I walked into the plaza at the Ruu settlement alongside twelve guests and two of our people. Naturally, it was already full of people rushing all about, trying to get things ready for the banquet. A number of simple stone stoves had been constructed, there was white smoke rising from the various houses, and only the especially young kids looked to be taking it easy.
Zasshuma, Bozl, and the three boys from the post town were all visiting the settlement for the first time, so their gazes darted all about and they looked like they were vibrating with curiosity. And this was only Shilly Rou and Roy’s second time, with it having been around seven months since they had last come, so they looked a little nervous. Everyone else seemed to really be enjoying themselves, though.
“Okay, let’s stop by the main Ruu house to say hello first. Mia Lea Ruu, the leading clan head’s wife, should be in the kitchen, so follow me this way,” I said.
As we cut across the plaza, several women from the branch houses waved at me, and I returned their greetings. There was already a mountain of firewood, meant for the ritual flame, stacked up in the center of everything, which we navigated around on our way to the rear of the main house. The energy and enthusiasm coming from the room was palpable as we approached.
“Ah, you’ve arrived. Welcome to the Ruu settlement, dear guests,” Mia Lea Ruu quickly said to us after I had stepped through the entrance, as the door to the kitchen had been left open. With brightly shining eyes, she looked over the collection of guests we had brought. “Allow me to start by greeting you in place of our clan head, Donda. Would those of you I’m meeting for the first time please tell me your names?” At that, Zasshuma, Bozl, Ben, Lebi, and Kalgo all introduced themselves, while Mia Lea Ruu nodded along and smiled even more brightly. “I am Mia Lea Ruu, the wife of the head of our main house. Welcome to all of you, and welcome back to Asuta and all of the other chefs who went to town today.”
“Of course. We’d like to get started, so can we entrust our totos to you?” I asked.
“Yes, that won’t be any issue. Oh, and could we take charge of your steel as well?”
At that, the men all held out their weapons. It was no surprise that Kamyua Yoshu and Zasshuma were armed, but it seemed that Leito and the boys from the post town had knives on them too.
“Hmm. I feel like I might drop something if I try to carry all of this myself. Vina, could you lend me a hand?”
“Yes? What is it?” Vina Ruu replied in a listless tone as she approached elegantly. Since she worked at the stalls, everyone should have already been acquainted with her, but the boys’ eyes went a bit wider when they saw her even so. It was customary for women of the forest’s edge to wear veils and shawls when they went to the post town, so perhaps they were being thrown by the bewitching sight of Vina Ruu’s exposed skin.
“We’re taking charge of their steel. I’ll handle the long ones.”
“Ah, in that case, I’ll take those,” Vina Ruu said, holding a hand out to the three boys, who all handed over their knives, looking terribly flustered as they did.
“Oh, Asuta, Ai Fa said to let her know when you arrive. She’s in one of the main house’s bedrooms speaking with Jiba,” Mia Lea Ruu informed me.
“All right. And where’s Tia?”
“She’s with Jiba and Ai Fa. Jiba said she wished to speak with her.”
A gleam appeared in Kamyua Yoshu’s eyes. “So you brought the red savage here? Would it be possible for me to speak with her as well?”
“Hmm? We were told that we should limit how much the people of Genos interact with her, but now that I think about it, you were born elsewhere, weren’t you?”
“Yes. I’m a wanderer who calls no place home. I have permission from Duke Genos to speak with the red savage, so if you don’t have any objections, please allow me to do so.”
I remembered Kamyua Yoshu seeming really curious about Tia from the moment he’d heard about her.
Mia Lea Ruu smiled and nodded, saying, “Very well.”
Everyone else decided to observe the women cooking in the kitchen. The three from the castle town wanted to say hello to Mikel and Myme first, though. The remaining seven split into two groups.
“Very well, all of you may do whatever you please. After we’ve put away these weapons, I’ll take the group that wants to speak to Mikel to the house where he currently is,” Mia Lea Ruu said.
Yumi and her group started observing the goings on in the main kitchen, while Mia Lea Ruu took the rest of us over to the main house. As soon as we stepped in front of the door, though, there was a sudden bark, causing Shilly Rou to hide behind Roy’s back again.
“Wh-What was that? That sounded like a dog just now.”
“Oh yeah, that’s the guard dog that belongs to our house,” I explained. “We brought our dogs along with us today.”
There had previously been guard dogs that had been let loose on the grounds of the Turan manor at night, so the chefs from the castle town must have been familiar with the animals. However, Shilly Rou’s face had gone rather pale, and she had started clinging to Roy’s back.
“Um, do you have trouble with dogs, Shilly Rou?” I asked.
“D-Dogs are very dangerous if handled improperly. It’s only natural to be wary of them, isn’t it?”
“Don’t worry. Our dogs won’t attack anyone without being provoked.”
Mia Lea Ruu regarded us with a smile as we were talking about the dogs, then she reached out toward the door, only to suddenly change her mind and turn toward me instead. “Ah, but doesn’t Jirube of the Fa clan see anyone not wearing grigee fruit as an enemy?” she asked.
“No. As long as Ai Fa or I are there, there shouldn’t be any danger. You’ve got nothing to worry about, Shilly Rou,” I said.
Mia Lea Ruu was satisfied with that, so she went ahead and opened the door. Immediately, Jirube excitedly leaped out at us, earning a shriek from Shilly Rou. He was just happy to see that I had returned, though. All he did was plop down next to my feet and start wagging his tail.
“Wh-What is that thing? I-Is that truly a dog?!” Shilly Rou asked.
“Yes. He’s what’s known as a lion dog, and he was trained to guard nobles in the capital,” I explained, but she still kept on trembling and clinging to Roy’s back in fear.
Roy sighed and tousled his hair with one hand. “Listen, Shilly Rou...if that ridiculously huge dog actually attacked, I wouldn’t do much good as a shield, now would I?”
“W-W-Well, it’d be better than nothing!”
“So you’re not denying treating me as a shield?” Roy replied with a frown.
Bozl chuckled heartily. “This is my first time ever seeing a lion dog, but he has a really cute face, doesn’t he? So then, is that one over there your hunting dog?”
“Ah, yes, he is.”
The Ruu clan hunting dogs were all out working now, so Jirube and Brave were the only ones here presently. Brave didn’t need as much attention as Jirube, so he was just lying there at the entrance to the house and looking up at us with his black eyes.
“Well then, let’s put these weapons away. Asuta, shall I call for Ai Fa?” Mia Lea Ruu asked.
“No, I want to talk to Tia a little too, so I’ll stop in for a bit.”
And so, Kamyua Yoshu, Leito, and I entered the house with Mia Lea and Vina Ruu, who were still carrying those blades. After storing the weapons in the empty main hall, Mia Lea Ruu guided us to Granny Jiba’s bedroom.
“Jiba, I have Asuta and two guests with me,” she called out.
“Come in,” a voice said in response. With that, Mia Lea Ruu opened the door, revealing Granny Jiba seated on top of her bedding, with Ai Fa and Tia sitting right beside her.
“It’s been a while, Jiba Ruu. Ai Fa, Tia, I’m back.”
Granny Jiba smiled, while Ai Fa gave an expressionless nod in response. Tia, meanwhile, quickly stood up on just her left foot.
“Asuta, you made it back okay. There wasn’t any trouble, right?” she asked.
“Of course not. Have you been behaving yourself, Tia?”
“Yeah. The Ruu clan elder summoned us, and we’ve been speaking with her for some time.”
I was really curious about what Granny Jiba had been discussing with Tia, but before I could ask, Kamyua Yoshu peeked his head into the bedroom.
“Hello there, Elder Jiba Ruu. I’m glad to see you looking well.”
“Ah, so it’s you. I see that you’re doing just fine too.”
“Yes, fortunately. I’m very happy to have been invited to today’s banquet.” After that customary greeting, Kamyua Yoshu’s mysterious gaze shifted over to Tia. “So, this is the red savage of Morga? Would it be all right for me to listen to what she has to say too?”
“Hmm? I see no reason not to. What do you think, Tia?”
“The leading clan head Donda Ruu told me not to talk too much with people who aren’t from the forest’s edge,” the young girl answered with a serious look on her face.
Kamyua Yoshu smiled and gestured toward Leito, who was standing behind him. “Don’t worry. I’m a wanderer with no home, not a citizen of Genos. Leito and I have been given permission by Duke Marstein Genos to speak with you.”
“I don’t really know what you mean by that, but I’ll follow whatever instructions the people of the forest’s edge give me on the matter,” Tia said, looking at Mia Lea Ruu.
The middle-aged woman smiled and said, “The person they mentioned, Marstein, is the one who told us to keep you away from the townsfolk. If they have his permission to speak to you, we have no reason to say otherwise.”
“I see. Then I don’t mind either.”