A few hours later we completed our work on time and returned to the Wu clan village.
However, the atmosphere was heavy on our way back. Ai Fa and the other hunters were still angry.
“Ara, good work today. What’s wrong…? Everyone has a scary expression?”
Barcia of Marsala who had blended into this village completely put down her machete and tilted her head baffledly. Ryada Wu who was keeping watch over her also frowned, while Mida just stared blankly at us.
“Well, Pyschkurewuss’ minion gave us a troubling message. Ryada Wu, are Dad and the others still in the forest…?”
“Yes, it’s still early. It will be a while before they return.”
“Is that so. Dad will be furious. Maybe he won’t get mad at us for getting angry.”
“Just what is going on? Can you tell me?”
Barcia’s stone lion-like face looked tense.
Ludo Wu turned towards her and scratched his brown hair.
“I guess there is no need to hide it from you. Pyschkurewuss raised an overboard condition for the conference two days later.”
“Condition?”
“Yes. First, the venue will be changed to the Count Turan manor in the city, as he is not feeling well.”
This wasn’t a reason for them to be mad. Ludo Wu continued explaining to the confused Barcia:
“However, we can’t enter the city without an entry pass. They only allow ten other members who are not taking part in the conference to follow. That’s toying with us.”
The Forest’s Edge denizens were planning to have tens of hunters guard the conference members. The tribal chiefs and a few others would take part in the conference, while the hunters would stand guard outside and rush in if something untoward happened.
“Hmm… Are they wary about us bringing Zuro Tsun and the others to the conference?”
“Hmmp! That makes more sense, compared to his illness just happening to worsen!”
However, Jimon only emphasized that Pyschkurewuss’ health was ailing and that the conference didn’t need so many guards. It was like saying they would be traitors if we didn’t accept this condition.
“The other requirement is more ludicrous. That damned aristocrat said that Asuta has to attend to the conference!”
Ryada Wu’s eyes went wide.
“Let Asuta join the conference? Isn’t this a conference between Pyschkurewuss and the Forest’s Edge tribal chiefs? It has nothing to do with Asuta.”
“How would I know!? They are always making weird demands!”
Ludo Wu yelled as he stomped the ground.
I was the calmest of the lot and decided to explain on his behalf:
“According to them, they think my origins is a problem. There are no precedents of people from overseas being accepted as citizens, so they want to deal with this carefully or something.”
I still haven’t grasped the rules of this world, so it was difficult for me to understand what Jimon was implying.
Anyway, they probably felt that foreigners were not believers of the four gods in this continent and were of a different faith, so they had to be careful of letting them in.
“Asuta is a denizen of Forest’s Edge! Asuta thinks so himself, and we have no objections either, who are they to tell us otherwise!?”
A few hours ago Ludo Wu said so on the streets of the Post Station Town. Jimon shook his head with a cold expression:
“Which is to say, is Asuta of the Fa house a citizen of the western god Selva?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“Then prove it.”
And, of course, I didn’t know what proof he was asking for.
Jimon nodded with satisfaction:
“It’s fine if you are from Semu or Jaguar; as long as you are not from Mahildra, the doors of Selva will be open to you. However… If you are not a citizen of Selva, we won’t permit you to live in the territory of Genos, which includes the Morga Forest’s Edge.”
“… I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you mean.”
“I see, that means you are not from this continent.”
“Hold it! We don’t understand what you are saying either!?”
Jimon looked coldly at the rowdy Ludo Wu.
“Denizens of the Forest’s Edge, you didn’t learn our rules properly despite being citizens of Selva. It’s unbelievable, but this is the agreement between Marquis Genos and the Forest’s Edge tribal chief eight decades ago, so this isn’t the fault of anyone. On this continent, only the denizens of Forest’s Edge don’t know the rites of the gods.”
“Hmmp! Asuta is…”
“We can distinguish the denizens of Forest’s Edge from their unique features. And Forest’s Edge has no need to interact with other citizens. But Asuta of the Fa house is a foreigner, but still claims to be a citizen of the western god and earns money on the western soil. If we leave him be, this might create poor precedence for other foreigners with dubious origins. That’s the concern of Count Turan.”
Jimon continued coldly:
“This has nothing to do with Lady Lifuria’s mistake, and we can’t let Asuta of the Fa house roam freely. Since Asuta of the Fa house plans to live on as a Forest’s Edge denizen and be a citizen of Genos, he needs the approval of the Landlord Marstein.”
“… The trouble caused by his daughter still isn’t settled yet, and you are picking a fight with this again?”
Finally Ai Fa said with an icy tone:
“Doesn’t that aristocrat Pyschkurewuss feel any shame about how shallow he is?”
“Watch your tongue, Ai Fa of the Fa house. Since the Count knows about Asuta of the Fa house, he won’t let the matter rest.”
Things escalated so much that the guards were almost called on us.
If I didn’t mediate and told them: “Follow the instructions of the tribal chiefs!”, they would have done something irrevocable. Ai Fa and Ludo Wu were furious.
“Anyway, that damn Pyschkurewuss wants to take the Tsun clan and Asuta for himself! It’s so obvious that it makes me laugh!”
Ludo Wu shouted again in front of the solemn Ryada Wu.
Ludo Wu was forthright and expressive, but he seldom got this angry.
“That would be a discussion for later. Pyschkurewuss must be afraid of the denizens of the Forest’s Edge bringing him to task. With a deadweight like me, the tribal chiefs won’t be able to act freely.”
“That’s not important! We need to bring Yamiel Lei, Zwei, and the others there too! That damn Pyschkurewuss’ target must be Asuta, just like his daughter’s.”
Ludo Wu eyes had turned completely into that of a hunter.
Ai Fa had a poker face, while Ludo Wu’s eyes were getting more sinister.
Ryada Wu said calmly: “… We have already informed the people in the Post Station Town about the kind of resolve we have made before going to this meeting. If word concerning that got into Pyschkurewuss’ ears, he would have been even more wary.”
“And since Kaslan Lutim was sent to spread this news, that means… the tribal chiefs didn’t care if Pyschkurewuss would get wary. Or rather, they wanted to use this method to determine his true intentions.”
“What the hell!? Isn’t it retarded to put ourselves at a disadvantage?”
“They probably think it’s not that crucial of a disadvantage. Anyway… There’s no point in us arguing here. Like what Asuta said, let’s wait for the tribal chiefs to make the decision.”
However, it was a foregone conclusion.
The intention of the nobles was clear. Unless they had the intention of committing treason, the venue of the conference shouldn’t matter, and we just needed ten guards… The denizens of Forest’s Edge were powerless to defy these instructions. It was the same for their instructions about me.
Ai Fa and Ludo Wu got so angry because they knew this. Two days before the conference, Pyschkurewuss finally showed his true nature.
Anyway, there was no point arguing without the tribal chiefs, so we decided to focus on the work before us.
All the hunters except for Ai Fa and Ludo Wu left, and everyone else walked into the kitchen. Rimee Wu was rostered for kitchen duty today and was grilling poitan by herself in the kitchen.
“Why are Ludo and Ai Fa so angry?”
Rimee Wu tilted her head puzzledly, and Ludo Wu explained to her loudly again. Meanwhile, I started cutting the meat.
And Barcia who also joined us today gave her greetings.
“You sure are calm despite being the subject.”
“Yes, I will just follow the instructions of the tribal chiefs. Because I’m the one who caused so much trouble for everyone, which pains me… Still, I don’t want to say something self-deprecating like, ‘If I wasn’t here’.”
“Fufu. I didn’t expect you to be so calm.”
“That’s not true. I feel angry and uneasy on the inside.”
But Ai Fa got mad on my behalf, and, for some reason, I was calm while being apologetic.
Anyway, this wasn’t my problem alone. This was a shared problem between me who wished to be a member of the Forest’s Edge and the denizens who accepted me. So I wanted to think about this together with everyone else in the Forest’s Edge and choose the most adequate solution.
“I’m really surprised that you don’t know about the rites of the gods. So there are tribes in the continent who don’t know about this.”
Barcia then spread her muscular right arm out to the side and placed her left hand over her heart.
“I, Barcia of Marsala, do solemnly swear that I’m a devotee of the western god Selva… That’s how it is.”
“I see. That’s enough to prove that I’m a westerner?”
“That’s right, isn’t that simple? However… If you mess around with this rite, your soul would get torn into four when you die. Be it royalty or bandits, no one will make a farce of this vow.”
Barcia put down her arm with a smile.
“Well, unless you are close to Mahildra, you won’t have the chance to prove your faith. Even Kamyua Yost, who has the appearance of a northerner, rarely has a chance to prove his identity.”
“Oh, I see.”
If Shumimaru married into the Forest’s Edge, he couldn’t call himself a man of Semu any more.
If he concealed his identity and continued doing business with Mahildra, he would get exposed if anyone demanded him to prove his identity.
So changing one’s faith was such an important matter.
As for me, I needed to resolve myself to be a citizen of the western god Selva.
Fortunately, I was an atheist back home. My mother’s funeral was conducted in a Buddhist fashion, but, honestly speaking, I wasn’t sure which sect or style it was. I felt uneasy for someone like me to follow the faith of an unknown god… But I had no choice since I couldn’t be a part of Forest’s Edge if I didn’t do so.
However, the denizens of Forest’s Edge didn’t have such a custom, which means… The landlord of Genos didn’t have intention of treating them as fellow citizens right from the beginning?
Or maybe, the tribal chiefs of the Forest’s Edge eight decades ago didn’t care about this rite at all.
However, Forest’s Edge denizens were from the southern kingdom of Jaguar. Grandma Jiba who was from that time period should know about the rites of the gods. Or did they lose this knowledge after settling down in the Forest’s Edge?
The Forest’s Edge denizens are really an incredible tribe.
I thought with a wry smile.
To be fair, I was much stranger than them. For convenience sake, I was treated like someone from overseas, even though I was transported here from another world.
I already died once, crushed by debris in a burning building. The pain I felt couldn’t be my imagination, and everything about me couldn’t be explained with common sense. Despite all that, I still stumbled along with my second lease on life.
I should be dead, so why was I here as if I was still living? Why was I able to converse with others in this different world? Why did I suffer this strange turn of fate… There was no way of knowing, and I could only stay on here.
I still decided to become a denizen of Forest’s Edge… as a member of the Fa house, together with Ai Fa.
I already died once, so I couldn’t return to my original world.
However, I didn’t fell into despair because I met Ai Fa.
In order to hold on to this happiness, I was ready to face any hardships.
Since Pyschkurewuss was picking on me, I had to do my best to regain my position.
While I was thinking about that, I finished cutting all the meat for the 『Myam-roasted meat』.
“Alright, let’s start preparing dinner.”
When she heard what I said, Rimee Wu turned her head:
“Asuta, are we going to make soup today? What soup should we make?”
Fortunately, Rimee Wu wasn’t affected by Ludo Wu’s words at all. “Just leave everything to Papa Donda!” She had complete confidence in her clan head. Ludo Wu was soothed by her and leaned against the wall with a sour face.
“Well, I plan to make a dish with karon milk today. That thing I brought over on my wagon.”
I already kept the karon milk I bought from Yang in jars and stowed them away in the food store. After one night, the cream should have floated to the top, so I could use the nyuushi and skimmed milk to make soup.
“Sorry, Asuta, can I come over and help a little later?”
Leina Wu was busy making meat patties. I promised to teach her how to handle karon milk today.
“Yes, there’s no need to rush. I still need to do some research.”
The leftover oil from yesterday was still in the kitchen.
I already sealed it as tightly as possible with fake rubber tree leaves, but the animal oil that had been used could not be kept back into the jar again. It could still be used a few more times before the oil turned sour, so I decided to use it for my cooking research.
Luckily, I have plenty of ingredients to fry.
Yesterday, other than the “Kiba cutlet”, I also made “Minced kiba cutlet”. Today, I would try to make a third deep-fried dish.
I started a fire in the stove and cooked the chachi I prepared ahead of time on it. I then started mincing the tenderloin and belly meat.
Ai Fa said softly: “… Hamburg steak?”
“No, this is another dish.”
When she heard my answer, she closed my eyes and said: “I see.”
“If this isn’t hamburg steak, then what is it? And you are adding in chachi too?”
Ludo Wu who had finally calmed down looked at the pot curiously. Speaking of which, Ludo Wu liked chachi.
“Yes, this is a dish I’m researching for sale. This is called a croquette. If you don’t mind… Ludo Wu, would you like to try?”
“Can I?”
Ludo Wu’s eyes started to shine, and Rimee Wu shouted unhappily: “That’s too sly!”
“Why are you only letting Ludo eat it? Rimee wants to try too!”
“Oh, sorry. I was planning to taste it myself, so I only prepared a single portion.”
I might be overthinking it, but since I would be serving “Kiba cutlet” for tomorrow’s dinner, I didn’t want them to try deep fried food on consecutive days.
I let Ludo Wu sample this because he got really mad for my sake, so I wanted to thank him a little. But Rimee Wu looked very displeased.
“Look, like I said yesterday, eating deep fried food every day is not good for the body. Rimee Wu’s body is still small, so you have to pay more attention to this.”
“Ludo is a runt too!”
“You are the runt!”
I accidentally started a fight between siblings.
I looked timidly back at Ai Fa, but she said preemptively: “I’m not eating.”
“If it tastes too good, just a taste test won’t satisfy me.”
I thought her facial expression was saying: “I don’t just want to eat your food”, but that was probably just my delusion.
“A-Anyways, I plan to cook ‘Kiba cutlets’ for dinner tomorrow, so please wait until then. This dish will just be made for sale.”
“But Asuta’s cooking is definitely yummy!”
“No, I fail a lot too, you just didn’t get to see it. If you really want to try… How about I get you to try my dishes next time?”
Rimee Wu puffed her cheeks and looked at me with brows low: “Really? You are not tricking me? It’s a promise then.”
“Yes, I promise.”
“Ughh… Alright, I will bear with it this time.”
Rimee Wu seemed really disappointed as she started grilling poitan again. Ludo Wu snickered with a triumphant face. What a complicated relationship between siblings…
I focused on the task at hand again.
First, I minced the aria and added in a little animal oil.
When the food turned soft, I added minced meat and seasoned with salt and Pico leaves. I then scooped up the cooked chachi and mashed it with a krilee stick while it was still hot. I then mixed the other ingredients together with the chachi and melded them into balls. The preparation was complete.
Next, similar to yesterday, I coated it with fuwano powder, kimyusu egg, as well as baked fuwano crumbs and then deep fried them with animal oil.
On top of that, I planned to make a seasoning sauce too.
For the denizens of Forest’s Edge who ate only salt and jerky, oil and excessive salt were unnecessary. However, the people in the Post Station Town who preserved their meat with salt instead of Pico leaves liked their food salty, and they needed to take in that much salt too. Hence, I decided to use more Tau sauce for seasoning.
I came up with the recipe for this dish when I was abducted into the Count Turan manor. I heated some minced tarapa and aria in a pot, and after cooling it a little, I added in Tau sauce and fuwano powder. The sourness of tarapa, the sweetness of aria, the thick texture of fuwano, and soy sauce-like Tau sauce combined together to make something similar to Worcestershire sauce.
It would be even closer with some mamaria vinegar, but that could only be purchased in the city. I had to make this dish with ingredients available in the Post Station Town.
“… Asuta, this dish is interesting too.”
Leina Wu looked sadly my way as she cooked her tarapa sauce.
“Yes, I see. If I manage to sell this dish in an inn, I will teach you how to make it.”
Compared to kiba, a dish that used more chachi was more suited to the taste of the people in the Post Station Town. However, the townsfolk consumed less oil than Forest’s Edge denizens, so I needed to consult the innkeepers.
In any case, let’s make the dishes first.
When the oil was heated to the same temperature as yesterday, I added the ingredient into the oil.
The nice crackling sound came from the kitchen today too.
The animal oil was still clear, so it could be used for another time or two. But without any strainer, it was a pain to remove any impurities.
By the way, Dell still hasn’t visited the Post Station Town yet.
Since I would be cooking deep fried food from now on, I wanted strainers and other cooking tools. However, there wasn’t anything similar being sold in the Post Station Town, so I had to ask Dell who dealt with steelware for help.
But Pyschkurewuss is an important business partner to Dell’s father, so he probably doesn’t want to have any dealings with the Forest’s Edge.
If Pyschkurewuss fell into ruins, Dell and her father’s efforts would be wasted. Would they get mad at me if that happened?
The friendship we forged over time was hanging in the air. What would happen to the relationship I built up with that girl? With a sense of loneliness, I scooped up the golden brown croquette and placed it onto the makeshift strainer I made with skewers.
“It smells delicious, what’s it called?”
“Well, this isn’t really a meat dish, so the Forest’s Edge denizens might not like it.”
But I was thinking if this could be served as snacks in the Post Station Town.
By the way, I was also wondering whether the denizens of Forest’s Edge should get accustomed to eating more side dishes.
Last night, I tried serving tino shreds and tarapa salad, and boiled gigo as side dishes for the “Kiba cutlet”. The dishes I made contained more salt, sugar, and oil than dinner on previous nights, so I needed to increase the amount of vegetables.
Ludo Wu will probably like dishes that use the potato-like chachi.
I thought as I added some sauce to the croquette that had been drained of all excess oil.
“Alright, it’s done. It’s still hot, so be careful not to get burned.”
I put the croquette onto another plate, split it in half, and offered half of it to Ludo Wu.
And then popped the other half into my mouth… The incredibly nostalgic texture of the croquette spread in my mouth.
The potato-like chachi was really alluring. Kiba which was usually the main character was sidelined but still contributed its chewy texture to the dish. The crispy feeling of the fuwano powder was outstanding too.
Did my father know how well animal oil meshes with deep-fried food? At least, I didn’t know before this.
Since it was animal oil, it should be viscous, but that wasn’t so. Instead, it had a refreshing aftertaste and a delectable sweetness.
Anyway, the croquette tasted as good as the cutlet.
This was good enough for sale. I exhaled in relief with a deep sense of satisfaction… And then someone suddenly grabbed me by the chest.
“Huh? What’s the matter, Ludo Wu?”
Ludo Wu leaned in close with a serious face:
“… It tastes too good.”
“Oh, is that so. That’s great…”
“This is the best so far! Compared to steak, hamburg steak, and vegetable stew, this is the best! What is this!?”
“Well, I already said that it’s called croquette…”
“Make more for me! This bit isn’t enough at all!”
Ludo Wu who was smaller than me in stature but had the arm strength of a hunter shook me violently.
“Alright, but the nutrition of deep-fried food isn’t too balanced… So, let’s do that next time?”
“When is next time!? Tomorrow!? The day after tomorrow!?”
He rocked me so hard that my vision was turning white. Like mild amnesia or a mild concussion.
Ai Fa rescued me at this moment:
“Ludo Wu, don’t mess around too much.”
A calm voice came, and the pressure at my chest disappeared. Ludo Wu’s figure moved slowly away.
However, the world was still rocking.
No, what was rocking was that thing in my skull.
A strong force and warmth slowly enveloped my crumbling body, and a sweet scent entered the depth of my consciousness.
“Asuta is as weak as women and children. You can’t treat him so violently.”
“But, that thing is too tasty!”
Ludo Wu shouted like a child.
I could see the light flickering in his eyes, and his voice seemed so far away.
“Just calm down for now. No matter how tasty that dish is, it’s not healthy if you keep eating it. He just told you that.”
However, Ai Fa’s voice was so close. From right behind my ears.
That was only natural, since Ai Fa was holding my body from behind. My legs were devoid of strength, and I was resting my entire weight onto Ai Fa, with her arms around my chest.
“Uwah, sorry! I’m fine now, Ai Fa!”
“You are not fine. You can’t use any strength at all.”
Ai Fa said impatiently and hugged me even tighter.
“But, Ai Fa, you will understand after trying it! It’s really good!”
“Everyone has their own preferences. We already discussed that when we ate steaks.”
“Then, for me, this is the best tasting dish!”
“You have to bear with it then. Just think of this as a trial to turn Asuta’s prowess into good medicine.”
Ai Fa spoke to him over my shoulder.
At this moment, Rimee Wu interjected: “How sly!”
“If it tastes that good, Rimee wants to eat it too! Asuta, make one for Rimee next time, okay?”
“Yes, I will.”
“I want to try too. Even more so since it’s for sale.”
“Really now, I also want a bite.”
Shela Wu and Barcia also joined in.
I was terribly embarrassed as Ai Fa was hugging me from behind right now.
Finally, Leina Wu also looked at me grudgingly: “… Really, how sly.”
I took a deep sigh, and Ai Fa whispered in my ear: “Don’t worry. We have to bear with it sometimes to turn Asuta’s strength into good medicine.”
“Ah, yes...”
“I’m enduring it, so Ludo Wu has to do the same. However… If you belittle what we are bearing with, you will suffer the same retribution.”
She held me so tightly that I felt I was going to get crushed. Was this my retribution for not making hamburg steak for my house head after such a long time.
Anyway, the conference was just a day and a half away.
3
The next day, 14th of the White Month, the day before the conference with Pyschkurewuss, a heavy atmosphere hung over the town. News spread by Zashuma was slowly making its round throughout the Post Station Town.
The Forest’s Edge denizens suspected Pyschkurewuss of being a criminal and would hold a conference with Pyschkurewuss to determine the punishment for Zattsu Tsun and the other villains. If both sides couldn’t reach an agreement, there was no telling what might happen. This insider information had become common knowledge within the Post Station Town.
And now, I have decided to close the stall tomorrow, the 15th. I would also stop the catering for the inns tomorrow; instead, I sold them three days worth of fresh meat. What would happen two days later would depend on tomorrow’s conference.
Yang’s business was still booming. I heard he sold 200 portions on his opening day. It was a mini snack that cost 1 red copper plate, but a normal stall would only sell 50 or so portions, so his sales were amazing.
From what I saw on the way to the inns, Yang’s stall was doing as good as yesterday.
However, the crowd was a little different. The ratio between men and women was about even yesterday, but the number of women increased today.
There were also many more kids. Since the snack was sweet, this was the natural outcome. The colorful wrapping also attracted women and children. There were few easterners and southerners today too, and I couldn’t see any drunk westerner ruffians either.
On the other hand, the patrons to my stall were the complete opposite of this crowd. So those who didn’t visit my stall had all gone over here. I decided to remember this for future reference.
In any case, Yang’s business was doing great.
And also, three inns and four stalls had started selling dishes made with grilled poitan.
The food was the same as usual, but the fuwano was replaced by the poitan. With the help of the Post Station Town’s ruler, the Count Satolas house, Polarse had roped in these shops to switch to poitan.
They could buy the poitan at its original price and make it into powder form, and would be taught how to add color to the grilled poitan. This was a very unorthodox sales method.
I could spot the stalls with booming business when walking through the marketplace. Adding color to dishes with neenon and nanaru was rare, and the novelty of cooking poitan this way made these stalls popular. And, of course, Yang’s now famous stall was also using grilled poitan, which had a big influence on this too.
The stalls that agreed to adopt poitan could also learn how to make nyuushi. The stalls selling grilled poitan could use nyuushi too, making them even more popular.
They really covered all the corners.
Kamyua Yost probably didn’t expect nyuushi to make its debut here, which was part of Polarse’s strategy.
If this went on, reversing the status of poitan and fuwano would no longer be a dream. Like what Polarse said, poitan was cheaper than fuwano, so neither the seller nor buyer had a reason to turn down this trade.
“News of this situation should have reached Pyschkurewuss by now. He might just laugh it off for now, but if he finds out that the Taliem and Satolas houses are working together, he won’t be able to keep his calm.”
Zashuma said with a laugh.
At most, this was just a set up to pressure Pyschkurewuss, and more time would be needed to yield tangible effects. This wasn’t enough to cause substantial losses to Pyschkurewuss. However, our goal was to give him some pressure by letting him know “your wealth won’t last forever”— and digging a hole in his sturdy wall.
This was a plan to keep the people around Pyschkurewuss in check.
Right now, Count Taliem had given silent consent towards his son’s action. While it wasn’t clear how enthusiastic the Count Satolas house was in this plan, they still provided aid to Polarse. Pyschkurewuss’ claw was slowly being torn out.
“… We will finally go into the city tomorrow.”
After the operation hours were over, we headed to Uncle Dora’s stall to procure vegetables. An incredibly stern face welcomed us.
“The conference will start at noon, correct? Then, it will probably be finished by 2pm to 3pm, right?”
“Well, I don’t really know either.”
“It shouldn’t last until dusk, right? If Asuta and the others still don’t come out from the city gates, it will be big trouble...”
Uncle Dora’s smile looked a little angry.
“I will definitely go to the city gates. The easterners and southerners won’t sit by idly either.”
“I see, but before things escalate to that extent, we will do the best choice and return safely.”
“Yes, but I will still worry! What worries me the most is that Asuta needs to attend too!”
Uncle Dora looked depressed again. He was worried about the denizens of Forest’s Edge destroying Genos and also our safety too.
And, of course, that’s because the tribal chiefs of Forest’s Edge accepted all of Pyschkurewuss’ terms. Donda Wu’s brother Ryada Wu said that Donda Wu already expected Pyschkurewuss to raise these terms.
During dinner last night, Donda Wu said: “Bringing hunters along as escorts, as Kaslan Lutim explained, is to display our resolve in a simple to understand manner. Depending on how they react, we will respond with force. It is a way of intimidating them.”
“They didn’t seem to understand the reason why we planned to bring so many men along. But they do know the reason why we are bringing the Tsun clan members with us, and have a larger reaction to that… So we have to be ready that they might resort to violence.”
“So, what should we do? Accept their unreasonable terms?”
In response to the unhappy Ludo Wu, Donda Wu showed a feral smile:
“Do we have any reason to reject them? Graff Zaza and I will be there. So will Dali Sauti and Kaslan Lutim. Even if we have a bunch of dead weights, we won’t lose to them. We will also have ten escorts with us.”
“But your blades will be confiscated at the venue, right? And fully armed guards will be there…”
I couldn’t help interjecting, and Donda Wu turned to me without any hesitation:
“If we need to use force, we can just take the weapons of those soldiers. And… We are not the only ones with deadweight.”
Blue flame of fury was burning in Donda Wu’s eyes.
“Before the foolish city soldiers can hurt our tribemates, I will wring Pyschkurewuss’ neck. If they still resist… Then the fight will get real.”
I couldn’t imagine Donda Wu and Kaslan Lutim losing to those soldiers.
Just like Uncle Dora feared, the worst thing would be Pyschkurewuss underestimating the prowess of Forest’s Edge hunters, which would lead to tragedy.
“Anyway, we won’t act without provocation. If we have to use force, whether the laws of Genos would fault us or Pyschkurewuss would be the most crucial factors for us.”
With that, Donda Wu looked my way:
“So I won’t have any problem with the Tsun clan people and you attending. Use your glib tongue to defend yourself, Asuta of the Fa house.”
“Alright, I understand.”
Ai Fa nodded and said quietly: “Wait.”
“I will comply with the decision of the Forest’s Edge tribal chiefs. But… If you are bringing Asuta along, let me go with him too. As the head of the Fa house, I won’t back down from this.”
“… The six attendees have been decided. Three tribal chiefs and three followers… Kaslan Lutim and the heads of the Fou and Bemu houses.”
“…”
“However, the other side is the one who raised this new condition. Tell Pyschkurewuss that if he wants Asuta to attend the conference, then a permit for the head of the Fa house to join should be granted too.”
“… Much obliged.”
Ai Fa lowered her head.
And so, it had been decided that Ai Fa and I would be joining the conference tomorrow.
“Asuta-niichan, you must return safely tomorrow, okay?”
I nodded to the teary Tara and her father:
“I will definitely return safe and sound. I promise that I will do my best.”
I could neither wield a blade nor take on any responsibilities. But I believed my tribemates who would put their life and pride on the line, and had to do my very best.
And so, we bade Uncle Dora farewell and left the Post Station Town.
The Forest’s Edge settlement awaited me, and one more major event was coming up before the finale tomorrow.
“Yo, long time no see, Asuta and Ai Fa!”
When we reached the Wu clan village, someone greeted us.
It was Rau Lei whom I haven’t seen in four days.
“Oh, Rau Lei. What brings you here today?”
“What do you mean?. I brought Yamiel Lei here. I lent my Totos to you, so we walked here.”
“Ahh, the head of the Lei house walked here personally?”
Before I got abducted, Rau Lei often dropped by the Fa house with Yamiel Lei on his Totos. He was faster than Dan Lutim.
“My reliable kins are all at home! And I don’t want to hand this job over to anyone else.”
Rau Lei’s eyes were like a hunting dog.
“Asuta, you want to treat Yamiel Lei and the others to dinner you will be making personally, right? I want to join too, will that be fine?”
“Huh? I don’t mind, but shouldn’t you ask Donda Wu about this?”
“Donda Wu told me to ask you! So you agree?”
Rau Lei smiled happily:
“Thank you! After the harvest festival, I have been itching to eat Asuta’s cooking again! The women in the Lei house have improved their cooking skills, but they still can’t compare to Asuta!”
“Yes, I will work hard to not disappoint you.”
When I asked him where Yamiel Lei was, a loud voice came from behind: “Hey, Asuta!”
I turned back with Gilulu’s reins in hand and saw Dan Lutim’s figure.
“It’s been so long! I have a request…”
“Ah, okay. If it is about dinner, do you need to tell Donda Wu about it?”
“What! You saw through what I was thinking!?”
I smiled weakly.
Kaslan Lutim and a woman walked forth from behind the surprised Dan Lutim.
“Asuta, you have returned. Ludo Wu… I brought Aura here.”
Zwei’s mother, Zuro Tsun ex-wife and now a member of Lutim house. Her brown hair was cut to shoulder length, and she had delicate facial features. She was so young that I couldn’t tell she was Zwei’s mother, but her expression was lackluster, and a shadow hung over her eyes.
“It’s been a while, Aura. Zwei and Emma Min Lutim are walking over and should be here soon.”
“… Is that so…”
The last time I saw her was at Tay Tsun’s burial in the forest. My impression of her had not changed since that time, and I wasn’t sure if I should be happy or worried.
“There is still some time before dinner. Where should I let Aura wait?”
Dan Lutim asked Ludo Wu, but the one answering was Rau Lei.
“I sent Yamiel Lei to that empty house over there. I want to let her chat with her family.”
“Ah, you mean Mida? Or…”
“Zuro Tsun, Diga, and Doddo. Right now, Graff Zaza is at the door guarding them.”
“Then you should go there too.”
When she heard what Dan Lutim said, Aura said with her shoulders trembling:
“… I understand… By your leave…”
“Don’t be so formal! You are prohibited from meeting them as your relationship has been broken. Hence, this is a rare chance for you to talk to them, right?”
“Then, I will talk to Graff Zaza and the others.”
Led by Rau Lei, Aura headed to the empty house that I often lodged in.
As he watched them leave, Dan Lutim showed a rare worried expression.
“Well… Aura and Zwei have already joined the Lutim house for more than a month. But they still haven’t opened their heart to me. I want to bestow the Lutim family name to them soon too…”
“That incident with Zattsu Tsun left a deeper impression on them. Don’t be hasty, the important thing is for them to calm down.”
Kaslan Lutim answered calmly, then turned to me and said:
“By the way, Asuta, aside from my father, can you prepare a few more portions for dinner?”
“Huh? Well, that’s fine. There was already 20-odd people, so adding a few more wouldn’t be a problem…”
“Then I will be counting on you. Are five more portions fine with you?”
“No problem. But who are the five?”
“Dali Sauti, Graff Zaza, the heads of the Fou and Bemu houses, and me. Which are the people participating in the conference tomorrow.”
Kaslan Lutim then smiled:
“I heard Donda Wu wants Zuro Tsun and the others to try Asuta’s cooking, so Dali Sauti asked if the other conference attendees should join in too. Graff Zaza brought Zuro Tsun’s group over personally. He didn’t return home in order to discuss with Dali Sauti about tomorrow’s matters.”
Dali Sauti said during the harvest festival that Graff Zaza should try Asuta’s dish. To accept the delicious dish, learn the strength and joy the Fa house and Wu clan had obtained… If he wanted to refute the actions of the Fa house, he needed to understand the situation completely.
“If you have no objections, I plan to use the Totos I borrowed from the Wu clan to inform the Fou and Bemu houses. Dali Sauti will come over to the Wu clan after finishing his hunting duties.”
“Hmmp! You laid out such schemes and wanted to exclude me alone! How sly of you, Kaslan!”
Kaslan Lutim apologized to the fuming Dan Lutim with a smile: “I’m very sorry.”
“I was thinking that father’s appetite is bigger than normal people, and am worried that it might be too much of a burden for Asuta. I didn’t have any ill intentions.”
“What!? Did you hear that, Asuta!? He ignores his father after marrying his wife!”
“This has nothing to do with Emma Min.”
I couldn’t help laughing.
But with so many additional guests, I couldn’t stand by idly.
“I will start cooking dinner then. Dan Lutim, can you help me inform Donda Wu?”
“Okay, will do!”
I didn’t know what would happen to the business the day after tomorrow, so I bought enough ingredients ahead of time. I could use them first and deal with it later.
But preparing food for seven more people was quite a substantial, so I need to deal with that quickly.
“Then, how many portions should we make?”
Leina Wu asked as she walked to the kitchen.
“Twelve members of the Wu clan main house, Yamiel Lei’s group of seven, Ai Fa, Barcia and me, Shin Wu’s family of six, so there are 28.”
Shela Wu and Tali Wu wanted to help too, so we made their family’s share too.
“Including the newcomers, there are 35 people. Since there are some with larger appetite than normal, we should prepare about 45 portions to be safe.”
“Forty five portions… That’s a mini banquet.”
“Yes, but we can do it by working together.”
There were about three hours left. But we would be taking the day off tomorrow, so everyone could focus on making dinner. So, theoretically, there shouldn’t be any problem.
“Ahh, welcome back! Asuta, the poitan is done!”
Rimee Wu and the others had already started working in the kitchen.
“Thank you. But there are a lot more unexpected guests, so can you prepare another ten portions?”
“Ten portions? Understood!”
Rimee Wu was about to run off to the food store when Sati Lei Wu called out to her:
“Rimee is good at cooking, so you should help Asuta. I will grill the poitan.”
“Thank you, Sati Lei Wu.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Sati Lei Wu smiled gently:
“You need to make the other dishes in the kitchen, right? Then I will grill the poitan at Shin Wu’s place.”
Sati Lei Wu wasn’t as good as Rimee Wu in cooking, but no one was as considerate as her. With so many skilled members with me, I had nothing to worry about.
“Then the work schedule would be the as we agreed on yesterday, I will be counting on everyone. I will fill in for Sati Lei Wu here.”
The ones cooking would be the women of the Wu clan main house and Shin Wu’s house, eight in total. The one absent was Grandma Ditto Min who had to tend to Kota Wu.
“Ahh, sorry for being so sudden, but I plan to include ribs in the menu.”
“Ribs? But why?”
Shela Wu asked baffledly, and I said with a smile:
“Because Dan Lutim will be coming, so I want to include a ribs dish. No matter how luxurious dinner might be, Dan Lutim will be sad if there aren’t any ribs.”
Shela Wu smiled, and Lala Wu also agreed: “That’s right.”
“We are already making so many dishes, will adding another dish be fine?”
“We can decrease the quantity of the other dishes. It will take more effort, but we should be able to make it in time.”
“Fufu. It’s fine, we will do whatever Asuta says.”
Lala Wu had a good reason to worry; we were already planning to cook eight different dishes.
There were a lot of people attending, and we needed to let Zuro Tsun understand what the Fa house was doing too. I thought we should present the food we were selling in the Post Station Town to them.
Hence, today’s menu was— 『Kiba burgers』, 『Myam-roasted meat』, 『Braised kiba』, 『Meat chachi』, 『Kiba sauté- Arrabbiata style』, 『Kiba cutlet』, 『Kiba Tau sauce soup』, 『Kiba meat karon milk stew』, and 『Kiba roast ribs』, a total of nine dishes.
I delegated the 『Kiba burgers』, 『Myam-roasted meat』, and 『Kiba Tau sauce soup』 completely to Leina Wu and Shela Wu, and assigned the other dishes to the others as efficiently as possible.
“Alright then, I will return home and prepare the meat patties with my mother.”
“Okay, I will be counting on you. Leina Wu, please make the vegetable stew. I will get the karon milk. Ai Fa… Can you help me move the pot?”
Ai Fa, Shela Wu, and I exited the kitchen together. However, Shela Wu who was walking in front of me stopped suddenly, and I ran into her.
“Darum Wu… You are back.”
I could see Darum Wu over Shela Wu’s shoulder. His long black hair was tied behind him, there was a deep scar on his right cheek, and he was a hunter with eyes like a wolf… It was the second son of the Wu clan main house, Darum Wu.
He went to the Zaza house village for half a month in order to watch over Zuro Tsun and the others. Since Zuro Tsun and company had been sent to the Wu clan village, he came along with them.
“It’s been a while, Darum Wu… It’s great that you are safe.”
“Yes.”
Darum Wu nodded at Shela Wu and then stared at me with a fiery gaze. He then grabbed both my arms and pulled me along with him.
Ai Fa protested immediately, but Darum Wu brushed her off with: “I have business with Asuta of the Fa house.”
“What business do you have with Asuta? Your violent actions…”
“I won’t act violently towards him. I will cut off my right arm if I go back against my words.”
Darum Wu said these familiar lines as he pulled me far away from Ai Fa and the others.
After walking ten meters or so, we stopped. We were still within Ai Fa and the others’ sight, but far enough for them not to hear us.
I glanced their way and could see Shela Wu pulling the arm of Ai Fa who was trying to come towards us.
“L-Long time no see, Darum Wu.”
To start, I greeted him normally.
Darum Wu let go of my hand and leaned in close.
“Asuta of the Fa house. Are you… retarded?”
“Huh? Well, I know that I’m bad with words…”
“Didn’t you tell me that you want to protect Ai Fa? And yet, you got caught by the enemy, what are you trying to do?” He glared at me from close up with his eyes shining with blue light. “You said you want to protect Ai Fa’s feelings, thoughts, and pride. Was all that just lip service? Are you staying with Ai Fa with so little resolve?”
My heart ached, and I was at a loss for words.
The rage in Darum Wu’s eyes burned more intensely as he came even nearer:
“I told you that I will end you if you fail to protect Ai Fa. But what should I do if you die before that happens?”
Darum Wu appeared to be suppressing the anger in his voice. But it seemed to have gotten the better of him because he grabbed my shoulders.
“Have you thought about what will happen to Ai Fa if she loses you? You already have a place deep in Ai Fa’s heart, do you want her to experience the despair of losing you?”
I thought I heard the sound of my shoulder blade cracking, but Darum Wu’s words hurt me even more.
“That’s what protecting Ai Fa means. Before worrying about Ai Fa dying in the forest, you have to stay by her side. If you don’t even understand that… Then, why did I…”
“I know! Or rather, I think I know.”
I understood very clearly that nothing I say would be enough.
But I had to tell him what I thought.
“I might be too weak to even protect myself, but I want to stay by Ai Fa’s side… and get to know each other, and live together until the day we die. It might not be convincing after the mistake I made… But that is how I truly feel.”
“…”
“This incident made me realize how weak I really am. But even so… I still want to be together with Ai Fa.”
Darum Wu glared at me quietly and finally let go of my shoulders.
And he facepalmed himself as if he had an intense headache.
“… Please…”
“Huh?”
“Please, don’t make Ai Fa sad again.”
Darum Wu said that quietly, turned, and walked away quickly. Ai Fa and Shela Wu jogged to my side.
“Hey, what was all that? Asuta, I don’t get that at all.”
Ai Fa leaned in angrily to the same distance as Darum Wu just now.
“That time during the harvest festival, and today as well, why is that second son treating Asuta like that?”
“Well… He just berated me for getting captured by the enemy.”
Ai Fa didn’t accept my explanation and leaned in closer.
“That’s the fault of the hunters on guard duty. Why is he blaming Asuta?”
“That’s not true. No one else held me accountable for my mistakes, so I’m really thankful towards Darum Wu.”
That was what I really felt.
Ai Fa twisted her lips in surprise and looked me in the eye just like Darum Wu did earlier.
“I still don’t get it. Asuta, whenever you meet that second son, you will get quiet.”
“Yes, that might be so.”
Ai Fa pulled away and pouted unhappily.
Shela Wu smiled beside her.
“I will head home then. I will be back after I finish making the meat patties.”
“Alright. Oh… Thank you, Shela Wu.”
Shela Wu who was about to turn away smiled again.
“You don’t need to thank me, Asuta. I’m just doing what I wanted to do...”
With that, Shela Wu turned and left.
I sighed softly and then slapped my face hard with my right hand.
“What are you doing, Asuta.”
Ai Fa said with her eyes wide open.
“Nothing, I’m just cheering myself on. Well then… Please help me move this jar.”
I smiled at Ai Fa.
Ai Fa frowned and put her hand on my face.
“That looks painful, Asuta.”
“I’m fine, it didn’t hurt at all.”
I took Ai Fa’s hand and headed towards the food store.
The sun that was between its peak and the horizon sunk slowly towards the west.
A few hours later we completed our work on time and returned to the Wu clan village.
However, the atmosphere was heavy on our way back. Ai Fa and the other hunters were still angry.
“Ara, good work today. What’s wrong…? Everyone has a scary expression?”
Barcia of Marsala who had blended into this village completely put down her machete and tilted her head baffledly. Ryada Wu who was keeping watch over her also frowned, while Mida just stared blankly at us.
“Well, Pyschkurewuss’ minion gave us a troubling message. Ryada Wu, are Dad and the others still in the forest…?”
“Yes, it’s still early. It will be a while before they return.”
“Is that so. Dad will be furious. Maybe he won’t get mad at us for getting angry.”
“Just what is going on? Can you tell me?”
Barcia’s stone lion-like face looked tense.
Ludo Wu turned towards her and scratched his brown hair.
“I guess there is no need to hide it from you. Pyschkurewuss raised an overboard condition for the conference two days later.”
“Condition?”
“Yes. First, the venue will be changed to the Count Turan manor in the city, as he is not feeling well.”
This wasn’t a reason for them to be mad. Ludo Wu continued explaining to the confused Barcia:
“However, we can’t enter the city without an entry pass. They only allow ten other members who are not taking part in the conference to follow. That’s toying with us.”
The Forest’s Edge denizens were planning to have tens of hunters guard the conference members. The tribal chiefs and a few others would take part in the conference, while the hunters would stand guard outside and rush in if something untoward happened.
“Hmm… Are they wary about us bringing Zuro Tsun and the others to the conference?”
“Hmmp! That makes more sense, compared to his illness just happening to worsen!”
However, Jimon only emphasized that Pyschkurewuss’ health was ailing and that the conference didn’t need so many guards. It was like saying they would be traitors if we didn’t accept this condition.
“The other requirement is more ludicrous. That damned aristocrat said that Asuta has to attend to the conference!”
Ryada Wu’s eyes went wide.
“Let Asuta join the conference? Isn’t this a conference between Pyschkurewuss and the Forest’s Edge tribal chiefs? It has nothing to do with Asuta.”
“How would I know!? They are always making weird demands!”
Ludo Wu yelled as he stomped the ground.
I was the calmest of the lot and decided to explain on his behalf:
“According to them, they think my origins is a problem. There are no precedents of people from overseas being accepted as citizens, so they want to deal with this carefully or something.”
I still haven’t grasped the rules of this world, so it was difficult for me to understand what Jimon was implying.
Anyway, they probably felt that foreigners were not believers of the four gods in this continent and were of a different faith, so they had to be careful of letting them in.
“Asuta is a denizen of Forest’s Edge! Asuta thinks so himself, and we have no objections either, who are they to tell us otherwise!?”
A few hours ago Ludo Wu said so on the streets of the Post Station Town. Jimon shook his head with a cold expression:
“Which is to say, is Asuta of the Fa house a citizen of the western god Selva?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“Then prove it.”
And, of course, I didn’t know what proof he was asking for.
Jimon nodded with satisfaction:
“It’s fine if you are from Semu or Jaguar; as long as you are not from Mahildra, the doors of Selva will be open to you. However… If you are not a citizen of Selva, we won’t permit you to live in the territory of Genos, which includes the Morga Forest’s Edge.”
“… I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you mean.”
“I see, that means you are not from this continent.”
“Hold it! We don’t understand what you are saying either!?”
Jimon looked coldly at the rowdy Ludo Wu.
“Denizens of the Forest’s Edge, you didn’t learn our rules properly despite being citizens of Selva. It’s unbelievable, but this is the agreement between Marquis Genos and the Forest’s Edge tribal chief eight decades ago, so this isn’t the fault of anyone. On this continent, only the denizens of Forest’s Edge don’t know the rites of the gods.”
“Hmmp! Asuta is…”
“We can distinguish the denizens of Forest’s Edge from their unique features. And Forest’s Edge has no need to interact with other citizens. But Asuta of the Fa house is a foreigner, but still claims to be a citizen of the western god and earns money on the western soil. If we leave him be, this might create poor precedence for other foreigners with dubious origins. That’s the concern of Count Turan.”
Jimon continued coldly:
“This has nothing to do with Lady Lifuria’s mistake, and we can’t let Asuta of the Fa house roam freely. Since Asuta of the Fa house plans to live on as a Forest’s Edge denizen and be a citizen of Genos, he needs the approval of the Landlord Marstein.”
“… The trouble caused by his daughter still isn’t settled yet, and you are picking a fight with this again?”
Finally Ai Fa said with an icy tone:
“Doesn’t that aristocrat Pyschkurewuss feel any shame about how shallow he is?”
“Watch your tongue, Ai Fa of the Fa house. Since the Count knows about Asuta of the Fa house, he won’t let the matter rest.”
Things escalated so much that the guards were almost called on us.
If I didn’t mediate and told them: “Follow the instructions of the tribal chiefs!”, they would have done something irrevocable. Ai Fa and Ludo Wu were furious.
“Anyway, that damn Pyschkurewuss wants to take the Tsun clan and Asuta for himself! It’s so obvious that it makes me laugh!”
Ludo Wu shouted again in front of the solemn Ryada Wu.
Ludo Wu was forthright and expressive, but he seldom got this angry.
“That would be a discussion for later. Pyschkurewuss must be afraid of the denizens of the Forest’s Edge bringing him to task. With a deadweight like me, the tribal chiefs won’t be able to act freely.”
“That’s not important! We need to bring Yamiel Lei, Zwei, and the others there too! That damn Pyschkurewuss’ target must be Asuta, just like his daughter’s.”
Ludo Wu eyes had turned completely into that of a hunter.
Ai Fa had a poker face, while Ludo Wu’s eyes were getting more sinister.
Ryada Wu said calmly: “… We have already informed the people in the Post Station Town about the kind of resolve we have made before going to this meeting. If word concerning that got into Pyschkurewuss’ ears, he would have been even more wary.”
“And since Kaslan Lutim was sent to spread this news, that means… the tribal chiefs didn’t care if Pyschkurewuss would get wary. Or rather, they wanted to use this method to determine his true intentions.”
“What the hell!? Isn’t it retarded to put ourselves at a disadvantage?”
“They probably think it’s not that crucial of a disadvantage. Anyway… There’s no point in us arguing here. Like what Asuta said, let’s wait for the tribal chiefs to make the decision.”
However, it was a foregone conclusion.
The intention of the nobles was clear. Unless they had the intention of committing treason, the venue of the conference shouldn’t matter, and we just needed ten guards… The denizens of Forest’s Edge were powerless to defy these instructions. It was the same for their instructions about me.
Ai Fa and Ludo Wu got so angry because they knew this. Two days before the conference, Pyschkurewuss finally showed his true nature.
Anyway, there was no point arguing without the tribal chiefs, so we decided to focus on the work before us.
All the hunters except for Ai Fa and Ludo Wu left, and everyone else walked into the kitchen. Rimee Wu was rostered for kitchen duty today and was grilling poitan by herself in the kitchen.
“Why are Ludo and Ai Fa so angry?”
Rimee Wu tilted her head puzzledly, and Ludo Wu explained to her loudly again. Meanwhile, I started cutting the meat.
And Barcia who also joined us today gave her greetings.
“You sure are calm despite being the subject.”
“Yes, I will just follow the instructions of the tribal chiefs. Because I’m the one who caused so much trouble for everyone, which pains me… Still, I don’t want to say something self-deprecating like, ‘If I wasn’t here’.”
“Fufu. I didn’t expect you to be so calm.”
“That’s not true. I feel angry and uneasy on the inside.”
But Ai Fa got mad on my behalf, and, for some reason, I was calm while being apologetic.
Anyway, this wasn’t my problem alone. This was a shared problem between me who wished to be a member of the Forest’s Edge and the denizens who accepted me. So I wanted to think about this together with everyone else in the Forest’s Edge and choose the most adequate solution.
“I’m really surprised that you don’t know about the rites of the gods. So there are tribes in the continent who don’t know about this.”
Barcia then spread her muscular right arm out to the side and placed her left hand over her heart.
“I, Barcia of Marsala, do solemnly swear that I’m a devotee of the western god Selva… That’s how it is.”
“I see. That’s enough to prove that I’m a westerner?”
“That’s right, isn’t that simple? However… If you mess around with this rite, your soul would get torn into four when you die. Be it royalty or bandits, no one will make a farce of this vow.”
Barcia put down her arm with a smile.
“Well, unless you are close to Mahildra, you won’t have the chance to prove your faith. Even Kamyua Yost, who has the appearance of a northerner, rarely has a chance to prove his identity.”
“Oh, I see.”
If Shumimaru married into the Forest’s Edge, he couldn’t call himself a man of Semu any more.
If he concealed his identity and continued doing business with Mahildra, he would get exposed if anyone demanded him to prove his identity.
So changing one’s faith was such an important matter.
As for me, I needed to resolve myself to be a citizen of the western god Selva.
Fortunately, I was an atheist back home. My mother’s funeral was conducted in a Buddhist fashion, but, honestly speaking, I wasn’t sure which sect or style it was. I felt uneasy for someone like me to follow the faith of an unknown god… But I had no choice since I couldn’t be a part of Forest’s Edge if I didn’t do so.
However, the denizens of Forest’s Edge didn’t have such a custom, which means… The landlord of Genos didn’t have intention of treating them as fellow citizens right from the beginning?
Or maybe, the tribal chiefs of the Forest’s Edge eight decades ago didn’t care about this rite at all.
However, Forest’s Edge denizens were from the southern kingdom of Jaguar. Grandma Jiba who was from that time period should know about the rites of the gods. Or did they lose this knowledge after settling down in the Forest’s Edge?
The Forest’s Edge denizens are really an incredible tribe.
I thought with a wry smile.
To be fair, I was much stranger than them. For convenience sake, I was treated like someone from overseas, even though I was transported here from another world.
I already died once, crushed by debris in a burning building. The pain I felt couldn’t be my imagination, and everything about me couldn’t be explained with common sense. Despite all that, I still stumbled along with my second lease on life.
I should be dead, so why was I here as if I was still living? Why was I able to converse with others in this different world? Why did I suffer this strange turn of fate… There was no way of knowing, and I could only stay on here.
I still decided to become a denizen of Forest’s Edge… as a member of the Fa house, together with Ai Fa.
I already died once, so I couldn’t return to my original world.
However, I didn’t fell into despair because I met Ai Fa.
In order to hold on to this happiness, I was ready to face any hardships.
Since Pyschkurewuss was picking on me, I had to do my best to regain my position.
While I was thinking about that, I finished cutting all the meat for the 『Myam-roasted meat』.
“Alright, let’s start preparing dinner.”
When she heard what I said, Rimee Wu turned her head:
“Asuta, are we going to make soup today? What soup should we make?”
Fortunately, Rimee Wu wasn’t affected by Ludo Wu’s words at all. “Just leave everything to Papa Donda!” She had complete confidence in her clan head. Ludo Wu was soothed by her and leaned against the wall with a sour face.
“Well, I plan to make a dish with karon milk today. That thing I brought over on my wagon.”
I already kept the karon milk I bought from Yang in jars and stowed them away in the food store. After one night, the cream should have floated to the top, so I could use the nyuushi and skimmed milk to make soup.
“Sorry, Asuta, can I come over and help a little later?”
Leina Wu was busy making meat patties. I promised to teach her how to handle karon milk today.
“Yes, there’s no need to rush. I still need to do some research.”
The leftover oil from yesterday was still in the kitchen.
I already sealed it as tightly as possible with fake rubber tree leaves, but the animal oil that had been used could not be kept back into the jar again. It could still be used a few more times before the oil turned sour, so I decided to use it for my cooking research.
Luckily, I have plenty of ingredients to fry.
Yesterday, other than the “Kiba cutlet”, I also made “Minced kiba cutlet”. Today, I would try to make a third deep-fried dish.
I started a fire in the stove and cooked the chachi I prepared ahead of time on it. I then started mincing the tenderloin and belly meat.
Ai Fa said softly: “… Hamburg steak?”
“No, this is another dish.”
When she heard my answer, she closed my eyes and said: “I see.”
“If this isn’t hamburg steak, then what is it? And you are adding in chachi too?”
Ludo Wu who had finally calmed down looked at the pot curiously. Speaking of which, Ludo Wu liked chachi.
“Yes, this is a dish I’m researching for sale. This is called a croquette. If you don’t mind… Ludo Wu, would you like to try?”
“Can I?”
Ludo Wu’s eyes started to shine, and Rimee Wu shouted unhappily: “That’s too sly!”
“Why are you only letting Ludo eat it? Rimee wants to try too!”
“Oh, sorry. I was planning to taste it myself, so I only prepared a single portion.”
I might be overthinking it, but since I would be serving “Kiba cutlet” for tomorrow’s dinner, I didn’t want them to try deep fried food on consecutive days.
I let Ludo Wu sample this because he got really mad for my sake, so I wanted to thank him a little. But Rimee Wu looked very displeased.
“Look, like I said yesterday, eating deep fried food every day is not good for the body. Rimee Wu’s body is still small, so you have to pay more attention to this.”
“Ludo is a runt too!”
“You are the runt!”
I accidentally started a fight between siblings.
I looked timidly back at Ai Fa, but she said preemptively: “I’m not eating.”
“If it tastes too good, just a taste test won’t satisfy me.”
I thought her facial expression was saying: “I don’t just want to eat your food”, but that was probably just my delusion.
“A-Anyways, I plan to cook ‘Kiba cutlets’ for dinner tomorrow, so please wait until then. This dish will just be made for sale.”
“But Asuta’s cooking is definitely yummy!”
“No, I fail a lot too, you just didn’t get to see it. If you really want to try… How about I get you to try my dishes next time?”
Rimee Wu puffed her cheeks and looked at me with brows low: “Really? You are not tricking me? It’s a promise then.”
“Yes, I promise.”
“Ughh… Alright, I will bear with it this time.”
Rimee Wu seemed really disappointed as she started grilling poitan again. Ludo Wu snickered with a triumphant face. What a complicated relationship between siblings…
I focused on the task at hand again.
First, I minced the aria and added in a little animal oil.
When the food turned soft, I added minced meat and seasoned with salt and Pico leaves. I then scooped up the cooked chachi and mashed it with a krilee stick while it was still hot. I then mixed the other ingredients together with the chachi and melded them into balls. The preparation was complete.
Next, similar to yesterday, I coated it with fuwano powder, kimyusu egg, as well as baked fuwano crumbs and then deep fried them with animal oil.
On top of that, I planned to make a seasoning sauce too.
For the denizens of Forest’s Edge who ate only salt and jerky, oil and excessive salt were unnecessary. However, the people in the Post Station Town who preserved their meat with salt instead of Pico leaves liked their food salty, and they needed to take in that much salt too. Hence, I decided to use more Tau sauce for seasoning.
I came up with the recipe for this dish when I was abducted into the Count Turan manor. I heated some minced tarapa and aria in a pot, and after cooling it a little, I added in Tau sauce and fuwano powder. The sourness of tarapa, the sweetness of aria, the thick texture of fuwano, and soy sauce-like Tau sauce combined together to make something similar to Worcestershire sauce.
It would be even closer with some mamaria vinegar, but that could only be purchased in the city. I had to make this dish with ingredients available in the Post Station Town.
“… Asuta, this dish is interesting too.”
Leina Wu looked sadly my way as she cooked her tarapa sauce.
“Yes, I see. If I manage to sell this dish in an inn, I will teach you how to make it.”
Compared to kiba, a dish that used more chachi was more suited to the taste of the people in the Post Station Town. However, the townsfolk consumed less oil than Forest’s Edge denizens, so I needed to consult the innkeepers.
In any case, let’s make the dishes first.
When the oil was heated to the same temperature as yesterday, I added the ingredient into the oil.
The nice crackling sound came from the kitchen today too.
The animal oil was still clear, so it could be used for another time or two. But without any strainer, it was a pain to remove any impurities.
By the way, Dell still hasn’t visited the Post Station Town yet.
Since I would be cooking deep fried food from now on, I wanted strainers and other cooking tools. However, there wasn’t anything similar being sold in the Post Station Town, so I had to ask Dell who dealt with steelware for help.
But Pyschkurewuss is an important business partner to Dell’s father, so he probably doesn’t want to have any dealings with the Forest’s Edge.
If Pyschkurewuss fell into ruins, Dell and her father’s efforts would be wasted. Would they get mad at me if that happened?
The friendship we forged over time was hanging in the air. What would happen to the relationship I built up with that girl? With a sense of loneliness, I scooped up the golden brown croquette and placed it onto the makeshift strainer I made with skewers.
“It smells delicious, what’s it called?”
“Well, this isn’t really a meat dish, so the Forest’s Edge denizens might not like it.”
But I was thinking if this could be served as snacks in the Post Station Town.
By the way, I was also wondering whether the denizens of Forest’s Edge should get accustomed to eating more side dishes.
Last night, I tried serving tino shreds and tarapa salad, and boiled gigo as side dishes for the “Kiba cutlet”. The dishes I made contained more salt, sugar, and oil than dinner on previous nights, so I needed to increase the amount of vegetables.
Ludo Wu will probably like dishes that use the potato-like chachi.
I thought as I added some sauce to the croquette that had been drained of all excess oil.
“Alright, it’s done. It’s still hot, so be careful not to get burned.”
I put the croquette onto another plate, split it in half, and offered half of it to Ludo Wu.
And then popped the other half into my mouth… The incredibly nostalgic texture of the croquette spread in my mouth.
The potato-like chachi was really alluring. Kiba which was usually the main character was sidelined but still contributed its chewy texture to the dish. The crispy feeling of the fuwano powder was outstanding too.
Did my father know how well animal oil meshes with deep-fried food? At least, I didn’t know before this.
Since it was animal oil, it should be viscous, but that wasn’t so. Instead, it had a refreshing aftertaste and a delectable sweetness.
Anyway, the croquette tasted as good as the cutlet.
This was good enough for sale. I exhaled in relief with a deep sense of satisfaction… And then someone suddenly grabbed me by the chest.
“Huh? What’s the matter, Ludo Wu?”
Ludo Wu leaned in close with a serious face:
“… It tastes too good.”
“Oh, is that so. That’s great…”
“This is the best so far! Compared to steak, hamburg steak, and vegetable stew, this is the best! What is this!?”
“Well, I already said that it’s called croquette…”
“Make more for me! This bit isn’t enough at all!”
Ludo Wu who was smaller than me in stature but had the arm strength of a hunter shook me violently.
“Alright, but the nutrition of deep-fried food isn’t too balanced… So, let’s do that next time?”
“When is next time!? Tomorrow!? The day after tomorrow!?”
He rocked me so hard that my vision was turning white. Like mild amnesia or a mild concussion.
Ai Fa rescued me at this moment:
“Ludo Wu, don’t mess around too much.”
A calm voice came, and the pressure at my chest disappeared. Ludo Wu’s figure moved slowly away.
However, the world was still rocking.
No, what was rocking was that thing in my skull.
A strong force and warmth slowly enveloped my crumbling body, and a sweet scent entered the depth of my consciousness.
“Asuta is as weak as women and children. You can’t treat him so violently.”
“But, that thing is too tasty!”
Ludo Wu shouted like a child.
I could see the light flickering in his eyes, and his voice seemed so far away.
“Just calm down for now. No matter how tasty that dish is, it’s not healthy if you keep eating it. He just told you that.”
However, Ai Fa’s voice was so close. From right behind my ears.
That was only natural, since Ai Fa was holding my body from behind. My legs were devoid of strength, and I was resting my entire weight onto Ai Fa, with her arms around my chest.
“Uwah, sorry! I’m fine now, Ai Fa!”
“You are not fine. You can’t use any strength at all.”
Ai Fa said impatiently and hugged me even tighter.
“But, Ai Fa, you will understand after trying it! It’s really good!”
“Everyone has their own preferences. We already discussed that when we ate steaks.”
“Then, for me, this is the best tasting dish!”
“You have to bear with it then. Just think of this as a trial to turn Asuta’s prowess into good medicine.”
Ai Fa spoke to him over my shoulder.
At this moment, Rimee Wu interjected: “How sly!”
“If it tastes that good, Rimee wants to eat it too! Asuta, make one for Rimee next time, okay?”
“Yes, I will.”
“I want to try too. Even more so since it’s for sale.”
“Really now, I also want a bite.”
Shela Wu and Barcia also joined in.
I was terribly embarrassed as Ai Fa was hugging me from behind right now.
Finally, Leina Wu also looked at me grudgingly: “… Really, how sly.”
I took a deep sigh, and Ai Fa whispered in my ear: “Don’t worry. We have to bear with it sometimes to turn Asuta’s strength into good medicine.”
“Ah, yes...”
“I’m enduring it, so Ludo Wu has to do the same. However… If you belittle what we are bearing with, you will suffer the same retribution.”
She held me so tightly that I felt I was going to get crushed. Was this my retribution for not making hamburg steak for my house head after such a long time.
Anyway, the conference was just a day and a half away.
3
The next day, 14th of the White Month, the day before the conference with Pyschkurewuss, a heavy atmosphere hung over the town. News spread by Zashuma was slowly making its round throughout the Post Station Town.
The Forest’s Edge denizens suspected Pyschkurewuss of being a criminal and would hold a conference with Pyschkurewuss to determine the punishment for Zattsu Tsun and the other villains. If both sides couldn’t reach an agreement, there was no telling what might happen. This insider information had become common knowledge within the Post Station Town.
And now, I have decided to close the stall tomorrow, the 15th. I would also stop the catering for the inns tomorrow; instead, I sold them three days worth of fresh meat. What would happen two days later would depend on tomorrow’s conference.
Yang’s business was still booming. I heard he sold 200 portions on his opening day. It was a mini snack that cost 1 red copper plate, but a normal stall would only sell 50 or so portions, so his sales were amazing.
From what I saw on the way to the inns, Yang’s stall was doing as good as yesterday.
However, the crowd was a little different. The ratio between men and women was about even yesterday, but the number of women increased today.
There were also many more kids. Since the snack was sweet, this was the natural outcome. The colorful wrapping also attracted women and children. There were few easterners and southerners today too, and I couldn’t see any drunk westerner ruffians either.
On the other hand, the patrons to my stall were the complete opposite of this crowd. So those who didn’t visit my stall had all gone over here. I decided to remember this for future reference.
In any case, Yang’s business was doing great.
And also, three inns and four stalls had started selling dishes made with grilled poitan.
The food was the same as usual, but the fuwano was replaced by the poitan. With the help of the Post Station Town’s ruler, the Count Satolas house, Polarse had roped in these shops to switch to poitan.
They could buy the poitan at its original price and make it into powder form, and would be taught how to add color to the grilled poitan. This was a very unorthodox sales method.
I could spot the stalls with booming business when walking through the marketplace. Adding color to dishes with neenon and nanaru was rare, and the novelty of cooking poitan this way made these stalls popular. And, of course, Yang’s now famous stall was also using grilled poitan, which had a big influence on this too.
The stalls that agreed to adopt poitan could also learn how to make nyuushi. The stalls selling grilled poitan could use nyuushi too, making them even more popular.
They really covered all the corners.
Kamyua Yost probably didn’t expect nyuushi to make its debut here, which was part of Polarse’s strategy.
If this went on, reversing the status of poitan and fuwano would no longer be a dream. Like what Polarse said, poitan was cheaper than fuwano, so neither the seller nor buyer had a reason to turn down this trade.
“News of this situation should have reached Pyschkurewuss by now. He might just laugh it off for now, but if he finds out that the Taliem and Satolas houses are working together, he won’t be able to keep his calm.”
Zashuma said with a laugh.
At most, this was just a set up to pressure Pyschkurewuss, and more time would be needed to yield tangible effects. This wasn’t enough to cause substantial losses to Pyschkurewuss. However, our goal was to give him some pressure by letting him know “your wealth won’t last forever”— and digging a hole in his sturdy wall.
This was a plan to keep the people around Pyschkurewuss in check.
Right now, Count Taliem had given silent consent towards his son’s action. While it wasn’t clear how enthusiastic the Count Satolas house was in this plan, they still provided aid to Polarse. Pyschkurewuss’ claw was slowly being torn out.
“… We will finally go into the city tomorrow.”
After the operation hours were over, we headed to Uncle Dora’s stall to procure vegetables. An incredibly stern face welcomed us.
“The conference will start at noon, correct? Then, it will probably be finished by 2pm to 3pm, right?”
“Well, I don’t really know either.”
“It shouldn’t last until dusk, right? If Asuta and the others still don’t come out from the city gates, it will be big trouble...”
Uncle Dora’s smile looked a little angry.
“I will definitely go to the city gates. The easterners and southerners won’t sit by idly either.”
“I see, but before things escalate to that extent, we will do the best choice and return safely.”
“Yes, but I will still worry! What worries me the most is that Asuta needs to attend too!”
Uncle Dora looked depressed again. He was worried about the denizens of Forest’s Edge destroying Genos and also our safety too.
And, of course, that’s because the tribal chiefs of Forest’s Edge accepted all of Pyschkurewuss’ terms. Donda Wu’s brother Ryada Wu said that Donda Wu already expected Pyschkurewuss to raise these terms.
During dinner last night, Donda Wu said: “Bringing hunters along as escorts, as Kaslan Lutim explained, is to display our resolve in a simple to understand manner. Depending on how they react, we will respond with force. It is a way of intimidating them.”
“They didn’t seem to understand the reason why we planned to bring so many men along. But they do know the reason why we are bringing the Tsun clan members with us, and have a larger reaction to that… So we have to be ready that they might resort to violence.”
“So, what should we do? Accept their unreasonable terms?”
In response to the unhappy Ludo Wu, Donda Wu showed a feral smile:
“Do we have any reason to reject them? Graff Zaza and I will be there. So will Dali Sauti and Kaslan Lutim. Even if we have a bunch of dead weights, we won’t lose to them. We will also have ten escorts with us.”
“But your blades will be confiscated at the venue, right? And fully armed guards will be there…”
I couldn’t help interjecting, and Donda Wu turned to me without any hesitation:
“If we need to use force, we can just take the weapons of those soldiers. And… We are not the only ones with deadweight.”
Blue flame of fury was burning in Donda Wu’s eyes.
“Before the foolish city soldiers can hurt our tribemates, I will wring Pyschkurewuss’ neck. If they still resist… Then the fight will get real.”
I couldn’t imagine Donda Wu and Kaslan Lutim losing to those soldiers.
Just like Uncle Dora feared, the worst thing would be Pyschkurewuss underestimating the prowess of Forest’s Edge hunters, which would lead to tragedy.
“Anyway, we won’t act without provocation. If we have to use force, whether the laws of Genos would fault us or Pyschkurewuss would be the most crucial factors for us.”
With that, Donda Wu looked my way:
“So I won’t have any problem with the Tsun clan people and you attending. Use your glib tongue to defend yourself, Asuta of the Fa house.”
“Alright, I understand.”
Ai Fa nodded and said quietly: “Wait.”
“I will comply with the decision of the Forest’s Edge tribal chiefs. But… If you are bringing Asuta along, let me go with him too. As the head of the Fa house, I won’t back down from this.”
“… The six attendees have been decided. Three tribal chiefs and three followers… Kaslan Lutim and the heads of the Fou and Bemu houses.”
“…”
“However, the other side is the one who raised this new condition. Tell Pyschkurewuss that if he wants Asuta to attend the conference, then a permit for the head of the Fa house to join should be granted too.”
“… Much obliged.”
Ai Fa lowered her head.
And so, it had been decided that Ai Fa and I would be joining the conference tomorrow.
“Asuta-niichan, you must return safely tomorrow, okay?”
I nodded to the teary Tara and her father:
“I will definitely return safe and sound. I promise that I will do my best.”
I could neither wield a blade nor take on any responsibilities. But I believed my tribemates who would put their life and pride on the line, and had to do my very best.
And so, we bade Uncle Dora farewell and left the Post Station Town.
The Forest’s Edge settlement awaited me, and one more major event was coming up before the finale tomorrow.
“Yo, long time no see, Asuta and Ai Fa!”
When we reached the Wu clan village, someone greeted us.
It was Rau Lei whom I haven’t seen in four days.
“Oh, Rau Lei. What brings you here today?”
“What do you mean?. I brought Yamiel Lei here. I lent my Totos to you, so we walked here.”
“Ahh, the head of the Lei house walked here personally?”
Before I got abducted, Rau Lei often dropped by the Fa house with Yamiel Lei on his Totos. He was faster than Dan Lutim.
“My reliable kins are all at home! And I don’t want to hand this job over to anyone else.”
Rau Lei’s eyes were like a hunting dog.
“Asuta, you want to treat Yamiel Lei and the others to dinner you will be making personally, right? I want to join too, will that be fine?”
“Huh? I don’t mind, but shouldn’t you ask Donda Wu about this?”
“Donda Wu told me to ask you! So you agree?”
Rau Lei smiled happily:
“Thank you! After the harvest festival, I have been itching to eat Asuta’s cooking again! The women in the Lei house have improved their cooking skills, but they still can’t compare to Asuta!”
“Yes, I will work hard to not disappoint you.”
When I asked him where Yamiel Lei was, a loud voice came from behind: “Hey, Asuta!”
I turned back with Gilulu’s reins in hand and saw Dan Lutim’s figure.
“It’s been so long! I have a request…”
“Ah, okay. If it is about dinner, do you need to tell Donda Wu about it?”
“What! You saw through what I was thinking!?”
I smiled weakly.
Kaslan Lutim and a woman walked forth from behind the surprised Dan Lutim.
“Asuta, you have returned. Ludo Wu… I brought Aura here.”
Zwei’s mother, Zuro Tsun ex-wife and now a member of Lutim house. Her brown hair was cut to shoulder length, and she had delicate facial features. She was so young that I couldn’t tell she was Zwei’s mother, but her expression was lackluster, and a shadow hung over her eyes.
“It’s been a while, Aura. Zwei and Emma Min Lutim are walking over and should be here soon.”
“… Is that so…”
The last time I saw her was at Tay Tsun’s burial in the forest. My impression of her had not changed since that time, and I wasn’t sure if I should be happy or worried.
“There is still some time before dinner. Where should I let Aura wait?”
Dan Lutim asked Ludo Wu, but the one answering was Rau Lei.
“I sent Yamiel Lei to that empty house over there. I want to let her chat with her family.”
“Ah, you mean Mida? Or…”
“Zuro Tsun, Diga, and Doddo. Right now, Graff Zaza is at the door guarding them.”
“Then you should go there too.”
When she heard what Dan Lutim said, Aura said with her shoulders trembling:
“… I understand… By your leave…”
“Don’t be so formal! You are prohibited from meeting them as your relationship has been broken. Hence, this is a rare chance for you to talk to them, right?”
“Then, I will talk to Graff Zaza and the others.”
Led by Rau Lei, Aura headed to the empty house that I often lodged in.
As he watched them leave, Dan Lutim showed a rare worried expression.
“Well… Aura and Zwei have already joined the Lutim house for more than a month. But they still haven’t opened their heart to me. I want to bestow the Lutim family name to them soon too…”
“That incident with Zattsu Tsun left a deeper impression on them. Don’t be hasty, the important thing is for them to calm down.”
Kaslan Lutim answered calmly, then turned to me and said:
“By the way, Asuta, aside from my father, can you prepare a few more portions for dinner?”
“Huh? Well, that’s fine. There was already 20-odd people, so adding a few more wouldn’t be a problem…”
“Then I will be counting on you. Are five more portions fine with you?”
“No problem. But who are the five?”
“Dali Sauti, Graff Zaza, the heads of the Fou and Bemu houses, and me. Which are the people participating in the conference tomorrow.”
Kaslan Lutim then smiled:
“I heard Donda Wu wants Zuro Tsun and the others to try Asuta’s cooking, so Dali Sauti asked if the other conference attendees should join in too. Graff Zaza brought Zuro Tsun’s group over personally. He didn’t return home in order to discuss with Dali Sauti about tomorrow’s matters.”
Dali Sauti said during the harvest festival that Graff Zaza should try Asuta’s dish. To accept the delicious dish, learn the strength and joy the Fa house and Wu clan had obtained… If he wanted to refute the actions of the Fa house, he needed to understand the situation completely.
“If you have no objections, I plan to use the Totos I borrowed from the Wu clan to inform the Fou and Bemu houses. Dali Sauti will come over to the Wu clan after finishing his hunting duties.”
“Hmmp! You laid out such schemes and wanted to exclude me alone! How sly of you, Kaslan!”
Kaslan Lutim apologized to the fuming Dan Lutim with a smile: “I’m very sorry.”
“I was thinking that father’s appetite is bigger than normal people, and am worried that it might be too much of a burden for Asuta. I didn’t have any ill intentions.”
“What!? Did you hear that, Asuta!? He ignores his father after marrying his wife!”
“This has nothing to do with Emma Min.”
I couldn’t help laughing.
But with so many additional guests, I couldn’t stand by idly.
“I will start cooking dinner then. Dan Lutim, can you help me inform Donda Wu?”
“Okay, will do!”
I didn’t know what would happen to the business the day after tomorrow, so I bought enough ingredients ahead of time. I could use them first and deal with it later.
But preparing food for seven more people was quite a substantial, so I need to deal with that quickly.
“Then, how many portions should we make?”
Leina Wu asked as she walked to the kitchen.
“Twelve members of the Wu clan main house, Yamiel Lei’s group of seven, Ai Fa, Barcia and me, Shin Wu’s family of six, so there are 28.”
Shela Wu and Tali Wu wanted to help too, so we made their family’s share too.
“Including the newcomers, there are 35 people. Since there are some with larger appetite than normal, we should prepare about 45 portions to be safe.”
“Forty five portions… That’s a mini banquet.”
“Yes, but we can do it by working together.”
There were about three hours left. But we would be taking the day off tomorrow, so everyone could focus on making dinner. So, theoretically, there shouldn’t be any problem.
“Ahh, welcome back! Asuta, the poitan is done!”
Rimee Wu and the others had already started working in the kitchen.
“Thank you. But there are a lot more unexpected guests, so can you prepare another ten portions?”
“Ten portions? Understood!”
Rimee Wu was about to run off to the food store when Sati Lei Wu called out to her:
“Rimee is good at cooking, so you should help Asuta. I will grill the poitan.”
“Thank you, Sati Lei Wu.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Sati Lei Wu smiled gently:
“You need to make the other dishes in the kitchen, right? Then I will grill the poitan at Shin Wu’s place.”
Sati Lei Wu wasn’t as good as Rimee Wu in cooking, but no one was as considerate as her. With so many skilled members with me, I had nothing to worry about.
“Then the work schedule would be the as we agreed on yesterday, I will be counting on everyone. I will fill in for Sati Lei Wu here.”
The ones cooking would be the women of the Wu clan main house and Shin Wu’s house, eight in total. The one absent was Grandma Ditto Min who had to tend to Kota Wu.
“Ahh, sorry for being so sudden, but I plan to include ribs in the menu.”
“Ribs? But why?”
Shela Wu asked baffledly, and I said with a smile:
“Because Dan Lutim will be coming, so I want to include a ribs dish. No matter how luxurious dinner might be, Dan Lutim will be sad if there aren’t any ribs.”
Shela Wu smiled, and Lala Wu also agreed: “That’s right.”
“We are already making so many dishes, will adding another dish be fine?”
“We can decrease the quantity of the other dishes. It will take more effort, but we should be able to make it in time.”
“Fufu. It’s fine, we will do whatever Asuta says.”
Lala Wu had a good reason to worry; we were already planning to cook eight different dishes.
There were a lot of people attending, and we needed to let Zuro Tsun understand what the Fa house was doing too. I thought we should present the food we were selling in the Post Station Town to them.
Hence, today’s menu was— 『Kiba burgers』, 『Myam-roasted meat』, 『Braised kiba』, 『Meat chachi』, 『Kiba sauté- Arrabbiata style』, 『Kiba cutlet』, 『Kiba Tau sauce soup』, 『Kiba meat karon milk stew』, and 『Kiba roast ribs』, a total of nine dishes.
I delegated the 『Kiba burgers』, 『Myam-roasted meat』, and 『Kiba Tau sauce soup』 completely to Leina Wu and Shela Wu, and assigned the other dishes to the others as efficiently as possible.
“Alright then, I will return home and prepare the meat patties with my mother.”
“Okay, I will be counting on you. Leina Wu, please make the vegetable stew. I will get the karon milk. Ai Fa… Can you help me move the pot?”
Ai Fa, Shela Wu, and I exited the kitchen together. However, Shela Wu who was walking in front of me stopped suddenly, and I ran into her.
“Darum Wu… You are back.”
I could see Darum Wu over Shela Wu’s shoulder. His long black hair was tied behind him, there was a deep scar on his right cheek, and he was a hunter with eyes like a wolf… It was the second son of the Wu clan main house, Darum Wu.
He went to the Zaza house village for half a month in order to watch over Zuro Tsun and the others. Since Zuro Tsun and company had been sent to the Wu clan village, he came along with them.
“It’s been a while, Darum Wu… It’s great that you are safe.”
“Yes.”
Darum Wu nodded at Shela Wu and then stared at me with a fiery gaze. He then grabbed both my arms and pulled me along with him.
Ai Fa protested immediately, but Darum Wu brushed her off with: “I have business with Asuta of the Fa house.”
“What business do you have with Asuta? Your violent actions…”
“I won’t act violently towards him. I will cut off my right arm if I go back against my words.”
Darum Wu said these familiar lines as he pulled me far away from Ai Fa and the others.
After walking ten meters or so, we stopped. We were still within Ai Fa and the others’ sight, but far enough for them not to hear us.
I glanced their way and could see Shela Wu pulling the arm of Ai Fa who was trying to come towards us.
“L-Long time no see, Darum Wu.”
To start, I greeted him normally.
Darum Wu let go of my hand and leaned in close.
“Asuta of the Fa house. Are you… retarded?”
“Huh? Well, I know that I’m bad with words…”
“Didn’t you tell me that you want to protect Ai Fa? And yet, you got caught by the enemy, what are you trying to do?” He glared at me from close up with his eyes shining with blue light. “You said you want to protect Ai Fa’s feelings, thoughts, and pride. Was all that just lip service? Are you staying with Ai Fa with so little resolve?”
My heart ached, and I was at a loss for words.
The rage in Darum Wu’s eyes burned more intensely as he came even nearer:
“I told you that I will end you if you fail to protect Ai Fa. But what should I do if you die before that happens?”
Darum Wu appeared to be suppressing the anger in his voice. But it seemed to have gotten the better of him because he grabbed my shoulders.
“Have you thought about what will happen to Ai Fa if she loses you? You already have a place deep in Ai Fa’s heart, do you want her to experience the despair of losing you?”
I thought I heard the sound of my shoulder blade cracking, but Darum Wu’s words hurt me even more.
“That’s what protecting Ai Fa means. Before worrying about Ai Fa dying in the forest, you have to stay by her side. If you don’t even understand that… Then, why did I…”
“I know! Or rather, I think I know.”
I understood very clearly that nothing I say would be enough.
But I had to tell him what I thought.
“I might be too weak to even protect myself, but I want to stay by Ai Fa’s side… and get to know each other, and live together until the day we die. It might not be convincing after the mistake I made… But that is how I truly feel.”
“…”
“This incident made me realize how weak I really am. But even so… I still want to be together with Ai Fa.”
Darum Wu glared at me quietly and finally let go of my shoulders.
And he facepalmed himself as if he had an intense headache.
“… Please…”
“Huh?”
“Please, don’t make Ai Fa sad again.”
Darum Wu said that quietly, turned, and walked away quickly. Ai Fa and Shela Wu jogged to my side.
“Hey, what was all that? Asuta, I don’t get that at all.”
Ai Fa leaned in angrily to the same distance as Darum Wu just now.
“That time during the harvest festival, and today as well, why is that second son treating Asuta like that?”
“Well… He just berated me for getting captured by the enemy.”
Ai Fa didn’t accept my explanation and leaned in closer.
“That’s the fault of the hunters on guard duty. Why is he blaming Asuta?”
“That’s not true. No one else held me accountable for my mistakes, so I’m really thankful towards Darum Wu.”
That was what I really felt.
Ai Fa twisted her lips in surprise and looked me in the eye just like Darum Wu did earlier.
“I still don’t get it. Asuta, whenever you meet that second son, you will get quiet.”
“Yes, that might be so.”
Ai Fa pulled away and pouted unhappily.
Shela Wu smiled beside her.
“I will head home then. I will be back after I finish making the meat patties.”
“Alright. Oh… Thank you, Shela Wu.”
Shela Wu who was about to turn away smiled again.
“You don’t need to thank me, Asuta. I’m just doing what I wanted to do...”
With that, Shela Wu turned and left.
I sighed softly and then slapped my face hard with my right hand.
“What are you doing, Asuta.”
Ai Fa said with her eyes wide open.
“Nothing, I’m just cheering myself on. Well then… Please help me move this jar.”
I smiled at Ai Fa.
Ai Fa frowned and put her hand on my face.
“That looks painful, Asuta.”
“I’m fine, it didn’t hurt at all.”
I took Ai Fa’s hand and headed towards the food store.
The sun that was between its peak and the horizon sunk slowly towards the west.
