The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 2 - Chapter 109

Chapter 109:

Ciel

RICKBERT WANTED TO KEEP questioning me about fetishes, but after we handed over the captives, I decided to return to the forest. Bolorda and the others were worried, but they agreed when I reminded them Ciel could protect me.

While I trekked back, I thought about the mark on Ciel’s forehead. I hadn’t had a chance to get a good look, but it was definitely like Sora’s. I kept an eye out for any nearby auras as I took Sora out of its bag and examined its mark.

“Hmm, looks the same…”

But with my level of mana, I shouldn’t have been able to tame Ciel at all. I’d only just named it, too…yet it already had the mark. What was going on? Would I be able to figure anything out if I saw the adandara again?

As I delved deeper into the woods, I felt Ciel’s presence on the wind. It was nearby. I scanned for a spot with trees thick enough to hide the adandara. Adandaras were rare monsters, so there might be a huge commotion if Ciel was found. I wouldn’t want people seeing it and hunting it down, so I’d have to be careful from now on. I stopped walking, and Ciel jumped down from a nearby tree.

“Thanks for before, really. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to come visit.”

Purrpurrrr. Purrpurrrr. 

It purred and swished its tail, rubbing its head against me. I stroked its neck. Sora was bouncing and bumping into Ciel again. It bounced off each time…but it was probably fine? Sora looked like it was having a ball.

“Oh yeah. Ciel, may I see your forehead?” The adandara stopped nuzzling me and went still. “Thank you.”

I felt the small mark on Ciel’s forehead. My fingertips brushed the familiar bumpy feeling of that symbol. There was no doubt—it was the exact same pattern as Sora’s. Yet it wasn’t connected to me. I touched Sora’s mark and felt that we were connected, yet I didn’t feel that when I touched Ciel’s.

“Ciel, I haven’t tamed you, right? What is this mark?” I asked. The adandara tilted its head. Moments later, its forehead began to glow. “Huh? It’s gone!”

The mark had disappeared before my eyes. When I touched the adandara’s forehead, I felt nothing. What was going on? As I watched on quizzically, it glowed again. The mark reappeared. Now when I touched it, I felt the bumpiness from before.

I gazed into Ciel’s eyes. “Are you…making this mark yourself, Ciel?” It purred and looked back at me. It seemed to be saying yes.

The taming symbol was something that appeared as a manifestation of the tamer’s mana; it wasn’t a thing you could just make because you felt like it. The form of mana differed from person to person, so no two people had the same mark. Since the marks appeared naturally, fake ones could quickly be found out…or so the book had said. Was that wrong? Or was Ciel special? Either way, the books represented accepted knowledge on the subject, so this could be a big deal if people found out. It would be best if no one saw the mark at all, but if they did see Ciel, the mark would show them it shouldn’t be hunted.

“Hmm… This is tricky.”

And even if I truly could tame Ciel, I couldn’t bring it into town. According to Bolorda, adandaras were among the ten rarest monsters and the three most dangerous. Bringing it into town would cause a huge uproar, so I’d best not. I already knew adandaras were strong and rare, but I had no idea they were that special.

“Ciel, we can travel together, but you can’t go into the town. I’m sorry.” Ciel continued to purr. Apparently, that didn’t bother it in the least.

What should we do about the mark, though? Should I ask someone? It would probably be safe to ask Rattloore and Sifar. Urgh…they were okay with Sora, but what about Ciel? They were only so calm because they thought I tamed it. If they knew I hadn’t…would they hunt it? I’m just not sure…

“What should I do?”

I hugged Ciel tight. The catlike monster was warm. Sora bounced vigorously enough to leap onto the adandara’s back. Wow, Sora’s a high jumper! It’s gotten a lot stronger without me realizing. I need to get stronger, too. But first, I need to put my faith in the people I’ve decided to trust.

“It’ll be fine, right?”

Purrrr.

“Pu pu, pu pu!”

Ha ha ha! It always calms me down when Sora makes that noise. Yeah, I’m gonna believe in the adventurers. They’ve protected us thus far, after all.

“Okay. With that decided…oh! They did say they’d get back late today.”

The adventurers had a lot of loose ends to tie up with regard to the organization. The papers we found contained the names of nobles and other high-ranking citizens from surrounding villages and towns, too. They were contacting each guard force and guild, but since the information was so explosive, it was causing a bit of a ruckus…or something. Bolorda and the others were astonished at how widespread the operations were, too.

Not even a day had passed and all the prisoners were pointing fingers at each other. As a result, the interrogators were getting a whole lot of tips on crimes they didn’t even know about. Sifar was especially good at inspiring them to speak, apparently. That’s Sifar for you.

“I should make a meal that’ll be delicious whatever time they come home. Stews and braises do tend to taste better when you’ve warmed them back up…”

I’ll do what I can. Also, I need to hunt.

“Let’s see if we can find some materials for traps in the dump.”

Purrrr. Purrrr. Purrrrr… Mrrrow.

Hm? I heard a strange noise, so I looked at Ciel. The adandara stared back at me.

“Did you just meow?”

Mrrrow.

That’s cute. It doesn’t look like it should be able to make a noise that cute. The book hadn’t mentioned anything about adandaras meowing. It had only mentioned them making that throaty growl noise to intimidate things. Hmm…no matter how hard I think about it, that book definitely didn’t mention anything about cuteness.

Sora bounced back and forth on Ciel’s back. It seemed like the slime was glad to hear our friend’s voice. I didn’t mind the bouncing, but I was a little nervous it would tumble off and get hurt.

“Sora, you’re gonna fall.” At my warning, Sora bounced up onto Ciel’s head. The adandara didn’t look especially bothered. “Ciel, if you don’t like that, make sure you tell Sora. I don’t know if I like Sora being on your head, either. How about we get you down?”

I cradled Sora in my arms and petted it.

“Pulupulu!”

This is fun. I wasn’t at all confident that I could shake off the kidnappers until yesterday, so… Okay, let’s do this!

“Let’s head to the dump and then back to the town.”

The dump was my first stop because I needed to get parts for traps. I had rope left but not much. I wanted baskets, too, but I’d be better off learning to make them myself. What would I need? Tree bark…? Maybe I should ask someone how to make them first. Next…

Tug.

Hmm? Something pulled on me, so I looked back. Ciel was tugging on my clothes with its mouth.

“What’s the matter? You’re gonna stretch my clothes.”

Ciel released me, and its purring changed tone. It had made this particular noise before… I think it was when I suggested going to the dump? Did Ciel dislike dumps?

“Do you hate dumps, Ciel? But I don’t remember you acting like that around them…” We’d been to forest dumps before, and it didn’t seem mad then. Hmm… Oh! 

“Are you going hunting?”

Purrrr. Purrrr.

Is it telling me to let it take care of the hunting? I’d never wanted for meat since Ciel started traveling with me. In fact, I ended up with too much sometimes. It would always bring back so much prey along the way—far more than I could bag on my own. Still, relying on Ciel was a disadvantage for me in the long term, since hunting was a good way to learn about monsters and animals. It had also helped me be more sensitive to the environment of the forest.

“Hey, Ciel? I need to hunt to learn, so you don’t need to… Actually, how about we do it together?”

Mrrrow. Ciel meowed happily at my suggestion.

Good. I didn’t think it would look so sad just because I didn’t want it to hunt for me… How can I say no to those eyes?