Chapter 1: Gilulu the Totos

1

Those two women visited the Fa house on the 20th day of the blue month, four days after Tei Suun’s death brought that whole chain of incidents to a close.

“Are Asuta or Ai Fa in? It’s us, Ama Min Rutim and Rimee Ruu.”

I had just returned from work in the post town, and had been going to get my vegetable knife to prepare for tomorrow. Today Li Sudra headed straight home and the women from around the neighborhood hadn’t showed up for cooking lessons, so I was all alone in the house.

“Ah, yes, hold on just a moment.”

I placed my knife and the aria back atop the cutting board, then stood to my feet in a hurry.

Ama Min Rutim and Rimee Ruu made for a bit of an unusual pairing, but I couldn’t see any reason to feel concerned in the least. And so I nonchalantly opened the door... and shouted, “Gyah!” before falling back on my butt.

“Are you okay, Asuta?” Ama Min Rutim asked, sounding concerned.

“Ahaha! So lame!” Rimee Ruu laughed away.

Between the two of them stood a massive figure: A giant totos bird, of the sort I was used to seeing around the post town.

“W-W-W-What’s going on? What is a totos doing here at the forest’s edge?”

“Yes, well, it would take a while to explain everything, but the Sauti men captured it out in the forest,” Ama Min Rutim replied with an apologetic bow down at me. “We should have mentioned it right away. I didn’t expect you to be so surprised, though... My deepest apologies.”

“N-No, I’m sorry for being such a wimp there.”

That’s what I said, but I’d imagine anyone would be thrown for a loop to suddenly find something like that waiting outside their doorway.

Totos were massive birds that stood at around three meters tall, making them a few sizes bigger than even an ostrich. They were shaped just like ostriches, too, but their whole bodies were covered in dark brown plumage. And they had elliptical bodies, long necks like Nessie, two beefy legs, and talons that dug firmly into the earth.

This beast was significantly larger than an ostrich, making it a seriously imposing presence. It had to have weighed over 200 kilos, at least.

I was used to seeing totos around the post town on a daily basis, but it was still stunning to see one up close like this. If it kicked a person with one of those burly legs, it could easily take them down with a single blow.

And yet, Ama Min Rutim was just standing there perfectly calm next to the huge bird. There was a leather bridle around the totos’s beak and neck, and the woman’s graceful fingers held onto the end of it.

“Isn’t this amazing?! It’s a totos! A totos! This is my first time getting to touch one!” Rimee Ruu excitedly stated as she hugged the bird tightly around its right thigh. Then, she rubbed her cheek up against its dark brown plumage, only for me to yell in a panic, “Ah, that’s dangerous, Rimee Ruu!”

“It’s alright. Apparently totos are rather docile animals, so they won’t run wild as long as you don’t try to do them harm,” Ama Min Rutim chimed in with her usual relaxed smile.

It had been around ten days now since I had last seen her, but she remained just as gentle, trim, and pretty as always. She wore her dark brown hair in a bold short style that was rare to see at the forest’s edge, and her slender body was clad in a single-piece outfit, proof that she was wed. She was the young wife of my precious friend Gazraan Rutim, after all.

Then there was Rimee Ruu, who was every bit as full of energy as always. She wore an utterly carefree smile on her face, and her reddish hair looked even fluffier than the totos’s feathers. And she wore a single shoulder dress made for children, which covered her tiny little body that looked like it had less total mass than a single one of the large bird’s legs.

“So, what’s going on here, anyway...? I mean, you two came here to the Fa house along with a totos discovered by the Sauti clan. I don’t have much of an imagination, so I really can’t even begin to guess at what brought things to this point.”

“Yes, well, we’re assuming that this totos is a survivor of the ones those townsfolk let loose in the forest’s edge five days ago. The Sauti men captured it while hunting, but they had no idea what to do with it, so they brought it to the Rutim settlement.”

I see. That fake merchant caravan of Kamyua Yoshu’s had brought along around ten totos, but they only brought two back out with them. That would explain why this totos found wandering about the forest had come with a bridle already attached.

However, there was still more that I didn’t understand. To start with, just why did the Sauti go to the Rutim for help?

“The Rutim already had an agreement to teach the Sauti how to bloodlet and dissect giba. That had been put off due to all the commotion after the clan head meeting, but Dari Sauti had already personally come to visit our settlement today.”

“Ah, so he’s already recovered, then?”

“Yes. He needed to talk to Donda Ruu about the upcoming discussion with the nobles of Genos, and so he asked if he could stay at the Rutim settlement for the time being to fulfill that promise as well.”

The Sauti clan had been carefully maintaining a neutral stance when it came to the matter of doing business in the post town, but they seemed quite interested in the idea of delicious food. And so, they must have requested to start by learning bloodletting and dissection as soon as possible. I wasn’t quite sure if they had chosen the Rutim instead of the Ruu because they didn’t want to impose on another of the leading clans, or because Dari Sauti and Gazraan Rutim had hit it off, though.

At any rate, both of those clans lived far away from the Sauti settlement. Since they were at the southernmost extreme of the forest’s edge, it would take them around two hours walking. That was why Gazraan Rutim had made the suggestion for clans that were so far apart to trade their men temporarily. Then there wouldn’t be any change in the number of hunters on hand for each clan, and they could efficiently learn bloodletting and dissection techniques.

“And it was decided it would be best to hear Donda Ruu’s opinion on what to do with this totos, too, so I headed to the Ruu settlement in place of the men, who still had hunting work to take care of, but—”

“Papa Donda got all mad and said ‘What do I care?’ Isn’t that just awful? It’s not like Ama Min Rutim did anything wrong.”

Donda Ruu must have been on edge around now, too. After all, he would be meeting with influential folks from the Genos castle in just a few days.

Originally, the discussion was set to be held on the 23rd day of the blue month. However, yesterday that was revised to the 30th. And it wouldn’t be just the three leading clan heads and Cyclaeus any more, as the ducal guard captain Melfried and the bodyguard Kamyua Yoshu would also be joining in. I had made that proposal to that aloof acquaintance of mine, and sure enough he ended up seeing it through.

Cyclaeus had overlooked the misdeeds of the Suun clan, and was suspected to have lent a hand to their wrongdoings. Kamyua Yoshu had told us that in order to prove that, Melfried had deceived the people of the forest’s edge and set a trap for Zattsu Suun.

However, if that was true, then there was no reason for hostility between the people of the forest’s edge and Melfried. It would make far more sense for them to join together from here on out in order to deal with the treacherous Cyclaeus. Or at least, that was what I had proposed to Melfried’s accomplice, Kamyua Yoshu.

In turn, that led to Kamyua Yoshu talking to the three leading clan heads. Of course, I had already conveyed what he had told me the other day to them. And so, they were aware that it wasn’t the lord of Genos who was their enemy, but his proxy, Cyclaeus.

With that, the leading clan heads’ anger towards Melfried and Kamyua Yoshu for deceiving them subsided, at least for the time being. However, the situation wasn’t going to improve until Cyclaeus was taken down. After all, he still hadn’t retracted his statement that all members of the Suun clan should be handed over to the castle.

The criminals Zattsu and Tei Suun had already passed away. So why was Cyclaeus so insistent about getting ahold of the members of the Suun in spite of that? I honestly didn’t know, but there was no way we could ever go along with it. The former clan head Zuuro Suun was awaiting judgment at the forest’s edge, and Diga and Doddo were being treated more or less like prisoners after their escape, but the rest of the former members of the clan were all striving their hardest to live proper lives, day after day.

First off is seeing if Melfried’s side’s excuses are valid, and if they are, we’ll have to give our all to expose Cyclaeus’s old crimes. As long as that doesn’t happen, though, Genos and the forest’s edge will never truly see eye to eye.

In other words, Donda Ruu and the others were facing the upcoming meeting with Cyclaeus, with the weight of the forest’s edge’s future on their shoulders. And so, it was no surprise that any of them might be feeling on edge. After all, they didn’t exactly have the time to figure out what to do with a lost totos right now, anyway.

Thanks to all that, I was able to understand how things had played out, at least 80% of the way. There was just one question I had left.

“So... Why did you bring this totos here to the Fa house?” I tried asking Rimee Ruu.

However, the girl just replied, “Dunno,” with a shake of her head.

“‘Dunno’...? Then what are you doing here, Rimee Ruu?”

“I didn’t have any work, so I just followed along with Ama Min Rutim. It’s been a while since I’ve seen Ai Fa, after all! Hey, why did Papa Donda say to bring the totos here?” Rimee Ruu asked, her bright blue eyes now staring at Ama Min Rutim.

“Um...” the young woman hesitated, which was rare for her. “You see... He said that the Fa clan chef would probably be overjoyed to pluck its feathers and prepare its meat... That was what I was told.”

“Huh? He said to eat this totos?” I questioned, staring up at the massive bird in question.

From far up above, the totos was tilting its head and shooting me back a blank look.

Its face was pretty small compared to its huge body, but it was still about the same size as a human’s. Its curved beak was slanted down a bit and looked massive and intimidating, but the bird had a surprisingly goofy face overall. Its big black eyes had long eyelashes that gave it a sort of sleepy look like a camel or a giraffe.

“I mean, I’ve prepared small birds before, but it’d probably be difficult to handle one this big... It’s even larger than a giba, isn’t it?” I mumbled, then looked down to find Rimee Ruu clinging to the totos’s leg again.

Those big blue eyes that had just been staring at Ama Min Rutim were now looking my way and full of tears.

“You’re going to eat this totos...?”

“Huh?”

“Asuta, you’re going to eat it?”

She was clearly right on the verge of breaking down sobbing.

At a loss for words, I turned around to face Ama Min Rutim, but she also looked troubled as she asked, “What should we do...?”

I mean, this was precisely the time for some dietary education. And yet, I just wasn’t strong enough to say something like, “It makes no sense to eat giba but feel bad for a totos!”

“Umm, if this totos originally belonged to people from the castle, it’d probably be bad to just go and eat it. I can get in contact with Kamyua Yoshu once I’m in town, so how about handing it over to him?”

“I see. That certainly sounds like the proper course of action,” Ama Min Rutim said with a sigh of relief.

However, Rimee Ruu still looked like she was about to break down in tears.

“You’re giving the totos back to town...?”

“Huh? I mean, we can’t exactly keep it here at the forest’s edge, right? Considering how big it is, the cost of food alone would end up being enormous.”

“Yes, and we can’t exactly go letting it live here without permission from the leading clan heads.”

With those words from me and Ama Min Rutim, the dam finally burst and Rimee Ruu’s tears came gushing forth.

All that was left to do at that point was for me and the young wife to share a glance and each give a deep sigh.

◇

It was now the following day, the 21st of the blue month.

“Oh? A totos at the forest’s edge? That’s certainly an interesting story!” Kamyua Yoshu had come to visit the stalls before the sun hit its peak, and so I had launched right into discussing the matter from yesterday with him. “Well, it’s not like they would starve out in the forest, and they can run faster than a giba on level ground, so I guess it’s not so strange for a totos or two from back then to have survived... So, what sort of dishes are you planning on making with it?”

“Ah, no, that thing’s way too big for me to handle. Besides, the people of the forest’s edge don’t seem to have any interest in totos meat, anyway. But the plan is to have someone bring it to town tomorrow morning, so could you take it?”

“Hmm... I’d love to help you all out if you’re finding yourselves in a bind. But there are no totos at the forest’s edge, huh...? Doesn’t it seem too boring to just give it back to town?” Kamyua Yoshu said with a big grin. This man was always smiling, but when it intensified like this, it seriously put me on edge.

“It’s not like we particularly need to make things interesting. And it’d be a huge problem if the totos started chowing down on the fruits of the forest, so I figured it was best to return it as soon as possible.”

“Totos only eat the leaves from high up on trees. Apparently they’ll eat pretty much any leaves as long as they’re soft enough, and they never eat fruit or bugs or the like. So they should be able to coexist alongside the giba just fine, right?”

“But there’s no point to them coexisting, is there?”

“Let me put that another way... Totos and the people of the forest’s edge should be able to live alongside one another just fine.”

I had no idea what he was getting at. And so I looked back at his skinny face with some serious distrust, but he just grinned even deeper.

“I mean, totos are seriously convenient, you know. Their meat and eggs are pretty tasty too, but it’s no exaggeration to say that mankind’s prosperity came from the fact that we have totos around. They’re strong and fast, and they’re so obedient by nature that they rarely ever go wild. They can pull along luggage, and you can ride on them, too. And if you just tie them to a tree they’ll take care of feeding themselves, plus they even live about as long as humans. They’ve been our trusty partners since ancient times.”

“I mean, all that may well be true, but...”

“Then let me ask you a question. How long does it take you to head from the Sauti settlement at the south of the forest’s edge to the Zaza settlement in the north by foot, Asuta?”

The topic took yet another abrupt swerve.

While feeling quite cautious, I replied, “If you head out at the break of dawn, you’ll arrive there around when the sun hits its peak from what I hear.”

In other words, it took around six hours to come from the southern limit of the forest’s edge to the north.

“I see. But if you could ride a totos, then you could cut that down to a third or even a fourth of the time needed. And it’d be possible to go even faster with practice, too.”

“Huh...”

“I believe that having three leading clan heads was an excellent idea. The idea of choosing powerful clans to the north and south to keep an eye on the whole of the forest’s edge was also wonderful. However... it has to be a big hassle for the Sauti and Zaza clan heads having to spend half a day traveling just one way, right? And there’d be a lot of waiting around for everyone to arrive in a time of emergency, too.”

That was certainly true. That was exactly why Dari Sauti ended up staying with the nearby Rutim clan when he wanted to contact Donda Ruu.

It took about two hours to travel from the Ruu settlement to the Sauti one. And it was around four hours to head from the Ruu settlement to the Zaza. Even treating the Ruu as the center of the forest’s edge, it still took that long to get there from the north and south.

“This is just my own personal theory, but I believe that how fast information can be conveyed is what determines how advanced a society becomes. And so it was by befriending totos that we were able to build things up this far. Without them, it would be hard to even travel from one of the four great kingdoms to another. So if the people of the forest’s edge are seeking greater strength and prosperity, it just doesn’t make sense to avoid using this totos’s abilities.”

“But it’s not so easy to ride on one of those big birds, is it? And honestly, I find it pretty hard to imagine totos running about the forest’s edge...”

“It’s true that it takes some time and a good bit of physical ability to ride a totos. But I figure the people of the forest’s edge shouldn’t have any trouble at all. With just a few days of instruction, they’ll probably be able to move those birds about like their own limbs,” Kamyua Yoshu stated, the grin still fixed to his face. “And let me just add, there’s no proof that totos is one of the ones we brought along with us, Asuta.”

“Huh?”

“We were operating under the assumption that all the totos from back then would get wiped out by giba, so we didn’t bother to brand them. And you can’t claim ownership over a totos without a brand. Even if they have a bridle on them, they’re treated the same as wild totos. You’ve got no obligation to return it to us, so won’t you seriously reconsider keeping it?”

“Ah, no, but...”

“You just have to leave it outside during the day, and then only bring it in at night. You don’t generally need to look after it at all, so it shouldn’t be a hindrance, right? And if it does become one, then you can go ahead and cook it up. Well, townsfolk generally won’t eat them unless they can’t work anymore due to injury or age, though. That’s just how important of a source of labor they are. But if you think I’m tricking you, then why not try living with it for a bit?”

“I mean, you were the guy who kept on deceiving us for weeks...”

“And I’ve apologized for that again and again, haven’t I?!” Kamyua Yoshu replied, holding both arms out in a pose of lamentation, gripping his half-eaten giba burger all the while. It was like he was an actor, and one who was seriously chewing up the scenery at that.

“Alright, I’ll try to take a positive attitude in thinking it over. But if Ai Fa or the leading clan heads oppose it, I’ve got no intention of going against them. So please don’t go setting your expectations too high.”

“Oh, I see. But surely nobody will turn the idea down after learning how convenient totos are, right? After all, it’ll lend even further strength to the forest’s edge!”

I shot another glare right back at that aloof grin.

“Um, I would find it pretty hard to believe, but you didn’t leave the totos out in the forest with this in mind, right?”

“Huh? You’re seriously overestimating me, there! There’s no way I could have imagined the totos surviving in a harsh environment filled with giba like the forest of Morga!”

As he said that, Kamyua Yoshu’s seriously untrustworthy face broke out in a grin like a Cheshire cat.

2

“Welcome home, clan head.”

After safely finishing up work at the post town and returning to the Fa house, I quickly set about my preparations, at which point Ai Fa showed up carrying a 60 kilo-class giba.

Just yesterday, she had finally resumed her hunting work. It had been around 20 days now since she had dislocated her left elbow. Ai Fa of course had the same sour look on her face as always, but a light had clearly returned to her eyes that I hadn’t seen in some time.

My clan head just answered my greeting with a, “Right,” and a nod of her head, then her eyes narrowed and looked full of doubt.

I was standing in front of the stove behind the house, frying up aria to use in the stalls, and women from nearby houses were observing as I worked. That shouldn’t have been so unusual of a sight, but Ai Fa’s sharp eyes immediately noticed the two unusual intruders in the mix. In other words, Rimee Ruu and young Leito.

“Whoa, that’s amazing! You took that down all on your own, Ai Fa? That’s crazy! I mean, you only just healed from your injury!” Rimee Ruu said with a bright smile, and Ai Fa didn’t seem too concerned by her presence. After all, if it weren’t for her work around the house, the young girl would come here to play each and every day.

However, the real issue was the boy standing beside her and wearing a calm, gentle grin. It wasn’t exactly forbidden for westerners to step foot in the settlement at the forest’s edge, but it was still seen as quite an unusual occurrence.

“You’re that child who calls himself Kamyua Yoshu’s apprentice, aren’t you? What are you doing in a place like this?”

“Yes, that’s correct. I came here to offer instruction on how to ride a totos.”

Ai Fa held her tongue, hung the massive giba from a tree branch a bit removed from the stove, then shot me a dangerous glare.

“Explain just what’s going on here, Asuta.”

“Yes, I’ll do so now.” After moving the mass of sautéed aria to a wooden plate, I reported on the whole of the exchange I had with Kamyua Yoshu. “So, could I hear your opinion on the matter, clan head?”

“Why exactly did you go and invite a westerner to the forest’s edge before consulting with me?”

“Ah, I wanted to get your permission to start with, but...”

“My apologies. Kamyua pushed me onto Asuta. He’s rather busy at the moment, so he sent me to teach you how to ride totos in his place.”

The man who killed his father, Zattsu Suun, was now dead, but I couldn’t spy any changes in Leito. Or at least, nothing that showed on the surface.

He had flaxen hair and light brown eyes, and looked to be around ten years old. After staring at his cheerful face for a moment, Ai Fa’s glare pointed back my way.

“That aloof man seems to have even reconciled with the leading clan heads, at least for the time being. However, this is another matter entirely. Did Donda Ruu not say to use that totos for its meat?”

The bird in question was positioned even further away than the giba, and was nonchalantly pecking leaves off of tree branches.

“I figured if there was a more efficient way to use it than just treating it as meat, then we should propose that to the leading clan heads. And if Donda Ruu won’t bend even then, then I’ll simply follow what he says. But... Donda Ruu went and shoved this hassle onto our Fa clan without even asking, so there shouldn’t be any need to follow what he half-heartedly mumbled down to the letter.”

With that, Ai Fa went silent. Just last night, she herself had been frustrated with how crudely Donda Ruu had treated the matter. She even said, “Are we seriously supposed to eat such an unappetizing animal?”

It was then that Rimee Ruu stopped just silently watching our exchange, and instead walked over and tugged at Ai Fa’s clothing.

“Ai Fa, you’re gonna eat that totos...?”

And so, Ai Fa also fell.

I didn’t know if there was a saying like “A single tear is worth a hundred words,” but at any rate, my beloved clan head couldn’t possibly offer up any further objections once she was faced with that teary-eyed child.

“So what exactly is it that you intend to do...?” Ai Fa asked, shooting me a hellish glare once Rimee Ruu’s tears subsided.

“For the time being, I figured we could at least see how much trouble it takes to learn to ride a totos. After all, no matter how convenient they may be, the people of the forest’s edge aren’t fond of wasting time.”

“So who is going to ride it, exactly?”

“I’ll be going first,” I replied.

“No.”

“Me, then!” Rimee Ruu chimed in.

“No.”

Ai Fa’s razor sharp replies cut down even Rimee Ruu.

With a deep sigh, my beloved clan head started ruffling her blonde hair.

“Alright, I’ll ride it,” Ai Fa stated, looking even more displeased than before. However, young Leito just smiled on back at her.

“That totos seems to have an especially calm nature even for its species, so I don’t believe it’s very likely at all to try to shake you off. As long as you don’t act violently towards it, you shouldn’t be in any danger.”

And so, we halted our work for the time being to instead tackle test driving the totos.

With Leito holding the massive bird’s reins, we moved around to the front of the house. The six women hanging about also accompanied us, sharing cheerful looks as they gathered around. They included Li Sudra, Jas Din, Toor Din, and three other women whose names I hadn’t remembered yet from the Fou and Ran clans.

“Totos don’t squat down much aside from when they’re sleeping or laying an egg. You can upset them by trying to force them to do so, so normally you climb on while they’re standing,” Leito explained while walking all the way out to the path in front of the house. “You should ride them somewhere between the middle and rear of their back. Please take care so that if you need to suddenly stop and lose your balance, you won’t slide down past its neck. That could shock the totos and cause it to run wild. Um... is there anything around that can be used as a stool?”

“That won’t be necessary,” Ai Fa muttered, then placed her hands on the totos’s back and nimbly hopped atop.

The bird was around three meters tall in total, but half of that came from its neck, so its torso reached up to around 150 centimeters. That was about as high as she was tall, so I couldn’t help but marvel once again at her physical capabilities as a hunter of the forest’s edge.

“Whoa!” Rimee Ruu shouted in amazement, and the other women started murmuring a bit among themselves. And honestly, Ai Fa looked so cool sitting up straight atop the totos that I couldn’t help but feel jealous.

“Now could you squeeze the totos’s torso with both knees, but not enough to hurt it?”

Ai Fa’s slender legs moved ever so slightly, but the huge bird didn’t budge in the least.

“Alright, it’s stayed in place because I’ve been holding the reins up till now, but now it’s holding still because you’re squeezing its torso. I’m going to loosen up my hold now, so please maintain that same strength in your legs.”

With that, Leito did as he said and loosened his grip.

Sure enough, the totos and Ai Fa didn’t move even slightly.

“Okay, now can you take these reins and pull them tight, making sure you’re holding evenly on both sides?”

As Ai Fa sat horseback... er, birdback, Leito handed her the reins.

My clan head silently followed the boy’s directions, then Leito checked her grip from both sides.

“That looks good. Don’t overly tense your arms, and let your elbows relax just a bit... Well, those would be the normal notes I’d give, but even that seems unnecessary. Um, I realize it’s a little late to ask this, but is this your first time riding a totos?”

“Of course. The people of the forest’s edge don’t ride such beasts.”

“Your posture is absolutely perfect. Keep on sitting up straight, even when the totos starts moving. Ah... and that current position is the sign for it to stop. We’ll have it walk shortly, but if you want it to stop, then pull the reins back towards you and squeeze its torso. It’s dangerous to stop suddenly though, so please do it gently so as not to startle the totos.”

“Right.”

“Well then, let’s try walking. Start by loosening up on the reins and your legs. Then pull the reins downwards, and it should walk.”

“Whoa!” Rimee Ruu exclaimed again.

Sure enough, the totos started trotting along at a relaxed pace. However, thanks to its long legs, that was certainly quicker than when a human being walked. We all quickly jogged after, but after going about five meters, the totos suddenly halted.

“Hmm, it really did stop.”

“Yes. How about next, we try directing it? If you leave it be, the totos will simply follow the path, but if you want it to move to either side instead, then pull the reins that way to move its head in the direction you wish. You don’t need to use too much strength, so to start off take care to be gentle so as not to frighten the totos.”

Once again, the massive bird started moving.

I didn’t have much of a view of Ai Fa’s arm movements from down on the ground, but after going around three meters, the totos started zigzagging at roughly 50 degree angles down the path.

“Ooh, totos sure do listen to directions obediently, don’t they?” I admired.

Leito chimed in, “That’s true. Things are almost going too smoothly,” with a rather strained smile. “If you manipulate the reins skillfully enough, you can also make it face the opposite direction. Do you want to give it a try?”

Almost as soon as Leito said that, the totos made a big U-turn. After that it zigzagged on back to the starting line in front of the house, at which point it came to a precise stop. The movements were so precise and lacking in hesitation that it looked almost machine-like.

“That’s so amazing! I wanna ride it too!”

“Still... This isn’t all that different from just walking on your own. What’s fun enough about this to make it worth all of this training? In fact, I can’t recall ever seeing any townsfolk riding totos, now that I think about it.”

“It’s dangerous when a totos suddenly breaks out running, so it’s forbidden to ride them in town. However, everyone uses them when traveling between towns. And so... how about letting it run just a bit?”

Apparently, you just gave it a little kick with your heel to get the huge bird running.

“Rather than suddenly breaking out in a sprint, please get it walking first and then give it a slight kick. Then you can steadily increase the speed by putting more strength behind it, bit by bit.”

“Hmph,” Ai Fa uninterestedly snorted, then started the totos walking again.

Rather than following after again, this time we first moved over to the side of the road. After all, the trail in the forest’s edge was only about half the width of the stone highway, or about five meters wide.

As the backs of Ai Fa and the totos steadily moved away, their speed also increased bit by bit. Eventually they were going so fast that I couldn’t help but feel a little worried, and then they turned around a curve in the path and disappeared from view.

However, less than ten seconds later they reappeared from behind the trees, coming back our way seriously fast. They had to be going around 50 kilometers per hour, at least. That put them at around the same speed as a scooter flooring it down the street.

As the totos’s powerful legs kicked up dirt, Ai Fa was riding atop it in a pose that made me think of a jockey riding a racehorse, her cloak fluttering in the wind as she flew right past us. Then she slowed down bit by bit, smoothly turned around, and trotted back on over our way.

“Th-That was totally amazing! Ai Fa, you’re so cool!” Rimee Ruu shouted once more.

And that wasn’t all, as some other shrill shrieks of admiration also sounded out. Turning around in surprise, I found the four youngest of the six women cheering, their eyes sparkling just as brightly as Rimee Ruu’s.

By the way, the Sudra clan head’s wife Li Sudra was also a part of that younger group. She was normally so restrained and graceful, so her clinging together with the other women and looking like a lovestruck maiden made for something of a sight.

The remaining two women, Jas Din and a middle-aged lady from the Fou clan, also let out an impressed, “Ooh...”

“That was splendid. Everything was so perfect that I don’t even have any further advice to offer,” Leito chimed in with a clearly awkward chuckle. “There’s a saying that ‘You fall ten times before you learn to ride a totos,’ but you managed it without falling even once. Honestly, it’s rare to see someone so skilled at handling a totos even in town. To think that the hunters of the forest’s edge would prove so skilled...”

“Being able to do a trick like this is nothing worth bragging about,” Ai Fa stated while wearing the same sour expression as always, then she nimbly descended from the totos.

Leito yelled out, “Ah!” but since she retained a firm grip on the reins, the totos didn’t move. The boy gave another strained smile, then shrugged his shoulders, looking a good bit more mature than his age would imply. “So, what did you think? Can’t you see now how you could use this totos to shorten the time it takes to travel from one end of the forest’s edge to the other? And it seems clear that the hunters of the forest’s edge can learn to ride them without much trouble at all. I hope you can now understand Kamyua’s words, that there’s a more effective way to use it rather than just eating it.”

“Hmm...” Ai Fa muttered, still wearing a bit of a gloomy expression.

As I watched her out of the corner of my eye, I chimed in, “Can I try riding it too?”

Instantly, I got three responses of, “Don’t,” “You shouldn’t,” and, “It would be best if you didn’t.”

“It would be a problem if you got injured like that, wouldn’t it?”

“Yeah, it’d be dangerous if you fell, right?”

“If you’re still interested even so, then I believe it would be wise to practice bit by bit each day.”

Their words slammed down upon me in a torrent.

“I see. I get full well what everyone thinks of my physical capabilities. Still, you really can’t see things going any way but me falling off the totos?” Now, I got nothing but silence back. And boy did that ever sting, considering the circumstances. “Alright, I get it... Then please let me practice bit by bit every day, like you said.”

“Why are you so fixated? There’s not any point to you being able to ride a totos, is there?”

“Ah, no, but I mean, you looked like you were enjoying yourself so much while riding it, so I couldn’t help but be interested.”

Ai Fa didn’t respond.

“It was fun, wasn’t it?”

Again, silence.

“Huh? Did it not feel good, then?”

“So annoying!” she yelled out, kicking me in the leg again for the first time in a while. “To start with, we still haven’t even gotten permission from the leading clan heads! We can’t go acting on our own without that!”

“Oww... What are you so angry about...? Anyway, if the leading clan heads still aren’t interested in totos, I think we should take this guy in at the Fa house. If they just told us to eat it to start with, they shouldn’t have any issue with us using it how we please, right?”

“What? What do you intend to do by adopting such a creature?”

“I mean, it’s obvious how convenient this guy is, even without needing Kamyua to tell me. Like if we buy a wagon to hitch to it, it’d be a lot easier to transport food and cooking tools, right? Even I should be able to get it to walk along and pull stuff, wouldn’t you say?”

With that, Ai Fa finally seemed to start thinking it over.

“I see... So you could use it like that, too.”

“Yeah. However, there’s that rope bridge on our usual path, so we’d have to take the long way around. Still, they should have wagons that can carry not just goods but also people in town, right, Leito?”

“Yes. It’s more common to have large wagons that are pulled by two totos, but you should be able to find smaller ones if you look, too. And you wouldn’t have to worry about being thrown off then, either.”

Ai Fa started seriously considering the matter.

It was then that I suddenly heard a loud, “Huh?!” from Rimee Ruu. She sounded oddly excited, so I turned around while feeling just a bit concerned, only to spy an utterly dumbfounding sight. There were two women of the forest’s edge walking our way from the south, and they were leading three totos along with them.

The ones holding the reins were Ama Min and Morun Rutim. Ama Min Rutim was in charge of two of the massive birds, and as she slowly approached with the pair of them behind her, she bowed her head and looked truly apologetic from the bottom of her heart.

“I’m so sorry. The Sauti men found even more totos out in the forest...”

Rimee Ruu of course yelled out, “Yay!” while I gave a deep sigh, and Ai Fa angrily furrowed her brows.

The totos, meanwhile, paid no attention to how we humans were feeling, and just nonchalantly started chewing away at nearby leaves.

3

Ultimately, the forest’s edge ended up taking in all four totos.

It really wasn’t such a big deal. Ai Fa just got furious at having four totos pushed onto her and headed to the Ruu settlement, personally demonstrated how useful the big birds were, and then earned Dari Sauti’s enthusiastic approval.

“This would certainly make it easier to come and go all the way to the north! And it would make it simple to go shopping in the post town no matter where you live!”

From what I heard, apparently folks living to the north and south of the forest’s edge didn’t go into the post town unless they were holding a big banquet. When I asked why that was, I got the simple answer back that it was too far.

The settlement at the forest’s edge was long, stretching from the south to the north. For clans near the center like the Ruu and Fa, it took about an hour to reach the post town. But for the Zaza at the far north and the Sauti way in the south, the trip apparently took around four hours.

And so normally, they tended to buy their aria and poitan directly from closer farm villages, and when they needed rock salt or fruit wine, they would pay those folks to go make the purchase for them.

The ability to head from one end of the forest’s edge to the other in just 90 minutes had to hold some serious appeal, too. Up till now, clan heads who lived far apart only got to see each other once a year, at the clan head meeting. And even without needing Kamyua to tell me, I could easily tell just how important it was for the leading clan heads to be able to meet frequently in order to decide the future of the forest’s edge.

“I’m embarrassed at our lack of insight, to not have noticed the usefulness of the totos even though we found them. They are something we absolutely need. And I’m sure the Zaza clan head must agree with that statement, too.”

I only heard it secondhand through Ai Fa, but apparently Dari Sauti had been seriously impressed with the totos. My clan head even added that though he acted calm and composed, his eyes had been sparkling just as much as Rimee Ruu’s.

“However, it definitely frustrates me to owe that Kamyua Yoshu man a debt... Please tell him that I would like to offer appropriate payment for the totos,” I was told, entrusting me with that message. Of course, Kamyua Yoshu politely refused when I conveyed it to him, though.

“The forest’s edge and Genos will be having a discussion soon, right? If that ends peacefully, I’d like for you to discard any notions of debt and the like and just accept the totos. However, if things go poorly, then you can either thrust payment at us or return the totos then.”

It was a rather crude proposal, but it apparently had earned the approval of the people of the forest’s edge.

And so, Dari Sauti ended up personally riding a totos to the north to deliver the news and get Gulaf Zaza’s approval, after which it was officially decided that the people of the forest’s edge would take in the four birds.

All of that only ended up taking a mere four days in total. It was decided with an unbelievable amount of speed for the insular people of the forest’s edge. Even Donda Ruu ended up saying he had no objections if the other two leading clan heads were in agreement. I didn’t know if Rimee Ruu’s tears had a secret role in that or not, though.

As for where the totos ended up, they were being taken in by the three leading clans and the Fa. We would have been capable of purchasing our own totos, so we said that all of them should go to the leading clans instead. But since we were the ones to show them how convenient totos were, it was decided that we should keep the very first of the birds that was found.

“Tomorrow, I’ll look into where we can get a hold of a cart,” I reported to Ai Fa.

It was now nighttime on the 23rd day of the blue month, the day where Kamyua made that proposal and the totos were officially recognized as belonging to the forest’s edge.

This was after we had finished dinner without incident. I was busy preparing for tomorrow, while Ai Fa was seated a bit away, right next to the front door.

And beside Ai Fa was the totos, its huge legs folded and its long neck loosely stretched out. Carnivorous beasts like mundt and giiz prowled around at night, so it was important to bring it inside the house.

As Ai Fa looked down upon the sleeping bird’s face, she whispered, “I see...”

“I mean, we didn’t have anything to spend coins on anyway, so it works out pretty much perfectly. And it’ll be a small price to pay to be freed of all that daily labor.”

It was now the 26th day since I had started working in the post town. By this point, the Fa clan’s fortune exceeded 3000 red coins. That’d be just three silver coins, though. Still, at any rate, it was an utterly unthinkable amount for the people of the forest’s edge.

“Do as you please... Just make sure not to push yourself until you’ve had enough training, alright?”

“Yeah. The path to the post town is pretty narrow and has a lot of slopes. So I’ll stick to practicing on flat trails for the time being.”

“Right,” Ai Fa bluntly responded.

“Umm... You’re not mad or anything, are you?” I asked, feeling a bit concerned.

“Why should I be mad?” Ai Fa questioned with a tilt of her head. “As long as the leading clan heads have no objections, then everything is fine. Since the beginning, I’ve just been concerned about our relationship with Genos taking a turn for the worse.”

So Ai Fa really had enjoyed riding on the totos, huh? Well, she had looked so satisfied when she made it run, and now she was gently watching over it as it slept.

Plus, I sort of got the feeling that totos and the people of the forest’s edge had a strong affinity to begin with. Otherwise I couldn’t imagine them accepting something from another culture so quickly. And besides, it had just looked natural to see Ai Fa riding atop a totos, like something out of a portrait.

Even the people of the forest’s edge themselves didn’t seem all that clear on the matter, but perhaps before their ancestors came to live in the forest, they had ridden totos about the plains. Ai Fa and the totos just seemed to fit together so well that I couldn’t help but imagine such things. And so, I felt really satisfied too when I saw Ai Fa gently watch over the sleeping bird.

“So, what should we do about naming it?”

“Naming? A totos is just a totos.”

“But there are four totos at the forest’s edge now. If we don’t give it a name, calling out to it could get complicated.”

“So you’re saying we should give a beast a name like a human?” Ai Fa questioned, shooting me a shocked look.

As I taste-tested the tarapa sauce, I asked, “Is it really that surprising?” with a tilt of my head. “We’ll be living with it, so it’s pretty much a member of our house. Giving it a name helps you feel more attached, and understand one another deep down in your hearts, right?”

“Hearts...?” Ai Fa pondered, looking back down at the totos. “Do beasts really have such things? It’s true that it responds more earnestly than any human, though, just by me pulling on the reins or giving it a kick on the side.”

“Yeah. I guess they wouldn’t be called man’s best friend otherwise.”

“This totos may be easier for me to deal with than any human.”

“That’s a bit of a worrying statement.”

“In fact, it may make me want to try putting a bridle on you, too.”

“I’m a human being, so please just tell me what you want instead!”

“Totos certainly are mysterious creatures...”

After that string of concerning comments, Ai Fa sank unusually deep into thought.

I placed a lid atop the pot of completed sauce, put out the flame in the stove, washed my hands, and then walked over next to her.

“So, what should we do about the name? I don’t know what sort of names would be alright, so I’d really prefer it if you decided.”

After a bit of silent thinking, Ai Fa quietly whispered, “Gilua.”

“Gilua, huh? That’s a great name,” I replied, feeling just a bit taken aback. After all, the name of Ai Fa’s father who passed away two years ago was Gil Fa. “Are you naming it after your father, then...?”

“Yes. I thought in the past that if I had a child and it was a boy, that was the name that I would use,” she said, as I silently sat down right next to her. “However, I decided to live my life as a hunter. There’s no longer any chance of me being a mother and having a child. And so I thought why not give him the name in that case? What do you think?”

I closed my eyes, and started seriously pondering on a proper response. And though I felt rather flustered, one came to me surprisingly easily.

“In that case, why not go with a different name? Nothing’s ever really absolute, so there’s always a chance that someday you’ll want to have a child after all, right?”

I braced myself for a blow to come raining down on me.

However, Ai Fa just muttered, “I see...” with a calm expression on her face. “Then let’s go with Gilulu. Gilulu Fa doesn’t sound too elegant to me, but we wouldn’t be granting him a family name anyway, so it should be fine.”

I was at a loss for words.

“Do you not like that either?” Ai Fa questioned, slowly turning my way.

As I stared back into her incredibly clear blue eyes, I replied, “No... That sounds like a great name to me, too. It’s charming and seems to fit him just right.”

“Right...” Ai Fa muttered, then shot me a bright, gleaming smile.

And so, the Fa house gained a new member by the name of Gilulu.