The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 2 - Chapter 112

Chapter 112:

Hiding the Truth

“TIME FOR LUNCH!”

The last trap was set, so my work for the day was done. All that remained was spending the day with Ciel and dealing with the past memories, which I’d been putting off. I needed to get a handle on what was what. Herbs weren’t the only thing—the memories were influencing how I cooked in a big way. Rattloore was considerate enough not to probe too much, but that might not hold true of people I’d meet in the future. If I didn’t at least think up some plausible excuses now, I could end up digging my own grave.

“Which way is the river?” I wondered aloud.

If we were going to take a break, then I wanted to find a place where I could relax. Riverbanks typically had good visibility in all directions, so I liked them. I wanted to search for a river now, but I’d forgotten to look for one on the map. Shoot.

Just then, Ciel purred again. When I looked over, it started padding into the forest. Was it going to show me the way to the river?

“Is it that way?”

Mrrrow.

Ciel is so clever! We walked through the forest with Ciel at the lead. I searched for human auras, but the forest around here was empty. There were animals around, but since Ciel was with me, they kept their distance.

“I feel safe in the forest with you, Ciel.”

“Pu, pu pu!” Sora piped up. I guessed it agreed. It bounced all around, though it put a little too much oomph into its hops and ended up slamming into a tree. It didn’t seem to mind. Sora’s in a really good mood.

“Oh, a river!” Sunlight reflected off the glistening water. When we reached the riverbank, I saw fruit-bearing trees. Based on the shapes of the leaves and fruit, it looked like the sweet-sour fruit I really liked. “Sora, is that tree okay?”

“Pu!”

I approached the tree. Since we’d decided on a way for Ciel to communicate, I asked Sora to do the same. When something was safe, Sora could “pu!” once. However, it would only work when there were no people around—so, for right now, only in the woods. Still, it was convenient to have a simple system.

I shimmied up the tree and managed to pick a few fruits, which I deposited in my magic bag. When I climbed down, I scanned the area and spotted another fruit tree in the distance. I hadn’t seen that kind before. Was that fruit safe to eat? Sora was bouncing around the tree, so I guessed that was my answer. When I got closer, I saw the branches were full of fruit. The tree’s limbs hung low under the weight of the fruit, so it was easy to reach up and pluck one. I sniffed it. It smelled sweet. I took a bite…and spat it right out.

“Too sour!”

It had some sweetness, but it was way overpowered by sourness. It was inedible like this. I think you can make sour fruit more palatable by drying it out? I can’t remember the details, but…ah, well. I’ll think about it later. There are lots of other fruit trees here, so I’ll just grab what I can eat now. I climbed another tree and picked more fruit. Before long, my bag was full.

“Phew, that’s all we can carry. Okay, let’s eat. Sorry for the wait, Sora.”

Picking fruit was fun, but it was time-consuming. I clambered back down from the tree and found a place in the shade. There, I took potions out of Sora’s bag and lined them up for the slime. It gleefully began absorbing them. Ciel lay down next to Sora and took a nap. Come to think of it, I hadn’t brought any food for Ciel. Should I carry meat for it? How much does it even eat?

“Sorry, Ciel. I didn’t bring you anything…”

Purrrr.

Ciel glanced my way, purred, and closed its eyes again. Is it saying it’s fine right now? It would be really hard to bring food for it all the time… Maybe I’ll just leave that to Ciel. I produced the bag of donuks I’d bought and took a bite. The delicate sweetness of the pastry and the moist yet cakey texture were superb. It wasn’t as hard as black bread, but it wasn’t as soft as white bread. It was filling, too! I was glad I happened to pick a winner.

“Aaah…that was delicious.”

After five donuks, I was comfortably full. It was just the right amount. If I saw donuks again next time I went shopping, maybe I’d buy them again. I sipped water from my canteen and kicked back.

Okay, I should start organizing my memories. Let’s start with herbs and cooking, since that area seems the most problematic. It’s not like I’ll be battling kidnapping organizations all the time. At least, I hope not! And next time, I can honestly say, “I’ve been through something like this, so I learned from experience.” It was true—I had learned a lot of things from Seizerk, the captain, and the others.

The half-remembered herbs and cooking methods, however, had already infiltrated my daily life, so it was easy to mix up what I’d learned where. I’d been trying to use the term “medicinal plants,” but there were times I’d accidentally say “herbs.” All I could really do was be extra careful. 

Next were my cooking methods. Unfortunately, it was hard to know if I’d messed up unless someone said something. I wouldn’t have noticed that the cheese or braising toma were weird if the adventurers hadn’t pointed it out. Huh? I actually can’t remember ever being taught to cook at all… Is it all Past Me’s memories? I’ll have to think of a backstory… I can’t say my parents taught me. And I can’t say it’s common in my home village, either, because there are more refugees from Ratomi out there. It can’t be related to my hometown at all, then. What’s left? I could say that I learned it from adventurers I met while traveling? And I could fib a little and say I experimented because I like cooking so much. Ugh…it’d be so easy to say I learned it from the fortune-teller, but I don’t wanna lie about her. Her memory is too important to me.

“Just saying I like cooking would work here, wouldn’t it? Adventurers and experimentation…will those do?”

Thinking about Past Me made things so confusing. All I saw in her memories were scenes of lots of people talking. And a place full of books, I think? Books stuffed into bookshelves. That was why I’d gotten confused when I went into a bookstore. The books that the fortune-teller had given me were a lot like Past Me’s books, but books here were mainly bound with a simple stitched thread. Where had the fortune-teller gotten these? Also, where did Past Me learn to fight…?

“It’s no good. My mind turns to mush when I think about this.”

“Pu, pu!” Sora bounced over and landed on my foot. Ciel purred as well and rubbed its head against me. I’m making them worry. “I’m okay, guys.”

It didn’t matter who Past Me was; without her, I wouldn’t be where I was now. I wouldn’t even be alive—she was the one who had helped me survive as a little child.

Nuzzle, nuzzle. 

Boing, boing.

“I’m glad I have more friends now. Sora and Ciel, you’re both so precious to me.”

I’d had this feeling before, but it seemed I couldn’t think seriously about my past life. Something was getting in my way. But maybe that was for the best. Maybe I didn’t need to think that hard about it. She told me everything I needed to know, so whatever she left out must not be important.

“Well, I learned one thing today: Everything I know about cooking comes from Past Me. That’s not much, but since I’m aware of it, I can respond calmly if someone says something. I’m glad I did this.”

Mrrrow. Ciel meowed.

“Hm?” What is it? I felt around for auras. Somebody was coming this way. I was so focused on looking inward that I’d forgotten to keep an eye out. I was about to call out to Sora, but strangely, neither Sora nor Ciel seemed to be in a hurry. Did they know this aura? I checked again. “Oh, that’s Rattloore!”

That was why they weren’t in a hurry. What did he want? Did he need something here? I’d thought he was still busy dealing with the organization.

“Hey, there you are!” he called out. “Sorry, Ivy. Got a minute?”

“Sure. What do you need? And I’m amazed that you knew I was here.”

“You said you were going out to set traps. This is the first place I thought of where big monsters and animals don’t come out much.”

Aha. He found me because he knows this forest so well. That’s Rattloore for you.