644 Rare Cook (Medium)

It was then three days later that Vulcus was able to move properly.

Apparently, Vulcan's body was hurt a lot on this long journey, and he was to sleep for the whole two days.

While I was asleep, Tartumai prepared something called a medicine meal for me. That was nothing more than a broth of medicinal herbs that could not even be called cooking, so Varcus begged him if he could cook a regular dish, but each time he was just made less awesome to "not be".

But thanks to such tartumys, Varcus was able to demodulate.

Three days later, in the morning, Varcus woke himself up in the tent of Tartumai, letting him exhale, "Oh," relaxing his neck and shoulders, which had completely solidified.

"It looks like the fever is finally down, too. I'm so sorry for the trouble I've caused you these past two days."

"If you're feeling better, it's above all.... Might be an exit, but shouldn't you be left to go back west like this?

"Right. If you're coming to Genos with me, let's do that. If I could get a talent named you, that would be worth coming to Sims for."

When Varcus answered that way, Tartumai sighed with no expression.

"Are you still saying such things?...... good. We will now take you to a nearby settlement, where you can find the person of your choice."

"Yeah, I'm sure no one as skillful with herbs as you are."

Varcus left the tent with Tartumai.

What spreads there is truly a murderous meadow. Even when it comes to meadows, by the way, abrupt rock masses and the like are peeking into the face, which overlaps with sparse trees, making the outlook worse. Though the foot of the day was covered in greenery, it was a scene that I would rather call wilderness than meadow.

"… this is a border that also serves as the western edge in the territory of Gi. It is essential for the leaves and roots of Yanmur, but it is difficult to harvest any other grace, making it a place far from any river"

"I see. I was going to walk around with my legs as sticks, but still you were just going and going at the ends of the shim"

As he wrapped the dust collar roll from his nose down, Varcus let him answer as such.

Instead of the tent is placed a large luggage car, from the inside of which the cloudy squeal of the beast is heard. When Tartumai opened the door to the carrier, two tototosses and three gammas descended from it. It was, of course, the gamma that was ringing.

"Was Totos and Gama in the carriage? Again, is it dangerous during the night?

"Yes, there shouldn't be any dangerous beasts around here, but there are as many poisonous bugs and snakes wandering around. If we don't release the poisonous worm oil from the tent, we may not reveal the night safely."

"I see. Am I still lucky enough to lose Totos"

Tartumai has been staring at Varcus as long as it takes.

"You didn't reveal the night without a tent in the middle of the meadow, did you?

"Yeah. You could rent an inn in the settlement where you went the first few days, but that day you had a night in the middle of the meadow. I thought it would be dangerous to run Totos during the night, so I set fire there and revealed the night"

Turtumai shook her head with a big sigh.

"How could you do such a dangerous imitation? Until then, if you had been taken care of in the settlement, the inhabitants there would have been taught how to spend time in the meadows."

"I'm sure you were telling me. But I cannot speak the east."

"... so how did you get here to continue your journey?

"I was gesturing and communicating my will. Sticky, you didn't feel crippled."

"We lost Tototos because of it, so let's not be unfettered enough. I don't even know what to say in the east, but I don't know if I'm going to travel Sims alone."

And Tartumai became such a suspicious eye-catcher there.

"... Speaking of which, it should have been the free border zone that extends between Selva and Sim, which was, among other things, a dangerous area. No way, the land has moved on alone, hasn't it?

"Yes, in doing so, we asked the Chamber of Commerce to accompany us back to Sim from Genos. But they turned to Laorim, the king of Sims, and so they divided."

"Why didn't you, too, head to Laorim? If you were there, you wouldn't have lost at least Totos, nor would you have been plagued by dust"

"I'm as bad at crowds as I am at dust. The smell and enthusiasm of many human beings make me turn my eyes quickly."

Tartumai was disappointed to drop her shoulder, with no expression.

"It's a difficult body to make… I don't think people like you should have left home."

"But in Genos, it's also hard to get Sim's vanilla. These days, nobles have been buying up vanilla, and it's getting harder and harder to reach us."

Varcus asked me to answer that question.

"That is why I must give my name so that I may work under the nobility. That's the only way left to live as a cook in Genos."

"... is that an act worth hanging on to?

Tartumai has asked that with a low voice.

Varcus leans his neck without knowing what it means.

"Suspending your life is too much of a word. Such a word would be worthy of a knight who gave his sword to the kingdom"

"So why are you exposed to such reckless behavior?

"It's for delicious food. You don't hate hard work, you don't make delicious dishes."

So Varcus was supposed to cough up one thing. The dust broke in through the gap between the collars.

Varcus double-wrapped the spare collar roll before looking back at Tartumai "Well".

"When will we leave? Totos and Gamas seem to have started their morning meals."

Two totosses and three gamas are eating grass at their feet. After a glimpse of you, Tartumai breathed again.

"... by the time you're done cleaning up the tent, fill up one of these guys' bellies first. Please wait a moment."

Varcus offered to help, but that was easily turned down. I guess you thought you couldn't wait for Varcus to heat you up again. Tartumai began to clean up the giant tent by himself.

After storing it in the carrier, connect Totos to the carrier and direct the gamma back to the carrier. They're going to let Totos run the meadow instead of matching Gamma's steps.

"It will be cramped, but you too, please come to the carrier. Before Jomtien, you should be able to reach nearby settlements."

"Yes, thank you"

As Varcus took charge of his bags and boarded the carrier, Turtumai shook the leather whip down Totos' ass.

The grasslands that look nice also hide their protuberances everywhere, compared to stone streets. Varcus, along with his three gammas, was to withstand that vibration.

"... is this gamma raised for milk, not meat?

"Yeah. If you turn it into meat, you'll run out of grace. By selling their milk, they are not eating."

"I see. Milk has different uses. Not only milk alcohol, but milk fat, whey, cheese… I just imagine what they taste like and my chest will beep"

"... once you get to the riverside settlement, you won't have to taste as much"

After stating so, Tartumai tilted his neck "first".

"Speaking of which, you said it was the first time you had visited some settlements and spoken of Gamma's milk."

"Yes. The settlers who ate with us were all drinking water. In the first place, I saw so much gamma in the settlements I visited."

"If so, was it a settlement of free-flowing people, not grassland people? It was just between the territory of Gi and the free-flowing zone."

"I see. If you ask me, maybe you are. If we are free pioneers, but people of the east, I cannot tell."

Varcus shrugs one shoulder as he looks at Tartumai's back.

"So they were just poor and free pioneers, eating such crude dishes?... No, that's not true. They also used lots of vanilla, so it should have been possible to make even better dishes if cooked properly."

"… there is no answer to the no-go, etc., than the freelancers."

With those words at the end, Tartumai stuck his mouth shut.

Since it is the only way, Varcus decides to keep an eye on Gama's behavior.

Gama is an incredible beast, with two horns and six legs. The body is not so loud, and the cloudy voice behaves and squeals. Varcus finally got a chance to mouth its dried meat by peeling at the sim, but the taste was wild and had quite a smell.

(But I hear that mountain-grown gamma has a stronger odor. If you use vanilla properly, you will also be able to make a great meat without odors)

To my mind, does the people of the east think that the odor will stop bothering them simply by pairing it with spices starting with chit fruit? Let Varcus tell you, it was deception and negligence. Translating the odor of meat into the beauty of flavor requires very careful treatment.

(Even this tartumai hasn't dealt with wild bird meat yet. I'm sure that was a herbal formula that stuck to harmony with Yanmul's roots)

Three nights ago, Turtumai's lumpy broth was showing some pretty good harmony. If that was just a dish of broth without ingredients, it was almost perfect.

However, the crude treatment of meat and vegetables had ruined that harmony. And knowing that fact gave Varcus a glimpse of the right path.

(Aria was also badly handled, but that stock should have given that broth depth. With Aria sautéed in Leten oil and some more vegetables, that would make for an even better dish. And the meat of wild birds...... smelled slightly on the meat itself, but not enough to blend into the broth. If I used kimmus skinned meat or something, would that vanilla harmony be broken too? Would it be possible to keep the sum together if we made a slight adjustment?

Varcus was caressing his right fingertip unconsciously.

I want to hold the cooking knife. I'd actually like to try the idea that just came to my mind with this hand. The only thing that was painful about leaving my hometown was that I had to contain these desires.

"Um, are these crates packed with ingredients?

When Vulcus spoke, Tartumai of your table shrugged his neck in a slight manner.

"I thought you were asleep.... Yep, roughly, you're right. Dried aria, vanilla, dried meat of snakes… and then dairy wine to be handed over to the people of the settlement."

"Are you getting aria, vanilla, etc. by handing over dairy liquor?

"Yes, there is no other vegetable or vanilla that can only be harvested by the river, that's how you get it. Most of the time, there is a lot of milk and alcohol in the riverside settlements that we are going to be heading to, so it is only the residents of the Free Exploration Zone that Nun will take up the deal."

I guess Turtumai, who is not a people of the east, cannot live by a fruitful river. So I'm sure they live in this desolate border area.

"I still don't see why you don't transfer God to the Oriental God. Is it your intention to go back to Selva one way or another?

"... Non abandoned his hometown twenty years ago. There's no place to go back."

"So how come we don't transfer God? Since the people of the east are vast, it seems to me that abandoning Western gods will not be seen in the eyes of repentance."

Tartumai didn't answer.

Its skinny back feels strongly rejecting Varcus's inquiry. Again, this topic seemed contraindicated to Tartumai.

(I just thought I'd be happier to be able to use as much vanilla as I wanted.)

But if there are circumstances that cannot also be redeemed for that happiness, there is only one. Varcus decided to proceed with the drill in his head again as he returned his gaze to Gama.

How long has it been since then? While scissoring several small pauses, the luggage car finally reached the spot where it was intended.

It is a settlement of the people of the meadows, by a small river. On the spot, many more tents stood along the river than those of Turtumai, and large numbers of humans were hissing.

In the eastern language, one of the people speaks.

Tartumai also answered that in the eastern language. Apparently he was familiar with his face, and he doesn't look alert to the visit of Turtumai.

"They will guide you to the elders. Get off the carrier, too."

Following the words of Turtumai, Vulcus descended into the earth.

Being on the spot seemed to be mostly female. He washes in the river, dries vanilla, and smoothes the skin of gamma. Young children were helping with that, too, and I barely saw any humans playing or anything like that.

What the people of the east prefer to wrap around is a beautiful, cloth outfit with a whirlpool pattern. Long skinny, black-skinned women and toddlers perform their work faceless and pale. In the last few days, Vulcan has also seen several exotic sights, but this was the first time a settlement of this size had been established.

"When the people of the east are young, it's hard to tell if they're men or women. Everyone has their hair up for a long time, and the outfit seems to make less of a difference"

When Vulcus assessed it that way, the guide's human has turned a noose. She is, among other things, a tall, elderly woman. Varcus was also quite long as a people in the west, but this woman was so far back as to be little different from it.

When the woman raised her voice again, Tartumai answered it, then she looked back at Varcus.

"I was asked why you were hiding your face with a collar roll, so I explained the situation. If you're not suffering from a strange disease, they're going to show you to your elders."

"Thank you. The people of the east are all kind, aren't they? So far, I have never been driven back in any settlement."

Then, Tartumai's eyes swept away.

"Only the people of the meadows who live in the territory of Gi or Ji are kind among the sims. Thou wilt still be regarded only as a people of the meadows, so think thou.

In its mouth, does Tartumai also know the people of the east who live in other territories? Varcus casually tried to inquire about it, but before that, the woman in the guide turned herself over.

When the Vulkas go after it, the people who notice the visitors turn their gaze. It wasn't certain because it was an eastern people who didn't move their expressions, but it still didn't feel so alarming.

"Oh well. The people of the east deal with poison, so you have no reason to be afraid of western travelers or anything else. Because you have strong powers, you can also behave kindly towards others? From what I've seen, very few men seem to be here, so if this is western territory, you must have been wary of the scythe."

While pulling the reins of Totos, Tartumai comes to see Vulcus on the side.

"The men and the young ladies will be looking after the gamma. There should be about a hundred women and toddlers alone who have eaten their years, but are you in a better mood?

"Yeah. If it's this spacious, there's no problem. Besides, the scent of vanilla is eliminating the human odor."

Across the settlement, large quantities of vanilla are dried or smoked. As for Varcus, he was in the mood to rush over there right now.

(But if I imitate on my own, I'll reach base to this tartumai)

Even the servant Vulcus could exercise as much restraint as that. So far, the person most intriguing to Varcus was this Tartumai, so he didn't want to lose his mood as much as possible.

(If there's someone who can handle vanilla more skillfully than him, I don't mind sticking around... why, it doesn't seem like such a person exists)

That was almost, like, Varcus' intuition.

If you dare to give a reason, does that mean that Tartumai originally lived in the West Territories? He stated that he had lived all twenty years in the meadows, so the decades preceding that he should have lived in western territory.

(He looks like he's about fifty, so in the first thirty years or so he should have been carved into the flesh something called Western food culture. Later, living in the meadows for about twenty years may have allowed us to wear something called the best vanilla harmony for the people of the west)

Besides, Turtumai can handle the words of the west. No matter how skilled he was at handling vanilla, it was difficult to hope for guidance if the words didn't make sense.

(I want to do something and beg for his teachings.... but first, I need you to show me the human skill of this settlement)

While Varcus was contemplating such a thing, he was led, among other things, to a great tent.

It has a more splendid construction than any other tent, with stunning embroidery loose in the entrance book. I guess this is the tent of the elders of this settlement.

The guided women called out to them.

A squeaky voice returned from within, but they were both eastern words, so I don't know what it was about. Varcus was to go around the book, following the women and Turtumai.

Behind the tent, an old man sat.

I still have a long skinny body and my hair is almost white. Deep wrinkles were engraved on its beardless surface, as if it were an old tree.

……

A crouched voice is released from its mouth.

Whatever it was, it was a majestic distortion.

Nodded by Tartumai, Vulcus breaks his knee around the center of the tent. Tartumai also sat next to it, and the women refrained instead of the elders.

For a while, words exchanged between Tartumai and the elders.

It's hard to imagine what kind of conversation is being had, because you can't even read emotions from your voice. Varcus was as comfortable as even songs lacking in melody were heard.

"… I've never seen a traveler as rare as you, the elder says"

Eventually, Tartumai told me so.

"I don't even think I really want to go to the meadows alone and learn how to handle vanilla for cooking. I want God to swear that the word is not a lie…"

"Is it an oath? Is that okay with an oath to Western God?

"Yeah, that's fine. This is Sim's territory, so the Oriental God has heard the word."

"Yes, sir."

Varcus removed the collar roll that had been wrapped from his nose down, and then stood up.

Then place your left fist in your heart and spread your right arm wide open. To Selva, the Western god, is a ritual of oath.

"I, Varcus of Genos, hereby swear that I have not uttered any falsehood. We have come to this sim to learn how to handle vanilla"

This is inherently a ritual to prove that I am the Son of Western God. Speaking falsehoods in other words would not tear your soul apart. If this could seal all the lies, this world would have looked more different too.

But also, there is no difference in delivering the Word to Western God, so if you are a man of thick faith, you can hardly speak falsely. It was wondered how long it would be effective to determine the truth about the other person.

After the ritual, Vulcus sits back with his arms tapped.

As the elders turned their eyes, Tartumai nodded quietly.

(... right. This old man doesn't understand the language of the west, so you checked with Turtumai to see if I had sworn in properly)

Does that mean Turtumai is quite trusted by this person?

Either way, the fact that Vulcus' words were not false seemed to convince me.

"We say we will allow you to stay. But I can't promise you how much help you can do."

"Yes, of course, there are no differences"

"May the blessings of Western God be upon you. Now, Noon--"

And, as Tartumai tried to raise her hips, Varcus raised his voice, "Please wait".

"While you're taking care of me in this settlement, could you please stay with me in your actions? I don't understand the eastern language, so I'm not anxious to be left alone."

"... but you visited Sims with that intention from the beginning, didn't you? Besides, I thought you said you'd been spending a lot of time alone until you met Non."

"By being around you, I was reminded of the convenience of the word. Thank you so much, could you please?

Turtumai laid her eyes down to get lost.

All the while here, Vulcus makes the words overlap.

"It is only today that I will take care of you here. Only today, let me buy your time. I promise I'll never imitate anything funny."

After a long tour, Tartumai replied sighing.

"Well, just for today… but if you're still willing to convince Non, I hope you'll give it up"

"Yes, we will work hard"

Varcus was supposed to be lying here. He didn't have any hair from the start, like he was going to give up Turtumai.

(But first, there's nothing else to think about to convince him)

When Varcus thought that way, the elders raised their voices.

In the wake of that word, the women go out. After exchanging words with his elders, Turtumai has told him this.

"It's time for Jomtien, so they're going to sift through the meal. Vanilla is also used there, so we hope it helps you."

"Yes, thank you from the bottom of my heart, tell me"

Varcus' chest is filled with anticipation. It is not a feeling of expectation of the people living in this settlement, but of unknown ingredients and cooking methods. No matter how crude the dish was served, Sim's vanilla is just used to feed the current Varcus. Sim's vanilla was essential for Vulcus to go further in the future.

(I suppose it was also a revelation that I was given free time out of the restaurant. Even if I stayed in a store like that, I no longer had anything to gain)

With that in mind, Varcus waited for the meal to be delivered.

As you wouldn't know by the side, Varcus' heart had bounced off like a toddler.