Chapter 2: Another Disturbance
Chapter 2: Another Disturbance
1
For the following day, I decided to go back to the usual amount of 60 giba burgers and 90 myamuu giba. While staying at the Ruu settlement I had been able to get as much help as I needed, but now that I had returned to the Fa house, that was no longer the case. Thanks to purchasing the metal tray, I was able to raise my efficiency, so I actually could make more now. But since we sometimes still had leftovers after preparing this much, I decided to hold back.
If we ended up selling out and closing up early, then that wasn’t so bad. After all, if things went well I could end up getting orders from other inns in the future, so I wanted to get in plenty of training and expand the menu I could prepare.
Sure enough, business progressed smoothly again today, and once we made it past the morning rush and were preparing for the rest of the day, a woman of the forest’s edge approached the stalls.
“Huh? Why are you here? You’re not supposed to start working till the sun hits its peak.”
“Yes, but I wanted to get as much experience as possible, so I came early.”
It was Li Sudra, the clan head’s wife and the woman who would be helping with the stalls from today on.
She was slender, tall, and quite beautiful overall. Her dark brown hair hung down to around her chest, and her eyes were a dark blue. The clan head appeared to be somewhere in his mid-forties, while she only looked about half of his age.
“What about your work back home? You won’t get paid any more for coming early, you know,” Lala Ruu bluntly stated.
“I understand that, of course,” Li Sudra answered with a gentle smile. “I finished all the work I needed to around the house. And since I was granted the honor of getting to help out Asuta of the Fa clan, I want to strive to be truly of use as soon as possible.”
She was clearly much more elegant, but she seemed to be every bit as proactive as her husband. And at least for me, that was a very welcome trait for her to have.
“Well then, let’s have you start by learning how things work over in the other stall. Lala Ruu, I know we just rotated, but I’m going to head over there too.”
“Got it.”
Currently Lala Ruu and I were manning the giba burger stall. And so, as I moved to the myamuu giba stall, I called out to Vina Ruu, “Sorry, but Li Sudra showed up, so I’m going to take charge of the myamuu giba for the time being. Could you go handle the giba burgers again, Vina Ruu?”
Vina Ruu turned away with a standoffish look, then headed back to the giba burger stall. She had been acting like that ever since my blunder yesterday.
It was incredibly rare for her to let her personal feelings interfere with her work. I guess that just went to show how much I had screwed up.
And I was truly, painfully sorry for that.
“Sheera Ruu, this is Li Sudra. Like I explained this morning, she’ll be helping us out for the time being after the sun hits its peak, so I hope we can all work well together.”
“Right,” Sheera Ruu replied with a nod.
Li Sudra bowed back, saying, “I look forward to working with you.”
“When you get an order, Sheera Ruu will prepare the food. Li Sudra, I’d like to have you take the customer’s two red coins, then hand over the completed dish. Nobody has tried to pull a dine and dash yet, but please make sure they pay you first. And carefully observe Sheera Ruu as she works, so you can eventually cook this dish, too.”
“Understood.”
She didn’t speak a whole lot, but she seemed incredibly sincere, plus she didn’t seem to have any problems interacting with the Ruu women. She really was giving off a favorable first impression.
It was then that we got yet another visitor from the forest’s edge, Gazraan Rutim.
“Huh? You’re really early, aren’t you?”
Just like Li Sudra, Gazraan Rutim had been scheduled to show up around when the sun hit its peak.
After bowing to the two women next to me, he called out, “Asuta,” to beckon me over. “The meeting with that Cyclaeus man from the castle wrapped up, so I decided to come see you. My apologies, but could I have just a bit of your time?”
“Right, got it... Well then, you’re in charge for a bit, Sheera Ruu. When the next customer arrives, please go ahead and show Li Sudra how it’s done.”
It was sort of a strange feeling, seeing Gazraan Rutim here in the post town. And sure enough, just having a man of the forest’s edge around was enough to put a great many passersby on edge. And so, we moved from the stall to the thicket behind it.
“My apologies for intruding on your work. However, I wanted to hear your opinion as soon as possible. Donda Ruu and the others are hiding themselves over by the highway rather than entering town.”
“That’s fine. I’ll admit, I’m awful curious about how things went, too... What happened with that Cyclaeus guy?”
“Well, to be blunt, things seem rather troublesome. Cyclaeus said he believes we should hand over the entirety of the Suun clan.”
“Huh?”
“Pillaging the bounty of Mount Morga is also forbidden by the laws of Genos. And so he said it made sense for Genos to pass judgment on the criminals who broke that law.”
Gazraan Rutim’s expression was every bit as composed as always. However, there was a serious fire burning in his pale blue eyes.
“That may be so, but still... He wants you to not just hand over the previous and current clan heads to Genos, but all of the members of the main house?”
“No, he wants every last person who broke the law. He said that the full Suun clan, all 41 of them with the branch families included, should face Genos’s judgment.”
That went way beyond what I had been expecting.
After being taken aback for a moment, I felt a rage boiling up in my chest.
“So they overlooked the Suun clan’s wrongdoings till now, but suddenly they’re doing a complete about-face? What did the leading clan heads have to say about that?”
“Yes, well Gulaf Zaza felt so indignant he said maybe we should just abandon Morga.”
“What...?”
“He said perhaps there’s no value to offering our blades in the service to the lord of Genos. That maybe we should just look for a new forest, like our ancestors did 80 years ago.”
“H-He thinks you should abandon the Morga forest’s edge? But why would—”
“That was just how untrustworthy that Cyclaeus man felt. Of course, Gulaf Zaza just temporarily let his emotions get the better of him when he said that, but I can absolutely understand how he felt... That man looked at us as if he were staring at beasts.”
I was at a loss for words.
The representative for the lord of Genos seriously despised the people of the forest’s edge that thoroughly?
“Cyclaeus gave us ten days. We have to decide on a path forward by the 23rd day of the blue month.”
“You couldn’t possibly turn Yamiru Lea and the members of the branch families and everyone over to Genos at this point, right? That would be completely reversing the path forward the people of the forest’s edge had chosen,” I said, my voice subconsciously growing more emotional. “The folks from the Genos castle are the ones who unjustly protected the Suun clan. And that’s partly why the Suun fell as far as they did, right? So the thought of them treating all the members of the branch families as criminals, when they were forced to follow along, is simply unforgivable.”
Townsfolk suspected the people of the forest’s edge of attacking travelers, abducting girls from about town, and pillaging fields. Milano Mas had also said one of them was responsible for his friend’s death. And yet, no matter how much the townsfolk complained, the castle did nothing to look into those crimes.
In spite of all that, they were ready to sentence the whole of the Suun clan for this single indictment... That just wasn’t right.
“If the people from the castle had just punished the Suun clan properly to begin with, then maybe the townsfolk wouldn’t have needed to suffer. Then, perhaps they wouldn’t hold such fear and scorn towards the people of the forest’s edge. But they’re leaving all those past crimes untouched and instead dealing with the Suun as if they were trying to cover up something with a particularly bad stench. That’s not justice at all. It’s nothing but dictators setting up a political purge while focusing only on what benefits them,” I ranted, only to suddenly snap back to my senses. “Sorry... I got a little worked up, there. That was just my personal feelings on the matter, so please don’t pay it any attention.”
“No, I feel the same as you... And I also believe that what Ludo Ruu said was correct.”
“Huh? What did he say?”
“You see, he said that back when you were attacked by Doddo and Tei at the Suun settlement, your eyes were like those of a hunter as you were worrying about Ai Fa. You have that intense, serious side to you too.”
I sort of got the feeling that Vina Ruu had said something similar recently.
Had I obtained a bit of the intensity of the people of the forest’s edge by eating nothing but giba meat day in and day out? Honestly, it didn’t feel that way to me at all.
“With that said, it’s important to keep on searching for a better path forward without trying to suppress our feelings... And so, I truly hope that you will participate in the next discussion, Asuta.”
“Ah, but I’m not related to any of the leading clans or anything...”
“Yes. It wouldn’t be fair to make you shoulder so great a burden. I’m sorry for interrupting your important work,” Gazraan Rutim said with a refreshing smile, then he glanced over to the stalls where Sheera Ruu and the others were working away. “The townsfolk are paying people of the forest’s edge coins to purchase giba cooking. I had heard of your success here and there, but now I’m able to see it with my own two eyes... It really is hard to believe. I swear to you that we won’t let all your efforts thus far go to waste.” With that, he looked past me. “Well then, I suppose it’s almost the time we arranged. I’m grateful that you came all this way.”
I turned around in surprise, only for a tall shadow to step out of the thicket.
“Yup, same here. You kind of seemed like you were in the middle of something, but are you good to go now?”
Naturally, it was Kamyua Yoshu. And so, I shot his aloof grin the firmest glare I could manage.
“Kamyua, why do you always try to scare people like that? It’s rude, plus it’s a huge pain.”
“Ah, sorry. I wasn’t especially trying to surprise anyone or eavesdrop or anything. And honestly, there’s no way I could eavesdrop on an alert hunter of the forest’s edge anyway.”
Kamyua Yoshu moseyed on over in his usual manner, his long leather coat swishing behind him as he went.
Kamyua definitely won out when it came to height, but that wasn’t the case when it came to overall build. Gazraan Rutim had especially ideal proportions, even for a hunter of the forest’s edge, while the skinny Kamyua Yoshu looked like a praying mantis as he stood around three meters away.
“So, you’re Kamyua Yoshu?”
“Yeah. I make a living as a bodyguard here in the western kingdom. You’re... not the clan head of the Sauti, right?”
Kamyua Yoshu had spied on Gazraan Rutim’s wedding banquet, so there was no way he would fail to recognize the groom.
However, Gazraan Rutim just calmly responded, “Yes. I belong to the Rutim, a clan under the Ruu, and my name is Gazraan Rutim. The Sauti clan head Dari Sauti has been waiting over there for your arrival.”
“Gazraan Rutim, is it? I’m honored to meet you.”
Gazraan Rutim’s blue eyes were like a calm ocean hiding a resolute strength deep inside, while Kamyua Yoshu’s purple eyes somehow contained the carefree nature of a child and the knowing gaze of an elder, and both pairs were now staring straight at one another.
Neither side showed any animosity or ill will, and they actually looked rather shockingly calm, but there was a strange feel in the air, as if two different unbelievably powerful beasts were feeling one another out.
“All three of the leading clan heads are over there, not just Dari Sauti. Would you mind taking this opportunity to talk with them?”
“I couldn’t ask for a better opportunity. This job is a pretty serious matter for the forest’s edge, too, so I’m sure they also want to get a feel for the sort of guy I am,” Kamyua Yoshu replied with a grin.
Gazraan Rutim shot him back a calm smile.
“Well then, let’s get going. Asuta, you have my thanks.”
“A-Ah, right.”
“See you later, Asuta. I’ll be sending Leito by at some point, so make sure not to sell out before then, okay?”
“Got it. But if you want giba burgers, you should probably make it sooner than later.”
With that, the two impressive opposites quietly departed.
For whatever reason, I was left feeling dumbfounded.
I really can’t help but feel nervous seeing Kamyua meeting men of the forest’s edge. Gazraan Rutim is fine because that’s just the kind of guy he is, but will things really go alright with someone like Gulaf Zaza?
When Kamyua Yoshu suddenly showed up at the Ruu settlement a few days before the Rutim banquet, that was already enough to make me feel like my heart was going to give out on me. Darmu Ruu’s eyes, so much like those of a wounded wolf, had been burning bright as he kept his blade pointed towards Kamyua the whole time. And Donda Ruu stayed super calm, but the men of the branch families had looked incredibly on edge...
Ah, right. Back then, Donda Ruu had already heard about the plan for a merchant caravan to pass through the forest’s edge.
That was precisely why Kamyua Yoshu had been strolling through the area. He had been looking for me and Ai Fa after meeting us in the post town, and went so far as to show up at the Ruu settlement. That was already more than 20 days ago now, huh?
Hmm...? A misgiving as fleeting as dandelion fluff popped up in the back of my mind. However, I had no idea whatsoever what was causing it. It felt like I had overlooked something important... As if something was said that I didn’t think mattered that much as I was furiously rushing about trying to prepare for the banquet...
Who said what back then? Was it Kamyua? Donda Ruu?
No matter how much I racked my brain, I just couldn’t find the answer. And so, I had to ultimately just give up and head back to the stall.
Since Kamyua Yoshu had shown up, that had to mean the sun would soon hit its peak. Li Sudra had only just arrived for her very first day, and yet I had left Sheera Ruu all alone with her.
I’ve got to focus on the tasks in front of me for now. And first off, that means preparing to work with The Great Southern Tree.
It left me feeling a bit ill at ease, but I couldn’t help it if my memory refused to cough up the answer. And so, I decided to just leave it for after work calmed down and took off running back to the stalls.
However, I wouldn’t recall the source of that misgiving until a few days later, after everything had happened.
2
Fortunately, it wasn’t especially hectic after that, and so Vina Ruu and I were able to leave for The Great Southern Tree on schedule.
“I’ve been awaiting you, Asuta,” the inn’s owner Naudis greeted us, wearing a gentle expression on his usually stern-looking face. His skin was an ivory-white, but he was short and stout with dark brown hair and green eyes, marking him as having mixed southern and western blood.
The Great Southern Tree was located further south than The Kimyuus’s Tail, nestled among a number of other inns. It was a good bit bigger than Milano Mas’s place, too. It was built with two floors, of course, but it had several times more rooms lined up along its width, and the restaurant on the first floor looked like it could handle nearly a hundred customers.
“The kitchen is this way. Go ahead and do whatever you need to until my wife comes on down.”
“Right, thank you.”
It was about the same size as the Ruu kitchen, probably around 13 square meters at most, but it was equipped with three stoves along the walls, hanging cooking implements, a shelf stuffed with tableware, and a large workstation. It really looked quite spacious, overall.
I naturally had permission to use the stoves and cooking implements as much as I pleased, as well as the water from the jugs and the available firewood.
As I spread out the contents of the bundle of ingredients I acquired in the morning, I called out to Vina Ruu, “Could you please light two of the stoves?”
We were given roughly two and a half hours to work. Naudis also said we could stay past that as long as we didn’t interfere with the work that needed to be done for the inn, but we would need to get back to the forest’s edge anyway so that I wasn’t working Vina Ruu overtime, which meant we didn’t have time to spare regardless.
“Ooh, those sure are big chunks of meat. Guess they need to be to feed 40 people, though,” Naudis chimed in. Apparently he intended to watch me work, as his gaze was fixed on my hands from across the kitchen. “So that meat came from a giba’s torso?”
“Yes. Back where I come from, we call this boneless ribs, as it’s meat removed from the creature’s ribs.”
Since the ribs were for 40 people, there were roughly 10 kilos of meat there. And they really were proper chunks of meat, as I had cut them up into six blocks. After I swept them clean of the pico leaves meant to preserve them, I then lined those cubes up atop the work station.
I also had 40 aria to garnish the 10 kilos of giba ribs. Plus, I had four bottles of fruit wine and an additional 20 aria to grill up. On top of that, I had six bottles of tau oil, a new ingredient I had obtained through The Great Southern Tree. That alone ended up taking up 27.5 percent of the costs of my ingredients. But though the tau oil was expensive, I was only using cheap aria in terms of vegetables, so it didn’t drive up the price too much compared to what I sold meals for at the stalls.
I was preparing a new dish for The Great Southern Tree: cubed giba meat stew.
Since it was a cubed meat stew, I would have loved to have daikon or boiled eggs to go in it, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to find any similar ingredients to substitute for those around the post town. Still, back at the Tsurumi Restaurant we actually used onions when making cubed pork stew. And since in this world we had aria, which were like onions with even higher nutritional value, I could see no reason not to use them. In fact, the high compatibility with aria was a big reason I picked this dish in the first place.
A few days prior, I had prepared a sample and had Naudis give it a taste. He seemed to really enjoy my cubed giba meat stew, made with plenty of tau oil, as he immediately gave his approval.
And so, I set about cooking.
I had already tenderized the meat to break the long fibers back at the house, so I picked up the cubes and headed towards the stove.
“Thank you. Looks like it’s already nice and hot.”
I guess that was professional cookware for you. At any rate, the pots in this kitchen were a size larger than the ones used at the forest’s edge, so I started off by throwing three blocks of meat into one of them.
“How exciting. And it’s giving off such a delicious smell,” Naudis said with a gentle smile.
To my other side, Vina Ruu was looking down at the water-filled pot, the same displeased expression still on her face. It felt like quite a while since I had actually heard her slow, seductive voice.
It had been decided that Vina Ruu would be the one to accompany me and also act as my guard instead of her younger sister Lala Ruu, but I never imagined I would end up getting her mad at me the day beforehand, or that that would linger all the way up to now.
As I agonized over how to improve her mood, I went ahead and checked how the meat was doing. By now, it had taken on a nice golden brown. Back home, what we always did next was to grill the meat’s surface just a bit more to seal in the deliciousness. Plus, by doing that, you could get rid of the excess fat. And since boneless rib was such a fatty cut, that made this step extra important.
“Hmm, I guess that about does it. And that pot’s come to a boil too, right?”
After cutting off as much of the excess fat as possible, I then took the grilled cubes of rib meat and gently dropped them into the boiling water.
I went ahead and dealt with the other three blocks of meat the same way, then scooped scum for a while.
Once the scum seemed to die down I moved down to a medium flame, then added some lilo leaves on top. That served to both take the place of an inner lid and also cover up the smell. Normally I would use green onions or ginger or something here, but sure enough, I just couldn’t find any ingredients similar to those. The garlic-esque myamuu had too strong of an aroma, so though up till now I only used lilo for jerky, it was finally time for it to take center stage.
Lilo reminded me of rather large fern leaves, and I soon packed the surface of the boiling water with them. If the meat came to the surface, just the exposed bit would harden, which is why I needed to make a substitute inner lid like this.
From here it needed an hour of parboiling, so I could take my time with the rest of the preparations.
“Well then, I’m going to make the broth, so could you maintain the heat and keep an eye out so that the meat doesn’t push its way past the lilo, Vina Ruu?”
She was silent and utterly expressionless. However, I believed she wasn’t the sort of person to ever neglect her work.
Making the broth was incredibly simple. I just need to grate the aria, which I was using as a potherb. And fortunately, the tool I needed for that was here in this kitchen: a crustacean shell with a surface coated in fine spikes. It was milky-white in color, and was circular with a roughly ten-centimeter diameter. In all likelihood, it had come from some sort of crablike creature. I didn’t exactly know the details, though.
“By the way, does it look likely we’ll be able to purchase tau oil regularly?” I asked while grating down the 20 aria.
“Yes,” Naudis replied with a nod. “I asked a peddler about that. He was very surprised to hear we would be using three bottles in five days.”
That was no surprise. After all, tau oil was a rather pricey ingredient. A roughly one liter bottle, around the same size as a container of fruit wine, cost a whole ten red coins. And so, that meant spending 30 red coins on the stuff every five days.
Tau oil was a condiment made by fermenting tau beans, which were a local specialty of the Southern Kingdom of Jagar. It wasn’t produced here in Genos, so all of it had to be imported from Jagar, which was apparently where the high price came from.
Thanks to that, only inns with a great number of customers from the south like The Great Southern Tree dealt with the ingredient, as it was just too expensive. And so, even though it was a familiar everyday flavor in Jagar, it was seen as a luxury item here in the western kingdom.
However, this tau oil was an ingredient I couldn’t possibly just ignore. After all, it had an incredibly similar taste to soy sauce. To preserve it, it was kept as a type of gooey paste and had a strong flavor of salt and alcohol about it. But aside from that, it really was exactly like soy sauce.
When I happened to encounter that tau oil for the first time here in The Great Southern Tree, I just about broke out in a dance of joy. If it hadn’t been just before the clan head meeting, I’m sure I would have been so elated that even Ai Fa would get sick of me. However, I somehow managed to hold back my excitement, and instead focused my attention on creating a new dish.
A lot of folks from the south didn’t seem fond of the quirky taste of giba meat. And a good number of them hated the texture of burgers, too. However, that apparently wasn’t just down to disliking soft meat like it had been with Donda Ruu. Plus, they seemed to prefer stronger seasoning.
All of that information I had gathered led me to go with cubed giba meat stew.
“Now then, all that’s left is to let the meat cook for a while, right? I’ll go ahead and take care of a bit of my own work while I wait,” Naudis stated, then he left the kitchen.
Having finished grating the aria, I checked how Vina Ruu was doing with the boiling pot. Sure enough, the meat had sunk down below the lilo. And the fire was right at a medium flame. It even seemed that she was scooping out any fresh scum that bubbled up.
As I patted my chest in relief, I stepped on over and stood next to Vina Ruu.
“Thank you. I finished preparing the broth, so let’s switch. Ah, and Vina Ruu... I really am sorry about yesterday.”
How many apologies did that make since this morning?
And yet, Vina Ruu still remained silent and showed no signs of so much as looking my way.
“I really didn’t mean anything by it. It was just that I got completely distracted by Gazraan Rutim and Yamiru Lea and everyone when they showed up so suddenly.”
There was no response.
“I wasn’t trying to ignore you, Vina Ruu. I was careless and a big fat idiot, but I hope you’ll at least believe that much. You have my deepest, most sincere apologies for hurting you that badly.”
With that, Vina Ruu’s displeased eyes finally turned my way.
“Do you really mean that...?”
“Yes! Of course I do!”
“Well, I suppose I’ve made it hard for you by being like this when I’m supposed to be helping out with work...”
“Ah, no, you’ve been handling all your work just fine, so you don’t need to worry about that... Actually, even ignoring the matter of work, I just can’t stand the thought of having angered you that badly. I’ll be more careful from now on, so could you find it in yourself to forgive me?”
“That would be tough to do all of a sudden... But if you let me slap you once, that might help me settle down a bit...”
“If it’ll make you feel better, then go ahead and slap away!”
As she stood in front of the bubbling pot, Vina Ruu puffed out her ample chest and said, “You shouldn’t go about thoughtlessly saying stuff like that. It would be one thing if you were a man of the forest’s edge, but with a foreigner like you, Asuta, my slap could easily knock a tooth loose...”
“E-Even so, I’ll take it. That was just how big of an idiot I was.”
“But why...? I shouldn’t matter at all to you, Asuta... You shouldn’t have any reason to go that far for a woman you don’t even intend to take as your bride...”
“That’s not true at all. Someone can still be important to you even if you don’t have romantic feelings towards them. In fact, I’d say that without those other motivations getting in the way, it should be easier to see how much someone really cares.”
Vina Ruu thoroughly furrowed her brows and stared at me with an even firmer look in her eyes.
“So you aren’t falling for my womanly charms in the least, then... I knew that, but still... Even now that thought gets me a bit worked up, so I guess I will go ahead and hit you, just the once...”
Vina Ruu brought her slender fingers and palm up to my cheek.
Even though she wasn’t a man, she was still an able-bodied person of the forest’s edge. That meant at the very least she needed enough strength to carry things around during her daily work, so I was prepared for enough force to knock down a full-grown man who was better built than I was.
I checked out of the corner of my eye to make sure I wouldn’t hit the pot even if I was knocked down, then gritted my teeth as firmly as I could manage.
Vina Ruu lifted her right hand up high... and then hugged me.
“That’s what you went with?!”
“Oh, my... You reacted just like I expected... How boring...” she whispered as she squeezed my body tightly. It was like I had been caught by a giant madarama snake again.
Well, if this’ll make Vina Ruu feel better... I thought to myself, only for that determination to be crushed in about three seconds flat.
“U-Um, Vina Ruu, don’t you think that’s about enough...?”
“No, not yet... I need to get at least a tooth’s worth out of you...”
A sensation I couldn’t exactly describe in polite company was pressing down on my body with incredible force. But just when I thought my nerves were on the verge of burning out, I was finally released from Vina Ruu’s soft yet powerful grasp.
“I’ll let you off with that, even though my heart is still torn to shreds...” Vina Ruu muttered as she tossed a piece of firewood into the stove.
Despite feeling like I was on the verge of collapsing, I went ahead and checked the contents of the pot. The water level had gone down quite a bit, so I would need to add some more.
As I transferred some water from a jug using a ladle, Vina Ruu called out in a depressed tone, “Hey, Asuta... It wasn’t really your thoughtless treatment that hurt me.”
“Huh?”
“What really hurt me was the kindness I saw in your eyes when you were looking at that woman... The thought that you could be like that even towards someone who tried to kill you... It made me think that the way you looked at me must not have been anything special...”
At that moment, Vina Ruu’s face shook me to my core. She looked completely sad and helpless, like a young child abandoned by their parents... and also incredibly frail.
I half braced myself for Vina Ruu to break down sobbing, but she held back her tears to the bitter end, then gave a deep sigh as if she was breathing out all her sadness.
“Still, I’m sorry... I only approached you to fulfill my own desires to begin with, so I have no right to criticize you. I really felt like I was keeping that in mind, and yet... You were just so kind that my expectations creeped up without me realizing it.”
“Should I have done more to distance myself...?” I foolishly pondered out loud, only for a frightening glare to shoot my way.
“Now you’ve gone and said something like that... My heart’s gone all smooshy like an overcooked aria...”
“S-Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize if you don’t know what you did wrong. And don’t you dare distance yourself from me, alright...?” Vina Ruu said while looking down a bit, then childishly started biting at her thumbnail. “You just don’t seem to be able to handle me well, so you should just stay as you are, and I’ll settle my feelings on my own... Don’t go reading too much into things and end up getting in my way, though.”
“Really...?”
“Yes... Maybe I’ll even come to enjoy being hurt by you...”
“I-I really don’t think you should be saying stuff like that!”
“Why not...? Everybody has different things that make them happy, right...?” she said with her usual bewitching smile, causing me to quietly bow my head. “Well then, I’ll apologize for today, too. I’m sorry for failing to suppress my feelings during this important job. So will you forgive me...?”
“There’s nothing to forgive. I’m the one who’s at fault.”
“If you’ll forgive me, I’ll accept any humiliation necessary...”
“I told you, I forgive you already!”
With that, our little tragicomedy came to an end, and a few minutes later, Naudis returned.
“Now then, is it just about ready?”
“Yeah, I think it may be.”
I pushed aside a bit of the lilo, then poked one of the meat cubes with the end of a grigee chopstick. The chopstick sunk into the meat with no notable resistance. Yes, it was definitely ready.
“Alright, let’s take out the meat and move the pot off the flame.”
I scooped all the lilo leaves and meat onto a wooden plate, then lifted up the pot with Vina Ruu’s help. Rather than lowering it onto the floor, though, we placed it atop a similarly sized pot full of water.
Instantly, there was an overwhelming sound as the heat from the pot caused a great deal of water to evaporate. Then we changed out the water and repeated the process three times before finally leaving the pot there to sit.
The meat had also cooled down in the meantime, so I went ahead and washed it off too. That was important to remove any excess fat clinging to it. Since the meat was already plenty soft, I took care not to damage the shape as I washed it, and then I wiped the moisture away thoroughly using a clean cloth. And so, I managed to successfully remove the fat.
Once the meat was nice and washed, I then cut it into cubes that were around five centimeters squared on each face. This step also required me to be meticulous so as to not ruin the shape.
Then, it was back to dealing with the pot. As it had been cooled and some time had passed, the fat had once again floated to the surface. Well, I say ‘cooled’ but the water was just room temperature so it may not have amounted to much, but it was still enough to cause some solidified fat to cling to the upper portion of the pot. And so, I removed all of that and transferred it into a leather bag I had brought along. Even if I wasn’t using it in today’s cooking, such lard was still valuable.
Then, I added the chopped up giba meat to two new pots along with the aria, which I had peeled the skin of, and sliced the top and bottom off. Since I had used ten kilos of meat and 40 aria, that was enough to fill up both of the large pots.
As for the broth I had removed the fat from, I added around 60% of a container of tau oil, four bottles of fruit wine, and the 20 grated aria. After giving it a thorough stir, I evenly divided it among the other two pots using a ladle.
Now all that was left was to heat it up over a low flame.
“Phew, looks like we made it in time, somehow.”
In total it worked out to two and a half hours of cooking, an hour of parboiling, and 30-40 minutes or so for heating it up at the end, which made for a pretty strict timetable. The step of washing the meat in the middle in particular took quite a bit of time. Well, I could surely get that time down as I repeated the process, though. But at least at the start, I was aiming more for precision than speed.
“Hmm... What a sweet smell,” Naudis stated with a big sniff.
Naturally, the kitchen was currently filled with the aroma of tau oil and fruit wine. It made for a different sort of sweet smell than myamuu. Even I couldn’t help but be spellbound by the scent, which called to mind my old home country.
However, I couldn’t just stay in a trance. I could no longer use lilo leaves or add more water at this point, so I had no choice but to keep on heating the stew once the meat started popping up at the surface.
Once the water boiled down to a third, I was finally able to stop continually watching over it. Then after 30-40 minutes it was at last good and heated, completing the dish.
“Alright, I’ll cut off the flame for now, so just heat it up again before serving it to your customers.”
It sounded like an obvious instruction, but it was still a crucial step. With dishes like this, heating them back up after they cooled down for a bit brought out the flavor of the ingredients even further.
If refrigerators existed in this world, I would have liked to set it aside in one overnight, but there was no helping what you didn’t have, so I just had to let it sit out at room temperature for a bit. But there were still more than four hours till sunset, so that would allow some time for the flavor to seep in.
“Good work today. Here’s the payment I promised you,” Naudis said, holding out a small cloth bag.
I went to check, and sure enough there were eight white coins inside.
“Thank you. I hope you can manage to sell out, but I don’t know how it’ll go.”
“I’m not sure either. There’s the issue of price, too. But if it doesn’t sell as well as I would like, then I intend to bring it down to four red coins, just like my karon dishes,” Naudis replied, then he cheerfully brought over a wooden plate.
“Huh? You want to sample it? But you’ll only get the proper taste after letting it cool for a bit first...”
“Yes, I want to try it both now and later to compare... But to be honest, it’s more that I want to give it a taste as soon as possible now that it’s finally done.”
Well, I had already passed ownership of the dish over to Naudis, so it was ultimately up to him anyway. Looking ever so slightly more excited than usual, the inn’s owner scooped up one of the cubes of giba meat.
The meat was already wiggling back and forth atop his spoon. By this point, it was clearly soft enough that a spoon or chopstick alone could easily cut through it. And with the fat removed, it had taken on a gelatin-esque transparent appearance.
The tau oil and fruit wine had also seeped into the meat, hiding the true giba flavor under that strong seasoning... As that thought ran through my head, I started feeling hungry.
“Well then,” Naudis said, then he tossed the chunk of meat into his mouth. As the layers of meat and fat separated, what an incredible deliciousness must have been gushing out.
And after plenty of chewing, Naudis gulped it down as if he felt reluctant to do so, then turned and faced me with an enraptured smile.
“It’s... It’s truly delicious. If this doesn’t sell, then it will be entirely my fault. You truly did some splendid work here, Asuta.”
3
With that, our work for that day once again came to a close.
There apparently weren’t any accidents while I was away and the stalls completely sold out, so we were able to return back home on schedule.
Once we made it back to the Fa house, I made sure to give Vina Ruu a proper farewell, then started the preparations for tomorrow and dinner. During that time, Li Sudra remained at my side so that I could teach her some cooking basics.
“Alright, then let’s start preparations. The women from the other houses should be arriving soon, so go ahead and use the stove first if you’d like.”
“Thank you. Um... Is it really alright to borrow your pot?”
“Yeah. It’d be a pain to have to run back to your house every time, right? So don’t worry about it.”
Ai Fa wasn’t around today. According to the schedule, she should have headed to the somewhat distant Ratsu and Gaaz settlements to teach them bloodletting and dissection techniques.
“Did a lot of clans end up asking the Fa to instruct them?”
“The only ones we’re teaching directly are the clans that are relatively nearby. But ultimately, 11 clans in total voiced their approval of the work we’re undertaking.”
And that was omitting those under the leading clans, too.
There were 37 clans at the forest’s edge, and of them only 17 had no blood ties to the leading clans. In other words, now that the Ruu, Sauti, and Zaza took over for the Suun, now more than half of the clans had ties to their leaders.
And of those 17 clans without ties, 11 of them voiced their approval of the Fa clan. So since the Ruu clan which had a hundred people to their name also more or less agreed with our actions, that meant roughly half of the people of the forest’s edge were on our side now.
On top of that, though the Sauti clan officially took a neutral stance, they also seemed like they had a favorable opinion of what we were doing. That just left the Zaza and related clan heads for us to strive to earn acknowledgment from by racking up results.
“How wonderful... The Fa have granted hope to all clans on the brink of destruction,” Li Sudra said as she looked straight at me. “Even among those clans, the Sudra have been particularly close to falling. It’s embarrassing to admit, but without the coins from today’s work, the vegetables in our pantry would have run out in just a few days... Of course, the men are out even now chasing giba in the forest so that won’t happen, though.”
“Ah, is that so? Well, I’m certainly glad to hear I’ve been of help to the Sudra clan,” I replied, right before a sudden knock on the door came. “Yes? Who is it?”
“We two are women of the Deen clan.”
That wasn’t a clan name that I recognized. Remembering names was a specialty of mine, but even I was getting overloaded by this point. And so, I just headed over towards the door while wondering if they were one of the nearby clans.
As I reached out, though, Li Sudra grabbed my arm.
“Asuta, the Deen are one of the clans under the Suun... Or the Zaza now, I should say.”
A clan under the Zaza, huh? In that case, they must have also been opposed to our business in the post town, too.
On top of that, I hadn’t yet had a chance to see just how such folks felt about the Fa clan, who brought about the Suun’s destruction. As we stood there silently, there was a serious look of caution about Li Sudra, and so I gave her a nod and then moved close to the door.
“What business did you come here for? I don’t recall having had any interaction with the Deen clan before.”
“We came here to learn how to prepare dinner. Will you teach us?”
“Cooking lessons, huh? Do you have permission from the Zaza clan, then?”
“Yes. They did not forbid learning such things.”
I see, so they had no intention of helping with business in the post town or the like, but they were interested in eating delicious meals, huh? I naturally welcomed that and saw no reason to refuse, though.
I still remained cautious, however, and only opened the door a crack after removing the bolt.
Just as they had said, there were two women standing there. One was an older-looking married woman, while the other was a young girl who was probably around ten years old.
A pot full of raw poitan was at their feet and there didn’t seem to be anyone else around, so I went ahead and opened the door the rest of the way.
“Thank you for accepting us despite our sudden arrival. I am Jas Deen, the elder sister of the Deen clan head, and this is Toor Deen, another member of our clan.”
“Toor Deen...?” I questioned, turning my gaze towards the young girl. Her dark brown hair wasn’t all that long yet and hung down on both sides of her neck. She wore a bit of a timid expression, with her big eyes calling to mind a puppy. And she looked to be thinking about something as she was staring right back at me. “Ah, you’re that girl from one of the Suun branch families! So you joined the Deen clan instead of staying at the Suun settlement, huh?”
“Yes. This girl’s mother was the younger sister of the clan head and myself. Our sister has passed away, and so this girl and her father became a part of our Deen clan,” the woman who called herself Jas Deen replied. She gave off a calm and composed impression, but I also sensed a strong will behind her intense gaze.
“I see. I’m glad to find you looking well. Sorry for not recognizing you right away even though it’s only been three days since the clan head meeting,” I called out, only for Toor Deen’s eyes to open wide. Then, those big eyes of hers started to tear up. “W-What’s wrong? Did I say something I shouldn’t have?”
Toor Deen quickly shook her head in response, though that made some tears fall to the ground.
“Asuta of the Fa clan, this girl has inherited the blood of the Suun clan, who tried to do you all harm. But now she has severed all ties with that clan and will live as a member of the Deen. Will you forgive her past crimes?”
“Crimes? I don’t remember Toor Deen doing anything to harm me, though.”
“But it is a fact that the blood of the sinful Suun clan runs through her veins. And the Fa of all clans surely has abundant reasons to hate the Suun clan.”
This was seriously reminding me of that conversation with Rau Lea and everyone from yesterday.
Jas Deen wore a solemn expression, but I replied, “No, the new leading clans decided the crimes of the branch families wouldn’t be called into question, and all of the clan heads agreed. And on top of that, I never felt any hatred towards the people of the branch houses to begin with. So I’ve got no reason to reject Toor Deen.”
“Is that so...?”
“Yeah. Plus, I spent a good bit of time with her in particular. Out of all those folks who had lost the will to live, I really felt like she was earnestly striving hard.” Hearing that, Toor Deen started to tear up again. Her expression was still just a bit stiff in a way that was unusual for a child so young, but the light had clearly returned to her eyes. That alone was enough to make me so happy I could feel a lump forming in my throat. “Toor Deen, you already made stew and baked poitan together with me, so I’d say you’ve got a head start. Learn as much as you can, then teach it to the other Deen women.”
“Thank you...” Toor Deen replied with a listless bow of her head, which Jas Deen then placed her hand atop. The older woman’s gaze remained intense, but that action clearly displayed her affection towards the young girl, who was like a memento left by her late sister.
“Well then, let’s get started. Ah, this is Li Sudra of the Sudra clan. And I believe the Fou and Ran women will be along shortly.” We had ended up talking away, but since we arrived back home on time today, I really needed to get started with preparations. And so, I invited the two women of the Deen clan inside and got to work. “For now, let’s review how to bake poitan. I’ll be working right here, so just speak up if there’s anything you don’t understand.”
“Right,” the pair with the pot replied, then they crossed in front of me. I saw the side of Toor Deen’s face as she passed by and went, “Ah,” without thinking. That caught her off guard, and she looked my way in surprise. “Oh, sorry about that. I just thought to myself that you don’t have a scar from when you were burned back then. That’s certainly good, isn’t it?” I said, shooting her a smile in the hopes of wiping that gloomy expression from her face.
Fortunately, she offered me a clumsy smile in turn.
“Thank you for what you did back then... Your concern and the kindness of that redheaded girl from the Ruu clan made me very happy.”
“Nah, I just splashed water over you in a panic. So save your thanks for Lala Ruu, alright?”
Those who remained at the Suun settlement and those who were taken in by other clans were all building new lives for themselves, bit by bit. It hadn’t even been three full days since the clan head meeting, but I really did feel that Donda Ruu’s judgment had been on the mark. I still had plenty of doubt regarding Diga and Doddo, but at least when it came to the branch family members who didn’t do anything but gather the fruits of the forest, there shouldn’t be any need at all for further punishment.
Could the people of the castle understand this state of affairs? Would they even try to begin with? That was the issue we had to focus on first.
As that thought ran through my head, I set about dicing up the aria atop my board.
◇
“So after that, Gazraan Rutim came back over along with Dari Sauti, to explain the arrangements they made with Kamyua,” I told Ai Fa as I was finishing up the last of my preparations. “Apparently they’ll enter the forest’s edge from the post town using the path the Ruu clan generally takes, then pass through the Sauti settlement to the south before finally entering the forest. Supposedly after half a day they’ll make it through and come out in a rocky area. It will still take a few days after that to reach the highway, but giba don’t appear anymore once you’ve gone that far, and it’s outside the territory of the people of the forest’s edge anyway. And so, the plan is for the Sauti clan to guide them on that first day until they’re free of the forest.”
“Right.”
“But even if the merchant caravan leaves first thing in the morning, they won’t make it through the forest until it’s evening. It would be dangerous to head back at night, so the escorts will need to spend the night together with the merchants in the rocky area, which seemed to frustrate Dari Sauti. ‘The Suun clan sure accepted one pain of a job’ were his exact words.”
“Right.”
“Apparently the Suun clan planned to dump the job on Tei Suun... er, Tei. But Dari Sauti lamented that it would take half a day of marching through the depths of the forest while avoiding giba, which would require at least four men. But since there are more than 20 full-grown adults in the merchant group, there probably isn’t much risk of giba attacking.”
“Right.”
“Ai Fa... If the conversation is tiring you out, then you can just come out and say so.”
“What are you saying? There’s not any particular issue with what we’re discussing,” Ai Fa replied, despite the fact that she was lying even more sloppily than last night. She was on her stomach with her hair hanging in front of her face, so I couldn’t really make out her expression. I gave a bit of a sigh as I added the chopped-up myamuu and aria to a leather bag along with some fruit wine.
“Anyway, their meeting with Kamyua wrapped up without incident. I was really curious about what Gazraan Rutim’s impression of him was, but at least for now all he would say is, ‘He’s a truly mysterious man.’ Dari Sauti added, ‘I really just don’t care for folks from around town,’ too.”
“Right.”
“So, the Sauti were ultimately tasked with the job two days from now. And the three leading clan heads will be heading back to their settlements to gather opinions from the heads of their subordinate clans regarding that demand from the castle. Six men will remain at the Suun settlement to keep an eye out, but this feels like it’ll probably bring things to a close.”
“Right.”
“That’s all I have to report. Thank you for listening to all that.”
“It was nothing. I just let the stuff that made my head hurt pass in one ear and out the other,” Ai Fa stated, then listlessly continued on with one cheek against the fur rug, “The leading clan heads can go and worry themselves silly with all that. I already have my hands full with my own work.”
“Um, you visited the Ratsu clan today, right?”
“Right. And the Gaaz men came too, since they fall under the Ratsu. It tired me out even more than yesterday...”
“I see. But they all gratefully welcomed you, didn’t they?”
“They may have been grateful, but I found it unpleasant,” Ai Fa replied in an annoyed tone. I couldn’t see because of the angle, but she was probably pouting. “On top of that, one of the Ratsu men suddenly offered to take me as his bride.”
“W-What?”
“Then one of the Gaaz men said the same thing, and they got into a ridiculous fight. The furious Ratsu clan head got in the middle and put a stop to it, but our bonds with the Ratsu and Gaaz were almost ruined.”
“T-That does sound rough. So did those two give up in the end?”
“They went and said if I get injured again and can no longer be a hunter, they would want me to give it another thought. I couldn’t help but yell at them for that, asking if they wanted me to get seriously injured. It really was an unpleasant day...”
I had finally finished my prep work, so I washed my hands with water from the jug and then hurried over to Ai Fa’s side.
“Did those men seem as nasty as Darmu Ruu? They aren’t going to keep bugging you, are they?”
“You would have to ask them personally. I wouldn’t know.”
“No, but—”
“You’re so noisy. If you’re done with your work, then lend me your hand.”
“Eh? My hand?”
I didn’t really get it, but I went ahead and pressed my palm gently up against Ai Fa’s temples like last night.
“Hmm...” Ai Fa muttered with satisfaction, proving that my judgment was correct. Somehow, it felt like stroking a peevish kitten’s throat or something. “Just talking to so many people is tiring. I’m amazed you’ve been able to keep on working like that in the post town... Well, no, the Ruu women have been doing the same, so perhaps it’s just down to my weakness.”
“Hey, it’s not like you to speak ill of yourself like that. Everybody has their strengths and weaknesses. Plus like I said last night, if you just give it time, you’ll get used to it.”
My words didn’t seem to satisfy her, though, as she gave a sigh that was rather unlike her.
“I want to get back to my work as a hunter as soon as possible...”
She seemed sort of pitiful, somehow. And so, I ended up gently stroking her hair.
Normally that would earn me a body blow in response, but now Ai Fa looked satisfied as she closed her eyes and showed no sign of trying to brush off my hand.
“At any rate, I just need to be patient for a few more days. Once my arm heals completely and I can head into the forest again, I’ll be able to spend less time with other clans.”
“That’s a real negative way of looking at things. Still, I’m pretty exhausted today, too. I guess we should both turn in early tonight.”
“Right.”
“Guess it’s bedtime, then.”
I stood up and put out the candle, then laid down just a bit further from Ai Fa than before. For some reason, though, she sidled up alongside me.
“Asuta, why are you trying to sleep so far away?”
“Huh? This is our usual distance, isn’t it?”
“My head’s started hurting a bit again...” she suddenly said, grabbing my left wrist and bringing my hand up to her forehead.
That twisted my elbow to its limit, causing me to yell, “Ow, ow, ow! Hold on! Joints aren’t supposed to bend that way!”
“Then just put yourself in a more comfortable position.”
The only comfortable position for the situation would be facing her from up close. I figured that wouldn’t be so bad because it was dark and hard to see, but that didn’t turn out to be the case when I actually tried it. We were close. Seriously close.
“Um, clan head...”
“Be quiet already. I’m feeling sleepy.”
Ai Fa then gently closed her eyes, my palm lying on the side of her face with her own on top.
The only light for my eyes to rely on was the moonlight streaming in through the window, but that was enough for me to see her beautiful face and the contours of her sleeping body just fine.
It really does feel like I got a cat all attached to me or something...
I was well aware that Ai Fa must not have meant anything by it, but it really did seem like we were getting closer and closer physically as the days went by.
That was proof that she saw me as family and didn’t feel reserved around me, which made me very happy in and of itself... But I wish she wouldn’t needlessly toy with my feelings like that.
She’s so beautiful, charming, and straightforward with her feelings, so of course plenty of folks would want to marry her, I thought to myself as she peacefully slept away. Now that I think of it, Ai Fa earned the Suun clan’s animosity right after turning 15, the age when she could get married. If not for that, she probably would have gotten such offers from the men around the neighborhood right away.
For whatever reason, I was having trouble calming myself down.
I said that it wouldn’t be right for someone with my background to marry a woman from this world, but if some guy showed up and won Ai Fa’s heart, just what would I do? The question had come to mind numerous times up until now, but I always just put it off.
I guess it would be an impossible wish, hoping things could just stay like this forever...
With that, I finally closed my eyes too, holding back the sigh welling up inside of me. With my vision blocked, I could sense the warmth on my palm and the scent coming off Ai Fa even more vividly.
Ai Fa hadn’t handled giba summoning fruit for quite a while now. So by this point she didn’t smell that differently than other women, with the scent of herbs and meat hanging about her... And yet, I could still tell it was her. Her warmth and scent made me feel relaxed. By this point, that had become an unshakeable truth.
As I was thinking such things, a powerful drowsiness fell over me.
I had heard that unpleasant news from Gazraan Rutim, carried out my first bit of work at the inn, taught the women cooking techniques, and worried about the future of the forest’s edge in between all that... I had to be pretty exhausted, too. And so, I swiftly drifted off to sleep.
And then... Just how much time had passed since then?
When I came to, I felt a soft sensation over my mouth.
Not sure if I was dreaming or not I drowsily opened my eyes, and found the blue pupils of a wildcat staring back at me.
Ai Fa had brought her face up to the tip of my nose. At some point, my palm must have fallen from her temples. As for her hand that should have been on top of mine, it was now covering my mouth.
“Don’t talk. And don’t move either, Asuta,” she whispered so quietly I could barely hear it, drawing even closer.
I was taken off-guard and tried to sit up, only for Ai Fa to grab my shoulder with her other hand and push me back down to the floor.
“I told you not to move. Will you not listen to my instructions, Asuta?” she whispered again.
My upper torso was being held down while Ai Fa leaned over me from the side. And her blue eyes looked more serious than ever as she stared into mine. On top of that, the parts of her body touching mine like her palms, arms, and chest felt unusually warm.
“Don’t worry... Just do what I say, Asuta.”
Then, she brought her entire body over mine.
4
My heart was pounding in my chest like an alarm bell.
Ai Fa’s warmth and scent had stolen away my normal mental faculties. As she leaned over me... she stretched her arm out past my body, towards the wall.
“Don’t move... If you do, it will create a disturbance in the air,” she whispered quietly, returning to her original position. However, her one hand remained over my mouth. As for her other hand, it was gripping her sword, which had been leaning against the wall. “Until just a moment ago, someone was peering into this room through the window. Now, they’ve circled around to the back of the house.”
Ah, so that was it. I could feel the strength drain from my whole body as my stupid misconception was cleared away.
This was no time to relax, though. Just a few days ago we had been attacked in our sleep and ended up with our backs against the wall.
Just who was trying to do what this time? I couldn’t even so much as sense anyone, so I had no idea.
“They’re on the far end of the room to the left. That’s exactly where the window is... Two years ago, the eldest son of the Suun broke that window’s lattice and entered the house.”
That was an incredibly ominous coincidence.
However, Diga had been taken away to the Dom clan at the northern end of the forest’s edge, alongside Doddo and Tei. Plus, they were regarded as dangerous due to their actions up until now, so they were surely being granted even less freedom than Mida.
“I’m going to head outside to see what’s going on. You wait here in the house. Once I leave, bolt the door while taking care not to make a sound.” I couldn’t talk right now, so instead I shook my head and gently grabbed hold of Ai Fa’s wrist. In return, she blinked her eyes and looked a bit annoyed. “Our lives could be in danger if they use a strange herb again or try to set the house ablaze. Don’t worry. At the most, there are two of them. And I’m not so helpless that they would get the better of me.”
I stared back at Ai Fa with as firm of a glare as I could manage. This time, she shot me back a bit of a strained smile.
“Even if they happen to be more skilled than me, I’ll lure them towards the Lanto River and knock them in. And besides, I couldn’t move freely with you by my side. Just wait here and pray that things go well for me.”
I silently stared back at her.
“It’s alright. I swear to you, I won’t pointlessly risk my life.”
With that, Ai Fa finally removed her hand from my mouth. Then, with her now free fingers, she pointed to the center of her chest.
“I’m certain your prayers will ward off all possible disaster.”
The blue stone I had given her must have been dangling there.
Keeping a grasp on Ai Fa’s wrist, I finally stood up.
“I’m heading outside... Don’t make a sound, alright?” Ai Fa said with the daring grin of a hunter as she also rose to her feet. Her movements really didn’t so much as stir the air. I wasn’t a hunter, though, so I had to move as slowly and carefully as I could manage just to not creak the floorboards.
After she crept smoothly over to the door like some sort of wild animal, Ai Fa handed the loose bolt to me, then brought her face in close again.
“I’ll close the door, and then you’ll have to bolt it. No matter what, don’t set a foot outside until I call out to you, alright?”
With that Ai Fa carefully pulled the door open, glanced around the darkness, then slipped outside. The door closed once again, and I asked myself, What in the world is going on? as I bolted it shut.
The threat of the Suun clan was gone now, so why was the Fa house getting uninvited guests? Could it be one of those men from the Ratsu and Gaaz who proposed to Ai Fa?
Regardless of who it was, they couldn’t be up to anything proper if they were peering into someone else’s home this late at night. At any rate, after bolting the door, I crept over near the stove, relying on the moonlight to guide me.
Atop a board sat my cooking, vegetable, and everyday knives. I grabbed the blade that Ai Fa’s father had left behind and hung it from my waist.
It’s fine... No matter who it is, they won’t get the better of Ai Fa so easily.
Just as that thought passed through my head, a man cried out, “Gyah!” from behind the house. That was followed by the dull thump of something hitting the wall, then a groan that called to mind an animal being strangled.
After that, it went silent.
I worked up my nerve and lit a candlestick with lana leaves, then headed towards a door further into the house. Naturally, I picked the furthest left of the three. The room was a storage area for firewood that was drying, lumber, saws, and other such things that we didn’t use all that often. I opened the door slowly so as not to make a sound, then stepped inside.
The window was all the way in, on the opposite wall. I approached and held up the candlestick, only to see the side of Ai Fa’s face from unexpectedly close, a hunter-like glare blazing in her eyes.
“So you came, Asuta... Well, that’s fine. In that case, hand me that candlestick.” Following her instructions, I passed it to Ai Fa through the lattice. Her gaze was fixated on one point in the darkness and she held her blade at the ready, so she took the candlestick with her free hand. “Don’t come out here no matter what, Asuta. There’s no guarantee that these fools were acting alone.”
“R-Right. But are you okay? And what fools do you...?” I started to ask while grabbing onto the wooden lattice, when my gaze was drawn to follow Ai Fa’s.
Out in the dark, I could see someone cowering. It was a man, and he seemed to be pretty well built. He didn’t have a pelt cloak, but the swirling patterns on his clothing marked him as a man of the forest’s edge.
“You shameless fools. I never imagined even you would go and do something so stupid. You’ve gone and trampled all over your final chance at atonement.”
“No, you’ve got it all wrong! We didn’t mean you any harm at all!” a young man’s voice yelled, clearly having lost all restraint. The voice was hoarser than I remembered, making it sound like it had come from a different person entirely... but there was no way I would ever mistake it.
“What... What are you doing here?!” I shouted, my voice coming out even angrier than I had expected.
In the darkness, I could see that curled-up man twitch in surprise, and then he replied in a sorrowful tone, “P-Please, believe me. We honestly didn’t run away with that in mind... W-We came to save you... And to have you save us, too!”
Though he was down on his knees, he looked up towards Ai Fa and tried to crawl her way. Without hesitation, Ai Fa thrust the tip of her blade right in front of his nose, causing the large man to wail, “Gyah!” and fall back.
With that, the pale moonlight illuminated his face... It was noticeably more gaunt then I remembered and was coated in dirt and tears, but that was undoubtedly the face of the former eldest son of the main Suun house.
“Fools... There’s no reason you deserve salvation. If you can’t even properly carry out your work as hunters, then you should simply die out in the forest.”
“No, I’m telling you, you’ve got it wrong! We didn’t run away from the Dom clan... Well, I guess we did, but still, it’s not what you think! I’m begging you! Please save us!”
“I don’t get what you’re saying. Asuta, there should be a bundle of vines in that room. Pass it to me. I’ll bind their limbs and then hand them over to the Dom clan.”
“Hold on! If you send us back to the Dom clan like this, they really will take our scalps!” he yelped in a terrified panic, his eyes making it look like he was on the verge of losing all sanity as he glanced around the darkness. “B-But alright! If you want to bind us, then go right ahead! We won’t resist! And we won’t run from the Dom again, either! You absolutely have my word! But before that, please just listen to what we have to say... And let us in your house as soon as possible! If he followed us, he may kill you too, Ai Fa!”
“Who is ‘he’? You should be the only ones here at the forest’s edge who would try to do us harm.”
“T-That’s not true! He must hate you two for destroying the Suun clan! So if you don’t want to die, then hurry up and let us in! He’s seriously a monster... No matter how strong you may be, there’s no way you could hold him back!”
“Tell me who you mean, already. Your words have been completely incoherent.”
The former eldest son of the main Suun house, Diga, finally broke out in a smile as he sobbed, and in a weak, trembling voice replied, “Zattsu Suun... The former clan head, Zattsu Suun! We ran away from him! I’m begging you! Please, let us in your house before he catches up to us!”
◇
Ultimately, we ended up welcoming our uninvited guests into the house.
There were two of them in total: Diga and Doddo. I hadn’t been able to see from where I was standing, but apparently Ai Fa had knocked Doddo over with a strike from the flat of her blade, then stepped on his back.
Anyway, our uninvited guests were currently seated on the ground, limply hanging their heads. Naturally, their arms were tied behind their backs and their legs were similarly bound, with only thirty centimeters of give. With that, they would be able to walk, but couldn’t run.
On top of that, they were unarmed from the start. They had run from the Dom clan with no blades or hunter attire, just the clothing on the backs.
“Zattsu Suun was being held by the Jeen clan as a prisoner, wasn’t he? So what do you mean by saying you want to be saved from him?” Ai Fa questioned, glaring at Diga and Doddo while sitting with one knee up in the air.
“Z-Zattsu Suun is the one who took us away from the Dom. He set fire to their settlement, and while they were running around in a panic, he came to save us... And so we fled the Dom clan together with him and Tei Suun...”
“Oh, so you ran away of your own will, then?”
“W-We didn’t exactly have a choice! He told us to either run away with him or stay there and die! If we defied him, he would’ve killed us then and there! That’s the sort of bastard Zattsu Suun is...”
That “bastard” was his own grandfather, though. It would be one thing for someone like Tei Suun from the branch families, but it was strange to refer to someone so closely related to you like that.
“But that Zattsu Suun man was terribly ill, wasn’t he? From what I heard, he was little more than a heap of dried skin and bones, and nobody was sure whether or not he would even survive the journey to the Jeen settlement.”
“Yeah, for the past few years, he had grown so weak that he couldn’t even walk on his own... But when he learned that the Suun clan had fallen, that must have resurrected him... He still looks like skin and bones, but those eyes... T-Those eyes were like they used to be, back before he fell ill. He would have died before long, but now he’s gotten back all the strength he used to have...” Diga said, his body starting to tremble once again.
Next to him, Doddo silently stared at the floor.
Both of them had emaciated cheeks, their faces were filthy, and dirt and leaves clung to their bodies all over. There wasn’t even a speck of the haughty pride they used to exude left in them. Had their spirits been worn down over the course of just three days, or were they that afraid of Zattsu Suun...? Honestly, it was probably both.
“Zattsu Suun said he would place the Suun clan back in charge. That he would bring judgment crashing down on the fools who betrayed us, and make us the leaders of the forest’s edge again...” Doddo chimed in. He sounded subdued and gloomy. Was that really his voice? That tone made him seem like an entirely different person, even more so than his gaunt appearance.
“T-That’s right! I thought for sure he was thinking of saving the rest of the family and leaving the forest’s edge... B-But then he started going on about that insanity...”
“If you thought it was insane, then shouldn’t you have told him as such when he came to you?”
“W-We said everything we could! We told him that folks from the Ruu clan were still at the Suun settlement, and that all the clans under us had joined together with them, and that we couldn’t possibly fight back against them now!”
“And then... he laughed,” Doddo added, his voice trembling helplessly. His dark blue eyes had once looked like those of a mad dog as he glared at us, but now he was clinging to us for help.
“He said the four of us were plenty, then he cackled like some sort of demon. He laughed like a madman, saying we could just rescue the clan head Zuuro and everyone else once we took back our right to lead and restored the proper order to the forest’s edge...”
“A-And so, we ran away while he was sleeping!”
“It sounds like that man’s mind has been addled with illness, too. What could he do with a mere four men?”
“H-He couldn’t do anything, right? All we could think of was attacking you all or the Ruu clan head,” Diga said, glancing back and forth at me and Ai Fa with a truly pathetic look in his eyes. “I-If he learned how the Suun clan fell, then he’ll surely want revenge against the Fa clan most of all for revealing our crimes, right? So that’s why we...”
“So you’re saying you came to warn us of this danger, then? In that case, why didn’t you just knock on the door to begin with?”
“Y-You two hate us, don’t you? We figured you wouldn’t open up if we did that, so we decided to look for a way to sneak in...”
“Did you really believe you could earn someone’s trust like that?” Ai Fa retorted in a harsher tone, causing Diga to curl up in a ball and shriek.
“Eek!”
It was utterly absurd, but by this point it felt more pathetic than anything. At least, that was the impression that I got.
Ai Fa rustled her hair, which was still down, and shot me an irritated look.
“What do you think, Asuta?”
“Huh? Well, let’s see... There’s one thing I’d like to confirm first. What happened to Tei?”
“T-Tei Suun said his fate was tied to Zattsu Suun’s. So we left him behind...”
“Is that true?”
“I-It really is! Even when Zattsu Suun was laughing like a madman, he just watched with that same vacant gaze as always. By this point, he probably isn’t even capable of forming his own thoughts...”
I got a bit angry hearing that, since it was the members of the main house who pushed the branch families to that point.
And I still hadn’t gotten a chance to ask Tei about that matter with Ai Fa yet. Was he the one who saved her on the night of the clan head meeting?
Had he become a threat to the forest’s edge again in spite of that?
With such complex emotions swishing around inside me, I continued on, “In that case, how did Zattsu Suun escape from the Jeen clan? He and Zuuro Suun were being treated as criminals and were constantly watched, right?”
“I-I’ve got no idea about all that, but... Z-Zattsu Suun’s face and clothing were dyed red with someone else’s blood, and he had a sword. There’s no way one or two men could possibly stop that monster...”
A skeleton of a man standing in the midst of a blazing settlement, coated in the blood of the people of the forest’s edge... The thought alone was enough to send a chill running down my spine. As for Diga, his teeth were chattering and he had gone pale.
“A-At night, they tied our arms together and bound us to a pillar. But the house we were in also caught fire, and the Dom women removed our bindings. We hurried outside in a panic, and that’s when Zattsu Suun appeared...”
“He told us to run away with him or die where we stood, then he thrust blades at us. The whole settlement was ablaze, so that had all the men’s attention, but I think a number of the women must have seen him...”
Doddo seemed to have a bit more of his wits left about him than Diga.
I gave a deep sigh, then turned back towards Ai Fa.
“Well... I figure they’re probably more or less telling the truth. If they wanted to attack us, they would have brought Tei along, right?”
A completely unarmed Diga and Doddo would never be any match for Ai Fa. But if Tei had come along and had a blade, how would that turn out...? I didn’t want to imagine it.
As for Ai Fa, she looked completely and utterly calm. I’d even say she would be glad to find that Zattsu and Tei Suun really had followed after these numbskulls and showed up here.
She was confident for sure. I just couldn’t help but think that I didn’t want to see Ai Fa cutting someone down, though.
Knowing nothing of those thoughts running through my head, Ai Fa just kept glaring at the pair.
“So, what were you two even intending? We really have no choice but to hand you back over to the Dom clan.”
“T-That’s fine! But could you at least tell the Dom that we weren’t the ones who set their settlement on fire, and that Zattsu Suun threatened us and left us with no choice but to flee...?”
“There’s no way I would say such a thing. Unless the Dom women happened to overhear your conversation, there’s no way to know what really happened.”
“Ah! But then the Dom really will kill us!”
Ai Fa placed her elbow atop her raised knee, rested her cheek on her hand, then gave a heavy sigh.
“Do you two have no pride whatsoever? You once heaped abuse upon us, so how can you bow your heads and tearfully say such things to us now? If I were in your position, I’d want to peel my own scalp.”
“A-Are you still angry about the past? If so, then I’ll apologize as much as it takes! I was just completely taken with your charm! I really did want to take you as a bride back then! And I didn’t intend in the least to ever cause the two of you harm!”
“Oh? But didn’t you say something about dumping me down into the bottom of the valley if I didn’t marry you?”
“W-We’d never kill one of our people! That was just an empty threat! I’m begging you! Please believe me!” Diga said, bowing so deeply his forehead touched the carpet.
Ai Fa scratched her head again, then shot Doddo an intense glare.
“Then what about you, former second son? You pointed your blade at Asuta and the Ruu men, didn’t you? And the mark left by your violence remains on Asuta’s stomach even now.”
“I-I was at fault...”
“What fault is that?”
“I-I drank and got a big head... When I didn’t like someone, I couldn’t just leave them be... I had a short temper...” His voice sounded seriously gloomy. He really reminded me of a wild dog that was wasting away to nothing. And those eyes of his were intently staring at us through his loose and disheveled hair. “Y-You probably won’t believe me when I say it at this point, but... I really do feel grateful that I didn’t harm you when the booze was spurring me on... I-I’m not a strong enough person to kill someone and then just go on like nothing happened...”
Those words had a powerful impact on me. This may well have been a once in a lifetime chance to determine what these hopeless men were really like.
“Diga, could you raise your face, too?”
Diga slowly did as I said. His face was flat, and looked childish in an unflattering way, contrasting with his large frame. Meanwhile, Doddo had gone from looking like a wild dog to a shriveling old hound instead. He had been small to begin with, and now that he had lost his ferocity, he looked so pathetic it was hard to imagine that he really was a man of the forest’s edge.
Zattsu Suun’s escape was a serious matter. The plan was to have Zattsu and Zuuro Suun atone for their sins with their lives, and on top of that, that intention had already been reported to the Genos castle. If he wasn’t captured tonight, it would obliterate the reputation of the people of the forest’s edge with them.
Thanks to that, I couldn’t imagine the Dom and Jeen clan heads forgiving Diga and Doddo. The same would be true with Donda Ruu and Gulaf Zaza. That made it all the more important for us to suss out the intentions of these massive fools.
“Diga, earlier you said you would never kill one of your fellow people of the forest’s edge, but what about if it was someone from town?”
“Someone from town?” Diga repeated with a tilt of his head, reminding me of an especially dense bull. “W-Why are we talking about the town, all of the sudden? I don’t get what you mean at all...”
“I mean, to the people of the forest’s edge the townsfolk are like your enemies, right? So I figured maybe you could hurt someone like that without feeling bad about it,” I said in as frivolous of a tone as I could manage.
Ai Fa’s eyes narrowed and she looked suspicious, but fortunately she ultimately stayed silent.
“H-Haven’t you been doing good business with the townsfolk? And wait, don’t you come from a town to begin with...?”
“I did, but I wasn’t born in Genos. To be honest, I’m disgusted by the way they look down on the people of the forest’s edge. And most of the folks who buy my cooking come from the south and east, anyway.”
“Ah, so that’s how it is... B-But I don’t really know. I don’t go to town very often...”
“Eh? Why’s that?”
“I mean... They’re frightening, aren’t they...?”
With that I completely forgot I was acting and let loose a loud, “Huh?”
Both of Diga’s shoulders twitched, so I had seemingly scared him with that.
“T-They shoot us such awful glares just because we’re people of the forest’s edge, you know? And if you go and walk on your own without being careful, you never know who could drag you into the shadows and do something to you... So I haven’t been to town in years...”
His statement left me at a loss for words. However, I calmed myself and now turned towards Doddo.
“Then what about you? When we first met you in the post town, you were trying to draw your blade on one of the townsfolk.”
“I hate the people from there... They’re all enemies to the forest’s edge.”
“Uh-huh. So that’s why you kidnapped women, attacked travelers, and pillaged fields?”
“Huh?” Doddo questioned, his small eyes opening wide.
Now that I thought of it, he had a rather grim-looking face that reminded me of a lion dog statue, but since he was Diga’s younger brother, he must have been around my age. And with his eyes going wide like that, he finally looked it.
“I’ve got no interest in the women around town. And why would I steal from the fields? If I did that, the guards wouldn’t just overlook it.”
“No, but what about from fields that aren’t protected by the guards?”
“I would never know where those are. And besides... We’ve been filling our stomachs with the bounty of the forest, so why would we go steal food from town?”
“Hmm? But there’s a lot of talk about town of people of the forest’s edge doing that stuff.”
“They must be talking about way in the past, then. That must have been before we started taking food from the forest, back when we were little kids.”
“Yeah, back then we ate aria and poitan like everyone else,” Diga nonchalantly chimed in.
I see... I thought to myself. It was true that Dora had never mentioned when that stuff happened. And if it was just ten years and some change ago, then it wasn’t all that long in the past. If people of the forest’s edge pillaged fields back then, it wouldn’t be strange at all for rumors of such things to still persist. It was possible Dora had suffered from such acts back when he was young, too.
That wasn’t a matter for me to be thinking over on my own right this second, though. After all, if I just asked Dora later, I could probably more or less work out the timeframe.
“Are you trying to figure out who did that stuff...?” Doddo asked, his gloomy gaze facing my way. “In that case, it was Zattsu Suun. Our father Zuuro was afraid of souring our relationship with Genos above all else, and Diga and I hate the town. Zattsu Suun is the only one who would try to do that stuff to the townsfolk.”
“Hmm. So you intend to pin all the blame on the former clan head, do you?” Ai Fa questioned in a chilly tone, causing Doddo’s face to pathetically freeze while Diga powerlessly hung his head.
“You’ve already gone and exposed the greatest crimes that we’ve committed. We’re just saying we had no reason to kidnap women from around town or steal food or whatever. I don’t really care if you believe us about that or not, though... It’s not like the lord of Genos has the guts to pass judgment on the people of the forest’s edge, anyway.”
That wasn’t true. In fact, just a few hours earlier Gazraan Rutim had advised that we shouldn’t leave those crimes unresolved.
However, these two were unaware of that fact. That must be why they didn’t feel such a strong need to defend themselves against those accusations. And so... It was possible everything they were saying was true.
“Hey, more importantly, about the Dom—” Diga started to pathetically whine, only for a violent knocking on the door to sound out.
Diga and Doddo froze in place as if they had been petrified, while Ai Fa grabbed the sword laying by her side.
“Clan head of the Fa, if you’re still alive, then wake up! We’re from the Dom clan!”
The tension drained from me when I heard that shout brimming with anger, while Ai Fa gave a small sigh. However, Diga and Doddo’s faces became even more pale and corpse-like.
“Some men of the Suun set fire to the Dom settlement and fled! Are you still alive, clan head of the Fa?!”
“I’m fine! I’m coming to the door now!” Ai Fa responded with a voice like a taut leather whip. Then she stood up, only for Diga and Doddo to stare up at her with eyes full of despair.
With a firm stride, Ai Fa approached the door.
“You have my gratitude for coming so late at night to warn us of this danger. You said men of the Suun clan had fled, but who precisely did you mean?” Ai Fa asked through the door. With that, the man on the other side seemed to regain a bit of his calm.
“So you’re alright after all, then? That will help preserve a bit of the Dom clan’s honor... The ones who fled were the three men entrusted to our Dom clan, as well as the former clan head who was being held by the Jeen. The Jeen man watching the previous clan head had his throat bit and torn and his blade stolen. From there, he fled from the Jeen and set fire to the Dom settlement, then set his three brethren free!”
“Hmm... So for now, it seems they weren’t lying...” Ai Fa quietly muttered while crossing her arms.
“Did you say something? And is your clan member fine, too? If so, then you can get back to resting. We men of the Dom clan will protect the Fa house. We will wash away this disgrace with the blood of those traitors from the Suun clan!”
So those frightening men wearing giba skulls had come in full force, huh?
Diga started violently trembling once again, while Doddo’s head sunk down deeply and it looked like he had given up on everything.
After shooting them an unconcerned glance, Ai Fa called out, “I’m grateful for your concern, but there’s something I have to tell you first. I captured the former first and second sons of the Suun clan by my own hand.”
“What?!” the angry voice bellowed again, and the door violently jolted.
“Agh...” Diga moaned, then he fell prostrate.
“Is that true?! Those traitors are in there?! In that case, open this door immediately, clan head of the Fa!”
“I will shortly. So please, don’t destroy my door, man of the Dom. However, before I do so, I have a question I wish to ask. They don’t seem to have come here to take our lives. Apparently, they fled in fear from Zattsu Suun, the very man who helped them escape from the Dom settlement.”
“Stop messing around and open up! Hand them over to us!”
“I will, of course. But you will hand them over to the leaders of our people so their fates can be properly deliberated, rather than immediately chopping their heads off, won’t you? They insist that the former clan head threatened them with a blade and forced them to flee. So if they had a change of heart and returned on their own, then wouldn’t that do a bit to absolve their crimes?”
“They sullied the Dom’s pride and trampled over our trust! There’s nothing left but to send their heads flying! So hurry up and open this door already!”
“If that’s the case, then I won’t open it. If that is the consensus the Dom have come to, then call for the three leading clan heads. Then if I hear enough to satisfy me, I’ll open the door,” Ai Fa stated, turning away and looking back towards us.
At some point, Diga and Doddo had turned just their heads to be facing Ai Fa. Thanks to that, I could only see the backs of their heads from where I was sitting, but Ai Fa had her arms crossed and was clearly annoyed.
“What’s with that look?! Don’t look at me with those eyes!”
5
The next morning, or actually before dawn even broke, the forest’s edge entered a state of high alert. The bad news of Zattsu and Tei Suun’s escape had spread from the north down through the entirety of the forest’s edge.
The villainous fiend was enough of a monster to tear out a man’s throat with his teeth and set fire to a settlement. By this point, nobody could possibly call such a man one of their comrades. Tei Suun was given back his clan name and an order was given that both he and Zattsu Suun were to be taken in dead or alive. And so, as soon as dawn broke, half the men of the forest’s edge dispersed into the forest while the other half stayed to guard their homes.
In addition to those who needed protection, there were also those who needed to be watched. Naturally, that referred to the Suun and the former members of that clan. There was a non-zero chance that the villains were plotting to take them away. And so the men of the branch families in particular were locked up in their houses and restricted from moving about as they pleased.
That didn’t just go for those who remained in the Suun settlement, either. The men taken in by related clans were treated the same. Their allegiances had been acknowledged and they had been granted freedom, but it was hard to say how they would respond if Zattsu Suun stood before them once again. It just made sense to keep that concern in mind when considering how Diga and Tei Suun had acted.
However, Toor Din’s father and the like were also included in all that. They had gained a new clan and started down the path towards living as proper men of the forest’s edge, and yet now they were being bound and dragged back to the Suun settlement. It made my heart ache to think how that father and daughter must have felt.
The former members of the main Suun house were also moved to where it would be easy to keep an eye on them. That meant the Ruu house for Yamiru Lea, Oura, Tsuvai, and Mida. Diga and Doddo had just barely managed to avoid having their heads sent flying, and instead were treated as prisoners and transported to the Zaza house along with Zuuro Suun. Then, a great many men were gathered at the Suun, Ruu, and Zaza settlements to protect the members of those clans while keeping an eye on those criminals, while also plotting a counterattack against Zattsu and Tei Suun.
As for our Fa house... it was decided that we would dare to keep doing business in the post town, all while being guarded by the elite of the forest’s edge.
◇
“Hey, what’s this all about?” Milano Mas questioned, looking over our group with a hostile gaze.
That came as no surprise, though. There were notably more people with us today, and those additional members were all hunters of the forest’s edge.
Ultimately, there were four people selected for guard duty: Ai Fa, Ludo Ruu, Shin Ruu, and Rau Lea. Those young, gentler-looking hunters were chosen so as to not get the townsfolk all worked up, but apparently seeing men with blades in and of itself was enough to throw people for a loop. As Milano Mas glared at Ludo Ruu and the others, his eyes were filled with what looked like full-on animosity.
“Sorry. There’s some circumstances behind all this...”
“Circumstances? What sort of circumstances are those? You shouldn’t need swords to do business, right?”
“Well, I’d imagine there will be an official notice from the castle soon anyway, but some criminals from the forest’s edge escaped and are on the loose,” I replied, only for Milano Mas’s eyes to open wide in shock.
“Criminals... from the forest’s edge?”
“That’s right. They’re two men who broke the laws of the forest’s edge, and they haven’t been found yet. We got on the criminals’ bad side in the past, so that’s why these guys are accompanying us as bodyguards.”
Normally, we wouldn’t be doing business at all on such a day. But we were ordered by the elites of Genos not to go on break, so we ended up coming to the post town after all.
“If you were to halt your business now when these criminals from the forest’s edge are loose, it would simply lead to unwarranted suspicion. If you have the resolve to stop business in spite of that then that’s all well and good, but otherwise I believe you should continue on much the same as you have until now,” Cyclaeus, the representative for the lord of Genos, had apparently stated.
I only sort of got his logic there.
“Cyclaeus may be planning to capture those two on his own. After all, he said he wanted to officially punish Zattsu and Tei Suun for breaking not just the laws of the forest’s edge, but also those of Genos,” Gazraan Rutim had explained with a distressed look on his face after returning from the meeting between Cyclaeus and the leading clan heads. “The townsfolk are protected by the guards, so feel free to keep going about your business. But if that’s not possible, then stay in the forest’s edge and don’t think of trying to open your shop in town. That’s more or less what Cyclaeus was saying.”
In other words, he was scheming to have us act as bait. And if we refused, we would be banned from working in the post town.
Seriously, what is that Cyclaeus guy thinking? I thought to myself in frustration, only for Milano Mas to idly mutter, “Criminals from the forest’s edge... So people of the forest’s edge are being pursued as criminals, huh...?”
“That’s right. By the time the sun hits its peak today, their names and appearances should be released to the public.”
Apparently, it had been decades since a person of the forest’s edge was last wanted as a criminal. And in recent years, the rumor was that the castle would cover for them even if they committed a crime. That was how the death of Milano Mas’s friend had been left unresolved.
Just how was the innkeeper feeling at the moment? Was he glad to see people of the forest’s edge being treated as criminals? Or was he feeling frustrated, wondering why his friend’s death was left unresolved for so long? If it were me, I’m sure both those contradictory emotions would be swirling strongly inside of me.
After staying silent for a moment, Milano Mas stifled his emotions and gave our group another once-over.
“I get what’s going on now. So, the folks from the castle ordered you all to keep on doing business, then?”
“Yes. I personally thought it would be best to hold back till the commotion died down, though...”
“Hmph. So it was a fancy way of telling you to be bait, then. Certainly sounds like something those guys from the castle would come up with.”
With that, Milano Mas departed.
When we circled around the back of the inn, we found the two stalls in their usual place, then I exchanged a glance with Ludo Ruu.
“Man, I thought he’d make a big fuss, but he was surprisingly calm. I guess no matter how much he may not like it, there’s no going against the folks from the castle,” the youth stated with a disappointed shrug of his shoulders. Now that I thought of it, he had met Milano Mas once.
While stifling a sigh, I went ahead and gave the order to head out. “Well then, let’s get going. If we’re late, we could cause the customers to fret.”
With that, we took off down the stone path.
The information about the pair of criminals shouldn’t have been publicly announced just yet, but we were still getting a lot more stares than normal. We may have gone with a younger, less threatening group, but hunters were still hunters. And so, we got looks more of fear than scorn from all around.
Is it really alright to be doing this...?
I just couldn’t wipe that thought from my mind.
It just wasn’t possible to tell how that fiend Zattsu Suun would act, after all. No matter how much he struggled now, the Suun clan would never regain their right to lead. In that case, it seemed like there was a high chance he would come after his long-time adversary and new leading clan the Ruu, the Zaza who abandoned them despite falling under them, or the ones who exposed their crimes, our Fa clan.
So was it really alright for us to be here in the post town? Didn’t that endanger the townsfolk?
Thinking logically, it wouldn’t be possible to march into the post town right in the middle of the day and attack us. Instead, they would need to attack us on the path between the forest’s edge and the post town.
However, I questioned whether someone who would injure his brethren of the forest’s edge and set fire to a settlement would be capable of properly thinking through his actions. Even if we were protected, if any of the townsfolk got wrapped up in it... The thought alone was enough to cast a gloom over me.
Milano Mas, Dora, Tara, Shumiral, Pops, Aldas, Yumi, Naudis... I had formed bonds with all of them, and so if I brought disaster their way, I wouldn’t be able to bear it. Honestly, I had never imagined I would end up having to open the stalls while being weighed down by such heavy emotions.
It was then that there was suddenly a surprised “Ah!” It was Tara, sitting in her usual spot next to her father.
“Hey there, Tara. You too, Dora. I’d like to buy some vegetables again today.”
“R-Right. If the same as yesterday is alright, then it will be eight red coins.”
The extra hunters in our group had caused him to go a bit pale, but he still said that with a smile.
Tara didn’t look quite that scared, though. However, she was nervously staring at Ludo Ruu.
“Ah, you’re that runt from a while back. I see you’re just as tiny as always,” Ludo Ruu said with a grin, causing Tara to timidly smile back.
“U-Um, I talked with Rimee Ruu a bit before. You’re her big brother, aren’t you?”
“Oh, I heard about that. She wouldn’t stop talking about it at dinner. I guess runts get along well.”
As I watched that heartwarming reunion between the youths out of the corner of my eye, I leaned in close to Dora and said, “Um, it’ll be announced by the castle soon, but...” With that, I gave him a rough synopsis of what was going on, causing him to go even more pale.
“T-That’s a serious issue. Criminals of the forest’s edge, huh...?”
“Right. They shouldn’t have any reason to harm townsfolk, but if you see a man who’s wasting away and looks like a skeleton or a man with grey hair, please don’t go anywhere near them.”
“G-Got it. They must be awful vicious for the folks in the castle to recognize people of the forest’s edge as criminals. I’ll take care not to let Tara walk around on her own today.”
“I’d be glad if you could let your acquaintances know, too. By the way, there’s something else I wanted to ask you about...”
With that, I went ahead and tried to clear up my doubts from last night. Which is to say, exactly when those wrongdoings by the people of the forest’s edge occurred.
“Eh? When was it...? Ruffians still cause trouble around town, though, don’t they?”
“You’re talking about someone getting drunk and drawing a blade in town, or wrecking a stall they don’t like, right? But what I want to know about is those more serious crimes like kidnapping women or stealing crops.”
“Hmm, let’s see... Well, it was quite some time ago that our crops were stolen. I think it was before Tara was even born. As for the rest, I’ve only heard rumors... I think you might need to ask someone from the castle to hear the specifics.”
“Someone from the castle?”
“Yes. A lot of people have given up, but I would still say most of those incidents were reported to the guards.” That might prove difficult. After all, the folks from the castle surely wouldn’t want to reveal their past misdeeds of hiding the wrongdoings committed by people of the forest’s edge. “Hey, Asuta, don’t go sticking your nose into any serious trouble, alright?” Dora said as he grabbed hold of my arm. “I know full well by now that you aren’t all bad people. And at least for me, that’s plenty. Just leave dealing with criminals to the guards and go about your business like you have been.”
“Thank you. It makes me very happy to hear you say that.”
What he had said was nothing special, but it really did fill my heart with joy.
Once we left Dora’s stall, our destination was just a stone’s throw away. And even from where we were standing, it was clear that a crowd was already forming. On top of that, there were also a good number more guards standing around than usual.
“Whoa, that’s a pretty nasty mood hanging in the air, isn’t it?” Lala Ruu whispered into my ear.
There certainly was an uneasy atmosphere lingering about. It looked like the crowd gathered there was starting to get worked up and hound the guards.
As we approached, a guard with a tassel atop his helmet that seemed to mark him as the highest-ranking one present yelled out, “Hey, you’re late!” We had left the Fa house a good bit earlier than usual today, but as we had to come to town after stopping by the Ruu settlement, we didn’t arrive till around 30 minutes past when we usually did.
With that said, though, it was a stall owner’s right to set their business hours. There was no logic behind a guard reprimanding us over such matters... But rather than bringing that up, I just said, “Sorry,” with a bow of my head. “I’ll start preparing right away, so please hold on for just a moment.”
With that, something strange happened. All of a sudden, about a third of the people gathered scattered as if fleeing, seriously catching me off-guard. Plus, all of those folks who left were westerners, and their faces showed clear animosity and fear.
After watching that, the six guards present also turned to leave.
“This puts an end to the matter. You don’t have any further complaints, do you? If you cause too much trouble, we really will arrest you,” the leader of the guards said to the remaining customers.
With a clear look of discontent on their faces, the customers then watched as the guards departed to the north. Normally, they would head towards their station to the south instead, so maybe they were currently tasked with guarding the northern entrance to the post town. Would it be possible to guard against an assault from those vicious criminals with just six men, though? Admittedly, we just had the four bodyguards, but I couldn’t imagine those six guards being anywhere near a match for them.
“Hey, there. Sorry for causing a fuss. Just don’t pay it any heed and go ahead and get working, alright?” Aldas said with a chuckle as he approached the stand.
While feeling relieved that Ai Fa and the others weren’t overtly shooting him a glare, I went ahead and asked, “What exactly happened, anyway?”
“You see, we were waiting in front of your spot like always when those guards came. Then they said some criminals from the forest’s edge had escaped, and that they might approach your stalls so we should leave if we valued our lives.”
“Really...?”
They ordered us people of the forest’s edge to continue doing business, but then warned the townsfolk they should leave. So that Cyclaeus guy really did just want us as bait and didn’t give a damn about any discord between the forest’s edge and the post town, huh?
My mood just kept getting gloomier and gloomier.
“So we just ignored them and lined up like always, but some folks from the west who were passing by heard that and started saying they shouldn’t let such dangerous people into town. That led to some of our men from the south losing their cool and lashing out at them, which turned into a whole big commotion.” I could feel my heart sinking as I listened, but Aldas kept on shooting me a hearty grin. “Don’t go making a face like that. We intervened, so nobody ended up getting taken away by the guards. We yelled out that if they caused too much of a fuss they wouldn’t be able to eat your delicious cooking anymore, which got all our men to settle down. The only ones who wouldn’t calm down to the bitter end were those folks from the west.”
“Hmph. Those westerners really have no guts at all. It’s easy enough doing business with them, but at times like this I just can’t stand them,” Pops chimed in, popping out from behind Aldas’s large frame. “They may be vicious criminals, but there are just two of them, right? Why should I have to hold off on eating delicious food because of them? The whole idea is ridiculous.”
“I really wish you’d consider your position at least a little more, Pops. If you get taken away, then we won’t be able to keep doing business, you know,” Aldas said with a strained chuckle.
Pops just gave a hearty, “Hmph!” in response, then said, “We’ve got something way more important to discuss, anyway! Hey, kid!”
“Y-Yes?!”
“We had your cooking at the inn! It cost seven red coins when adding in the cost of the fruit wine to go with it!”
“Huh? But wasn’t it supposed to be five red coins for a meal?”
“One bottle of fruit wine wasn’t enough! Seriously, what was with that meal?!”
“Did you not like it...?” I asked, worrying that was the case.
“Of course I liked it!” Pops responded even louder than before.
“Quiet down a little, Pops. We don’t want the guards coming back, do we?”
“Who cares about them?! Hey, you should have used tau oil like that to start with! Seriously, what the heck?! Do you just enjoy toying with us or something?”
“T-That wasn’t my intention at all. Until I stopped by The Great Southern Tree, I didn’t even know that tau oil existed.”
“What? Then you made that delicious of a dish the very first time you tried using the stuff?” Aldas questioned, his eyes going wide in amazement.
I shook my head while chopping up the tino for garnishing.
“No, you see, there’s an ingredient that’s a lot like tau oil back where I came from, which is why I chose that dish. Was it to your tastes?”
“It sure was. For us, tau oil is the taste of home... No wait, I can’t say I ever tasted a dish that delicious back home,” Aldas said with a wide grin.
“Hey,” Pops chimed in from beside him, leaning forwards. “Now that I think of it, I still don’t know your name. I’m Balan of Nellwea.”
“I’m Asuta of the Fa clan, from the forest’s edge.”
“Asuta of the Fa clan, is it? Asuta... If you ever come to Jagar, make sure you visit Nellwea. If you say you know Balan the construction worker, most of the folks there will know who you mean.”
“Huh? R-Right...”
“And if you ever need a house built, you better get in contact with me. We’ll build it for cheaper than any other construction group, and do a better job, too,” Pops said while crossing his arms, then arrogantly puffed up his chest. “So, when are you going to be ready to get cooking? You made us wait longer than usual, so I’m starving!”
“Ah, yes! Right away!”
Pops and his group really were just the same as always. Actually, I got the feeling that they were in an even better mood than usual now that I had started doing business with The Great Southern Tree.
The line behind them looked unchanged, too. So this incident with Zattsu Suun wasn’t that big a deal to the broadminded folks from the south and the calm, quiet easterners, huh?
However, the gap between them and the citizens of the west only seemed to be growing wider.
Dora and folks like him went so far as to worry about me, and there didn’t seem to be much of a change in attitude from the people who had already eaten giba meat. But for those who still felt distrustful towards the people of the forest’s edge, this was sure to be a pretty serious incident.
Still... Once you decide to do something, you’ve got to follow through.
There were criminals out there from the forest’s edge. Maybe what we needed to do was to display our own innocence personally while clearly acknowledging that shame. To show them that there was nothing shady about us.
Surprisingly, though that may have just been part of Cyclaeus’s official stance on the matter to cover everything up, it was true that the people of the forest’s edge also shared some responsibility for overlooking the Suun clan’s corruption. Looking at it that way, perhaps it was a trial given to them... A path to atonement.
“Asuta... Can you really make delicious food with such a brooding look on your face?” Ai Fa whispered into my ear. “There’s nothing for you to worry about. If those fiends appear, we’ll take care of them in a heartbeat.”
At some point, Ludo Ruu and the others had fallen back to the thicket behind us, leaving only Ai Fa by my side.
As I stared back at her resolute expression, I responded, “Got it,” with a nod. “Well then, Sheera Ruu, you’re up.”
“Right,” Sheera Ruu called back as she added aria to the tray, and with that our business for the day kicked off.
6
A bit before the sun hit its peak, Li Sudra arrived just as we had arranged. And she had four Sudra men along with her, too.
“Sorry to have kept you waiting. I look forward to working with you again today,” Li Sudra stated, her expression the same as always.
However, the clan head was standing next to her, looking seriously nervous.
“Clan head of the Fa, those villains still haven’t shown themselves, have they?”
“That’s right. And I’m glad to see you all doing well.”
“Right. From here on, we’ll be risking our lives to protect our comrades,” the Sudra clan head with his sunken cheeks stated, a light shining brightly in his eyes. Seeing that, his wife Li Sudra broke out in a gentle smile.
“Clan head, if they see a daring hunter of the forest’s edge with such an intense expression on his face, the townsfolk will be too scared to approach. Please, restrain yourself.”
“Hmm? I don’t believe we can afford to be so relaxed. The former Suun clan head was nothing but skin and bones and was on the verge of death, yet he managed to take down a Jeen man, and from what I saw at the clan head meeting, that man from the branch families is also quite skilled. We must be prepared to lay down our lives if need be.”
The Sudra clan head was shorter than his wife, and he didn’t have all that impressive of a physique, either. In fact, it may even be a bit rare to see a man his age so lacking in that regard. However, his generally gloomy face clearly displayed his do-or-die resolve. Under the circumstances, it would have been perfectly reasonable to choose to hold back from helping out with work until Zattsu and Tei Suun were captured, but rather than doing so, he went so far as to volunteer to help with guard duty.
These were the only four men of the Sudra clan, and so they dropped the rest of their women off at the Ruu settlement on their way.
“Clan head of the Sudra, the men of the Ruu are over there in the thicket. The plan is to divide the tasks of keeping an eye on the highway and also guarding against attacks from behind, so please start by talking to them,” Ai Fa stated.
The Sudra clan head replied, “Understood,” with a nod, then he and his men headed in the direction she had indicated. Before long, Vina Ruu and I would have to head over to The Great Southern Tree, so Ai Fa’s group of four would keep guarding us while the four from the Sudra would remain here to keep an eye on the stalls.
Just when the Sudra men disappeared from view, the members of the Silver Vase approached in their place.
“Welcome. I’m grateful that you came out even on a day like this.”
“Yes, I saw, the wanted posters... Are you, alright, Asuta?”
“Yes, we’re just fine. You all should make sure to take care, though. I’m sure this was included on the posters, but the criminals who are on the run are incredibly dangerous.”
“We, will be fine. I worry, about you all, Asuta. The guards said, there is a risk, of you being, attacked.”
Perhaps because of that, we had a remarkable decrease in western customers. Even the number of passersby seemed to be less than usual. Dora had stopped by with Tara, but Yumi and the rest of our regulars hadn’t shown up yet. The fear and unease folks from the west were feeling probably wouldn’t let up until the villains were captured.
“Thank you. We really will be fine, though. After all, we have a number of reliable hunters on guard duty,” I told him with a smile, but I couldn’t spy any shift in Shumiral’s serious gaze.
His eyes then turned towards Ai Fa, who was standing next to the stall.
“Clan head, I am the leader, of the Silver Vase, Shumiral Zi Sadumtino.”
“Hmm?” Ai Fa questioned. She had been keeping a watch on the road from between the two stalls, but now she shot Shumiral a quizzical look. “By clan head, do you mean me? I don’t know you at all, though.”
“I heard of you, from Asuta. Could I get, your name?”
Ai Fa furrowed her brows and seemed even more doubtful as she looked Shumiral up and down.
“I’m Ai Fa of the Fa clan. I’m sorry, but I really don’t have time for idle chatter.”
“Ai Fa... It is, a good name. Are you, protecting Asuta?”
“Yes. It’s a clan head’s duty to protect the members of her clan,” Ai Fa replied, her gaze shifting back towards the road. Her role here was to keep an eye out and make sure nobody suspicious was approaching us by blending into the crowd.
“Please take care, of Asuta. He is, very important, to me.”
With that, Ai Fa shot Shumiral another fleeting glance.
“I will protect Asuta, regardless of whether or not anyone asks me to.”
Shumiral’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly and he murmured, “Thank you,” before looking over towards the neighboring stall. Vina Ruu was there working hard, just like always.
Shumiral really did see her as someone special, didn’t he? However, he didn’t let any of those inner feelings show today, instead simply leaving once he got the dish he had ordered.
“That guy from Sym really was worried about you, huh? Did you form some sort of special bond in the past?” Lala Ruu questioned as she stood beside me and helped with the giba burgers.
“Nah, nothing special happened between us. If I had to say, he’s just one of the customers who buys my cooking.”
“Hmm, that’s strange... Still, I guess that’s how your bonds with our Ruu clan got started. So maybe it’s not so strange after all.”
Right, my bonds all came through my cooking.
I was especially close with Shumiral, but Aldas and Pops were important to me too, even if I only just learned the latter’s real name of Balan today.
We may have only talked to each other a few minutes out of each day, but we still shared bonds. And those bonds grew stronger bit by bit as we interacted more and more. Interactions like that were surely why someone like me was able to keep on living here in this other world.
A bit later, just when it was about time to head out for The Great Southern Tree, three more people of the forest’s edge approached: Gazraan Rutim, Dari Sauti, and another one of the men from the Sauti clan.
“Ah, hey there. How did things go with Kamyua Yoshu?”
“It seems the plans for tomorrow truly can’t be changed. That was just as we expected, but he also said that they didn’t need any guards.”
“He said that?”
Tomorrow was finally the day of the big job involving the merchant Zasshuma and the caravan he led. Of course, I had assumed they wouldn’t be able to cancel their plans thanks to circumstances on our end, but what did it mean that they were saying they didn’t need any guards?
“Since there is no telling what actions Zattsu Suun may take, we offered to have all of the Sauti men escort them. However, since they were only asking the people of the forest’s edge to show them the way, it came back to the initial agreement of just four men.”
“But... isn’t that dangerous?”
“Hmph. There are only two of those villains, so even with just four of us we shouldn’t be in any danger. Still, we offered to increase the number of men we’re sending to just be safe, but they blew it off as us worrying too much. I really just can’t stand folks from town,” Dari Sauti chimed in.
He was taller than Gazraan Rutim, and in terms of physique he seemed like he would even be a match for Donda Ruu. He had a gentle looking face, but when combined with his large body his appearance seemed a match for his heavy responsibility as one of the three leaders of his people. As for his age, he must have been just a bit older than Gazraan Rutim.
At any rate, though he usually gave off a pretty mild impression, he seemed to be just a bit irritated by the situation. It really must have been draining dealing with Kamyua Yoshu under such circumstances, though.
“They must have their own sort of pride and dignity, too. It’s the job of those bodyguards to protect the merchant caravan, so they probably don’t want anyone else interfering.”
“I don’t like it. Maybe they’re thinking they’d like to take down those fiends by their own hands, just like the folks from the castle.”
Could that be the case? With the impression I had, I couldn’t imagine Kamyua Yoshu and Cyclaeus having a very friendly relationship. Did Kamyua Yoshu also have a desire to take down those criminals from the Suun clan, though...? It was honestly a mystery what that aloof man was really thinking.
“At any rate, there are apparently 18 in the merchant caravan and five bodyguards. They shouldn’t have any need to fear a mere two criminals. And also... they said even if those villains were to harm any of the merchants or products, the responsibility for that would fall to them as the bodyguards, so we shouldn’t worry about it.”
“I see. If Kamyua Yoshu said all that, then maybe there really isn’t any need to worry.”
Kamyua Yoshu, and that man with the bandaged face, Haan of Dabagg. And there would be three more of their peers, plus four men of the forest’s edge led by Dari Sauti, so it certainly wouldn’t be easy to get the better of them.
“Well then, we still need to report back to Donda Ruu and Gulaf Zaza, so we’ll be heading back to the forest’s edge. Asuta, please take care,” Gazraan Rutim finished with a firm gaze my way, then he departed along with Dari Sauti.
“Well then, we should get going too. Take care of everyone, alright, Sheera Ruu?”
“Right. Please take care.”
With that, I, Vina Ruu, Ai Fa, and the three hunters who were hanging out in the thicket headed away from the stalls. Along the way I purchased the vegetables I needed, and then we made for The Great Southern Tree, getting much harsher stares than usual as we went.
“We’ve still got to decide our roles. I guess we’ll need one each at the front and rear doors, another keeping an eye on the surrounding area, and one to enter the building.” Somewhat surprisingly, the one to act as the leader of the guards was the youngest person present, Ludo Ruu. “We’ll leave the front entrance to Ai Fa, but I guess it doesn’t matter who else goes where.”
“Hold on. Why do I have to take the front entrance? I wanted to be the one to go inside.”
“Hmm? But if one of us men is standing out front of the inn, folks from the west won’t approach. That guy who runs the place already didn’t look pleased, right?”
We had already stopped by to discuss the matter with Naudis in the morning. Which is to say, we told him we wanted to have these bodyguards from the forest’s edge around just in case something were to occur.
“No, but... I mean, I’m a hunter wearing blades, too. Being a man or woman shouldn’t make much difference in the scorn the westerners show us.”
“That’s not true at all. There’s no way a woman with a pretty face like yours would get avoided anywhere near as much as us men.”
“You say that, but you all have soft, womanly faces too, don’t you? And I’m taller than you, too.”
All of a sudden, there was a tension in the air. However, Rau Lea chimed in with a chuckle, “You sure say some funny things. But I’m even taller than you, clan head of the Fa. I’d get bored just standing around, so I’ll take the task of keeping an eye on the surroundings. You all can decide the rest without me.”
“Height has nothing to do with it! Plus there’s hardly any difference between me and you anyway, Ai Fa!” Ludo Ruu wasn’t letting it go so easily.
“...But I’m still taller.”
“I’m about the same height as the Fa clan head.”
“Shin Ruu, you jerk! You’re calling me a runt too?!”
“I didn’t say that. And you’re a better hunter than I am, anyway.”
As that argument wore on, we arrived at The Great Southern Tree.
“I don’t like entering buildings around town, so I’ll take the rear,” Shin Ruu said, retreating from the conflict.
“I’ll blow into a grass whistle if I see anything,” Rau Lea added before also disappearing. That just left Ai Fa and Ludo Ruu shooting each other seriously hostile glares.
“Um, since Asuta understands the ways of the town better than anyone, why not have him decide...?” Vina Ruu proposed, sounding a bit astounded.
“He’d just choose Ai Fa, though!” Ludo Ruu childishly wailed.
It wasn’t good to be doing this in front of the inn. And so I felt a need to speak up, but I couldn’t help but have a heavy heart when considering how that would make Ai Fa feel.
“If you’re letting me decide, then I believe it really would be best to have Ai Fa stand outside... What do you say?”
As expected, Ai Fa stood there aghast.
“But... why...?”
“I mean, my reason’s what Ludo Ruu said before, and since a lot of folks from the west apparently use this inn, I’d like to avoid worrying them as much as possible. That was why we had you stand by the stalls before too, right?”
“That’s... That’s true, but...” Ai Fa muttered, clearly downhearted. Then, she turned her listless gaze towards Ludo Ruu, shooting him an apologetic look. “I see... I was the one only valuing my wants over our needs, here. I’m sorry for trying to push through with that rather than treating the matter logically.”
“Hmm? Ah, you don’t have to go apologizing over it or whatever.”
“However... It is still a fact that I’m taller.”
“Shut up about that, already! What does it even matter?!”
“It doesn’t. That was just me being a sore loser.”
With that, Ai Fa walked along the wall, then flopped down when she was about three meters from the inn’s entrance. Rather than just having one knee up she was cradling both of them like a child and shooting a gloomy gaze out over the road.
“I’ll keep an eye on the highway from here, Asuta...”
“Right!”
“Give it your all...”
“...Got it.”
For some reason, it felt like a powerful sense of guilt was crushing me.
As I pushed open the door to the inn and slipped inside along with the siblings from the main Ruu house, I held back yet another sigh, like I had been doing again and again all day.
“Ah, Asuta, I’ve been awaiting you,” Naudis greeted with a gentle smile from the reception desk. He had already met the men this morning, and it was only Ludo Ruu with us now anyway, so he didn’t look all that nervous. “Well then, I’m counting on you again today. Actually, I’m honestly relieved just by being able to welcome you so casually.”
“Sorry about all this. We’ve made a real commotion for you due to our personal circumstances. At any rate, I’m really grateful for you accepting this matter with the guards.”
“Ah, no, since there are dangerous criminals prowling about, I actually find it reassuring. You can’t rely on the town guards to deal with people of the forest’s edge, after all.”
Still, if I had just been banned in the first place, that would remove any threat of an attack by Zattsu Suun. In spite of that, Naudis had said he wanted me to continue as planned. I certainly felt bad about the whole situation, but to be honest, I was actually more glad that he chose to look at it the way he did.
“I didn’t have the time to tell you this morning, but your cooking was a big hit last night. I sold every last bit of it.”
“Ah, I’m relieved to hear that. You were selling it at five red coins per dish, weren’t you?”
“Yes, that’s right. I also sold some without fuwano and with half the meat for two red coins, just like you suggested. Thanks to that, even customers who wouldn’t pay five red coins for something they never tasted had no concerns ordering it,” Naudis said with a very satisfied looking grin on his face.
I smiled right back at him as I opened up the bundle of giba meat I had left with him.
“By the way, what was the ratio of customers like? Did folks from the west order it too?”
“Of course. By now there are plenty of customers from the west willing to come here out of an interest in giba cooking. I don’t know how that will go from here on out, though...”
I wasn’t sure of that, either.
The stalls had seen a dramatic drop in western customers. If that was because they were afraid of getting wrapped up in something, then that shouldn’t have much of an impact on business here at the inn. However, if this incident was causing animosity towards the people of the forest’s edge to flare back up, that could prove rather serious.
“Well, we just have to be patient until those criminals are caught. But just the number sold to the customers from the south was pretty good, so I certainly intend to keep on working with you,” Naudis said before departing. He looked the same on the surface, but maybe he really was feeling on edge about being in the same room as Ludo Ruu after all.
“Man, it sure is boring waiting around for someone who may never even show up. But I can’t let my guard down, so my shoulders are getting all stiff,” Ludo Ruu complained while giving a big stretch. “If it’s just for a day or two, coming to town can be pretty interesting. But if this goes on for like 10 or 20 days, I’m going to get completely sick of it. And those guys from the Sudra will end up running out of food.”
“It wouldn’t end up dragging out that long though, right? If it did, it’d be a problem for me too.”
“But there’s always a chance they end up dying before they show themselves, isn’t there? Like if they run into a giba in the forest and it takes them down, then they’d end up mundt feed in no time. Then we’d be stuck doing this forever.”
Ah, that really could happen. In fact, it would normally be seen as seriously dangerous to spend the night out in the forest. Plus, Zattsu Suun was sickly and Tei Suun wasn’t exactly young, and they shouldn’t have been properly equipped in the least. With all that in mind, it seemed rather likely that they would die out in the forest without anyone knowing. Would that mean that we would spend the rest of our lives vigilantly on guard against phantoms?
Just how much trouble would Zattsu Suun have to make for us before he was satisfied? As I kept my hands moving with the cooking, I recalled the ominous words Yamiru Lea had once spoken: “Zattsu Suun was a man who was like a bundle of poison.”
◇
After two and a half hours, our work at The Great Southern Tree came safely to a close.
We had yet to receive any news, good or bad. By the time we made it back to The Kimyuus’s Tail, the group from the stalls had already wrapped up their business and completed the shopping for tomorrow.
“We had some meals left today. We sold all the giba burgers, but we only hit around 80 for the myamuu giba.”
Rather than hearing about how the sales went, I felt like I should be congratulating them on making it safely through the day. Still, it was hard not to feel a bit down.
At any rate, we still needed to return the stalls, so I reached out to open the door, only for an angry voice to sound out from the other side before I could do so.
“I’m telling you, you should stop renting out stalls to them! If they just didn’t come to town, that’d settle everything, right?!” I froze in place without thinking. Naturally, he was talking about us. “The folks from the castle are way too soft on the people of the forest’s edge to begin with!”
“I don’t want to get mixed up in their problems!”
“If you didn’t rent them stalls they wouldn’t be able to do business, so you should just give them back what they paid and be done with them!”
I didn’t recognize any of those masculine voices yelling out their complaints.
At any rate, after a moment of silence, Milano Mas responded. “Even if I ended my contract with them, they’d just get their stalls from The Great Southern Tree. And someone from the castle gave them permission, so nothing will come from us complaining.”
“Still, that doesn’t mean we’ve got to just willingly follow along, right?!”
“Do you want their fee that badly?”
“And I mean, you should hate the people of the forest’s edge more than anyone, right?”
In the next moment, a tremendous bang resounded through the air. Someone must have punched a table or wall or something with all their might.
“My relations have nothing to do with what I’m feeling right now! The ones pissing me off at the moment aren’t the people of the forest’s edge, but you lot! If you’ve said your piece, then hurry up and get out! You’re interfering with my business!”
Hearing that, I backed away from the door in a hurry.
The door swung open both ways, and it soon slammed outwards, only for the men who came stomping out to suddenly go, “Gyah!” and freeze in place.
There were over ten people of the forest’s edge lined up there just outside the door. Just how scared must they have felt at the moment? The men were all dressed like merchants, and their faces twisted into looks of despair as they started trembling.
However, I was the only one who eavesdropped on their conversation, so everyone else just shot them blank looks.
“Sorry, but I’ve got business inside, so could you let me through?” I asked in the flattest tone I could manage, only for the men to dash away as fast as they could.
After watching them leave, I once again went to walk inside, only for the door to swing open and Milano Mas to step out with his usual sour expression plastered on his face.
“What, so you’re done? Don’t stop in front of the shop like that. You’ll obstruct my business.”
“Right, sorry.” We didn’t need this many people just to move the stalls, so the four bodyguards and I moved them around back as Milano Mas directed. “Um... Is it alright to keep getting the stalls from you from tomorrow on?” I asked while pushing the stalls, only for Milano Mas to shoot me a glare out of the corner of his eye.
“If you do something questionable and break a stall, you’ll have to pay a fee for that. That’s like I explained to you from the start. There shouldn’t be anything else I need to explain, though.”
“Got it... Thank you.”
Naturally, that statement just earned me an annoyed, “Hmph,” back.
When we arrived at the storeroom behind the inn, for some reason we found a certain tall, skinny, aloof-looking blond guy waiting there for us.
“Hey, there. Good work today. Thanks for the delicious meal as always.”
“Hey, what are you doing back here?” Milano Mas asked in a gruff tone, but Kamyua Yoshu just shot him back a relaxed grin.
“You see, I decided to wait here because I didn’t want to miss Asuta and his group. And if I decided to take it easy in the dining hall, I’d drift off in no time at all.”
This was my first time seeing Kamyua Yoshu today. Since he was saying he had my cooking, though, he must have gone and made a purchase while I was over at The Great Southern Tree.
“I’m glad I got this chance to see you, Kamyua. I heard you’re leaving early in the morning and won’t be back for two months at the earliest, after all.”
Two months... Seeing as I’d been here in this world for less than 50 days, that certainly felt like a heck of a long time to me.
I honestly couldn’t judge whether it was good or bad that Kamyua Yoshu would be disappearing just as the relationship between the forest’s edge and Genos was growing more and more complicated. But either way, it was an unmovable fact that he was leaving. And so, those of us left behind would just have to rack our brains over how to handle things.
“Ah right, I heard that you refused an offer to add more men. Do you really feel there isn’t any danger?”
“Huh? Yeah, of course! A mere two criminals are practically nothing! And actually, there isn’t any reason for madmen trying to flee the forest’s edge to attack us in the first place.”
“But the fact that they’ve gone mad is why you never know what they might try, right? Plus... I think there’s more than a little chance that the merchant caravan you’re guarding will be attacked.”
“Oh? Why’s that?” Kamyua Yoshu asked, his eyes sparkling with curiosity, but I was a bit concerned about Milano Mas’s presence. It wasn’t like it had nothing to do with him, and he didn’t seem to enjoy hearing about criminals from the forest’s edge. For now, though, he seemed to be feigning ignorance as he checked over the stalls for any damage.
“A bit back, I heard something unusual from a member of the Suun clan. That people live to earn coins, and that since the Suun were the most affluent clan, their head was the greatest hero of the forest’s edge... I figure that biased point of view was passed down through the main house, all the way back from the previous clan head.”
“Uh-huh... So a large caravan stuffed with treasure would make the perfect prey, huh? I see, that certainly is an interesting thought.”
“It would be good if that was all it ended up as, but the wanted man who was the previous clan head apparently said he would restore the Suun clan’s right to rule. That might well have meant getting ahold of as much fortune as possible, rather than attacking the opposing Fa or Ruu clans.”
“Ah, I see. But could they really regain their authority like that?”
“Of course not. The previous clan head is likely the only one thinking that. In fact, a great number of the people of the forest’s edge think that any wealth beyond what’s needed for a basic living is completely unnecessary.”
“How truly intriguing. I wish I could have talked to you a whole lot more before departing for Sym, Asuta,” Kamyua Yoshu said with a bit of a sad smile. “But I get it. There’s a real chance those villains from the Suun will attack the merchant caravan. I wouldn’t be so forward as to say I’m itching for the chance to put my skills to use, but us bodyguards do make a living through combat, after all. So a nice uneventful trip honestly wouldn’t be all that interesting for me.”
With that, his purple eyes glanced over the hunters of the forest’s edge. Ai Fa, Ludo Ruu, Shin Ruu, and Rau Lea... And all of them were keeping a careful watch on the aloof man in turn, not letting their guards down in the least.
“You know, it’s possible one of us folks from around town will end up cutting down the former leader of the forest’s edge. You all won’t hold a grudge against us for that, will you?”
“Of course not. It would be a bit vexing, but we wouldn’t just tell you to sit down and let them kill you... Plus, you could probably cut anyone you wanted in two, right?” Ludo Ruu replied.
“That’s not true at all,” Kamyua Yoshu replied, waving his lanky arm as if to brush away the idea. “If possible, I would try to take them in alive. But well, the others are wilder than I am, so I’m certainly glad to hear you say that... Still, there really is still a chance they’ll come after Asuta and everyone, so let’s pray we all make it through this safely.”
“Right. I’ll look forward to reuniting with you in two month’s time,” I replied, at which point Milano Mas finally stepped away from the stalls.
“There aren’t any scratches on them. So if you’re done here, then hurry up and get lost.”
“Got it. Thank you.” For some reason, Milano Mas didn’t look my way. While worrying that he really hadn’t wanted to hear all that about the criminals, I turned back towards Kamyua Yoshu. “Well then, Kamyua, take care on your journey.”
“Yup, you take care of yourself, too. And I’ll see you again sometime, Ai Fa.”
Ai Fa shot him back an unfriendly-looking nod, bringing our farewell to Kamyua Yoshu to a sudden close.
If something were to happen to either of us this could prove our final farewell... but somehow, it just didn’t feel real to me.
Once that was over we returned to the highway, only for someone to push through the crowd and run over our way. Ai Fa immediately went to move in front of me, but it soon became clear that it was no criminal, but rather Yumi from The Westerly Wind.
“Sorry, Asuta! My stupid dad wouldn’t let me visit your stalls today!” she yelled out as she approached, only to stumble from the momentum and grab onto my chest.
“Huh? W-What’s this about your father?” I questioned, very much conscious of the chilly stare of Ai Fa’s narrowed eyes.
“I’m telling you! There was some sort of commotion about criminals from the forest’s edge, right? Thanks to that, my dad wouldn’t let me leave the house! I finally managed to slip out when he left, but you’re done with business for the day, right...?”
“Y-Yes. We hit our closing time.”
“Right. But I... Gyah! What’s with you all?!” Yumi questioned, finally noticing Ludo Ruu and the others and gripping my chest even tighter.
We hadn’t met up with the rest of the group yet so there were only four hunters standing there, but apparently that was plenty enough to frighten Yumi and put her on edge. She was normally so tough, but now her hands gripping my T-shirt were trembling ever so slightly.
“I-It’s alright. They’re all with me. Um... this is one of the regulars at the stalls. She’s the daughter of the owners of an inn called The Westerly Wind.”
Ludo and Shin Ruu wore puzzled stares, while Rau Lea had a sour look on his face. As for Ai Fa... She was expressionless, except for the incredibly frigid glare coming from her half-closed eyes.
The frightened Yumi timidly glanced over the group.
“T-They’re all your comrades, Asuta? Sorry, I was just a bit surprised. This is my first time seeing so many men of the forest’s edge at once...”
“Well, it’s true that men of the forest’s edge don’t come to town very often... So, what were you trying to say?”
“Hmm? Ah, right! I wanted to apologize for not making it to the stalls today! I’m really glad I caught you, Asuta.” With that Yumi finally moved back, though she was still grabbing the fabric of my T-shirt as she stared up at me, a bit of a serious look in her eyes.
“Apologize...? But that’s nothing to apologize over, is it?”
“Still, I’d hate it if you misunderstood! I’m not looking at you all differently because of something some other people of the forest’s edge did wrong! And hey... You’ll open your stalls tomorrow too, right? You won’t go disappearing on me, will you?”
“Y-Yeah. At least, that’s the plan...”
“I see. Thank goodness... Still, there are a lot of hardheads like my dad out there. But there are also folks like me who totally get it! So don’t go hating the post town over this, alright?”
“As long as there are people here to say stuff like that, I’ll be just fine.”
Hearing that, Yumi broke out in a big grin.
The glare from Ai Fa was painful, but even so, I felt a soothing sensation deep down in my heart.
With that, the 14th day of the blue month came to a peaceful close despite the turbulent premonition hanging in the air... And that day arrived at last. The 15th day of the blue month, when a group of over 20 merchants would pass through the settlement at the forest’s edge on their way to the Eastern Kingdom of Sym.
On that day, I would finally meet that man face to face. The root of all the Suun clan’s evils and the cause of their corruption... The former clan head, Zattsu Suun.