The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 1 - Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

I’m Off!

THESE DAYS, I had five lesser magic bags. One of them was folded in half and tied at my hip. Two were clutched in my left hand and two in my right. Every single one was packed to the brim. 

There were lots of kinds of lesser potions in them: a blue potion to heal wounds, a red potion to cure illnesses, a green potion to suppress pain, and a purple potion to undo curses. They were all lesser, though, so I wouldn’t know how well they worked until I tried them. As long as they weren’t truly bottom of the barrel, I could expect them to do something. I knew that from experience.

I ran through the woods, collecting all the things I’d prepared for my journey and hidden throughout my home of the last several years. I didn’t want to leave behind a single thing that I’d received from the fortune-teller. For food, I had dried meat. I’d “borrowed” chunks here and there as a parting gift from all those very nice villagers.

What, you got a problem with that?

I scooped up water from a fountain into my canteen and stuffed it in the bag. Honestly, I was lacking a lot of necessities for a journey, but I had to give up on those things; I was too small to carry much, after all. I had the fortune-teller’s books, too.

Next I went to find the tiny, broken sword that I’d hidden in a hole at the bottom of a tree.

Why was I leaving? Call it a strange stroke of luck.

Every five days, I’d hidden in the village to gather information. I knew from experience that you always needed as much info as you could to survive. Just yesterday, I’d left the forest on one of those trips.

I’d hidden in an unused meeting place and reached for auras nearby. Normally I wouldn’t feel much, but not this time. When I’d listened in, I heard voices…two men.

“Found that thing. There’s a certain place in the forest. I’ll tell you the details later, but that’s where she’s made her nasty little nest.”

“Good work, Tableau. That creature only brings misfortune to our village, got it?”

Tableau was Dad’s name, but I didn’t know the other one. I let out the breath I’d been holding and carefully peeked out from behind the meeting place to see. It was…the chief.

“Of course,” said the man I’d called Dad. “We can’t have no-stars living in our midst. Besides, the child will be with God; it’s the best she can hope for, really.”

Don’t be stupid! I’ll be happier if I died? I want to live! You can drag me to God kicking and screaming!

It ticked me off, but I took deep breaths to suppress it. Carefully, I crept away unseen, collected all the things I’d been hiding, and made up my mind to abandon the village. I’d been prepared to leave at anytime, I just hadn’t found a reason to finally cut ties. I was scared to leave the place where I was born—who wouldn’t be? But no way was I gonna let myself die here.

Far from the village, on the outskirts of the forest, there grew a great tree—it was probably the biggest in the whole forest. At the roots was a hollow big enough to hide things in. I reached in and grabbed my last item—a valuable sword that I’d used to keep myself safe in the woods. The fortune-teller had found it for me after searching for the perfect sword for my size.

It was still big for an eight-year-old, but she couldn’t find a smaller one. It was sharp enough to do the trick, though. I took it and ran far, far away from the village.

Once I was far enough that I could only barely see the lights of the town, I turned and gazed back at it. The forest around that awful place had treated me well. If only I could thank the fortune-teller, I’d…

I clenched the hilt of my sword, grounding myself. No. Can’t let those emotions overflow.

I turned from the town and saw, in the near distance, lantern light flickering in one of my old hiding places. I’d secured a few places to sleep, and they’d found the one closest to the village.

I’ll need to be more careful where I stop in the future, I thought. And with that, I began to run.

Never again could I return to this village.