The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 1 - Chapter 48

Chapter 48:

Boarhog Skewers

VICE-CAPTAIN VELIVERA looked tired. He was breathing heavily, too. Had he been searching for Captain Oght to stop him? If so, I felt a little bad.

Noticing my expression, he smiled grimly. “Don’t worry. I always have to hold this guy back when he goes overboard. Somebody’s got to do it, and nobody else wants to.”

“Why do you make it sound like I’m always going crazy?” Captain Oght furrowed his brow at Vice-Captain Velivera’s words.

“Someday, Captain, you’re going to develop a smidgen of self-awareness.”

These two seemed close.

“Hey, I know,” said Captain Oght, baldly ignoring the previous remark. “How about I treat you to a meal as an apology, Ivy?”

“Huh?! You don’t have to do that. Just don’t tell too many people about me, please.”

“Er, well…” He looked away guiltily. “About that…”

“Hm?” I cocked my head.

“Hurry up and spill it,” Vice-Captain Velivera groaned.

“Sorry! I told all of my coworkers about you.”

“So it’s too late?”

“Ah ha ha ha…sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too,” the vice-captain added. “I didn’t think he had already told everyone.”

“I’m…really, extremely, absolutely sorry.” Captain Oght scratched his head and bowed in apology.

Still, he hadn’t been trying to do anything malicious. In fact, he’d been trying to help me. So I thought, at least…but my legs were getting jellified again. “It’s okay. You were worried about me.”

“Which is why I should make it up to you with a meal.”

“But—” I tried to protest.

“This village has a signature dish,” Captain Oght interrupted. “Have you had it?”

“A signature dish? No…?”

“It’s skewer-grilled boarhog, and I’ll treat you to all you can eat!”

“Huh?” Had he decided without me? He took my wrist and led me through the plaza. Compared to last time, he was gentler and slower, but no less pushy about treating me. I looked to Vice-Captain Velivera, who walked behind us.

“I’d go along with it,” advised the Vice-Captain. “Boarhog is great.”

So he wasn’t going to stop him this time. I was curious, though. After all, the only meat I’d had during my journey were dried meat and field mouse with salt.

“I look forward to it then,” I said.

Captain Oght broke out into a smile and patted my head. I was a little startled. How long had it been since someone touched me like that? I…couldn’t even remember.

“Something wrong?” Vice-Captain Velivera asked when he saw my facial expression.

“No. I’m just, um…I’m hungry…” I was getting too sentimental. That past was no longer mine.

We reached a street lined by stalls emitting delicious scents. My stomach growled. I hadn’t been to this area yet.

Captain Oght beelined for a specific stall. “Yooo!”

“Captain Oght, eh? And who’s that, your illegitimate child?”

“Ha ha ha! Cute, ain’t he?”

“Huh? Wha? Bwuh?” I sputtered. An illegitimate child? What? Me?

Vice-Captain Velivera groaned again. “Didn’t I just tell you not to make more trouble for him?”

“Oh, my bad! This here’s an adventurer named Ivy.”

“Um, nice to meet you,” I said sheepishly.

“Let me introduce you to Tegra. She’s the proprietress of this fine boarhog skewer joint.”

Tegra smiled. “Aren’t you an adorable little adventurer?”

“Ten please, madam,” Captain Oght ordered.

“Coming right up!” The woman, Tegra, placed sticks of skewered boarhog on a mesh grill, where they began to sizzle immediately. The portions were huge!

“Those are really big,” I commented.

“Think so? I bet you could eat ten of them.”

“Me?! I couldn’t. No way!”

“No way? Hmm… How many could you eat, then?”

“Umm…” I looked at the boarhog on the grill. The chunks of skewered meat were the size of my fists. “Two or three, maybe?” That would be my absolute limit, I was sure.

“Seriously?!” The captain seemed shocked. “That’s, like…nothing!”

“But the pieces are so big.” I definitely couldn’t eat more than three, and that would be too much already.

As the meat cooked, the proprietress brushed it with a black sauce. A delicious smell wafted about. It smelled so good! I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the glistening meat.

“He may be an adventurer, but he’s still small,” Vice-Captain Velivera backed me up. “Ten is out of the question.”

“Think so? The last one ate more than ten.”

“Consider how much bigger he was than Ivy.”

“What do you think, Captain?” Tegra asked. “I’ve already cooked them.”

“Ha ha ha! Madam, mind splitting them seven and three?”

“Understood!” She wrapped the cooked meat in leaves that I’d never seen before—I wonder what they were? Tegra handed two packages to Captain Oght: one with three skewers and one with seven.

“Here you go.” Captain Oght handed me the package with three inside.

“Thank you very much.”

“No worries. It’s technically all my fault, anyway.”

“You can say that again,” said Vice-Captain Velivera with a laugh.

Chairs and tables were set up near the stalls. As we were on our way there, an officer called the captain and vice-captain over. It seemed there was some trouble.

“Sorry, Ivy,” Captain Oght said. “Duty calls.”

“It’s okay.”

“Agh, but I hate to leave you alone out here.”

“I’ll just go back to the plaza and eat there,” I assured him.

“You sure?”

“Yes. Good luck at work.”

“You’re a good kid.” He ruffled my hair. It was probably really messy by now. “Sorry again. We gotta go.”

“Catch you later.”

“Okay. Goodbye.”

Vice-Captain Velivera seemed like the real superior, given how he just listened to us talk. As I walked back toward the plaza, I smelled the meat in my hands…and couldn’t help running back to enjoy it as soon as I could!