“I-I’m fine, but you shouldn’t go around doing dangerous stuff like that.”
“It wasn’t dangerous at all. Ai Fa’s very strong.”
Ai Fa frowned about as deeply as I had ever seen from her as she set Tia down on the floor. And as she stood there on her left leg alone, the young girl looked at the two of us with an innocent smile.
“It’s hard to believe she has a broken leg with how she moves about, isn’t it? The power of a red savage certainly is something,” Sati Lea Ruu remarked. However, she and Granny Tito Min both had warm smiles on their faces nonetheless. Those two were among the more even-tempered members of the main Ruu house, and they weren’t thrown off easily.
“So, why are you here? I didn’t do anything bad,” Tia said.
“Oh, right, we just came to check on you for a bit. Did you already eat?”
“Yup. A Ruu clan girl brought me some grilled meat and soup. They were both pretty tasty.”
I had let everyone know that Tia preferred strongly flavored dishes, so she must have had a spicy dinner prepared for her. She had a really satisfied smile on her face, and her deep red eyes were sparkling like garnets. Even when she was stuck in here, away from me, she didn’t look upset about it. She had been really displeased at first, but after having been informed that this was the law of the outside world, Tia had readily obeyed.
She’s so earnest that it feels almost painful.
That was why I’d wanted to speak with Tia before enjoying the banquet. However, now that she was right in front of me, I couldn’t help but feel guilty at the thought of heading back to the plaza and leaving her behind.
“What’s the matter? I’m glad to see you, but the longer you stay here, the less time you’ll have to enjoy yourselves.”
“Huh? Oh, yeah... I’m just sorry that you’re the only one who’s getting left behind.”
“What are you saying? I’m one of the red people, so a banquet in the outside world is no concern of mine. It is a little tough to not be able to stay by your side, though, Asuta.”
“Yeah, but I’m still sorry for making you deal with this.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Tia replied with a big grin on her face. “It’s only a burden because I committed the serious crime of trying to harm you. There’s no reason for you to apologize. Besides, you said that dealing with some suffering was a way to atone, didn’t you?”
“Well yeah, but...”
“That’s why I’m glad to suffer a little bit. It makes me feel the same way I did when you accepted the peifei meat and pelt,” Tia said, smiling even brighter as her eyes narrowed. “It also makes me really happy to know that you’re thinking of me, Asuta. And the same goes for you enjoying yourself. That’s why I want you to have fun at the banquet.”
I gave a small sigh as I stared down at Tia. Even if she wasn’t one of our people, it probably wouldn’t be right to touch a girl over the age of ten like her when it wasn’t necessary. Otherwise, I’d have wanted to tousle her unusual red hair at that point.
“All right, then you keep on waiting here until the banquet’s over, okay?” I said.
“Of course. I will stay here and pray that no disaster befalls you, Asuta,” Tia said, shooting Ai Fa a smile too before hopping over to the wall on one leg. Then she jumped up higher than her own head and gave the wall a little kick, which sent her up high enough to grab the ceiling beam. She moved like a monkey, as if she didn’t weigh anything at all. And when the little kids saw her do that, they all started excitedly cheering, while Ai Fa put a hand on her hip and glared up at Tia.
“I see. So that’s how you got up there.”
“Yep. You really don’t have to do anything all that unusual to manage it.”
On the contrary, I thought that her inhuman jumping power was definitely unusual. What did her musculature have to be like for her to be able to leap about the way she did?
“All right then, we’re heading back out to the plaza. Sorry for the trouble, but please keep looking after Tia, okay?” I said to the women who were watching over the house.
“Yes, of course... Oh, hold on a moment, Asuta,” Sati Lea Ruu called out, handing Kota Ruu over to Granny Tito Min and then rushing over to us. “I’m whispering because I don’t want Tia or the young children to hear... Those shaska dishes were so delicious that they made my head spin.”
“Ah, you got to try them too?”
“I did. Since it was supposed to be one helping per person, a branch house woman brought us some. Tito Min and I took turns sneaking out to eat them,” Sati Lea Ruu said with a little sigh. “They eat that stuff instead of fuwano in Sym, right? Foods like poitan and fuwano seem to have become my favorites.”
“Yeah, you really liked our okonomiyaki, pasta, and soba, didn’t you? If business with Sym picks up, anyone should be able to easily buy shaska, so that should be something for you to look forward to, huh?”
“Definitely. I’m thinking I’ll consult with the clan head and Mia Lea about whether the Ruu clan can buy it for banquets too,” Sati Lea Ruu said with her usual graceful smile, looking truly happy. “Well, my apologies for stopping you like that. Please enjoy the banquet, you two.”
“We will. Thank you.”
After waving goodbye to Tia, Ai Fa and I left the house and closed the door behind us. As we walked back into the plaza, my clan head gave a deep sigh.
“Just how strong would Tia be if she could use her right leg as well? Even at the weakest I could possibly imagine her being, I’m certain that I would never be able to beat her at tree climbing.”
“Yeah. I feel like I sort of understand what she meant when she specified that she couldn’t beat the people of the forest’s edge on the ground.”
We made our way to the center of the plaza, where people were enjoying themselves around the ritual fire. Since we had finished up our work so quickly, there was still a fair bit of time left to experience the food that had been prepared for the banquet.