The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 1 - Chapter 44

Chapter 44:

Under Investigation?

WHEN I GOT BACK to the village, the gatekeeper I’d been hoping to see was letting people in and out. I think his name was Captain Oght? Uh…or is this one Vice-Captain Velivera? I actually don’t know who’s who.

“Welcome back. This morning was rough, huh? You okay?” he asked.

“Yes, sir! Captain Oght, right?”

“Hm? Ah, we didn’t introduce ourselves, did we?”

“No, sir. Um, my name is Ivy. The tent is very comfortable. Thank you for helping me get it.”

“Ha ha ha! Good to know! Yeah, I’m Captain Oght,” he confirmed.

Phew, I was right. I would’ve looked really rude if I had it wrong.

“Remember those adventurers from earlier?” he asked. “Turns out they were being investigated in other villages and towns.”

“Investigated?”

“Yeah. They pull that same con all over. Find a young adventurer and pick on them till they can steal whatever they like. The guild’s gotten a bunch of complaints about them, but it can be hard to prove that things belong to you. They were having a hard time catching those guys.”

“And that’s why they were being investigated?”

“Yep. They’re clever—it’s hard to prove what belongs to who sometimes, and they take advantage of that. But this time, the tent was from a place I’d shown you to myself. From the old man’s store, no less! Evidence and testimony line up, so those losers are toast.”

“I see.” 

“Sorry for putting you through such a scary experience, Ivy.”

“I-It’s okay! Really.”

“Just…don’t push yourself, kid, okay?”

“Yes, sir.”

“It’s crazy, though,” Captain Oght continued. “Velivera’s been investigating for a while, and yet complaint after complaint keeps rolling in. They’re going through every single one with the guild now, but there are crimes that haven’t been reported, too. It’s a mess.”

I’d always known there were bad adventurers out there, but the ones who tried to steal from me must’ve been really rotten. I was glad that I’d bought my tent at the shop Captain Oght had shown me.

“Since you helped make an arrest, you’ll be getting a small gratuity,” he said with a smile. “It won’t be as much as a monster informant fee, though.”

“Huh? But I didn’t do anything.”

“Not so! If it weren’t for you, little guy, they would’ve had a hard time proving it. Besides…you can never have too much money, right?” Captain Oght winked.

“Well, I suppose…”

“Good! The sum will vary a little depending on their sentence, so you’ll want to stick around here for a while.”

A gratuity. There are so many things I don’t know. But I could certainly use the money. I’m sure I’ll need a lot, going forward.

I thanked Captain Oght again and headed back to the plaza. Oops, I forgot to tell him that I ran away instead of getting kicked out to save food. When are you supposed to bring that kind of thing up, though?

When I went to the plaza, the supervisor who’d helped me this morning was there.

“Thanks again for your help,” I said after greeting him.

“Welcome back. Did you hear?”

“Yes, th-thank you!” My heart skipped a beat. I’d felt like that when Captain Oght greeted me, too. I guessed I just wasn’t used to those words. “I mean, um…Captain Oght told me about the arrested adventurers. And by the way, my name is Ivy.”

“Mm? Ah, I’m Roygult. I manage the plaza and patrol inside the village. The captain was gatekeeping when you got here, right?”

“Yes.”

“I see.”

After my chat with Roygult, I returned to my tent. There, I closed the entrance and took Sora out of its bag.

Oops! I forgot to go to the dump to pick up what I need for traps! Should I go now? Honestly, I was too tired from everything that happened today. I looked to Sora and saw that the slime was already fast asleep. Early to bed, huh?

“Maybe I’ve done enough for one day…”

First, I checked the contents of my bags. I could make two field mouse traps with what I had on hand, but I’d need to go to the dump tomorrow. We didn’t have enough potions for Sora. But for now, I’d sleep a little.

Sooo tired…