Chapter 1: The Silver Lions

1

That morning, Ai Fa was the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes. For some reason, she was sitting by my pillow and seemed to have been staring at my face as I slept, which really threw me for a loop.

“H-Hey, good morning, Ai Fa. What are you doing there, exactly?”

“Hmm? I am not doing anything in particular. I finished getting dressed, so I was simply looking at your face,” Ai Fa replied with her usual commanding expression, but there was a gentle light shining in her blue eyes. Ever since that day—my birthday back on the twenty-fourth of the yellow month—I had seen that look in her eyes quite often.

Back on that night, we had exchanged a promise: If the day ever came when the roadblocks stopping us from getting married to each other were cleared away, then we would.

I had promised to wait for Ai Fa until she was prepared for that, and Ai Fa had sworn to love me and me alone from here on out. She had said the words with a striking smile as a single tear rolled down her cheek. And when I remembered the warmth I felt when I touched that cheek and her pinky finger, I started getting emotional all over again.

Looking at my face now, Ai Fa once again broke out in a smile. “I was starting to think that if you did not get up soon, perhaps I should pull your hair. But it looks like you avoided that pain this morning, Asuta.”

“I-I see. I guess that’s down to the forest’s guidance too.”

“Do not invoke the mother forest so lightly, you fool,” Ai Fa chided me, but her voice sounded gentle and kind.

At any rate, I sat up on my bedding and stared at my clan head straight on. She was about the same height as me, so our eyes met each other on an even level whether we were standing or sitting. She looked just as beautiful, gallant, and charming as always today.

The fact that someone as wonderful as her had sworn to love me and me alone... I could feel the joy filling me up inside at the very thought.

“Three days ago...”

“Huh?”

“Three days ago, when we saw the Sudra babies...they were so adorable that I could hardly believe it.”

Three days back, Li Sudra had finally gone into labor. It had come more than half a month early, and she had given birth to twins, which was rare at the forest’s edge. Still, the babies had cried healthily, so it didn’t seem like there would be any issues.

“That was my first time seeing newborns,” Ai Fa noted. “Had you ever seen one before then?”

“No, that was a first for me too.”

“I see. Well, not having any experience with babies, I have nothing to compare them to, but I wonder if all newborns are that adorable.”

The newborn babies had had wrinkly little faces and hands, and their eyes hadn’t opened yet. Their skin had also been unnaturally red. But none of that had detracted from the fact that they had been incredibly cute.

Though they had been so tiny and light, they had felt like the heaviest things in the world when I had held them in my hands. We didn’t even belong to their clan and we still got incredibly emotional about them, so I couldn’t even begin to imagine how much joy Raielfam and Li Sudra must have felt.

“I’m not sure either. Still, if they were our kids, I’m sure we would have felt they were even cuter,” I said.

“Yes, of course.”

“Maybe someday, the Fa clan will also get to...” I started to say, but then Ai Fa reached out toward my mouth, her fingers stopping right before they touched my lips.

“There is no point in contemplating a future that may never even come. At least for now, I have no intention of laying down my blade,” Ai Fa said, and then she smiled bashfully. Her cheeks were faintly red. Feeling that hint of her warmth on my lips was leaving me pretty shaken.

“Why are you turning red like that?” she asked.

“H-Hey, you’re red too, Ai Fa.”

“That is not true. It is a crime to lie, you fool.” With one of her outstretched fingers, Ai Fa gave my nose a quick flick before smoothly rising to her feet. “Well then, it is about time for us to get to work. You should hurry and get yourself ready as well.”

“R-Right. Got it, clan head.” I stood up as well, rubbing my blazing-hot cheeks as I did.

And so, that day, the first of the green month, got off to an unusually sweet start.

It had finally been a year since I had first started living at the forest’s edge, and since this year had an extra month, it had been over four hundred days. In some ways, it had felt like a really long time, while in other ways, it had felt pretty short. But at any rate, it had been a very eventful year.

Despite how deeply emotional that milestone made me, though, it wasn’t like it had really changed anything in my day-to-day life. Or rather, things were constantly changing around us, so the end of my first year hadn’t been any kind of big turning point, relatively speaking.

Yesterday had been our day off from work at the stalls, and we were starting another five days of business beginning today. We and the Ruu clan were now preparing roughly eight hundred meals a day, and that number rose to nine hundred when Myme’s stall was included too. Since the end of the rainy season, it had typically taken about three hours for us to sell everything.

Generally, two or three of those meals was enough to fill someone up, so each day, we were seeing between 300 and 450 customers. In the past, our customers had been significantly more likely to be people from Sym or Jagar, but at this point, we were getting such a jumbled blend that it was tough to figure out what the ratios were. We had been getting more women and children who lived in Genos as customers lately as well, so it was now people of all ages and genders who were stopping by to eat our food.

I had thought that after we had started selling meat at the market and giba cooking had become less rare, it might have had a negative impact on our sales at the stalls. And that concern was still there, sure, but at least for now, that wasn’t happening in the least. According to the innkeepers who purchased giba meat, they felt like they couldn’t possibly compete with us even if they put out giba cooking stalls of their own, so for the time being, they intended to stick to selling it at night at their inns.

Still, if we keep making giba meat more and more available, it’ll eventually lose its novelty, and we may have to cut back the scale of our operations at the stalls.

I didn’t mind that, though. Our ultimate goal was selling giba meat in town. Selling our cooking at the stalls was a means to spread knowledge of how delicious that meat really was.

If giba meat gained value as a product to be sold, that would bring greater prosperity to the people of the forest’s edge. Rather than suffering in poverty, they would be able to hunt giba with greater strength than ever before. If we could bring those benefits to all of the clans of the forest’s edge, then Ai Fa and I would finally be able to say that our long-held wish had been fulfilled.

To take things to their most extreme, I wouldn’t even mind if we had to stop selling our cooking entirely. If the townsfolk started coming up with their own delicious giba recipes and came to desire the meat alone, that would still fulfill my goal. In fact, it would be ideal if people started to think that meals made with giba weren’t anything special, but rather something anyone could prepare well.

Still, it’s not like I want to give up the stalls, I thought to myself as I tackled the day’s work. Even if we managed to get everyone in town to love the taste of giba meat, I still wanted to keep on doing business and forming bonds with the townsfolk. That was important for the people of the forest’s edge as well.

And today, I was fortunate enough to feel the joy of the job all over again. Around when the sun hit its peak and we were hurriedly working away, a certain group showed up at the stalls.

“Hey there. Things sure are lively around here.”

This was something I had been expecting to happen, sure. But that did nothing to lessen the joy and surprise that I felt in that moment.

“Aldas! And everybody else too! You made it back to Genos right on schedule!”

“Yep. We dropped our totos and wagons off at our inn, then headed straight over here. Naudis told us a bit about what’s been going on, but man, things have really changed around here,” Aldas, the vice head of a carpentry group from Jagar, remarked with a hearty laugh.

There were also a ton of nostalgic familiar faces lined up alongside him. Though it could be tricky at times to tell folks from Jagar apart because of their scraggly mustaches, I definitely recognized everyone in front of me.

Aldas was also a real giant compared to the rest of the group, the only one over 180 centimeters tall, so there was even less chance of mistaking him for anyone else. And just like I remembered, his green eyes shone brightly as he smiled at me gently.

“At any rate, I’m relieved to see you looking well, Asuta. It really has been quite a while.”

“Yeah. It’s been eleven months since you were last here, thanks to the extra one, right? I’m glad to see you looking the same as always too. So, is Balan...” I started to say, only for a voice to suddenly shout out from behind Aldas.

“Hey, what’s going on here?! You’ve got five or six stalls in a row all selling giba meat! How am I supposed to know what to buy?!”

“P-Pops, long time no see.”

The speaker was none other than the leader of the carpenters, Balan. He was short and stout like you’d expect of someone from Jagar, and he naturally also had an abundant mustache. His glaring eyes, big nose, and displeased expression were all just like I remembered too.

“Rumors about you lot have made it all the way to Jagar! You clashed with the nobles of Genos head-on, of all things! You’re really lucky to have survived something like that! You fools need to learn some restraint already!”

“Ah, yeah, well... I’m sorry for worrying you...”

“I suppose I should at least praise you for the fact that you’ve managed to stay in business.” Despite his harsh words, Pops suddenly reached out and poked me in the chest and continued with a kinder tone. “You’re looking good, Asuta. From what the innkeeper said, you’ve been doing pretty well for yourself, huh?”

“We definitely have. It makes me incredibly happy, getting to see you all again,” I said with a look of sincere fondness.

The carpenter group Pops led stayed in Genos once a year from the green month through the blue month, working to repair buildings throughout the post town. When I had first opened up a stall in the post town at the end of the green month last year, I had formed a bond with them, but we had parted ways after barely a month. They were staying at The Great Southern Tree, so Naudis had informed me of their scheduled arrival in advance, but that didn’t dull the excitement of our reunion in the least.

“Hmph! You knew we were coming back in the green month, didn’t you? It’s nothing to go on and on about like that!” Pops started complaining again with a sour look on his face. Still, even his shouting was something I felt terribly nostalgic about.

“You really never change, do you, Pops? You were so restless back in the wagon, but this is how you act when you finally get to see him?” Aldas chimed in with another laugh. “Back when he heard you had caused trouble with the nobles of Genos, this guy here was so upset that he couldn’t even work properly. If we had left him to his own devices, he probably would’ve run all the way back to Genos on his own.”

“Don’t go around spouting nonsense! You were all flustered and kept asking what to do yourself, right?!”

“Of course I was. I mean, the people of the forest’s edge were being treated really horribly back in Genos,” Aldas said, his eyes taking on a gentle shine. “At any rate, we’re just glad that you made it through all of that safely. And we were really eager to come back here to Genos too.”

After that, I went ahead and greeted the rest of the group too, with smiles on our faces all the while. Including Pops and Aldas, eight members of the carpentry group had made the journey to Genos. Though I didn’t know all their names, they had stopped by the stall daily for over a month, so I felt incredibly overjoyed as I talked to them.

“Still, I never expected you would expand your business this much. Are those seats under that roof yours too?”

“They are. We got that set up before the sun god’s revival festival. We wanted to sell a variety of dishes such as soups, and we needed proper seating for that.”

“Ah, I see. It looks like your crew of workers is pretty different now too.”

The only ones the carpenters knew were Vina Ruu, Reina Ruu, Lala Ruu, Sheera Ruu, and Li Sudra. Out of that group, the only one on duty today was Sheera Ruu, who looked rather different after her hair had been cut.

On top of that, we’d only had two stalls before, but now we had six, and we had the outdoor restaurant space as well. They had previously only seen the modest setup we’d had right after we’d gotten started, so things must have felt massively different to them now. Honestly, I could’ve kept on talking with them forever, but the folks behind them then shouted out, “Hey, how long are you gonna keep us waiting?!”

“Whoops, we got a bit carried away talking there. I guess we should go ahead and place an order. Still, Pops was right... I’m having trouble deciding what to purchase.”

“In that case, would you like me to help you choose? There are six varieties of dishes on offer, and we can split them up into smaller portions so you can enjoy all of them.”

“Ah, that would be a big help! In that case, we’ll leave it up to you, Asuta!”

And so, the carpenters headed over to the seating area empty-handed.

After first getting to the customers who had been waiting all that time, I pondered how to split things up. I had done something similar for the Gamley Troupe back during the revival festival, so I went ahead and relied on my prior experience.

“That was the carpentry group from Jagar, wasn’t it?” the Matua girl who had been assisting me asked with a smile. “You and those southerners both looked very happy. They are precious to you, just like Shumiral of the Ririn clan, aren’t they?”

“Yeah. Shumiral and the rest of Silver Vase and those carpenters were my very first regulars, so I’m pretty attached to them.”

“I think that’s wonderful. If you want, I can take over for a while so you can go deliver their food to them.”

At least for today, that wasn’t the sort of proposal I could possibly turn down. And so, after ordering the appropriate amount from each stall, I grabbed a tray from the wagon and headed over to act as their personal waiter.

“Sorry for the wait. I’ll need to make a number of trips, so please hold on for a bit.”

Since they would need enough food for eight people, there was going to be quite a lot of it. I carried it all over bit by bit as the carpenters cheered me on.

Today’s special was roast giba prepared in an oven, served with vegetables that had been cooked alongside it and a bit of baked poitan. This was something I had sold before, but thanks to the introduction of ovens to the forest’s edge, I was able to prepare something a lot closer to what I had been aiming for.

The Fa clan’s other two dishes were keru giba and carbonara. The Ruu were selling herb-grilled giba and giba offal stew, while Myme had her regular boiled dish prepared with karon milk.

Among those dishes, the only ones that could be split into smaller portions were the roast giba, carbonara, and giba offal stew. For the other dishes, I split the poitan into equal halves so they could each try a little.

“I believe this will be enough to leave you all feeling full. But feel free to order more individually if you want to.”

“This is a really impressive spread! And we only need to pay three red coins a head for all of this?”

“Yes. We prepare the dishes in smaller sizes than we used to, so that customers can enjoy two or three different types.”

“I see. I get the feeling that once we eat all of this we’ll definitely want more, though.”

Aldas and the rest of the group all looked seriously excited as they stared at the food. And although Balan had the same sour look on his face as always, his eyes were shining more intensely than anyone else’s.

“Okay, then let’s dig in!” Aldas called out, and they all reached out together. And not long after, a really raucous discussion filled the air.

“Ooh, this one uses keru root, doesn’t it?! I never imagined I’d get to taste that here in Genos!”

“And this one uses herbs from Sym... Hmm, it’s frustrating to admit, but it’s delicious.”

“This soup is absolutely incredible! It’s even tastier than what we had before at the inn, by a lot!”

Even though my work was done, I found it hard to step away.

And then, Yun Sudra walked over with a smile. “Asuta, I’ve finished washing dishes for now, so I’ll go help out with the stalls. I’ll call for you if I need anything, so please, feel free to take a break here for a while.”

“Ah, I couldn’t ask you to do all that.”

“It’s fine. You normally work more than anyone, so you should learn to rely on us at times like this.”

It seemed everyone around me was fully aware of just how eagerly I had been awaiting this day in the green month. That was why the Matua girl and Yun Sudra had gone out of their way to make such considerate offers.

“Thanks. I guess I’ll take you up on that.”

“Of course. Take your time,” Yun Sudra said with a brilliant grin before dashing off toward the stalls.

Then, Aldas turned my way with an intense look. “Asuta! These are all unbelievably delicious! Your skills have really improved!”

“Well, we can use a whole lot more ingredients now, so that’s allowed us to really expand our menu. Also, half of those were made by other chefs, not me.”

“I see. Well, I guess you could hardly have made all of this on your own. Still, every single dish is fantastic! It’s like a dream, getting to eat such delicious food for two whole months!”

Hearing those words brought me a lot of joy. Folks from Jagar tended to be very direct.

“I like this one that uses the keru root best! Is your favorite the soup with the tau oil, Pops?”

“I can’t rank all of these dishes just like that. But this one is really difficult to eat.”

Naturally, Pops was referring to the carbonara, which they were all experiencing for the first time.

“Ah, with that one you should wrap it around your spoon like so. You see how the end is split into three parts?”

“As if I could do something that tedious.” Pops then lifted his plate and gulped down the whole portion of pasta in one go, with the giba meat, aria, and nanaar all jumbled together. After chewing it thoroughly, he gave a satisfied sigh. “I sort of feel like drinking now. Should we have brought along some fruit wine?”

“Oh, are you not working today?”

“You think I could scramble up on a roof the very first day here after half a month of sitting in a rocking wagon?! We start work tomorrow!”

“Yeah, but we’ve got to go make work arrangements after this, so we really shouldn’t be drinking,” Aldas said as he grabbed one dish after another. At this rate, the food for eight people would be gone in a flash. “I don’t think this is going to be nearly enough. I feel like I could eat twice this much, honestly.”

“If you did that, it’d add up to six red coins. We can’t splurge that much on a midday meal,” Pops said before glaring at me. “Still, we used to get pretty full off just two coins. The price of giba cooking has really gone up, huh?”

“Ah, yes. Because of some directives the castle town gave us, we raised the price to one and a half times what it once was. They said if we kept it at the previous price, karon and kimyuus dishes would stop selling.”

“Hmph! That much was obvious right from the start. If you price stuff like this the same as karon leg meat and skinless kimyuus, of course those other folks won’t do any business.”

Pops never smiled, but there was an undeniable look of satisfaction on his face, and seeing that was enough to make me feel really fulfilled too.

“On days when we have work, this much should be plenty. So like you said, at three red coins, we’ll be paying one and a half times the price.”

“Yeah, but it’s more than twice as tasty! I certainly don’t feel like we’re getting a bad deal here!” a younger member of the group cheerfully chimed in. Everyone else seemed to be wearing satisfied smiles too. “It’d be fine if we got so full we can’t move for today, right? In that case, let’s order more!”

“I want to eat more of the meat from this plate.”

“I love the one with karon milk!”

“That didn’t feel like enough soup either. I would definitely like another serving of that size.”

It felt like if I didn’t watch myself, I would break down crying. We had reunited after nearly a full year, and they were all saying how delicious our giba cooking was. Folks from Jagar were so vibrantly emotional that I couldn’t help but feel especially moved.

“For now, why don’t we go with another coin from each of us? How much food would that get us, Asuta?” Aldas said, but before I could respond, an unusually loud commotion broke out by the road.

When he glanced in that direction, Pops furrowed his brow and grumbled, “What the heck is going on over there?”

I just sort of naturally followed his gaze, and was seriously surprised by what I saw. There were an incredible number of soldiers marching in from the north. It really wouldn’t have been an exaggeration to call it a small army, even. They were all clad in fine silver armor and helmets, and were riding on totos.

“What, do we have a war starting here or something?” Aldas muttered, also sounding astounded. The main road through the post town was around ten meters wide, and the soldiers were steadily marching down it in a five-column formation, stretching off into the distance. There had to be a couple hundred of them, at the very least. I had never seen so many soldiers before, not even when I had watched the parade held during the revival festival.

Around when they were right at the edge of the post town, the soldiers came to a sudden stop. Then a well-dressed man and his guards stepped down from the single wagon at the head of the procession before they hurriedly advanced into town.

At the same time, there were some guards who were approaching from the south—members of the militia who were always patrolling the post town. And the two groups just happened to run into one another right in front of our restaurant space.

The well-dressed guy appeared to be rather irritated as he whispered something, which the guards listened to with pale faces. Meanwhile, the townsfolk in the area were all standing around in astonishment. Clearly, none of them had any idea what was going on.

The soldiers atop their totos weren’t moving at all, almost like they were robots or something. And they were all clad in armor that was obviously of much higher quality than what the guards of Genos wore.

“I’ve never seen so many soldiers in Genos before. What in the world is going on here?” Aldas quietly whispered, and then someone responded from an unexpected direction.

“Those are the guards for the observers visiting from the capital. They were just demanding lodgings.”

I turned around, dumbfounded, and found a young man standing there in a hooded traveler’s cloak. With a big grin, he flicked back his hood.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Asuta? I’m glad that you seem to be doing all right.”

“Leito! When in the world did you make it back to Genos?!”

“Just now. They were clogging up the road, so I circled around through the thicket.” Leito was the young apprentice of the bodyguard Kamyua Yoshu, who had been away from Genos for months now without any contact. The boy had flaxen hair and reddish-brown eyes. Still smiling, he added, “Kamyua is in the castle town with the main group of observers, but he wanted me to deliver a message to you.”

“A-A message?”

“Yes. You should absolutely avoid starting trouble with the observers from the capital and the soldiers accompanying them. Kamyua said he wanted to exercise plenty of caution and prepare in every way he could to make sure that we all get through this ordeal.”

“This ordeal? What do you mean?” I asked, dumbfounded. Then I turned to look at the soldiers standing there to the north.

I noticed that the soldier standing on the right side of the front rank of the formation was holding up a massive flag. The fabric was scarlet, and it had a silver lion symbol on it. Later, I would learn that that was the sacred flag of the silver lion, which belonged to the capital of Selva, Algrad.

2

There was some serious chaos in the post town after that. Of course, that wasn’t to say that the soldiers themselves were directly causing it. They simply wanted lodgings for their stay in Genos.

However, according to what I heard later, the observers had brought a total of two hundred guards with them. Even an outsider like me could tell how unreasonable of a request that was, asking for that many people to be given a place to stay so suddenly.

Of course, there were numerous inns throughout the Genos post town. Thirty innkeepers had been at the last meeting between them, so there had to be that many at the very least. I had also heard that a number of them ran several inns. Plus, apparently not every innkeeper had attended the meeting. Thanks to having all those inns, Genos was able to accommodate a great many travelers.

Even so, this was still a real crisis. After all, no matter how many travelers the town saw normally, it was unthinkable for a group of two hundred to show up all at once.

On top of that, they didn’t want to be split up into small groups. At the bare minimum, they required the inns to house at least ten of them, ideally twenty. An inn would have to be really unpopular to have ten to twenty vacant rooms. The innkeepers were having to seriously rack their brains to figure out how to deal with this difficult problem that had suddenly fallen into their laps.

“When everything was said and done, we ended up having to lodge twenty soldiers. But we didn’t have that many rooms open, so we needed to ask several of the groups of people staying at our place to transfer elsewhere,” Telia Mas explained with a gloomy expression when we went to return the stalls after work. Apparently, Milano Mas was busy dealing with other customers. Those two hundred soldiers were still standing by on the road, as all of the arrangements needed to be taken care of before they could move.

“Seriously, what a nuisance! Sure, they’re some big shot group of observers from the capital or whatever, but who do they think they are?!” Yumi of The Westerly Wind angrily interjected. She was obviously worried for Telia Mas. Since her family’s inn was located in the slums, it was judged to not be suitable for people of the capital, so they were excluded from that whole mess. “Well, if a bunch of high and mighty soldiers came and shoved their way into our place, it would probably end in bloodshed! No matter how much money they pay, we wouldn’t want that lot around!”

“I have to agree. The inns accepting soldiers are being given special compensation, but my father and I would have preferred to have nothing to do with them if it were only possible.”

They all wanted to prioritize their familiar customers, instead of being forced to accept elite guests under orders from the nobles. Telia Mas looked so dejected that I couldn’t help but feel bad just looking at her.

“First of all, shouldn’t they have sent a messenger ahead to make reservations if they were bringing that many people along? Why didn’t they think of that?!” Yumi said.

“That’s exactly what they did before they arrived at the other towns they stopped in along the way. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been possible to lodge that many people,” Leito replied. He had disappeared for a bit, but had joined back up with us around when we were finishing up for the day. “But they didn’t do that for Genos, their final destination. That was probably for the same reason that they hired Kamyua as a guide: because they wished to hide the fact that they were arriving soon from the folks here in Genos. After all, the people of the capital already know that he and the house of Genos are on good terms. By hiring him, they were able to restrict his movements.”

“Why’d they have to go so far to hide things? Do the folks from the capital have some sort of problem with Genos?”

“Not exactly. The situation is kind of complicated, though.”

Telia Mas had a deeply emotional look in her eyes as she watched Leito talk with Yumi. The boy had been raised alongside her here at The Kimyuus’s Tail from a young age. But back when Leito had been living here in Genos, Telia Mas had still been deeply afraid of the people of the forest’s edge and hadn’t shown herself around us much, so this was actually the first time I had seen the two of them together.

“But anyway, I’d like to ask you to quietly go around to the other inns where the soldiers will be staying and give them a message...” Leito said, turning toward Telia Mas. “They may be soldiers from the capital, but they’re actually just a bunch of mercenaries. Some of them might even be more aggressive than your average outlaw. Could you tell everyone to keep that in mind when dealing with them?”

“I see... Thank you, Leito,” Telia Mas said.

“No need to thank me. Genos is my hometown too,” Leito replied with a smile, but it was hard to tell what he was really feeling inside. Telia Mas, on the other hand, stared at Leito as if he were her actual little brother. “At any rate, take care. And give my regards to Milano Mas as well.”

“Huh? You’re leaving already, Leito?”

“Yes. I need to head to the settlement at the forest’s edge next.”

After that, we said goodbye to Telia Mas and Yumi before heading back to the forest’s edge. Leito had been planning to walk there, but we had him accompany us in Gilulu’s wagon instead. After leaving the packed and lively post town, we headed up the verdant path back home, which was when I brought up the question that had been on my mind.

“Leito, about what you were saying before... What did you mean when you said they wanted to keep Genos from knowing when they were going to arrive?”

“They felt if they announced their arrival date in advance, the nobles of Genos would use that time to take precautions and coordinate their stories.”

“Coordinate their stories?”

“Yes. They seem to be planning to look into the whole issue involving the house of Turan and the people of the forest’s edge from last year, as well as all sorts of matters involving the nobles of Genos.”

I was driving the wagon, so Leito was speaking to my back.

“Normally, the observers from the capital come to Genos once or twice a year. However, they have never brought such a large number of soldiers with them before. You can take that as proof of just how serious they are about things this time.”

“S-Serious? How do you mean?”

“If they are not satisfied, they’re willing to use force. Of course, it isn’t as if a mere two hundred soldiers could bring Genos down, but it at least serves as a threat.”

That certainly did sound dangerous. And it wasn’t something Leito or the people of the forest’s edge could treat as someone else’s problem either.

“But that whole thing with the house of Turan happened nearly a year ago, didn’t it? Are they really planning to bring it back up now?”

“There must have been something they weren’t satisfied with during their previous inspection, so this time, they intend to go over it again thoroughly. That’s why I wanted to warn you and the leading clan heads of the forest’s edge,” Leito said in a relaxed tone, lacking any real sense of urgency. “The nobles from the capital are far more overbearing than the ones from Genos, and most of their guards are highly aggressive mercenaries. I’m sure this is going to be a more trying test of patience than the people of the forest’s edge have ever had to deal with before, but please remain calm and peaceable throughout.”

“We’ll be sure to always keep your warning in mind. So, Kamyua is in the castle town?”

“Ah!” Leito suddenly said. “I forgot that I had one more message to give you. Kamyua said he hopes to enjoy your giba cooking as soon as possible, Asuta. I’m sure once things settle down a bit in the castle town, you’ll see him at your stalls.”

“Sure. I’m looking forward to our reunion,” I said with a smile as I recalled Kamyua Yoshu’s goofy grin.

However, I couldn’t help but think that things were developing shockingly fast. I had known that the observers from the capital came to Genos regularly, but I had never expected the impact of their visit to reach the forest’s edge and the post town the way it currently was.

I was pretty sure I had first heard about the observers back during the rainy season. They kept a close eye on Genos to make certain that it didn’t amass too much power and try to declare itself an independent city-state no longer under the kingdom’s control, and it was important for us to be wary of them. That was what Melfried and Polarth had told us during their visit to the Sauti settlement.

That was why it had been decided that the chefs of the forest’s edge shouldn’t be invited to the castle town until after the observers’ visit, which was supposed to have happened around the end of the rainy season. As our people were in a unique position, the nobles felt it was best to not do anything that would cause the observers to take an interest in us. But there hadn’t been a peep about all of that since then, and two entire months had passed... And when they finally had arrived, they’d brought a whole circus along with them.

But no matter how much we restrain ourselves, it seems like those folks from the capital already have their eyes on the people of the forest’s edge. All we can do at this point is prepare ourselves for the worst and deal with it, I thought as the wagon arrived at the Ruu settlement.

“Well then, I’ll wait here for the leading clan head to make it back. Thank you very much for letting me ride with you, though,” Leito said.

“Of course. You take care too, Leito.”

Since we had a study session at the Fa house to take care of, we said goodbye to him at that point. But as I grabbed ahold of Gilulu’s reins once more, Toor Deen suddenly called out, “Um, Asuta...it really is a shame, what happened today.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Well, you were finally able to have your reunion with all those people from Jagar, but then all those people arrived and that must’ve really thrown cold water on things.”

“Ah, I suppose so. And Leito showed up too, so it’s pretty much been a flood of people pouring in all day, hasn’t it? Honestly, it’s hard to keep up with it all, emotionally.”

“I can’t help but find it frustrating... If this had happened just a day later, you could have enjoyed getting to see them again without anything getting in the way.”

“Thanks. You really are a kind girl, Toor Deen,” I said with a smile as I drove the wagon along the path.

“O-Oh, no, not really,” Toor Deen said in a fluster.

“Don’t worry, though. Balan and the others will be here for two whole months. I’ll have plenty of opportunities to enjoy spending time with them from tomorrow on.”

“Y-Yeah... And I hope Telia Mas and the others make it through all of this safely too.”

And indeed, that was my primary concern at the moment too. That group of wild folks who were acting as guards for the nobles from the capital were probably going to be trouble. The folks from the inns who had to welcome ten or even twenty of them had a really big problem on their hands.

Still, those soldiers I saw while I was at the stalls were all so organized and orderly that they were practically like robots. It’s kind of hard to imagine that there were actually a bunch of wild and aggressive people inside those suits of armor... What are they really like, I wonder? I thought as we pulled up to the Fa house.

There were six women out front waiting for us. The Fou were really busy with the birth of the Sudra twins, so only the members under the Gaaz and Ratsu were coming today.

“Thanks for coming out. Let’s do the prep work for the stalls first.”

No matter how much things changed, we ultimately just had to keep on doing our jobs. Still, what had happened today was, unsurprisingly, a big deal for the women who had stayed in the forest too, so it was a hot topic as we worked.

“I still don’t understand the situation at all. What logic is there in people from so far away coming here and complaining about how the criminals from the Suun and house of Turan were judged?” Fei Beim asked, having remained with us after working a shift at the stalls. She was older than me and was an honest girl with a lot of backbone and a square face that she had gotten from her father.

“There’s a lot that I don’t understand myself, but Kamyua Yoshu went out of his way to warn us, so I think we should definitely be careful.”

“Kamyua Yoshu... I’ve heard that name from my clan head.”

Back when we had revealed the crimes of Cyclaeus and the others with Kamyua Yoshu’s help, her father, the Beim clan head, had been present. Of course, that had been over ten months ago now.

“The people of the forest’s edge and the nobles of Genos followed the path we believed to be correct, so no matter what they say, we just need to be honest and unashamed,” I said while placing a lid on a box filled with freshly cut giba meat. “That wraps this up for now. How are the pasta and curry base looking?”

“They need to dry out and harden for a while.”

“Then let’s take a bit of a break, and afterward I’ll continue with what we were going over on the day before yesterday.”

We were currently working on figuring out how to use the new ingredients delivered from the castle town. The Black Flight Feathers had brought a large number of ingredients from a place called Barud. Several of them had been delivered in a large enough quantity that there was plenty to spare, and we had been given some of that stock to experiment with.

“For now, we shouldn’t have any issues with the tinfa and lemirom, right?” I asked.

“Yes. They don’t seem to be difficult to work with, so if they aren’t too expensive, I would love to use them back at home as well,” Fei Beim said.

Tinfa and lemirom were vegetables Varkas had used in the dinner we had eaten at The Silver Star. Tinfa was pure white, while lemirom had an appearance similar to a dark-green flower on the verge of blooming. Those vegetables had been transported from far away, so they had been dried out in order to preserve them, but adding water made them nice and fresh again, and when we lightly boiled them as Varkas had instructed, I was able to confirm that they tasted similar to napa cabbage and broccoli.

Varkas had prepared them in a way that made them nice and sweet using panam honey and minmi fruit, but they were plenty tasty when we just boiled them. With that said, though, neither of them asserted themselves that strongly, which made it easy to appreciate their textures, which were rather unique among vegetables.

“We’ve got two ingredients left, buleh beans and dried fish. At the very least, this fish should let us make a pretty high-quality stock.”

Dried aneira fish were one of the ingredients Varkas had employed in his mysterious soup dish. The fish that we had always used so far were dried saltwater fish that came from the capital. They had a flavor similar to bonitos, and they were cut open and dried out until the meat was stiff before they were transported to Genos. Aneira, on the other hand, were dried while they were still whole. Each one was around twelve to thirteen centimeters long, and they had beautiful silver scales. They reminded me of a type of flying fish called an ago, and boiling them produced a very nice stock that was sweet and pleasant.

“I tried using them to make stock the other day at the Ruu settlement, and removing their heads and guts seemed to make its flavor less muddied. It seemed to have its own distinct taste, different from the fish stock we’ve been making up till now,” I noted.

“But fish are expensive, aren’t they? We can only use dried fish and seaweed at banquets.”

“From what I’ve heard, the price won’t be set until negotiations with Barud officially kick off. Barud is closer than the capital, and they catch a whole ton of these fish, so they actually might end up not being all that pricey.”

Still, we had only been given a small number of them. It would probably be fine to wait until the price was set to teach the smaller clan chefs the details on how to work with them.

“Next, we’ve got these buleh beans... They may be well suited to sweets, actually.”

The beans were small, round, and reddish brown, with a shape and size similar to that of tau beans. But of course, those were more like soybeans, while these seemed to be pretty similar to red beans.

“Naturally, just like with tau beans, we should be able to simply boil and eat them. But if we boil them along with sugar, I suspect they’ll turn out pretty good.”

“If these are an ingredient for sweets, then it’ll be your time to shine again, right, Toor Deen?” Yun Sudra remarked, causing the young chef’s face to go red. But right as she was about to say something further, she paused, tilted her head, and said, “Huh? That’s the sound of a wagon, isn’t it? Coming from the south.”

“A wagon? Why would one be coming here?” I wondered, tensing up a bit as I looked outside through a latticed window. Honestly, I couldn’t help but feel concerned that maybe somebody from town had come. But as the wagon slowed down and approached the kitchen where we were, I saw a very familiar face in the driver’s seat and breathed a sigh of relief as I headed over to the door.

“What brings you here, Ryada Ruu?”

“My apologies for interrupting your work, but there’s something we wished to tell you.” Ryada Ruu was the former head of a Ruu branch house. He was currently around forty or so, but due to a leg injury, he had retired from giba hunting and made his son Shin Ruu the head of their house instead. He remained in the driver’s seat, looking down at me with a gaze that was sharp yet calm. “We just received a messenger from the castle town. The nobles who are visiting there from the capital are seeking an audience with the leading clan heads of the forest’s edge.”

“I see. They sure are anxious to get to work, considering they only just arrived here today.”

“Indeed, to an extreme degree. The leading clan heads are being told to head to the castle town tomorrow when the sun hits its peak.”

“Wait, but wouldn’t they be hunting then?” I asked.

At that point, a small figure emerged from behind Ryada Ruu: Leito, who we had just said goodbye to.

“The nobles of Genos have taken care not to interfere with the hunting duties of the leading clan heads when summoning them. However, the people from the capital seem to have no interest in being that considerate.”

“B-But why? Giba hunting is an important job for protecting the prosperity of Genos, isn’t it?”

“It’s likely that the observers are testing them to see whether they’ll follow the orders of nobles from the capital. The people of the forest’s edge fall under the rule of Duke Genos, while Duke Genos is ruled over by the king of Selva. These observers probably think that their orders should be given top priority, since they’re the king’s representatives.”

The more I heard, the more ridiculous it sounded.

“The messenger from the castle town—a subordinate of the noble named Melfried—said something like that as well,” Ryada Ruu said with a gleam in his calm eyes. “Melfried said that though he knows we people of the forest’s edge will object to the idea, we should go along with it so as not to cause trouble.”

“I see... I guess they have to listen, then.”

“Indeed. That’s why I’m heading to the Zaza settlement to inform them as well. Bartha and Lala Ruu are going to deliver the message to the Sauti.” Despite his voice remaining perfectly calm, the light within Ryada Ruu’s eyes was blazing intensely. “I cannot help but think back to when Cyclaeus was still in power. And so, I intend to speak with Gulaf Zaza directly, to tell him not to let his temper get the better of him.”

“I’m coming along in order to explain the broader context. I think it’s important to fully convey just how much trouble those nobles from the capital could truly cause,” Leito said.

With that, the two of them swiftly departed.

At some point, Toor Deen had walked over to stand beside me, and she seemingly couldn’t hold herself back from clinging to my arm.

“A-Are we going to be okay, Asuta?”

“It’ll be all right. I’m sure the leading clan heads will take care of everything” was the only reply I could give her.

“Are you sure this isn’t going to be a problem?”

Later that day, after I had finished telling Ai Fa about everything while we ate dinner, she asked me that question with a deeply furrowed brow.

“It’ll be fine. Gazraan Rutim is going to be with them when they go to the castle town, and he should be able to clear up any concerns the nobles have.”

“That’s not what I meant. I’m worried about you.”

“Huh? None of this is causing any trouble for me, at least for now.”

“But there are two hundred outlaws in the post town at the moment, aren’t there? Are you really sure that you’ll be okay if you keep doing business without any hunters around to guard you?”

“They aren’t outlaws, they’re soldiers acting as guards. But, well, we were told to be careful because they’re a bunch of aggressive mercenaries.”

“That’s not okay at all, then!” Ai Fa said, flailing her legs while remaining seated. It was incredibly adorable, but I needed to focus on clearing up her worries rather than appreciating it.

“It looks like we’ll be asking Ryada Ruu and Bartha to help out as guards. Those two are the only ones who are free during the day, after all.”

“Just two guards? You’re expecting a lot of them, pitting them against two hundred.”

“There isn’t any reason for us to get into a quarrel with those guys from the capital, though, right?”

“But wicked nobles don’t always act in a logical manner. I cannot help but think back to the days when Cyclaeus was still the count of Turan.” As she continued eating, Ai Fa glared at me intensely. It was like watching a wildcat with its fur standing up on end, hissing as it greedily devoured its meal. “The Fa clan’s next break period is only half a month from now... Ugh, what an aggravating lot.”

“C-Calm down, Ai Fa. No matter how arrogant the nobles from the capital may be, it’s not like they’re going to come after us with no warning at all.”

“How do you know that?”

“I mean, we’re not criminals or anything of the sort,” I replied, half trying to convince myself. “Sure, I have no way of knowing what kind of people they actually are, but Kamyua does and his advice was to make sure not to start trouble. And Leito said to not let our tempers get the better of us and to deal with them calmly. I’d say that means that we can expect them to be pretty overbearing, but as long as we show proper manners and stay composed, there shouldn’t be any real danger.”

“Hmm... You may be right, but still...”

“We should trust in the fact that we’ve been walking the proper path. Just like with Cyclaeus, we need to be fully prepared for what’s coming and make sure not to let our guards down, but as long as we stick to our convictions, I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

“I do believe you are correct on that front.” After setting her plate down atop the rug, Ai Fa suddenly leaned toward me, bringing her face close to mine. “But I am still worried for your safety, Asuta.”

“I understand. I promise not to do anything dangerous.”

“Very well,” Ai Fa replied with a nod, but she was so close that the gesture resulted in our foreheads touching. Ai Fa did not withdraw, though. She stayed like that, pressing her head up against mine.

“I carelessly touched you, it seems...”

“Y-Yeah, that was clumsy of you, Ai Fa.”

After rubbing her forehead up against mine a bit more, my clan head pulled back. There seemed to be all kinds of emotions swirling around in her eyes.

“If you sense any danger, return to the forest’s edge even if you’re in the middle of doing business. You can’t trade coins for people’s lives, after all.”

“I know. I promise to always come home safe and sound, no matter what.”

And so, the exceptionally chaotic first day of the green month finally came to a close. Or perhaps it would be better to say that the green month, which promised to be filled to the brim with turmoil, was just getting started...

3

It was now the following day, the second of the green month.

As expected, Ryada Ruu and Bartha were selected for guard duty. They were the only ones with ties to the Ruu and Fa who were both strong enough to do the job and didn’t need to hunt giba.

Even though Ryada Ruu had retired as a hunter, he was still one of the strongest people in the entire Ruu clan. Because of his injured leg, he wasn’t able to jump and run around, but his skills with a sword hadn’t fallen off in the least.

And then there was Bartha, who wasn’t quite on the level of hunters of the forest’s edge, but she had once been an exceptionally skilled hunter of gaaje leopards on Mount Masara. On top of that, she was very well acquainted with the ways of the world, as she had traveled to all sorts of towns as a member of the Red Beard bandits, which was going to be especially important this time around.

With two hundred soldiers having come into town from elsewhere, it was hard to say we were perfectly safe, but we didn’t have any particular reason to expect that we would get into a conflict with them. Even if the people of the capital were haughty and arrogant, they surely wouldn’t just ignore the laws of the kingdom. Or at least, that was the assumption we were making and using to justify going ahead with business at our stalls.

“It doesn’t sound like there are any unusual disturbances happening around here, so far at least,” Bartha whispered as we made it to town and were walking toward The Kimyuus’s Tail. “Well, with soldiers from the castle around, I guess it’s no surprise that the outlaws would behave themselves. It makes sense that things would be more peaceful than usual.”

“The real issue is those mercenaries, given their reputation for being aggressive,” I said.

“Hmm. Even if they’re mercenaries, they still fall under the control of the kingdom’s army, don’t they? And it’d be one thing if we were talking about sacrificial pawns for the war, but this lot is here guarding nobles, so they’re probably a bit better behaved. Otherwise the nobles wouldn’t be able to entrust them with their protection.”

It was certainly possible that Bartha was correct, but even so, something happened that put us on guard before we even got set up for the day. When we arrived at The Kimyuus’s Tail and called out for someone at the reception desk, Telia Mas came running, completely pale.

“G-Good morning, everyone. Please follow me out the front and—” she said, before cutting herself off.

“I-Is something the matter, Telia Mas? You look kinda sick; your face is all pale.”

“W-We should talk outside. The soldiers are still sleeping.”

With that, she half pushed us out of the inn. As Telia Mas led us around to the storehouse to the rear, we asked her what was going on.

“Well, you see...last night, there was a huge commotion between the soldiers and some of the other guests.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know the specifics, but one of the customers apparently started complaining to a soldier about something...and before long, it spiraled into a huge brawl that even some of our staff got caught up in,” Telia Mas said as she brought the palm of her hand up to her pale cheek. “And then, well, my father tried to get everyone to cool down, but he got dragged into it too, and his head and shoulder got injured.”

“Huh? W-Wait, is Milano Mas okay?”

“Yes. The injury to his head wasn’t all that serious, but his left shoulder was dislocated, so he’s resting in his room right now.” Seeing that I was at a loss for words, Telia Mas weakly smiled and added, “Don’t worry, according to the doctor, if he takes it easy for half a month he should recover without any issue...so it’s fine.”

“B-But you’ll have to run the inn by yourself in the meantime, won’t you, Telia Mas? Did the soldiers who caused trouble get moved to another inn at least?”

“No. In fact, the other customers were the ones who were sent elsewhere. The soldiers weren’t at fault, after all.”

“Is that really true? Are you sure they aren’t just being shielded from blame because they’re from the capital?” Bartha interjected.

Telia Mas nodded and replied, “My father and I were in the kitchen at the start of it all, so we didn’t see what started it personally, but it’s pretty clear that a customer who disliked nobles and soldiers got into an argument with them. We had quite a few temperamental customers last night...”

“Ah, then I guess you can’t have those mercenaries taken away, in that case,” Bartha said, patting Telia Mas on her shoulder. “It’s a real shame what happened to your old man. Are you doing okay?”

“Yes. I’m going to do my best to take care of my father’s workload too.”

“Are you really all right, though? If we can do anything to help, please don’t hesitate to ask us, okay?” I chimed in.

However, Telia Mas simply shook her head and weakly smiled before replying, “No, this isn’t the first time customers from the inn have caused trouble. I can take care of The Kimyuus’s Tail until my father gets better.”

Telia Mas was just eighteen, the same age as me. She was usually a little introverted and often let her timid side show, but as she spoke, there was no hesitation or fear in her eyes at all.

“Hmph, those soldiers from the capital sure are good-for-nothings! If you took off their armor, they’d be no different from the outlaws you see around town!” Balan complained loudly. It was a bit later in the day, after we had opened for business. “It’s their first time coming here, but they’re acting like such big shots! Those jerks should set up tents next to the road out of town and sleep there! Having them around ruins the taste of the food!”

“Calm down, Pops. You don’t know who might be listening,” Aldas remarked with a strained chuckle as he tried to get his boss to stop complaining. It was kind of a nostalgic sight for me, but I didn’t have time to get lost in emotion at the moment.

“The soldiers from the capital are staying at The Great Southern Tree too, aren’t they? Have they caused any sort of trouble there?” I asked.

“Not really. At the very least, the town guards haven’t had to be called just yet.”

The Great Southern Tree was an inn that catered to customers from Jagar, and since a lot of southerners tended to be very frank and direct, I had been a bit worried about something happening there.

“That said, a lot of folks from the western capital hate southerners. It wouldn’t be surprising for blood to be spilled at some point,” Aldas continued.

“Wait, really? But aren’t Selva and Jagar allied nations?”

“Sure are, but the Grand Duchy of Zerad makes things a little complicated.”

I hadn’t heard of that country before. In fact, I had assumed that there weren’t any other nations on the continent aside from the four great kingdoms.

“Zerad is what you’d call an independent state. Some folks from the royal family established it after being ousted from the capital, and it’s between the western capital and Jagar. But since it’s closer to Jagar than it is to the capital, it has closer ties with us. The folks from Zerad are no different to us from the citizens of Selva, which is an ally nation.”

The western capital Algrad was apparently at war with the Grand Duchy of Zerad. Though Jagar had taken a stance of noninterference in that conflict, Zerad had only been able to gain enough power to stand independently thanks to their trade with the south.

“They say that’s why soldiers from the capital hate Jagar. This is the first time I’ve ever seen any myself, but I could tell right away that there was truth to those rumors.”

“I see. That makes me even more worried.”

“Well, it’s not like they can afford to make enemies of Jagar. If they did that, Jagar would join forces with the Grand Duchy of Zerad for real, and the western capital would be in serious trouble at that point, so at worst, they’ll probably stick to making snide comments at us,” Aldas said with a big grin. “Besides, folks raised in Nellwea like us have nothing to do with either Zerad or the capital. It’d take over a month to get to either by totos, so they’re not any of our concern. I’m sure even those rambling drunks at the inn will figure that out sooner or later.”

“Hmph. It’s not like we’d earn so much as a single coin from brawling with those fools!” Balan grumbled.

“Yeah, no matter what happens, we’re not about to go picking a fight. It’d really hurt our business to get driven out of Genos because of that, and then we wouldn’t be able to eat your cooking either,” Aldas said with a smile before staring down at Balan. “And Pops, earlier when you said that having them around ruins the taste of the food, you were just exaggerating, right? The giba cooking at the inn was amazing too.”

“Right! The menu was the same as last year, but the taste improved by a whole lot! I’ve gotta praise you for that!”

“Th-Thanks,” I said.

“Naudis’s cooking was pretty good too. It was a real shock to find out he could cook giba that well.”

Aldas and the others apparently thought that was a bigger deal than the soldiers being around was. I really appreciated hearing that, and it made me decide to move on from that worrisome topic.

“Yesterday happened to be our first one back after a break, so it was the day for cubed giba meat stew. I’ve heard that it tends to sell out quickly, but did you all manage to get some?”

“Yeah! It was incredibly good! We were at the inn talking business all of yesterday, so we definitely didn’t miss out. You say it sells out quick, huh? We’ll have to take care, then,” Aldas said.

“Hmph! That dish is sold every sixth day, right? So we’ve just gotta wrap up work early on those days!” Pops energetically chimed in, finally earning a chuckle from me. That was probably the first time I had smiled since coming to town today.

“Well then, could I take your orders? Today’s special is deep-fried giba, which I’d definitely recommend to all of you.”

“That smell is really something! We’ll take enough for all of us!”

There were eight core members of Pops’s carpentry group, but they hired more people locally as well, so there were twenty of them today. Preparing enough deep-fried giba for all of them was a pretty big job.

As they were waiting, Reina Ruu called out to them from two stalls over, “Today we’re selling giba burgers rather than herb-grilled giba. Some of you weren’t too fond of that dish, right?”

“Hmm? A dish we weren’t fond of? Ah, the one where you chop the meat up all fine and then make it into a ball? You’re right, Pops did complain about that one,” Aldas replied, and then he broke out in a smile. “I remember you, missy. I don’t think I saw you yesterday, though.”

“That’s correct. I work the stalls every other day.”

“Ah, I see. Well, I’m amazed you remember something like that from a year back.”

“It was my first time interacting with townsfolk like that, so it left a strong impression on me too,” Reina Ruu remarked with a carefree smile.

Aldas grinned back and nodded before leaning in close to me. “Hey Asuta, all of the women seem to be looking a lot friendlier now than they did before. It really caught me off guard, seeing a smile from such a gorgeous face.”

“Well, after doing business for nearly a year, the way they see townsfolk has changed a lot,” I replied, earning an even more amused smile from Aldas.

“I’d say you’ve changed quite a bit yourself, Asuta. Your expression is calm, but I see a lot more determination in you now. Even though you seem to have mellowed out a bit, you look hardier too.”

“Huh? You’re saying I wasn’t mellow before?”

“Well, you minded your manners, but you had this defiant look in your eyes, like you were facing down a challenge. Not that it was in a bad way, mind.”

Now that he mentioned it, my feelings had shifted quite a bit between when I had first started selling food in town and now. Back then, I had been bracing myself to deal with the Suun clan and Cyclaeus, and I had been full of a burning desire to make my business a success no matter what it took. Our relationship with the townsfolk had also been unstable, and I had really fumbled around a lot in my efforts to make things work.

“Well, it’s only natural for someone who’s seventeen or eighteen to grow over the course of a year. But you’re a full-fledged businessman now, Asuta.”

After that, Aldas headed over to the restaurant space. Pops stepped forward and accepted a plate of deep-fried giba from me, and as he did, he leaned in and said, “Hey. What he said is true. You’ve become a fine businessman. So don’t go sticking your nose into trouble that won’t earn you any money, you hear?”

“Are you talking about the soldiers from the capital?”

“Sure am. They don’t seem to have any interest in giba cooking, so they might never come anywhere near these stalls. Still, you shouldn’t get mixed up with them.”

Once Pops had finished giving me that bit of advice, he and the other members of the group took their food and left. All sorts of powerful emotions swirled about inside my chest as I added some fresh meat to the pot in front of me.

Shortly after that, around when the sun was approaching its peak, I spied the familiar sight of two of the three leading clan heads approaching from the south in a wagon, with Gazraan Rutim holding the reins. Gulaf Zaza and his people took the northern path when they headed to the castle town.

The unusual sight of hunters from the forest’s edge passing through town at this time of day caused a bit of a commotion. However, Gazraan Rutim just shot us a calm smile as he continued on his way.

“Donda Ruu’s in that wagon, isn’t he?” Bartha called out from behind me.

“Yeah. Dari Sauti and the Fou and Beim clan heads too. The standard procedure for meetings with nobles is to send the three leading clan heads, plus the heads of those two other clans and Gazraan Rutim.”

“Hmm. When you add in the Zaza clan, that’s six hunters away from the forest’s edge. I personally feel like they should take breaks more often anyway, but I’m sure they’re really annoyed about it.”

I felt similarly to Bartha about that.

It wasn’t as if six hunters taking a single day off would make that much of a difference in terms of the total number of people going out and hunting giba. But with those nobles from the capital sending them a summons basically just for the sake of harassing them, it was only natural that they would be angry.

What in the world are they going to discuss today? Will Marstein be attending? I’d feel a lot more comfortable about this if Melfried and Polarth were there, at least... Hmm, this really is worrying.

As I sighed at the thought, a voice called out to me.

“Sir Asuta.”

There weren’t many people who addressed me like that. In this case, it was the maid for the house of Daleim who also served as Yang’s cooking assistant, Sheila.

“Hey. What brings you here today, Sheila?”

“I have something to discuss with you and Lady Toor Deen, Sir Asuta.”

“Huh? W-With me?” Toor Deen said in surprise, looking over at us from the neighboring stall where she was selling keru giba.

“Yes. This won’t take long, so could I trouble you for a bit of your time?” Sheila asked, looking kinda listless somehow. Toor Deen and I went ahead and entrusted our stalls to our partners so we could speak with her. “You see, it is about the sweets that Lady Toor Deen sends for Lady Odifia.”

“Ah, right. The next day should be tomorrow.”

“Correct. For the time being, we would like you to deliver those sweets to Tanto’s Blessing instead. Would that be an issue in any way?”

“It wouldn’t,” Toor Deen replied, but she looked a bit nervous. “That would be perfectly fine, but is something the matter in the castle town?”

“Yes. As you are aware, the observers from the capital are currently staying there, and they seem to be taking a rather harsh look at the inner affairs of Genos,” Sheila replied with a sigh. “This decision was made in order to keep it from being too obvious that someone belonging to the house of Genos has been going out of her way to purchase sweets from the people of the forest’s edge in the post town.”

“I-I see... Very well. As long as my sweets make it to Odifia, that’s enough for me.”

“Thank you... To be honest, the original thought was that it might be best not to purchase any of your sweets until the observers depart from Genos,” Sheila explained with another sigh. “But when Lady Odifia heard that, she was so upset that she wouldn’t stop crying. It was so bad that she couldn’t even speak coherently enough to voice her objection. Because of that, even Lord Melfried agreed that the deliveries should continue.”

“I see,” Toor Deen replied, hanging her head.

“Sir Asuta, regarding the food you send to Lady Arishuna, we will take care of that as we have up until now. And if another problem arises, I will come here again. We are glad that we will be able to continue depending on the two of you.”

“All right. You keep up the good work too.”

After a single bow, Sheila went on her way.

Noticing Toor Deen wiping her eyes with the back of her hands, I asked, “Are you okay?”

“Y-Yes. Sorry. It’s just, when I imagined Odifia crying, I couldn’t help but cry too.” The girl then looked up at me with a brave smile. “I’m glad we weren’t forbidden from delivering her treats, though. I’ll do my best to make something that’ll cheer Odifia up tomorrow.”

“Of course,” I replied with a smile of my own.

But then, I heard a worrying commotion coming from the street, right before Bartha shouted out, “Asuta! If you’re done talking, could you come back over here? If you all spread out too much, it makes our job harder!”

I didn’t really know what was going on, but Toor Deen and I hurried back over to the stalls. And as we did, it seemed like we were getting closer and closer to the source of the noise.

“Those soldiers seem to have finally woken up. They sure must have it easy to be able to sleep in this long,” Bartha remarked from her post behind the stalls with a bold grin. Her comment prompted me to look toward the south. The traffic walking along the road was hurriedly parting, allowing ten or so men to advance in our direction.

They weren’t clad in armor, but they were all wearing the same uniform and had swords at their hips. It wasn’t hard at all to figure out that they were soldiers from the capital, just without their heavy metal protection.

The men were laughing away crudely as they walked down the road in a wide group. And then without any detours at all, the men lined up in front of our stalls.

“Hmph, so these are those giba cooking stalls, eh? I already saw this place yesterday, but this is a pretty big setup you’ve got here, huh?” a man who looked to be in charge loudly declared.

The customers lined up in front of the stalls all scattered like baby spiders. The man paid them no heed, though. And what he said next was truly shocking.

“So, you’re Asuta of the Fa clan, that guy from overseas who’s staying at the forest’s edge. You’ve got a pretty cute face on you, kid,” he said as he stared straight at me.

4

“Do you have some sort of business with me?” I asked while trying to hide how shaken I felt inside.

Rather than responding, the man just kept on grinning. Now that I was seeing him up close, he actually seemed to still be pretty young. Because of his overt arrogance, I had assumed he was some kind of a leader, but he appeared to be only a little over twenty years old. His hair was blackish brown, his eyes were black, his skin was pale, and he had a really tough-looking face.

Despite being young, though, he was over 180 centimeters tall and had a really robust build. He was bigger than Darmu Ruu, but more slender than Jiza Ruu, if I had to compare him to anyone. It was rare to see someone in the post town with such a thoroughly honed body.

As for the outfits they wore, they looked a bit strange. They appeared to be made of a sort of quilted material that was stuffed with cotton or something, and they had tight leather belts wrapped around their waists. Those clothes must have been stiflingly hot in the climate of Genos. Some of the ties that ran down their chests were undone and open, and their long sleeves had been rolled up. Every one of them was dressed like that, and they also all had fine swords hanging beside their hips.

He seems like an awfully intense guy... I was used to being around intense people after having spent so much time with hunters of the forest’s edge, but this young man had a very different sort of intensity about him. He had finely chiseled facial features for a westerner, and if I had to say, I’d probably call him handsome. However, his eyes shined sharply like those of a bird of prey, and his bold grin seemed to display a strong will that wouldn’t bend to anything.

“Now that I’ve seen him myself, yeah, this kid’s definitely fishy,” the young man finally said, and the other men all started silently grinning. They gave off a rather alarming aura when they did that, in a way that was rather different from the outlaws in town when they did the same.

“Um, do you need something from me? We’re in the middle of doing business right now.”

“Oh, we’re trying to talk with you about something far more important than all that. Still, you’re braver than I’d think from looking at you.”

Bartha, who had been standing by beside me, then spoke up. “Hey, you lot are those soldiers from the capital, aren’t you? Why exactly are you trying to interfere with Asuta’s business?”

“Hmm? Who are you?”

“I’m Asuta’s companion, someone also in the care of the forest’s edge.”

“Ah, so you’re that survivor from the Red Beards, Bartha of Masara, eh?”

Bartha’s eyes gleamed warily. “Well, the capital was informed about my son and me, so it’s no real shock that you would know.”

“In that case, you should stay out of this. We don’t have any business with you right now,” the man said, his glare shifting back my way. “Guess I should give you my name, eh? I’m Doug, hundred lion commander for the Fourth Unit under the First Expeditionary Force of Algrad. And this guy...” Doug started to say, only to suddenly stop and glance all around. “Huh? Where’d Iphius wander off to? He was walking behind me earlier, wasn’t he?”

“Hey, our boss is calling for you,” one of the men yelled out toward the rear, and then a tall and slender figure stepped forward and approached my stall. His incredibly unusual appearance was enough to cause me to gulp without thinking.

“Ah, there you are. This is Iphius, my fellow hundred lion commander. Despite how he looks, he comes from a noble bloodline, so you’ll be in for a world of hurt if you disobey him.”

Sure enough, aside from one particular thing, he did have a rather aristocratic appearance. The man had long, light-brown hair and reddish-brown eyes. Though he was undoubtedly a westerner, he had an incredibly pale complexion, with almost ivory-white skin. He was around five centimeters shorter than Doug, and was noticeably more slender. In a way, he looked similar to Leiriss from the house of Saturas. Despite being slender, he didn’t seem weak at all and very much had the feel of a noble swordsman about him. He probably had a pretty handsome face too, with his long eyelashes and tight jawline giving him a rather androgynous look overall.

However, I couldn’t say any of that with certainty. The reason being, well, part of the guy’s face, from right below his eyes down to his upper lip, was completely hidden under a metallic mask. It was a strange mask that only covered his cheeks, nose, and upper lip, and protruded like a totos beak. Sure, what I could see of that face looked like it belonged to a noble, but that strange mask just made him feel kind of eerie.

There was also a strange sound coming from him. His breathing was really grating and audible, and reminded me of a certain famous villain from a sci-fi film series. It was probably the result of him breathing through his nose inside that metallic mask.

“A hundred lion commander leads a hundred soldiers. In other words, a hundred of the soldiers stationed in the post town are my men, and the other hundred fall under Iphius here. Our superior, the commanding officer of the Fourth Unit, is staying in the castle town, so we’re in charge of leading the soldiers here,” Doug said, crossing his burly arms in front of his chest. “That should be plenty in terms of introductions, right? So now let’s hear what you have to say, Asuta of the Fa clan.”

“What I have to say?”

“Yeah. Who in the world are you? Saying you come from overseas is a totally obvious lie,” Doug said with a fearless grin, his eyes glaring straight at me. Those were the eyes of a raptor, which no one could ever hope to escape. “Folks from overseas are big enough that people mistake them as coming from Mahyudra. They also usually have red hair, blue eyes, and white skin. Some have blond hair or brown eyes, supposedly, but at any rate, they’re all huge guys who can touch the clouds. There’s no way a cute kid like you could be one of them.”

“Ah, but...”

“Of course, those are the people of the blue dragon god who come from the icy waters to the north. They’re the ones who come to this continent from the outside the most often, so a lot of people think that anyone from overseas must be one of them. But it isn’t like there aren’t any other nations. There are also the pirate women of Dyroia who have dark skin like folks from Sym, or the people of Bodd who sell all kinds of strange goods. You can meet tons of interesting people at Daamu Harbor on the west side of the capital.” Doug then raised an eyebrow. “But you don’t look like any of them. Besides, you’re far too skilled with the western tongue for someone from overseas who’s as young as you are. That’s why I’m here asking who in the world you are.”

“Let me just start by saying, the nobles of Genos already asked me the same questions,” I responded. “The only answer I can offer is the same one I gave back then. It’s true that I wasn’t born here on this continent, but I found myself collapsed in the forest of Morga completely out of nowhere. Even I have no idea how I came here to this land.”

“Hmm. That’s the story we were told before as well,” Doug said with a sneering laugh, sounding utterly unimpressed. “So, you’ve got no intention of retracting that ridiculous claim? Who the hell would believe a crazy story about you waking up in the middle of the continent when you weren’t even born here?”

“Yeah, I’m well aware of how ridiculous it sounds. But that’s the only explanation I have to offer.” Just then, the term “starless one” came to mind. However, I still didn’t understand what that truly meant, so I didn’t think there would be much point in bringing it up now. “I was born in an island nation called Japan, and I had never even heard the name of the Amusehorn continent before coming here. I have no idea how I ended up here or how I’m able to speak your language so effortlessly.”

“Hmph. In that case, you’re either a huge liar or your brain is busted beyond repair. So, which is it, I wonder?” Doug remarked, scratching his masculine chin with the tip of his finger. “Well, whatever. It’s not my job to pull that out of you. I’m sure the leading clan heads of the forest’s edge are being asked the same questions in the castle town right now anyway.”

“I’ll pray that’s enough to satisfy the people from the capital.”

“Oh? And which god do you pray to, eh?” Doug glanced around at the other people of the forest’s edge who were present. “Well, there sure are a lot of fine women at the forest’s edge, aren’t there? It’s a sight for sore eyes after we spent a whole month marching.”

It had been a good while since anyone had spoken to the women of the forest’s edge like that. That had me worried so I glanced around, but Reina Ruu and the others all remained perfectly calm as they stared at the soldiers from the capital with chilly gazes.

“Well then, sorry for the interruption. Go ahead and get back to earning as much money as you can. Assuming you haven’t done anything underhanded, that is.”

“The people of the forest’s edge don’t do underhanded things,” I replied.

Doug just grinned and said, “Good for you, then.” With that, he turned to leave, and the other soldiers silently followed along after him. Even his fellow hundred lion commander Iphius trailed behind him as he departed, the sound of his eerie breathing going with him.

“They seem quite troublesome. The outlaws around town don’t even begin to measure up,” Yamiru Lea remarked once they had reached a certain distance, since she was my partner for today.

“That’s for sure,” Bartha said with a frown. “They really are soldiers, not outlaws. They’ll be much better trained than the guards around town are. Ah, Ryada Ruu, hey there.”

Our other guard, Ryada Ruu, had been positioned in the restaurant space. He was approaching us with a deadly serious look on his face, dragging his right leg behind him.

“Asuta, who exactly was that man you spoke with?”

“Uh, he said his name was Doug, and apparently he’s a hundred lion commander, which means he’s in charge of those soldiers. He and one other guy named Iphius are the two leaders of all the troops who are staying in the post town.”

“I see. So he’s one of their commanders.” Ryada Ruu shot me and Bartha an intense look. “Bartha, it seems the two of us will not be enough.”

“Oh? What do you mean?”

“If we crossed blades with them, we wouldn’t be able to protect our allies on our own. That Doug man and the one with the strange mask would likely be able to match the skills of many hunters of the forest’s edge.”

“I see. I got that feeling too, that I wouldn’t make it if I really had it out with that guy.”

“Yeah. We should bring more hunters along as guards starting tomorrow. Not injured ones like me, but ones who are at full strength.”

I was seriously shocked to hear that. Sure, those men had felt abnormally intense to me, but I never expected Ryada Ruu to feel the need to take such measures.

They didn’t seem as belligerent as I imagined, but I really just don’t get them.

They knew about me too, and had come all the way to the stalls to see my face personally. So that was yet another thing to worry about.

Night rolled around once more, and unsurprisingly, Ai Fa was even more openly furious than she had been the previous night.

“Why are they asking about you now, Asuta?! No matter where you may have been born, it doesn’t cause anyone any trouble!”

I had told her everything that had happened today. On top of that, the Fou clan head, Baadu Fou, had informed us of what had happened at the meeting. Sure enough, the observers had asked all kinds of questions about my background, and had done so relentlessly.

“That wasn’t the whole of it either. The observers also asked if we people of the forest’s edge conspired with Duke Marstein Genos to bring down the house of Turan,” Baadu Fou had said after making a personal visit to the Fa house in the evening. “Actually, the claim was more that Marstein used us to overthrow the house of Turan because they were in his way, I suppose. At any rate, that was the sort of stuff they went on about.”

“Pure ridiculousness! It was proven that the house of Turan and the Suun clan committed a whole litany of horrific crimes, was it not?!” Ai Fa indignantly shouted, having just returned from hunting.

Meanwhile, Baadu Fou looked completely exhausted after that several hour long meeting. “Honestly, I don’t know how serious they were in asking all that. They definitely looked like they were trying to find fault with Marstein, though... And one of them was drinking fruit wine the whole time too.”

“What?! He was getting drunk in the middle of the day, and during an important meeting at that?!”

“Yes, which made it all the more difficult to discern his true intent. It was a truly pointless discussion.”

Apparently, the nobles from the capital were also planning to summon the leading clan heads in the middle of the day again tomorrow. The leading clan heads had explained how important their giba hunting work was and had suggested that the meeting should at least be moved to the morning, but they had been flatly rejected.

“Why should I have to wake up early for the sake of you lot?” the drunken noble had apparently said.

The whole time we were eating dinner, it seemed that Ai Fa was thinking back on what we had been told, given how angry she looked as she shoveled the twice-cooked giba into her mouth. Once she had finished gulping it down, she shot me a glare.

“So, what will you be doing about the guards for your stalls?”

“Donda Ruu said to wait until tonight. They’re going to discuss what to do once the other hunters return from the forest,” I said with a deep sigh. “Still, it might be a bit tough this time around. After all, Donda Ruu and Gazraan Rutim have to head to the castle town, so they may not want to have any more hunters taking time off.”

“And if that’s how it turns out, what do you plan to do?”

“Hmm. I don’t think the soldiers from the capital would draw their swords on us without good reason. Still, there was that whole incident with Sanjura... It would’ve been tough to handle two hundred soldiers to begin with, and then you’ve got two of them on the same level as hunters from the forest’s edge... So I guess we should avoid doing business without proper guards, huh?”

“I’m the one asking the question here.”

“I know, but I’m in a tough place here too.”

“Hmm. If you were to stop doing business over something like this, I think you would regret it terribly, wouldn’t you?” Ai Fa asked, suddenly bringing her face close to mine. Her blue eyes were blazing bright, as if she were facing down an enemy. “Don’t worry, I feel much the same way. I’m truly frustrated that I’m not currently in a break period.”

“Yeah. It makes things even worse, knowing that we’re only half a month away from your next one. Though I guess putting it another way, we could have you and some of the other hunters around here join us as our guards in half a month once—” I started to say, only to be cut off by a knock at the door.

“Who’s there?!” Ai Fa demanded, grabbing her sword.

“Raielfam Sudra, head of the Sudra clan, and branch house head Cheem Sudra. We wish to talk with you, Ai Fa and Asuta.”

Ai Fa sighed, then walked over to the entrance to let them in.

“Our apologies for interrupting your dinner, but there’s something we need to discuss with you right away.” As he stepped into the entryway, Raielfam Sudra bowed his head. Our totos Gilulu and hunting dog Brave were resting nearby, and they looked confused about us having guests at this unexpected hour.

“What brings you here so late? Baadu Fou already informed us of what happened in the castle town.”

“Of course, but this is a different matter. I’m sorry to ask, but would you mind lending us your totos and wagon?”

“Gilulu and the wagon? But why?”

“We plan to head to the Ruu settlement to discuss what will be done about the work in the post town from tomorrow on,” Raielfam Sudra replied, a serious look on his wrinkled face. “If it is too difficult for the Ruu to provide guards, then we four Sudra hunters would like to carry out the task. I wish to get Donda Ruu’s permission as leading clan head for that.”

“What? But you have giba hunting to do.”

“The Sudra hunting grounds have been cleared of the fruits of the forest, so we were planning to use the Fou or Suun hunting grounds instead, from tomorrow up until our festival of the hunt.”

Cheem Sudra was nodding along as he stood next to his clan head.

“But it isn’t as if the Fou are shorthanded, and it is against our customs to go to the Suun settlement like that in the first place,” Raielfam Sudra continued. “That’s why I went to Baadu Fou earlier to discuss whether it would make sense for us to help out in the post town instead.”

“But...are you really okay with that?”

“It isn’t any issue at all. We are now a Fou clan subordinate, so even if our hunting grounds have been exhausted, we cannot hold a festival of the hunt all on our own. Besides, I get the feeling that if we assist the Fou at their hunting grounds, the festival of the hunt will be pushed back even further,” Raielfam Sudra replied with a wrinkly grin. “That would mean that our festivals of the hunt might no longer line up with the Fa’s, Liddo’s, and Deen’s. That is all the more reason for us to step back from giba hunting. Rather than taking a break from work, though, we would be dedicating ourselves to protecting our comrades, so I am sure the mother forest would accept it.”

“I see,” Ai Fa replied with a sigh. “We very much appreciate the offer. I would hate for them to have to stop doing business over something like this.”

“Indeed. We people of the forest’s edge didn’t do anything wrong, so it makes no sense for us to have to withdraw out of fear. And I’m certain Donda Ruu will accept our logic.”

“Still, you must take care to not act recklessly, Raielfam Sudra. Your precious children were just born, after all,” Ai Fa cautioned.

“Yes, I know that better than anyone.” With that, Raielfam Sudra glanced over at Gilulu. “Well then, if we’re all in agreement, I’ll be borrowing your totos and wagon now. Sorry, but you’ll have to put in a bit more work today, Gilulu.”

“Ah, Raielfam Sudra. Seriously, thank you so much,” I hastily added, earning another wrinkly smile in return.

“There’s no need for you to thank us. Though we will be working, we greatly appreciate the opportunity to spend more time with you, Asuta.”

Raielfam and Cheem Sudra then stepped outside, pulling Gilulu along behind them.

After closing and bolting the door again, Ai Fa turned back to me. “It truly is unbelievably vexing that my break period isn’t here yet”

“Huh?” Looking over at her, I saw Ai Fa deeply frowning, and I smiled without thinking. “Ah, I’m sure it is. I’d love to have you come to town with us too, Ai Fa.”

“Hmph! You get to deepen your bonds with the Sudra hunters, so you have nothing to complain about!”

“I’m very happy about that, of course. But don’t sulk so much, okay?”

“I’m not sulking!” Ai Fa replied, stamping her foot. “Above all else, I cannot overlook the mention of people with strength on the level of hunters of the forest’s edge! I should go out and hunt down every last giba in my hunting grounds so that I may join you as a guard as well! Starting tomorrow, I’m going to catch more of them than I ever have before!”

“Huh? But as long as there’s still fruit in the forest, giba will keep coming here, right? So you working harder will only delay your break period, won’t it?”

“Quiet, you! That was...just an example!”

Ai Fa was so irritated that now every little thing was getting her worked up. But when I thought about how that was only because she was worried about me, I felt warmth filling my chest.

At any rate, that was how we spent the second day of the green month. However, this turmoil-filled month still hadn’t kicked into full gear just yet.

Chapter 2: Trouble at the Kimyuus’s Tail

1

Raielfam Sudra’s proposal to have his clan’s hunters act as bodyguards had been accepted without any fuss, so including our usual guards, Ryada Ruu and Bartha, we now had six in total for the day. This was the first time we’d had so many guards with us while running the stalls since the sun god’s revival festival.

On top of that, we had ten people running the stalls, so we needed four wagons to transport everyone for the time being. In the gold month, the Fa clan had purchased a third wagon, and the Lea and Rutim also had their own wagons and totos for making purchases, so that wasn’t any real issue. Also, I thought that all of us traveling together made for a pretty impressive sight. We were ready for any trouble that might come our way as we headed into town.

When we arrived at The Kimyuus’s Tail, though, we found Telia Mas looking even more worn out than yesterday. Her face was paler too, and she must have been crying because her eyes were all red.

“Wh-What’s the matter, Telia Mas? Did those soldiers from the capital cause another incident?”

“No, it’s nothing that serious. Please, don’t worry about it,” Telia Mas replied with a brave smile. But seeing her smile like that made it even more painful to see her in such a state.

“It really doesn’t look like nothing. Whatever is going on, you can talk to us about it, Telia Mas,” Sheera Ruu said, having come around to the rear storehouse with us. “We’re friends, aren’t we? And I can’t just ignore how beat down you look.”

“But...” Telia Mas muttered, hanging her head. A moment later, though, a smiling figure popped up next to her.

“The soldiers from the capital caused another commotion last night. But we weren’t able to say that it was definitely their fault, which was very unfortunate.”

That had come from none other than Leito, who had been gone since midday yesterday. Raielfam Sudra had followed us as a guard, and in a harsh tone he said, “Hey, don’t hide your presence when you approach us. I almost drew my sword on you.”

“Sorry about that. You all do such a fine job of concealing yourselves that I didn’t even notice you were there until I revealed myself,” Leito replied, smiling brightly again. However, there was something different about the light shining in his eyes today. “We accidentally served half-cooked meat to the soldiers last night. Isn’t that right, Telia Mas?”

“L-Leito, even if you tell everyone from the forest’s edge about that, it won’t accomplish anything.”

“I disagree. I think any story about the soldiers from the capital is useful for showing our friends what sort of people they are, no matter what it happens to be about,” Leito said, turning toward me and Sheera Ruu. “Since Milano Mas can’t work anymore, we had a woman who usually waits tables help out in the kitchen instead. But she wasn’t very good at the job. She got careless and served some giba meat half cooked.”

“Ah, I see. And that made the soldiers angry?”

“Yes. They’d had a fair bit to drink by that point too. They got really aggressive, shouting stuff like ‘What, are you trying to make us sick by serving us half-cooked meat?!’ and ‘That’s an act of treason!’”

“We did in fact serve half-cooked meat, so there wasn’t much we could say in response. I was fully responsible for that,” Telia Mas said, turning and directing a listless smile at Leito. “But you settled things down, Leito, so none of our chairs or tables got broken. Thank you so much.”

“Huh? You were there too, Leito?”

“I sure was. In fact, I was helping out with serving food.” My eyes shot open wide, causing Leito to tilt his head while still smiling away. “Is there something strange about that? Before I became Kamyua’s apprentice, the folks at The Kimyuus’s Tail were taking care of me, so I have at least a bit of experience when it comes to waiting tables.”

“It was kind of surprising, to be honest. You seem pretty busy, after all.”

“I am, since Kamyua has me running all over the place on errands during the day. But once the sun sets, I don’t have anything to do, so I decided to help out at The Kimyuus’s Tail,” Leito said, nervously brushing aside his medium length bangs. “If the soldiers from the capital didn’t drink, then they would remain fairly well disciplined. But when they do drink, their true natures come out. Seeing that pathetic sight was enough to make me want to never drink for as long as I live.”

“Wait, Leito... Did that make you angry?” I asked.

Leito’s smile brightened. “I know I’m repeating myself, but I was raised at The Kimyuus’s Tail. Do you really think I would be fine with soldiers from the capital doing as they please here?”

“Hey, stop putting out that strange aura. You sure are frightening for such a young kid,” Raielfam Sudra interjected with a sour look.

“My apologies,” Leito replied with a bow. “They visited your stalls yesterday, didn’t they? Apparently, they’ve been wandering around the post town gathering all sorts of information. In all likelihood, they’re trying to find out what the residents of the post town think of the nobles of Genos and the people of the forest’s edge. I’m sure they intend to go to the Turan and Daleim lands as well in the near future.”

“I see. So they’re not just hanging out here in town, huh?”

“That’s right. As I said yesterday, please be careful to keep your tempers in check. And Asuta...” Leito started to say something, but then he held his tongue in a rather unnatural manner.

“What is it? I’m grateful for any warnings you can give me.”

“No, that’s all that I can say. However, I’ll stop by the stalls later to buy some food.”

“You will? We really appreciate that.”

“Thank you. I’m sure Milano Mas must feel more anxious than anyone, so I want to cheer him up a bit with your cooking. I’ll get enough for you too, Telia Mas.”

“Thanks, Leito.”

Telia Mas didn’t seem to have noticed anything, so Leito had probably intended to bring up something unrelated to her. Maybe he had changed his mind and was planning to discuss it later at the stalls. At any rate, I couldn’t imagine Leito opening up if I tried to pressure him about it now.

“So Telia Mas, about what we were discussing before...” I started to say.

But then, Telia Mas shook her head and cut me off. “No, please don’t worry about any of this. If what happened yesterday were enough to make me lose heart, I could never work at an inn. Thank you too, Sheera Ruu.”

“Are you really going to be all right, Telia Mas?” Sheera Ruu asked, her brow furrowing worriedly.

“Yes,” Telia Mas replied with a brave smile. Sheera Ruu and I shared a look, but in the end there was nothing more to say, so we took our rented stalls and headed out.

As long as Leito’s there, Telia Mas shouldn’t be in any personal danger. Still, I can’t help but worry. However, I suppressed my concerns and focused on my work as we got the stalls ready.

There wasn’t any big difference in terms of the number of customers we were getting. However, it did feel like there were slightly fewer people coming and going on the street.

“Seeing that many soldiers marching into town, plenty of folks would run for it even if they didn’t have anything to hide. After all, if any trouble starts and you get caught up in it, the only one who’s going to suffer for it is you,” Aldas explained. It had only been three days since he’d returned to Genos, but he was already a regular again. “Anyone who did decide to leave probably fled to a neighboring town like Dabagg or Behett, so once things cool down, they’ll come right back. We have work to do here in Genos, so that wasn’t an option for us, but it’s not like we would’ve in the first place anyway.”

Apparently, there hadn’t been any sort of major disturbance at The Great Southern Tree yet, which I was seriously relieved to hear.

The only two inns I was close with that were being forced to provide rooms for the soldiers were The Kimyuus’s Tail and The Great Southern Tree. The Westerly Wind wasn’t suitable because of the area it was in, while The Sledgehammer was too small, so they had both been overlooked.

But other inns that I knew by name such as Tanto’s Blessing, The Arow Bud, and The Ramuria Coil had all taken in soldiers. Tanto’s Blessing and The Arow Bud in particular were the biggest inns in the post town, so they had ended up with twenty soldiers each, just like The Kimyuus’s Tail. However, neither of them seemed to have had any issues yet. The worst that had happened was outlaws causing a bit of a fuss to mess with the soldiers, but it wasn’t as if peace and order in the post town had gone out the window.

“Still, they were really persistent when they were asking Naudis about the people of the forest’s edge. Not that he’d ever say anything bad about you lot, mind,” Aldas noted.

“I know. Apparently, they’ve been tasked with gathering information in the post town. As long as they reach a fair conclusion, though, we don’t mind at all.”

“Yeah, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about. Everyone in Genos seems to be a lot more accepting of the people of the forest’s edge than they used to be,” Aldas replied with a big smile. Pops was looking sour, though.

“But they won’t even touch the giba cooking at the inn. If they’re strutting around as soldiers from the capital, they shouldn’t be so stingy with their coins.”

“Hey, you were going on about how mad you’d be if the giba cooking sold out because of them, but now you’re complaining about them not buying it?”

“Hmph! I just can’t stand how it feels like they’re looking down on the stuff!” Pops grumbled angrily like a little kid. But honestly, seeing him like that made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

After the members of the carpentry group left, Dora and Tara stopped by.

“We haven’t had any significant incidents ourselves, but I can’t help but feel on edge seeing soldiers with swords walking all around town,” Dora said to me.

“That makes sense. Did any soldiers come by your place, Dora?”

“No, since they’ve got no reason to buy vegetables. They must not know I have ties with all of you. They seem to be asking all around, though, so they may visit me eventually.”

“If they do, please stay calm when you deal with them. No matter what they say about us people of the forest’s edge, do your best to ignore them.”

“Hmm. I’m not so confident I can do that,” Dora looked dissatisfied, with his lower lip jutting out, but then he patted Tara on the head. “Still, I guess that’s just how things are. For the time being, should Tara and the others keep away from the forest?”

We were still planning on having townsfolk come to the settlement at the forest’s edge again.

“Well, we had been planning to invite a number of people from the castle town next time too, so it would probably be best to wait until the observers from the capital leave Genos.”

“I think so too. Sorry Tara, but you’ll just have to put up with it for now.”

“I know,” Tara replied with a little nod. “I can wait. But once the soldiers are gone, I’ll definitely get to come play, right?”

“Yup, and we’re all looking forward to it,” I said with a smile, earning one from the young girl in return. She didn’t seem like she was forcing herself to be cheerful. It looked like she was completely confident that it would happen eventually and she just needed to be patient. And I really, really didn’t want to betray her trust.

“Well then, you take care too, Asuta. If anything happens, you can reach out to me at any time,” Dora said.

“Right, thanks.”

Dora and Tara grabbed their food and headed over to the outdoor restaurant space, just in time for Yumi to appear and take their place.

“Hey Asuta, did you hear what happened at The Kimyuus’s Tail?! Those guys really are no good!”

“Hey Yumi. Are you talking about the incident last night? If so, we heard all about it when we went to borrow our stalls.”

“Yeah, that’s the one! Ugh, it’s really got me furious! Who cares about a little half-cooked meat?! Sure, if it wrecks your stomach, that’s one thing, but you should wait till that actually happens before you go and complain!” Yumi fiercely and loudly proclaimed. Then her eyebrows drooped sadly. “Seeing Telia Mas make a face like that made me wanna cry too. Grown men like them should be embarrassed, ganging up on a girl like that and complaining at her! If it were me, I would’ve shoved that half-cooked meat right down their throats!”

“Well, that would be a bit of a problem, since giba meat can be dangerous if it isn’t fully cooked... Has anything happened at your place, Yumi?”

“Nah, since we don’t have any soldiers staying with us. Actually, we’ve been getting folks who were pushed out of other inns coming to us, so my old man’s been happily humming nonstop for the last couple days.”

When the inns the soldiers were forcing their way into went over capacity, the regular customers naturally flowed to other inns. And anyone who could be considered an outlaw wouldn’t want to cause trouble with the soldiers or stay in the same inn as them anyway, so they all headed to The Westerly Wind.

“It was some other girl who served the half-cooked meat in the first place, wasn’t it? So why did that situation end with Telia Mas in tears, huh?!”

“Well, Telia Mas said she was going to take full responsibility for the inn as long as Milano Mas can’t work. I’m worried about her too, though.”

“Ugh. If I had time to spare, I’d totally go help her out every single day. But my old man would never let me,” Yumi said. Then she started staring at me intensely. “That’s it! Can you guys help Telia Mas out?!”

“Huh? Us? I’d really like to, but that’s not something I can decide on my own.”

“Why’s that? I’m sure you wouldn’t make any mistakes in the kitchen, and you’ve got reliable hunters around too, so it shouldn’t be any problem.”

As I was left struggling with how to respond, a small figure suddenly popped up beside Yumi.

“I’d like to request that of you as well, Asuta. Would it be too difficult, though?”

Raielfam Sudra, who was standing behind me, called out with clear frustration, “What, you again? Didn’t I tell you not to hide your presence when you approach us?”

“My apologies. But are you really able to properly sense everyone with this many people coming and going?”

“If I couldn’t, I could hardly serve as a bodyguard.”

“Amazing. Just what I’ve come to expect from you hunters of the forest’s edge. That’s a skill I could never imitate. So, what do you say, Asuta?”

“You mean about me helping out at The Kimyuus’s Tail?”

“Yes. If that’s at all possible, I would very much like to ask you to do so.”

This didn’t seem like the sort of conversation to be having while I was still working at my stall. We still had some time left until our busiest hour rolled around when the sun hit its peak, so I invited Leito around to the back.

“Leito, is this what you were going to bring up before?”

“Yes. But Telia Mas definitely would’ve declined, so I decided to wait a bit.”

“I see. Of course, I’d like to do whatever I can to help. Honestly, I wanted to make the offer myself.”

Such thoughts had been swirling about in my head ever since I had talked to Telia Mas. And I was pretty sure Sheera Ruu felt the same way too. However, we were in no position to make a proposal like that ourselves.

“But if a person of the forest’s edge like me helps out at an inn where soldiers from the capital are staying, wouldn’t that complicate matters?”

That was my primary concern.

However, Leito responded, “I don’t believe that will be an issue. They were told right from the start that The Kimyuus’s Tail was on familiar terms with the people of the forest’s edge. That’s precisely why they sent twenty soldiers there.”

“Ah, I see... Well, I guess it makes sense that those people from the capital were informed about all the details of that incident last year.”

“Yes. They’re also aware that I was raised there and that I am Kamyua Yoshu’s apprentice. That’s why I’m able to help out without it being a big deal,” Leito said before leaning forward a bit. “I’m sure you’re already aware of this, but Telia Mas is a very serious person, so she believes that she needs to work hard enough to make up for Milano Mas’s share. And that worries me.”

“You’ve got that right! Telia Mas is way too serious and really needs to loosen up a little! But well, that’s part of her charm too,” Yumi interjected while nodding along with a sincere look on her face. She had also circled around to the back of the stall like it was natural for her to do so. “And apparently, it’s just been Telia Mas and her old man handling the kitchen this whole time. None of their employees are all that good at cooking.”

“Right, and neither Telia Mas or her father were very skilled at it either at first. But thanks to the lessons you and the others gave them, they seem to have improved quite a bit,” Leito said.

It was true, The Kimyuus’s Tail hadn’t had a great reputation as far as the food they served was concerned. That was because Milano Mas’s wife had passed away at a young age, at least according to Kamyua Yoshu.

Leito continued, “But right now, Milano Mas can’t work, and Telia Mas can’t handle the kitchen all on her own, which is why she asked inexperienced people to help. That led to someone getting served half-cooked meat, which resulted in that commotion last night.”

“Ah, right... Personally, I very much want to help out, but, well...”

Helping out with the inn’s dining hall would mean returning late at night. I was told to be careful and discreet during this period, so would Ai Fa and Donda Ruu allow me to assist them? That was my second big concern.

“In that case, I’ll ask Ai Fa!” a voice loudly called out from behind me, causing me to jump a little. “Gyah! L-Lala Ruu? Don’t go scaring me like that, okay?”

“You’re the only one who didn’t notice me, Asuta. When you get fixated on something, you stop paying attention to your surroundings.” Sure enough, Raielfam Sudra wasn’t chiding her like he had Leito. “Papa Donda will be passing by on his way to the castle town soon, so why not talk to him then? I can go work things out with Ai Fa, and that’ll let you give whatever answer you want. If I head back on a totos without a wagon, I think I’ll be able to make it before Ai Fa heads into the forest.”

“Y-You’re really planning on heading back to the forest’s edge? But it would be dangerous to go alone.”

“In that case, Leito can go with her. You know where the Fa house is, don’t you?” Bartha said with a smile as she looked over at Leito. “But before you go, let me confirm something... You’re not expecting Asuta and the others to be in any danger if they take this job, right? You’re not so concerned about your family that you’re letting it affect your judgment, are you?”

“Telia Mas isn’t family. She just used to be,” Leito replied with a smile. “And I can’t imagine any danger possibly coming from this. The soldiers may be ruffians, but they most certainly aren’t outlaws.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Outlaws mean that they don’t obey the law, right? But no matter how wild those men may be at times, they’re still soldiers who work for the kingdom. Even if they are mercenaries, they’re an elite unit who were specifically chosen for this unique and important job.” Leito then gracefully extended a hand out toward Raielfam Sudra. “That means your people should be fine even without any guards. We do need to be careful, but in a different way.”

“Oh? Then how should we be careful, exactly?”

“Naturally, you need to be careful to not make them see you as enemies of the kingdom,” Leito said with an innocent smile, back to his usual tone. “Even if a person of the forest’s edge headed down some dark path alone at night, those soldiers would never attack them. The things you would have to be mindful of while helping at the inn would be more like needing to be able to laugh it off when a drunk complains about the cooking.”

“If anyone would get angry over something like that, it would probably be Ai Fa. Hearing someone complain about Asuta’s cooking would make her so mad that she’d probably start snarling at them,” Bartha remarked with a hearty chuckle.

Next to her, Raielfam Sudra snorted, “Hmph. It’s not like we can just let Asuta and the other chefs walk around town at night without any guards, though. And I’m sure Donda Ruu and Ai Fa would feel the same way.”

“Of course. There are real outlaws lurking around the post town, after all,” Leito said, and then he turned toward me. “What do you say? If the Fa clan head, Ai Fa, and leading clan head, Donda Ruu, give their permission, would you help out at The Kimyuus’s Tail?”

“Yes, of course. I wouldn’t have any reason to refuse in that case.”

With a meek look on his face, Leito bowed his head and said, “Thank you, and sorry for the unreasonable request, Asuta. I’ll be there at the inn as well, so I promise you won’t encounter any danger there.”

“Ah, it’s fine. I want to help Telia Mas too, after all.”

The only things I was concerned about were Telia Mas’s situation with the soldiers she was lodging and how Ai Fa and my other comrades would feel about this. As long as those weren’t an issue, I would gladly help out.

Even if they call my food bad, just laugh it off, huh? I don’t know if I’d be able to laugh, but I’m sure I wouldn’t get angry over it.

It was possible that the soldiers from the capital would insult our cooking just to try to provoke the people of the forest’s edge. Leito must have given us that warning because he’d had the same thought. But I was confident that while I was working for The Kimyuus’s Tail, I would be able to restrain myself no matter how I might be treated.

What will Ai Fa and Donda Ruu think, though? Will they allow me to help out at The Kimyuus’s Tail? I thought to myself as I got back to work at the stall.

2

It was now the evening of that same day. After we finished up the preparations for tomorrow at the settlement, we headed to the post town again. Donda Ruu and Ai Fa had both given their permission for me to help out at The Kimyuus’s Tail. Their condition for doing so, though, was that I take along some especially skilled guards. They included Ai Fa, Jiza Ruu, Ludo Ruu, and Dan Rutim, all of whom were counted among the strongest hunters at the forest’s edge.

“With this group, you could probably get away safely even with two hundred soldiers surrounding you,” Donda Ruu remarked with a laugh as he saw us off. When he laughed like that, it meant he was prepared for battle. “I’ve got no clue what sort of folks those soldiers are, but I don’t trust the nobles we met in the castle town in the slightest. No matter what that Leito brat says, we’ve got to exercise proper caution.”

At any rate, this meant that we had to wait for the hunters to return from the forest before going to the post town.

“Heh heh, it’s been quite a while since I last visited the post town! This is sure to make for an amusing evening!” Dan Rutim said. He was the only guard in the swaying wagon who seemed to be in a positive mood. Ai Fa had decided to let Ludo Ruu take care of the driving, and was sitting beside me with a scowl on her face.

“Dan Rutim, we’re not going there to play around. Make sure to keep that in mind. You shouldn’t do anything that might cause a commotion.”

“No worries! I’m not that big of a fool! Still, I can’t help but be curious after hearing there are folks on the level of hunters of the forest’s edge in that group!”

The original plan had been for the Ruu to provide three guards, but when he’d heard about what was going on from Gazraan Rutim, Dan Rutim had ridden his totos Mim Cha over to the Ruu settlement in order to volunteer.

After thinking it over a bit, Donda Ruu eventually decided to accept Dan Rutim’s proposal. After all, he was one of the strongest people among the clans under the Ruu. Though his impulsiveness was definitely a bit worrying, the leading clan head must have valued the man’s strength as a hunter enough to disregard that.

“Well, if Dan Rutim hadn’t come along, I’m sure Darmu would’ve been picked instead. He only just got married, so I’m sure he’s secretly feeling happy that he doesn’t have to go,” Ludo Ruu said from up in the driver’s seat.

I had no way of knowing what Darmu Ruu was thinking about all this, but I felt similarly when it came to Raielfam Sudra. His twin children had been born recently, so I wanted him to be able to enjoy spending time with them at night.

“By the way, is one of those hundred lion commanders staying at the inn we are going to?” Jiza Ruu asked after having been quiet since our departure.

“Yeah,” I replied with a nod. “I asked Leito about that myself, and apparently the one named Doug is staying at The Kimyuus’s Tail.”

“Ah. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what sort of man he is!” Dan Rutim said, sounding perfectly cheery.

Ai Fa and Jiza Ruu, meanwhile, remained deadly serious. And then there was Reina Ruu, who was coming along to help me out in the kitchen.

We had departed from the forest’s edge right before sunset, so it was steadily getting darker outside as we rode along. When we made it to the post town, we found that fires had been lit along the street to provide illumination. They were basically the same as the ones that we had seen back during the revival festival. Mounted braziers had been placed at even intervals along the road, and fires had been lit inside of them. There seemed to be fewer of them than there had been during the revival festival, but the sight of those red flames spaced out here and there in the dark had a certain sort of elegance to it.

“Hmm? It’s this dark out, but there are still people walking around,” Ai Fa muttered as she looked out beside the driver’s seat. The streets were far less busy than during the day, though, and there were more guards out on patrol. Genos was a wealthier town than most, so they needed to keep watch throughout the post town at night.

When we arrived at The Kimyuus’s Tail, Leito greeted us, and honestly, he looked sort of adorable with an apron on over his usual clothes. “We’ve been waiting for you. I’ll take care of your totos and wagon. The soldiers from the capital haven’t returned yet, so you can head straight to the kitchen.”

“Huh? They still aren’t back yet?”

“Nope. They must’ve gone somewhere pretty far away, in which case, it would be nice if they’d just eat at another inn tonight,” Leito remarked as he accepted Gilulu’s reins and vanished behind the building. As he walked away, the rest of us passed through the door into The Kimyuus’s Tail as a group.

“Ah, Asuta, Reina Ruu. Thank you so much for coming here today,” Telia Mas said. She had been preparing in the kitchen all by herself.

Jiza Ruu stepped forward first, as the representative for the Ruu clan.

“I believe an introduction is in order, though as I recall, we have already met a number of times. I am the oldest son of the main Ruu house, Jiza Ruu. Our leading clan head has decided that it is necessary for us to be here to ensure that none of us will have anything to worry about.”

“N-Necessary...?”

“Indeed. The visitors from the capital have been showing great interest in the people of the forest’s edge. I am here to observe and assess the soldiers staying in the post town in the place of the leading clan head,” Jiza Ruu solemnly stated.

Then Ludo Ruu popped up next to him and added, “Besides, you guys are friends of the Ruu clan. Just saying thanks once is plenty, so you can leave it at that, okay?”

Ludo Ruu had visited The Kiymuus’s Tail with Rimee Ruu and some of the folks from Dora’s house as a guest recently.

Telia Mas smiled with tears in her eyes. “Thank you so much,” she said, and bowed her head. “My father wanted to give you his thanks as well, but he took some pain medicine a little while ago and is sleeping right now, so I hope you’ll let him do that some time in the future.”

“Of course. We’ll be showing up here daily until Milano Mas can work again anyway, so tell him not to push himself, and to take proper care of his body,” Ludo Ruu replied with a big grin.

Then Dan Rutim gave a big, audible sniff. “I must say, that scent in the air is absolutely wonderful! I’m feeling hungry now!”

“W-We aren’t serving dinner to our customers yet, so please go ahead and eat now. There are hardly any people in the dining hall at the moment.”

They had a storeroom next to their kitchen, and inside it there was a table and two chairs. That was usually where Telia and Milano Mas quickly ate their meals when they had the time.

“In that case, we should probably have two people eat at a time. Jiza Ruu, Dan Rutim, you can go first if you’d like,” Ludo Ruu suggested.

“Certainly! What will we be having?” Dan Rutim asked.

“Well, we seem to have giba meat to spare, so let’s make something with it real quick,” I said. Then I emptied out the contents of the leather bag I had bought in Dabagg atop the workstation, and pondered what to do.

But then, Telia Mas timidly chimed in, “Um, if you’d like, you could have some of the giba meals that we sell here. We have a few servings leftover from yesterday and the day before.”

“Huh? Ah, right, the soldiers from the capital don’t have any interest in giba cooking, do they?” I said. The majority of their other customers had moved to different inns as well, so they had ended up with an excess of giba dishes. “But it was a giba dish that got served half cooked, wasn’t it? So I guess it’s not like they haven’t ordered any giba at all.”

“No, that was, well...” Telia Mas mumbled, staring down at the ground.

Seeing how she was acting, Jiza Ruu spoke up and addressed her. “There is no need for you to hold back. In fact, I would appreciate it if you would tell us anything and everything relating to the people from the capital.”

“I-I see... It’s just, it even made me angry, so I’m sure it would upset all of you quite a bit.”

“Never mind that. What happened?”

“W-Well, apparently they started betting during dinner...and they said the one who lost had to eat a giba dish.”

Dan Rutim’s eyes shot open wide, then he clapped his large glove-like hands together. “Ah, I see! So for them, eating giba cooking is a punishment?! I was left wondering what you could possibly have been getting at for a moment there!”

“Y-Yeah. I’m so sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing? You didn’t do anything wrong! Besides, the people of Genos abhorred giba meat in the past too! So it’s no surprise to hear about outsiders behaving that way!” Dan Rutim replied with a hearty chuckle. “If they had given it a proper try because of their bet, they would’ve learned how delicious giba meat truly is. But they didn’t get to because it came out half cooked. That’s really unfortunate for them.”

Dan Rutim was incredibly frank and it was clear from the way he was laughing that he didn’t feel upset in the least, so Telia Mas breathed a sigh of relief.

Jiza Ruu had been nodding along with a calm expression, and now took his turn to speak. “Townsfolk are free to do whatever they please with the giba meat, tusks, and horns we sell them. Even if they trample our wares into the dirt, it wouldn’t do anything to hurt our feelings, so you have nothing to worry about.”

Among our group, Ai Fa alone was left scratching her head. Since I could tell how she felt right away, I whispered gently into her ear, “This is what Leito was warning us about. We have to be careful to not let ourselves get angry no matter what they say or do, even when it comes to how they view giba cooking.”

“Hmm... If someone were to trample upon your cooking, I would probably see that person as an enemy for life.”

If someone did that, I would probably feel pretty indignant too. But even so, I would have no choice but to keep those feelings under lock and key.

“Well then, why don’t we get to it? What sort of giba dishes have you been serving at The Kimyuus’s Tail lately?” I asked.

“Soup with tau oil, a boiled tarapa dish, and grilled meat and vegetables with worcestershire sauce. Oh, and the tino rolls we purchase from the Ruu clan.”

For this five-day period, the Ruu clan was in charge of providing cooking to the inns. Tino rolls were made by wrapping minced giba meat in cabbage-like tino, so they were basically cabbage rolls.

“It wouldn’t be right for us to take those tino rolls, though. Please save those for your customers.”

“Ah, no, I would actually appreciate it if you would eat them. With our other dishes, we can avoid having leftovers to deal with if we just make less of them in advance.”

In other words, even though the tino rolls were limited in number and very popular, they weren’t selling out. Reina Ruu borrowed a knife from the kitchen and checked how well it cut, then turned toward Telia Mas with an apologetic look.

“Telia Mas, should we decrease the number of tino rolls we prepare for you starting tomorrow? If you keep buying food that you won’t be able to sell, that’ll mean you’ll be losing money, won’t it?”

“Not necessarily. If things eventually settle down, we may start getting customers coming here from other inns again. And if that happens, I wouldn’t want to disappoint them,” Telia Mas said with a smile, as if trying to cheer herself back up. “Besides, the inn staff can eat any leftovers we have. It makes for a pretty luxurious dinner, and the people who help us out look really happy when they eat the food we buy from the Ruu clan.”

That was a pretty meager bit of happiness in comparison to the weight she was shouldering. But honestly, I was impressed by how Telia Mas was trying to remain at least a little positive in the face of everything that was going on.

“Well then, we’ll take enough of the soup, boiled tarapa dish, and tino rolls for everyone. If there isn’t enough to go around, I’ll grill up some steak,” I said.

The meal was our payment for the day. Telia Mas seemed incredibly appreciative, but we were only going to be helping out for around two or three hours at most, so just getting to help ourselves to some of the giba meat and dishes The Kimyuus’s Tail had purchased was plenty in terms of payment.

And so, we six people of the forest’s edge took turns eating in groups of two. And in the meantime, we started getting orders from the dining hall. Reina Ruu and I decided to eat separately, so whoever was free could assist Telia Mas with preparing the food. Apparently, the soldiers from the capital still hadn’t made it back, since over half of the orders we were getting were for giba dishes.

As expected, giba cooking remained popular with the normal customers. The Kimyuus’s Tail had also started selling dishes in smaller portions so that each person could eat a number of different ones, and there didn’t seem to be even a single customer who didn’t order at least one giba item.

“By the way, it looks like you aren’t selling giba curry today.” I noted as I was getting a helping of stew ready to serve.

With a weak smile, Telia Mas replied, “No, we aren’t. Having any of that leftover feels like a true waste, so I decided to wait until everyone from the capital was gone before serving it again.”

Under normal circumstances, that dish was absolutely guaranteed to sell out, but it currently hadn’t been, apparently. Of course, with twenty of the seats in the dining hall getting occupied by soldiers, that was no real surprise. And they had caused a commotion two days in a row to boot, so it made sense that The Kimyuus’s Tail would be getting fewer customers coming from other inns too.

At any rate, the number of orders streaming in steadily rose as time passed. And shortly after all six of us from the forest’s edge had finished eating, Leito popped into the kitchen. “The soldiers from the capital are back, and it seems like they’re going to want dinner.”

Everyone in the kitchen tensed up. Well, everyone except for Dan Rutim, whose eyes were shining brightly.

“So they’ve finally shown up, have they? I’d love to take a bit of a peek. Would that be okay?” he asked.

“No, it would be best to not let ourselves be seen unnecessarily,” Jiza Ruu said. “I would also like to take a look at them before the end of the day, but we should wait and feel things out a bit more first.”

“I see. Y’know, if we shared drinks with them, it might actually help move things along,” Dan Rutim pointed out, but he didn’t seem to have any intention of going against Jiza Ruu’s orders. Honestly, he seemed a lot more reasonable now than he had been back during the revival festival. It was possible Dan Rutim was taking this job more seriously than he had appeared to be at first.

Meanwhile, the girls acting as waitresses kept on bringing us orders, one after another. It seemed like the soldiers had finally started eating too. Things had been mostly quiet up until this point, but it was really starting to get loud out in the dining hall.

The visitors from the capital ordered a ton of fruit wine along with karon and kimyuus dishes. The fruit wine sold in inns needed to be mixed with juice from kiki or other fruits, so Reina Ruu and I left that to Telia Mas as we cooked.

“I’m sorry my shortcomings have caused all of you so much trouble. But I hope that you’ll be willing to keep helping us out,” a young waitress said, looking truly, deeply apologetic. She was a bit plump, and was apparently the one who had served the half-cooked meat to the soldiers from the capital. Rather than running away, though, she was working at The Kimyuus’s Tail again today. She must have had strong ties with Telia and Milano Mas.

As those thoughts were running through my head, I smiled and replied, “Leave it to us.”

Even if we were dealing with soldiers from the capital, that didn’t change our job in any way. We just had to prepare the food properly, like we would do for any other customer.

The Kimyuus’s Tail was offering finely cut karon meat sauté, karon meat boiled in tau oil, kimyuus meatballs, and kimyuus meat omelets.

Preparing the finely cut karon meat sauté involved tenderizing tough karon leg meat to break down the fibers, then cutting it up as finely as possible before sautéing it with tino, aria, pula, and bean-sprout-like onda. The base for the flavor came from fruit wine and myamuu, with just a bit of sugar and tau oil.

As for the karon meat boiled in tau oil, it was made by adding sugar, mamaria vinegar, and fruit wine to tau oil and boiling the meat slowly. The vegetables in the dish included chatchi, nenon, and sheema. Karon leg meat was tougher than giba, but when you heated it for a sufficiently long time, it became tender enough to melt in your mouth. That dish was one Telia Mas had prepared herself earlier in the day, so all we needed to do was heat it back up.

The kimyuus meatballs were a dish that the Mas family had been steadily improving over time, and lately they had started kneading ramanpa nuts and a lemongrass-like herb into the ground meat. Since ramanpa nuts had a texture and taste similar to peanuts, they added an extra bit of chewiness. As for the lemongrass-like herb, it paired pretty well with both the tau-oil-based salty-sweet sauce and the dried kiki dip, so they had started using that as well. Since the meatballs were made small, they were offered as a pair grilled on the same skewer, in both of the two different flavors.

The kimyuus meat omelets were really simple, as they only used minced meat, aria, and pula. However, the fillings were all cooked in milk fat, which made the dish wonderfully flavorful. Naturally, it was topped with the ketchup I had taught them how to make as well. Though the Mas family insisted they weren’t good at cooking, they could prepare all of these dishes without any trouble at this point.

“Hmm. So you two can cook karon or kimyuus without any trouble too, huh?” Ludo Ruu called out from his position staring out the window.

“Of course,” Reina Ruu replied with a smile and a nod. “Asuta was the one who taught Telia and Milano Mas how to make these dishes, after all. Sheera Ruu and I were watching those lessons from the side the whole time and assisting here and there, so of course I know how to work with karon and kimyuus meat.”

“Ah, right, that was when you three kept stepping away from the stalls to visit the inns a while ago, wasn’t it? Feels sort of nostalgic thinking back on that now.”

Ludo Ruu had accompanied us on some of those visits months ago, when Cyclaeus had still been in power. We had finished with those lessons until around the time of the revival festival, so it was no surprise that they would feel nostalgic at this point.

We kept serving food as the night went on, without ever hearing any complaints, and before I knew it, a fair bit of time had passed. It felt like it had been over an hour since we had arrived at The Kimyuus’s Tail, and about thirty minutes since those soldiers had returned.

“Things have settled down a bit, haven’t they? Though those soldiers from the capital don’t seem to have eaten a lot for twenty people,” I said.

“True, but apparently, the way they like to do things is to make two orders of half the total amount they want, since the food would get cold if they ordered it all at once. They’re probably drinking and betting right about now,” Telia Mas explained.

In that case, were they going to make the loser order giba meat as a punishment again today?

As I was pondering that, Leito popped back up for the first time in a while.

“The soldiers from the capital have placed an order for giba cooking. They said they wanted one plate of something filling,” he reported with a smile. “And I’ll pass along their added message just to be safe. They said if they’re served half-cooked meat again, they’ll open up a hole in the wall of the dining hall.”

“What’s the point of smiling when you’re angry?” Ludo Ruu asked, and Leito turned his way with the same expression on his face.

“I’m not especially angry. I’m simply a little irritated.”

“Well, in that case, there’s even less of a need to smile. It’s not like you’re Jiza, y’know. Ah, that was just a joke, so don’t get mad at me, okay?” Ludo Ruu said.

Apparently, which giba dish we served them was entirely up to us.

“Something filling, huh? So do they want grilled meat instead of the minced meat in the tino rolls or the soft boiled dish?” I asked, consulting Reina Ruu.

“Probably, yeah. I think that should be fine on our end too,” she said.

We then decided that we would send them a serving of grilled giba meat. We went with a fairly thin cut of rib, then simply grilled it up with salt and pico leaves. We also tossed some aria, tino, and onda in alongside it, so there was no worry about any of the ingredients coming out half cooked.

“Well, I suppose this should be suitable enough for their first taste of giba. I don’t know if people from the capital will like it, though.”

“There’s nothing to worry about! After all, if they don’t think it’s bad, then it isn’t a punishment!” Dan Rutim remarked with another sniff at the freshly cooked giba meat. I had taken even more care than usual when grilling the rib meat, while of course also making sure not to burn it. After serving it up on a wooden plate, I added a dash of worcestershire sauce on top, completing the dish.

After watching that entire process, Ai Fa muttered, “It’s utterly ridiculous, spending coins on a punishment. And it’s incredibly unpleasant to think that they’re treating giba cooking that way.”

“Well, customers are always free to do whatever they please with the food they buy.”

About all I could do was mentally look down on anyone who would do something so foolish.

“Okay, it’s ready now. It most definitely isn’t half cooked, so you have nothing to worry about when you serve it.”

“Thank you, Asuta and Reina Ruu. I feel bad about asking you all to handle this job too,” Leito said.

“No worries. The Kimyuus’s Tail is important to me too, after all.”

Leito gave a nod, then left the kitchen holding the plate.

Perhaps due to the soldiers returning, we had basically stopped getting orders from other customers. Occasionally, someone would request another round of fruit wine, but we were left with nothing to do for the time being.

“So, once the soldiers order the other half of their meal, will we be done for the day?”

“Yes. I can handle everything after that on my own. Um, thank you so much for helping out today. I don’t know how I can ever repay you,” Telia Mas said, tearing up.

“Hey,” Ludo Ruu called out. “That’s nothing to cry about, is it? Besides, I told you a single thanks is plenty, didn’t I?”

“You did. But I really can’t help but feel sorry.”

“Please don’t worry. Regardless of the circumstances, I’m glad that we were able to help The Kimyuus’s Tail,” I said earnestly. The inn had helped me out a lot, and besides, I was very familiar with this sort of task from my past. Standing in the kitchen, hearing the orders, and cooking...

I glanced down at the leather bag by my feet. My old man’s cooking knife was still stored in it even now. Thanks to the meat knife from Jagar and the vegetable knife from Sym, I hardly ever needed to use it nowadays. But even so, I looked it over on a daily basis, and always kept it close by.

“Are you thinking about your past?” Ai Fa quietly asked.

“Yeah,” I replied with a nod. “I used to work in a dining hall like this before. Now, that feels like it was years ago.”

“I see,” was all Ai Fa said, but there was an incredibly gentle light shining in her eyes.

Then, suddenly, there was a disturbance nearby.

“Hold on. You can’t go in there,” I clearly heard Leito say from somewhere close to but on the other side of the entrance to the kitchen. Ai Fa instantly moved to protect me, and Ludo and Jiza Ruu did the same for Telia Mas and Reina Ruu.

“Oh? You seem to have a lot of folks in here who I couldn’t possibly imagine are employees of this inn, don’t you?” a man’s voice said with a laugh. It unmistakably belonged to Doug, one of the hundred lion commanders I had met yesterday.

“This is a clear violation of the laws of Genos. Shall I call the guards?” Leito asked, swiftly slipping past Doug into the kitchen and stepping in front of him.

“Sure, I don’t mind. At most, they’ll just chew me out for acting without thinking, right? And that’s only if the guards from the post town have the guts to chew us out in the first place,” Doug said as he glanced around the room at us, his eyes shining like those of a bird of prey. “This really is something. You hunters of the forest’s edge are legitimate monsters, huh?”

“Who are you? I believe it is against the law for customers to set foot in here,” Jiza Ruu said calmly.

“Heh heh,” Doug chuckled with a grin. “You’ve heard about me from the kid there, haven’t you? I’m the hundred lion commander Doug, one of the leaders of the soldiers. The food was so good that I wanted to give you my thanks.”

“Then you didn’t come here with ill intent?”

“Yeah. I figured I might find that kid over there if I came back here. After all, the innkeeper was injured, and that guy’s supposedly real fond of this place. Plus, all of the food we had today was so strangely well prepared that I came back here to see if my hunch hit the mark.”

“What business do you have with Asuta?” Ai Fa asked, carefully controlling her tone. Standing beside her, I could see her eyes blazing bright like an inferno.

“That’s one hell of a look in your eyes. As I recall, the only female hunter at the forest’s edge is the one who brought Asuta here into the Fa clan.”

“Answer my question. What business do you have with Asuta?”

“Nothing in particular. At least for now, that is,” Doug said with a big grin, crossing his burly arms. “You see, I just lost a bet with my subordinates, and as a punishment, I was forced to eat giba meat. But surprisingly enough, it was absolutely delicious.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Well, I told my men it was so delicious that they should all try it, but they refused to believe me. So, I decided to order enough giba cooking for all of us,” Doug said, taking a single step back. “This inn serves a number of giba dishes, doesn’t it? So go ahead and prepare a mix of those for us. But I promised I’d pay for all of it if it turned out bad, so make sure not to serve us any half-cooked meat, okay?”

With that, Doug swiftly vanished before we could even reply.

Leito sighed, then turned back to us and said, “I’m sorry about that. I don’t think he was kidding, though, so could you prepare that food for them?”

“Y-Yeah. I don’t mind, naturally.”

Honestly, I was more concerned about how Ai Fa and the others were doing. Even after Doug had left, there was still a lot of tension in the air.

“So, that was the hundred lion commander Doug?” Jiza Ruu quietly muttered. “He certainly did seem to be extremely well trained... However, any of the hunters here should be capable of defeating him on their own.”

“Yeah, agreed. Ryada Ruu has an injured leg, so he’d have a tough time, but any decently strong hunter wouldn’t lose to him,” Ludo Ruu said.

“Yes, but that man had an abnormal aura about him. I most certainly would not lose to him, I’m sure, yet I cannot help but feel it would be dangerous to cross blades with him,” Jiza Ruu said before slowly turning in Dan Rutim’s direction. “Dan Rutim, as a veteran hunter, do you have any insights about that?”

“Hmm? I don’t know,” Dan Rutim said, stroking his beard and looking amused for some reason. “Could it be because he’s probably skilled at cutting people down?”

“What do you mean?”

“Our blades are meant for killing giba, not humans. But that swordsman, Leiriss, who visited the Ruu settlement a while back had been trained solely to fight people. And that Doug man has undoubtedly fought countless men.”

“That’s correct,” Leito said. “I’ve told Asuta this already, but they are an elite unit from the capital. They’ve crossed blades with the armies of Mahyudra and the Grand Duchy of Zerad countless times. If he’s a hundred lion commander who leads troops on the front line, it’s possible that he’s cut down as many as one or two hundred men personally.”

“Hmm. Then it’s only natural he would have such an abnormal air about him. In a fight between two people with our lives on the line, I wouldn’t know where to strike at all,” Dan Rutim remarked with a hearty chuckle. “I got to see something interesting here tonight! I’ve got no interest in fighting a deadly battle with another person, but I feel as if what I just encountered was some sort of strange beast. This is going to be trouble!”

“If it’s trouble, then why are you laughing?” Ludo Ruu said with an annoyed scowl. Jiza Ruu, meanwhile, continued to stare at the doorway Doug had left through with a deadly serious look on his face.

And Ai Fa...her blue eyes were blazing intensely, like a carnivore that had spotted its prey.

3

“What?! You were working in the kitchen at an inn last night, Asuta?!”

It was now the following day, the fourth of the green month. That comment had come from Balan, raising a commotion after coming to the stalls.

“Yep. The owner got injured, so we’re helping out with work there. Is that an issue somehow?”

“You really have to ask?! It’s totally unfair!”

It was really amusing to see a middle-aged man complain about something being unfair.

As I was thinking that, Aldas chided, “Now, now. Naudis is doing fine, so there’s no reason for The Great Southern Tree to ask for Asuta’s help, right? And we were able to get our fill of delicious food even without him there.”

“Hmm... I still can’t just accept that, though!”

Their construction work had gone long today, so Pops and the rest of the company hadn’t shown up until after our midday rush was over, which meant I had plenty of time to chat as I served them their food.

“All we were doing was lending them a hand. We used their recipes to prepare the same dishes that they normally have on their menu, so us being there didn’t make that much of a difference.”

“Exactly,” Aldas said. “And it’s not like we’re going to pray for Naudis to get injured. So instead of going on and on, being all childish and selfish, you should hurry up and order, Pops.”

Honestly, interacting with Pops and the rest of his group felt like a reward for my hard work and a chance for me to rest and relax.

Up to this point, no issues had befallen me personally, but the ongoing disaster The Kimyuus’s Tail was suffering from really pained me, and the folks from the capital were making some worrying moves. Raielfam Sudra and the other guards had heard about what had happened with Doug from Ai Fa, so they were looking even more tense as they carried out their duty.

Talking with my lively friends from Jagar helped to loosen up that weighty feeling hanging over me, though. To an outsider, it probably would have looked like I was just surrounded by a bunch of bearded guys, but to me, it felt a bit like having my own personal harem.

We also got another visitor to spice things up that day: a boyish girl with a cute face and mottled dark-brown hair that was cut short—Diel, the daughter of a metalworker from Jagar.

“Hey there, Diel. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

She visited our stalls every ten days to half a month or so. Labis was accompanying her again today, and as she stood in front of my stall, she had a remarkably displeased look on her face.

“You look the same as always, Asuta. I heard there are two hundred soldiers staying in the post town. Have they caused you any trouble in particular?” she asked.

“Well, let’s just say that it would take a long time to explain... And by the way, do you remember those guys?” Balan and company were shooting Diel questioning looks.

Diel looked annoyed as she turned in their direction and said, “Them, you mean? Have I met them somewhere before?”

“Hmph, it’s awfully rare to see a young girl from Jagar in Genos. Wait, hold on, your face looks sort of familiar,” Balan grumbled.

“Ah!” Aldas said, figuring it out before anyone else. “You’re the daughter of that metalworker from Jeland, aren’t you? We met at Asuta’s stalls last year too.”

“Oh wait, are you those people from Nellwea? Wow, that takes me back!” Diel said, her frown instantly shifting to a bright smile.

As he stared at her, Pops stroked his beard and said, “I see. I remember you too. You’re the girl who claimed giba meat isn’t fit for eating, right? That fancy getup looks familiar too.”

“Hey, don’t go digging up ancient history like that,” Diel shot back, her cheeks going red.

“Hmm,” Pops grumbled, raising an eyebrow. “The last time we were here, you were always acting like a cheeky boy, but your face looks a lot more girlish now. That’s a pretty impressive transformation for a young lady your age.”

“Jeez, would you stop talking like that?!”

“Still, it feels like quite a coincidence to run into you here after all this time. Is it because your company sent people to Genos again at the same time of year too?”

“Nah, it’s just me and one other person staying here in Genos to take orders. We’ve actually been thinking lately about whether we should open a shop in the castle town.”

“What?! Then you’ve been here in Genos the whole time, ever since last year?!” Pops erupted.

With a strained chuckle, Aldas chided, “Were you planning on calling it unfair again? You really are attached to giba cooking, aren’t you, Pops?”

“What do you mean, unfair? Let me just tell you, it’s not like I get to eat Asuta’s cooking whenever I want either. And thanks to them, any plans to invite Asuta to the castle town have had to be pushed back too!”

“Them?” Aldas questioned with a tilt of his head, causing Diel to frown and glance in my direction.

“Hey Asuta, sorry, but could I borrow a bit of your time? I want to talk to you about them a bit.”

For me, this was a precious chance to hear the state of things in the castle town, so I left my partner for the day, Lili Ravitz, in charge of our stall and headed over to the restaurant space with Diel, who had just purchased a meal. And when she heard what was going on, Yun Sudra once again kindly stepped away to take my place at the stalls.

“Asuta, what the heck is the deal with those guys? They keep summoning us day after day! ‘Irritating’ doesn’t even begin to describe how they’ve been acting!”

“Ah, so they’ve been calling on you too, Diel? You had ties with Cyclaeus and Lefreya, so I’m sure the people from the capital have been asking you all about them, right?”

“That’s right! They keep complaining about stuff from ages ago! Even though I’m not going to have anything new to tell them, no matter how much they ask!” After biting into her keru fried giba and swallowing, Diel leaned in close to me and said, “Hey, what are they even suspicious about anyway? They were really persistent about asking stuff like if Lefreya really kidnapped you, and how the people of the forest’s edge got you back.”

“I don’t know anything for sure either, but they’re probably trying to collect evidence to prove whether the reports from the nobles of Genos were true or not.”

The leading clan heads had also been questioned on the whole incident surrounding the house of Turan both yesterday and the day before. They at least hadn’t gotten summoned today, but Gulaf Zaza seemed to have accumulated quite a bit of pent up frustration at this point.

“So that’s it after all, huh? Ever since that lot from the capital showed up, I haven’t been able to get in contact with Lord Polarth at all. I had no clue what was going on.”

“I see. Still, it should be just fine as long as you tell them what you know. It’s not like we have anything to feel guilty about, after all.”

“Yeah, that’s true. But is Lefreya going to be all right? I was told really clearly that I was forbidden from meeting with her for the time being,” Diel said with a dejected look that made me think of a puppy stuck out in the rain.

I couldn’t help but worry about Lefreya too, to be honest.

“You don’t think they would hand down another punishment for her now, do you?” Diel asked.

“Huh? No, I can’t imagine them doing something like that. Honestly, the people from the capital seem more like they suspect the house of Genos to be at fault in some way instead,” I replied.

“I see. That’s good, then... Lefreya’s finally started cheering up lately, so I don’t want her to suffer any more.”

It was only natural for Diel to think that way, considering her position. And I didn’t want to imagine Lefreya’s treatment getting any worse than it was now either.

And then there’s the matter of how the northerners have been treated. Melfried must have had something like this in mind when he said the people of the forest’s edge shouldn’t get involved with them.

He had said the people of the capital might think that the way the people of Genos were treating citizens of the enemy nation of Mahyudra was improperly kind.

“Is Chiffon Chel still serving as Lefreya’s maid?”

“Huh? Yeah, of course. It’s a bit strange to think about, but that woman might be the person Lefreya can rely on most right now,” Diel said with an intensely worried expression. “Why did you bring her up so suddenly? You’re not thinking the group from the capital is going to take her away from Lefreya, are you?”

“Well, I’ll be praying that doesn’t happen.”

“Ugh, now I’m getting all worried about that too!” Diel groused, desperately biting into her keru-fried giba. “Anyway, that lot are no good! They act all polite on the surface, but it’s totally obvious that they look down on people from Jagar. It’s not like we’ve done any business with the Grand Duchy of Zerad!”

“Then, are they friendly toward people from Sym?”

“Nah, they seem like they hate easterners too. Honestly, the western capital’s so far from Sym that those nobles probably haven’t ever interacted with easterners in the first place. Sure, merchants from Sym can pop up anywhere, but it’s rare for them to interact with nobles like they do here in Genos.”

In that case, how were the easterners staying in the castle town like Arishuna and the members of the Black Flight Feathers being treated? My list of worries just kept growing longer and longer.

“You can’t be summoned to the castle town until they’re gone, right? Those jerks are nothing but pests, as far as I’m concerned! They should hurry back to the capital and—” Diel shouted, only for Labis to suddenly interject.

“Lady Diel, if you are done eating, we should return to the castle town. It seems best not to remain here any longer.”

“Huh? What are you talking about, Labis?”

A moment later, Cheem Sudra, who had been guarding the restaurant space, called out to me, “Asuta, those soldiers from the capital have arrived. You should return to the stalls, shouldn’t you?”

When I heard that, I turned to look in astonishment. And sure enough, there were ten or so soldiers gathered there in front of the stalls. The customers who had been in line previously were all frowning and standing back at a distance.

“I guess it’d be bad for me to be seen having a secret chat with Asuta, huh? Tch, I wanted to eat at least one more giba dish,” Diel grumbled as she pulled the hood of her cloak up. “Guess there’s no helping it, though. I’ll come by again when I have the time. You take care, Asuta.”

“Thanks. You too, Diel.”

With that, I headed back over to my stall with Cheem Sudra accompanying me. However, there didn’t seem to be any sort of disturbance going on when I arrived. The women were all just silently cooking food.

“Ah, Asuta, are you all good now?” Yun Sudra asked with a smile, having taken my place serving giba and beans.

And as I stood there dumbfounded, a voice called out, “Hey. I thought you had today off, but it turns out you were just hiding somewhere, huh? You aren’t afraid of us, are you?” It was the hundred lion commander, Doug. With his piercing gaze, he looked at Raielfam and Cheem Sudra, who were standing on either side of me. “Well, with such fine bodyguards, you’ve got nothing to fear, right? I was thinking that lot from yesterday were your elite picks, but it looks like all of you are monsters, huh?” he remarked with the same fearless expression and bold grin as usual. The other hundred lion commander, Iphius, was standing beside him, still making that strange breathing sound from his mask.

“Thank you for your patronage yesterday. What brings you here today?”

“You can tell just by looking, right? We came to buy food from your stalls.”

The rest of the soldiers surrounding him were all grinning too. There hadn’t been any serious disturbances last night, fortunately. We had simply waited around for a while after the twenty servings of giba cooking had been sent out, and Leito had eventually come back to tell us that they were satisfied.

“Once morning rolled around and we were sure that none of us had gotten diarrhea or anything, we all agreed that it was just plain good food. So much so that it felt stupid to pay for something like skinless kimyuus or karon leg meat.”

“I see... I’m glad to hear that you liked it.”

After hesitating for a long moment, I decided to let Yun Sudra keep handling the stall, while I would work the restaurant space. Diel and Labis had left, but the members of the construction group were still eating there, and I definitely wanted to give them a proper warning.

“Ah, you’re going to work over there, Asuta? In that case, I’ll move there too,” Raielfam Sudra said, switching guard positions with Cheem Sudra. Another Sudra hunter and Ryada Ruu were already standing by there, and he informed them that the soldiers from the capital had arrived.

As I watched him doing that out of the corner of my eye, I called out to the carpenter group, “Um, Pops, the soldiers will be coming over this way soon, so, well...could you please keep things peaceful?”

“Hmm? They bought giba cooking? So it took till the fourth day for them to finally realize how good it is, huh?!”

Their group had been encountering soldiers at their inn already, so they looked perfectly fine. However, the other customers seemed to be eating their food in a bit of a hurry. Some even left their seats before finishing their meal.

“Ooh, this is some fine seating. I feel like a noble here,” Doug commented as he strolled over with the other soldiers, every single one of whom was holding a hearty helping of food. “It’s all southerners here, huh? Well, excuse us,” Doug said, taking a seat while Pops stared at him.

“There’s nothing to excuse. Anyone who buys giba cooking is free to sit wherever they please.”

“I see. Glad to hear it. My blessing to the earth that is friends with the flame.”

I didn’t really get what Doug meant there, but as he picked up his keru-fried giba, Pops’s thick eyebrows raised suspiciously. “You don’t shun people from Jagar?”

“Hmm? What reason would we have to do that?”

“You soldiers from the capital usually give a cold shoulder to southerners, don’t you? The ones we met at the inn were really noisy about it.”

“They must be a real small-minded lot, then! I’ll be praying that they aren’t my men!” Doug said with a laugh, and the other soldiers joined in. Iphius, with that strange mask of his, was the only one who didn’t. He just kept on staring forward vacantly instead. “Jagar helped create Zerad, which is the enemy of Selva, right? And our job is to hunt there. If we don’t have any prey, we’ll be out of a job, so I’m honestly grateful to Jagar for that!”

“Hmph, I can’t say I get you, young fellow. Well, my blessing to the flame that is friends with the earth,” Pops grumbled before sharply picking up the plate of giba and beans he had been eating. Apparently, that was some sort of greeting that was exchanged between people of Selva and Jagar, but it was my first time ever hearing it.

Actually, Selva is the god of flame, while Jagar is the god of earth, right? Then Sym is wind, and Mahyudra is, um...either water or ice?

At any rate, if Doug’s group and the carpenters respected one another, I was glad to hear it. I felt real relieved as I got back to work washing the used plates alongside the Lea and Muufa women.

The soldiers weren’t being ridiculously loud at the moment, possibly because they hadn’t been drinking. If anything, the carpenters were the more lively of the two groups. It also looked like the people who had backed away from the stalls earlier were slowly starting to purchase food again, though once they got their plates, they sat as far as they could from the soldiers and kept their backs to them.

I haven’t heard about any significant issues other than what happened at The Kimyuus’s Tail. Hopefully, things will keep going like this and their visit will end peacefully.

Just when we almost had all the washing done and I was thinking of returning to the stalls, though, a voice shouted out, “Hey! Can’t you do something about that man?! He’s not a little kid, so he should be able to eat more properly than that, right?!”

That angry shout had come from Balan. After shooting Raielfam Sudra a look, I headed over that way.

“Wh-What’s the matter, Pops?”

“Ah, Asuta! Do something about that guy, won’t you?! He’s ruining the taste of our food!”

Pops was pointing at the hundred lion commander Iphius. However, his back was to us, so I had no idea whatsoever what was making Pops so mad. Feeling bewildered, I glanced over at Doug, only for him to grin and shrug.

“There’s nothing to do. The best we can manage is turning his back to you,” he said.

“That doesn’t help at all! He’s still making that disgusting slurping sound!”

I didn’t hear anything, but maybe that was because the man had stopped eating. I did still hear that familiar eerie breathing sound, though.

“We’re completely used to it, but I guess it would be awfully unpleasant for you, huh? Hey Iphius, our friend from the south is real angry,” Doug said with a rough poke at Iphius’s shoulder.

When the man turned to face us, I was left at a complete loss for words. The area around his mouth was completely coated in curry. On top of that, he was wearing an apron over his chest, which had a ton of curry sauce splattered on it too.

“Ih I ubsed hyu, I abologgise...” Iphius said in a hoarse voice, his mouth still coated in curry. Pops deeply furrowed his brow, while everyone else leaned back, seemingly finding that rather eerie.

“What’s with that voice? Does he have some sort of impairment?”

“Yeah. Iphius here got stabbed in the face with a spear from the side, and it took his nose and part of his upper jaw clean off. He’s been like this ever since,” Doug casually replied as he patted Iphius on the back. “So whenever he eats, he makes a mess like a baby would. Still, that’s no surprise when he’s missing the top half of his mouth.”

“Ih I ubsed hyu, I abologgise...”

“He’s saying, ‘If I upset you, I apologize.’ It’s not as hard to understand as the languages of Sym and Mahyudra, right?”

Pops deeply furrowed his brow and muttered, “I see... I had no idea about any of that, but I went and complained anyway. I’d like to apologize too.”

“No worries. If you were a westerner, I might’ve shouted at you for making fun of a hero who got injured for the sake of our kingdom. That’s of no concern to a southerner, though,” Doug replied with a cheerful smile. He still had the same sharp look in his eyes and the same overwhelming presence that he always did, so it actually didn’t feel like he was upset or anything. And the other soldiers had kept on eating as if nothing especially unusual had happened.

Meanwhile, Iphius slowly stood up. Then he moved to the farthest seat that faced the thicket, where he resumed eating.

“See? All quiet now. Just enjoy your meal and don’t worry about it,” Doug said, then he glanced my way. “Hey, you use some real fine ingredients at your stalls, don’t you? It’s even tastier than what we had at the inns. Everyone’s really pleased with it.”

“I-I see. I’m glad to hear that.”

“Are you going to help out at the inn again tonight? If so, we’ll be looking forward to even more delicious food,” Doug said before turning back toward his men and resuming his meal.

Pops shot me a regretful look as he said, “Asuta, sorry for causing a commotion there. I was completely in the wrong.”

“A-Ah, please don’t worry about it.”

“This is what happens when you go around shouting at everyone all the time, you know,” Aldas said as he gave Pops a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. The sour, dejected look remained fixed on Pops’s face, though.

“They’re not just a gathering of outlaws, that’s for sure. They may act vulgar, but they understand proper decorum too,” Raielfam Sudra whispered as we stepped away from Pops and the soldiers. “But Ryada Ruu was right; that man’s strength is well beyond what is normal for townsfolk, and he has an ominous aura as well. Even if they’ve acknowledged the quality of your cooking, you mustn’t let your guard down, Asuta.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Ultimately, they were still soldiers. They were here in the Genos post town gathering information because that was what their superiors had ordered them to do. So if those nobles from the capital judged the people of the forest’s edge to be their enemies, those soldiers would not hesitate to point their blades at us. What really mattered here was the nobles’ intentions, not theirs.

I’m sure those nobles from the capital will eventually summon me too... That’ll be the real critical moment in all of this, I thought to myself as I got back to work.

We were almost ready to close the stalls for the day, but I still had work at The Kimyuus’s Tail waiting for me.

4

That night, when we arrived at The Kimyuus’s Tail, we found Milano Mas waiting for us in the kitchen, looking rather pitiful.

“Milano Mas! Are you feeling better today?”

“Hmph, these injuries are nothing.”

Despite what he said, Milano Mas looked emaciated and had bandages wrapped around his head and left shoulder. Telia Mas had said that his injuries weren’t serious, but it was hard to believe that was the case, looking at him now. His face was terribly pale and there were bags under his eyes. Honestly, he looked more like he was sick than injured.

“That pain medicine doesn’t seem to agree with me. My stomach’s been a wreck because of that stuff. I’ve been suffering more than I would’ve without it... And it looks like I’ve ended up having to impose on you a lot once again.”

“Not at all. Please, don’t worry about it and focus on getting better,” I told him.

“That’s right,” Telia Mas added. “If you push yourself too hard and start feeling worse, it’ll only cause more trouble for everyone. So please, just go back to your room and rest.”

Milano Mas looked around at all of the people of the forest’s edge in the room and said, “I’m truly sorry for causing all of you so much trouble, but I’m grateful too. I should be able to work again tomorrow or the day after, so keep taking care of my daughter until then, okay?”

“When a hunter dislocates their shoulder, they need to rest for between ten days and half a month, so you’d better behave yourself and get some sleep instead of trying to force things,” Ludo Ruu said with a smile, stepping forward. “I’ll lend you my shoulder, okay? Your daughter’s doing a great job keeping the place running, so you’ve got nothing to worry about. And Asuta and Reina can make up for the rest.”

“Yeah...” Milano Mas groaned listlessly with a nod, rising to his feet. Then Ludo Ruu supported him as he exited the kitchen.

“He looks like he’s doing pretty bad. His stomach has been a problem?” I asked Telia Mas.

“Yes... We got enough pain medicine for three days, so I believe he’ll start doing a little better tomorrow.”

“But if he dislocated his shoulder, he won’t be able to cook for a while yet. Asuta and I will lend you our aid until Milano Mas is able to do his work properly again,” Reina Ruu said with a kind smile.

“Thank you,” Telia Mas replied, tearing up again.

“Well then, let’s get to work. Though I suppose feeding everyone comes first,” I said.

“Right! What do we get to eat today?” Dan Rutim asked.

We had the same lineup on guard duty again today. Dan Rutim was smiling happily, while Ai Fa and Jiza Ruu were staring at the entrance and window with serious looks on their faces. Having met Doug last night, they were even more on guard now.

At any rate, we went ahead and got to work while taking turns eating in the other room. The soldiers from the capital were late to return again, so the orders were coming in at a fairly relaxed pace. Our menu was pretty much the same as yesterday too, except that the dish the Ruu clan had delivered to the inn was sweet-and-sour giba instead of tino rolls.

“It seems news of you helping out in our kitchen has already reached the other inns,” Telia Mas mentioned as she worked. “People who’re lodging elsewhere have been going well out of their way to drop by and ask about that. They were very intent on hearing about how things were going with the soldiers too... If we don’t have any incidents for a while, we may see customers coming here in search of your cooking.”

“Is that so? Whether I’m here or not, it doesn’t really change the contents of the dishes, so that sounds a bit strange to me.”

“I’m afraid you’re wrong about that. That soldier said he sensed that his meal last night was especially well-made, didn’t he? Even if the dishes are the same, they end up being pretty different when the two of you are making them.”

“If that’s the case, you’ll have to polish your skills even more, huh, Telia Mas? You wouldn’t want people saying the food tastes worse without us around, right? You need to get all fired up about improving,” I joked in response. “If you’d like, you can pair up with me as much as possible while we’re cooking today. That should make it clearer what the difference is between us.”

“Thank you... I’m sure if my mother were still alive, she would have instructed me like this,” Telia Mas said with a faint smile. “I’ll never forget my debt to you. And I’ll do my best to pay you back some day.”

“We’re the ones paying you back, and we still have a long way to go.”

Shortly after that, Leito came into the kitchen. “The soldiers are back. They’re ordering giba dishes right from the start this time.”

“I see. Are they leaving the details up to us again?”

“Yes. They said they want around the same amount as yesterday to start out.”

The only thing different from yesterday was the sweet-and-sour giba, so that was no issue. And that dish was made in advance, so there was no need to worry about it coming out half cooked either.

“Oh, Leito, it took a while for people in the post town to start to enjoy the taste of mamaria vinegar, didn’t it? The folks from the capital shouldn’t feel like that, though, right?”

“Right. That was just the result of Cyclaeus preventing mamaria vinegar from being distributed in the post town. It’s an ingredient you can find anywhere around the capital, so they should have no problem with it.”

In that case, there was even less of a need to worry. In addition to the sweet-and-sour giba, we prepared a boiled dish that used tarapa, a soup made with tau oil, and simple grilled meat flavored with worcestershire sauce. Since that last dish was the only one that needed to be freshly grilled, I took special care when preparing it.

“Oh yeah, the soldiers from the capital actually stopped by our stalls to buy giba cooking today,” I said to Telia Mas as we were working. “A lot of them ordered giba curry too. The soldiers here have started eating giba meat, so I imagine you shouldn’t have any need to worry about ending up with leftover curry at this point.”

“Is that so? In that case, I’d like to start offering it tomorrow. I’m certain our other customers are eager to have it again,” Telia Mas replied, her expression finally brightening. Just as I was thinking that, though, her smile became a bashful one. “Having the soldiers order giba meat has helped me feel a good bit better. It really was frustrating to hear them mock giba cooking.”

“Yeah. That’s definitely a relief for me too.”

And I was sure Ai Fa felt the same way. As I thought that, I glanced in her direction, only to see my beloved clan head glaring out the window with a look like a wildcat in her eyes. I had gotten used to her facial expressions being calm and gentle a much larger percentage of the time lately, but now she was back to her old intense self because of that lot from the capital. However, that didn’t get me feeling down. After all, Ai Fa was just as charming to me when she acted like a resolute hunter as she was when she was acting like a girl her age.

I continued to think about her until we finished up the twenty servings’ worth of giba dishes. Were they going to ask for seconds of the same amount later? Those soldiers from the capital seemed to have appetites that were as healthy as those of the hunters from the forest’s edge.

“They don’t seem to be causing any trouble. It appears they won’t treat us with hostility so long as the nobles don’t order them to do so,” Jiza Ruu remarked to no one in particular.

And then, as if he had been waiting for that moment, I heard Leito, who was outside of the kitchen, say, “You can’t do that.”

“Hey there. You’ve got the same lineup again today, huh? Must be hard work, coming out here night after night.” Yet again, it was the hundred lion commander Doug. The eyes of the hunters shone intensely, and they moved to guard their assigned chefs.

“Could you stop doing this already? We really will call the guards, you know,” Leito warned.

“Like I told you before, go ahead if you want to. I’ll finish up my business here before they arrive anyway,” Doug replied with a big grin, glancing at me from the entrance to the kitchen. “So, I’ve got a request for you. Will you hear me out, Asuta of the Fa clan?”

“What is it? I’m really only assisting here, so there isn’t much I can do by myself.”

“It’s nothing all that formal. I’d just like you to make some food for Iphius,” Doug said, placing a hand on his solidly built hips. “He’s really taken a liking to your giba cooking and came all the way here to this inn to have some. But you’re not serving the dish he was after, so he’s really disappointed.”

“And which dish would that be?”

“That one you were selling yesterday. With the soft meat wrapped in tino. He can only eat soft stuff, so I told him that dish would be perfect for him.”

It was true, we weren’t serving tino rolls today.

As I struggled to figure out how to reply, Doug shot me a smile over Leito’s head and said, “You heard how he’s got issues with his mouth, yeah? The guy lost his front teeth on the top down to the roots, so he can only chew with his back teeth. That means that even with boiled meat, he’s gotta cut it up real small on his plate before popping it into his mouth. He also had some real difficulty with that herb dish from earlier today.”

“I see... It would take us quite a bit of time to make that dish from yesterday, though. But if he’d be okay with having a different dish that’s similarly soft, that won’t take nearly as long,” I replied as I turned toward Telia Mas. The Kimyuus’s Tail had one more dish that was made with minced giba meat.

The young innkeeper nodded back to me. “W-We should be able to have some giba meatballs ready in a fairly short amount of time. Fortunately, we have all of the ingredients on hand.”

“Then, could I ask you to do that? And if it’s not too much, I’d appreciate it if you could make enough for us too,” Doug said before swiftly vanishing.

With an audible sigh, Leito turned toward me and said, “My apologies. That man seems to have a very forceful personality.”

“It’s fine. It isn’t rare at all for customers to make requests like that,” Telia Mas replied with a gentle smile. “And Leito, you don’t need to be so tense and anxious. I’m just fine.”

“I know,” Leito said, staring down at the ground. It felt unlike him somehow...but when I thought about it, I noticed that it made him seem much more his age than he usually did.

“Well then, let’s get to work on the meatballs now. Have you changed how you make them at all lately?”

“No, they’re still the same as when you taught us. Do you think enough for five people for now?”

We didn’t have any other orders at the moment, so all three of us were able to work on them together. We minced the meat, kneaded salt and pico leaves into it, formed it into balls, and then heated them in a pot. Once their surfaces were properly cooked, we added fruit wine and put a lid on top of the pot to steam them. We were also going to serve them with a sauté of aria, nenon, and nanaar that we had cooked together with the meatballs.

After everything was heated through, we plated the meatballs and vegetables side by side. Then we used the meat juice that remained in the pot to prepare some sauce. We added a bit of fruit wine, tau oil, and mamaria vinegar to it, along with a bit of fuwano flour to give it some thickness, before pouring it over the meatballs, completing the dish.

A year ago, I made hamburger steak for Granny Jiba, and now I’m making meatballs for a soldier from the capital. Fate can really lead us in some strange directions, huh? I thought to myself as Leito carried out the plates for five.

After we had watched him go, Ai Fa called out, “Hey. The Iphius that man mentioned is the other skilled warrior Ryada Ruu and Raielfam Sudra spoke of, isn’t he?”

“Yeah. Supposedly, he lost his nose and upper jaw in battle, so he always has this strange mask on.”

“I’ve heard that he’s a noble... Is he going to be even more trouble than that other commander, Doug?”

“No. He has an eerie vibe thanks to that mask, but at least from what I’ve seen of his interactions with other customers, he doesn’t seem to be a violent person,” I replied as I thought back on the events from earlier today.

But then, I heard an aloof voice coming from the kitchen’s entrance. “That’s right. He may be a noble, but he’s ultimately just a knight, and more than that, he’s a soldier at heart. In a way, he’s a more proper soldier than Doug, who rose through the ranks as a mercenary. Even if he doesn’t like the taste of the food, he won’t complain about it, so you have nothing to worry about.”

I was truly shocked from the bottom of my heart.

Ludo Ruu, who had reached for his blade when he’d heard that voice, then complained, “Hey, you shouldn’t hide your presence when you’re approaching at times like this! If we didn’t know you, I would’ve taken a swing at you!”

“Sorry about that. I was waiting for a good chance to speak up,” a slender man said as he stepped into the kitchen. He had disheveled golden-brown hair, similarly colored stubble, somewhat droopy purple eyes, and pale skin. A long cloak covered his body from his neck down to his feet. It was none other than our old acquaintance, the bodyguard Kamyua Yoshu. “I finally managed to slip away from the castle town, so I decided to come see how things were going over here. You seem like you’re doing well, Asuta and Ai Fa. And you too, Jiza and Ludo Ruu, and...Dan Rutim, wasn’t it?”

“Indeed! So you’ve finally shown yourself! And you seem to be in good health too!” Dan Rutim said.

I couldn’t remember seeing the two of them interacting all that much in the past. However, they had worked together to take down Cyclaeus. The sight of Dan Rutim and Rau Lea breaking down the door and rushing in when Ciluel tried to have us all murdered remained firmly burned into my memory even now.

“I took a bit of a trip around the post town, so I ended up arriving later than expected. But from what Leito told me, there hasn’t been any real trouble and things are going well now.”

This was my first time seeing him in around ten months, but Kamyua Yoshu still had that same goofy smile on his face.

With narrowed eyes, Jiza Ruu stared at the casually grinning man. “It has been a while, Kamyua Yoshu. Our leading clan head Donda has been concerned about you as well.”

“Well, I certainly appreciate that. I’m just glad the leading clan heads seem to be keeping their anger in check, at least for the moment. I’m sure they’re feeling quite a bit of resentment toward those haughty nobles from the capital by now.” Kamyua Yoshu stepped into the kitchen, shooting Telia Mas a smile as he did. “Ah, and you’re looking good too. I heard about what happened to Milano Mas. It sounded like it was really awful.”

“Ah, yes... Thank you for everything you did to help us out before,” Telia Mas said, bowing her head in a fluster. This was actually the first time I had seen the two of them together.

“Now then, what were we talking about...? Ah, right, Iphius. It’s true that he’s technically a noble, but you should really think of knights and people with court ranks as being completely different from each other. Especially since he’s a hundred lion commander who wields his blade on the front lines. If you were to view him as a mercenary who worked his way up the ranks, devoting himself to a life of combat, you wouldn’t be too far off the mark.”

“Hmm. Even that Doug fellow seems almost cute when compared to you. How unusual,” Dan Rutim said as he stared at Kamyua Yoshu. “And I’m not just talking about your abilities. You have also clearly put a lot of effort into training to fight other people, and I’m sure you must have made use of those skills many, many times... But you aren’t brimming with needless bloodlust like he is. That makes you feel even more abnormal to me.”

“That’s because I’m a bodyguard, not a soldier. And I try not to kill whenever I can avoid it. You can’t compare me to those guys who fight for the sake of the kingdom.”

“Is that so? Well, I suppose I’ll have to accept your words. With a grain of salt,” Dan Rutim said with a big grin.

Kamyua Yoshu smiled in the same way he always did too.

“You really are the same as ever, aren’t you? So you’ve been in the castle town this whole time?” Ludo Ruu asked.

“Yep, that’s right,” Kamyua Yoshu replied, turning toward him. “In some ways, things in the castle town have been way worse. Duke Genos, being the sort of guy he is, never lets himself appear weak if he can avoid it... But this time around, he’s having to push back against them with everything he’s got.”

“Hmm. Those nobles from the capital sure hate Duke Genos, don’t they?”

“I’d describe them as being cautious of him, actually. The more he comes across as a wise ruler, the more suspicious of him they become.”

“Why is that? I can’t understand why they insist on putting a land that’s a full month away from their capital by totos under such heavy scrutiny,” Jiza Ruu interjected.

Kamyua Yoshu shrugged. “That’d take a good bit of explaining, but, well, are you all familiar with the Grand Duchy of Zerad?”

“Ah, yeah. I happened to hear about it in town, and the people who were talking about it gave me a rough explanation,” I replied.

“I see,” Kamyua Yoshu said, his eyebrows drooping. “Maybe this won’t take so long after all, then. To put it simply, the folks from the capital are afraid of Genos becoming a second Zerad.”

“A second Zerad? You mean—?”

“Yes. Ultimately, they’re worried that Genos will declare its independence from the capital, Algrad, and attempt to establish their own city-state within Selva’s land,” Kamyua Yoshu said, the smile still fixed on his face. “After all, Duke Genos had that new path cleared to bolster trade with the Eastern Kingdom of Sym, didn’t he? And he’s planning to establish a new post town on the opposite side of Mount Morga. Coming up with an idea like that and making it a reality is proof that Duke Genos is no ordinary, mediocre ruler... But from the point of view of those folks from the capital, that just makes him all the more suspicious.”

“Why, though? I don’t see how that ties in at all,” I said.

“To put it simply, the Grand Duchy of Zerad was able to gain so much power because it had the backing of Jagar, so they suspect that Genos is plotting to do the same thing with Sym,” Kamyua Yoshu explained.

Jiza Ruu’s smile remained in place, but his brow noticeably furrowed.

Kamyua Yoshu pulled his hand out of his cloak and stroked his chin. “In actuality, the capital wouldn’t lose all that much from Genos going independent, but it would harm the kingdom’s dignity. And if other local lords started going independent one after another, the very foundation of the kingdom would crumble underneath it. That’s what has those folks from the capital so desperate.”

“Is Duke Genos actually planning to do something like that?”

“No. He wouldn’t stand to gain much from doing so. Any town belonging to Selva would be forbidden from doing business with Genos if he did, and the capital would eventually send out a large army to subjugate them. Unless he suddenly gets overtaken by a burning desire to call himself a king, there wouldn’t be any point in doing that.”

“Then why are the people of the capital so afraid of that possibility?”

“Because they place more importance on authority than anything else. People tend to use themselves as a standard when evaluating others,” Kamyua Yoshu said. But then, a moment later, he abruptly turned around. In the same instant, the hunters all tensed up as well. “Ultimately, their suspicions are purely the result of a misunderstanding between the capital and Genos, and I’ll be praying for all of this discord to get cleared up as soon as possible,” he concluded.

“Hmph. We don’t really care either way,” a voice said with a laugh from the entrance. But before the man it belonged to could show himself, Leito came flying into the kitchen.

“Kamyua, you came! When did you slip into the kitchen?”

“You just looked so busy that I decided not to bother you, Leito.”

There were two figures standing behind Leito: the hundred lion commanders Doug and Iphius. The former was grinning, while the latter was making his usual odd breathing noise.

“So you’ve finally left the stone walls, eh, Kamyua Yoshu? Are you done protecting Duke Genos?”

“Well, an outsider like me can only do so much.”

“Hmph,” Doug sneered. “All we can do in the end is follow the orders of our superiors and take our enemies down. I’d certainly like to be given work before our swords start getting rusty.”

“Your enemies are Mahyudra and Zerad, not anyone here in Genos.”

“Our bosses will be the ones to decide that. Or rather, the king and the nobles our bosses answer to,” Doug said. Then his gaze shifted over to me. “This guy wanted to thank you personally, so I brought him along. Hurry up and say whatever you want to say Iphius.”

“Id hwas bery good... My abologgees hor he drouble... I bery mudj abrecciade ih...”

“Did you catch that?”

“Y-Yes, he said it was very good...I think?”

“‘It was very good. My apologies for the trouble. I very much appreciate it.’ Those meatballs really were delicious, by the way. Honestly, it would’ve been great if you had made twice that amount,” Doug said with a bold grin, as Iphius nodded vacantly. Then, Doug’s gaze shifted toward Kamyua Yoshu again. “You’ve eaten a ton of giba meat, haven’t you, Kamyua Yoshu? Why didn’t you brag about it on our way here?”

“I wanted everyone from the capital to have a chance to try giba cooking without any preconceptions. And besides, whether it’s to someone’s tastes varies from person to person.”

“Hmph. So that was a scheme too? Well, not that there’s any point in trying to use any sort of trick on us. As I’ve said again and again, our superiors are the ones who decide everything.” Doug’s eyes, which were like those of a raptor, then glared fearlessly at the hunters of the forest’s edge. “As thanks for the delicious meal, let me give you a warning: Don’t slip up when you’re dealing with those nobles, okay? The group who came to Genos this time around are especially troublesome.”

“Aren’t those nobles your rulers?”

“Hmph. The people who direct our swords are our unit commander and our general. Those nobles are just the ones who give them orders,” Doug said, stroking the scabbard of the sword at his hip before stepping back. “Well then, we’ll be asking for the same amount of giba cooking again. Keep up the good work. Come on, Iphius.”

Iphius gave an elegant bow, then turned around as well.

Once they were gone, Kamyua Yoshu gave a big grin and turned toward us, saying, “I thought they were pretty stubborn, but it looks like you’ve won them over quite a bit, and in just four days too. The power of delicious food really is impressive.”

“What really matters are the nobles in the castle town, though, right?”

“Yeah, and they’re definitely a troublesome lot. They aren’t villains like Cyclaeus and Ciluel, but in a way, that makes them even more difficult to handle.”

“If they were villains or whatever, we could just beat them down. So yeah, it sounds like a real pain, having to deal with guys who’re that haughty, but who aren’t exactly evil,” Ludo Ruu remarked, bringing his hands up behind his head.

After that, we three chefs had to get back to work, though I did take a moment to glance over at Kamyua Yoshu.

“Have you eaten already, Kamyua?” I asked.

“No, certainly not. I left the castle town planning to meet up with you all, so it would have been a real waste to do that.”

“Then I’ll make some for you too. We can use a lot more ingredients now, so I’m sure you’ll be happy with it,” I said. Then I briefly stopped what I was doing and turned toward him fully. “I know this is a little late, but welcome back, Kamyua. I’m really happy to see you after such a long time.”

“Yeah, me too. You sure have grown, Asuta,” Kamyua Yoshu said with a grin before glancing in Ai Fa’s direction. “And you look even more beautiful, Ai Fa. Have you married Asuta yet?”

“That’s the first thing you say to me after all those months?”

“Whoa, what a scary look! Your strength as a hunter seems to have grown too!”

Kamyua Yoshu was acting so ridiculous that I just couldn’t help but laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Ai Fa asked sulkily.

Still, under the circumstances, I couldn’t imagine anyone we could rely on more than Kamyua Yoshu. From the bottom of my heart, I felt overjoyed at the chance to reunite with this friend of mine with all his peculiar charm.

Chapter 3: A Dinner in the Castle Town

1

The next two days after our reunion with Kamyua Yoshu at The Kimyuus’s Tail were fortunately nice and peaceful. Sure, the two hundred soldiers stationed in the post town occasionally got into squabbles with outlaws, but those encounters never escalated into serious issues. And once it became clear that they wouldn’t mess with honest upright folks without a good reason, the town got a lot calmer, and things started to liven up again.

On top of that, we were now seeing more and more soldiers stopping by our stalls day by day. At first, it had just been Doug, Iphius, and ten or so of their subordinates, but other soldiers were starting to seek out giba cooking after hearing about it from them.

“That lot at The Great Southern Tree is finally ordering giba dishes now too, and Pops has had a lot to say about that.”

“What’s wrong with that?! Last night, the inn ran out of the stuff they get from the people of the forest’s edge because of those jerks!”

It seemed that Balan was going to be indignant about the soldiers whether they bought giba cooking or not. Still, I was glad to hear that there was no need to worry about leftover giba dishes at either The Great Southern Tree or The Kimyuus’s Tail at this point.

And there was actually one more thing I was grateful for. Starting the day after I reunited with Kamyua Yoshu, The Kimyuus’s Tail had started seeing customers from other inns again.

Folks from Sym were the first and most common examples of that. Many inns that catered to them, such as The Ramuria Coil, had ended up going over capacity. Many of the displaced customers had transferred to inns that didn’t serve giba meat, and that was not a situation they were able to tolerate for long.

A bunch of those folks had ended up visiting The Kimyuus’s Tail, and when word had spread that they had been able to order giba cooking without any interference from the soldiers from the capital, that led to even a few locals from the west stopping by.

There were still only a handful of inns throughout the post town that served giba. On top of that, the inns that purchased giba meat from the market were rather big ones with funds to spare, which all ended up having to take in soldiers from the capital. That had resulted in regular customers having a lot more difficulty finding a place where they could eat giba. In other words, the customers were rushing to the inns that served giba meat, trying to regain access to it once again. And as a result of that trend, The Kimyuus’s Tail was now seeing just as much business as they had been before.

When those customers arrived at night, Telia Mas took charge of the kitchen in place of the injured Milano Mas, while Reina Ruu and I acted as her assistants. Starting the day after we had reunited with Kamyua Yoshu, it felt like we had become about fifty percent busier, but we remained fully dedicated to our work, trying to provide both the soldiers from the capital and the regular customers with meals they could really enjoy.

“Giba sure is popular, isn’t it? It feels like it’s become one of Genos’s essential local specialties at this point,” Kamyua Yoshu had said. Apparently, he was heading into the castle town during the day and operating behind the scenes, but at night he would return to the post town for dinner at The Kimyuus’s Tail. Whenever he ate delicious food, Kamyua Yoshu would either break out in tears, go expressionless, or make some sort of funny face I couldn’t comprehend at all, and then Ludo Ruu and Dan Rutim would start laughing.

At any rate, that was how our evenings went for the next couple days. They were nice and peaceful up through the sixth of the green month... But then, the seventh rolled around.

“We weren’t able to get any of your giba cooking at the dining hall last night either. I’m not trying to speak ill of Naudis, but I was really looking forward to it,” Aldas from the construction group stated. We had taken the day off from working at the stalls yesterday, and we hadn’t sold any food to the inns then either. “Pops was really itching to head over to the inn where you were helping out. But we decided not to, because we didn’t want to be unfair to Naudis. And besides, his giba cooking is pretty tasty too.”

“Hmph! Since this is your first day back after a break, that cubed giba meat stew should be on sale, right? That’s the one dish I won’t let anyone have if I can’t!” Pops chimed in, sounding as energetic as ever. I had also been really glad to hear that their business was going well. “The other stalls seem to have changed things up quite a bit too. Since you all took yesterday off, we had to look around for a while to find a half-decent replacement, and it was a real shock to find that a lot of them are just casually using tau oil and sugar now.”

“That’s right. There was a noble who was monopolizing a bunch of different ingredients, but he ended up getting convicted of some pretty serious crimes. Now, as long as you have the coins, you can get ahold of pretty much any ingredient you want here.”

“Hmph! Well, I’m not gonna let a stall get away with it if it serves something shoddy made with karon torso meat when that stuff’s even more expensive than giba! Why should I have to pay even more than I do for giba cooking for something like that?!”

There weren’t a lot of them, but some stalls in the post town did work with karon torso. And apparently, Pops had eaten at one of them for lunch yesterday.

“If their cooking isn’t up to snuff, that’s probably because it hasn’t even been a full year since all of those ingredients became available. But a chef from the castle town is providing lessons on how to use that stuff, so the quality of the food most places offer should steadily improve over time.”

I remembered someone telling me that the Tanto’s Blessing inn where Yang was helping out was housing twenty soldiers, the hundred lion commander Iphius included. It was the post town’s finest inn, and its owner, Tapas, was in charge of the firm for the inns too. But since they didn’t sell giba cooking, Iphius had been visiting The Kimyuus’s Tail every single night for the last few days instead.

“By the way, I don’t see any soldiers around today,” Aldas said as I was preparing today’s special, egg drop giba.

“Yeah, they usually don’t show up until the sun is past its peak. That was around when you all ran into them before, wasn’t it?”

The construction group would wait until they were a good stopping point before they would take a break for lunch, so they visited the stalls at all sorts of different times. Sometimes they would line up first thing in the morning, but it wasn’t unusual for them to not make it until after the midday rush. We were currently at the point where the initial morning rush had cleared up, and there was around half an hour left until the sun would hit its peak.

“The soldiers staying at our inn seem to be getting better behaved on a daily basis too. Sure, they’ll flare up a bit if they’ve been drinking, but they’re hardly the only ones.”

“I see. Glad to hear it.”

“Yeah, we were glad about that too. No good comes from arguing with soldiers, so hopefully they’ll keep behaving themselves and head back to the capital soon enough. I wouldn’t count on it, though...” Aldas said, glancing south and furrowing his brow. When I followed his gaze, I was taken aback. A large group of armor-clad soldiers were marching toward us from that direction.

The passersby all naturally moved to the side of the road, their eyes open wide. The soldiers were moving in a two-column formation, and were completely armored up like they had been when they had first arrived at the post town, and each of them had a totos with them.

“Nope, doesn’t look like they’re heading back to the capital. If they were, those totos would be carrying luggage,” Aldas said as he stared probingly at the advancing soldiers, while Pops frowned sourly.

Raielfam Sudra, who had been waiting behind me, now moved closer to us. “I don’t sense any bloodlust, but there’s far more tension about them than there would normally be. It seems like they’re letting their true nature show.”

The soldiers were already passing by in front of our stalls as he said that. At the head of the group was the hundred lion commander Iphius, wearing a nicer helmet than the other soldiers were, with a tassel on top. And with that mask that looked like a totos beak, there was certainly no mistaking him.

Eventually, there was a gap in the procession, followed by another group, unsurprisingly led by Doug. Thanks to the visor he was wearing, I couldn’t see his face, but his tassel was just as impressive as Iphius’s.

Doug, Iphius, and the other soldiers continued straight ahead, not even so much as glancing at us. Then, as they reached the limits of the post town, they got on their totos, and the giant birds took off running down the road. Their movements were all as robotic as always.

“Were they heading to the castle town? Let’s hope this doesn’t turn into a war,” Aldas said, laughing heartily in the way southerners tended to before heading into the restaurant space.

Pops snorted as he accepted the dish I held out to him, “Hmph. Don’t know how they stand wearing stuffy uniforms like that. And I’ve got no interest in a life of getting pushed around by nobles either.”

It sounded like he was honestly sympathizing with the soldiers. After that squabble with Iphius, had he had some sort of change of heart? Sure, Pops could be very curt at times, but I knew that that wasn’t all there was to him.

As Pops headed off toward the restaurant seating as well, the people on the street started moving again too. As things were gradually returning to normal, someone called out to me, “Hey, long time no see, Asuta. Glad to see you looking well.”

“Hey, Zasshuma! You’re back in Genos too?”

“Yeah. I heard some strange things have been going on around here.” This man was Kamyua Yoshu’s friend and fellow bodyguard, Zasshuma. It had been quite a while since I had last seen him. As he stroked his stubbly cheek, Zasshuma let out a hearty laugh. “Ha ha, I came by way of the northern highway, so I stopped by the castle town first. When I went to check in at a particular inn I’ve used before just to be safe, I found that sure enough, the Northern Whirlwind had left a message for me. Sounds like this is another really complex situation.”

“It sure is. I never imagined the group of observers from the capital would be so massive.”

“That lot from the capital do stuff like this every now and then. They went and expanded their territory all willy-nilly, and now they’re terrified of local lords rebelling.” Then, his bright brown eyes looked beside me, at Raielfam Sudra. “I think I remember you too. You’ve worked as a guard for Asuta and the others before, when I was last here, haven’t you?”

“Indeed. I am the Sudra clan head, Raielfam Sudra. And you’re...Kamyua Yoshu’s ally, aren’t you?”

“That’s me. I owe Lord Melfried too, so I’m thinking of sticking my neck into all of this again.”

Kamyua Yoshu, Leito, Zasshuma...the old key players had all popped up. That was reassuring, sure, but it also made me think back to when Cyclaeus had still been in power.

“That said, about all I’m good for here is running errands. But no matter what the plan may be, you’ve gotta have somebody to do that stuff for you if you want things to go well. So I’ll be running from place to place for the next while with the Northern Whirlwind’s cute little apprentice,” Zasshuma said, the smile on his face growing even brighter. “First, though, I’ve gotta fill my stomach. Having my first taste of giba in several months sounds great.”

“Absolutely. Just hold on for a moment.”

After tossing some giba meat and aria onto a metal tray, I got to work making the egg drop giba. And in the meantime, Zasshuma shared some useful information with us.

“So, apparently those soldiers that passed by a moment ago were heading to inspect the Turan lands.”

“Oh, so that’s where they’re going? Not to the castle town?”

“Yeah. There are hundreds of northerners there, after all. They summoned all the soldiers in town in order to keep an eye on them.”

We had, of course, been expecting that they would do that at some point, but I still felt a little antsy. They were soldiers from the capital who had actually clashed with Mahyudra’s army in battle. How were they going to treat the northerners working in the Turan lands? That was a serious source of concern for me.

Is Eleo Chel doing okay? And what about Chiffon Chel?

After mixing the giba meat and aria with a tau-oil-based sauce, I cracked a kimyuus egg over them and placed a lid on top of the tray. When the aroma of the cooking food reached him, Zasshuma said, “That’s a great smell. But anyway, Duke Genos seems to be as tenacious as the Northern Whirlwind, so there shouldn’t be anything to worry about. Have things been going well between him and you people of the forest’s edge after you took Count Turan down?”

“Yes. In fact, I’d say we’ve been getting pretty favorable treatment.”

“Hmm. I guess that’s why he’s being so cautious. The way Duke Genos sees it is that you’ve been treated unjustly up until now, and he’s trying to correct that. But it’ll probably be hard to get those arrogant folks from the capital to understand that,” Zasshuma said, his eyes taking on a serious look. “I’m an officially recognized bodyguard, so I’ve had some interaction with nobles from the capital before. I know that they aren’t all cut from the same cloth, but it seems like the ones you’re dealing with now are a troublesome bunch. You’re going to have to watch yourselves if you want to make it through this.”

“We know. Having you on our side is really reassuring, Zasshuma.”

“Hey, I’m just doing what little I can for the sake of my employer, Lord Melfried. I still haven’t been officially hired, but that man would never allow anything crooked to happen. I’m sure you guys have been getting along with him well because of that.” As we were talking, I finished up the egg drop giba. When I handed over the dish with the jiggly soft-boiled egg on top, Zasshuma’s eyes started sparkling. “That sure looks tasty. No matter where I’ve gone, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about giba cooking. I avoided eating anything all morning because I’ve been looking forward to coming here so much.”

“Thanks. It makes me really happy to hear you say that.”

Zasshuma also ordered a giba burger and some cream stew before heading over to the restaurant space.

After that, we headed back to the forest’s edge before those soldiers returned to the post town. Later that night, I heard that no major issues had occurred in the Turan lands. Apparently, Kamyua Yoshu had used his infiltration techniques in order to spy on the proceedings.

“Well, those northerners were already there before Cyclaeus fell, so no matter how badly those nobles want to disparage Duke Genos, they’re going to have trouble finding something to complain about,” Kamyua Yoshu explained when he visited The Kimyuus’s Tail that evening. He was standing off in the corner of the kitchen with us, while Zasshuma was eating a meal in the dining hall and observing the soldiers, since they hadn’t identified him yet. “Also, I have news about that maid serving Lady Lefreya who you were concerned about, Chiffon Chel.”

“Oh, have you heard something about her?”

“Yup. She’s still taking care of Lady Lefreya like she has been. They’re being kept in isolation, but there shouldn’t really be anything to worry about on that front.”

“I see. Glad to hear it,” I said with a sigh of relief.

Kamyua Yoshu narrowed his eyes and smiled. “It’s too early to feel relaxed just yet. Tomorrow’s going to be the real do-or-die moment for you, Asuta.”

“Yeah. But all I can do is deal with things as they come to the best of my ability.”

Before we had arrived at The Kimyuus’s Tail, a messenger from the castle town visited the Ruu clan. The message they delivered was from Melfried, and it had stated that, “Asuta of the Fa clan is summoned to the castle town tomorrow.” However, instead of going there to be interrogated, I was supposed to cook for the nobles from the capital. They wanted to see if Asuta of the Fa clan really was a chef skilled enough to cause Lady Lefreya to become as fixated as had been reported. Additionally, they wished to determine if I was truly qualified to be summoned to the castle town so frequently and to be paid so well. Those were questions the nobles from the capital wanted to answer personally.

“Allow me to give you a bit of advice, Asuta. Just for peace of mind, if nothing else... Tomorrow, you should put extra care into whatever you make with poitan.”

“With poitan? Why is that?”

“Well, one of the noble observers comes from the lands of Archduke Banz, who controls a territory with vast poitan fields. As I’ve mentioned in the past, poitan is primarily used for military provisions, so his domain is quite important for the capital, where the battle between Mahyudra and Selva is a constant fact of life.”

“I see. So if they learn that poitan can be used in general cooking too, that will bring them more wealth?”

It was similar to how we had made Polarth an ally in the past.

“Yeah,” Kamyua Yoshu replied with a smile. “Whether that alone will be enough to earn you his gratitude, I can’t say, but we should try to make use of everything we have at our disposal.”

“Got it. I was thinking about using poitan without any fuwano anyway, so that works out just fine.” I wasn’t planning to serve anything all that elaborate, but I didn’t think it would be too difficult to show them how good poitan could actually be.

Kamyua Yoshu nodded with a serious look on his face. “Good. Still, the most important thing will be to make sure you don’t let their attitudes anger you. On the off chance that they say your food isn’t fit for consumption, you’ll need to let it go without a fuss.”

“That shouldn’t be an issue.” I was already gathering my resolve to stay calm even if they trampled on my cooking right in front of me. However, Ai Fa had a seriously displeased look on her face as she stood next to me.

“Are you certain those nobles don’t intend to raise a complaint regardless of the quality of the food? I could not imagine anything more infuriating.”

“Even if they are rotten, they’re still nobles of the capital. Calling delicious food bad would be like declaring that their sense of taste is lacking. I’d say their arrogance should work out in our favor in this case,” Kamyua Yoshu replied with his usual smile. “Summoning Asuta on the grounds of wanting to see proof of his skills while intending to judge him unfairly no matter what would be a rather wicked scheme on their part. I doubt that a noble from the capital would undermine their credibility like that.”

I didn’t know much about how nobles thought, but that didn’t particularly matter. All I had to do was prepare the best food that I could.

2

The next day, the eighth of the green month, rolled around.

As soon as we were done with work in the post town, we headed straight to the castle town. The chefs were me, Toor Deen, Reina Ruu, and Rimee Ruu, while our guards were Ai Fa, Jiza Ruu, Ludo Ruu, and Gazraan Rutim. The latter three had even taken the day off from giba hunting on Donda Ruu’s orders. Of course, my clan head had instead gone into the forest early in order to check the traps she had set, so it had been more of a half day for her, but she was able to meet up with us in time with no problems.

After wrapping up business at the lower second hour, the other members of our group went on their way back to the settlement under the protection of the Sudra hunters. The remaining eight of us said farewell to them and headed to the castle town.

It had been Donda Ruu’s decision to swap Dan Rutim, who was one of our usual nighttime guards, for Gazraan Rutim. His thinking was that it would make more sense to bring someone who had already met with the nobles to such an event, especially given how calm and clearheaded the young clan head was.

We were bringing a lineup of elite chefs too. I had felt the need to apologize to Yun Sudra when I had made my selections, though.

“Sorry, Yun Sudra. But I really need either you or Toor Deen to stay behind at the settlement to handle prep work for tomorrow.”

“Huh? What are you apologizing for, Asuta?”

“I mean, I promised to take you along next time I go to the castle town,” I replied, causing Yun Sudra to go red all the way to her ears.

“Y-You’re heading there under orders from those nobles, so this time doesn’t count. Even I can tell the difference, Asuta.”

“I see. I’m glad to hear it. You seemed really angry when you didn’t get to come along to The Silver Star, after all.”

“Jeez, stop teasing me, Asuta! You make it sound as if I’m an unreasonable child,” Yun Sudra said in a fluster before quickly shifting back to a bright smile. “Besides, didn’t I tell you before? It’s an important job, taking care of things while you’re away. And it makes me very proud when you entrust it to me.”

Encouraged by those words from Yun Sudra, I was able to make the trip to the castle town without any regrets. And since it didn’t seem like we would be returning in time to help out at The Kimyuus’s Tail tonight, I asked the Ruu clan to take our place. Sheera Ruu had been assigned to that job, along with a woman from a branch house, and Darmu and Shin Ruu would guard them.

Thanks to the extensive backup the Ruu clan is providing us, we aren’t having any issues with our regular work. We’ve really got to give this our all too.

As we boarded the carriage in front of the big gates and were being brought into the castle town, I stole a glance at Toor Deen. She and Rimee Ruu had actually been requested as well to demonstrate their skills at making desserts because they had prepared them for tea parties in the past. The nobles had apparently also somehow learned that a member of the house of Genos was purchasing sweets from Toor Deen. That had led to their skills being questioned as well.

“Are you okay, Toor Deen?” I asked.

The young chef had been looking down this whole time, but when she heard my voice, she turned toward me with a look of surprise and said, “Huh?”

“I mean, you looked like you were really thinking hard there. But it’s natural to be nervous in a situation like this.”

“Ah, no, I’m fine. I still don’t have much experience, but I’m going to give this everything I have,” Toor Deen replied, smiling as if trying to cheer herself up. “I’d never forgive myself if I couldn’t send treats to Odifia anymore because of this, so I’ll definitely make sure to give those nobles from the capital something that will satisfy them.”

Toor Deen’s affection for Odifia seemed to be growing stronger day by day. I was really glad about that. Honestly, I found Odifia’s fixation on Toor Deen’s treats to be pretty adorable and charming, and I certainly didn’t want to imagine her crying.

“By the way, those guys in the post town weren’t called to the castle town too, were they?” Ludo Ruu asked suddenly, pulling away from the chat he’d been having with Rimee Ruu. He must have been referring to Doug, Iphius, and their men.

“I asked them that when they stopped by the stalls. Apparently, the nobles staying in the castle town have other soldiers protecting them.”

“Oh? So there might be somebody even more skilled than them there?”

“I’ve got no idea. But at the very least, their commanding officer is going to be there.”

“Ah, that’s probably the guy my old man mentioned. You met him too, right, Gazraan Rutim?”

“Yes. The thousand lion commander Luido. He seemed to be a very distinguished man,” Gazraan Rutim replied, bringing a hand to his chin. “But I’m not sure how good his skills as a swordsman are. Based on what I heard from my father Dan, I believe those soldiers Doug and Iphius might be better.”

“Huh? But that Luido guy is their leader, isn’t he?”

“Correct. I sensed from him the ability to lead others from above more strongly than his talent with a blade. After all, he is a man who leads a thousand soldiers.”

“A thousand, huh? But it’s not like the other eight hundred are all there in the castle town, right?”

“No, there should only be a few dozen there. In all likelihood, they are elites selected from among the full complement he commands.”

“Wow. How many soldiers are in the capital, anyway?” Ludo Ruu asked.

Rather than Gazraan Rutim, Jiza Ruu was the one to respond. “From what I am told, there are roughly one hundred thousand soldiers in the capital. I don’t know how true that is, but that is what our father Donda said.”

“One hundred thousand?! I can’t even imagine that many people!” Ludo Ruu said with a casual laugh.

Ai Fa, however, was growing even more tense. In order to help her relax a little, I decided to tell her something I had heard previously.

“Don’t worry. The forces from the capital are constantly warring with Mahyudra and the Grand Duchy of Zerad, so Zasshuma said they can’t afford to send a large army to Genos, which takes over a month to reach by totos. That’s why the observers only brought around two hundred soldiers with them.”

“Hmph. Those two hundred are more than troublesome enough as it is,” Ai Fa replied right before the carriage came to a stop.

A guard from the castle town then opened the rear door and announced, “We have arrived. Please watch your step when stepping down.”

We descended to the ground in pairs of chefs and hunters. Awaiting us outside of the carriage was a structure we hadn’t laid eyes on in some time: The manor that had belonged to the house of Turan until Cyclaeus had fallen from power. That massive stone structure with a distinctive yellow roof was where the nobles from the capital were meeting us today.

“We have been waiting for you, dear guests from the forest’s edge. I will serve as your guide today,” the house of Daleim maid Sheila said as soon as we stepped inside. When she saw Ai Fa, she immediately broke out in a bright smile, seemingly unable to help herself. “It has been quite some time, Lady Ai Fa. How have you been?”

“Fine,” was all my tense clan head said in response. Her gallant aura seemed to be enough to satisfy Sheila, though. After staring spellbound at Ai Fa’s undaunted face from the side for a moment, Sheila once again turned back toward the rest of us.

“Well then, I shall lead you to the bathhouse first. Please follow me.”

This custom from the castle town felt kind of nostalgic to us at this point, though I thought that this was probably my first time visiting with Gazraan Rutim.

“I have yet to see anyone from the capital. Even the soldiers guarding the manor were all from Genos,” Gazraan Rutim said as he stood there in the nude, surrounded by steam that smelled of mugwort. Naturally, his figure was so burly that I couldn’t even be bothered to feel jealous. Despite how heavy he appeared to be, nothing about him suggested that he was slow. If anything, it looked like he had the thoroughly honed body of a wild beast.

“I’ve heard that Duke Marstein Genos will be in attendance today. It seems my father Donda has been unable to discern that man’s true intentions, but do you have any thoughts about him being here, Gazraan Rutim?” Jiza Ruu asked, also completely in the nude.

“Well...” Gazraan Rutim replied, staring down deep in thought. “In all likelihood, Duke Genos is prioritizing the peace and stability of the land above all else. And he seems to be searching for the best path forward in order to secure that end.”

“That much is only natural, as he is the lord of Genos. The issue is how he will treat us in order to protect that stability,” Jiza Ruu said, his expression growing more intense despite how his eyes still seemed to be smiling. “Gulaf Zaza has been concerned that Marstein may betray our people in order to save Genos.”

“Duke Genos appears to be biding his time and trying not to make waves, which has undoubtedly been frustrating for Gulaf Zaza. Personally, I believe that Duke Genos himself has yet to reach a decision about what to do.”

“I see. Let us hope that he proves himself to be a capable ruler.”

As those two were having that deadly serious conversation, Ludo Ruu and I just focused on scrubbing ourselves down.

“Hey, what sort of guys are those nobles from the capital anyway?” Ludo Ruu asked me.

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

“One is a drunk, and the second is the leader of the soldiers. And apparently, the last one is an old guy who’s hard to read.”

Supposedly, only two of them were officially in charge of the group of observers. But when meeting with the leading clan heads, the leader of the military unit had joined in as well. In addition to those three, we had been ordered to prepare food today for Marstein, Melfried, and Polarth.

I’m pretty well acquainted with Melfried and Polarth at this point, but I still don’t have a proper handle on Marstein. He definitely seems like quite a guy, just like Kamyua said... Still, what is he actually going to do to make it through this mess?

After we finished cleansing ourselves, we met back up with the women and walked down the brick hallway toward the kitchen. We were using the larger one today, and when we passed through the doors, I saw someone else I hadn’t seen in a bit.

“Ah, so you have arrived? I look forward to working alongside you today, Sir Asuta.”

“Right, you too, Timalo.”

Timalo was the former assistant head chef for the house of Turan, and was currently the head chef of Selva’s Spear. Despite looking skinny for the most part, his belly noticeably jutted out, and he had an expressionless face. From what I could remember, I hadn’t seen him since the study session on how to work with black fuwano and other rare ingredients.

“How unfortunate that this has become such a troublesome matter.”

“Yeah. So you were summoned by the group from the capital too, Timalo?”

“Indeed, because I was in the employ of the house of Turan while you were detained here in this manor, Sir Asuta, though I did not have the opportunity to meet you at the time.” Though he maintained a perfectly calm expression, his eyes certainly didn’t seem to be smiling. “Back then, and at the dinner party that followed, your skills brought me to my knees. The visitors from the capital asked me quite persistently about whether the outcome of that party was fair and just. However, the nobles were the ones who evaluated our offerings, so for a long time I used to ask that question of myself. It felt as if someone had stabbed a needle into an old wound that had finally healed.”

“Ah, um...sorry to hear that.”

“I do not mind. It is a fact that Lady Lefreya and the other nobles acknowledged your exceptional skills, after all,” Timalo said, his gaze shifting over to Reina Ruu and his expression changing a bit. “So, are you Lady Toor Deen?”

“Huh? No, she is Toor Deen,” Reina Ruu replied, pointing at the girl in question.

Timalo’s eyes shot open wide. “You are Lady Toor Deen...? I see. I never imagined that you would be someone so young. I believe we have met once before, so my deepest apologies.”

“Ah, no, um... It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

The three women here had all met Timalo at study sessions in the castle town in the past. When Reina and Rimee Ruu reintroduced themselves, he gave a polite bow.

“Once again, I am Timalo, the head chef of Selva’s Spear. So, you are Lady Toor Deen, yes?”

“Y-Yes. Um, do you need something from me?”

“No. But I was quite impressed when I heard how taken the young lady of the house of Genos was with your confections. And from what I am told, you and Lady Rimee Ruu triumphed over Sir Asuta in a taste contest held at a tea party.” His tone and demeanor remained polite, but he was staring quite intently at Toor Deen. The young chef squirmed in place, obviously trying very hard to not give in to her desire to hide behind me. “That truly is worthy of admiration. After all, the house of Genos employs the greatest chef in all the land. For a member of their house to seek out desserts from you instead is no small feat.”

“Th-The greatest chef in Genos?”

“Indeed. The head chef of the castle, Lady Daiya. She stood alongside Sir Varkas and Sir Mikel as one of the three great chefs of Genos.”

I felt like I had heard a reference to there being three great chefs in Genos somewhere before.

“Ever since Sir Mikel retired, Lady Daiya and Sir Varkas have come to be called the peerless jewels of Genos. And Lady Odifia has been shunning the desserts prepared by Lady Daiya in order to eat ones made by you instead, Lady Toor Deen.”

“Sh-She’s as skilled of a chef as Varkas?”

“Indeed. Lady Daiya is the head chef of Genos Castle, while Sir Varkas was once the head chef for the house of Turan. From that perspective, you could say that Lady Daiya is a step above him. But then, I was merely the assistant head chef for the count, so it is laughable for me to pass judgment on such matters.” From how he spoke, it seemed like Timalo held this Lady Daiya in even higher regard than Varkas. At any rate, as I was thinking that, Timalo’s eyes turned back toward me. “Additionally, the observers from the capital have been guests of Genos Castle for the entire duration of their stay. Meaning, they have been eating Lady Daiya’s cooking on a daily basis.”

“O-Oh, I see.”

“Do you understand what that means, Sir Asuta? Today, our skills shall be compared with those of Lady Daiya. If we do not focus ourselves to the fullest, we could very well end up as laughingstocks.” Timalo did seem different today somehow, like he was tenser, perhaps. He had been summoned here in order to have his cooking skills compared to mine. His role was to act as a measuring stick, to see if my skills really were equal to or even greater than those of chefs from the castle town. “I cannot help but sympathize with the situation your people find themselves in, but I have my own pride as a chef to consider as well. I therefore intend to perform to the fullest extent of my abilities.”

“Of course. I plan on doing so too. Let’s both give it our all.”

Timalo gave a big nod and said, “I also have a proposal for you, Sir Asuta. Would you hear me out?”

“What is it?”

“I wish for us to sample one another’s dishes, as we did in the past. After all, I hear that you have improved quite a bit in these last few months.”

“I certainly appreciate that. We have enough giba meat to spare for us to prepare a little extra for you, Timalo.”

“Then I ask that you do just that,” he said, and then he enthusiastically turned toward Toor Deen. “And I very much wish to sample your dessert as well, Lady Toor Deen.”

The young chef let out a pathetic groan. Having reached her limit, she gripped my sleeve before saying in the tiniest voice imaginable, “U-Understood...”

“You have my thanks. Well then, I shall see you all later,” Timalo said with a bow before returning to his workstation.

“He sure is an odd guy,” Ludo Ruu remarked, bringing his hands together behind his head.

“But he’s not a bad person, just really competitive. You don’t have anything to worry about, Toor Deen.”

“R-Right, sorry... He kind of had a scary look in his eyes, though.”

“Only because he’s really impressed with your skills. He’s one of the foremost chefs in Genos, so that’s an honor.”

At any rate, it was the nobles from the capital we needed to be worried about, not Timalo. And so, I did my best to cheer Toor Deen up as she trembled like a small animal, while doing my own work at the same time.

3

A few hours later, around half past the lower fifth hour and just before sunset, our dishes were delivered to the dining hall where the nobles were waiting. We chefs were instructed to stand by until they finished eating. The hunters guarding us were going to eat dinner after we returned to the settlement, so we used the time to do our shared taste test with Timalo.

“I ask that my two assistants be allowed to join us as well. And please, let us speak freely and without restraint,” Timalo said in a serious tone as we sat at a table in a separate room near the kitchen. All four of our chefs were sitting on one side, with Ai Fa and Ludo Ruu standing behind us. Jiza Ruu and Gazraan Rutim were keeping watch outside the door. “In accordance with the traditions of Genos, let us begin with the appetizers. This dish seems to be one that I recognize.”

“It should be. I decided to go with the first dishes I ever presented to people in the castle town.” In other words, what I had served at the reconciliation dinner between the nobles of Genos and the people of the forest’s edge after Count Turan had been arrested for his crimes. That was ten months ago now, and I had also been competing against Timalo that day.

As he looked down at the appetizer on the plate in front of him, Timalo nodded and said, “I see. But not everything is identical to how it was back on that day, correct? Otherwise, there would be no point to this taste testing.”

“Yeah. The menu is the same as it was back then, but I did my best to improve each dish.”

These were the first dishes of mine that Marstein and Polarth had ever tried, so it just felt right to have the nobles of the capital try them too if they wanted to assess my skill. That was what had led me to decide to go this route.

That meant the appetizer was yam-like gigo cut into strips and served with a plum-like dried kiki dip. For the dried kiki dip that formed the core of the flavor, I started with a stock made from seaweed and dried fish, then added sugar, tau oil, mamaria vinegar, and reten oil. In the past, I had just used giba soup stock and tau oil, so this new version was quite different. And this time around, I made the dip a bit thinner, like a dressing, and added a soft-boiled kimyuus egg on top before sprinkling sesame-like hoboi seeds on top to finish it off.

Timalo cut into the soft-boiled egg with a spoon, then portioned out the dish onto a set of small plates for his assistants. Since we had only been able to prepare enough food for one, they were splitting it. When he took a bite of the dish, Timalo muttered, “Hmm,” and gave a slow nod. “By adding kimyuus egg, you were able to draw out the refreshing texture of the gigo even further. And the flavoring you used makes for a wondrous mixture of sweet, salty, and sour.”

“Thank you. It’s an honor to hear you say that, Timalo.”

“Indeed. Your appetizer seems to be very well-made. I hope that the nobles also appreciate the skill shown in this subtle flavoring,” Timalo said before glancing my way. “If you do not mind, please sample my dish as well. Since I prepared it with the customs of the castle town in mind, though, it may not be to the tastes of people of the forest’s edge.”

“Of course. Thank you.”

Timalo’s appetizer used a thin piece of baked fuwano with an unfamiliar type of red jam on top. The jam sparkled and was giving off a highly complex herbal aroma. If I held my nose, it would look like a dessert, but it most definitely wasn’t one. The fuwano was round and four or five centimeters in diameter, and Timalo had prepared enough for two people, so I split half of one with Toor Deen and Reina Ruu did the same with Rimee Ruu.

Rimee Ruu had struggled with eating Timalo’s cooking in the past, so her eyebrows were drooping a bit in sadness. But as soon as Reina Ruu placed the small plate with her portion in front of her, she popped it right into her mouth. Then, as she chewed on it, her eyebrows returned to their usual angle. By the end, she was smiling brightly as she said, “What an odd taste!”

I went ahead and gave it a try too, and sure enough, a mysterious flavor ran across my tongue. That red jam had apparently been made with tomato-like tarapa, which he must have added all sorts of other ingredients to and boiled down to turn it into this. Aside from the herbs, I picked up on the texture of peanut-like ramanpa nuts, the gentle sweetness of fruit, and something thick and oily.

The tarapa sold in the castle town were less sour, which brought their fruit-like sweetness to the forefront. But I could also sense a good amount of saltiness in it, as well as the flavor of some sort of animal stock. He had added a large number of herbs as well, making it quite spicy. The fuwano base also seemed to have karon fat and milk fat in it, which added additional flavor and a crunchy texture. All together, it created a rather strange yet enjoyable flavor.

“What do you think, Sir Asuta?”

“Its taste is definitely very unusual. It’s a bit hard to adjust to eating it, but I can tell that it’s quite elaborate.”

“You have trouble adjusting to eating it? If possible, could you tell me your opinion directly without mincing words?”

“Huh? Well...if I had to say, it’s a bit heavy in terms of its oil content, maybe. This is reten oil, isn’t it?”

“Yes. When I was boiling the tarapa, I added a fair bit of reten oil.”

“The people of the forest’s edge don’t use reten oil in that way, so it felt a bit unnecessary to me.”

“Yeah, it might be even tastier if it wasn’t all slippery!” Rimee Ruu chimed in.

Timalo nodded in response, then his gaze shifted as he asked, “What about you, Lady Toor Deen? What was your impression?”

“Huh? I-I... I thought the fuwano was very good. Did you use milk fat in it?”

“Indeed. That flavor is essential to the dish.”

“I see... Without the herbs, it would almost taste like a dessert,” Toor Deen said with a timid smile, earning a silent bow from Timalo in response.

“Well then, let us move on to the next dish—the soup.”

I had prepared a tried-and-true classic: giba soup made with tau oil. The big difference from last time was how I had added lots of mushrooms from Jagar. For the vegetables, I had used aria, chatchi, nenon, and gigo like before, and then I had added bean sprout-like onda and taro-like ma gigo, only removing the bell-pepper-like pula from the dish.

The other large difference was that for this version, I had used seaweed and dried fish for the stock. Those dried goods from the capital were fairly expensive, so at the forest’s edge we only ever used them for banquets, but I had employed them here in order to get closer to my ideal version of the dish. Naturally, I had also added plenty of giba meat, and had gotten stock from it as well. Oh, and it also contained nyatta spirits from Jagar, so at present this was the absolute best version I could make.

“The depth of its taste...is on an entirely different level compared to before,” Timalo said, his eyes open wide. “The only thing I can clearly make out is the saltiness of the tau oil, yet it has a truly shocking abundance of flavor... I cannot even question the lack of herbs in the dish. You have become incredibly skillful.”

“Th-Thanks, I appreciate it.”

Hearing such direct praise from Timalo put me more than a little on edge. His assistants, who were sitting next to him on both sides, also looked impressed as they slurped the soup. And then, one of them said, “Oh? What is this? Fuwano?”

“Ah, yes. I wrapped fuwano around bits of meat and boiled them together with the other ingredients. It’s a style of preparation based on something we call wontons back in my home country.”

I had included wontons in this dish at that previous dinner, so I had added them this time as well. I thought that the soup had turned out good enough that I could be proud of it even without them, but I didn’t feel like they made it any worse either.

“This soup seems rather spicy,” Reina Ruu remarked while trying Timalo’s dish. “But it isn’t all that hard to eat, and you’ve used some techniques that I don’t think I ever would have considered. Ah, Rimee, you should be careful with this one.”

“Got it,” Rimee Ruu replied as she licked a bit of soup off her spoon, only to immediately shout, “Spicy!”

When I tried it too, I found that it was indeed fairly spicy. The soup had a creamy color to it, so it definitely used karon milk for the base, but it had a chili-pepper-like spiciness. I’d probably start sweating if I ate too much of it, even. There was also a cinnamon-like sweetness to it, plus he seemed to have used plenty of sugar and honey too. The sweetness and spiciness blended together in a complex manner, such that it almost felt like they would trample all over the tongue of the person eating the dish. Its solid ingredients included kimyuus meat with the skin still on, daikon-like sheema, zucchini-like chan, soybean-like tau beans, and paprika-like ma pula.

“I attempted to make its spiciness even more striking by using not only chitt seeds but ira leaves as well. What do you think?”

“I see. It certainly is striking, I’ll give it that. If I could, I’d really like to have a bit of fuwano bread or something to give my tongue a rest.”

“Understood. And what about you, Lady Toor Deen?”

“Ah, s-sorry, it was a bit too spicy for me, so I couldn’t really make out the other parts of it very well.”

“I see,” Timalo said, his shoulders slumping. Apparently, he was just as interested in Toor Deen’s reactions as he was mine.

We knew that we could be summoned at any time, so we continued with our taste testing without ever pausing for long. The next course was the fuwano one, and I had prepared okonomiyaki for it, while Timalo had gone with black fuwano dried milk dumplings.

I had revised my okonomiyaki batter quite a bit for tonight. Up until now, I had mixed water with poitan flour and grated gigo, which I then combined with vegetables and giba meat. After that, grilling the batter was the last step. But I had always felt like that was too simple, which had led me to devise some tricks.

To start with, when I had been making the batter, I had once again added some seaweed and dried fish stock, and salt and eggs too. The reason I was employing so much seaweed and dried fish here was simply because it was so useful. Attempting to flatter the nobles from the capital that sold those goods was the furthest thing from my mind. But anyway, all in all, I felt like these changes had dramatically improved the poitan batter.

For toppings, I hadn’t really had much in the way of fresh ideas, but I had at least tried adding maroll to the mix. That was another dried ingredient that was delivered from the capital, and was similar to sweet shrimp. I had made the decision to try rehydrating some of them and including them alongside the giba rib meat and tino. Naturally, that had led to something that reminded me of pork and shrimp okonomiyaki.

Oh, and I had also added some crunchy bits of batter which I had fried separately in reten oil to the dish. In my opinion, their texture and the flavor they added from the oil made the okonomiyaki feel even more complete.

Finally, I had also provided the standard toppings of worcestershire sauce and mayonnaise. Previously, I had included desalted and light roasted maru as well, but I was already using crustaceans in the dish with the maroll, so I had chosen to skip that this time around.

“I see. How bold, using giba meat and maroll together... But the results most certainly don’t disappoint,” Timalo commented. “And the batter itself seems to have been improved significantly. Personally, though, I would have wanted to add another herb to the dish.”

“I see. I didn’t even think of using herbs.”

My intention had been to recreate a dish from my home country, which meant that I hadn’t really tried to revise it to make it fit the tastes of the nobles of Genos. If I put more thought into that, would I be able to take it another step further?

“This dish has an unusual taste too,” Reina Ruu said, having taken a bite of the black fuwano dried milk dumplings. They were large dumplings, similar to the ones I had seen being sold at stalls throughout the post town. But as the name implied, they had been made with black fuwano and were dark gray as a result.

Cutting into that black fuwano exterior caused gooey dried milk to pour out from inside, along with various other fillings. They included minced nenon and bamboo-shoot-like chamcham, as well as a kind of mushroom from Jagar that looked like poison fire coral, all of which were blended together with the melty dried milk.

This dish also employed a large number of herbs. The only ones I could single out were akin to cumin and lemongrass, but there were definitely two or three others as well. The idea of using so many herbs in a cheese-based dish was really unfamiliar to me.

“The soba dish you taught a lesson on that one time has become quite popular in the castle town, but that alone isn’t enough to use up all of the black fuwano we are receiving. I felt it would be well suited to this sort of light snack, and so I employed it here,” Timalo explained before once again turning to look at Toor Deen. “What do you think, Lady Toor Deen?”

“Ah, w-well, did you knead some sort of seeds or beans into the batter? It seems to have a distinct flavor when eaten alone.”

“I kneaded hoboi seeds and tau beans into it. And a hint of ramam juice as well.”

“Hoboi seeds, tau beans, and ramam juice... I see...”

“Lady Toor Deen, are you solely interested in the fuwano exterior?” Timalo asked, finally starting to frown.

“I-I’m sorry,” Toor Deen replied, bowing her head. “You used fuwano in a way I’m not familiar with in both this dish and the first one... I’m not as good at explaining my thoughts as Asuta and Reina Ruu are.”

Though we had all grown fairly accustomed to the cooking techniques of the castle town at this point, it was still hard for us to call their recipes delicious without any reservations. In Varkas’s case, we had some admiration for his pure skill, but it was rather difficult for us to offer our opinions otherwise.

At any rate, we went ahead and moved on to the vegetable course. I had prepared cold giba shabu-shabu with a warm vegetable salad, while Timalo had made mamaria stew.

The main part of my dish hadn’t seen any big changes. The boiled vegetables were simply placed atop giba ribs that had been heated through and then rinsed with water. I had even used the same kinds of vegetables as last time—tino, nenon, aria, and spinach-like nanaar, with the only new addition being some napa-cabbage-like tinfa.

However, the flavoring had changed dramatically. Originally, I had gone with something akin to ponzu, but here I used sesame-seed-like hoboi to recreate a sort of sesame dressing.

After thoroughly grating the hoboi down, I had added them to a mixture of sugar, salt, tau oil, mamaria vinegar, reten oil, and myamuu. It wasn’t all that difficult to make, aside from measuring out the proper proportions of each. Hoboi seeds had a fairly strong flavor, so I had been able to make a pretty satisfactory dressing out of them, with a creamy texture and a slightly sweet flavor. Up until now, I had only used sour dressings, so this had surprised both Reina and Rimee Ruu, but when they tried it, both of them had rewarded me with satisfied smiles.

“Hmm. You seem to have put the flavor of the hoboi to full use. I could see this proving quite popular in the castle town,” Timalo remarked before adding, “And I believe Sir Varkas has begun using hoboi oil in his restaurant as well.”

“Oh, has he figured out how to extract oil from hoboi, then?”

“Indeed. Supposedly, a person from Jagar who visited the castle town taught one of his apprentices how to do so. The upper echelons of the nobility have ordered that hoboi should be used by as many people as possible, so they will need to make that information widely available.”

If it was similar to sesame oil, then that was an ingredient I definitely wanted to use.

“But I suppose learning how to do that will also need to wait until the visitors from the capital have left Genos. And I would very much like to sample the ingredients delivered from Barud as well,” Timalo continued.

As I nodded in response to Timalo’s statement, I took in the unusual flavor of the mamaria stew. Mamaria was the raw ingredient used to make fruit wine and vinegar, but this was the first time I had seen them directly employed in a dish like this.

However, the mamaria hadn’t been served to us in its original form. Instead, it had been boiled along with some vegetables and a reddish brown berry paste. There was definitely some kind of animal stock used in the dish as well, and he had boiled what seemed like ten or so different kinds of vegetables so thoroughly that it was hard to identify them. The main flavor in the dish came from the sourness of the grape-like mamaria, and it seemed like he had added mamaria vinegar too. He had also used sugar or honey to give the dish some sweetness, and there was a faint earthy bitterness to it as well, which might have originated from that cardamom-like spice that went into my curry.

Just a few months back, a single bite of this dish would have left me seriously confused. That was how unfamiliar and complex its taste was. But it was interesting how I got a different impression from each of the various ingredients I popped into my mouth. Chatchi and gigo seemed like they wouldn’t pair well with sourness, but they actually proved to be surprisingly easy to eat, and then there were a few other ones like the chan that the flavor seeped into really well. In short, it was a very unusual dish.

When I looked around at everyone else, I saw the two youngest chefs tearing up a fair bit. It seemed that this was the sort of flavor they couldn’t really handle. But Toor Deen and Rimee Ruu both cleared their small plates even so, upholding the custom of the forest’s edge to not leave any food uneaten.

And with that, we finally made it to the meat course. I had made giba tatsuta-age, while Timalo had prepared broiled karon.

The dish I had made was traditionally prepared using potato starch rather than wheat flour, which naturally meant that I had used chatchi starch instead of fuwano. I had dipped pieces of giba sirloin in a flavorful sauce and then coated them in that starch before frying them in giba lard. Since extracting chatchi starch took a fair bit of effort, this dish didn’t pop up as commonly at the forest’s edge or in the post town as giba cutlets or regular deep-fried giba, but it was still every bit as popular and a dish I was proud of.

This recipe hadn’t seen any big changes either, but I had created a higher-quality sauce to go with it. I had used keru root, which had a flavor like ginger, as its base. After finely chopping the roots up, I had combined them with sugar, tau oil, mamaria vinegar, and nyatta spirits, and then I boiled the mixture for a little while, before adding some chatchi starch to thicken it up. I poured the sauce over the meat once it was finished frying, and that completed the dish. Accompanying it was a fresh salad of tino, aria, and nenon, topped with a refreshing mamaria-vinegar-based dressing.

“Hmm. This one’s flavor seems to have significantly improved as well. You did a wonderful job of employing an ingredient with as strong of a flavor as keru root.”

Both Timalo and his two assistants looked quite impressed.

After thanking him, I gave Timalo’s meat dish a try in return. At a glance, it looked like a perfectly ordinary chunk of meat. It was shaped almost like a hamburger steak, flat and around ten centimeters in diameter. There was a fragrant, brilliantly green sauce all over the top of it.

Rimee Ruu had also struggled with the chef’s previous meat dish, so her eyebrows drooped quite a bit again as she poked at it. But when she did, the well-done surface ruptured and a gush of meat juices erupted from the wound. Rimee Ruu got all flustered and said, “Ah! Ah!” as she thrust out her spoon, swiftly slicing through the three-centimeter-thick chunk of meat. “Whoa! The plate’s covered in fat!” Rimee Ruu said in surprise, taking a bite of the slice of meat. She chewed on it for a bit, but then she suddenly turned toward her older sister with a puzzled look. “Hey, I ate a bunch of it all at once, but it was still gone in a flash!”

“Huh? If you don’t chew properly, you’ll end up hurting your stomach,” Reina Ruu warned, before scooping up some meat from the same plate, only to immediately make the same expression as her younger sister. “Hey, you’re right. You don’t need to chew it because only the surface is grilled, while the interior basically dissolves in your mouth. Timalo, is the inside not meat, then?”

“No. I made all of this using karon meat alone.”

Timalo’s nose twitched a bit. It looked like he was satisfied with their reactions.

According to the customs of the forest’s edge, Toor Deen and I couldn‘t eat from the same plate, so we split ours up onto two separate plates once again. And as expected, it released a ton of meat juices in the process. Melted fat and juices were pouring out of the cross section with no apparent end to them.

Still, now that we had cut it open down the middle, I finally understood what this meat dish really was. He had sliced the karon meat as thinly as he possibly could, and then perfectly stacked it back up. Within the cross section, I could see layers of meat that were as thin as sheets of paper, fat and meat juices gushing out from between them. Furthermore, the center of the meat was a brilliant pink, meaning he had left it seriously rare when he was done cooking it.

This is incredible. It must’ve taken way more effort to make than even hamburger steak does.

I used my spoon to slice off a bit of meat, then let a bit of oil drip off before popping it into my mouth.

The first thing to hit me was the flavor of the spices and the smell of the grilled surface. As I was enjoying that, I chewed the meat a little, and sure enough, aside from the grilled portion, it seemed to melt away in my mouth. The fat was incredibly impactful, but it didn’t take long to drift away. Compared to the baked dish he had served before, this one felt much less like an unpleasant mass of tallow.

“For this dish, I used a portion of karon back meat from near the shoulder. I would say that even in the castle town, not many shops handle such fine meat.”

“This is pretty amazing. The meat melts away in your mouth, but its flavor is still quite strong and fully present,” I said.

“Indeed. I sliced the meat as finely as I could manage so that you could enjoy the texture.”

“It’s so tasty!” Rimee Ruu declared, after having eaten most of her helping of meat. “The stuff you gave us way back then was really fatty and overwhelming, but this is delicious!”

“I am glad to hear that it is to your tastes,” Timalo said. “Though I personally consider this broiled dish and the baked dish from last time to be equally good among my repertoire.” He seemed to be having trouble deciding what kind of expression to make, until he finally settled on a halfhearted smile.

I felt the exact same way as Rimee Ruu, though. I’d had a good bit of trouble with that last dish where he had opened up countless minuscule holes in the meat to get it to soak up as much fat as possible, but this time around I felt satisfied, as if I’d had a high-quality cut of marbled meat. Still, I could see it sitting a bit heavy in my stomach if I were to eat a full serving of the dish. Karon fat was kind of dense compared to giba fat, after all. Rimee Ruu seemed to have had the same thought, as she handed the remaining two bites worth of meat on the plate to Ludo Ruu, who was behind her.

After snatching it up with his fingers and popping it into his mouth, the hunter bluntly said, “Yeah, I guess that might’ve been tasty.”

“Well then, that’s five courses done, with only dessert remaining. Your skills are truly incredible, Sir Asuta,” Timalo said with a serious tone and expression. “Using the same menu as before makes it abundantly clear just how much you have improved. Or should I say, I can see how you have benefited from learning how to work with a much wider variety of ingredients.”

“Yeah. I have more than twice as many ingredients to work with now.”

“As a person from overseas, you possess knowledge of cooking techniques that are not familiar to us, Sir Asuta. But at the same time, you seem to know little of what is considered to be the proper use of herbs here in Genos... And yet despite that, based on the flavor of your cooking alone, it is clear that you are in no way inferior to a chef from this castle town. You have my guarantee on that,” Timalo said, and his two assistants nodded along. “But today, when our dishes are in competition against one another, I still see it as an even match. Will your unusual offerings prevail, or will my knowledge of the preferences of the castle town win out? If it were people of Sym or Jagar eating these dishes, I believe I would suffer a devastating loss.”

“I-I see...”

“When developing my cooking skills, I have always focused on the people of the Genos castle town, and I find no shame in that. Though it does unnerve me a bit to think that I might lose to someone as young as you in my own specialty.” Timalo then suddenly raised his head. “At any rate, I have given this everything I have, and I have also found myself impressed by your skills today, Sir Asuta. I will be looking forward to seeing how the people of the capital evaluate our dishes, being fully acquainted with Lady Daiya’s skills.”

That was by far the most important part of all this, as far as Timalo was concerned. Still, it felt very reassuring to hear him say that.

Thinking back, Timalo seemed to have put aside his animosity toward me back during that study session that Varkas had also attended. It was possible that today, most of his desire to prove himself was being directed at Daiya instead.

“We shall conclude by sampling the desserts,” Timalo said, his eyes burning bright with competitiveness as he glanced over at Toor Deen.

The young chef shrank in on herself a bit beside me. “Yeah...” she replied.

I see... Part of his feelings about that Daiya person seem to have spilled over onto Toor Deen. I can’t help but feel a bit sorry for her, I thought as the cooking assistants removed the silver covers over the final part of our meal.

When Timalo saw Toor Deen’s dessert, though, his eyes shot open wide. “What is that?” he murmured.

4

“This is, um...a decorated cake, which Asuta taught me how to make,” Toor Deen said.

Timalo was fixated on the dessert, his eyes still open really wide. “It certainly has an unusual appearance. I cannot even hazard a guess as to what it might taste like.”

“Uh-huh... I hope it’s to your taste...”

A whole cake around fifteen centimeters in diameter sat atop the white plate that had been hidden under the cloche. She had made it that size because Timalo and his assistants weren’t the only ones who would be eating it; Rimee and Reina Ruu had asked to have some too.

I had, of course, given my cake recipe to the Ruu clan as well as to Toor Deen, and the first time I had served it had been at Rimee Ruu’s birthday, but the young Deen chef had taken things a step further with her creation today. The surface was coated in chocolate cream made from gigi leaves, and decorated with plain white cream and strawberry-like arow that had been steeped in sugar. As Rimee Ruu took in its colorful appearance, her eyes were positively sparkling even before she took a single bite.

“Ah, this cake is very soft, so allow me to cut it,” Toor Deen said, rising from her seat and doing just that. She cut the cake into six slices, and I was given the last of them.

“Hmm. From the look of it, you used fuwano as a base here, correct? And...is this ramam fruit?” Timalo asked while inspecting the cake’s cross section.

“Y-Yes,” Toor Deen answered with a nod, looking nervous. Ramam was a sweet and sour kind of fruit that was similar to an apple. The sponge of the cake was split into three layers with plain cream and tiny bits of ramam between them.

“I am certain the nobles will be quite pleased with its appearance. But ultimately, what matters most is taste,” Timalo solemnly stated, scooping up a bit with a spoon and taking a bite. And then, his eyes shot open wide again in shock. His assistants, seated on either side of him, also looked like they were desperately holding themselves back from voicing their surprise.

Rimee Ruu, however, didn’t hold back at all, joyfully exclaiming, “Yummy! This is amazing! It’s just as tasty as the cake Asuta made! You’re so incredible, Toor Deen!”

“Th-Thank you...” Toor Deen replied as she nervously stared at Timalo, who had frozen in place after eating that single bite. While we waited for him to come back to us, I went ahead and tried her masterpiece too.

The sponge used whipped eggs, so it was soft enough that you could easily slice through it with a spoon. The cream had melted a bit, but it still had a glossy sheen to it that really made it look super sweet.

When I actually took a bite, I found that sure enough, it was as sweet as I expected. She hadn’t used all that many gigi leaves, so their bitterness didn’t assert itself too strongly, and the chocolate flavor blended well with the cream. Toor Deen really did have a great tongue and good sensibilities when it came to figuring out the correct amount of an ingredient to use.

The sourness and texture of the ramam that I occasionally sensed was also quite pleasant. Though they had been cooked pretty thoroughly, they still had a bit of crispness to them, and the apple-like flavor gave my tongue a bit of a rest from the sweetness of the rest of the dish. Toor Deen had gone back and forth on whether or not to use ramam up until the last moment, but I’d say it worked out amazingly here.

“I see... Now that I have tasted this, it seems only natural that Lady Odifia would become so attached to your treats,” Timalo finally said, now relaxed instead of all stiff and frozen. “I know full well how skilled Sir Asuta is; at this point, that is no longer surprising... But to think that he had such an outstanding apprentice under him.”

“Yeah. I’d say that Toor Deen has long since surpassed me when it comes to making desserts, though. Whenever I teach her a new idea, it only takes a few days for her to master it and make something better than I’d ever be able to.”

“Th-That’s not true. If you weren’t there for me, Asuta, I would...” Toor Deen mumbled, shrinking even further in on herself.

As Timalo continued to stare at her, though, he slowly shook his head. “I have tasted Lady Daiya’s sweets again and again. They are as if gemstones or silverwork were made into something edible; truly things of wonder. And right now, I find myself struck by that same sense of wonder.”

“I-I appreciate it... U-Um, in that case...”

“Yes? What is it?”

“Will I be allowed to keep sending sweets to Odifia?” Toor Deen asked, a pleading prayer visible in her eyes.

After giving his slick forehead a quick rub, Timalo nodded and responded, “Indeed. Your skills at making confections are the equal of Lady Daiya’s, so I cannot imagine any reason for that to be considered improper. And I am certain the nobles of the capital will feel much the same way.”

“I see...” Toor Deen replied, placing a hand to her chest and sighing deeply.

When he finally took his second bite of cake, Timalo let out a strange “Hrmm” sound. “You used gigi leaves from Sym, didn’t you? To think that those bitter tea leaves could be used in such a way... It almost feels like a waste to eat the whole thing.”

Apparently, Toor Deen’s cake had seriously resonated with Timalo.

Rimee Ruu’s chatchi mochi came next. When I had said that I wanted to go with the same menu as before, she had decided to fully go along with that plan and had made her own contribution as well. Still entranced by the lingering taste of Toor Deen’s cake, Timalo casually took a bite of chatchi mochi, only to jerk backward in his chair, looking completely shocked.

“This is also far more impressive than it was before.”

“Hee hee,” Rimee Ruu laughed and scratched her head. “Asuta taught me a new way to make it! Everyone from the forest’s edge said it was tasty too!”

This time around, the dish had a new topping made from tau beans. They were similar to soybeans, so we had roasted them, skinned them, and thoroughly mashed them down, giving us something similar to a fragrant flour. Next, we had mixed that roasted tau bean flour with sugar and sprinkled it over the chatchi mochi, and then we had added brown-colored sugar syrup on top of that. Chatchi mochi were similar to warabi mochi, so in a way, this was like bringing them back around to their origin point. And we prepared two different varieties to be enjoyed: one with karon milk kneaded into the starch and another with gigi leaf sauce added to it.

“The tau bean flour you added has given this dish a fragrant aroma and a unique texture. Melted sugar and tau beans both have a strong sweetness to them, so one would need to balance them carefully in order to properly emphasize one or the other... Coupling that with the mysterious flavor the chatchi mochi had originally has made this a truly wonderful dish.”

“Thanks! But all I did was prepare them the way that Asuta told me to!”

“That isn’t true at all,” I said. “You’re the one who came up with the idea to use karon milk and gigi leaves with the chatchi mochi, and I’m sure yours taste a lot better than they would’ve if I’d made them.”

Rimee Ruu gave an adorable smile that was full of both joy and embarrassment.

Timalo stared at her for a moment, then sighed and asked, “Lady Toor Deen, Lady Rimee Ruu, how old are you, exactly?”

“I-I’m eleven,” Toor Deen responded.

“And I just turned nine!” Rimee Ruu said.

“Eleven and nine... How astounding. I feel ashamed for having focused solely on Lady Toor Deen while ignoring Lady Rimee Ruu up until now.”

Timalo sighed heavily as we moved on to his own dessert, but our young chefs actually received it quite well. Last time, his dessert had made Rimee Ruu say it was outright bad, but this time around, he hadn’t flavored the dish with any alcohol, much to our relief.

He had prepared a baked fuwano dessert with minmi at its core. The peach-like minmi fruit had been heated until they basically fell apart. Next, they were kneaded into the fuwano batter, which was then baked. The dish’s flavor was somewhat odd, with the sweetness and aroma of the minmi permeating the entire thing. There was an occasional pleasant bit of crispness in it too. At first, I thought he had used ramam fruit, but apparently it was actually bamboo-shoot-like chamcham steeped in sugar.

“This is delicious. It has a very gentle flavor,” Toor Deen commented, earning a somewhat bittersweet smile from Timalo. We were satisfied with how it had turned out, but to the people of the castle town, it was possible it would come across as overly simple and lacking. According to the standards that people like Timalo usually adhered to, the more ingredients were used in a dish, the finer it supposedly would be.

“I had a great deal of confidence in this dessert, but it is entirely overshadowed by the ones that you two made. That will likely be even more true in the view of those who are trying your creations for the first time.”

“B-But I really did think it tasted good...”

“It is fine. This is the best menu I could have prepared on this day,” Timalo replied, right before a knock sounded out from the door behind us.

Ai Fa and Ludo Ruu had been standing there silently the whole time, but with that, they swiftly turned to face that way.

“Dear guests from the forest’s edge and Sir Timalo, Duke Marstein Genos has ordered you to come to the dining hall.”

They had finished evaluating the food over there too, apparently.

The door swung open, revealing the maid Sheila and a pair of guards. Jiza Ruu and Gazraan Rutim were also there behind them, looking the same as always.

“Please follow me. I will guide you to the dining hall.”

Sheila led us down the brick-walled hallway. Unsurprisingly, there were guards of Genos positioned at key points. Since this manor was meant for lodging large numbers of important visitors, they had been deployed to prevent anyone who wasn’t allowed to be there from trying to approach the room where the nobles were dining.

When I spotted a set of double doors I recognized in front of us, I knew that we had arrived. This was the same dining hall that I had been brought to multiple times in the past. This was where our food had been served the first time we had competed with Timalo.

“If the hunters will be entering as well, we shall take charge of your swords and cloaks,” one of the guards standing in front of the doors declared. After a short discussion, it was decided that Ludo Ruu would be the only one to remain outside, standing by with his gear still on him.

Then, after watching the other hunters hand over their swords and cloaks, the guard announced loudly, “We have here seven guests from the forest’s edge and the chef Sir Timalo. Permission to grant them entrance?”

“Permission granted,” a voice replied, and the guards opened the doors.

As soon as I stepped inside, I noticed that there was a strange feeling hanging in the air, and it only took a single glance to determine why that was.

“Thank you for coming, guests from the forest’s edge. Please, come to the center of the room,” Marstein calmly called out, and we did as we were told.

The reason for the odd feeling I got was the number of soldiers standing guard in the room. There were ten soldiers in armor with long swords along the left wall, and ten more along the right. Every last one of them was a soldier from the capital, complete with the lion emblem on their silver breastplates.

The tables were also laid out rather unusually. There was one long rectangular table set up near the far wall, and another on our right, making an inverted L shape. Three people were sitting at each, and all of them watched as we approached the center of the room.

The ones on the right were the nobles of Genos: Duke Marstein Genos; Melfried, the duke’s son and head of the ducal guard; and Polarth of the house of Count Daleim.

Marstein shot us a relaxed smile, Melfried remained expressionless, and Polarth’s eyebrows were drooping with worry. We lined up in the center of the room under their watchful eyes.

So, these are the nobles from the capital, huh?

As I stared at the three men sitting straight ahead of us, I calmed my breathing.

Two of the three wore long, loose robes, while the third one had on what looked like formal attire for a soldier, so he must have been Luido, the thousand lion commander who was Doug and Iphius’s boss. He looked far younger than I would’ve expected, almost shockingly so. I thought he was probably in his mid-twenties, not that much older than Doug and Iphius. The man was tall and sat with his back completely straight, and his face was fittingly stern as well. It was hard to detect much emotion at all in his gray eyes, and his dark-brown hair was cut short.

“My apologies for the trouble. There is no need to kneel, so please, go ahead and introduce yourselves,” Marstein said in the same relaxed tone as always.

I hadn’t seen Marstein in quite a while, but he didn’t seem to have changed in the least. He looked young and slender with long dark-brown hair, a well-groomed mustache, and an all-around elegant appearance that was very fitting for a noble. He bore little resemblance to his son, Melfried, whose face was like an expressionless iron mask.

After glancing over the nobles from Genos, Jiza Ruu fixed his gaze on the ones from the capital and calmly got things started. “I am Jiza Ruu, the oldest son of the main Ruu house, a leading clan of the forest’s edge.”

“I am Reina Ruu, also from the Ruu clan, the second daughter of the main house.”

“Um, I’m Rimee Ruu, the youngest daughter of the main Ruu house.”

“I am Gazraan Rutim, the head of the Rutim clan, which is a subordinate of the Ruu,” my friend calmly stated, then he shot Toor Deen a look of encouragement. According to the customs of the forest’s edge, she would be the next one to introduce herself.

“I am Toor Deen, a member of the main Deen house, which is a subordinate of the Zaza.”

“I am Ai Fa, the Fa clan head.”

“I’m Asuta, a member of the Fa.”

Then I heard a “Hmph.” The noble seated in the center of the group from the capital was looking at us with a contempt-filled sneer. But he didn’t say anything further, so Timalo gave a respectful bow.

“I am Timalo, the head chef of Selva’s Spear. It honors me more than I can express to be granted an audience with such esteemed personages.”

Apparently, he wasn’t intimidated by the circumstances at all, probably because he was so accustomed to dealing with noble customers.

“I see,” one of the nobles said with an amused tone. “So you’re Asuta of the Fa clan, the one calling himself a visitor from overseas? Just as the reports said, you most certainly don’t look like one.”

It was the same noble who had sneered before. Needless to say, I was wary of him right from the start. He must’ve been the one who came to the meetings with the leading clan heads drunk, given that he was clearly intoxicated as he spoke to us.

The way he was sitting in his luxurious chair was really slobbish, with an elbow on the table before him. His fingers and wrists were adorned with sparkling accessories complete with silverwork and jewels. The man appeared young, probably still in his twenties, and though it was possible that his face would normally be as handsome as one would expect of a noble, there were noticeable shadows under his eyes. He looked seriously unhealthy and slovenly, and had a really arrogant smile on his face.

In comparison, the other noble had a truly neutral appearance. He was probably over forty and a bit on the thin side, with a beard and mustache. His face looked calm, composed, and elegant.

“Allow me to introduce you. Starting from the right, we have Sir Taluon and Sir Dregg, the observers from the capital, Algrad; and lastly the thousand lion commander, Sir Luido,” Marstein said, and the calm-looking middle aged guy—Taluon—nodded. The younger noble—Dregg—simply stared at us with drunken eyes.

“I believe that Gazraan Rutim is the only one of you who has met with these dignitaries from the capital before. I must thank you for the other day,” Marstein said, and Gazraan Rutim bowed in response.

Dregg snorted once again. “Hmph. Last time, you were here protecting the leading clan heads, and now you’re here protecting chefs. Even though you’ve never been summoned personally, Gazraan Rutim or whatever your name may be.”

“Correct. On both occasions, I was asked to come along by the leading clan head Donda Ruu,” Gazraan Rutim stated.

“Hmph. You go on and on about how noble of a task giba hunting is, but then you go skipping out on it whenever you please. If you don’t have anything to hide, then bringing escorts shouldn’t be necessary in the first place.”

“Now, now,” Taluon chided from the side. “We won’t get anywhere with you raising your voice like that. We invited these chefs from the forest’s edge here today in order to get a sense of their skill levels, so we should discuss that first.”

Taluon seemed even more calm than I would have expected from someone his age. He had an even-tempered demeanor and spoke politely, so at least for the moment, my view of him was positive.

“Hmph,” Dregg snorted yet again with a sneer. “I don’t have any way of judging that. All I can speak to is how the desserts turned out,” he added, turning and looking at Toor Deen and Rimee Ruu. “It certainly is impressive to see such young girls working as chefs. Did you truly make those dishes yourselves?”

“Y-Yes. Asuta taught us the techniques, but we were the ones who prepared them,” Toor Deen said.

“Oh...? You, chef from the castle town, you didn’t lend them a hand in secret, did you?”

“I did not. I was able to sample their offerings myself, and they both show exceptional skill,” Timalo replied with an elegant smile and a bow.

Still propping up his cheek with his hand, Dregg shrugged his other shoulder and replied, “Oh? In that case, I suppose we can’t question the sanity of that young girl from the house of Genos anymore. Really, how annoying.”

“Yes, at the very least, we found them to be in no way inferior to the desserts we have tasted in Genos Castle. You could even say that the ones prepared by the chefs of the forest’s edge were superior, as they were more unusual.”

Toor Deen was taken aback for a moment, but then she bowed her head, her hand clutching her chest tightly. Her skill at making desserts, along with Rimee Ruu’s, had been acknowledged surprisingly easily.

Before I had time to feel glad about that, though, Dregg’s reddened eyes turned my way.

“In that case, the issue is unsurprisingly you, Asuta of the Fa clan.”

“Oh...? Were you not satisfied with my cooking, then?”

“Hmph, such cooking isn’t even worthy of my judgment.”

I couldn’t help but wonder how I had earned so much displeasure from him. I steeled myself and waited for him to continue.

“But, well...” Polarth tried to interject from the off to the right.

“You truly think I could eat something as suspicious as giba meat so lightly?” Dregg muttered, cutting him off. “The only dish of yours that I tried was the gigo appetizer. And it was just raw gigo, so I hardly think that was a fitting sample to determine your skill from.”

“Should I not have used giba meat, then?” I asked, feeling troubled as I turned toward the nobles of Genos.

“If that was what you wanted, you should have instructed them to not use giba meat beforehand,” Polarth countered. “Sir Asuta is a chef famed for his giba cooking, so if you order him to show his skill, then it is only natural he would cook with giba.”

“Hmph. One of you should have had enough consideration to give them that order, then. What a truly careless bunch you are,” Dregg said in response, drinking his cup of wine dry in a single go.

I really had no idea how to react.

Then, with an even drunker look on his face, Dregg broke out in a brazen grin. “So, why don’t we hear what my representative who ate that stuff in my stead has to say? Judging from how they scarfed it down, it couldn’t have been all that bad.”

“But Sir Dregg...” Polarth said, standing up from his seat.

Just then, though, we heard a jangling, metallic sound.

Toor Deen let out a weak “Ah...” and started clinging to my arm. Ai Fa grabbed ahold of my other arm at the same time.

And then, a massive black figure appeared before us. It was an enormous dog, padding around the side of the table, having been concealed behind Dregg the whole time. The metallic sound we were hearing was coming from an iron chain around its neck.

“Is that a dog? It looks rather different from the hunting dogs we use,” Jiza Ruu calmly asked.

Pleased, Dregg chuckled. “Heh, this is what is known as a lion dog, raised to protect nobles. If you act carelessly, it will tear your arm from your shoulder, so watch yourself.”

The dog looked so utterly vicious that it really didn’t seem like his words were an idle threat. It actually might not have been all that much bigger than one of our hunting dogs, but its body and legs were frighteningly thick, and its head was very large as well. On top of that, its whole body was coated in dense fur, and it even had a mane like a lion’s around its neck. It was hard to imagine a more appropriate animal for the name “lion dog” to be applied to.

Its snout was rather smushed, kind of like a chow chow’s. Looking at it that way gave the dog a touch of charm, but it was just way too big. Plus, the way its black eyes were scanning us like it was eyeing its prey was enough to send a chill down my spine.

“So this dog is one of your guards as well?” Jiza Ruu asked, his voice still perfectly calm.

“Naturally,” Dregg replied with a sneer. “This lion dog can do the work of ten soldiers, after all. So, how was Asuta of the Fa clan’s cooking?”

The lion dog responded to Dregg’s question with a bark like a cannon. Toor Deen was now trembling, and was still clinging tightly to my arm.

“Sir Dregg, this performance has gone on long enough. Asking a dog is no way to determine a chef’s skill,” Taluon chided, unsurprisingly. “And besides, Sir Luido and I sampled all of the giba dishes properly. You should leave this matter to us.”

“Hmph. I’m still astonished that you could bring yourselves to eat such questionable meat. Pray that it doesn’t cause you to perish before tomorrow morning,” Dregg said, slapping his hand down on the table twice. In response to that signal, the dog slowly returned to its spot behind him.

In the meantime, Taluon slowly narrowed his eyes as he looked at us. “That giba meat had quite a powerful taste. A wild flavor that calls to mind gyama or mountain bird meat, you could say... That being the case, it should probably be no surprise that you would find a market for it.”

“Y-Yeah, I would think so too.”

“And as for your skill in preparing it...I would say you did a truly excellent job,” Taluon said, his expression still totally placid. “Indeed, I would say that the cooking of Genos focuses too heavily on novelty and sometimes comes across as lacking in elegance. In that regard, I believe that Asuta’s cooking may well be a better fit for the tastes of citizens of the capital. Sir Luido, would you agree?”

“I am not certain. As I’m merely a soldier, I doubt my opinion on that would be worth much,” Luido replied formally. Melfried’s gray eyes often reminded me of glass spheres, but the color in Luido’s were a bit deeper, reminding me more of steel, and his gaze was just as intense. “But if you are simply asking if it was delicious or not, I definitely thought that it was.”

“Yes, I am in agreement. I never would have imagined people living in the forest could produce such excellent dishes,” Taluon said, smiling and narrowing his eyes as he stared in my direction. “I am sure you must have studied cooking techniques in a more suitable environment originally, yes, Asuta of the Fa clan?”

“My family ran a restaurant.”

“Ah, I see, a restaurant. And given the wide variety of ingredients you have demonstrated mastery of, you must have been born and raised in quite a prosperous land.”

When I heard him say that, I realized something: Despite how much he was smiling, there was a sharp, probing shine in Taluon’s eyes. There was much more to him than his calm, relaxed exterior. Even if I was late in realizing it, that much was clear to me now.

“Such praise! One of those dishes even used poitan, and you’re saying it was that good?” Dregg crudely interjected.

Still smiling, Taluon nodded and said, “Yes. As a matter of fact, I found it quite difficult to believe that that was poitan. It felt as if I were eating the finest quality of fuwano.”

“Hmph, the more you say, the more it sounds to me as if you are simply joking.”

If I wasn’t remembering wrong, Dregg was supposed to be the one who came from Banz, the poitan-producing land. But my okonomiyaki had contained a lot of giba meat too, so he hadn’t even tried it. Ultimately, the advice Kamyua Yoshu had given me had gone completely to waste.

“Still, it certainly is suspicious for a self-proclaimed wanderer whose country of origin we can’t even determine to be such a skilled chef. We’ll have all sorts of fun things to discuss with you tomorrow,” Dregg said.

“Tomorrow?” I asked without thinking.

Taluon smiled and said, “Yes. Tomorrow we shall be interrogating you, Asuta of the Fa clan. We have already communicated this to the leading clan heads of the forest’s edge, so there is no need for concern.”

Jiza Ruu stared at Marstein, looking like he was probing the man’s intentions. However, the lord of the land maintained his usual calm look as he nodded.

“As Sir Taluon says, we sent a messenger to the Ruu clan not long ago. Seven people shall be summoned from the forest’s edge tomorrow, not just Asuta.”

“Seven?”

“Indeed. Asuta of the Fa clan; Ai Fa of the Fa clan; the guests of the Ruu known as Bartha, Jeeda, Mikel, and Myme; and Shumiral of the Ririn clan.”

Jiza Ruu tilted his head slightly, looking like he was questioning what he had heard. “I can understand the two from the Fa, as well as Bartha and Jeeda, but why are the other three being summoned?”

“Is that really so strange? They all moved from town to the forest, didn’t they? We could hardly call our investigation complete without knowing why,” Dregg said with a sneer.

“I see,” Jiza Ruu replied with a nod. “At any rate, we shall abide by the decision the leading clan heads come to. Should I take it that you are satisfied with the skills Asuta and the other chefs displayed tonight?”

“Yes, there are no issues there. We are truly, thoroughly satisfied,” Taluon said, and then his gaze shifted over to Timalo. “Your skills are also exceptional. As I said before, I have felt that the cuisine of Genos focuses a bit too heavily on novelty...but to make food such as that, you must have undergone a great deal of training. I truly was impressed.”

“I am deeply grateful to receive such praise,” Timalo said with a composed expression, giving a bow. However, it seemed to me that he didn’t look particularly happy.

After directing one more brief smile at Timalo, Taluon wrapped up by saying, “Well then, that should settle things for today. We are looking forward to seeing a few of you from the forest’s edge again tomorrow.”

After that, we swiftly exited the dining room. If it hadn’t been for the lion dog making an appearance partway through, the encounter would almost have felt like something of a letdown.

As a soldier opened the door for us, we found Ludo Ruu standing in the middle of the hall with his arms folded. When he saw us, his eyes opened wide and he said, “Huh? You’re done already? That was really quick.”

“Yes,” Jiza Ruu replied, but he didn’t offer any details. Sheila and a number of guards from Genos were still nearby, after all. Until we left the castle town, we wouldn’t be able to discuss matters openly.

Then, something pretty surprising happened. Timalo, who had exited the room with us, leaned down and whispered into my ear. “Sir Asuta, I feel you were treated rather cruelly in there.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Naturally, I am referring to the atrocious act of feeding your cooking to a beast. No matter what he might have been thinking, such an act is utterly unforgivable,” Timalo said, the veins around his temples showing a bit. “If I had been treated that way, the anguish I felt might well have brought me to my knees. I am shocked that you were able to endure it, Sir Asuta.”

“Oh, well, it caught me so off guard that it didn’t even occur to me that I should feel upset about it. Honestly, I was prepared for them to do even worse.”

“I see. I would be quite glad to never prepare food for them again, myself,” Timalo said before stepping away from me.

Feeling a bit worried, I leaned in close to Ai Fa and said, “Hey, are you okay?”

“I am perfectly fine. There was something I wished to ask those nobles, but I knew I should refrain from speaking unnecessarily, so I held my tongue. That is my one regret.”

“Oh? What did you want to ask them?”

“Well, your dishes contained vegetables and poitan, so was it really okay to feed them to that dog?”

My eyes shot open wide in surprise.

Ai Fa looked incredibly serious as she continued. “Shumiral said that hunting dogs should only eat meat and bones, so I was worried about whether feeding other foods to that dog might cause it to fall ill.”

“Um, are you worried that my food will be blamed if the dog gets an upset stomach?”

“Hmm?” Ai Fa said, raising an eyebrow. “Why would your food be blamed? If the food harms the dog, it will be the fault of the noble who fed your cooking to it, not you. No, I was only worried for that dog’s health.”

“Ah, I see. Back in my home country, dogs were able to eat things other than meat. In fact, I was surprised that the hunting dogs don’t eat anything else. Lion dogs are probably a breed that can be given food besides meat.”

“I see. In that case, it is fine,” Ai Fa said with a worried sigh.

I sighed as well, though mine was from relief. “That Dregg guy wouldn’t give his precious guard dog food he knew was poisonous to it, right? Anyway, I’m just glad you’re not angry.”

“Angry? About what?”

“I mean, that noble made fun of giba meat and fed it to a dog.”

“Ah,” Ai Fa replied with a little shrug. “I wouldn’t get angry over such a thing. I’m sure the giba was far happier to have been eaten by the dog rather than that rude man,” she stated earnestly. Then, she glared at me out of the corner of her eye. “At any rate, tomorrow’s discussion will be much more important. Make sure to keep your guard up, Asuta.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Tomorrow, they wouldn’t just be summoning me, but Mikel, Myme, Bartha, Jeeda, and Shumiral as well. I had to wonder what their real reasons for doing that were. Naturally, I didn’t need Ai Fa’s warning to know that I would have to be even more guarded than I had been today.

Plus, Jiza Ruu was right; I couldn’t get a read on Marstein’s intentions at all, and Melfried didn’t say a single word. Right now, I have no idea what’s going on in their heads.

Trying to figure that out would have to wait until tomorrow, though. We had no choice but to tackle the problem in front of us head-on, and do our best to overcome it.

Chapter 4: The Interrogation

1

It was now the following day, the ninth of the green month.

An hour before the sun hit its peak, Ai Fa and I arrived at the Ruu settlement. There were a large number of people gathered in the plaza—a mix of those who were going to the castle town with us, and some folks from the Ruu clan who were there to see us off. We got down from our wagon at the entrance to the plaza, and Reina and Rimee Ruu hurried over to us.

“Ai Fa, Asuta, we’ve been waiting for you. Our father said we’ll be heading out soon, so just hold on for a bit.”

“Got it. Thanks, Reina Ruu.”

The second Ruu daughter stared at us, a terribly worried look in her eyes. Her adorable younger sister seemed unusually concerned as well as she hugged Ai Fa tightly.

“You two had better make it back safely! Even if those nobles are mean, you can’t get angry about it, okay?” Rimee Ruu insisted. She and Reina Ruu had both met the nobles from the capital the previous evening, which had left them feeling terribly worried.

“I know. You don’t need to worry. Simply be patient, and we will return in no time,” Ai Fa said, ruffling Rimee Ruu’s reddish-brown hair with a fond look in her eyes to calm the young girl down.

The guests of the Ruu clan—Bartha, Jeeda, Mikel, and Myme—were standing together talking next to a wagon that the totos Jidura was hitched to. There were also some women from the branch houses and hunters who got up early talking to them too.

A short distance away from them, Shumiral and Vina Ruu were having a quiet discussion. After exchanging a look with Ai Fa, I decided to walk over to them.

“Shumiral. Vina Ruu. Sorry to interrupt, but could I talk with you a bit too?”

“Of course,” Shumiral replied with his usual calm demeanor. Vina Ruu looked surprisingly calm too, but there was an unease she couldn’t hide flickering in her pale eyes.

“There’s something I wanted to ask you, Shumiral. It’s about...well, starless ones.”

“Starless ones? I have heard, the people from, the capital, have doubts regarding, your background. That is why, you wish to know, about starless ones, is it not?”

“Yeah, that’s right. How much do you know about them, Shumiral?”

“Very little, as I have not, studied star reading, techniques. I only know, what I have heard, from my comrade, who has.”

That comrade of Shumiral’s from Silver Vase; Arishuna, who was a guest of Genos; and Railanos, the Gamley Troupe’s star reader—all three had referred to me as a starless one. If I was going to properly explain my existence here in this world, that was the only thing I had to go on.

“What in the world is a starless one? Are there other people in this world with similar backgrounds to mine?”

“I do not know. Starless ones, are ultimately, beings one only comes across, in legends. I did not think that, they truly existed.”

“I see... But you know at least a bit about them, right?”

“Yes. Starless ones are said, to greatly change, the fate of, the world,” Shumiral calmly replied as he stared up at the sky where the stars weren’t currently visible. “They were supposedly, born in a world, other than this one, so they do not, have stars here. Stars are, a person’s fate, so even the most, skilled of star readers, cannot interpret their fates.”

“Yeah, that’s what I heard too.”

“When a starless one, appears in this world, there is, a great shift, in the star maps. When a starless void, races around in the sky, it impacts, many different stars. That is why, it is said, that the world, changes greatly, in eras, with starless ones.”

“You mean, like with Misha the White Sage?” I asked.

Shumiral’s eyes opened a bit wider. “Asuta, you know of, Misha the White Sage? That is, a very old legend, from Sym.”

“Yeah. There was a minstrel named Neeya who was part of this group of traveling performers called the Gamley Troupe who visited Genos for the revival festival, and he sang a song about that legend.”

“I see... It is said, Misha the White Sage, was a starless one. In fact, it is thought, that his appearance, is what led to, the legend of, starless ones, in the first place,” Shumiral said with a firm nod before staring back up at the sky. “He saved, the Rao tribe, which led to, the birth of Sym. Without Misha the White Sage, Sym might still, be nothing more, than seven tribes, forever warring, with each other. He quite literally, changed the fate, of the world.”

“That’s amazing. I can’t imagine I have anything close to that sort of power, though.”

“That may, be so. But your presence, has shifted fate, quite greatly. I think that, is a great power, in its own right. For example...without you, Vina Ruu, would never have worked, at your stalls, so I would not, have ever wished, to become a person, of the forest’s edge.”

“Just ignore me, why don’t you?” Vina Ruu said, her cheeks slightly red as she pretended to slap Shumiral.

“My apologies,” Shumiral said, bowing his head of silver hair. “At any rate, I feel that, you are, irreplaceable, Asuta. Whether, you are, a starless one, does nothing to, change that fact.”

“Thanks, Shumiral. So, do you think it would help if I brought that up to those nobles from the capital?”

Shumiral thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, “No. I don’t believe, it would be. In fact, I believe there is, a high probability, it could have, a negative effect.”

“Oh? Why’s that?”

“Starless ones, are a legend, of Sym. They are said, to be able, to appear anywhere, be it Selva, Jagar, or Mahyudra, but Sym is, the only nation, to call them, starless ones. The west, south, and north, do not engage, in star reading, so it would, be difficult for them, to understand, the concept.”

“Ah, I see. I think the star reader from the Gamley Troupe was a westerner, but star reading is an art that’s only passed down in Sym, right?”

“Yes. And the current, king of Selva, is strongly opposed, to ancient arts. When he, took the throne, he drove out, all the star readers, serving in, the palace. So I believe, his retainers, would likely, be similar in, their thinking.”

“I see. Thank you. That was a question I really wanted to have an answer to before we left,” I said. “I’ll try to refrain from bringing that topic up. Oh, and there’s one more thing I wanted to ask you.”

“Please, go ahead.”

“Could you say something to me in the language of Sym?”

Shumiral tilted his head a bit in confusion, but then said, “———,” which didn’t make sense to me at all.

I brought a hand to my chest and breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks. It looks like I definitely can’t understand your language.”

“I see... You only understand, the language of, the west, correct?” Shumiral’s eyes narrowed sympathetically. “Asuta, your origins, are quite mysterious. I was, very surprised, when I first heard, about them.”

I had revealed to him that I came from outside of the continent last year, and since then, he had learned a little more of the story. Specifically, the fact that I had died in my original world. Even among the people of the forest’s edge, that wasn’t something I brought up very often.

“The people of the forest’s edge don’t have much interest in where I was born, so I didn’t open up to Donda Ruu and the others about that for quite a while. And none of them have asked me to tell them the details, even once.”

“Right. I have not, been asked much, about my, home country either. The people, of the forest’s edge, value the present, not the past.”

That was certainly true. But the nobles of Genos weren’t quite as open-minded. Because of that, after I had gotten wrapped up in that whole mess with the house of Turan, they had asked me to reveal my background to them. Since I was living at the forest’s edge, we had appealed to Marstein to have me recognized as a citizen of the west. That had never gone anywhere, though, so even now, I was officially considered a visitor from overseas living at the settlement at the forest’s edge.

“Well, all I can do is repeat what I’ve said in the past. I’m a little worried about what those people from the capital think of us, though.”

“Yes. It is necessary, to stay on guard.”

“Oh, by the way, have you ever interacted with nobles from the capital before, Shumiral?”

“No. Algrad has a, very open castle town, but the palace, is firmly shut, to outsiders. It is difficult, for not only easterners, but merchants, in general, to form ties, with nobles, of the capital.”

In that case, this would be Shumiral’s first encounter with people like them too. I couldn’t help but be seriously worried about how they might view him, as someone who went so far as to cast aside his homeland and god in order to become a person of the forest’s edge.

“Shumiral, there’s no doubt in my mind that they’re gonna treat both of us pretty harshly. Let’s do our best to get through this.”

“Yes. I intend, to give my all, to see my dream, come to fruition.”

His dream was, of course, to marry Vina Ruu. I glanced over at her then, and found that she looked like she was about to slap me this time.

“Sorry for the wait! I ended up oversleeping,” Dan Rutim’s voice suddenly called out with a hearty chuckle as he and his son Gazraan approached us atop their totos, Mim Cha. They didn’t have a wagon, though, so riding on the totos together with their large frames must have been pretty difficult.

“Thanks for coming. Will both of you be coming along today?” I asked.

Dan Rutim got down first, and with a big grin he said, “Nope, it’ll just be me with you this time! Gazraan came to see you off!”

Once he had gotten down too, Gazraan Rutim walked directly over to me. He was wearing a gentle smile on his face, but his eyes were very serious.

“Donda Ruu said that I will not be needed today, as anyone other than the seven being interrogated will not be allowed into the room. Asuta, Shumiral, please take care.”

“Of course. I’ll do my best to make it back safely.”

At that point, another large figure emerged from the crowd.

“So you finally made it. Looks like we’ve got everyone here now.” It was the leading clan head Donda Ruu, with Jiza and Ludo Ruu standing beside him. “In that case, let’s board the wagons. Dan Rutim, you take the Fa wagon.”

“Gotcha! I’ll take charge of the reins!” Dan Rutim gleefully responded as he climbed up onto the front of Gilulu’s wagon.

In the meantime, Ludo Ruu walked over to me and poked me in the chest. “I can’t go with you today, Asuta, so take care, okay?” he said.

“Yeah, thanks. So our guards this time are, um...” I said, looking over at Jiza Ruu. The heir to the clan didn’t respond, though, turning toward his father instead.

A beast-like grin broke out across Donda Ruu’s intimidating face. “Dan Rutim and I will be coming with you. Four of the seven people who have been summoned are hunters, if we include the trainees, so that should be plenty.”

“Y-You’re coming along personally, Donda Ruu?” I asked in surprise.

With his blue eyes shining brightly, Donda Ruu snorted, “Hmph. I’m the one who allowed our guests to stay at the Ruu settlement. If they’ve got a problem with that, then I have to go. Where are Jeeda and Bartha?” The two of them stepped forward, and he addressed them with a voice full of both solemnity and intensity. “Dan Rutim and I will be waiting outside the door to the interrogation room. If you need blades, blow a grass whistle.”

“Got it. I’ll be praying it doesn’t come to that, though,” Bartha said with a pout as she scratched her head, while Jeeda just silently nodded in response.

Once both of them had acknowledged his words, Donda Ruu turned toward his sons. “I leave the giba hunting to you. You will need to work hard enough to make up for yesterday too.”

“Understood,” Jiza Ruu said.

“You guys take care not to let your tempers get the better of you,” Ludo Ruu added.

Donda Ruu seemed to be making his clan’s hunting work their highest priority. His decision to have us bring the two strongest hunters under the Ruu with us was apparently meant to minimize the number of absences from that work. Though, his decision to go that route was making me feel even more tense than I had been before.

“All right, let’s get going. Donda Ruu, I’ll see you later,” I called out, saying farewell to everyone before heading back over to Ai Fa. Donda Ruu and the guests of the Ruu clan got into Jidura’s wagon, leaving only Shumiral with us. We returned to the Fa clan’s wagon where Dan Rutim was waiting. And as it happened, three other men were standing there with him: Darmu, Shin, and Mida Ruu.

“Asuta, Ai Fa, come back safely, okay?” Mida Ruu said, his cheeks trembling with worry.

“We will,” I said with as firm of a nod as I could manage.

I started to greet Shin Ruu, but before I could finish, Darmu Ruu interjected with a “Hey” directed at Ai Fa. “No matter what happens, don’t allow your emotions to get the better of you. If you lose control in there, you’ll expose your clan member to unnecessary danger.”

“Yes, I am fully aware of that. As the one who welcomed Asuta into the forest’s edge, I shall take full responsibility for him,” Ai Fa replied with a strong nod, looking as if she were heading off into battle.

With that, we finally climbed into the wagon and departed.

As we traveled along the path to town, I summarized what Shumiral had told me about starless ones for Ai Fa.

“I see. Well, we people of the forest’s edge know nothing of starless ones either, so it makes no difference. All we have to do is speak the truth as we understand it.”

“Right. The real issue is that my background sounds so unrealistic.”

“Still, if they have the ability to recognize the truth when they hear it, it should be clear to them that you are not lying.”

Ai Fa had more or less accepted my whole crazy story a year ago. Or at the very least, she had said that I wasn’t lying about it. We had only just met and hadn’t built up any sort of trust between us at that point, but Ai Fa hadn’t doubted me at all.

I can’t imagine the nobles from the capital accepting my explanation anywhere close to as easily as she did. But as a person of the forest’s edge, the only thing I can do is to tell the truth, I thought to myself as I sat in the swaying wagon.

Once we made it to the end of the downhill part of the path through the forest, Dan Rutim stepped down from the driver’s seat. When totos-drawn wagons passed through the post town, their drivers had to proceed on foot, holding the bird’s reins. Soon enough, it would be half past the upper sixth hour, and from what I could see of the post town over Dan Rutim’s shoulders, it looked just as lively as ever.

Not long after that, when we reached the area where all the stalls were set up, I got Ai Fa’s permission to lean out beside the driver’s seat. The first thing I saw was Dora and Tara waving at us from their usual spot. They must have heard about what was going on. Dora nodded deeply to us with a troubled look on his face, while Tara was waving her hands as vigorously as she could manage.

Next, we passed by the giba stalls, where Toor Deen and Yun Sudra were in charge of things. They had stepped up to take control of our business operations before, back when I had been suffering from Amusehorn’s Breath, so I had no worries about their ability to handle the job.

Myme’s stall was the only one that was not open, so there were five in total. Toor Deen, Yun Sudra, Yamiru Lea, Fei Beim, the Matua and Ratsu women, Lala Ruu, Oura and Tsuvai Rutim, and the Lea woman were all waving and nodding to us. I also saw Raielfam Sudra and the other guards standing nearby.

Finally, as we passed by the outdoor restaurant space, Lili Ravitz and the Muufa and Min women waved to us as well. Pops and the rest of the construction group must have already visited the stalls, in which case, they had undoubtedly asked all sorts of questions about why I wasn’t there. Because our summons to the interrogation we were heading to had been given to us so suddenly yesterday, I hadn’t been able to explain what was going on to any of our regulars.

No matter what happens, I hope that all of this will end peacefully. If Kamyua is correct and those nobles from the capital aren’t complete villains, then we should be able to clear up any misconceptions they have, I thought as I pulled my head back into the wagon.

When we exited the post town, Dan Rutim climbed back into the driver’s seat and energetically cracked his whip. Before long, we were moving at high speed up the road to the castle town, where the nobles from the capital awaited us.

2

When we arrived at the castle town, we were led to a building located right next to Genos Castle that was used as a conference hall. It was a large, impressive structure constructed of gray bricks, and it was where Melfried usually met with the leading clan heads.

Soldiers of Genos led us to a room deep, deep inside the building with four guards standing outside of the door—two from Genos and two from the capital.

“Only the seven being interrogated are allowed to enter. All others are to wait here.”

Donda Ruu and Dan Rutim followed the guards’ orders in silence. Ai Fa, Shumiral, Jeeda, and Bartha also handed over their swords and cloaks. Shumiral in particular was thoroughly checked over to make sure that he wasn’t hiding any poison on his person.

After that, the soldiers finally opened the door, revealing a small antechamber with yet another door guarded by four more soldiers.

So if Jeeda blows his grass whistle, they’ll have to bust through two doors, huh? I was really hoping that we would be able to avoid having to do that, but the thought still came to mind.

We were then led into an empty room. There were seven chairs lined up in the middle, and beyond them was a long table with a number of chairs on the other side.

“Seat yourselves and wait until you hear from one of us,” the soldier who was guiding us said, then he took up a position beside the now shut door.

This is pretty similar to how things were set up when we confronted Cyclaeus...

We each sat down, in the order of Ai Fa, me, Shumiral, Mikel, Myme, Jeeda, and Bartha.

The room was large yet barren, with no real fixtures to speak of aside from the chairs and table. The only things to look at were a curtain along the wall in front of us and a pair of large stone statues off to the left and right in the corners. They looked rather heroic, much like the ones in the dining hall back at the former Turan manor, with the head of a lion, the torso of a man, and the four-legged body of some sort of horselike animal. They held spears in their hands, so I assumed they were depicting some sort of war god or the like.

“You haven’t committed any crimes, so you have nothing to be afraid of,” a voice said from my left. When I turned in that direction, it looked to me like Jeeda had said that to Myme, who was tightly clenching her fists on top of her knees.

The young girl awkwardly nodded. “I know,” she replied. She was usually so bright and cheerful, but this tense atmosphere seemed to be hitting her quite hard.

After some time passed (I had no clue how long) the noon bell rang out in the distance, then a few minutes later, a new soldier entered the room.

“The esteemed personages have arrived. Rise from your seats and greet them.”

The soldier had appeared from beyond the curtain rather than the door behind us. Once we were all standing up, a number of additional soldiers came streaming in. They all had lion emblems on their chest armor, so they were from the capital.

Just like yesterday, ten soldiers lined up along the left wall, and ten more along the right. Only then did the nobles finally enter the room. Duke Marstein Genos, his son Melfried, the thousand lion commander Luido, the observer Taluon...and finally, the second observer, Dregg. When he appeared, I noticed that Myme had to hold herself back from making some kind of noise, because the man had brought along that jet-black lion dog once again.

Dregg took the far right seat, carelessly hanging the chain connected to the dog’s collar over the back of his chair, and the dog sat down off to the side of the table.

“Thank you for coming. Please, be at ease,” Marstein called out, so we took our seats again.

The lord of the land once again had that composed smile on his face today, while Melfried’s face remained as expressionless as a mask. Polarth was the only person from yesterday who wasn’t present. The thousand lion commander Luido was clad in imposing armor and standing behind the two observers as if to protect them.

“Secretary, verify their names,” Marstein said.

“At once,” a small man who had entered the room after all the others replied with a polite bow. “Allow me to confirm—in order, starting from the right, you are Ai Fa of the forest’s edge; Asuta, the visitor from overseas; Shumiral, a resident of the forest’s edge without a clan name; Mikel of Turan; his daughter Myme; Jeeda of Masara; and his mother Bartha. Is that all correct?”

“It is. However, Asuta and Shumiral are both full-fledged people of the forest’s edge as well,” Ai Fa calmly replied. The secretary ducked his head slightly but didn’t say anything back, instead reading out the names and ranks of the esteemed personages present. That confirmed for me that Dregg was the third son of Archduke Banz, while Taluon belonged to a branch house related to the baron of a place called Bery.

“We shall now begin your interrogation. Any falsehoods stated here shall be seen as treason against the kingdom of Selva, so keep that in mind as you reply.”

“Understood,” Ai Fa answered, earning a disparaging sneer from Dregg right off the bat.

“This certainly is quite the crowd. How long is it going to take to interrogate them properly? Why, I’m at a loss as to where to even start.” Then, Dregg’s bloodshot eyes turned toward the secretary standing by at the end of the table. “Hey, have my page bring me wine and a glass.”

“Wine and a glass?”

“This is going to be time consuming, so I’ll need to wet my throat. And I’ll need the nourishment of wine as well.”

The secretary hid his obvious concern under a polite expression, then called out to someone behind the curtain. A cute page came running in with a bottle of fruit wine and a glass atop a silver tray, clearly having already been prepared for this moment.

As soon as Dregg’s glass was full of reddish-brown wine, he drank it dry in a single go. “Hmph. The only thing I can enjoy after being driven all the way out here is this fine fruit wine.”

“Please keep your drinking within a reasonable limit, Sir Dregg. If the alcohol dulls your thinking, it will become difficult to determine the truth,” Taluon chimed in with a gentle smile. It didn’t seem like he had any intention of seriously chiding Dregg, though.

I still didn’t have a decent grasp on the relationship between those two. Taluon was definitely the older of the two, but Dregg was haughtier and more arrogant. Was that because Dregg was of a higher rank, or because Taluon avoided rocking the boat on principle? I really had no idea.

“Well then, allow us to begin the interrogation. First, I wish to speak to Ai Fa of the Fa clan, woman of the forest’s edge.” As Taluon continued speaking, Ai Fa silently shifted to face him directly. The noble glanced down at a document spread out atop the table. “Around the end of the yellow month last year, you encountered Asuta, the visitor from overseas, in the forest of Morga. Is that correct?”

“Indeed, it is.”

“Why did you welcome Asuta into the forest’s edge? The people of the forest’s edge were an insular people who hardly interacted with outsiders at all up until that point.”

“I met Asuta right before the sun set. If I had left him there, he would have been attacked by the beasts of the forest and lost his life before he could have made it to town. Though I was very hesitant to do so, I decided that I should at least hear his story, so I brought Asuta to the Fa house.”

“So then, you only asked Asuta about his background after you brought him into your home?”

Ai Fa stopped and contemplated for a moment. She was putting her excellent memory to use in order to recall what had happened in precise detail. “No, I asked him about that shortly after I encountered him, but I was not able to fully grasp the situation at that time. Asuta seemed confused at the mention of Selva, Genos, and Mount Morga. But since our conversation seemed to be going nowhere, I decided that I would have to bring him home before we could resolve things.”

“Hmm. So is it true, Asuta, that you had not even heard of the kingdom of Selva or the Amusehorn continent?”

“Yes, that’s right,” I replied.

“I see,” Taluon said with a smile.

“Hmph,” Dregg sneered.

“In that case, how did you explain your background to Ai Fa? I ask that you be as precise with your words as possible.”

“Sure. I told her that I was born in an island nation called Japan, and had never heard of a continent called Amusehorn before. I also said that I believed I had perished in a fire back in my home country.”

“Hmm. And you didn’t know how you found yourself collapsed in the forest of Morga?”

“Yes, that’s correct. I’m fully aware of how unrealistic it all sounds. However, it’s the only truth I have to offer. Ai Fa said if it wasn’t true, then I must have hit my head at some point and lost my mind.”

“I see. So, what was your assessment of his story, Ai Fa?”

“At the very least, I did not believe that Asuta was lying. So as he said a moment ago, I believed he had lost his wits due to some accident or another.”

“Oh? And you allowed someone you thought was lacking in sanity to join your clan?”

Ai Fa closed her eyes for a moment, then stared back intensely at Taluon. “It was five days after I met Asuta that I welcomed him into my clan and granted him the attire of the forest’s edge. In that time, I determined that he was someone worthy of my trust.”

“What led you to feel that way in a mere five days?”

“By living together for five days, I came to understand his nature. Furthermore, Asuta saved my life the day after I met him.”

“He did? I was not aware of that.”

Even the rest of our group who had been quietly listening turned toward us with looks of surprise.

The commanding expression on Ai Fa’s face didn’t waver at all as she continued. “The morning after we met, we went to the Lanto River to bathe. It was then that a giant madarama snake washed down the river and attacked me.”

“A giant madarama snake?” Marstein repeated, speaking up for the first time in a while. “You encountered a madarama, one of the three great beasts of Morga? This is the first time I have heard this story as well.”

“The giant snake was gravely injured to begin with. In all likelihood, it had lost a fight with a varb wolf or red savage and fallen into the river. The law states that there are no restrictions on how such beasts may be dealt with when they leave the mountain, so I didn’t feel it necessary to inform anyone. Have I failed to fulfill my duty under the laws of Genos in some way?”

“No, not at all... I was simply somewhat surprised, as the three beasts who guard the holy land of Morga rarely appear in the world outside the mountain,” Marstein said, his gentle smile returning as he bowed toward Taluon. “My apologies for the unnecessary interruption. Please, continue with your interrogation.”

“Very well. So, since Asuta saved your life, you determined that he was not a malicious person, even if he was not in his right mind?”

“Indeed. And Asuta also showed me the joy of having delicious food to eat. As we spent time together, I came to understand what kind of person he really was,” Ai Fa said, raising her head with a look of defiance. “But it is not as if I made the decision to bring him in as a member of my house after just those five days. I still intended to send Asuta to town when the time was right.”

“And what was this ‘right time’ you were waiting for?”

“Asuta knew nothing of the customs of the forest’s edge or the laws of Genos. Sent to town in such a state, he would have quickly fallen prey to the outlaws there. And if he had eaten the fruits of Morga out of ignorance, he would have been scalped. I intended to teach him the basics of what he would need to know in order to survive before sending him to town.” Sure enough, that was what Ai Fa had insisted at the time. The reason she had given me her father’s clothes was also so that I wouldn’t attract too much attention from the people living nearby. “But before I could do that, Asuta and I became involved with the Ruu clan, which allowed me to reestablish my bonds with some old friends there. I felt deep gratitude toward Asuta, and it was then that I decided that I wished for him to live with me.”

“I see. So that is when you formed ties with the leading Ruu clan. How terribly interesting,” Taluon said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

After drinking yet another entire glassful of wine, Dregg snorted, “Hmph! If you keep going on and on like that, the sun will set before we’re done. Ultimately, you did it because you were swayed by your emotions, weren’t you? There’s nothing strange about men and women living together under the same roof. The issue is what happened after.”

“What happened after?” Ai Fa asked.

“Exactly. You earned favor with the Ruu and brought down the leading Suun clan. What were your intentions in doing so?”

“It is true that we worked with the Ruu to expose the misdeeds of the Suun. The Suun were criminals. We had no ulterior motives beyond their removal.”

“Hmph. The Suun clan was opposed to you doing business in town, weren’t they? And you were able to get them out of your way just like that. It sure sounds awfully convenient.”

Ai Fa furrowed her brow slightly, looking pensive. “My apologies, but I don’t quite understand what you mean. Are you perhaps trying to say that we turned against the Suun because they stood in the way of us earning money in town?”

“Are you able to prove that’s not the case?”

“I don’t know what exactly you’re expecting from me, but it is a fact that the Suun committed numerous crimes. Asuta simply noticed one of them before anyone else did.”

“Oh? The Suun committed the serious taboo of gathering the fruits of the forest rather than hunting giba, correct? But is that really true?” Taluon asked with a smile, and Ai Fa turned his way with an almost astonished look.

“I didn’t expect to be asked such a thing at this point. Everyone who was living in the Suun settlement acknowledged their crimes, and furthermore, a large amount of the fruits of the forest were hidden away in their pantries. What further proof could be needed?”

“We only heard about that after everything was said and done. It would not be acceptable for any mistakes to have slipped through, so it is essential that we thoroughly confirm all of the relevant facts.”

The leading clan heads must have endured two full days of this sort of questioning. It was no wonder that Gulaf Zaza had been so irritable lately.

“But those were not the Suun clan’s only transgressions,” Taluon continued. “They were committing crimes in conjunction with the house of Turan as well. You yourself exposed that, did you not, Sir Melfried?”

Melfried silently nodded in response.

As his page poured out a fresh bottle of fruit wine, Dregg sneered once again and said, “It certainly was a disastrous year for the Suun clan. But it seems like quite a coincidence that all of those old crimes were dug up one after another.”

“That’s because Kamyua Yoshu was working very hard to make that happen,” I went ahead and chimed in, since Melfried wasn’t saying anything. “At the time, Kamyua Yoshu was the only one tying Melfried and the people of the forest’s edge together. In fact, we didn’t even talk to Melfried ourselves until after that whole incident with the Suun clan was settled. Of course, it was pure coincidence that we exposed the Suun’s crimes at around the same time. But anything that seems too improbable was likely the result of Kamyua Yoshu working behind the scenes.”

“Hmph. That aggravating bodyguard, huh?” Dregg said with a sip of fruit wine, looking displeased.

Taluon’s smile grew a bit stiffer too. “It is true that he testified to that fact. And he was also the one who first suggested that the people of the forest’s edge should run a business in town... The more we investigate this chain of events, the more everything seems to end up back at that man.”

Apparently, the two of them found Kamyua Yoshu difficult to deal with. I was secretly impressed by the way that he always felt like the joker in a deck of cards.

“It sounds as if you believe we conspired with the house of Duke Genos to bring about the downfall of the house of Turan. Is that correct?” Ai Fa interjected, cutting straight to the heart of the matter.

Taluon gave a little smile and disregarded the question, while Dregg broke out in a wicked grin. “Is it really so strange that we would have such suspicions? The house of Turan was an obstruction for the house of Genos, and at the forest’s edge, the Ruu saw the Suun in the same way. It’s only natural to think that you would join forces to get rid of those hindrances.”

“If you simply replace the word ‘hindrances’ with ‘criminals,’ I would have no objections. The Suun clan and the house of Turan worked together in secret for ill purposes, and so the people of the forest’s edge and the house of Genos responded by uniting to take down our shared enemies.”

“Hmph. If the Suun and house of Turan truly did commit those crimes, that is.”

Unsurprisingly, we had circled back around to that point.

With nerves of steel, Ai Fa kept her cool as she replied. “I swear that we are not hiding anything. There were rumors of the Suun clan’s corrupt souls before I was even born. We simply exposed their crimes so that the people of the forest’s edge would be able to return to the proper path. I swear to the mother forest that my words are true.”

“The mother forest, you say? It seems you aren’t aware that such an oath goes against the laws of the kingdom,” Dregg said, slamming his partially emptied wine glass down atop the table. “Listen well, people of the forest’s edge. The one and only god for citizens of the west is the western god, Selva. No gods but Selva and his seven children, the lesser gods, are to be revered. The only ones who are permitted to regard forests, mountains, and rivers as gods are the independent settlers.”

“The independent settlers... My apologies, but I hardly know anything about them.”

“Independent settlers are the few children of the western god Selva who refused citizenship in the kingdom. I believe some of their descendants live here in Genos,” Taluon explained.

“I see,” Ai Fa said with a nod. “I have heard that those with family names are descended from independent settlers. But those people are citizens of the kingdom now, aren’t they?”

“Naturally, since Genos is within the kingdom’s territory. But in truth, the independent settlers can only be said to belong to the kingdom fully after they cast aside their family names and other gods. Yet they seem to be permitted to keep those names in Genos even now,” Taluon said, glancing over at Marstein, but the duke maintained the same silent smile. The town of Genos had been established two hundred years ago, and the one who had allowed the independent settlers to keep their family names had been the first the lord of Genos.

“The people of the forest’s edge should have been made to cast aside their clan names and other gods when becoming citizens of Genos as well. But just like his ancestor, the Duke of Genos at the time of their arrival decided to keep trampling over the kingdom’s customs,” Dregg added, pressing further.

In a relaxed tone, Marstein said, “Yes. The people of the forest’s edge moved here roughly eighty years ago, and the Duke of Genos in those days was my great-grandfather. Unfortunately, he did not leave behind any statements about how he came to the decision to permit the people of the forest’s edge to keep their clan names and their separate god.”

“Hmph... The people of the forest’s edge came from Jagar to begin with, from what I’ve been told, and in that land, people don’t have family names or different gods either. What is that all about?”

Ai Fa tilted her head a bit and said, “I don’t believe I have any way of properly answering that question. But if you believe the legends, it is possible that the people of the forest’s edge are descendants of both Sym and Jagar. In that case, is it not possible that we inherited some of our customs from Sym?”

“Oh? So you acknowledge that your people have eastern blood?”

“Not eastern, but a mix of east and south.”

“Hmph. Just looking at that dark skin makes it obvious you’re descended from the east,” Dregg muttered as he snatched up his glass and drank down the rest of his fruit wine in a single gulp. “What it all comes down to is, you’ve been ignoring the laws of the kingdom right from the start. Like the independent settlers, you keep your clan names and call the forest your mother. Such acts are not permitted for citizens of the kingdom.”

“But it was the Duke Genos of eighty years ago who allowed that, was it not?” Ai Fa asked with a suspicious look.

“Oh-ho,” Taluon laughed. It sounded rather odd. “So if the current Duke of Genos were to order you to cast aside your clan names and your god, would you obey?”

Ai Fa’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly as she glared straight at Taluon’s smiling face.

“I am a member of the Fa, not a leading clan, so I am in no position to answer that question. If you wished to know that answer, you should have invited the three leading clan heads here.”

“I see. Then may I ask you for your personal opinion, Ai Fa of the Fa clan? I will not judge your response to be an act of treason. Just think of this as a friendly chat as you consider your words.”

As Fa studied Taluon’s face, then calmly yet firmly replied, “We could never cast aside our mother forest. That would be akin to ordering westerners to cast aside the western god Selva.”

“I see,” Taluon said, his smile growing wider. He looked rather satisfied with her answer for some reason.

3

“Now then, shall we move on to the next part of the interrogation?” Taluon asked, his gaze turning to the left toward Bartha and Jeeda. “Bartha of Masara. Ciluel, the younger brother of the former Count of Turan, Cyclaeus, was found guilty based on your testimony, correct?”

“Yeah. That Ciluel man approached my husband one day, trying to get us to join in on this wicked plot of theirs.”

“And your husband was the head of the bandit group known as the Red Beards. His name was Goram, was it not? From what I am told, he was executed by the Genos militia that Ciluel led.”

“Supposedly, yeah. It’s not like I saw it with my own eyes.”

“You must have held quite a grudge against Ciluel, then.”

Bartha rustled her dark brown hair and sighed. “Now you’re trying to say I plotted to take down Ciluel to get revenge for my husband? Goram helped himself to treasure from lots of different nobles, you know. It was a big fat lie that he killed those envoys from Banarm and the merchant group that was going to Sym, but he had committed more than enough crimes for a hanging regardless. I’d like to think I’m not such a sorry excuse of a person that I’d hold a grudge over his death. That would just be unreasonable.”

“Hmph. You were a member of that bandit group too, weren’t you?” Dregg interjected in a hateful tone.

“Yup, that’s true,” Bartha said, shrugging her burly shoulders. “And I was prepared to face a hanging when I came here to Genos too. Woulda been a small price to pay in exchange for Goram’s honor. If you want to hang me now, I won’t try to run.”

“Oh? You’re offering up your neck, then?” Dregg said with a wicked grin.

Calmly, Bartha replied, “Yeah. Duke Genos is the one who pardoned me. But if he were to revoke his pardon, I wouldn’t resist.”

There wasn’t even a hint of hesitation showing on Bartha’s face. However, Jeeda’s yellow eyes were blazing brightly as he bit down on his lip beside her.

As if to calm the boy down, Taluon smiled and said, “We seem to have strayed somewhat off topic. This interrogation is only meant to be about the events surrounding the fall of the house of Turan.”

“So is there anything else you want to ask me, then?”

“Was that Ciluel man truly a criminal? Is it a fact that he asked the Red Beards to assault a merchant group?”

“You’re really digging that back up now? The man had a scar that he got from Goram’s blade. It was really noticeable when he became angry enough.”

“Did Ciluel admit to his crimes?”

“I’d say the arrows he sent our way should count as admission enough. Is there really any point in asking me about all that?” Bartha looked rather fed up as she glanced over to where the nobles of Genos were sitting. Melfried had also been there for the confrontation, while Marstein had arrived shortly after everything had died down.

“It is true that Cyclaeus and Ciluel were arrested for the crime of attempting to murder Sir Melfried of the house of Genos. However, the only ones present there were Sir Melfried himself, this mother and son pair, some people of the forest’s edge, and Kamyua Yoshu, correct?”

“So, what, you’re trying to say we got together and made sure that we’d all tell the same story? If that’s the kind of argument you’re trying to make, we’re never going to get anywhere,” Bartha said with a bold grin. “Besides, I’m pretty sure there was one more noble there too. I forget his name, but he was this guy Kamyua Yoshu brought along with him from Banarm. Someone like that wouldn’t have any reason to cooperate with the house of Genos and the people of the forest’s edge.” She was referring to the young noble Welhide, who I hadn’t seen in quite a while. Sure enough, he had been there too. And now that she mentioned it, there had been a legal officer from the house of Saturas present as well. “If you doubt our story that much, then why not talk to him? He almost got killed along with us, so I’m sure he hasn’t forgotten what happened.”

“Naturally, we have dispatched envoys to Banarm. They will report back to us at a later date.” Taluon must have predicted such an objection, as he was still wearing a relaxed smile. And then, the man’s gaze shifted over to the side toward Jeeda, whose eyes were burning like those of a wild beast. “Jeeda of Masara, in order to rescue Asuta when he was being confined in the Turan manor, you intruded into the castle town without a pass, did you not?” Jeeda silently nodded in response. Taluon didn’t seem to be upset with his attitude, though, as he kept on smiling and continued. “I see. But I have heard that a few days before that, you attacked a group of people of the forest’s edge, Asuta included. So why would you assist with the effort to rescue him?”

“I was under the impression that the people of the forest’s edge were responsible for my dad’s death. Once I learned I was wrong, I decided that I should help them out at least once to make up for pointing a blade at them.”

“Oh? And who exactly was truly responsible for your father’s death?”

“You already know. The nobles from the house of Turan who pinned that crime on him.”

“Who was it that gave you that information, then?”

Jeeda fell silent for a bit, eventually replying in an annoyed tone, “Ai Fa and Asuta of the Fa clan. But it’s not like I just accepted it on their word alone, so—”

“That is enough. I have one final question to ask you,” Taluon said, cutting Jeeda off and turning back to Bartha. “After avenging your family and having your past crimes pardoned, why did the two of you remain at the settlement at the forest’s edge rather than returning to your home in Masara? Whose will led you to make such a decision?”

“I was the one who decided it. News that I was a survivor from the Red Beards had spread throughout the country, so I didn’t feel like trying to go back to Masara as if nothing had changed.”

“And why was that?” Taluon pressed, and Bartha shot him an unamused grin.

“I hope you won’t get too angry at me for saying so, but that rough lot back in Masara can’t stand nobles. If they learned I was Goram’s wife and Jeeda was his son, they’d treat us like heroes. That’s why I made up my mind to wait for things to cool down before heading back.”

“My...”

“Besides, it’s not like I had even a single relative back there to start with, so I decided that I’d like to see Jeeda become a fine hunter here at the Morga forest’s edge. After all, there are a ton of hunters around that I’d love for him to learn from. I was planning to stay here for another few years, if we’re allowed to.”

“I see,” Taluon said with a smile and a nod. It was difficult to tell if he was satisfied or not, honestly. “For now, that concludes your interrogation. You two are next,” Taluon said as he directed his gaze over at Mikel and Myme. “Mikel of Turan. Your life as a chef was stolen away from you simply because you defied Cyclaeus.”

Mikel silently nodded. Myme, meanwhile, had joined her hands together in front of her chest and was looking back and forth worriedly between her father and the nobles.

“Then, after Cyclaeus’s downfall, you moved from the Turan lands to the settlement at the forest’s edge. What exactly led you to do that?”

“A burglar broke into my house in the Turan lands. I was worried for my daughter’s safety, so I took the people of the forest’s edge up on their kind offer of shelter.”

“I see. Well then, how did you form a bond with the people of the forest’s edge in the first place? I cannot imagine a charcoal seller such as you would have many chances to visit the post town or their settlement.”

“You said it would be taken as treason to lie here, right?” Mikel said with a small sigh, a light gleaming within his eyes as he glared back at Taluon. “It was this man here, Shumiral, who brought us together. The people of the forest’s edge were starting to get into a dispute with Count Turan, so he asked me to tell them about the guy’s past evil deeds.”

“Ah, I see... So that was how it happened.” Taluon said with a satisfied smile before shifting to face Shumiral. “So, why exactly did you tell Mikel that, Shumiral?”

“As I stayed, in the post town, I formed a bond, with Asuta. Then, I learned of, the discord with, the house of Turan. I did not, know the details, but I wished, to be of help.”

“Hmm... But you originally did business with the house of Turan, did you not?”

“Correct. We sold, ingredients and blades, from Sym. At the time, all merchants, who sold such goods from Sym, made deals, with Cyclaeus.”

“So why did you throw your lot in with the people of the forest’s edge, then?”

Shumiral tilted his head slightly in a way that was pretty familiar to me. “Asuta and, the people of the forest’s edge, all seemed to be, purehearted and honest. I felt, it was wrong, for people like them, to suffer. Is it so strange, that I wished, to help them?”

“Even if it meant losing an important business partner?”

“Yes. If Cyclaeus, was a villain, I no longer wished, to do business, with him. We knew, that we would likely, lose our passes, but there are, plenty of other, people who desire, goods from Sym. Losing Cyclaeus, was not, such a blow, to our business,” my friend said, responding in a way that was exactly like him.

“I see,” Taluon replied, only for Dregg to speak up like he’d been waiting for that very moment.

“But you did more than just help the people of the forest’s edge out. You went so far as to cast aside your god to live among them. That’s far from normal.”

“Yes. I believe, it is unusual, as well.”

“Unusual doesn’t even begin to cover it. Did you really change gods from Sym to Selva in the first place?”

“I did. I performed the ceremony, at the cathedral, in the capital’s, castle town. Do you need me, to swear an oath?”

Dregg sneered and jerked his chin, so Shumiral rose to his feet and said, “I, Shumiral, swear that I am, a child of Selva.” His left arm was gripping his chest over his heart, while his right arm was flung out wide to the other side. This oath to the four gods meant that if he was lying, his soul would be shattered to pieces after death. Shumiral silently lowered his hands and returned to his seat.

“Hmph... So you’ve been saying that you cast aside Sym because you fell hard for a girl from the forest’s edge, right?”

“Yes. And I also, found the, way of life, at the forest’s edge, to be, quite beautiful. That is why, I made up my mind, to abandon Sym.”

“Beautiful? Ha! What sort of life could you possibly have as a hunter at the forest’s edge after living so long as a merchant from Sym?”

“I am, training to be, a hunter. I am still inexperienced, but the hunting dogs, have been, a great help.”

“Ah yes, you were the one who brought hunting dogs to the settlement at the forest’s edge, weren’t you? And they were purchased in Algrad, were they not?” Taluon asked.

“Yes,” Shumiral replied with a nod. “I lack strength, as a hunter. I believed, I needed to rely, on the strength, of hunting dogs. The leading clan head, Donda Ruu, accepted me, as a person, of the forest’s edge. I feel, very fortunate, for that.”

“I would also like to ask, do you have any ties with the merchant group known as the Black Flight Feathers?”

“No. They are famous, so I am familiar, with the name, but we have not, had much, in the way, of interaction. I only just, met their leader, Kukuluel, for the first time, the other day.”

“I see. Kukuluel told us the same thing.”

After that, silence fell over the room for a bit.

By now, everyone but Myme had been questioned to one degree or another. However, most of what we had discussed was already known. The only thing that might have been new to them was the connection between Shumiral and Mikel.

“Speaking of which, we went to inspect the Turan lands the other day,” Taluon casually stated. “We noticed a number of stone ovens there. You were the one who provided the instructions on how to build those, correct, Mikel of Turan?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“And I also hear that your daughter once participated in a gathering of chefs in the castle town alongside the people of the forest’s edge. Having been expelled from the castle town, it seems that now that the old Count of Turan has fallen, you are trying to seek out new wealth and glory.”

Myme’s face went pale, and she looked like she was about to say something. However, Taluon lifted a hand to stop her before she could.

“I have also been told that it was the people of the forest’s edge who suggested that the northerners here should be given better food,” he continued. “And it was because of that suggestion that the Duke of Genos gave his approval for allowing the northerners to build those ovens.” Apparently, that information had been leaked too. Taluon placed both of his elbows down on the table, then brought his fingers together in front of his smile. “That is not something you can be criticized for, in and of itself. There are other areas where northerners are treated even more kindly, after all. As long as they remain slaves and work for the sake of the kingdom, each local lord is free to treat northerners as they please.”

He paused for a moment. No one else spoke either.

“However, Genos seems to have changed a great deal over the course of less than a year. And from what I hear, the people of the forest’s edge are behind it all.”

“Genos has changed so much due to the crimes of the house of Turan and the Suun clan being exposed. We people of the forest’s edge were deeply involved in those matters, so I don’t see anything strange about that,” Ai Fa said.

“Is that so?” Taluon replied, narrowing his eyes. “It all feels a touch unnatural to me, personally. The Count of Turan held influence and authority similar to that of the house of Genos until he had a sudden fall from grace, while the people of the forest’s edge have experienced several good turns of fortune instead. Your people were poorer than anyone in all of Genos, but now you sell your cooking and meat in town, and have gained enough wealth to purchase a large number of expensive hunting dogs.”

“Is that an issue?”

“Ah, no. It just feels like the change has been far too quick.”

Ai Fa slowly shook her head while keeping her eyes fixed on Taluon. “It seems you are set on thinking that we conspired with the house of Genos to snatch the house of Turan’s fortune for ourselves. As I’ve said again and again, all we did was expose the crimes committed by villains.”

“Yes, you people of the forest’s edge seem to be quite simple by nature. The leading clan heads, you, and the children from last evening all seemed truly pure and unsullied.”

“Hmph, just like the independent settlers,” Dregg chimed in as he sipped his wine.

“Indeed,” Taluon replied, before swiftly continuing. “Forgive me for saying so, but I find it hard to imagine your people could come up with and carry out such an involved plot. But is it not possible that you became mixed up in such a plot precisely because of that simplicity?”

“Became mixed up in it?”

“Yes, in the plot to bring about the downfall of the house of Turan.”

Looking truly, thoroughly irritated, Ai Fa furrowed her brow and said, “Cyclaeus admitted to his crimes. There is a great deal of additional evidence as well. Why should exposing those crimes be considered a plot?”

“Yes, the previous head of the house of Turan may well have committed crimes. However, it is also a fact that his house served as a hindrance to the house of Genos. Additionally, with the downfall of the house of Turan, the Duke of Genos was able to seize effective control over the houses of the Count of Daleim and the Count of Saturas. This is something we simply cannot overlook.”

I had heard that the houses of those three counts had been established so that the house of Genos wouldn’t hold total power over the domain. It was either Kamyua Yoshu or Zasshuma who had told me that, and judging from how Taluon and Dregg were acting, it seemed to be true.

“The Duke of Genos has plotted to strengthen ties with Sym by cutting a path through the forest’s edge. Additionally, it was the Sym merchant group known as the Black Flight Feathers who brought that proposal before him. And it is none other than the people of the forest’s edge, those who possess blood from Sym, who placed him in the powerful position he now enjoys. With this many factors all coming together, we cannot help but be suspicious about his motives, and the motives of Sym.”

“Are you referring to the idea that Genos is trying to declare independence from the kingdom like the Grand Duchy of Zerad? That truly has nothing to do with us.”

“True, but through your efforts, the foundations for such a move have been solidified,” Taluon said, shifting his gaze from Ai Fa back to me.

“Asuta, are you not truly a man of Sym?”

“No, that most definitely isn’t the case,” I said.

“Really? But you have glossy black hair and black eyes like those of an easterner. Your skin color is like that of a westerner, but if you were of mixed western and eastern blood, that wouldn’t be so strange.”

It was a completely and utterly false accusation. I steadied my breathing and somehow managed to calmly respond. “But I’m not able to understand the language of Sym. Even if I somehow got all mixed up in the head and I really was born on this continent, I can only imagine that I would have to be from the west, not the east.”

“We have no means of knowing if that is actually true or not. However, it is true that you are exceptionally skilled with the western tongue for one so young, so perhaps it is too early to say with certainty that you were born in Sym.” I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, but Taluon didn’t stop there. “But at the same time, it is also quite difficult to believe your words that you came from outside of the continent. Are you not a westerner hired by the Duke of Genos?”

“Hired by the duke? I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what you’re getting at.”

“I am asking if you were hired as a secret agent to win over the people of the forest’s edge. When we look at your actions from that perspective, a great many things seem to slide into place, Asuta.”

I still couldn’t comprehend what Taluon was suggesting at all. Actually, maybe I did understand, but my brain was refusing to accept it. This was an even wilder accusation than the last one.

“As I said before, the people of the forest’s edge have been the driving force behind all of the changes that have occurred in the last year. However, if one wanted to be more precise, one could make an even stronger case that everything that has happened has been the work of Kamyua Yoshu and you,” Taluon said, his grin growing wider. “Are you not a man brought in to grant the Duke of Genos control over the people of the forest’s edge? Because of the antipathy they have against nobles, the Duke of Genos sent you to their settlement to placate them... That was the start of everything, was it not?”

4

“You’re saying...I’m a spy sent by Duke Genos?” I couldn’t keep my voice from sounding hollow as I asked that. “You mean I made up my background, got accepted as a person of the forest’s edge, and used them to bring down the house of Turan?”

“Indeed. The Suun and Ruu clans of the forest’s edge had been in opposition to one another for a long time. You took advantage of that, making the Ruu your ally then and taking down the Suun in order to earn their complete trust. And with that, everything was finally in place to bring down the house of Turan,” Taluon said with a smile that made it look like he wouldn’t hurt a fly. “One might think that using a chef as a spy is a peculiar choice, but in actuality, your skills proved to be extremely useful for getting the people of the forest’s edge to open up to you. Thinking about it that way, it was a very astute decision.”

“But—!”

“Additionally, you formed ties with all of the people here in order to get them to play their part. The one exception is Bartha of Masara, who was brought here to Genos by Kamyua Yoshu, but that doesn’t change anything. After all, Kamyua Yoshu was in fact the ace up your sleeve for bringing down the Count of Turan.”

My heart was pounding so hard in my chest that it hurt.

Taluon continued triumphantly. “It may in fact be true that the house of Turan and the Suun clan committed serious crimes in the past. But the Duke of Genos made a clear effort to expose their actions in a way that would be highly effective at bringing down the house of Turan and allowing him to seize control over the other noble houses. And your mission was to bring the people of the forest’s edge into the Duke of Genos’s faction by removing the Suun clan at the same time, was it not, Asuta?”

“No, it wasn’t! I...!” I shouted, rising up from my seat without thinking, only for my arm to be grabbed from the side. When I turned to look, I found Ai Fa staring at me with a soft expression.

“Don’t allow yourself to become flustered. We have said nothing but the truth.”

There wasn’t so much as a single hint of doubt showing in her eyes. Thanks to her gentle gaze, I was able to slow my racing heart back down.

“I never imagined that you would hold such suspicions,” she then said to Taluon. “However, thinking back, Cyclaeus also said something similar.”

“Oh? The former Count of Turan suggested something along those lines as well?”

“Indeed. He asked if Kamyua Yoshu and Asuta had deceived Duke Genos and the people of the forest’s edge in order to bring down the house of Turan, which used slaves from the north. But he was well aware that he had committed factual crimes, so that was merely a false charge meant to throw off our pursuit,” Ai Fa said, a firm light in her eyes as she glared straight ahead at Taluon. “It is true that Asuta and Kamyua Yoshu both possess a strong ability to influence others, and I can see how that might invite suspicion... But allow me to say, you are completely and utterly mistaken.”

“Hmm. And can you prove that, Ai Fa?”

“You’re asking for proof? We all have a wealth of experience that tells us Asuta is not the cowardly, cruel person you described,” Ai Fa said, her tone perfectly calm. “You are overlooking the truth because of your desire to bring down Duke Genos. If Asuta had been in such a role, there is no way that I would have been the one he encountered first. He would have headed straight to the Ruu settlement instead.”

“But because of that, he was able to form ties with the Ruu through you.”

“My bond with the Ruu clan had been essentially severed at that point. Additionally, even at the forest’s edge, only a very few people knew about my relationship with them in the first place. I can see no reason for specifically selecting the Fa clan.”

“It is possible he intended to earn favor with the Ruu regardless of which clan accepted him first.”

Rather than flying into a rage, Ai Fa shot Taluon a pitying look. “Regardless, we are well aware of the truth. Asuta is dedicated to bringing happiness to others. Not a single person in the forest’s edge, the post town, or even the castle town doubts that fact. That is what I sincerely believe.”

“Hmph. Having to listen to the emotional words of a woman is truly intolerable,” Dregg said, speaking up after having allowed Taluon to take charge for a while. His drunken gaze was now aimed at me and Ai Fa. “No matter how long you prattle, it does nothing to change how suspicious this Asuta man is. You have fallen to being tools of the Duke of Genos without even realizing it. Mere pawns in a grand plot to make Genos independent with the backing of the Eastern Kingdom of Sym.”

“That assertion, raises one doubt, in my mind,” Shumiral calmly interjected, and Dregg turned toward him with a look of annoyance. “The new path, through the forest’s edge, shall greatly expand, business with Sym. You believe, that to be, a part of, this plot?”

“Naturally. The fact that an easterner suggested it only makes it all the more suspicious.”

“I see. But if Genos, were to become independent, it would no longer, be permitted to, do business with, other western territories, correct?” Shumiral calmly continued. “Additionally, if Sym helped Genos, to become independent, I believe, the people of Jagar, would abandon the town. If that happened, Genos would only, be able to do, business with Sym. Genos is, a prosperous land, but that would surely, cause it to decline.”

“Hmph. In that case, perhaps they intend to call themselves the eighth province of Sym?”

“You believe, they would, cast aside Selva, to become a part, of Sym? Do you think, it would bring Duke Genos, any joy, to become the feudal lord, of Genos instead?”

That was finally enough to make Dregg fall silent. Taluon’s smiling eyes, meanwhile, narrowed and became fixed on Shumiral.

“And even with, the new path, Sym is still, far away. It takes, a month and a half, to reach, by totos. But Jagar, is only, half a month, away by totos. Genos is, very close, to Jagar. If it, became Sym territory, Jagar would, surely try to invade.”

“I see... There may be some logic in what you say,” Taluon replied in a relaxed tone. “It is true that there are numerous obstacles in the way of Sym backing Genos. Of course, we cannot ignore the possibility that they have some sort of plan in mind to overcome that... Still, I suppose at present, that does not appear to be particularly realistic.”

Shumiral bowed, as if apologizing for speaking so much.

Taluon’s gaze shifted back to me and he continued, “However, whether or not Sym has provided the backing for such a venture, we cannot disregard the possibility that Genos is plotting to declare its independence. And even if that is not true, we must consider the idea that the Count of Turan being forced out of power was part of some kind of plot.”

“But the house of Turan really did commit crimes, so isn’t it only proper to judge them?” Ai Fa countered patiently.

“That is true,” Taluon said, wrinkles forming around his eyes. “At any rate, one great mystery remains before us: you, Asuta.”

“I know... I’m not hiding anything, but I do feel sorry for causing such a commotion.”

“Oh-ho. Kamyua Yoshu is also quite difficult to deal with, but we can at least confirm his background. He has mixed blood from Mahyudra and changed gods from the north to the west, which is quite rare, to be sure... But right now, he is undoubtedly a citizen of the west, and he is properly licensed as a bodyguard, so there is nothing to be particularly suspicious about on that front.”

“But for you, even your birthplace isn’t clear. If we could dig up your true identity, we would be able to determine what the Duke of Genos is thinking,” Dregg said, drinking from a fresh glass of fruit wine. “This has taken quite a while. We should limit the rest of the interrogation to just you.”

“Yes, we ask that the rest of you leave.”

Those words caused a stir to run through Bartha and the others, while Ai Fa’s eyes narrowed halfway.

“In that case, I ask to remain as the Fa clan head,” she said.

“That will not be necessary. Return to your settlement, Ai Fa.”

“I cannot leave without Asuta. If you will not allow me to stay with him, then I shall wait outside the door.”

“That is unnecessary as well. We do not know how many days this interrogation will take, after all.”

I gasped before I could stop myself.

Ai Fa’s still half-closed blue eyes took on a shine like that of a blade. “Hold on. Surely you do not mean that you intend to detain Asuta here in the castle town.”

“If he has nothing to hide, then there isn’t any need for concern. I promise you here and now that we would never subject an innocent man to whipping,” Taluon replied with a smile.

Ai Fa’s expression didn’t shift, and her eyes continued to burn intensely. “As the Fa clan head, I cannot accept that. If you intend to keep Asuta here in the castle town, I insist that you allow me to stay as well.”

“This is why I can’t stand having to deal with women who let their emotions get the better of them. We’re saying we have no further business with you, hunter woman of the forest’s edge,” Dregg said with a disparaging look, waving her off with his hand. “We’ll return him to your settlement once his identity has been made clear. Just behave yourself and pray that the man you’ve fallen for isn’t a despicable traitor.”

“I cannot abide by that order.” Ai Fa’s expression still remained unchanged, but the aura around her was growing ever more intense. Perhaps reacting to that, the lion dog rose after having been casually lying around all this time and started growling.

“Oh? You intend to defy us?” Dregg asked with an amused grin, grabbing ahold of the lion dog’s chain. “If you wish to show your true barbaric nature, that should be good for a bit of entertainment. But I will give you one last chance. Leave Asuta, and return to your settlement.”

“I refuse,” Ai Fa shot back, her blazing blue eyes fixed on the lion dog. “You should calm yourself as well. I have no intention of fighting a dog.”

The lion dog’s smushed snout furrowed, making it look awfully vicious as it growled. But Ai Fa kept her gaze firmly fixed on the beast, and before long it slowly crept back with its bushy tail tucked between its legs.

“Well, that certainly is a shock! To think you could even scare a lion dog! I suppose it’s time for the soldiers to play their part.”

The soldiers along the left and right walls stood as stiff as statues, awaiting orders.

Ai Fa’s fierce glare turned toward the observers. “Do you intend to arrest me as a criminal? If so, allow me to ask, what crime did I commit?”

“What are you saying? You just now defied our orders, did you not?”

“I am not beholden to your orders. I fall under the leading clan heads, and the one who rules over our people is Duke Genos.”

“Hmph. You realize that we are here as envoys of His Majesty the King, who is the Duke of Genos’s superior, do you not? Ignoring our orders is akin to ignoring the words of the king—a serious act of treason.”

“Then are you giving me the same orders, Duke Genos?” Ai Fa asked, glaring at Marstein with an intense look.

As he twisted his well-groomed mustache, Marstein smiled and said, “Hmm. Well, since it has come to this, I would like to ask one more question myself. Asuta of the Fa clan.”

“Y-Yes?”

“You spoke about your background in the past, when Cyclaeus was judged for his crimes. It has been quite some time since then, so do you have anything to add?”

“Not really... I suppose the only thing I can think of is that star readers have referred to me as a starless one.”

Arishuna was Duke Genos’s guest, so I figured it made sense to bring that up.

Taluon, who had been watching the proceedings with a smile, then furrowed his brow questioningly and repeated, “A starless one?”

After glancing over at him, Marstein casually smiled and said, “Star readers, you say? Though I consider their skills to be fine for a bit of entertainment, I do not place great weight on their words. So, when looking back, you haven’t noticed anything at all that you remembered incorrectly?”

“No, nothing.”

“Very well,” Marstein said with a nod. “In that case, I cannot see how anything could be gained from interrogating you further. You may return to the forest’s edge with your comrades.”

“What are you saying, Duke of Genos?! Our interrogation has not concluded!” Dregg interjected, his voice dripping with hate.

“Hmm?” Marstein questioned, turning his head toward the rude noble. “In that case, continue with your interrogation. I doubt they will complain, even if you continue until the dead of the night. But when you go to sleep, they should be allowed to return to the settlement at the forest’s edge.”

“How dare you! We are here as representatives of the king!”

“It is true that you came here to Genos as observers under His Majesty’s orders. But it is not as if the king has given you full authority, now is it? Or have you been granted some sort of special privileges that allow you to give orders even to me, the Duke of Genos?”

Dregg’s bloodshot eyes glared at Marstein.

“Oho,” Taluon laughed in an unnatural manner. “It is true that we are not in a position to give you orders, Duke of Genos. However, we are simply attempting to do everything we can to carry out our duty as observers. Why is it that you are so opposed to Asuta being held in the castle town?”

“Because I am the lord of Genos. It is only natural for a lord to protect the peace and tranquility of his people.”

“Are you implying that we would use unjust methods to torture Asuta?”

Taluon and Marstein both wore perfectly calm smiles. It sort of felt like I was looking at an old tanuki and a crafty fox staring one another down.

“I do not believe that you would commit such cruel acts, no. The people I refer to are those that live in the post town and at the forest’s edge.”

“And what do you mean by that?”

“If Asuta were to be held for multiple days in the castle town, it would disturb the peace of those people. Put simply, a great many of them may well storm the gates, just as they did when Lady Lefreya of the house of Turan abducted him,” Marstein said, his smile taking on a look of amusement. “I was not able to see it for myself, but there was quite a commotion that night, was there not?”

“Indeed. From what I am told, roughly a hundred citizens marched on the gates,” Melfried replied, speaking up for the first time.

“A hundred, you say?” Marstein repeated with a solemn nod. “And this time it would be far worse. Those who have formed bonds with Asuta will storm the gates, filled with anger. There could be several hundred of them, or even a thousand.”

“Are you saying you are allowing your logic to be twisted out of fear of such anger?”

“If it were a matter of logic, my people would not be angered in the first place. I am saying that because there is no logic to be found in this situation, you cannot act in such an unjust manner,” Marstein replied, remaining perfectly calm. “The logic of the kingdom states that if Asuta is suspected of having committed a crime, he should be detained for interrogation. But at present, he is not under any such suspicion, correct? Even if you were to assume that he was my spy, I would be the one at fault. Asuta himself would not have committed any crimes.”

“Ah, but...”

“Allow me to clearly state that the peace of Genos is linked to the welfare of the kingdom as a whole. It seems you do not realize that fact,” Marstein said with a dramatic shrug. “You are trying to confine Asuta based on unsubstantiated suspicions. I would like you to consider who my people would be angry at if they were to learn about that. Naturally, a fair number would scorn me for being a worthless ruler, but above all, they would burn with rage at you observers from the capital for treating him in such a way. You say you wish to quell fears about Genos rebelling, but through your actions, you risk making an enemy of my people yourselves.”

“I see... So you have no intention of following our orders, no matter what?” Dregg asked, an unsettling light shining in his eyes.

Marstein calmly stared back at him and said, “I wish to do everything in my power to clear the suspicion that has been directed at me. I trust that eventually you will come to see the truth as well, Sir Dregg.”

Dregg shot to his feet and kicked his chair back, a smile brimming with hostility stretching across his face. “I see how you do things. Just know that we’ll take any measures necessary to arrive at the truth.”

“I eagerly await the day that you are able to see it.”

After shooting one more glare at us, Dregg stomped off past the curtain, dragging the lion dog after him.

At that point, Taluon let out another “Oho” and stood up as well. “In that case, I shall excuse myself as well. I very much look forward to seeing what sort of truths you have been hiding.”

“The truth has been shown to you clearly. All that remains is for you to see that we have hidden nothing.”

After bowing politely to the room, Taluon followed after Dregg.

Marstein then turned toward us and said, “Now then, you should all return to the place where you belong before they change their minds. And my apologies for all the trouble today.”

Though we were more than a little out of sorts after all of that, there really wasn’t anything for us to do except to follow Marstein’s suggestion.

As soon as we stepped out the door, we found some familiar figures standing there next to Donda Ruu and Dan Rutim.

One of them, Polarth, let out a loud “Ah!” and ran right over to us. “That was surprisingly quick! We were just sharing some information with Sir Donda Ruu and Sir Dan Rutim!” he explained. Standing next to him was Kamyua Yoshu.

With his usual aloof look, the bodyguard raised his hand and said, “Good work, everyone.”

“What are the two of you doing here?” I asked.

“As I said, we were telling these two fine gentlemen about the current state of affairs! It seems Duke Genos has at last made up his mind after all!” Polarth said, a big smile stretching across his plump face. “He summoned me to speak with him this morning. During our meeting, he told me that he wished to find the best path forward for all of his people, those of the forest’s edge included, and asked me for my aid. Up until this morning, I had no idea what he might be planning to do, so I was quite anxious. But now, I can carry out my duty to the fullest without concern!”

“Your duty?”

“Indeed. It is my job to assist in external affairs and in mediation with the people of the forest’s edge! I shall do all that I can in order to clear away these unjustified suspicions our visitors from the capital are burdened with!” Polarth said. It felt like his smile was clearing away the gloom that had been lingering in the air.

Behind him, Dan Rutim gave a hearty laugh. “I can’t say I completely get it, but it sounds like the lord of Genos is trying to do his job properly! I’m just glad he’s not rotten like that lot from the Suun clan!”

“Agreed. I feel as if I’m finally able to truly accept Duke Genos as the lord of this land,” Ai Fa chimed in.

Judging from the looks on everyone else’s faces, it seemed like they were relaxing a bit too.

I shot Ai Fa a smile. “I was really anxious about what might end up happening back there, but you kept your calm the whole time, Ai Fa.”

“Indeed, though I could feel an intense anger boiling up inside me the entire time,” Ai Fa replied with an adorable frown. “The duke and his son should not have hidden their intentions so thoroughly. I wasn’t able to tell if they were our enemies or our allies until we were well into the meeting.”

“Yeah. But maybe they were keeping quiet because they trusted us, you know?” I suggested.

As we chatted, Kamyua Yoshu had been creeping closer to us, until he finally spoke. “At any rate, it seems you’ve managed to break through their first siege. Let’s all do our best so we can see those observers off with smiles in the end.”

“That sounds like a pretty ambitious goal,” I said. “By the way, they accused me of being Marstein’s spy during the interrogation. Did you know they were going to do that, Kamyua?”

“Yes, of course I did. They asked me if I found you in some town under Duke Genos’s orders a while back. But I didn’t think it was necessary to give you that information in advance, so I didn’t say anything.”

Ai Fa frowned, looking very displeased, but I just smiled.

“I’m sure you and Marstein had similar thoughts on that,” I said.

“You may be right,” Kamyua Yoshu replied, his already drooping eyebrows drifting further down as he gave a satisfied smile. “Well then, I suppose it’s about time for me to excuse myself. I have business in the post town, though, so why don’t we go together?”

“Hmph. You’ve got a look on your face like you’re plotting again,” Donda Ruu said as he approached as well. “I want you to be open and honest about everything now. Don’t forget that one of the leading clan heads has an even shorter temper than I do, Kamyua Yoshu.”

“Right, Gulaf Zaza of the Zaza clan. Don’t worry. Now that Duke Genos has made up his mind, there’s nothing to worry about. All we have to do is stick together, and we’ll get through this just fine,” Kamyua Yoshu said, as bright and cheerful as always. However, the shine in his purple eyes was strangely glassy. They looked like they belonged to someone who was very old. “The bonds holding Genos together are much stronger than they were before. If all the groups who live here join together, you people of the forest’s edge included, I’m sure that overcoming this problem will be no issue at all. I’m a total outsider myself, but I intend to use what little strength I have for the sake of my friends here in Genos.”

“Hmph,” Donda Ruu snorted before turning back toward me and Ai Fa. “I was waiting to hear a grass whistle the whole time, but it seems like you managed to keep your temper under control after all.”

“Hmm? Why do you say that?”

“You had to listen to their ridiculous ideas about Asuta being Duke Genos’s underling, didn’t you? I’m impressed that you were able to keep your anger in check,” Donda Ruu said with a wild, beastly grin. It sounded like he must have been feeling really angry too. “Those nobles from the capital don’t understand us at all if they think they can order our people to cast aside the forest and our clan names.”

“Hmm. They did say something that suggested that doing so was one of their aims,” Ai Fa said with an intense frown.

“Ah, yes, indeed,” Polarth interjected with a smile. “Duke Genos has been putting off making a decision about that, reasoning that if he gave such an order, the people of the forest’s edge would undoubtedly leave Genos and move elsewhere. As Sir Donda Ruu said, they truly do not understand the people of the forest’s edge in the least.”

“Even so, it’s not like we can afford to draw our blades on them. We’ll just have to give everything we’ve got to make sure they leave here nice and peacefully,” Kamyua Yoshu added.

Donda Ruu shot him an intense glare. “Hey, you’re not planning on hiding things from us and sneaking around all on your own again, are you?”

“Perish the thought. This time around, our goal is nice and clear right from the start, so it’s important to work together properly.”

“In that case, I will ask you to tell me exactly what you’re planning. After we’ve left the castle town and returned to our own wagon, that is,” Donda Ruu said with a swish of his cloak. “We’re returning to the forest’s edge. Don’t let your guards down until we’re past the gates.”

Once everyone had gotten their swords and cloaks back, we departed immediately, with Donda Ruu at the front of our group. Naturally, I stayed very close to Ai Fa’s side as we walked. I felt like I really needed to make full use of what little strength I had so that I would be able to remain as one of them. Sure, my power probably didn’t amount to much compared to what Kamyua Yoshu was capable of, but I had no intention of letting that deter me.

Ai Fa, Donda Ruu, and Dan Rutim didn’t seem to believe that stuff about me being Marstein’s underling for one second. That really wasn’t surprising at all, but it still filled me with joy. I just hoped that we would be able to get those nobles from the capital to see how pure, earnest, and proud the people of the forest’s edge truly were. That was all I could think about as I walked down the stone hallway alongside my precious comrades.

Intermezzo: Behind the Scenes on the Day of the Interrogation

On the day that Asuta and the others were summoned by the observers from the capital, Yun Sudra and the other chefs took charge of the Fa clan’s stalls while he was away, a task that Yun Sudra and Toor Deen had specifically been asked to handle. This was the second time Yun Sudra had done so, after she and Toor Deen had taken on this role back when Asuta had been suffering from Amusehorn’s Breath during the rainy season.

For Yun Sudra, that had been quite a struggle, especially when it came to the preparations that needed to be done in advance. That part of the job had been a lot harder for her than the direct business operations. After all, she’d had to purchase the necessary ingredients and make sure that most of the prep work would be completed the day before, then handle the final preparations on the morning of. On top of that, the job had required her to take command of a bunch of women she wasn’t even related to, all while she’d been working just as hard herself.

However, this time around, she didn’t have to deal with that specific problem. Asuta and the rest of the people who had been summoned had left before the sun hit its peak, and he had finished up all of the preparations before departing. All Yun Sudra and the others needed to do was handle things at the stalls, which was not particularly difficult.

Because of that, all Yun Sudra could think about was the safety of the group that had gone to the castle town. Would the observers from the capital allow Asuta to live his life freely? More than anything else, that was the question that was really weighing on her.

If they decide to consider Asuta to be a criminal, what in the world are we going to do? Yun Sudra thought to herself, her chest feeling as heavy as stone. The other women must have had similar concerns. Toor Deen in particular was quite delicate, and she looked even more worried than Yun Sudra.

However, everyone was pushing their concerns into the back of their minds so they could focus on their work at the stalls. Asuta had entrusted them with this task while he was away, so they couldn’t afford to mess up. The chef from overseas had done so much to save the people of the forest’s edge, so at times like this, they needed to give everything they had to try to repay that debt.

It was rather difficult to tell what Yamiru Lea and Lili Ravitz were thinking, but the Ratsu woman who was older than Asuta and the Matua girl who was the second youngest after Toor Deen seemed more driven than ever. Fei Beim, who had always been the most serious out of all of them, was working with such ardor that she looked like she was about to head off into battle. And of course, the same was true of the Ruu clan members such as Lala Ruu.

A bunch of other people have put in a lot of work to get us to this point too.

The folks from The Kimyuus’s Tail where the people of the forest’s edge rented their stalls from and Dora and Tara who sold them vegetables had been extremely worried about Asuta too. Today also happened to be a day when they delivered fresh meat to the inns, and all of the people they had interacted with while doing so had been quite concerned as well.

“We spent a good amount of time talking to Yumi from The Westerly Wind, Naudis from The Great Southern Tree, and Nail from The Sledgehammer,” Fei Beim had informed Yun Sudra, as she was the one who had taken care of the deliveries. The summons for Asuta’s interrogation had come so abruptly that it would’ve been impossible for their friends to not be worried.

Yun Sudra and the others had also heard just how arrogant those observers from the capital were. One of them had even fed Asuta’s cooking to his dog after demanding that Asuta prepare a dinner for him. When Yun Sudra had learned about that this morning, she had almost been blinded by the rage and anguish she felt.

But the townsfolk are worried about Asuta even without knowing any of that.

Seeing their concern actually soothed Yun Sudra’s anxiousness a bit. It was proof of how deep the ties Asuta had formed around town over the last year truly were, and that naturally made her feel so much happier.

“Look! It’s Asuta and the others!” the Matua girl called out a little over half an hour after they had opened for business.

Yun Sudra looked to the south in a fluster, where she saw two wagons approaching on the road. The former Rutim clan head was in front of the wagons holding the reins of one of the totos, and Asuta’s head was peeking out from behind the driver’s seat.

The Matua girl was leaning forward and waving, and Asuta raised his hand a bit with a smile. Yun Sudra bowed toward him, feeling her chest tensing up. The two wagons continued up the road without stopping.

A few moments later, the vegetable seller Dora and his daughter Tara appeared.

“Hello, everyone. I take it they’re on their way now,” Dora said.

“Ah, welcome. Sorry for taking up your time earlier when you were working,” Yun Sudra replied.

“Don’t be silly. You’re the ones who’re busy, and you still went out of your way to inform us of what was going on. I’m incredibly grateful,” Dora insisted with a fearless smile. “The situation really is quite troublesome, though. Given what’s happening today, we won’t be returning to the Daleim lands until we see that they’ve made it back safe and sound.”

“Thank you. But we don’t know when the interrogation will be finished. Depending on how things go, it could continue until late in the evening.”

“If that’s how long it takes, then that’s how long we’ll be here. After all, if the observers don’t let them leave, we’ll have to march on the gates again.” Dora was always so cheerful, and today his words felt wonderfully reassuring.

“When Asuta was abducted by Lefreya, you and a bunch of other people went to the castle town’s gates on the day when Ai Fa went to rescue him, right? I heard about that from my clan head after it happened.”

“Hmm? There were a lot of people of the forest’s edge there that day, but you weren’t one of them, Yun Sudra?”

“I wasn’t. I actually didn’t know Asuta at the time. Li was the only person from the Sudra clan who was working here at the stalls back then, and I didn’t replace her until two months later.”

“Ah, you’re right! I feel like I’ve known you for such a long time, so I must’ve convinced myself that you had to have been there with us then!” Dora remarked with a loud laugh.

Tara smiled earnestly too as she tightly gripped her father’s hand.

“Well, let’s just pray that things don’t end up being such a mess this time around!” he continued. “But if it comes to it, I’m prepared to run all over the Daleim lands to call on as many people as I can! They enjoyed celebrating the revival festival with us, so I’m certain I can get ten or twenty of them to come help!”

“Thank you. I will also be praying that doesn’t happen, but I very much appreciate you saying so.”

“Of course! Asuta’s helped us out a lot!”

Dora then ordered some food and headed off into the restaurant space with Tara.

Not long after, the construction group arrived. When Yun Sudra tried to explain what was going on, the leader of the group, Balan, swiftly interjected.

“We’ve already heard. Asuta and a bunch of others got called to the castle town, right? What a hassle, having to deal with that nonsense two days in a row.”

“Huh? Where did you hear that from?”

“You really have to ask? There are rumors all over town. When we were repairing a roof earlier, the folks below us were discussing it really loudly the whole time.”

The people of the forest’s edge had only informed those who they were close to about what was happening, but in less than an hour, the news had already spread throughout the post town.

“And this time, it’s a proper interrogation too,” Balan continued. “Well, it’s not like they have anything to hide, so they’ve just gotta face it head-on. Even nobles from the capital can’t find smoke where there isn’t fire.”

“Yes, I certainly hope that’s true.”

“Don’t worry. Even if they try to block access to the castle town by pulling up the drawbridge, we can build a new one in no time,” Balan said, his green eyes shining brightly.

Beside him, Aldas broke out in an amused smile. “Don’t go saying wild stuff like that, Pops. If you get arrested here in the west, you’ll never get to see your family again.”

“Hmph. Are you saying we should just twiddle our thumbs and wait around?”

“Ha ha, if it comes down to it, then you can pin all of the crimes on me. It’s not like I have any family to grieve for me, after all.”

Aldas’s smile was even brighter than Dora’s had been. However, there seemed to be some serious emotions behind his words.

“Thank you,” Yun Sudra replied. “Still, please take care not to stray from the proper path. On the off chance that something does happen to Asuta, I’m sure the leading clan heads will come up with a plan to get him back.”

“Now look, you’ve gone and made this young lady from the forest’s edge worry,” Aldas said. “You always look way too serious with that face you’ve got, Pops, so you’ve got to watch your words.”

“Hmph. I can’t see how you’re qualified to say anything about my looks.”

With that, the construction group also headed over to the restaurant space in a lively manner.

As she watched them go, the Matua girl sighed heavily. “Those people are truly worried about Asuta’s safety too, aren’t they? That’s really reassuring, somehow.”

“Yes, I feel that way too.”

It had only been a few days since the two of them had first met the construction group. After all, when the southerners had visited Genos the previous year, the only women assisting Asuta at the stalls had been Li Sudra and the members and subordinates of the Ruu clan. Apparently, the visitors had returned to their homeland after just around a month, but they had formed a very strong bond with Asuta in that time.

With this many people worrying about him, I’m sure he’ll be fine. Our mother forest, the western god Dora and his people follow, and the southern god Balan and the rest of his group treat as their father... I’m sure they will grant the wishes of their children.

With that, Yun Sudra resolved herself even further as she continued with her work.

A short time later, Yumi and some other young folks from around the post town dropped by and managed to cheer up Yun Sudra and the women working at the stalls in their own ways. Even people who she didn’t know at all asked if Asuta was okay.

Time steadily passed by like that, and around when they were about to wrap up for the day, the Matua girl loudly called out again, “Ah! Look there! Those are the wagons from the forest’s edge! They’re back!”

Once more, Yun Sudra hurriedly looked around and saw two wagons, this time approaching from the north. When they entered the town, the former Rutim clan head got down from the driver’s seat of one of them.

Then, a number of other people got out of the wagons too, and one of them was unmistakably Asuta.

“Hey there. Looks like we managed to make it back before you finished up here,” Asuta said with a smile, circling around behind the stalls with Ai Fa. The two wagons moved around to the back of the stalls as well. “Since we’re here, I figured we could all return together. And I feel like helping out a bit too.”

“Of course! I’m surprised you’re back so soon! I thought for sure that we’d be done before you returned!” the Matua girl said with a beaming smile.

“Oh yeah?” Asuta replied with a grin of his own. “After talking for two whole hours, we’re pretty exhausted. But I’m sure it must have been even worse for all of you, considering how much work you’ve had to do here. Thanks so much for everything today. I’ll at least help wash some plates to save some time.”

“Ah, no, I’m sure what you went through was much harder, Asuta! I’m so glad you made it back safely!”

Yamiru Lea then gave Toor Deen a gentle push on the back, prompting the young girl to walk over to Asuta. “Asuta...I’m really glad you’re okay,” she said with tears in her eyes. However, she also had a bright, innocent smile on her face.

“Thanks. And sorry for worrying you, Toor Deen,” Asuta replied with a smile full of kindness, which caused the tears to start streaming down Toor Deen’s cheeks.

Fei Beim, the Ratsu woman, Lala Ruu, and everyone else then expressed their relief too.

After politely responding to each of them, Asuta finally turned toward Yun Sudra. “It looks like you’ve done a really good job here. I was able to make it back okay with everyone’s help. Thank you so much for handling the stalls in the meantime. I mean it.”

Asuta had grown a lot more steadfast since Yun Sudra had first met him. His face still looked as gentle and bright as always, but now those qualities were backed up by a manly resoluteness. And when he smiled at Yun Sudra, she felt tears welling up in her eyes so quickly that she couldn’t possibly hold them back.

“Welcome back, Asuta. I knew that you would make it back safely.”

And so, Yun Sudra and the others continued to show their gratitude for the return of their precious comrade, Asuta of the Fa clan, and resolved to face the threat of the observers from the capital.

Group Performance: The Bond Between the Post Town and the Forest’s Edge

1

It was a few days before the group from the capital would arrive in Genos...

“Ah, there you are. What are you doing all the way back here?”

When he heard that, Milano Mas turned around. Currently, he was behind The Kimyuus’s Tail, the inn he managed in the post town. And when he looked to see who had spoken, he noticed a group of familiar innkeepers standing there.

“What I do at my home is my business and my business alone. More importantly, what are you lot doing here?”

“Well, we had a bit of something we wanted to discuss with you.”

Milano Mas was in the middle of handling some repairs on his storehouse. Once the green month rolled around, a construction group from Jagar would show up, and he’d be able to leave the big repairs to them, but he figured he would handle what he could before then. As he wiped down his face with a handcloth, Milano Mas glanced around at the group of innkeepers.

“I don’t know what you’re here for, but this is quite the lineup. Things must not be too busy at your inns, huh?”

“Everybody heads out at this hour, so it’s not a big concern. Isn’t that why you’re back here playing at being a carpenter right now?”

“Hmph. It’s because I can’t afford to waste coins.”

There were three innkeepers in the group that had come to meet him. It was definitely unusual for them to gather like this outside of an inn meeting. They clearly had something important to ask.

“So, what is it you want to discuss? We can sit down in the dining hall if you’d like.”

“Nah, talking about it here should be fine. Honestly, we don’t really want people to overhear this.”

“The folks staying at my place are all out buying food from stalls too. This doesn’t exactly feel like it’s going to be a nice peaceful chat. Do you have some sort of issue with how I do business?” Milano Mas asked with a glare.

“Ah, no,” one of the innkeepers replied with a wave of his hand. “We don’t have any issues with you. We just have something to consult with you about. It has to do with giba meat.”

“Giba meat? If you want giba meat, you should head to the market. It’s about time for some fresh stock to be sold.”

“No, we already got ahold of some. All of us did.”

“All of you?” Milano Mas repeated with a raised eyebrow. “From what I’ve heard, only four inns managed to buy giba meat. So what you’re saying is that you represent three of them?”

“Yes, the only one who isn’t here is Granny Jizeh of The Ramuria Coil. She’s famed for her cooking, so she managed to make fine meals with giba meat all on her own.”

“Hmph. So you’re saying you’ve been suffering because you can’t make fine meals with it?”

“That’s right,” one of the innkeepers said with his shoulders slumped in shame.

“Giba meat’s supposed to be good even if you only grill or boil it by itself, right? I never expected to have so much trouble with it.”

“You know, I had a bit of confidence in my cooking too. I know I’m not as good as Granny Jizeh or Naudis, but still.”

“Yeah, it’s not going well at all.”

The strength seemed to drain from all three of the innkeepers at the same time, causing Milano Mas to tilt his head without meaning to.

“You’re really doing that poorly? At the very least, you should be able to make better dishes than you can with skinless kimyuus or karon leg meat.”

“That’s not good enough. Ever since all those new ingredients started showing up in the markets, folks have started saying our kimyuus and karon dishes are pretty good. But we just can’t seem to figure out how to cook with giba.”

“Why’s that? I really don’t see what the problem is.”

“Well, y’know, the stalls run by the people of the forest’s edge and the inns that have been buying giba meat all this time put out really great dishes. Because of that, our customers always compare us to them, so even if we make something that’s just as good as our kimyuus and karon dishes, they still end up disappointed,” an innkeeper replied with a brooding look. “On top of that, giba meat is more expensive, so the dishes cost more too. People’ve been making a big fuss about that.”

“Yeah. We got orders for giba dishes the first two or three days, but they dried up after that.”

“We’ve only got customers asking for kimyuus and karon dishes at our place too. Anyone who wants to eat giba either goes to your inn or The Great Southern Tree,” the youngest of the group chimed in, looking like he was about to break down sobbing. “At this rate, the giba meat we’re preserving in salt will all go bad. We were lucky enough to get a good bit of it, so this feels like a total letdown.”

“Yeah. If that happens, my wife’ll give me a real kick in the rear for sure.”

“So could you do something to help us out?”

“Help you out?” Milano Mas repeated, raising an eyebrow again. “What’re you asking for, exactly? You’re not asking me to teach you how to make the giba dishes we serve, right?”

The innkeepers all looked dejected and fell silent.

“I can’t believe you lot. How does you coming here make any sense at all? We may be drinking buddies, sure, but before that, we’re businessmen. I mean, I struggled with cooking in the past, but it’s not like I ever tried to rely on you because of that.”

“Yes, that’s true... B-But you had Asuta teach you, so now you’re able to make all sorts of dishes, right?”

“That’s why I’m telling you, you’re begging the wrong guy here. If you want lessons, ask Asuta. I’m sure he’d gladly teach you.”

“You think so?” one of the owners asked, his eyebrows drooping. “He just gave a lesson on dessert making a little while ago. Wouldn’t it be a bit much to ask him to teach us again this soon?”

“Asking your business rival for lessons instead is worse! Besides, did you really think I would teach other people what Asuta taught me just like that?!”

The group of innkeepers looked even more dejected. As Milano Mas stared at their pathetic faces, a different thought came to mind.

“I really don’t get it. Do you dislike the thought of ending up in Asuta’s debt or something?”

“That’s not it. If anything, it’s the opposite. We used to hate the people of the forest’s edge, so it feels kinda shameless to ask one of them for help.”

“Hmph. You know that I hated them more than anyone, don’t you?”

“But you’ve been giving Asuta your help for as long as you’ve known him. Back during that whole commotion with the criminals from the forest’s edge, you put yourself on the line to protect him.”

“That’s right,” another owner chimed in. “I even yelled at you about how you were renting out stalls to them. You remember that too, don’t you?”

“You’re dredging up a really old story there. Do you think me and Asuta care about that at all? Besides, I’d say you settled everything when you apologized back at the inn meeting anyway.”

“Even so, it would be a bad look for us if we keep imposing on Asuta, right?” another innkeeper said with a deep sigh. “You helped him without looking for anything in return, so it’s no surprise that he would feel grateful and give you cooking lessons. But that’s not the case for us.”

“Yeah. Anybody who found out would think we were only changing our tune out of pure greed.”

“And we were some of the people who were pestering him to sell giba meat in the first place, only for things to end up like this. I feel seriously pathetic.”

Milano Mas felt very conflicted. “I get what you’re saying, but that doesn’t mean it suddenly makes sense to ask me of all people for lessons. If giba meat stops selling because of issues like this, Asuta and his people will lose out on a lot of money, so shouldn’t you consult with them first?”

“Ah, but—”

“No buts. A group of grown men like you shouldn’t stand around whining about your problems. Asuta and his people should be stopping by soon to return their stalls, so get yourselves ready to bow and ask for his help,” Milano Mas shot back before returning to his own work.

The people of the forest’s edge eventually returned around half an hour later. In the meantime, the innkeepers had kept on arguing back and forth in the same spot, but it seemed like they were finally able to make up their minds in the end. They decided to consult with the young chef.

“Huh? That’s a serious issue! Okay, let’s try to come up with a plan,” Asuta said as soon as he heard what was going on.

The innkeepers, on the other hand, were all fidgety like nervous little girls.

“I-I can’t help but feel sorry. We never expected our sales would be this poor.”

“Ah, no, it’s my fault for not thinking things through. I should have been able to guess that this would be a problem in advance,” Asuta said with a smile. “I’ll talk with Tapas from Tanto’s Blessing before heading back to the forest’s edge and ask if we can borrow his kitchen for a study session like we did with the desserts.”

“B-But you know, this is just a selfish request on our part, so you won’t earn anything from it. Ah, but of course we’ll pay you for your time.”

“Oh no, you don’t need to do that. If this leads to more giba meat selling, that will mean more profits on our end. Please, don’t worry about it.”

“That’s right,” Reina Ruu chimed in from beside Asuta with a nod and a serious look on her face. “If giba meat stops selling because of this, a lot of work would go to waste. It’s essential that we don’t let that happen.”

It looked like things were really coming together. The three innkeepers went ahead and departed, looking incredibly grateful as they left.

As he watched them go, Asuta sighed and called out to Milano Mas, “It’s a good thing that they came to us so quickly. Giba dishes cost more, so it’s no surprise that customers have higher expectations for them.”

“Hmph. It’s only natural when you lot have been selling so much exceptional giba cooking. Looking at it from that perspective, this is a problem you basically made for yourselves.”

“Ah ha ha. Well, I’m still glad if it means that people are going to keep trying to find better and better giba dishes,” Asuta said with an earnest smile. “I’m also happy that we were able to talk with those innkeepers so freely. It feels like a dream, considering how rough things used to be between us.”

“That’s the result of you sticking with your business despite all the pushback you got.”

“Yeah. And because you didn’t abandon me back when things were at their worst,” Asuta said, bowing to Milano Mas. “Anyway, I’ll go talk with Tapas. And I’ll be seeing you again tomorrow, Milano Mas.”

“Sure. Just make sure you don’t let any outlaws catch you.”

With that, Asuta and the rest of the group from the forest’s edge departed.

As he watched them leave, Milano Mas grumbled to no one in particular, “Good grief...”

They really should’ve just talked to Asuta from the start, he thought as he picked up a saw to cut a board. As he did, an indescribable sense of satisfaction welled up inside of him.

2

It had been ten whole years now since Milano Mas’s wife had passed away. She hadn’t exactly been a healthy and robust person to begin with, but after losing her older brother, the only family she’d had aside from Milano Mas and their daughter, she had suddenly grown weaker and had become chronically ill.

The people of the forest’s edge had killed his wife’s brother, and now he knew precisely who among them had been responsible: the criminals from the former leading Suun clan.

His wife’s brother had been the second-in-command of a large merchant group, and had made a proposal to clear a new path through the forest at the foot of Mount Morga to make trade with Sym easier. Milano Mas had never left Genos himself so he didn’t really get what the big deal was, but apparently the forest at the foot of the mountain was so vast that having to go around it to reach Sym was kind of a problem. That was why the man had suggested cutting through the forest instead. After getting approval from the nobles in the castle town and hiring some people of the forest’s edge, the plan had been for him to travel the proposed path to see how safe it was.

His attempt had resulted in him losing his life, though. At the time, the criminals of the Suun, following the instructions of certain nobles in Genos, had been attacking travelers and merchants on a regular basis. Asking that lot for help had been no different than shoving their own heads into the mouth of a starving beast.

In the end, the merchant group had been wiped out entirely. Officially, they had been attacked by giba in the forest of Morga, but those criminals were the ones who had driven them all to their deaths.

After her brother had been taken from them, Milano Mas’s wife had followed soon after from the despair she felt. And there had been another person who had perished as well: the wife of the head of the merchant group. That woman had been with child, and she had given birth while lamenting the loss of her husband, only to die right after.

Milano Mas hadn’t been particularly close to her, but there had only been old people left in her family. It had not been a good environment for raising a child, so Milano Mas had taken the boy in. He had seen his own wife in that woman who had perished due to the loss she felt, and he hadn’t been able to stop himself from wanting to get involved.

Milano Mas had just lost his wife, and his daughter Telia Mas had still been young, but he’d had some close acquaintances nearby to help out with the inn. When it came to raising the baby, he’d selected those he was the closest to for that. That was the boy who would later become Kamyua Yoshu’s apprentice, Leito.

He was always smiling, but I’m sure he was keeping a lot of difficult feelings inside.

A little over ten years later, the criminals from the forest’s edge and the castle town finally faced judgment, and it had been none other than that wanderer Kamyua Yoshu who had helped make that a reality. Though he hadn’t said a word to Milano Mas about it, the man had put a lot of effort into seeing that goal to fruition. And apparently, Leito had been helping him.

Leito had become Kamyua Yoshu’s apprentice roughly three years ago now. He was currently twelve, but at nine years old, he had decided it was his fate to train under the strange bodyguard. All the boy had said on the matter was that he wanted to see more of the world, but it was hard to imagine that he had left the home where he was born and raised for such a vague reason. Bodyguards were people who cleared their own path forward based solely on their skill with a blade. Leito must have wanted the strength to be able to do that too.

On top of that, Kamyua Yoshu had been gathering information about the people of the forest’s edge at the time. That must have been what had led to Leito being drawn to him. Leito had been seeking power in order to swing the blade of judgment down upon the criminals who had killed his father and hadn’t faced any punishment for their crimes. At least, that was how Milano Mas saw it.

Meanwhile, Milano Mas had spent ten whole years doing nothing at all. He had insisted that his wife’s brother dying with a hunter’s necklace in his grasp was proof that the merchants had been attacked by the people of the forest’s edge, not by giba, but that had done nothing to spur the guards to action.

Of course, since there had been nobles from the castle town giving the criminals their backing, that was only natural. In those days, the people of the forest’s edge hadn’t been punished even when they caused trouble right in the middle of the post town. There had also been rumors of them attacking other merchants, but in the end, the heroic outlaws known as the Red Beards had been executed in their place.

Milano Mas’s wife hadn’t lost her will to live solely because of the loss of her brother. No, she had despaired at the world that had let her brother’s killers run free without facing judgment.

Nobles were supposed to serve as representatives for the gods. The kingdom of Selva took its name from the western god, in fact. It was said that the king of Selva was an exalted figure chosen by the god, and nobles were those the king approved of as being fit to rule. If one considered the god Selva to be an absolute presence, then so were the king and nobles in turn. Commoners had no way of fighting back against nobles, so if the nobles pardoned the acts of criminals, it was an undeniable fact that no one would be able to pass judgment on them.

And so, there had been nothing Milano Mas could do. After losing his wife and taking in an infant, his only option had been to do his best to keep on living. A muddy, burning hot feeling of anger had been his constant companion, directed at the criminals of the forest’s edge and the nobles who had looked the other way on their crimes. Then, after ten long years, he had encountered a strange young man calling himself a person of the forest’s edge: Asuta of the Fa clan.

Asuta was truly unusual. He looked like a westerner in terms of appearance. Sure, his black hair and eyes were a bit rare, but it wasn’t like they were unheard of by any means. And in a place like Genos where people from many different regions gathered, there were plenty of other folks who looked much stranger.

But later on, he had heard that Asuta had apparently come from outside of the continent. Supposedly, he had woken up in the forest of Morga with no clue how he’d ended up there. Of course, Genos was in the middle of the continent, so there was no way that could be true. After all, it supposedly took over a month to go from the ocean to Genos. If you traveled without a wagon and switched to a fresh totos as you went town to town, you could maybe cut that travel time in half, but that didn’t sound like it was the case for Asuta.

“I really have no idea how it happened either,” Asuta had said. And whenever he spoke about his home country or his past, he always smiled with a deep sadness in his eyes. He didn’t know how he’d gotten here, so he had no clue how to get back. That was why Asuta had made up his mind to live at the settlement at the forest’s edge.

Still, I’m sure that Asuta showed up at the forest’s edge because that was where he was meant to be, Milano Mas had thought. The people of the forest’s edge never opened their hearts to outsiders, but they had done so for him. And now, he was even doing business in the post town. Even the criminals from the forest’s edge and the castle town being brought to justice surely never would have happened without his efforts.

And now, those people of the forest’s edge he had despised so very much were forming proper bonds with the citizens of the post town. It felt like a miracle brought about by Asuta’s appearance, which was something no one could have predicted a year or so back.

It wasn’t just thanks to Asuta, though. It happened because Kamyua Yoshu, Leito, the people of the forest’s edge, and the nobles of Genos all worked together to ensure that it would.

Even so, Asuta had been a key figure in forming bonds between the people of Genos and the forest’s edge. Milano Mas didn’t doubt that fact in the least.

3

“Ah, dad, did you finish repairing the storehouse?”

When Milano Mas returned to the inn, he found his daughter Telia Mas alone in the kitchen. Of course, with the sweet smell of karon milk and milk fat filling the air, he didn’t need to ask what she was up to.

“Making desserts again, huh? You sure are putting a lot of effort into that.”

“Yeah. Asuta and the others went out of their way to give us lessons, so I have to figure out how to make this work,” Telia Mas replied with a smile as she wiped her hands on her apron. The girl was timid and shy, but she had been smiling a lot more lately.

Had the thought of her mother’s regrets being washed away caused her to change? The fact that the lord of Genos had shown he was willing to harshly judge any criminals no matter who they might be had definitely been a huge relief to everyone living in the region too.

“This batch seems to have turned out pretty well. What do you think?” Telia Mas asked as she held out a plate with a few small dumplings on it.

“Hmm. So you rolled up poitan and cooked it?”

“Not just poitan. I used fuwano and eggs too. I also added some karon milk, sugar, and milk fat. Then I grilled the batter on a pan.”

Milano Mas popped a dumpling into his mouth, and a striking sweetness immediately hit his tongue. She had added melted sugar to its surface too. That sugar had already solidified, but when he bit through it, he found that the interior was still slightly warm. On top of that, the egg and milk fat added a gentle sweetness and a lot of flavor to the dish.

“Hmm. It’s softer and has a better aroma to it than the ones you made before. I’m sure none of our customers would have any complaints.”

“Really? Don’t you think it needs a bit more flavor?”

“I have no clue. I’ve only ever tried desserts at that meeting,” Milano Mas replied as he licked the sugar off his fingers. “My only thought is that it probably wouldn’t go well with the sourness of fruit wine. Women and children may stop by the stalls, but only filthy men come into our inn’s dining hall, so I’d imagine that something that doesn’t pair with booze might have trouble selling.”

“Hmm. That’s true. I think it would be really good paired with tea, though,” Telia Mas said with her shoulders slumping in disappointments. Most other inns ran stalls that sold snacks, and they probably intended to try selling treats in the same way. But The Kimyuus’s Tail didn’t have the staff to spare, so they hadn’t run a stall for quite some time now.

“Still, it’s not like all men drink wine. If we get customers who order tea instead, why not recommend it to them? And during the revival festival, we get customers during the day, so you’d be able to serve women and children then.”

“Yes, that’s true. I’ll do my best to come up with some treats that are even better so I can be proud of what I serve people when the time comes,” Telia Mas said with another smile.

Her earnest expression made another thought pop into Milano Mas’s head. “Still, it’s hard to say how long you’ll be working at this inn, so there may not be much point in thinking so far ahead.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I mean, eventually you’re gonna get married and leave home, aren’t you?”

Telia Mas shook her head with a gentle look on her face. “If I did that, you wouldn’t have an heir. Are you trying to put The Kimyuus’s Tail out of business?”

“If this old inn goes under, nobody would miss it. Besides, what do I care what happens to the inn after I’m gone?”

“But if I marry into someone else’s household, that will be the end of the Mas family name.”

“That’s even less worth giving a damn about. In fact, I’m sure the nobles of Genos wish the names of the independent settlers would die out as soon as possible,” Milano Mas replied bluntly as he washed his hands. “I can’t imagine there are many guys out there who’d want to marry for ownership of an inn like this, and it’s not like you’re gonna stay young forever. Your looks aren’t half bad, just like your mom, so you should really hurry up and get yourself a man. Then if you have enough kids that there are some to spare, they can take over the inn instead.”

“Dad, I have no intention of leaving home,” Telia Mas firmly stated. “When I eventually find a husband, I’ll have him help take care of the inn, along with you, of course. I’ve never imagined any other life for myself.”

“Hmph. I never figured you liked working here that much.”

“A year ago, I didn’t. Back then I was so afraid of outlaws that I could hardly stand it. But now, I really enjoy working at the inn and getting to meet all the different people who come in. So now, I want to be a great manager for The Kimyuu’s Tail, just like you’ve been.”

Milano Mas gave a sigh, then turned to face his daughter with a serious look. “In that case, you should still put some effort toward grabbing yourself a suitable man. That girl from The Westerly Wind seems to be good at attracting attention, so why don’t you have her show you how it’s done?”

“Jeez, I was being serious!” Telia Mas shouted, her face going red.

A moment later, a middle-aged woman who helped out around the inn entered the kitchen. “My, are you two having a fight? That’s not something that happens around here very often.”

“Ah, no, not really... Th-Thank you for all your hard work,” Telia Mas stuttered.

“Same to you. Let’s keep it up a bit longer today, all right?”

Lately, the dining hall had been really packed, so the inn always needed extra people to work in the evening. Shortly after the first woman came in, another younger one also showed up to help out.

“Is it time to clean the dining hall? I’ll go get a start on tidying things up, then!”

The girl was around Telia Mas’s age, and was pleasantly plump. She and the older woman only helped out at the inn at night, and they had some real guts. After all, their customers drank quite a lot at night, and there would often be outlaws in the mix, so the job they did was not one that a timid person would be able to handle.

Not so long ago, Telia was easily the one who got scared the most.

Telia Mas still usually manned the kitchen alongside her father, but when she did work as a waitress, she didn’t look anywhere near as scared of the customers as she used to. That was another change that had occurred over the course of the past year.

“I’ll help out here until the customers show up. Should I go ahead and heat up this pot?” the older woman asked.

“Yeah, but keep it on a low flame, since we don’t want it boiling down too much,” Milano Mas said.

Milano and Telia Mas started getting ready for the customers to arrive too. That meant reheating the meals prepared by the people of the forest’s edge as well as taking care of the prep work for the dishes they made themselves. Their menu had recently grown to around ten items, between their giba, karon, and kimyuus dishes.

“This giba meat would be incredibly expensive if we tried to buy it ourselves. My eyes almost flew out of my head from the shock when I heard what the price for it was,” the older woman remarked as she stirred the contents of the pot.

As he finely sliced some karon leg meat, Milano Mas replied, “True. It’s not just giba though. The law in Genos says you’ve got to pay double if you buy fewer than three boxes of meat. And I’d say it’s still cheaper than karon torso meat.”

“Oh, and those nobles eat stuff that costs even more than giba every single day, don’t they? I can’t even imagine living like that,” the woman said with a cheerful smile. “But on days where we help out here, we get to eat whatever dishes we please. Is it okay if I help myself to some giba cooking again today?”

“Yeah, as thanks for continuing to help us out during such a busy time.” Though other people would come to help out, the two here today were by far the most frequent. On top of that, the older woman had helped raise Leito in the past too.

“Lately, it hasn’t been just this inn, but the whole post town that’s been thriving. My hubby is always grinning as he counts his coins and talks about how busy things have been.”

“Yeah. I’m sure there are more people visiting Genos than there used to be. Wonder if that’s thanks to the fact that the criminals who caused all those problems have been dealt with now.”

“Maybe so. People around here used to be so unfriendly before that. But then, back in those days, whenever a troublemaker showed up, you always had to be worried about whether the guards would even do anything to stop them.”

The former head of the militia had been one of the nobles who had recently been convicted. And a number of other people in positions of power in the guards like the vice captain and some battalion commanders had also needed to be dealt with.

On top of that, there had been rumors lately that the change in leadership was still not considered to be enough, and the guards were being retrained from scratch. According to what Asuta had said, it had become a topic of discussion after there had been suspicions of guards intentionally letting criminals get away in the Turan lands.

The lord of Genos used to always stay silent about these things, but he finally seems to be paying attention to the world outside the stone walls, and that’s helped Genos to change.

That was another result of those criminals from the forest’s edge and the castle town finally facing judgment. Thanks to everything that had happened in that incident, the lord of Genos had come to realize just how much animosity his people had toward nobles.

The son of Duke Genos who’s trying to get Genos back on its feet is apparently friends with Kamyua too. Kamyua and Asuta... Those outsiders sure have been stirring things up around here, Milano Mas thought to himself, right before the first order came in. It was then that he noticed it was dark outside the window now, and it was now time for the dining hall to earn them some coins.

“Um, they said they wanted ‘that sort of sour giba dish.’ They must have meant sweet-and-sour giba, right?”

“I’m sure they did. It’s not like we have any other giba dishes that use vinegar.”

“In that case, we’ve got two orders of sweet-and-sour giba and three for giba curry.”

Sweet-and-sour giba was a dish purchased from the forest’s edge, while giba curry was something they prepared personally using curry base they purchased from Asuta.

Though sweet-and-sour giba had not sold particularly well at first, it had eventually become quite popular. Up until a few months ago, mamaria vinegar had only been sold in the castle town, but now it was used all over the place and their customers had come to appreciate the combination of sweet and sour.

Giba curry had an even more striking taste, and it had been extremely well liked ever since it had first gone on sale. People had already gotten used to the influx of new ingredients by then, and giba curry had a smell and flavor unlike anything else, which had really drawn people to it.

Folks in the post town seem to be competing to see who can make the most novel dishes lately, and this giba curry sure does have a unique taste.

Just getting a whiff of the curry’s smell made Milano Mas’s stomach feel like it was about to start growling. However, the inn staff had to wait until things settled down a bit in the dining hall before they could eat their own dinners.

From that point on, orders started coming in one after another. Half of them were for giba dishes, while the other half were for karon and kimyuus. Even though giba dishes were the most expensive, that didn’t hurt their popularity at all.

The middle-aged woman eventually switched over to waitress duty, leaving Milano and Telia Mas alone in the kitchen. As she hurriedly cooked away, Telia Mas shot her father a quick smile.

“Giba dishes really are incredibly popular, aren’t they? Still, now that giba meat can be sold at the market, do you think things will settle down some?”

“I’m not sure. That’s going to depend on how good the dishes the other inns prepare end up being,” Milano Mas replied as he thought back to his encounter with the three innkeepers from earlier in the day. “Well, we might see fewer customers coming here from other inns, but the folks who stay with us usually want giba cooking.”

“Yeah. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that we’d get customers coming from other inns at dinnertime,” Telia Mas said with an amused smile. “Still, the only inns that serve giba curry are us, The Great Southern Tree, and The Sledgehammer, right? So it’s possible that some people will decide to keep coming to us.”

“True. It takes a fair bit of effort to make the curry base, so the people of the forest’s edge have been saying that they don’t intend to sell any more than they are now.”

Asuta and the Ruu girls had also said that they didn’t plan on selling their cooking to any other inns either. Honestly, now that they were able to sell giba meat at the market, there didn’t seem to be much point in selling dishes to inns anymore, but they had promised to maintain their current deals even so.

“This is pretty much the only thing we can do to thank the people who’ve helped us out so much, after all,” Asuta had once said. Naudis from The Great Southern Tree must have felt really relieved to hear that. There were still plenty of customers who visited their inns searching for Asuta’s cooking, which even the nobles of Genos found enjoyable.

No matter how I look at it, we’re the ones who’ve been helped.

Just then, the young woman came flying into the kitchen.

“Um, we have people of the forest’s edge in the dining hall!”

“Huh? What do they want at this hour?”

“They said that they’re here as customers. I was hardly able to believe it.”

The girl did indeed look absolutely astonished, and her announcement had been a real surprise for Milano Mas too. No person of the forest’s edge had ever visited his dining hall as a customer before.

“They also said they wanted to say hello to the owner if you had the time. What do you think?”

“Well, I suppose I don’t mind... Did they give you their names?”

“They did, but I can’t remember them. They have last names too, after all.”

Thoroughly perplexed, Milano Mas turned toward his daughter. Telia Mas was also tilting her head with a look of confusion.

“For now, I can handle things here on my own, so just go. If it’s someone I know, I’ll say hello to them later,” she said.

“All right. In that case, I’ll be stepping out for a bit.”

Milano Mas dished up a plate of giba curry and handed it to the girl, and then they exited the kitchen together.

“They’re over there, farther in,” the girl said, before heading over to the table that had placed the order. Milano Mas slipped past the tables full of customers and made his way to the seating on the other side of the partitioning wall.

“Oh, there you are. Sorry for calling for you when you’re so busy,” a familiar young person called out from the seat that was farthest in with a wave. Out of the six people around the table, two of them were people of the forest’s edge.

“Ah, so it’s you. What brings the people of the forest’s edge to my dining hall as customers?”

“That might take a little while to explain, but we’re here with this guy.”

Glancing at the indicated person, Milano Mas found another familiar figure seated there with a smile: the vegetable seller Dora, who sold a good amount of produce to The Kimyuus’s Tail.

“My family have been saying that they wanted to eat giba, you see, so we ended up coming to the post town for dinner. This is my oldest son and his wife, and this is my youngest daughter.”

The unfamiliar young couple and the very familiar little girl bowed their heads.

“I’ve seen your daughter before around town. But it’s rare for folks from the Daleim lands to come all the way over here for dinner,” Milano Mas noted.

“Yeah. It takes a significant amount of time to get here, even by wagon, and there’s no guarantee that you won’t run across bandits at night, so these guys generally only ever make the trip during the revival festival.”

“Unlike dad and Tara who come to town every day, we don’t get many chances to leave the Daleim lands, so we’ve really been yearning for giba cooking,” Dora’s son added. “But it’s dangerous to travel at night, so I had just about given up on the idea of coming to town, until the people of the forest’s edge caught wind of our wish.”

“That’s why I volunteered to act as a bodyguard. I’m sure plenty of other folks would have taken the job, but I just happened to finish up my hunting work early today, so I offered my services,” the young man with yellowish-brown hair explained with a mischievous grin. He was a hunter of the forest’s edge who had frequently served as a guard for Asuta and his team. Next to him, his little sister who often helped out at the stalls was smiling too.

“Um, your name is...Ludo Ruu, right?”

“Yeah, and you’re Milano Mas. This little runt here is Rimee Ruu.”

Rimee Ruu was someone he met once every three days or so. He hadn’t felt the need to ask for her name, though.

“Bartha was originally going to be their guard tonight. She’s pretty skilled too, and she doesn’t have to hunt giba, so she’s always free.”

“But I told everyone right away that I wanted to go too! I wanted to eat dinner with Tara!” Rimee Ruu chimed in. Tara was Dora’s youngest daughter. The two young girls were huddled close together, and even though the color of their hair and skin differed, they practically looked like sisters. “I was going to visit them with Bartha, but then Ludo got home early, so we came here together instead.”

“Hmph. I’m stronger than Bartha, so I’m a perfect fit for guard duty. Our old man was all worried about you too,” Ludo Ruu told his little sister.

“Hee hee,” Rimee Ruu giggled, sounding utterly carefree. The girl always had a bright smile on her face, and she seemed to be enjoying herself even more than usual today. After glancing at the two smiling girls, Dora turned back toward Milano Mas.

“Thanks to him, I was able to bring my family here to the post town. We have old folks back home that we weren’t able to bring along, but I plan to bring my wife and second son here tomorrow.”

“I hope I’ll get to come with you then too,” Ludo Ruu said. “Well, whether I finish my work early comes down to the mother forest’s guidance, though.”

Dora’s family and the Ruu siblings seem to have really opened up to one another. As he took the scene in, Milano Mas nodded and said, “I see. In that case, once you’re done eating, you’re going to take these folks back to the Daleim lands and then return to the forest’s edge, right? Sure sounds like a busy schedule.”

“There’s no helping it, since we aren’t supposed to sleep over at other people’s houses too often. But driving a wagon doesn’t take that much effort.”

“We really do appreciate it. Make sure to convey my thanks to Donda Ruu as well,” Dora told the young hunter with a smile. He had visited the settlement at the forest’s edge with Telia Mas around the time of the revival festival, so he didn’t go overboard with expressing his gratitude. It showed the strong bond of trust that had formed between him and the people of the forest’s edge.

“All right then,” Milano Mas said. “Well, you’re certainly welcome here as customers. We owe you people of the forest’s edge a great deal, and you vegetable sellers too. Let me treat you to a bottle of fruit wine.”

“I certainly appreciate that. We’ll have to throw in some extra vegetables for you next time,” Dora replied, stroking his protruding belly. “Well then, why don’t we go ahead and order? Could we get enough giba dishes for this group?”

“We have giba dishes made by the people of the forest’s edge as well as ones prepared in our kitchen. Do you want both?”

“Yeah,” Ludo Ruu said. “I mean, the Ruu women prepared the dishes for today, right? That means Rimee worked on it too, and it’s no fun to just eat your own cooking. Besides, I’m curious to see what you townsfolk can do with giba meat. I’d like to have a big helping of whatever you’ve got.”

“Oh yeah? Well, those are all dishes Asuta and the others taught us how to make too,” Milano Mas said with a shrug before turning around. “I’ll have my daughter carry out the food, so make sure you say hi to her too.”

“Ah, hold on! I’ve got something I want to ask you first,” Ludo Ruu called out, leaning forward. “Asuta’s never come here as a customer, has he?”

“Hmm? No, he hasn’t. And I can’t imagine why he would, when he pops up here on a daily basis anyway.”

“Gotcha. That’s kinda funny, since it means we beat Asuta to it even though he has much closer ties with folks from around town,” Ludo Ruu said with another mischievous smile. “Anyway, I’m looking forward to seeing what sort of food you have here.”

“Sure thing,” Milano Mas briefly replied before turning to leave for real.

The other customers around the room were carrying on the same as always. There had to have been quite a stir when Ludo and Rimee Ruu had first come in, but none of them were paying any attention to the unusual visitors now.

People of the forest’s edge were visiting an inn as customers, and no one even batted an eye. Such a thing would’ve been utterly unthinkable even just a few months back.

And he said he was looking forward to trying my cooking, huh? Even though we got into a serious argument the first time we met.

Roughly a year ago, when Asuta had come to The Kimyuus’s Tail to ask to rent a stall for a second time, Ludo Ruu had been guarding him. Back then, Milano Mas had still held a deep hatred for the people of the forest’s edge, so he had thrown some really harsh words at them, saying stuff like no one sane would ever eat giba meat. Now, Milano Mas was going to serve his own giba cooking to Ludo Ruu. Back then, he never could have predicted such a turn of events.

Things have changed so much in the last year. I wonder how much more is going to change in the next one.

As he returned to the kitchen where his daughter was waiting, Milano Mas was unable to hold back a smile. But he at least managed to keep himself from crying. He wondered what his wife was thinking as she watched over them, her soul having returned to the western god. As he prayed that she was at peace, he promptly got back to work.

Afterword

Thank you so much for picking up this book, the thirtieth volume of Cooking with Wild Game.

At last, we’ve reached thirty whole volumes in the series. I’m always so grateful when a volume is complete that I can hardly express it, but I’m especially moved by this grand milestone.

I am truly, deeply appreciative toward all of you who have stuck with this massive series for so long. I intend to keep giving my all without letting myself get a big head, and I hope you’ll continue to stick with me for many years to come.

Hobby Japan, the publisher of the series, has all sorts of events planned to commemorate the release of this volume. For those of you who picked up the book not long after release, I hope that you’ll look at the Firecross website they manage. You can see the chronology of the path Asuta has walked over the course of his first year, as well as the huge number of characters in this series all at once, and I wrote a bunch of text for it as well. I can’t say for certain whether everything will go as planned, as I’m writing this afterword a month prior to publication, but all of that is supposed to go live on the day of release.

Working on the chronology and character overview really moved me too. It certainly is something, looking back and realizing that I’ve created over a hundred characters for the series. I’ll be praying that the guest characters like the citizens of Dabagg from Asuta’s short trip there and the folks who’ve had no reason to show up again like Zylus and Jimon are still doing well.

Now then, as for the contents of this volume, it serves as the start of a new arc, just like I announced in the previous afterword. I gave it the exaggerated title of the Upheaval Arc, and I’d say it got off to a pretty hectic start indeed.

I like to avoid spoilers for the sake of the folks who read the afterword first, but we’ve got a couple new characters displayed right there on the cover. I’d say it really sets the mood for the start of the Upheaval Arc, which I very much appreciate.

There will certainly be no shortage of upheaval to be had, and Asuta and company will have to overcome all sorts of challenges. But cooking remains Asuta’s specialty, so he’ll keep fighting back with a knife and a pan instead of a sword and magic, no matter the situation he finds himself in. I hope that you’ll enjoy getting to see the nobles’ plots, the new encounters, and a cute doggy getting to eat a tasty meal.

Finally, I want to thank everyone involved with the production of this book, and of course, all of you who purchased it.

See you again in the next volume!

April 2023,

EDA