The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 2 - Chapter 115

Chapter 115:

More Dangerous than Expected

“ERM, MR. RATTLOORE? I still haven’t decided to buy a slave.”

I tossed vegetables and bite-sized pieces of meat into the soup. A simple seasoning of salt ought to do just fine, especially since tonight’s dinner was so rich.

“Hm? I know, but I wanted to be able to take you to someone good!”

I sighed.

“When I asked the captain, he said we couldn’t make any contracts until we knew just how deep their ties were with the organization. And he’s even moving all the slaves here to other towns and villages!” Rattloore was a little worked up. “I really wanted to get you a helper for your travels…”

So he had totally made up his own plans. I was taken aback by that, but more shockingly, didn’t he say they were moving all of the slaves? I was confused, so I thought it over for a second. He really was the type to promise not to do anything wild, only to bring me a slave out of the blue and say, “Picked one for you!” I peeked up at him. Hmm, I should really stop him now. But how can I say it tactfully?

“Umm…”

“Cut it out, Rattloore!” Seizerk scolded him on my behalf. “Don’t go doing crazy things without at least hearing Ivy out first!”

Thank you! I know he’s just worried about me, so it’s hard to know what to say. Still, slaves are a little…I dunno. Part of me is against the idea entirely. How can I get him to understand? This is tricky. 

“But! Ivy’s trip is gonna be really dangerous if he’s all alone. Seizerk, we have to think about his future!”

Hm? Will I really need one in the future?

“Well, sure it’s safer, but that doesn’t mean you can just force your opinions on him.” Huh? Seizerk agrees?

“Umm…why do you act like I’ll definitely need one?” I asked them.

“Huh?!” everyone gasped at once.

What? Now everyone’s looking at me like I just said something ridiculous. What’s going on?

“Ivy, err, this is a little hard to say…” Rattloore hesitated. “Do you remember what I said before, about how you won’t be able to hide it when you grow up?”

I won’t be able to hide what when I grow up…oh. He means how I won’t be able to stay disguised as a boy.

“Yes.”

Rattloore lowered his voice slightly and answered, “That’s why. A young girl traveling alone is a huge target.”

Oh, I see. People are more likely to target a girl? But they all looked at me like that… Do they all know I’m a girl after all? Maybe it is impossible to keep hiding it. I might fool them if I only talk to them a few times, but people will figure it out if I’m with them for too long. And actually, Rattloore did say that I have a girly face…

“Maybe it’s impossible to hide it after all?”

“I’d give up on it right now,” Sifar replied.

I sighed. Right. It’s impossible. Well, I guess that’s fine. I want to look my age, anyway.

“Ciel is a good bodyguard, but having it around will draw even more unwanted attention. Can’t take it into towns or villages, either.” Rattloore’s assessment made sense. Ciel was a strong monster, so it would be an excellent bodyguard. But since adandaras were so rare, it would cause a commotion. And I wanted to avoid attention—if anyone got too close, they might find out I hadn’t tamed it. 

“Some people might try to get rid of you to get their hands on Ciel, too,” Rattloore continued.

Urk…that’s a scary thought. But Ciel’s my friend, so I wanna keep it by my side.

“I’ll be extra careful so no one finds me in the woods,” I replied.

“Good,” Sifar said. “I think that’s the best way until you can protect yourself.”

The others agreed with him. Until I can protect myself… How, though? I don’t have any fighting skills. I did go to the trouble of learning how to handle a small knife, but…it’s for butchering game.

“See? That’s why I suggested you get a slave.”

Rattloore’s logic wasn’t wrong at all. Maybe I was in real danger if I stayed like this, but did I even have the money to hire someone? Oh, but he did say that would be easy after all that’s happened, right? I forgot about that.

“I’ll give it some thought,” I finally answered.

I couldn’t rule it out purely because of my own aversion toward it. They were honestly worried about me, so I needed to give it serious thought. When I grew up, people would see me as a woman. If I couldn’t hide that, then what would I do? Ciel would draw too much attention, and I couldn’t let people see Sora, either. Is it just me, or am I constantly gaining more problems?

“Well, you’ll be stuck here for a while since you gotta wait for your money,” Bolorda chimed in. “Take your time.” He offered me a mug of tea, so I thanked him and took a sip. The warmth of it spread all through me. He’s right. A rushed decision isn’t necessarily a good one. I’ll take my time thinking about this.

“More importantly,” Seizerk cut in, “let’s talk about tomorrow. Ivy, what will you do? Do you have plans to be anywhere?” Once he’d finished his question, he took a big sip of tomorrow’s breakfast soup.

“That’s a rather large taste… Anyway, I’ll be checking my traps tomorrow.”

“Mm, that’s good. Traps? Oh, you were making wild rabbit traps, yeah? That’s an unusual way of hunting.”

So it really was rare to hunt with traps? Someone had mentioned that once before.

“If I’ve caught anything, I’ll clean it and go sell it,” I added.

“You’ll sell it? Not eat it?” Gnouga asked, a little disappointed. “Your grilled wild rabbit was so good…” Rickbert looked at him a little incredulously.

“Umm, if I catch a lot, I could cook some for dinner.”

“I can’t wait.”

Why does it feel like his expectations are too high? Maybe I should cook them instead of selling them even if I only get a little?

“Ivy, sell all you want. Don’t worry about Gnouga,” Bolorda said as he gave Gnouga a light smack. Sifar glared at Gnouga, too.

“Understood.” It looks like I can prioritize selling. Gnouga’s sulking now, though. Ha ha…it’s kind of cute.

“Ivy, keep an eye on the mood of the town tomorrow,” Bolorda cautioned me. “If you feel like you might be in danger, go straight to a guard station.”

“The adventurers’ guild should be a safe spot, too. I’ll tell the GM,” Seizerk added.

They were making me a little nervous. Tomorrow would definitely be an upsetting day for the townsfolk. How would it impact the town?

“Understood. If things get risky, I’ll go right away.”

“Good. I wanna believe things will be fine, but y’know…” Bolorda shrugged. It seemed even he couldn’t predict how Count Faltoria’s arrest would affect the townspeople.

“Seems like the veteran adventurers have already noticed something’s off,” Lowcreek said.

I looked around at the adventurers gathered in the plaza. They must’ve felt the tension among the guard. And more adventurers than usual were gathering here early in the evening, as if they knew something big was coming tomorrow. Very few had gone out drinking.

“Well, people are gonna notice something’s up when we and the guard are running around. Anyone who missed it isn’t cut out for the job.” Seizerk grinned wryly and looked at a rowdy group who had just stumbled back from a trip to the pub.

Bolorda looked irked as well. That group would probably get passed over for next big hunting party. Noticing when things were off was essential for survival as an adventurer. Those who didn’t have the instinct couldn’t be trusted with work.

“Well, we’d better hit the hay. Tomorrow’s a big day,” Bolorda announced. Everyone got up to return to their tents.

I fetched hot water to clean myself up and returned to my own tent. Inside, Sora was already fast asleep. I wrung out the towel and wiped myself all over before putting on my sleepwear. Tomorrow…I hope everything’s okay. When I lay down next to Sora, the slime nestled in close.

“Aw. Good night, Sora.”