The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 1 - Chapter 64

Chapter 64:

Twins and the Expedition Leader

“NICE TO MEET YOU. I’m Tort of Verdant Wind, Mira’s older brother. This is my little brother, Marm.”

Huh? But they looked exactly the same. Were they…? 

“Surprised, Ivy?” Mira asked. “My brothers are twins. Don’t see those every day.”

I guessed twins were rare. It seemed like a lot of my knowledge was influenced by Past Me, so I had to avoid saying anything careless. Looking back, I hadn’t seen any twins in other villages. If they weren’t common, I’d need to remember that.

“It’s nice to meet you, too,” I said. “I’m pleased to make your acquaintance. My name is Ivy.”

“Aww. What a polite kid,” said Tort. He and Marm were all smiles. But the younger brother, Marm, did seem a little…off. Or maybe I was just imagining it.

“Right?!” Mira squealed. “He’s such a good boy.”

“Gang’s all here, eh?”

I turned to the source of that calm yet imposing voice. A well-built, kinda intimidating-looking man was walking toward us. He seemed to exude an air of reliability. I’d never seen someone who had so much presence at first glance. Mysterious…

“Boss, this is Ivy. We were just telling you about him.”

Hearing my name snapped me out of my trance. 

“Umm, uhh, hi! I’m Ivy. It’s nice to meet you.” I’d managed to introduce myself, but my words felt inadequate. This guy was the boss of the whole expedition party? I could see why.

“Likewise. I’m Bolorda, leader of this hunt.” He gave me a light pat on the head. Strangely, despite having just met him, I felt more steady. He really was mysterious. “Mira. You won’t be leaving this camp, right?”

“Yep, that’s the plan. Slime tamers don’t usually join hunts anyway.”

“Ha ha ha, true. We can’t risk losing our valuable tamers. Make sure you stay with Ivy, got it?”

“Of course. Leave it to me!” Mira winked at me, so I smiled sheepishly back.

What did he mean by valuable tamers? Were tamers not common? I’d like to ask, but…maybe later.

While I was deep in thought, Rattloore pulled me into a tight hug from behind. “I’ll stay with you when I can, too! You can rely on me!”

“Okay. Thank you.” I didn’t want to rely on him too much, but stubbornly refusing others’ kindness could be just as cruel as taking advantage of them. Avail yourself of others’ kindness when necessary and try to return the favor. That was the most important rule for dealing with people, or so the fortune-teller had taught me. I didn’t know when restraint became too much, so I decided to accept it for now. And honestly, that creeping feeling of discomfort from earlier had me terrified.

The three members of Verdant Wind promised to meet me tomorrow and then left. The leader of the hunt, Bolorda, seemed to have something to talk about with Seizerk, so the two walked off together.

“Excuse me, Mr. Rattloore?” I asked him. “Do you have more ingredients we could use? I’d like to make dinner.”

“You mean it? Yesterday’s soup and meat were delicious, so I was thinking of asking for your help again.”

“Thank you. I’ll do my best.” Rattloore’s smile was infectious. I went back to my tent and whispered to Sora, currently inside its bag. “Sorry, Sora. It’s gonna be a little cramped for a while.”

Sora stretched up and down twice but showed no signs of leaving its bag. Normally, it would jump right out. Did it understand the situation we were in? I petted Sora, and it bobbed happily.

“I’m glad they’re all good people here.”

As I uttered those words, Sora stopped bobbing and just…stared. Just stared straight at me. What’s going on? That’s not how it normally reacts. 

Before I could say another word, there was a loud noise outside. I was curious, but it could wait a second. I scooped potions into Sora’s bag. It would be hours until the hunt was over, and Sora’s potion situation was getting dire.

“I’m gonna go try my best to make dinner, okay?” After giving Sora another pet while he stretched, I closed the bag and put it on top of the blanket. Then I took my stash of seasonings from another bag and went back out to the camp. Rattloore had already started a fire and prepared pots and water.

“Sorry for taking so long,” I said.

“Not a problem. Is this enough to make food for tonight? We’ll have fresh meat tomorrow, by the way—they said they’d divvy up the moo we hunted yesterday.”

Fresh moo meat? How exciting!

I cut the meat Rattloore brought into bite-sized chunks and threw it in the pot. Today we had salted cluck meat. Cluck…that sounds familiar, but why? Anyway, since it was salted, I had to be careful with the seasoning or I’d oversalt it. I put a few of the medicinal plants I’d brought out into the pot with the meat and brought it all to a simmer.

Out of nowhere, that chill crept back onto my neck. I whipped around. There were a lot of adventurers about, so I couldn’t tell who it was coming from. The discomfort always seemed to disappear when I looked around…but why? And who could it be?

Suddenly, there was a hand on my head.

“Don’t worry. We’re here for you.” Rattloore smiled and patted me.

“Thank you. The soup is almost ready. I just need to roast the cluck meat.”

After washing some of the salt off the meat, I covered it in medicinal plants and roasted it. It has a peculiar smell… I hope it turns out okay.

Gnouga left his tent and sat next to me as I cooked. Even Sifar, who had left for a while, eventually returned and crouched next to the pot. I didn’t notice him at all. That’s a veteran for you, huh? But…something felt a little off.

“Hm? What’s the matter?” Sifar asked.

“We should wait a little longer. Mr. Seizerk isn’t back yet.”

“Aw, just forget Seizerk.”

“Huh?”

“Wanna say that again, Sifar?” That was Seizerk’s voice. I looked his way—he was shooting an exhausted glare at Sifar.

“Ah, welcome back,” said Sifar, unaffected.

“The scariest thing about you is that you weren’t even trying to be a jerk on purpose.”

“Me? Scary? C’mon!”

“Easy for you to say,” Seizerk chuckled. “You were about to eat my share.”

“You’re worse than me. I wasn’t late for dinner. Besides, leaving food uneaten is a waste!”

“Please. You weren’t planning to leave any for me at all, were you?”

“I mean…what if it gets cold?” Sifar shrugged. “Like I said, it’s a waste.”

Sifar seemed like a gentle soul, but now he seems pretty different. What do you call it? Self-centered? Does that fit? Well, maybe not exactly.

“Let’s eat, everyone,” I called out to stop Seizerk and Sifar’s spiraling argument.

Gnouga was starting to look a little impatient as he stared at the meat, so he probably wanted to eat right away. Turns out Rattloore wasn’t the only odd personality in Sword of Flames—everyone was.