Cooking with Wild Game, page 20
Then Gamley slowly lifted his head, showing us the shining gemstone in his left eye socket and a beaming smile.
8
Not long after, there unsurprisingly ended up being quite a crowd outside the tent.
The nearly twenty bandits who had been apprehended were tied up with straw rope and taken away by the guards. Both the performers and the guests inside the tent were being questioned about the details of what had occurred, and there were a number of passersby stopping to watch the proceedings.
Just as Dan Rutim had noted, the bandits had split into groups in order to attack from multiple entry points. However, the troupe members and the beasts had managed to capture them, and shockingly, not even a single guest had been harmed.
The biggest roles had been played by the big guy, Doga; the armored man, Rolo; the black ape; Huey; and Sara. The folks who had been there and saw them fight talked enthusiastically of their exploits, much to the delight of the onlookers.
“A disruption like this on the very first day makes me seriously concerned about how things are going to go from here on out...” Marth muttered, sounding exhausted after having been assigned to question us. “Apparently, the Blue Beards have been amassing allies ever since they developed some kind of a grudge against these performers, and have been trailing after them for some time. They must have intentionally chosen the day of dawn for their revenge in a sad attempt to spread their infamy further. What an annoying bunch...”
“It was a really big commotion... Um, will the Gamley Troupe be allowed to keep doing business after this?” I asked.
“They aren’t at fault here. In fact, they acted to protect the citizens of Genos and the town while capturing the entirety of a wanted bandit group, so we should be giving them a reward, not tossing them out,” Marth said, sounding quite reluctant and heaving a deep sigh. “Still, to think that you of all people were there in the middle of it...”
“H-Hey, we’re purely victims here too.”
“I’m well aware of that. Regardless, please try to not get into so much trouble in the future.” We were released, but Marth’s group undoubtedly had all sorts of business left to wrap up. That was really unfortunate, considering we were in the middle of the festival. “All right, you’re all free to return to the forest’s edge. Depending on what the bandits have to say, we may have to question you all further.”
“Understood. Okay, we’re heading out now.”
With that, we left the tent, and Pino came running over from where she had been talking to another guard.
“Hold on, you guys! Zetta said you ended up having to defend yourselves with your own blades...” Sounding unusually polite, Pino gave a deep bow. “It was our ineptitude that caused you to suffer such terrible distress. None of you were hurt, though?”
“Right. As you can see, we’re all unharmed.”
“We are truly sorry. If something had happened to one of our guests, we would all feel hesitant about continuing to do business,” Pino said, and then her gaze shifted and fixed on Darmu Ruu. “From what I saw, you seem to be the leader of this group. The troupe leader is still busy with the guards, so allow me to apologize to you on his behalf.”
“You stole goods from those bandits and returned them to their rightful owners... That being the case, there’s nothing to feel ashamed about. And I can’t see any need to apologize when all the bandits who pointed blades at us have been captured.”
“You really mean it? You won’t be worried about visiting our tent in the future?”
“My father and older brother will be the ones to decide that, not me.”
“Then would it be possible to offer our apologies to them as well?”
Darmu Ruu silently jerked his chin and then started walking over to where Jiza Ruu’s group was waiting. Ludo Ruu had already slipped past the guards in order to let them know what had happened.
So Pino and Jiza Ruu are going to talk? That sounds like quite an incredible encounter, I thought to myself as I turned toward Ai Fa. As we walked along, she bowed her head to Giran Ririn.
“You have my deepest thanks for your assistance before. Were it not for that, things may have been somewhat more dangerous for me.”
“I’m sure that’s not the case. After all, you struck down that first arrow quicker than I could react. You really are quite a hunter, being able to move so well with that body,” Giran Ririn replied with the same smile as always. “More importantly, your chest bindings came loose, didn’t they? You should have a woman fix them as soon as possible. If you go inside a totos wagon, you should be able to avoid having anyone see.”
“Right,” Ai Fa replied, casting her gaze downward as Giran Ririn headed over to Darmu Ruu.
“Ai Fa, your bandages came loose? Then, did your broken rib...”
“It’s nothing. If I had needed to move much more, I might have injured myself once again, but Giran Ririn helped prevent that,” Ai Fa replied, her eyes coming back up to shoot me with a glare. “My injuries most certainly haven’t gotten worse, so I’ll still be coming to town with you again tomorrow.”
“Just as long as you’re not hurt. But there’s no need to get so ahead of yourself,” I said, letting slip a strained chuckle and earning a frown from Ai Fa. “That turned into a heck of an ordeal, though. I feel like I’m still seeing spots in my vision.”
“Indeed. Whether it was that beastly being or the man who manipulated flame, we all found each of them to be quite difficult to comprehend... I offer the forest my thanks that they are not our enemies.”
I agreed completely. Still, it felt as if even that whole fiasco was only one small part of the overall festival, as the street was still just as lively and brimming with excitement as always. Even after getting hit with that unforeseen misfortune, everyone from the forest’s edge still seemed to be perfectly calm as they strolled along. The only one who looked like she might cry was Tara, but Rimee Ruu was trying to console her with a smile.
Looking at the state of things, it would surely be no problem for us to keep our business running tomorrow. The sun god’s revival festival had only just kicked off, so we couldn’t let a little incident like this dishearten us.
“So there are ten days left until this banquet is over?” Ai Fa muttered as she walked. Her frown had vanished from her lips at some point as she looked out over the street, just as I had been doing.
“That’s right. The revival festival is just getting started. I’m sure it’ll be a lot to handle in all sorts of ways, but I’ll be counting on you.”
“That goes without saying. And besides...” Ai Fa said, breaking out into a rather childish grin under the dim lighting. “It seems these banquets in town are rather enjoyable. Bandits acting lawlessly aside, that is.”
“Yeah.” I nodded back with a smile of my own as we walked toward a rather angry-looking Jiza Ruu.
And so, though there was a rather significant misadventure on the way there, we were finally able to close the curtain on the first day of the sun god’s revival festival.
Intermezzo: The Deen Clan
Toor Deen was feeling rather nervous as she waited for the Deen men to get back from hunting giba. She was currently in the main Deen house’s kitchen, and evening was fast approaching. It was still too early to start preparing dinner, though, so the young chef was in the midst of giving cooking lessons to the women of the Deen clan.
“Was the show those traveling performers put on really as amazing as it sounds?” an older woman from one of the branch houses asked in the middle of the class.
As she wiped the fat off her meat carving knife, Toor Deen nodded to the woman. “Y-Yes. Actually, I’d have to say it was more scary than amazing... I mean, she stood up on top of that thin pole and played a flute. It was too frightening for me to watch.”
“What’s so scary about that? There’s nothing scary about standing on a thin pole, is there?”
“Well, the pole was incredibly tall. It was more than twice as high as the roof of a house here at the forest’s edge...”
“Wow. That is quite a performance, then!” the older woman said, her eyes opening wide.
One of the younger women who had just finished wiping down her workstation leaned in, her expression brimming with curiosity. “So they really do have shows like that in town? I’ve never had a chance to see them myself, since we’ve always tried to avoid town at this time of year.”
“That we have. The sun god’s revival festival, yes? I was always told that since there are a lot of outsiders around, going there would be nothing but trouble.”
“And now, you and the others handle all the shopping after you finish doing business, so there’s no need to head into the post town. I feel a little jealous of you, Toor Deen, when I hear about how you get to see stuff like that...”
“Huh? Ah, I-I’m sorry...” Toor Deen said with a flustered bow.
“What are you saying?” the older woman asked with a chuckle. “I can’t think of anything you would have to apologize for. After all, you’re heading into the post town for work, and we all know how busy you are every single day.”
“That’s right. You’re even using the little bit of free time you have today to help us out... Oh, uh, sorry for saying I was jealous of you. My bad.”
Both of the women were smiling softly, clearly showing how they were actually concerned for Toor Deen. The simple fact that they cared so much was deeply moving for the young chef.
It had been over five months at this point since Toor Deen had become a member of the Deen clan. In that time, her new clan members had come to treat her as a true equal, like they would any of their comrades.
I have to try even harder, to repay the kindness everyone has shown me...
As that thought was passing through Toor Deen’s mind, the younger woman poked her on the cheek.
“What’s with that brooding look on your face, Toor Deen? Only us members of the Deen clan are around, so don’t be so on edge.”
Toor Deen’s face went red as she shrank down even further.
It was just then that a commotion could be heard approaching from outside. The men had returned from the forest.
“My, they’re back rather early today. We don’t have anything urgent to take care of right now, so how about we go greet them?”
And so, Toor Deen’s group headed out front and found four men approaching. They were the men of the main Deen house: the clan head, his two sons, and Toor Deen’s father. The two sons were carrying a giba tied to a grigee pole together, and the elder son’s eyes widened when he spotted them. “Oh? You have quite a group here today. Was Toor giving you a lesson?”
“Yes. Toor made it back earlier than usual today, so we asked her to teach us before we set about working on dinner,” the elder son’s wife answered with a reserved smile. They were an innocent young couple who had only just gotten married recently.
“I see. Well, it wouldn’t be fair for us to be the only ones who get to enjoy delicious food. I feel bad for imposing on you so much, Toor, but it’s important for the women of the branch houses to learn all that you have to teach them, so we’re counting on you.”
“R-Right. I’m still quite inexperienced myself, but I’d like to give my all for everyone in the clan,” Toor Deen replied, causing the elder brother to break out in a grin.
“As earnest as always, Toor. That spirit of yours makes you highly reliable, but take care not to strain yourself too hard.”
With that, the brothers went off to go handle the giba.
Their father, the clan head, was currently talking with his wife. The other women had returned to the kitchen, so Toor Deen called out to her father, “Welcome home. I’m glad that you made it back safely again today.”
Her rather untalkative father just nodded back. “Yes.” Rather than trying to say anything further, he looked down upon his daughter with a gentle gaze. Then, his brow suddenly furrowed. “Is something the matter, Toor? Your eyes are all red, as if you’ve been crying.”
“Ah, no, that’s not it. You see, Asuta...” she started to say, only for the clan head who had been chatting with his wife to call out.
“Toor, you seem to have something to discuss with me. Is there some sort of issue with the work you do for the Fa clan?”
Instantly, Toor Deen shrunk back. The head of the main Deen house had an incredibly strict personality and an intense face that hardly ever showed a smile. This was someone Toor Deen had a tremendous amount of reverence for. While his eldest son was pretty big-hearted by nature, the young man seemed to have gotten that from his mother.
“R-Right. There was something I wanted to discuss, yes... I was planning to bring it up over dinner, though...”
“Is it anything complicated? If so, then that’s all the more reason to tell me now,” the clan head replied, wrinkles forming around his brows as he approached Toor Deen. He wasn’t trying to intimidate the young chef, but his face just packed such a punch that it tended to have that effect.
Not that long ago, he had scolded her once while wearing a face like that. She had mixed poitan together with sugar and egg to make a sweet dish, and he had been terribly harsh when he told her not to waste precious ingredients like that.
Thanks to Asuta, the matter had been resolved, but it had been a really big deal from her point of view. She and her father had previously been members of the Suun clan, so they needed to work harder than anyone to live proper lives as people of the forest’s edge. Since the Deen clan head was the one who had taken in the burdensome pair, they had to be even more certain not to do anything displeasing in front of him.
“So, what is it you wanted to discuss?” the Deen clan head asked, looking down at Toor Deen from up close.
Though the young chef felt like her heart was going to up and wither away, she calmed herself and worked up the courage to reply. “You see...on the twenty-first of the violet month, Asuta and some of the others are scheduled to travel to the Daleim lands. And, well...I was asked to accompany them.”
The Deen clan head scrunched up his face more and more doubtfully. “You have gone to the Daleim lands before, haven’t you? Are you saying that wasn’t sufficient?”
“That’s right. Before, we simply observed how the farms grew vegetables... This time, the plan is to eat dinner alongside the people there in order to deepen our bonds, and then spend the night in their home.”
“Spend the night in the same home? So you’re asking to sleep away from the forest’s edge yet again?” Just last month, Toor Deen had accompanied Asuta to Dabagg. The Deen clan head had looked rather reluctant about the whole thing back then too. “And you said the twenty-first of the violet month? If I recall correctly, aren’t you scheduled to work in the post town not only during the day but at night as well on the following day?”
“Yes. During the day, we’ll be serving whole roast giba, and at night we’ll run the stalls. The post town and Daleim lands aren’t that far apart, so that’s why Asuta chose the day before for the outing.”
The Deen clan head still wore an intense look on his rugged face as he held his tongue.
Toor Deen strove to calm her heart, which was pounding from anxiety, earnestly continuing, “It seems we’ll have an opportunity to taste the cooking of the Daleim lands on that day. Asuta thinks it will be useful both for understanding how the people there live, and also to improve my skills as a chef. It seems that a great many of those who live there still have an aversion to us people of the forest’s edge, so maybe we’ll be able to help correct that somewhat, and...”
At that, the Deen clan head raised his hand to cut the young girl off.
“You’ll be accompanied by hunters acting as guards, won’t you?”
“Huh? Ah, yes, of course. Not just Ai Fa, but also several hunters from under the Ruu... I believe it should be roughly the same number overall as when we went to Dabagg.”
“Hmm. I suppose there’s no way one of the leaders of our people, Donda Ruu, would be careless enough to expose the women under his clan to danger,” the man remarked, then he shot Toor Deen a glare. “So...you wish to accompany Asuta as well?”
“Y-Yes, of course!”
“Then why did you cry so much that your eyes turned red?” Toor Deen hadn’t expected him to point that out, so she was left at a loss for words. Her own father was one thing, but even among the women she worked with, not many had noticed. “There are a great many chefs who follow Asuta, aren’t there? You’re still young, so there’s no need to strain yourself to go along with them.”
“N-No, that’s not it! This is, well... I was just so happy that Asuta would show such favor to someone as inexperienced as me, and the tears just started coming out.”
“Oh? So you’re saying you were so overjoyed that you couldn’t help but cry?”
With a blush, Toor Deen replied, “Yes.”
The man looked astounded and tilted his head. “It seems my fears were completely unfounded. In that case, do as you please.”
“Huh? Th-Then, do you mean I have your permission to go to the Daleim lands?”
“You yourself wish for it too, don’t you? Then I can’t see any reason to refuse,” he answered, and then his face scrunched up again. “Still, you’re only ten years old. Don’t push yourself too hard and break down, all right? Our parent clan, the Zaza, told you to observe the Fa clan’s actions, so it wouldn’t do to have to give up midway through.”
“R-Right. I understand that much.”
“Then that is enough. I’ll hear the rest at dinner,” the man said, turning around to head to the house. Partway there, though, he turned to send a sidelong glance back at Toor Deen. “There is one more thing I forgot to say... Though you are still young, you shouldn’t cry so easily. You don’t want to make your father worry more than he needs to.”
Leaving those words behind, the clan head finally went on his way. His wife had been standing off to the side silently the whole time, but now she let a giggle slip out and turned toward Toor Deen. “The clan head is concerned for you as well, Toor. Be sure not to overwork yourself, for him too.”
