The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 1 - Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

The Fortune-Teller Knew!

IT WAS ALREADY MORNING, but nobody came to wake me up. It’d only been a few days since my life was turned upside down, but I’d already given up on that.

My brother and sister knew about it, too, now. They were so mean! They said I made trouble for Mom and Dad. Maybe they were right, maybe it was my fault. I didn’t know anymore 

Either way, I had to get stronger! If you’re going to run away from home, you gotta be healthy and strong. Also, I had to find food in the forest. Nobody was going to teach me…but even if it was hard, I had to learn, and I had to get ready for whatever came at me!

Run through the forest if you want to get stronger. The words appeared in my mind. Past Me again? I decided to listen. 

I spent the day looking for fruit again without luck. Slowly, I was getting used to running alone in the woods. I already felt a little stronger…but maybe that was just wishful thinking. 

I blinked awake. Huh? I must’ve passed out from exhaustion. I glanced to the side and froze; a middle-aged woman sat there. When our gazes met, the crow’s feet around her eyes deepened as she smiled. I knew that smile… She was the village fortune-teller! Whenever she helped out the villagers, she flashed that comforting, calm smile.

“Hello, little one,” said the fortune-teller.

“Yes, hello.” My heart skipped a beat. All the villagers knew about me by now, so I hadn’t talked to anybody in a while. It was like they didn’t even see me. “Why did this happen to me?”

The fortune-teller looked at me for a moment. Then she spoke in a quiet, soothing voice. “My fortunes predict the future, but I possess but one star,” she said quietly. “I can only catch glimpses of what things may come. When we last met, I sensed you would end up in this situation for reasons that eluded my sight.”

“Oh.” It seemed like she wanted to help me. My current situation…there wasn’t anything I could do to change it. The past me whispered that no matter where you were, people had a way of weeding out those who didn’t get it.

But I did get it! I just didn’t like it.

“Here’s a gift.” She handed me a bag.

I was confused but took it and peered inside. Somehow, there was a lot more inside than you’d think there could be.

“It’s a lesser magical bag,” she explained. “I’ve packed it with things you shall need for what’s ahead.”

I turned over the bag, and a whole pile of stuff came tumbling out. Books—some about foraging for food, others about poisonous plants. Potions, too, in a rainbow of colors. Even a small knife.

I looked to the fortune-teller, confused.

“Lesser magical bags tend to get tossed,” she said, “so they are a trifle to find. Common magical bags are much better—they can freeze time for the items inside them—but such things cost money. The potions in these bags are lesser as well. They won’t be very effective, but a child like yourself won’t be able to afford common ones. I suspect that you, ah…you’ll need to make do with many lesser goods to survive.”

The fortune-teller was kind. Everyone else had washed their hands of me, but she was teaching me to survive all the same.

“Thank you very much,” I said.