clan head is fond of hamburger? I wouldn’t say that’s bad, but the tastiest is the rib meat, right?” the Rutim clan head butted in.
His potbelly bobbed along as he quickly approached. I wish I could say this would be my salvation... but that didn’t seem likely.
“Rib meat, huh? That’s pretty darn tasty too, of course, but don’t you feel the bones make it more of a pain to eat?”
“What are you saying?! Biting it off the bone makes it even more delicious! So much so that I’d prefer to eat giba legs with the bones, too!”
That sounds like it would be a pain to cook through. Still, if I polished my skill at baking in a covered pan a bit more, that probably wouldn’t be impossible.
“Besides, it’s mostly women and children who like hamburger. I respect that you’re serving as clan head at such a young age, but it seems like you’re still a bit of a kid, huh?” Dan Rutim said with a hearty chuckle, while Rau Lea looked openly annoyed.
“Are you trying to pick a fight between the Rutim and the Lea? You’re being incredibly rude, treating a hunter like me as a child.”
“Then just stop complaining and eat your rib meat. That’s the perfect dish for a hunter.”
Dan Rutim then completely ignored Rau Lea’s brewing anger and turned to shoot me a goggle-eyed look.
“Asuta! I’m definitely going to get to eat rib meat tonight, right? That thin myamuu meat dish is good too, but it’s not as delicious as ribs!”
I see, so Ama Min and Morun Rutim must have showed off their new skills at home right away after learning how to make myamuu giba during the study session three days back.
That was all well and good, but I couldn’t help but say “Huh?” with a tilt of my head. “The Rutim clan’s supposed to be providing some meat for today. And there should be ribs in with that, right?”
“No clue. Now that you mention it, I think Gazraan may have said something about that, but I was sleepy so it just went in one ear and out the other.”
“I see...”
“I hate the idea of letting those Suun bastards eat such delicious food, but well, if it helps improve their rotten characters even just a bit, then I guess I can accept it! I’ll give them a firm kick in the rear and tell them if they wanna eat tasty meat, then they’ll do their jobs and hunt giba!”
“Ah, no, could I ask you to be as peaceful about things as possible...?”
“Hmm? What’s that worried face for? Saying I’d kick them in the rear is just an expression. You don’t think I’m that short tempered, do you?”
Despite his statement, I gave a stealthy sigh. I couldn’t feel at ease in the least considering I had seen how angry he got with the Suun clan back at the wedding banquet.
“If they get all hotheaded and injure you, though, then even I don’t know what I’ll do,” Dan Rutim said with a hearty guffaw, only for his jovial expression to shift into a more hunter-like one in an instant. “I don’t care if we end up at war with the Suun clan, but you’re the one person we can’t afford to lose. Of course, you marrying into their clan is totally out of the question to start with, but more importantly than all that, you just better not die on us, alright?”
Dan Rutim apparently had no interest in our business in the post town. He didn’t even seem to understand in the least what Ai Fa, Gazraan Rutim, and I were saying about bringing prosperity to the forest’s edge. And yet, Gazraan Rutim said that when he informed his father that the Suun clan may be targeting me, he apparently flew into such a rage that it seemed like he was about to go storming off to the Suun settlement then and there.
When I heard that, I honestly felt embarrassed that I had pegged him as loving the taste of ribs but not caring that much about me personally.
With such thoughts in the back of my mind, I replied, “Right, thank you,” only for Dan Rutim to laugh and slap me on the back.
“Well, in the kitchen the women will protect you, and we’ll keep an eye on you the rest of the time! So you don’t have to worry about it as you go and cook us up a delicious meal!”
I could feel a great deal of affection in his words of encouragement. That said, I think I heard my ribs creak from that slap, but at the very least nothing seemed to break.
“Hmph. The Suun clan themselves are nothing special. The ones we have to watch out for are the clans under them. A wimpy-looking guy like you could never put up a fight against them, so you better make sure not to get on their bad side even if things start going wrong.”
Rau Lea may have had a sharp tongue, but he was still saying that out of concern.
It seemed the clans under the Ruu were actually a lot more friendly to me and Ai Fa than I had been thinking. None of them aside from Rau Lea had talked to me, and they all had serious looks on their faces, but none of them looked like they were annoyed at the extra work.
And on top of their basic natures, we were all thinking we wouldn’t just go along with the Suun clan’s plotting, making it feel like me and Ai Fa fit right in.
Maybe the incident at the Rutim banquet Rau Lea had mentioned was another big reason for that, too. When those three idiot Suun sons came barging in, all of the men present were clearly filled with rage. And those men naturally included the ones now moving together with us.
Having a common enemy strengthened the bonds within a group. Perhaps that effect reached all the way to me and Ai Fa, too.
I’d certainly feel grateful if that was the case.
There was no mistaking that.
We may not have been related in the least, but we had a shared hatred of the Suun clan, so we should all get along just fine.
As that thought ran through my head, Donda Ruu mumbled in a low voice from the front of the group, “I can see it...”
I faced back front in a hurry and held my breath just a bit. There was a rather hard-to-describe building there, hidden behind the treetops. No, “building” may be giving it too much credit. Right in the middle of a cleared-out space was what looked like a hill made out of dried grass piled up high. It called to mind the sort of pit dwellings you would expect from back in the Paleolithic Age.
The scale was absolutely unbelievable, though. The shape was like a bowl that had been flipped over, but its diameter had to be over 20 meters. It looked a good bit flattened, but the top of the bowl came up high enough that there would probably be room for a second floor.
As for the entrance, it was a dark hole gaping wide open. There was a roof that looked like a tri-cornered hat atop the bowl, and there was what looked to be a rectangular hole for ventilation in it.
The structure itself looked quite crude, but it still stood as a real testament to the power they held that they were able to make such a massive building at the forest’s edge.
“That’s the Suun clan’s ritual hall,” Ai Fa explained.
Apparently, that was where today’s clan head meeting would be held.
There were also a number of wooden buildings constructed in a familiar manner all around that suspicious-looking ritual hall. There had to be over ten of them in total.
“Welcome to the Suun settlement...” a single man greeted, staggering up to us. He was an older man with his grey hair combed down the back of his head and a similarly colored moustache, and who seemed utterly devoid of energy despite having a solid physique. In other words, it was Tei Suun.
“You’ve arrived rather early. I had thought only the ones manning the stove would be showing up around when the sun hit its peak.”
“Hmph. As if they could carry all this luggage with just the women,” Donda Ruu answered in a rumbling voice. “Could you lead us to the main house’s kitchen? We’ll give our greetings to the clan head after that.”
“Right... But before that, could I collect your horns and tusks?”
On the day that I made my arrangements with Yamiru Suun, all of the clans received a message that they were to present one giba’s worth of horns and tusks at the clan head meeting.
For a set of two each of large horns and tusks, you could receive 12 red coins in the post town. That was nothing at all for the clans under the Ruu, but that amount of money could mean a matter of life or death for the small clans who were just barely hanging on.
The people of the forest’s edge lived in such a land of abundance, yet they were forbidden by the lord of Genos from gathering the blessings of the forests or tending fields. And so, the only option they had to live healthy lives was exchanging horns, tusks, and pelts for coins.
Then, once we handed these horns and tusks over to the Suun clan for the time being, they would eventually make it back to us as thanks for manning their stove. So honestly, I felt like I was adding to the burden of the small families without money to spare.
Still, we had no choice but to go along with their scheme if we were to correct the Suun clan’s wicked ways.
On top of that, I’d be putting in everything I had to make sure those losses led the way to the light of hope.
“Well then, this way...”
Having received eight giba’s worth of horns and tusks in total, Tei Suun bound them together with a single leather strap and then started walking further into the settlement. As always, I didn’t sense even the slightest bit of energy or drive from the man. And it was hard to imagine the task of showing us around was one meant for a hunter, so why was he always being treated like a butler?
Huh...? Is it alright for him not to take our blades?
In the Ruu settlement, custom demanded that I let them take charge of my cooking knife at least until we reach the kitchen, but Tei Suun made no such request. Well, that was better for me, but it still gave off a seriously sloppy impression.
“Just as gloomy as always, I see...” Rau Lea muttered under his breath.
Was that directed at Tei Suun, or at the whole of the settlement...? It was probably both.
The sun would be hitting its peak shortly, and yet we still hadn’t seen hide nor hair of any other people.
Nobody was out chopping firewood or drying pico leaves. There were no women standing around chatting, or even children excitedly running about.
It was like we had wandered into a ghost town.
And from what I could observe as we passed by, the massive ritual hall was showing some serious signs of age. It had been mended here and there, but the walls coated in dry leaves looked half rotten. It hardly seemed like a fitting type of building for a place that got as much rain as the forest’s edge, so maybe it was an old style from back when they lived in the forests of the south.
Were the Suun clan proper leaders of their people back when this building was made?
The answer to that only existed in the minds of those who were alive back then, like Granny Jiba.
“This is it...”
The ritual hall was like the remains of a rotting dinosaur, but it had apparently been hiding a splendid wooden building that in no way lost out to the main Ruu house.
Figuring that had to be the home of the main Suun family, I subconsciously braced myself.
This was the enemy stronghold... The fortress of fiends like Diga Suun who had committed countless foul deeds.
Tei Suun walked along in orderly steps like a robot, advancing around to the rear of the building.
“...This is the kitchen.”
Sure enough, there was a small separate structure behind the house itself, just like with the Ruu home. It was on the same scale, too. Heck, there were even two stoves installed outside like with the Ruu house.
“Hmm... Where are the women of the Suun clan?” Mia Lea Ruu questioned.
“I will go summon them. Hold on just a moment,” Tei Suun said with a bow, his gaze remaining vacant all the while.
With that, Tei Suun disappeared, and everyone started laying down their luggage off to the side of the door.
Over 90 kilos of giba meat. More than 400 aria. Around 300 poitan. Fruit wine, rock salt, and myamuu for seasoning. Cookware, as well as pseudo-rubber tree leaves for carrying everything.
It certainly was an extraordinary amount, especially when you saw it all in one place like this.
There would be 79 people attending the clan head meeting, 41 members of the Suun clan, and the nine of us manning the stove. Then, for Mida Suun, we needed to make enough surplus to feed ten people, bringing us up to 139 meals.
At any rate, this brought an end to the help the men would officially be providing, but there were still two or three hours left till the clan head meeting would begin. And so, the plan was to have them just hang around the kitchen until then.
“Still, once the clan head meeting kicks off, the men of the Suun’s branch families and the like will be able to move around freely. So don’t let your guard down no matter what, alright, Asuta?” Ai Fa whispered to me, despite the fact that I’d already heard that countless times.
“I know. And no matter what happens, I won’t do anything on my own. You take care too, Ai Fa, okay?”
“Hmph. I won’t be in any danger, though I will admit that it will be vexing not to have Gazraan Rutim around.”
Right, Ai Fa was set to talk about what sort of mindset the Fa clan had in opening the shop in the post town, but since the tradition was for the heirs to stay behind and protect their homes, Gazraan Rutim would be absent from the meeting and unable to lend his support.
Donda Ruu and Dan Rutim would hardly be any help at all on that front, and the second son of the Rutim house unfortunately wasn’t as skilled of a speaker as his elder brother. Though with that said, it was probably just that Gazraan Rutim was way too talented in that regard. After all, I had yet to see anyone else at the forest’s edge who could speak as elegantly and intelligently as he could.
That must have been down to the general temperaments of the people of the forest’s edge. Lots of the folks around here were rich and vibrant in their emotions, but there didn’t seem to be that many who valued logic and reason. Within my limited field of acquaintances, I would say only Gazraan Rutim and Granny Jiba fell into that type... Though Jiza and Sati Lea Ruu and Ama Min Rutim felt like they had a bit of that to them, too.
“...It’ll be alright. What matters most is that you get your feelings across,” I whispered to Ai Fa. “I mean, no matter how skilled folks like me and Kamyua may be with our words, I think it’d be pretty hard for us to get through to the people of the forest’s edge on an emotional level. But as one of their brethren, I’m sure you’ll be able to do just fine.”
“I don’t know how you’re able to say something like that after being around me for so long... But well, I suppose it’s several times better than hearing you say it’s impossible,” Ai Fa bluntly muttered while scratching the tip of her nose. “I shall see my task through, to the best of my ability... And it seems the time has come for you to set about your work too, Asuta.”
Following along with Ai Fa’s gaze, I saw Tei Suun appear again from the shadow of the house. He was also accompanied by more than ten women behind him. And one of them soon slipped past Tei Suun and came to stand in front of us.
“We have been awaiting you, Ai Fa and Asuta of the Fa clan. Our clan head Zuuro and my younger brother Mida have been greatly looking forward to today.”
It was the eldest daughter of the main Suun house, Yamiru Suun.
This was my first time meeting her at the forest’s edge.
In the post town she wore a veil and shawl to cover her bare skin, but now she just had on a regular cloth wrap to cover her chest and waist, and metallic accessories, causing her to look all the more beautiful... and all the creepier, too.
Her dark brown hair was done up carefully in dreadlocks. And her narrow eyes were almost unbelievably black. She was slender and tall with long limbs, so elegant looking that they wouldn’t lose out even to Vina Ruu’s.
This stench isn’t something I’ve ever sensed from Ai Fa or Vina Ruu, though...
The sharpness of my sense of smell was probably the one and only physical ability I had over the people of the forest’s edge. It wasn’t just their muscles, as their sight and vision was also generally outstanding, but I seemed to be a bit better when it came to smell.
And so, I was more cautious of Yamiru Suun than anyone else I had met. I couldn’t imagine it was human, but she was still always clad in the scent of blood, which I naturally found incredibly unnerving.
“Ah, there is one more thing I must inform you of at the start...” Yamiru Suun said with a chilling smile. “The payment for the Fa clan will no longer be 40 giba worth of horns and tusks, but 36. Is that acceptable?”
“What? I think that’ll depend on the reason...”
“The reason is simple. In this past year, four clans have disappeared, bringing the total number down to 36. Some were wiped out, while others joined with other clans before it came to that, but regardless, there are now four less... And so, we would like to request that you make eight fewer meals and accept 36 giba worth as your payment in turn.”
“Well it’s better than the number going up, but I thought agreements couldn’t be overturned so lightly here at the forest’s edge.”
“That’s correct. And that’s why I’m earnestly making this request of you now.”
I was astounded to hear the word “earnest” come out of her mouth and couldn’t help but shrug my shoulders. If that was known in advance, then they certainly should have had plenty of ways of letting us know ahead of time. It was so laughably dishonest that I’d feel like an idiot for trying to be honest while taking them on.
And yet, this was the only stage I had to fight them on.
“We won’t exactly feel like carrying all this heavy luggage back at this point. So if everyone from the Ruu and Rutim agree, then we’ll accept. We’re planning on splitting the payment, after all.”
“Who cares about the payment? What matters is getting started already,” Mia Lea Ruu stated bluntly, looking completely unshaken as she stepped in front of Yamiru Suun.
Yamiru Suun, meanwhile, shot her back a disinterested chilly glance.
“Well then, we look forward to your work, Asuta of the Fa clan. Feel free to use these 15 women however you please.”
15, huh? That sure was a lot.
I had heard there were 41 people living in the Suun settlement, so that must have meant nearly all the women had gathered.
And yet, I was at a loss for words as I looked them over.
What in the world is going on...?
These women of the forest’s edge all varied in terms of age. The oldest looked to be around fifty, while the youngest was probably about ten. And they were a mix of both married and unwed women. That was all perfectly normal, with nothing notably out of sorts.
Except... Their eyes all looked dead.
Both the old women and the young girls had the same sort of cloudy, muddied gazes as Tei Suun.
Their faces were all utterly expressionless, too. I couldn’t sense so much as a shred of the vitality usually possessed by the people of the forest’s edge in any of them. They weren’t especially wasting away, nor did they seem like they were even really unhealthy. They just seemed to be completely and utterly listless.
They were lacking in energy more than the people from the post town, or back in my old world, or really any people I had ever seen as they stood there vacantly, looking like poorly crafted clay dolls.
“Well then, I have my own work to handle, so please excuse me... Ah, and the clan head hasn’t woken up yet, so you men standing there will need to wait till later to greet him, too,” Yamiru Suun said with a smile like a viper, then she departed. Tei Suun followed along after her like it was only natural.
After they were gone, Mia Lea Ruu loudly clapped her hands together.
“Well then, shall we carry in the luggage?! Please go ahead and get the poitan first!”
With that, the women of the Suun clan swayed on over without saying a word. Their movements weren’t extremely sluggish or anything, but they still somehow reminded me of a swarm of zombies.
“What was with that eerie woman...?” Dan Rutim questioned in an annoyed tone from behind me.
That sounded like he was perhaps just talking to himself, but I went ahead and responded, “She’s the eldest daughter of the main Suun house, Yamiru Suun.”
“A woman of the main house, huh? She seems to have more backbone than those three dunce sons, but I’ve got no interest in dining alongside someone giving off such an unpleasant stench.”
“Huh?”
I looked up at Dan Rutim’s large frame with a bit of surprise, and saw that his round nose was sniffing the air.
“Why does that woman smell of rotten blood? There’s no way she could handle skinning a giba with skinny arms like that.”
“You have a pretty sharp nose, don’t you, Dan Rutim...”
“Hmm? Yeah, I can even pick out a giba in the forest by their stench. Even among the Rutim, only me and my old man Raa can do that,” Dan Rutim said in a bragging tone, rubbing the tip of his nose as his potbelly shook. “At any rate, I don’t like her. I’m not fond of any of the Suun clan, but that woman’s on another level. Asuta, make extra sure not to let your guard down around her, alright?”
“Yeah. I’m thoroughly in agreement on that,” I said with a nod as I grabbed a bag of poitan.
Then, I turned back towards Ai Fa.
“Well then, I’ve got my own work to get to... Let’s both give it our all.”
Ai Fa just silently gave a single nod back, an intense expression on her face.
With that, the curtain quietly raised on our battle at the Suun settlement.
2
There were eight women from the Ruu and Rutim clans accompanying me. On the other hand, there were 15 women from the Suun clan.
Those numbers were plenty enough for manning the stove and making roughly 130 meals. The real issue wasn’t the quantity, but the quality.
“Umm, are any of you from the main Suun house?” I asked once we got all the poitan and cookware into the kitchen.
Naturally, there wasn’t enough space for 24 people at once, so we were gathered out front.
Ai Fa and Donda Ruu and them were all seated on the ground a bit removed, keeping an eye on us while chewing away on jerky.
“No, none of them are here,” the eldest woman replied in a monotonous tone.
“Really? That’s a problem. I wanted to teach the women of the main house my cooking techniques, so they could prepare these dishes for Mida Suun in the future.”
She stood there silently, staring at me.
“What is it?”
“...The women of the main house don’t man the stove.”
“Huh? Then who cooks for the main house?”
“We all are given that task...”
“Is that so? But there are three women in the main house, aren’t there?”
I heard from Gazraan Rutim that in addition to Yamiru Suun, there was also a younger daughter and the clan head’s wife.
The woman just repeated, “We all are given that task...”
“I see. Got it. Well then, let’s get to work... First off, please light all the stoves. And I only see four pots, so could you bring three more over from the branch houses?”
The Suun clan women started tottering along again, still not saying a word.
As we watched them listlessly move, Vina Ruu whispered, “I’m sort of worried about how this will go... Wouldn’t it be a lot easier if we just did all the work ourselves...?”
“Yeah. The fact that we can’t do that is what makes this so tricky.”
For a variety of reasons, our plan was to drive my cooking techniques into the women of the Suun clan.
One was to satisfy Mida Suun’s craving for delicious food.
Another was to let the head of the Suun clan, Zuuro Suun, know that my ability to make good cooking wasn’t anything that unique.
And lastly, we needed to let all of the clan heads know that tasty food can bring greater strength and prosperity to the forest’s edge.
But was it even possible to drive techniques into such listless people?
It really did seem like this would be a far trickier job than the Rutim wedding banquet.
“Please fill the pots up to around 60 percent with water. And go with a strong flame in the stoves... Once they come to a boil, add 40 poitan into each pot.”
There were five stoves in the kitchen. Those were assigned to ten members of the Suun clan, the three sisters from the main Ruu house, and Tari Ruu.
Then, there were two more stoves outside. The ones tasked with those were the other five Suun women and the two from the Rutim clan.
In addition to providing cooking guidance, they also had the important task of keeping an eye on the Suun women to make sure they didn’t try anything. Well, it was hard to imagine them mixing poison into food they would be eating, but it still was important to be extra cautious when dealing with the Suun clan.
“Once it’s boiling, make sure to stir it so the poitan doesn’t burn. Now then... Let’s go ahead and confirm the schedule.”
As I stood in the kitchen’s entrance, I called over Mia Lea and Sheera Ruu.
“As planned, let’s make the soup on the branch family stoves once we’re done boiling down the poitan. My group will have Vina and Lala Ruu, Mia Lea Ruu’s group will include Ama Min and Morun Rutim, and Sheera Ruu, you’ll have Reina and Tari Ruu. Does that work for everyone?”
“I don’t mind. But we’ll be leaving the boiled poitan here in the meantime? That’s what has me most worried.”
“I’d be lying if I said that didn’t concern me, too. But ultimately, it’d be difficult to prepare this much food all in one place. We’ll just have to be diligent about sampling everything to make sure it hasn’t been messed with.”
“That’s true... Still, why are all of the Suun clan women so...” Mia Lea Ruu started to say, only for a rough male voice to sound out.
Looking in the direction of the sound, it seemed there were now some unfamiliar men over where Donda Ruu’s group was hanging out.
“Ah... What’s that about?”
Even at this distance, I could clearly tell there was something suspicious about them.
The six men there were all facing Donda Ruu’s group and raising their voices about something.
Four of the group had giba fur cloaks that went over their heads, while the other two were wearing full-on giba skulls.
“Those are the clans who rule over the north of the forest’s edge. The ones with the pelts are the Zaza and Jeen clans, while the ones wearing the skulls are the Dom. All of them serve under the Suun...”
“So those are the clans under the Suun, huh...?”
“Yeah. Apparently, they’re even more of a problem than the Suun clan in some ways. At any rate, from what I hear, they’re quick tempered and even more hardheaded than our clan head.”
“Huh? Even more than Donda Ruu?” I said, immediately regretting letting that slip.
As the wife to that stubborn clan head, though, Mia Lea Ruu just gave an amused chuckle.
“It seems that having heads as hard as rocks has led to them swearing absolute loyalty to the leading clan. The Dom and Zaza settlements are off at the northernmost limits of the forest’s edge, much farther than the Suun, so they still don’t seem to have any idea just how far those fools have fallen.”
“I see... That certainly does sound troublesome.”
“Yeah, it’s a pain. Perhaps they think that by going against the Suun, the Ruu and Fa are trying to threaten the peace of the forest’s edge.”
Yup, that was certainly an issue.
Perhaps somewhere deep down I had grown conceited enough to think that if it came down to violence, Donda Ruu and Ai Fa and them could handle it just fine. After all, the men of the main Suun house were just so pathetic.
But the men facing off with Donda Ruu and Dan Rutim now looked every bit as daring as their opponents, and particularly vicious on top of that.
Both the men with the pelts and those with the skulls had robust physiques that wouldn’t lose out to the Ruu and Rutim clan heads in the least. And with those imposing outfits, they looked like massive giba standing on two legs.
There were only six of them in total, and yet they didn’t look afraid of Donda Ruu’s group of 15 in the least. I couldn’t tell what they were so mad about, but they really did look so angry that they could draw their blades at any moment.
“Agh, I told you, you have to take care so you don’t burn it!” I suddenly heard Lala Ruu yell out flustered. “All you had to do was stir it, right?! Ugh, whatever, just get out of my way!”
“Right...” another voice weakly replied.
As I peered into the kitchen, I saw Lala Ruu snatching a wooden spatula from a rather young girl from the Suun clan, then start violently stirring the contents of a pot.
“Sorry, Asuta! It may have gotten pretty burnt! Should I take it off the stove right away?”
“Yeah. If some of it’s burnt, then it’s best to do that even if it’s a bit watery, so—” I started to say, only for a shriek to cut me off.
Then, there was the dull sound of something heavy hitting the ground.
That worrying commotion had come from the outdoor stoves.
Mia Lea Ruu and I went running out to check, where we found Morun Rutim seated on the ground, Ama Min Rutim with a perplexed look on her face, and a pot with half of its poitan spilled out on the ground. Then I spied some Suun women standing there looking dumbfounded, holding a grigee pole meant for transport.
“Ama Min Rutim, what happened?!”
“Ah, Asuta... I’m so sorry. The poitan were all boiled down, so I was thinking it was time to take the pot off the heat, but it ended up like this.”
While her sister-in-law cradled her head like she had a headache, Morun Rutim angrily yelled out, “We almost got seriously burned there!” by her feet. Normally she was gentle-natured, but now her face was beet red with rage. “Why were you so weak-kneed? If you can’t even carry a pot properly, then you’re not fit to man the stove!”
She really did look more and more like her father as she raged away.
However, the women from the Suun clan just said, “Right,” and nodded, their expressions as vacant as always.
“These really are some grim prospects for how things are going to go,” Mia Lea Ruu said with a deep sigh. “The clan heads seem like they have it rough too, but we don’t have the time to spare for worrying about them. The poitan is the simplest dish, yet it ended up like this. I mean, there’s no way we can leave the soup and steak up to them, right?”
“Yeah. We’ll have to change gears a bit.”
I had thought we would use this initial task to scope out the Suun women’s skills, but apparently we couldn’t take things so casually.
And so, after giving one last glance towards Ai Fa’s group squaring off with the clans under the Suun, I made a u-turn back into the kitchen.
“Lala Ruu! Bring the burnt pot over here! And a ladle for a water jug, too! Sheera Ruu, please take Lala Ruu’s place and support Reina Ruu’s group.”
“Right.”
Lala Ruu and a Suun clan woman brought over the pot, then we lined it up alongside the one from the Rutim group.
“Ladle the poitan that didn’t get burnt over to this pot. Then, get one more fresh pot... No, better make it two. Then, add enough to one of them to make up for the amount that spilled and burnt to boil down.”
Now that it came to this, we were actually lucky in a way to have that cancellation of eight meals. Naturally, we had brought along extra ingredients to make up for mistakes when cooking, but I hadn’t expected anything this bad.
It couldn’t be that they screwed up on purpose to drag us down, right?
It would be one thing if they were screwing up in a way where we could be blamed, but they would be the ones getting reprimanded if those mistakes just now made it so there wasn’t enough food.
No, it had to be that they were just so completely and utterly lacking in drive.
“Alright. Looks like we’ll use up all the remaining poitan. Lala Ruu, could you prepare the rest in a way that it serves as an example for them to work off of?”
“Yeah. I mean, I couldn’t stand it if they wasted any more poitan... Seriously, I see you just standing there with those dull looks on your faces, but just what do you think our precious food is? These poitan were earned with the giba tusks and horns the men risk their lives to obtain, you know.”
Lala Ruu was clearly mad, but the Suun women just emotionlessly responded, “Our deepest apologies.”
With that I returned to the kitchen alongside them, and found that fortunately all the other stoves had finished the task without incident.
However, Vina and Reina Ruu looked more than a little fed up.
“Those poitan are all boiled down, right? Then take the pots outside to a place where they’ll get good sunlight! And take care so that there aren’t any spills!”
After a few seconds of lag, the Suun clan women grabbed hold of grigee poles.
With that, all the pots were carried outside, and once Lala Ruu’s additional portion was ready, I lined it up out front alongside the others with the help of another member of the group.
“After boiling the poitan down and then exposing them to sunlight like this, you need to wait until the moisture is completely gone. We’re going to use that time to make giba and aria broth, but before that, I’d like to go back over a number of things about today’s work... Everyone from the Suun clan, could you please step back into the kitchen?”
As I watched the women silently shuffle along out of the corner of my eye, I grabbed one of the bags of giba meat off to the side of the door.
“Vina Ruu, could I have you come with me, too? And everyone else, just go ahead and watch over us from the entrance.”
The 15 women from the Suun clan, me, and Vina Ruu... It was as large of a kitchen as the one from the Ruu house, but I still didn’t think any more people could fit inside.
The rest of the group who didn’t get in stared into the kitchen, clearly wondering what was about to happen.
I placed the bag atop the work station set next to one of the stoves, then looked over the women standing there.
“This is giba meat brought here by the Ruu and Rutim clans. Today, we’ll be using this to prepare dinner.”
The Suun women stared at me with dead fish eyes, making it hard to tell if I even had their attention.
“This meat was prepared with a special technique, so it doesn’t have the stench you would expect. Are you all aware of the fact that using such meat, I’ve opened a shop selling food in the post town?” I asked the closest of the women.
“No...” she replied.
“I see. Then is it safe to assume you all are unaware why a group like us with no ties to the Suun are in charge of manning the stove?”
“Yes... We are unaware.”
“Right. Well then, ten days ago, the youngest son of the main Suun house, Mida Suun, came by my shop and purchased my cooking. And it seemed he enjoyed it a great deal, so for this one night, your clan head Zuuro Suun asked me to man the stove.”
The women showed no change whatsoever.
Were they not especially afraid of the main house, then?
“As a result, I need to make cooking that will satisfy Mida Suun, but if it’s just limited to tonight, then there’s not much point to it, is there? And so, I would like all of you to learn how to make delicious cooking too, as you man the Suun clan stoves on a daily basis... Do you find that disagreeable?” I asked, now facing another of the women at the front of the group.
That slightly older-looking woman emotionlessly replied, “...We have no reason to feel that way.”
“I see... Well then, do you have any personal interest in eating delicious food?”
“I don’t understand very well what you mean by ‘delicious food’...”
“Hmm... And what about you?” I questioned, turning to a younger girl next to her.
“I believe that taste has nothing to do with it, and we should be grateful for all food.”
It was a model response for a person of the forest’s edge.
Ai Fa and the members of the Ruu and Rutim had all felt the same exact way at the start.
“That’s certainly true. But as you can see, I’m a foreigner, and I worked as a chef back where I came from. And so, it was my job to make tasty food. The head of the Suun clan has already arranged to pay me, and so I intend to see my work through, no matter what.”
I looked at yet another woman.
“Will you help me with that work?”
“We have been ordered by Yamiru Suun to do as such...”
“Thank you... However, this whole matter has grown to the point such that this dinner won’t just be for Mida Suun and the main house, but also everyone attending the clan head meeting and the Suun branch families. So we need to do a proper job of preparing food for you all and your families, too.”
With that, I finally pulled a bundle of meat out of the bag.
I unraveled the pseudo-rubber leaf, then placed the meat chunk coated in pico leaves atop the work station. This particular chunk was from the back right leg.
“Vina Ruu, could you heat up a pot with a strong flame?”
“Yeah, got it...”
In the meantime, I cut up the meat using my kitchen knife. Even though I had procured the cooking knife from Sym, this guy was still my go-to when it came to handling meat.
“You all may not have any interest in tasty cooking, but my job is to feed it to people. And since we’re working together like this, there’s a bond of sorts between us, so I look forward to cooking with you.”
“...Are you perhaps angry at us for burning and dropping those pots?” the eldest of the women, her hair partially turned white, asked in a flat tone. “If that’s so, then we offer our apologies. We hope to take care from here on out not to mess up again.”
“You don’t need to apologize. I just want us all to keep thinking positively as we do our work,” I replied as I stared at the woman’s exhausted-looking face. “Why are you all making such listless expressions? Do you hate manning the stove? Or do you find it distasteful to help out a foreigner like me?”
“No one feels dissatisfied with this work...”
It felt like I was trying to talk to an old dog who didn’t understand human language.
They all really were just like Tei Suun, utterly lacking in energy, completely apathetic, and unemotional.
And also... Both these women and Tei Suun are all from the branch families.
As far as I knew, none of the members of the main Suun house had such eyes. There had to be some sort of massive difference between those two groups.
I didn’t know what that may be, but with things like this, I definitely couldn’t let this work end in a massive failure.
“Asuta, the pot’s all heated up...”
“Thanks,” I replied, setting aside my knife.
Then, I held up the five millimeter-thick slices of thigh meat for the Suun clan women to see.
“I’m going to cook this meat now. The only flavoring I’ll be using is pico leaves. It has some nice fat clinging to it though, so I’ll just be grilling it as is.”
Just as I said I would, I added the thigh meat to the pot, 15 slices in total.
White smoke rose up and the smell of grilling meat filled the kitchen.
“Vina Ruu, please get me a plate and spoon for each of them.”
“Got it.”
The cuts were thin, so they were ready in no time at all. With that, I transferred them all to the plates, then handed them to the Suun women.
“Please, each of you try a piece. This is what giba meat is like when it’s been bloodlet.”
One of the women picked up her spoon and dug in. Her face remained completely expressionless, but her eyebrows wriggled just a bit.
The next woman had no reaction at all. The one after that gently closed her eyelids. The following one opened her eyes ever so slightly wider. Yet another woman didn’t react.
Their reactions all differed from person to person.
The one with the greatest change in expression in the group was the youngest girl, who looked to be around ten. She knitted her brows a bit for some reason, then looked left and right at the members of her clan. Not a one of them responded, though.
“I don’t know if it was to your liking or not, but it had a different taste, right? The members of the Ruu and Rutim have judged it as being delicious. I’ve heard countless times since coming to the forest’s edge that when it comes to food, there is no good or bad taste. But I think that if you’re going to be eating anyway, then why not make it something that tastes good?”
That was as far as I could go by trying to reach them with words. From here on out, I’d just have to have them experience it firsthand.
“What we’ll be making from here on out will be far more delicious than what you just tasted. Please, help me make it, for the sake of Mida Suun, too... Now then, I’d like us to split into three groups and get to cooking.”
3
By the time we stepped back out of the kitchen, the men were gone.
As I tilted my head and wondered where they went, Reina Ruu gently approached and whispered, “The men are in the ritual hall. There’s still some time till the clan head meeting, but apparently the clans under the Suun were complaining about them wandering around the settlement with their blades on them.”
“I see,” I said with a nod.
“Asuta, what should we be doing next?”
“We’ll split into three groups and start making soup as planned. And I’d like you to have the Suun women taste test it at every key point.”
“Taste test it?”
“Yeah. And I don’t mind if it’s just idle chatting or whatever, but could you try to bond with them as much as possible while working? The feelings you put into your cooking are important, after all. If they stay as listless as they are now, it could have an effect on the final dish.”
“Ah... I sort of understand, somehow. You mean the desire to make delicious food leads to the dish turning out tasty, right?”
“Yup. That’s exactly what I meant,” I said with a big nod, and Reina Ruu shot me back a joyful smile.
“Got it. We all may have been a bit too on edge ourselves, because we were dealing with the Suun clan. But we’re all women of the forest’s edge, so I’d like to believe we share the desire to make delicious food for the men.”
Reina Ruu really was both kinder and wiser than most folks.
After I gave the same explanation to Mia Lea and Sheera Ruu, I met up with the members of my group. That meant Vina and Lala Ruu.
“Well then, could all of you from the Suun clan split up into three groups, too? And if you don’t mind, please try to stick as much as possible with members of your house and people you are especially close to.”
With that, we formed our unit of five members of the Suun clan and three of us, grabbed the necessary amount of aria and meat, and headed off to a branch family kitchen.
“Now then, let’s start by chopping up the aria. I’d like you to cut them into wedges, which is done like this.”
One portion of giba soup used two aria and 150 grams of giba meat.
“Now that I think about it, we’re making ten people’s worth of food for Mida Suun thanks to that physique of his, but he couldn’t possibly need 10 servings of soup too, right?” I asked one of the Suun women, taking care to act even cheerier than I did when working in the post town.
However, she just listlessly responded, “I’m not sure...” while chopping up aria.
“Well, I guess it’s better to have too much than to have too little. And besides, the plan is to prepare a little extra of everything, anyway... Is Mida Suun at home right now, or is he out in the forest?”
“I’m not sure...”
“I actually still haven’t ever met the clan head, Zuuro Suun. I know he’s the head of the Suun clan, which makes him the leader of the forest’s edge, but what sort of person is he?”
“Zuuro Suun is a praiseworthy man...”
So this is what an exercise in futility felt like, huh?
Vina and Lala Ruu couldn’t find anything to talk about either, so they were now completely silent.
Seeing that, I decided to change targets.
“Hey, what did you think of that meat from before?” I asked the girl of around ten, who happened to be in this group.
The girl kept on chopping aria like some sort of machine, but she glanced over at me.
“The taste was entirely different than normal giba meat...”
“Right? You see, that was made by draining the giba of blood before it completely passes away, then after that, removing the innards properly. When you do that, even the giba torso tastes good.”
“I see...”
“Do you all toss the torso away into the forest, too? Giba legs are tasty, of course, but there are plenty of tasty parts in the torso, too.”
The girl shook her head, remaining expressionless all the while.
“We don’t discard the torso...”
“Huh?”
“We eat both the head and the torso... The stench is much stronger than with the legs, though.”
“Hmm, I see,” I replied, making sure to stay plenty friendly despite the feeling of unease swelling inside.
So even the members of the branch families eat giba heads and torsos... Wait, isn’t there something strange there...?
Ai Fa had said the Suun clan was monopolizing the reward money from Genos and not carrying out their duty as hunters. So that meant they were using that money to buy aria and poitan and eating a giba down to the bones whenever they happened to catch one? If that was the case, they could keep the dangerous work to a minimum and fool around to their heart’s content for the rest of the time.
But was that not limited to the members of the main house? Were even the folks of the branch families living such lazy lifestyles?
I tried thinking it over properly, but it just didn’t seem realistic. That feeling was probably rooted in my habit of running calculations when working in the post town.
Is the Genos reward money really that great of a sum?
Thanks to this job, I was able to learn the precise number of members in the Suun clan: 8 in the main house and 33 in the branch families, making for 41 in total.
And so, I tried to consider how it would go if all 41 of those people weren’t hunting down a single giba.
To get the minimum amount of nutrition, a person needed three aria and two poitan a day. Converted to money, that would be 1.2 red coins. And since we were talking 41 people, that meant 49.2 coins.
Gazraan Rutim had also said that the reward money was delivered once every three months. That meant roughly 90 days. And so, the clan would require 4428 red coins for that period of time.
Then, I tried factoring in them hunting enough giba to get the minimum amount of necessary meat.
As a rough estimate, each person would need 500 grams of giba meat per day to get the needed amount of nutrition, and it would be possible to obtain around 40 kilograms of meat per giba on average. So, well, if they caught one giba every other day, that should be about right.
That would mean they could get 24 coins every two days for the horns, tusks, and pelt. In a month, that would amount to 360. In three months, it would hit 1080 coins.
Subtracting 1080 coins from 4428, you got 3348. And if you were talking that much every three months, that meant 13392 red coins per year.
For 41 people to play around as they please, they would need that many coins per year at a minimum.
And yet, Kamyua Yoshu had said the reward money was a trifling amount. Of course, as Ai Fa had responded, that was why they were keeping it to themselves. But still... could you really call a number like that “trifling”?
Plus, that was only the absolute minimum number to get what they needed to live. But there was no way that the main Suun house was living so frugally.
Doddo Suun walked around drinking fruit wine in the middle of the day.
Mida Suun was given ten red coins worth of allowance once a month to spend on food.
On top of that, if their blades snapped they needed to be replaced, and assorted other expenses like clothing had to be considered.
That made me think the Suun clan wasn’t just relying on the reward money and were hunting a certain number of giba... But then that comment that they eat giba heads and torsos felt strange to me.
If the reward money was less than what I just calculated, they would need to hunt more than one giba every other day, but as a result, they would end up with an excess of meat.
Something just wasn’t quite sitting right with me. Some part of this felt ever so slightly odd, but I didn’t know what.
And there was also the fact that I still didn’t know the reason behind the branch family members’ listless gazes. I had imagined it being just the main family monopolizing the reward money, while the branch families were forced to keep that secret... but was that not the case?
“Asuta, I think we’re done with the aria...” Vina Ruu called out, bringing me back to my senses.
“Right, well then next up is the giba meat. For the soup, we’ll be using giba leg and shoulder meat,” I said, giving my head a quick shake and focusing on the work in front of me.
No matter how much I racked my brains, as long as I didn’t know the amount of reward money or giba they were hunting, I couldn’t arrive at a proper answer.
Still, I had my definite doubts, so I stowed them away in the corner of my mind.
“The giba leg meat should be cut like I showed you before, with the white fat evenly distributed. And you want the slices to be about this thick.”
There was no response.
I said that idle chatting or whatever would be fine, but when you were dealing with such listless people you were meeting for the first time, it was hard to know exactly what topic would catch their interest. I was starting to feel a stronger and stronger desire to just come out and bluntly ask them what they thought of the main house’s foolishness, but then...
Lala Ruu loudly shouted, “Wah! Y-You scared me there! Who are you? And where in the world did you sneak in from?!”
“I mean, I’ve been here for a while now. I’d say you were just too dense to notice, right?” a high-pitched voice like a chirping bird replied.
I was feeling pretty darn surprised, too. There should have been exactly eight of us in the kitchen, but at some point a ninth had worked her way in: a very small girl.
And yet, I had no idea what age she might be.
She was about one head shorter than Lala Ruu, no more than 130 centimeters, I’d say. Her arms, legs, and torso were all quite thin, but her head alone was strangely large. And her dark brown hair was pulled up tight at the top of her head, like an onion.
With her eyes wide open, their whites really stood out. Her pupils were small and black, though, and had a crafty look to them. Both her nose and mouth were tiny, and her chin came to a point like a triangle.
And for some reason, her tiny body was clad in a tubular one piece dress. The cloth had a swirling pattern, but it was in the style of what was worn in town.
“You’re the foreigner living at the Fa house, aren’t you...?” she asked, her wily eyes staring straight at me. “Hmm, your appearance is like that of the people of the west. Your hair color is like folks from the east, though. Do you have mixed blood from those two nations?”
“No, I come from a much further off country, but... Who exactly are you?”
Naturally, I had an idea before even asking.
I hypothesized that her haughtiness marked her as a member of the main house, in which case it was almost certain who she must be.
Unsurprisingly, her response confirmed my suspicions.
“I’m the youngest daughter of the main Suun house, Tsuvai Suun. Isn’t it proper manners to introduce yourself before asking someone else’s name, though?”
“Ah, I’m Asuta, a member of the Fa clan. Did you come to help out too?”
With that, Tsuvai Suun’s thin eyebrows raised in anger and she retorted, “Why should a member of the main house have to help man the stove? That’s a job for the branch families, right? Don’t go around spouting such nonsense, geez!”
“Ah, so that’s the custom in the Suun clan?”
My alertness had peaked with the arrival of a member of the main house, but still, she didn’t seem to make as bad of an impression as her siblings.
She didn’t especially look like a good or sincere person or anything, but she had a bit of an affectionate and humorous appearance to her. I got a sort of deja vu, making me wonder if she was reminding me of a character from a manga or anime or something.
“Hmph! Well, you’re a foreigner, so I guess I’ll let it slide... Hmm, so that’s the magic giba meat?”
“Ah, no, I’m not a sorcerer or anything.”
“What are you saying?! I mean, you were able to sell this giba meat in the Genos post town, right?! The people there all hate giba meat, so how would you do that using anything but magic?!” she hysterically wailed, but then her big eyes narrowed and she stared at me. “Hey... Is it true that you’ve been able to earn 200 red coins in a day doing that? I can’t believe that at all...”
“If you can’t believe it, then I don’t mind if you don’t.”
“Whatever, just give me a proper answer! If you go lying to me, I’ll be able to research it and find out easily enough anyway!”
She was acting pretty familiar, but she was also way too noisy.
I looked around to see what everyone thought of this scene unfolding, and...
Vina Ruu’s sleepy eyes were narrowed as she stared at the intruder.
Lala Ruu also knitted her brows and looked displeased as she glared at the girl.
And as for the women of the branch families, they looked as emotionless as always as they chopped away at the meat. Apparently, the arrival of Tsuvai Suun hadn’t affected them in the least.
“Hey... how many days have you been doing business in the post town for, Asuta?” Tsuvai Suun asked as she sidled up to me. “It was ten days back that Mida started sobbing away, right? So you’ve already been open for ten whole days?”
“Well, that’s about it.”
In actuality it was a 13-day period with one day off, but I was under no obligation to answer so precisely.
“Ten days! So if it’s 200 coins per day, then that means you’ve already earned 2000 red coins!”
“Ah, no, around half of that goes to expenses, and it wasn’t like I was making 200 coins from the very first day...” I hurriedly tried to correct her, but the words didn’t seem to get through at all.
The girl’s eyes had clearly lit up. Somehow, it was like the tenacious stare of a starving beast.
“2000 red coins would be 200 white, or two silver!”
“Ah, yeah, but like I said, it wasn’t like all that money goes right into my pockets...”
“It’s like a dream! Now that the Fa clan has a hold of you, they’ll never need to worry about money again for the rest of their lives! Hmm, let’s see...”
“Hold on a second! Haven’t you heard what I said?! And what does money matter anyway?”
“What do you mean? The reason we’re alive is to make money, right? That makes you the greatest hero at the forest’s edge! After all, making 200 red coins a day is the same as hunting down eight giba in that short a time! And that’s assuming the pelts are skinned, too!”
I was left a bit dumbfounded at how this girl was able to run through calculations just like me.
Could that tenacious glare in her eyes... have come from a fixation on money...?
“I never expected to hear a person of the forest’s edge say they lived just to earn money. Don’t the hunters of the forest’s edge hunt down giba in order to protect the fields of Genos?”
“What are you saying? The hunters hunt giba for coins, too! If there are any hunters out there that feel differently, then they aren’t fit to sell tusks and horns! No matter how much you may try to gloss over it, a person can’t live without money!”
“I mean, that may be so, but...”
“So, the reason the giba multiplying is a problem is because they’ll attack the fields, right? And if that happens, then they’ll eat up all the crops. Then if that happens, they won’t be able to be sold for profit, which is the key issue, isn’t it? So you see, it all comes back to money! That’s the meaning of life! And if you don’t like that, then your only choice is to toss aside all gods and go live with the wild people of Mount Morga!”
Since they were ranked in the pecking order of the mountain alongside varb wolves and giant madarama snakes, were the wild people some sort of human-related species?
At any rate, it seemed that Tsuvai Suun didn’t have even a hint of pride or respect as a person of the forest’s edge.
“Um... I know it seems unlikely, but your mother isn’t someone from town, right?”
“Huh? You’re spouting nonsense again! Who ever heard of townsfolk marrying into the forest’s edge?!”
“That’s true. It’s just, your clothing is sort of in the style I’ve seen about town, and you kinda talk like them.”
“Ah, this...? I didn’t like the outfits our people wear, so I revised mine,” Tsuvai Suun replied, sulking a bit.
With that, the tenacious shine finally started disappearing from her eyes. And thanks to that, I finally realized that this noisy girl was reminding me of a fairy who acted like a real fool in an old anime.
Well... I guess that still makes her pretty alright for a member of the main Suun house...
Still, maybe I only felt that way because I wasn’t a natural-born person of the forest’s edge.
If she were a townsperson I might not necessarily agree with her, but I wouldn’t feel there was anything wrong with her, either. I’d just shrug my shoulders and accept that she was a bit obsessed with money.
However, for a person of the forest’s edge, such thoughts were pretty much heresy.
Vina Ruu’s eyes narrowed further as she grew more and more wary. Lala Ruu, meanwhile, looked downright disgusted.
There was no way that someone who denied the pride of the hunters would ever earn respect at the forest’s edge.
“Um... All of the meat is cut now...” one of the branch family women emotionlessly chimed in.
It seemed like every last person here had decided to just ignore Tsuvai Suun.
“Thank you. Well then, let’s light up the stoves.”
We poured water from jugs into the pots, then used lana leaves to ignite the firewood. Tsuvai Suun apparently couldn’t even wait long enough for the water to start boiling before opening her mouth again, though.
“Geez! Mida really has raised a ruckus each and every day ever since he ate your cooking! He gets quiet when you feed him something, but as soon as he’s hungry again he starts wailing! So it’s no surprise that Diga and Doddo got all angry! I know you probably didn’t want to get dragged all the way here either, but it’s been a big pain for us too, so you better take responsibility!”
“Responsibility, huh? Now that you mention it, is Mida Suun really all chained up?”
“Hmm? Ah, for those first few days he was trying to head to town on his own, so it’s possible.”
“‘Possible’? So you mean you didn’t see it yourself?”
“I didn’t. Yamiru’s house is the only place with chains.”
Yamiru’s... house?
“Yamiru Suun has left the main house? But I’m pretty sure she still wears the outfit for unmarried women, right?”
“Yeah, she’s unmarried. But there were lots of open houses, so Yamiru and Diga were given their own.”
I see. In that case, if Mida Suun was being held in chains, then it would have to be Yamiru Suun who did it, huh?
What was going on? When I heard those words from Yamiru Suun I felt incredibly sickened, but I felt indifferent while talking to this girl. Maybe I could actually have a good rapport with Tsuvai Suun after all.
Anyway, as I was thinking that over, the contents of the pots had started boiling.
“Alright, well then first off, please add the giba meat to your pot... When that happens, white scum will float up to the surface, so scoop that out with a wooden spoon. That way, this will end up as a delicious soup.”
It really had been a while since I last taught anyone to prepare giba soup.
Over at the other stove, Lala Ruu was showing two women the method, while Vina Ruu and I were guiding the other three on our end.
“By the way... how old are you anyway, Tsuvai Suun? I’m 17 years old,” I called out during a break in the cooking.
“I’m 12. What about it?” Tsuvai Suun replied with a pout.
“Ah, I was just wondering whether you or Mida Suun were older.”
She was pretty darn small for 12, but regardless, it was a real shock hearing a kid that young say something like people only lived to make money.
“Hmph... There’s no way I could be older than Mida. I wasn’t even born till his mother died, after all.”
“Huh?”
“Mida’s mom died shortly after giving birth to him. Only I am actually the child of our current mom.”
“Ah... is that so?”
A lot of men died young as hunters from what I had heard. Apparently, that meant it wasn’t rare at all for a woman who lost her husband to remarry, but it seemed things had gone the other way around for the main Suun house.
When I heard what came next, though, I was left dumbfounded.
“Yamiru’s mother died right after she was born, too. And it was the same with Diga and Doddo’s moms. Mine is the only one who didn’t die and kept on living. But it’s strange, because she’s not especially strong bodied or anything.”
“Huh? Then you all have different mothers?”
“That’s right. What about it?”
“What...? I mean, I’d never heard of women of the forest’s edge dying so suddenly before now.”
“Hmm? Then is the Suun clan cursed somehow?”
What she was saying was horrifying, yet she didn’t seem to care at all and shrugged her bony shoulders.
“Or maybe they just got bored of life and ended up sick of it... I mean, you all are making faces like you can’t tell if you’re dead or alive, right? I can’t imagine you have long to live if you’re looking like that.” Naturally, the back half of that statement was directed towards the women of the branch families.
As they kept on scooping scum, they listlessly replied, “Yes.”
“Ugh, you’re so irritating! I feel annoyed just being around all of you!”
“Then how about leaving the kitchen...?” Vina Ruu at last chimed in, seemingly unable to take it any longer. “If you aren’t going to man the stove, then there’s no point to you being here... Why did you even come to a place like this...?”
“Hmph! I just wanted to see the greatest hero of the forest’s edge!” Tsuvai Suun stated, glaring at Vina Ruu far above her head. “Up until this foreigner showed up, our clan head Zuuro Suun was the number one hero! That’s why the Suun clan has ruled the forest’s edge! So from now on, the Fa clan may be in charge...”
“It really doesn’t seem you can hold a proper conversation...”
“Hmph! That’s just because you can’t see the true face of the world!”
Leaving those words behind, Tsuvai Suun toddled out of the kitchen.
For a bit afterwards, an awkward silence filled the space.
“All the members of the main Suun house sure are unique, huh...?” I commented to one of the branch family women. Unsurprisingly, all she said back was, “Yes.”
Tsuvai Suun really may be easier to handle than this bunch.
“Alright... Once you’re done scooping scum, we’ll put the lids on and wait for the time being. We’ll cook it slowly on a weak flame, then wrap things up by adding in aria.”
One of the women took a square wooden board and went to place it atop the pot. However, her hand slipped from it and it splashed down into the pot.
The youngest of the girls shrieked, “Ah!” and then shrunk away, only for the boiling hot liquid to fly and hit her on the arm and face. “Agh!” she screamed and fell in front of the work station, only for a number of cut bits of aria to come tumbling down after her.
There was no time to worry about that, though, so I grabbed the ladle from the water jug without a moment’s hesitation.
“Are you alright?! Don’t move!” I yelled out, pouring the water over the girl. It was a bit aggressive on my part, but there was no helping that.
With that, the strength drained from her body and she sunk down onto the floor.
“Are you okay now? It didn’t get into your eye or anything, did it?”
“I’m fine...”
The girl held her left arm and was firmly biting her lower lip. The skin from her left shoulder to her upper arm and from her left cheek to her throat were all a clear red.
“Gah, that looks painful! Here, use this to cool it down,” Lala Ruu said, pushing a soaked cloth up against the girl’s cheek.
“Thank you...” she weakly replied, casting her eyes downwards.
Then, another voice emotionlessly stated, “My apologies, Toor Suun...”
“Hey! Do you seriously even feel bad about it?! Do you really think you can make it up to her if it leaves scars on her face?!” Lala Ruu yelled, completely and utterly furious.
Lala Ruu had wild emotions to begin with, but this may well have been the most angry I had ever seen her.
However, the woman who had made the careless blunder just stood there emotionlessly, while Toor Suun clung to Lala Ruu’s arm and said, “It’s alright... I’m also at fault for not paying enough attention... More importantly, I dirtied our precious aria. I’m so sorry...”
“The aria don’t matter at all! Well, no, that may not be true, but still...!” Lala Ruu said while tearing at her hair, and I gave a deep sigh.
It was true that we trampled over the spilled aria with our own feet, so now around half of them were utterly unusable.
“There’s no helping that now. We’ll just have to cut fresh ones to replace whatever’s unusable. But I’m a lot more concerned about your burn than that. Shouldn’t we be applying medicine or something to it?”
“It’s alright... We mustn’t waste precious medicine on something this trivial...”
“No, but—”
“I really am fine... Um, thank you...” Toor Suun replied, looking at me and Lala Ruu with a bit of fear visible in her eyes.
It was a very uneasy gaze... but it also looked a lot more human than the dead fish eyes I had been seeing from the branch family women.
“It looks like we’ll need to replace around ten aria worth... I’ll go get that much from the extras in the main house’s kitchen...” Vina Ruu chimed in, but I shook my head and said, “No.”
I figured it was best to have the women refrain from acting on their own as much as possible, too.
“The main house is pretty far, so for now let’s just borrow some of this house’s aria. Um... whose house is this?”
With that, Toor Suun replied, “It’s mine...” as she crouched down in front of us.
“I see. Then sorry about this, but could we borrow ten of your aria? We’ll give you back the same amount later, of course.”
“There aren’t any aria...”
“Huh?”
“We just ran out. I’m sorry...”
The light had swiftly drained from Toor Suun’s eyes. It was like a translucent sludge was spreading through them.
I stared into those once again murky eyes, then turned to face the woman who had dropped the lid.
“Then can we have some aria from your house? It should be closer than the main house, right?”
“My apologies... My house also just ran out...”
I stood up and looked at each of the other three women in turn.
“Honestly, I don’t care who it is. Can we borrow the aria from any of you?”
“I’m sorry...”
“My house is also all out of aria...”
“If today weren’t the clan head meeting, it would have been the day we were scheduled to go to town in order to buy more...”
“Oh, I see,” I replied with a smile. “I was surprised to hear all of your pantries were out of aria. But the Suun clan has a custom of waiting till you run out of ingredients before buying more, huh?”
“Yes...”
“By the way, would it be possible to borrow any poitan?”
“No... We’re all out of poitan at the moment, too...”
“I see,” I repeated again. “Well then, let’s go get the aria we brought. There should still be plenty of extra left, so it shouldn’t be an issue. Could you two go grab ten aria from the ones left by the main house’s kitchen?”
“Right...”
With that, the two women I pointed to sluggishly exited the kitchen.
As I watched them leave, I could feel the sense of unease I had sealed away in the back of my mind bubbling back up.
Something was odd here, and seriously wrong.
Was this really a settlement of the forest’s edge?
If Vina and Lala Ruu weren’t standing at my side, I might have been gripped by the fear that I had been thrown into yet another new world.
Everything about this place felt utterly twisted out of shape.
Roughly two hours later, everyone had gathered back at the main house’s kitchen, having completed our giba soup. That meant next on the agenda was baking the dried poitan, then cooking the meat dishes. The sun was right about at the midpoint between its peak and where it would set. That meant we had roughly three and a half hours left, so we were more or less on pace. It was about time for the clan head conference to finally get rolling in the ritual hall, too.
While praying for the success of Ai Fa and the others, we set about guiding the women on how to bake poitan.
“Poitan that’s been exposed to sunlight gets all hard like this, so you first dissolve it in water to return it to a semi-liquid state. Adjust that bit by bit with a ladle, taking care not to add too much water.”
There were no more spare poitan left, so we had to be super careful to make certain that nothing burned this time around.
First, I had Sheera Ruu demonstrate for everyone, then we tore off bits of the baked poitan and had them taste.
“What do you think? It’s like a completely different food compared to that usual goopy heated-up poitan, right?”
Around half the Suun women had their expressions ripple ever so slightly, while there was a clear shift on the faces of the other half.
Was that enough to make them think it was delicious?
I sincerely prayed that was the case.
“Bloodlet giba meat and baked poitan. With just these ingredients alone, you can create an entirely different dinner than what you’ve had up until now. And so, let’s each give it our all to bake the poitan up nice and tasty.”
While baking the poitan, we rotated through the groups and gave them all one-on-one guidance.
The fifteen Suun clan women all took turns baking poitan, while we watched over them and took care to make sure nothing burned. If we clung to them even more tightly than before, that would surely make it harder for them to make any real mistakes.
Ultimately, it took around an hour to bake enough poitan for about 130 people. And once that was done, it was finally time for the meat dishes.
First up was producing the marinade for the myamuu giba.
“This is myamuu. We’ll be chopping it up finely along with aria, then mixing it together with fruit wine. As for the amounts, with one bottle of fruit wine you want to have one myamuu and half an aria. Considering the quantities we’ll need, though, we’ll be making the marinade in pots and adding the meat into it.”
When making myamuu giba, we used a bit under 200 grams of meat per person. That meant the overall volume wasn’t all that different from what we handled back at the stall.
On top of that, we’d have a spare rib per person and around 200 grams of thigh meat steak, which we would supplement with sauteed aria, bringing the menu to completion.
While the meat for the myamuu giba was soaking, we went ahead and cut up the meat for the steaks. By then, it was a bit under two hours till sunset.
We were still doing alright.
At this rate, it seemed like we would be able to fully complete all the dishes with time to spare.
“It looks like the actual cooking will make it in time... But will these women really be interested in cooking delicious food of their own will from tomorrow on?” Mia Lea Ruu whispered.
“Hmm... It’d be nice if at least a few of them felt that way after dinner, but still...”
The outlook certainly wasn’t good in the least. In fact, it was hard to tell if these women even really had much in the way of will or emotions.
“If the Suun settlement weren’t so far away, we’d be willing to come each day until we beat it into them.”
Even Mia Lea Ruu seemed a bit less energetic now. She had come here expecting to teach haughty women like Yamiru and Tsuvai Suun a real lesson. And yet, when she actually made it here, this is what she found. No matter how much of a scolding you gave them, these women would never show any shame, as they pretty much seemed like clay dolls. It was hard to imagine it would be possible to change their way of thinking in just a single day.
“There’s also still the matter of how the men and the folks from the main house react. But regardless of all else, Mida Suun is sure to keep demanding delicious dinners. They’re going to have an obligation to respond to that.”
The men would also need to change their way of thinking and learn how to bloodlet and dissect a giba if they wanted to eat delicious meat, but it was hard to say how that would play out.
And was Ai Fa doing alright...?
“Asuta, all the meat and aria are cut,” Sheera Ruu informed me.
“Thank you. Well then... the marinated meat should be just about ready, so let’s cook that up first. Everyone, please gather by the outdoor stoves.”
Myamuu giba produced a lot of smoke, making it the sort of dish that was better to prepare outside.
“We’ll add the meat to the pot and then stir it with a spoon so that it doesn’t burn as it cooks. To start with, we’ll go ahead and prepare a small amount... Sheera Ruu, could you please?”
“Right,” Sheera Ruu replied, grabbing a handful of meat and tossing it in the pot.
As the smell of myamuu and fruit wine spread, a number of the women’s shoulders trembled.
“It smells good, doesn’t it?” I said with a smile to Toor Suun, who was standing right next to me.
The girl’s glasslike eyes slowly started to wander, looking just a bit helpless.
“It’s a wonderful smell...”
“Yeah. I haven’t met a person of the forest’s edge who disliked this smell yet.”
Myamuu had a strong scent like garlic, but both the men and women of the forest’s edge all seemed to enjoy it.
“Once it’s cooked, go ahead and sprinkle a bit of marinade over it. Doing so brings out the flavor even more strongly.”
By the way, we cut the meat just a bit thicker than when selling it in the post town. And also, we soaked it in the marinade a bit less too, to better adapt the recipe for the forest’s edge.
Furthermore, the people attending the clan head meeting were only supposed to bring bowls for soup, so they would be presenting the myamuu giba atop pseudo-rubber leaves. Thanks to that, we wouldn’t be pouring the heated sauce over top of it. To compensate, we mixed it in thoroughly during this step before finishing up.
“Okay, that should do it. Now then, I’d like each of you to sample a bite again...”
As I was saying that, I heard a strange sound. It was oddly high in frequency and unpleasant, like a small bird’s dying shriek.
“What’s that sound?”
I stepped away from everyone and listened carefully. And then, I noticed that the sound seemed to be steadily growing closer.
Ah! It couldn’t be...! I thought to myself, only for my premonition to unfortunately hit the mark.
A massive ball of flesh had appeared from the shadow of the house, now roughly ten meters away. And that bundle of meat was clearly locked onto me as I stood just a few steps removed from the rest of the group.
“Oooooooh...!” he yelled as he charged forwards.
At the same time, someone yelled, “Asuta!” and tried to grab me. Before long I had fallen to the ground, and was wrapped up in something incredibly soft. Through the gaps in the black hair blocking my vision, I could see the bundle of meat raging.
I’ll be trampled! I thought, my whole body freezing up. But just then, someone else stepped forward wielding something long, slender, and dark: a grigee pole meant for transporting pots.
The chestnut-haired woman made an incredibly graceful throwing motion, and the grigee pole stabbed into the ground at the ball of meat’s feet.
With that, his elephant-like legs got all tangled up on the pole.
“Uwaaaaaaaa!” the bundle of flesh screamed out before tumbling to the ground.
He came rolling by close enough to almost graze our noses, only stopping when he collided with a nearby tree.
“Goodness... Is this really a human being...?” the woman who saved us muttered with a sigh, her sleepy looking eyes pointing our way. “It’s alright now. It’s a good thing I arrived before him though, isn’t it...?”
“Yeah... Thanks, Vina,” the person shielding me responded, then slowly rose up. “Are you injured, Asuta?” she asked with a smile.
Naturally, it had been Reina Ruu.
“N-No. What about you?”
“I’m fine. And I’m sorry for shoving you so suddenly,” she said while bowing her head, still straddling my stomach.
This body heat, and this soft sensation... With this position added on top, I couldn’t help but recall the night of the Rutim banquet.
After one last look at my face, Reina Ruu slowly stood up.
“How foolish... Covering him like that would only result in the two of you getting trampled together, right...?” Vina Ruu said with a bit of a sulk.
“Yeah, sorry. I really am no match for you, Vina,” Reina Ruu replied, hanging her head and looking embarrassed.
As I compared the incredibly complex differences in the sisters’ expressions, I also promptly got up on my feet.
“Thank you, both of you. You really saved my life there.”
Vina Ruu’s narrowed eyes glanced my way, and then shot back towards the ball of flesh.
That bundle of meat (Mida Suun, of course) had righted his massive frame and was staring vacantly our way.
“Huh... What was I doing...?” he questioned in a shrill, childish voice.
Yes, it was Mida Suun, through and through.
I was glad to see he was alright, but still, he was just as much of a monster as always.
“Ah... that’s right! There was a really good smell! I smelled it, then I took off running, I think...?”
“Dinner will be when the sun sets! Behave yourself until then!” Mia Lea Ruu firmly stated, slapping down Mida Suun’s whining.
Mida Suun’s busted nose sniffled, then he stood up while clinging to the tree.
“But... I’m hungry...”
“Then go chew on some jerky! The other men are all putting up with it, and we can’t go giving you special treatment!” Mia Lea Ruu uttered, her voice full of authority as she stood in front of Mida Suun.
She possessed a well built physique, but unsurprisingly, she looked as small as a child when compared to the bundle of meat before her. And yet, she didn’t flinch in the least when staring over two heads up at Mida Suun’s creepy face.
“Geez, you’ve got no discipline at all! I’ve thought this for a while now, but what’s with that slovenly physique of yours? If you eat as much as you please whenever you feel the least bit hungry, of course you’ll ruin your body. You need to learn how to restrain yourself better!”
“No...” Mida Suun muttered in a fretful voice. “But I...”
“No buts! And what exactly do you think you’re doing right now, considering how high in the sky the sun is?! If you’re a hunter, you should be out in the forest hunting giba, right?”
Her argument made perfect sense.
And yet, Mida Suun’s puffed up, flabby cheeks trembled as he grumbled, “Work’s all done for today. I caught a big giba already...”
“Hmm? Really? Well then, where is it?”
“I hung it in Yamiru’s house... See, I’m not lying...” Mida Suun replied, suddenly reaching for the club dangling from his waist. Reflexively, I went to take a step forwards, but Vina and Reina Ruu grabbed my arms.
Mida Suun then thrust the top of his club out in front of Mia Lea Ruu’s nose.
“Hmm... I see there’s giba fur and blood stuck to it.”
“That’s right... The giba fell in a trap, then I finished it off...”
With that, Mia Lea Ruu smiled and patted Mida Suun on his arm that was so thick it looked like a tree.
“You certainly did carry out your duty as a hunter. And so, we’ll prepare a delicious meal for you, so just wait patiently back home. We were just about to start grilling the meat, after all.”
Mida Suun let out an eerie, “Uhehe...” and his plump cheeks shook again. Apparently, he just had too much fat on his face, so he couldn’t quite make proper expressions.
Vina Ruu’s fingers were now digging into my left arm so hard that it hurt. It seemed she was trying her hardest to bear with how much he creeped her out.
And then, Mida Suun looked at me. His little eyes like a piglet’s took on a slick shine.
“You really came... Yamiru wasn’t lying after all...”
“Right. It’s been a while...”
“I’m so happy... I’ll get to eat yummy food, right...?”
“Yes. And we’re also in the middle of teaching the Suun women how to make tasty food from now on.”
It was hard to tell whether or not Mida Suun understood what I was saying, as he just repeated, “I’m so happy...”
“Well then, if you understand, then just head on back home like a good boy. We’ve got lots of work to take care of here.”
“Yeah...” Mida Suun responded, his lower jaw wriggling a bit in response to Mia Lea Ruu’s words.
It looked like he must have been trying to nod, but his fat got in the way.
“You promise, right...? I’ll get to eat lots of yummy food...?”
“Right. Look forward to it.”
Mida Suun finally slowly turned around, and I started to breathe a sigh of relief. But then, an idea hit me like a bolt of lightning.
“Hey, Mida Suun! If you happen to have any extra aria in the main house, could we use coins to buy some?” Mia Lea Ruu turned and shot me a questioning look. Mida Suun turned back my way, too. “You see, we just had some aria fall on the ground, so we’re a bit short on them now. So if you have some to spare, we’d definitely like to buy them. What do you think...?”
“But the pantry is barred shut...” Mida Suun responded in his shrill voice. “I think it’s to keep me from snacking on stuff...”
“I see. That’s unfortunate. Aria are yummy, aren’t they?”
Mida Suun blinked his eyes, which were just as unreadable as an animal’s.
“I don’t know the names of vegetables...”
“Ah, is that so? The one that was used in that dish you bought in the post town is called ‘aria.’”
“Hmm...” Mida Suun disinterestedly replied, his little lips forming a bit of a pout. “If you want the bolt loose, should I call for Yamiru...?”
“Ah, no, that’s alright. We’ll just try to make do with what we have left. Thank you, though.”
Mida Suun just gave one last disheartened sounding, “I’m hungry...” and then departed.
“That child really does seem lacking in wits... But still, he has a rather cute side to him too, wouldn’t you say?”
“Stop kidding around...” Vina Ruu groaned, slumping to the ground while still clinging to my arm. “Ugh, he’s so gross... Why did he have to be the one who showed up...?”
“Ahaha, you really can’t handle him at all, can you, Vina?” Reina Ruu innocently chuckled, still holding onto my right arm.
“By the way, Asuta, are we really that short on aria? I get the feeling that what we have should be plenty enough to compliment the meat...” Mia Lea Ruu asked with a look of doubt.
I shot back a friendly smile and replied, “That’s true. If we can’t get them, then that’s totally fine. Let’s just make it work with what we have.”
Of course, since we were cooking for eight people less than expected, we weren’t really short on aria.
As the two beautiful sisters held my arms captive, my gaze shot backwards. Next to the kitchen, there was the door to the pantry, which was firmly shut.
If it’s bolted shut... Then how do they get into that pantry?
The doubts swelling up inside of me were finally starting to vaguely take shape.