Chapter 2: Day of Decision

1

The day after our meeting with Kamyua Yoshu found us visiting the Rutim settlement in the morning.

Frankly, Ai Fa and I just didn't know how to handle that crazy old-timer on our own at this point.

After heading further south from the Ruu settlement, a settlement of just five fairly large houses came into view. It belonged to the Rutim, and I had already visited here numerous times before the banquet to ask their opinions.

We visited the largest of those houses, the one belonging to the main household, and fortunately found that Gazraan Rutim was already out of bed.

"My, if it isn't Ai Fa and Asuta. What brings you here?" Gazraan Rutim asked with a smile.

The clan head Dan Rutim was apparently still sleeping, but that wasn't an issue for us. After all, what we wanted was the opinion of Gazraan Rutim, who possessed the straightforward honesty fitting for a person of the forest's edge, yet was also flexible in his thinking, like a reformist.

"Sorry for being so forward, just showing up at your house this early in the day."

"It's no problem. The Rutim custom is that a bride and groom can have three days of rest from work both before and after their wedding. I'm honestly glad that I can use the opportunity to welcome you as guests," Gazraan Rutim said, a gentle smile on his face.

Still, I really did feel guilty about intruding on his second day as a newly married man.

But even so, our thoughts were so chaotic at the moment that we really did need a calm, logical third party to weigh in on the matter.

"The thing is, Kamyua Yoshu really did come to visit the Fa house yesterday, just as promised. And things ended up progressing in a really crazy direction..." I started while being led into a vast hall which was on par with the one in the main Ruu house.

And with that, I explained the crazy proposal that Kamyua Yoshu had offered last night.

?

"Why in the world would I go and open a shop in the post town?!" I retorted without even thinking, having lost my composure, but Kamyua Yoshu's aloof expression didn't shift in the least.

"So that the people of the forest's edge can gain greater strength and prosperity, of course."

I sighed, then half-unconsciously scratched at my head.

"How exactly is that related to me opening a shop? I can't see how they connect in the least."

"How? You're a proper member of this settlement despite being born in a foreign nation, aren't you? So you gaining wealth is directly tied to the prosperity of the forest's edge, isn't it?"

"That's not true at all. No matter how many copper coins I may earn, that wealth ultimately belongs to the Fa clan. And the Fa clan doesn't have any relatives or subordinates, so that money won't be making it to other clans."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

I explained that the people of the forest's edge strengthened their bonds almost exclusively through blood ties. And on top of that, commerce was nonexistent at the forest's edge, so it was essentially impossible for your wealth to ever pass to someone who wasn't related to you.

In spite of that, the smile wasn't wiped from Kamyua Yoshu's face.

"So you're a little hesitant to accept at the moment, are you? In that case, are you saying you don't care in the least if someone outside of your clan is happy or not? Do you believe that anyone but your family is utterly worthless?"

"That's an extreme argument. Of course we have friends and acquaintances. But even if we become wealthy, that shouldn't have anything to do with their lives, right?"

"If you horde that fortune, like a certain leading clan."

Now that it had come this far, Ai Fa's eyes were completely burning with the look of a hunter.

Of course, I couldn't blame her. I mean, I was about ready to burst with, not quite anger, but doubt and suspicion.

"Hmm... I was just drawing out our chat by throwing out a thought that popped into my head, but you seem to be quite emphatically rejecting the idea."

"...I mean, it was just too crazy of an idea to be part of a mere 'chat.'"

"Is that so? I thought it was a pretty ingenious idea for something I came up with on the spot. And it wouldn't be all that difficult to open a shop there in the post town," Kamyua Yoshu said while maintaining his usual carefree tone, then sat back down and stroked the stubble on his chin.

"Alright, let me explain things in order. My first thought was about the value of giba meat."

"The value...?"

"You all make a living by selling giba horns, tusks, and furs. So why don't you sell the meat, then?"

"Nobody in town would eat it, right? I mean, the people of the forest's edge are feared there as 'giba eaters.'"

"That only applies to the people of Genos, though. Travelers and folks who have moved there from other lands just go along with it."

"No, but..."

"Then let me ask, is it proper for the people of the forest's edge to be feared as 'giba eaters'? Does it make you happy? Are you proud of the title? If that were the case, then I could certainly understand not wanting townsfolk to know how delicious giba meat is. You could just go ahead and forget I said anything... But if that isn't the case, then I can't understand why you won't sell it."

I was about to object that you could only say such a thing about giba meat as of this month, but I realized it would be pointless.

As far as I knew, it was true that there was no law that said you could sell tusks and horns, but not meat.

"So are you telling me to open a butcher's shop? Do you really think that sort of business would work out?"

"If you just try to start selling it, it wouldn't move. First, you need to let people know how wonderful this meat really is. That's why I suggested you opening a shop... Not a butcher's, but a restaurant."

"..."

"If that's successful, then giba meat could be sold as a product on its own. If the deliciousness of your cooking becomes known throughout the post town, that would override the false information that giba meat stinks and tastes bad, wouldn't it? And if that meant that giba meat started getting treated as a good that could be exchanged for coins, then your success would wrap back around and aid the forest's edge, right?"

Kamyua Yoshu sure looked like he was enjoying himself. It was almost like we really were just having a pleasant chat.

"You won't get more than a single white coin at most for a giba's worth of horns and tusks. And it should be about the same for a pelt. That's far too unjust a reward for a hunt you all undertake at the risk of your lives... That's something that's bugged me for some time now."

"But still... The people of the forest's edge have continued to live on in that manner for 80 years now. To suddenly tear all that down-"

"Asuta. My apologies, but it hasn't been all that long since you've been accepted as a member of the forest's edge, has it? I asked my acquaintances from around the post town, but none of them had seen a foreigner clad in the garb of the forest's edge."

"...So what are you trying to say?"

"I'm just bringing up the possibility that you may be less informed about life at the forest's edge than I am," Kamyua Yoshu said with a grin. "Ai Fa has quite a few of the horns and tusks that hunters pride themselves on hanging from her neck. Also, the Ruu clan is a large group with quite a few subordinates. And furthermore, the Suun clan has been hoarding the reward money... Now then, Asuta, have you interacted with any clans beside those?"

I hadn't.

But still, just how did this man know that?

"The answer is simple. If you knew about the normal lives of the people of the forest's edge, you wouldn't go denying any interest in such prosperity so lightly."

"Normal... lives? But you're not even a man of the forest's edge, so how could you know-?"

"I can't. And so, this is nothing but guesswork. If it happens to be wrong, then by all means say as such, Ai Fa."

Ai Fa said nothing in response.

However, I sensed a passionate emotion other than just anger in her blazing eyes.

"The majority of the people of the forest's edge only ever eat aria and poitan, which certainly doesn't indicate any sort of riches. Only a small portion have savings like Ai Fa, while most struggle with poverty. And not honorable poverty, but true and proper poverty at that. And so, quite a few must die young, unable to afford even aria and poitan and having to subsist solely on giba meat... Or at least, that's what I assume. That's the conclusion that I reached by gathering information in the post town and then combining that with what I've seen with my own two eyes here at the forest's edge. Is any of that wrong, Ai Fa?"

"...Clans with power live in abundance, while those without suffer in poverty. That much is only obvious."

"Then I can interpret that as meaning that there are those here at the forest's edge who die early from...