The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 1 - Chapter 66

Chapter 66:

Rattloore

OUTSIDE, Gnouga was preparing breakfast.

“Good morning,” I said.

“Morning,” he replied. “Thanks for the soup.”

“No problem.”

Yesterday, I’d prepped soup for today’s breakfast on top of last night’s dinner. Gnouga was warming up the pot over the fire and dividing up dried meat.

“Good mooorning!” Rattloore called out and patted me gently on the head. He was way too energetic this early in the morning.

Rattloore had started patting my head and hugging me more ever since he’d heard that someone was after me. He was probably worried, though I sensed something else, too—nothing bad, but I couldn’t quite figure it out.

“Good morning, Rattloore.”

Seizerk and Sifar emerged from their tent soon after, and we all ate breakfast together. I accepted the black bread they offered me, but it seemed so strange. Everyone in Sword of Flames accepted me, an outsider, without issue. They ate with me like it was normal, broke bread with me like it was just…fine. I looked down at the black bread in my hand. The kidnappers worried me, but being around friends was a relief.

“Heeey, Seizerk?” said Rattloore. “I’m taking the day off.”

Seizerk sighed. “Ah, yeah. Guess I can’t exactly stop you.”

What’s going on? Rattloore’s taking the day off? Can you do that during hunts like this? I’ve never heard of it, but…it’s my first time dealing with veterans, so who knows?

“Hooray! I get to spend the day with Ivy.”

Was he doing this for me? If he was, I was grateful. Otherwise, I’d have to be alone with Mira, but…really, was he allowed to do this?

“Umm, I’ll be okay…”

“Don’t worry about it!” said Rattloore. “You heard Seizerk. I’ve got permission!”

I looked at Seizerk. He shrugged, but he didn’t take it back. Is it fine? Really?

“It’s not a problem,” said Gnouga. “But Rattloore, we’ll need permission from the leader.”

Rattloore beamed. “Understood!”

I bowed my thanks at Seizerk. He just grinned wryly and raised his hands in surrender. I was honestly pretty afraid of Mira at this point, so it was comforting to have Rattloore with me. All of my tension evaporated at once. I must’ve been more nervous than I’d thought.

After we ate breakfast, Gnouga and Rattloore left to talk to the leader of the hunt. Is this really, seriously, genuinely okay? I wondered to myself as they left.

“Sorry about him, Ivy,” Seizerk apologized again.

“No, I’m the one who’s sorry. I didn’t mean to make Mr. Rattloore take the day off.”

“Don’t get the wrong idea. He’s taking off for his own sake. He’s got his reasons, y’know.”

“Huh?” He’s got reasons?

There was a pain now beneath Seizerk’s standard calm facade. I stared for a moment, surprised. He noticed and forced a smile. The pain was gone like it had never been there.

“Uh, how do I say this?” he wondered aloud. “When Rattloore learned that they were after you, he got a little unstable. Sorry, but I gotta ask that you spend the day with him.”

“Is that true? Well, it is a relief to have him with me, so I certainly appreciate it.”

Based on the look on Seizerk’s face, there seemed to be more to the story. But we’d just met, and I was a kid, so I couldn’t expect him to tell me more. …I didn’t know if Rattloore was unstable, but he really was patting my head a lot more often. Maybe it was about making himself feel better?

“But if he gets annoying,” Seizerk added, “feel free to slug him a few times.”

“Slug him?”

“Yeah! Don’t worry, he can take a couple punches.” He looked serious. Could I hit someone who he’d just called unstable?

“Ivy!” Rattloore called out. “You two talking about me?”

“What’d the leader say?” Seizerk asked him.

“He sighed harder than I’ve ever seen, but it’s a yes! Ivy, we’re hanging out today!”

“Yeah! I’m excited,” I said, though I was surprised he got permission so easily.

After seeing Seizerk and the others off on the hunt, I tidied up breakfast. Like yesterday, I gathered trash and took it to the slimes. Along the way, I got trash from other adventurers, too. That awful chill came back as I worked. This time, I didn’t just look around for it but tried to feel what direction it was coming from. It was hard to tell, though… Every time I thought I had it, the feeling slipped away.

Someone grabbed my hand. Surprised, I looked over and saw Rattloore smiling down at me.

“You’re safe,” he said. His smile and words were a comfort. I smiled back, and Rattloore turned away to look forward again.

I gasped. It had only been for a second, but…he’d looked like he was about to cry. Or had I just imagined it? He wasn’t acting any different, so…why?

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing. I’m glad to have your help.”

“No prob! I’ve got nothing else to do, anyway.”

“Mr. Seizerk would be mad if he heard you say that,” I said, and he laughed.

Nearby, I could see Mira waving at us with a smile. I couldn’t stop myself from squeezing Rattloore’s hand harder. He gave me a confused look, but I wasn’t sure how to explain. I sped up and pulled him along behind me.

“Let’s ask them to dispose of the trash,” I said, hoping to cover up my panic.

“Ahh…right, yeah. Mira’s slime is a little special, y’know. Have you seen it?”

Just hearing the name Mira made me shudder now. “If you mean the sword-processing slime,” I said, managing to keep my voice steady, “yes. She let me see it.”

“Really? Yeah, that’s the one. It’s crazy, right? Slimes like that are pretty rare.”

“Are they? That’s…um, incredible.” I looked down a little and took deep breaths. Just seeing her face and hearing her name had me shaken.

Calm down. They’ll figure out something’s up at this rate. Calm down. It’ll be okay, I repeated to myself over and over.

After a long breath, I looked up to Mira again.

“It’ll be okay,” I said, out loud this time. My mental repetitions had leaked out of my mouth.

“Hm? You okay?” Rattloore asked me.

I shook my head and walked over to Mira. It’ll be okay.

“Ivy, good morning,” she greeted me. “Why is Rattloore here, exactly?”

“I’m off today!” he answered.

“What the heck? They don’t let people do that, do they?”

“Ha ha! I’m serious, I got permission from the leader and everything.”

“Really? Well, that’s…fine,” she said. “Anyway, put the trash in front of the right slimes, please.”

“Will do!”

We placed trash before the slimes. None of them digested anywhere near as fast as Sora. Were they all full, maybe?

“What’s the matter?” Rattloore asked when he saw me staring intently at them.

“It seems to be eating really slowly?”

“Hm? But that’s about their normal speed.”

Huh? Do most slimes eat so slowly? The slimes ate empty potion bottles at about a fifth of Sora’s speed. Maybe Sora was just a little too special…