The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 2 - Chapter 81

Chapter 81:

Inexplicable Actions

BEFORE WE COULD WIGGLE OUT of Mira and Luiseria’s plans, the two ran off, saying they had business to handle. Callua stood up to follow them, but something about her manner caught my eye. She was glaring really angrily at her friends…or maybe, not quite?

Callua seemed like a stoic person, but her brow was furrowed as she watched Mira and Luiseria flit off. When I thought about it more calmly, what had looked like angry glaring at first now seemed more like confusion. Were Mira’s two friends part of the kidnapping ring? We already knew about Mira, and Luiseria gave me the same feeling. But Callua seemed different.

“You okay?” Rattloore asked as he refilled my tea.

“Thank you. Um, wasn’t that a little strange?”

“Yeah, it was weird.”

“I thought the organization was thorough and left no evidence behind, but Mira and Luiseria’s manner didn’t give that impression. Do you think they found out that we suspect them?”

“Maybe so, but if they had, I imagine they’d try a different tactic. What if this is a trap?”

Oh, right. That could be possible, too…but what kind of trap would this be? I don’t think it makes sense to assume they’re all in it, though. Maybe those two are just normal friends, and Mira brought them to take suspicion off her. Now that I think about it, it sounded like they were trying to get at something by suggesting Mama’s Treats. Would they be that obvious, though?

“What sort of place is Mama’s Treats?” I asked.

“It’s a pretty established sweet shop. They have a lot of sweets that use dango.”

Dango… A few things came to mind. Those must be Past Me’s memories. I see some stuff that looks like it’s covered in dirt, too. What is that? “Anko”? It looks crazy.

“You all right?” Rattloore sounded concerned. “That’s a heck of a frown on your face.”

“Oh! Sorry. It’s nothing.” Whoops! He noticed me getting stuck in past memories again. I’d better be careful. Umm… “What are Puff-Puff and Sweetalicious like?”

“Those two are run by former adventurers who I know are trustworthy. Puff-Puff has fluffy stuff like the milkpud we have, while Sweetalicious sells flaky pastries.”

That was a really vague explanation. Fluffy like milkpud? Flaky? A few images floated up, but I stifled them. Okay, take a breath.

“Well…I’m excited for tomorrow.”

“Me, too! It’s been a while since I last gorged myself on sugar.”

Rattloore had mentioned that he didn’t drink much. Were sweets his vice, then? He had sort of an adorable personality.

I hung up the laundry I’d left languishing and got ready to make dinner. Was it just me, or were there more ingredients than yesterday? I don’t know who added to the pile… Actually, this has to be Gnouga’s work. There was a magical item in the heap to keep the food fresh and a big pile of meat that hadn’t been there before. I saw six different kinds of meat. He must want to eat these tonight.

But it looks like Sifar’s been here, too. There were some vegetables that I’d heard were great in soup. And Seizerk had already given me seasonings, so I was ready to get to work on a knockout meal.

Rattloore goggled at the mountain of ingredients. “Sorry, Ivy. This is kind of insane.”

“It’s okay. I like cooking.”

While I was busy with the food, I could forget the fear of being targeted by kidnappers. Besides, remembering how everyone smiled when they ate my meals made me want to make them happy again. No way was I giving up!

Okay! First, I’ll score the meat to help the flavor penetrate… Next, soup. Bolorda bought milk, didn’t he? He said I could use all I wanted, so I’ll make it a creamy soup. We’ve got meat with lots of umami, so I’ll marinate it in the milk.

Just as I was thinking about how to cook the meat, Gnouga appeared. Does he have some kind of meat-detector?

“Welcome back,” I greeted him. “Thank you for bringing the meat.”

“Sure thing… You gonna use it?” he asked.

“Yep.”

I made sweet marinade and submerged the meat in it. Why is he…staring at the meat like that? Umm, it’s okay if I cook it, right? When I turned it over in the marinade, I heard a loud growl from Gnouga’s stomach.

“…Sorry. Uhh, I’ll get plates and stuff.” He blushed and left. Was he that excited to eat? I hoped so.

“We’re back!” Sifar announced. “And looks like just in time. Thanks as always, Ivy.”

“Oh, no. Thank you for the vegetables.”

Sifar, Lowcreek, and Marcreek had returned as well. I spotted Seizerk, Bolorda, and Rattloore talking, too far away to hear. Were they discussing Mira and the others?

“What vegetables?” Sifar asked.

“Huh? Um, the ingredients…huh?”

He gazed at the mountain of vegetables in obvious confusion. Was I not supposed to use those?!

“Oh, that was me!” Rickbert called out, startling me. When did he show up? I hadn’t even noticed.

“Thank you, Mr. Rickbert.”

“Don’t worry about it. Also…”

“He’s right!” Marcreek interrupted, glaring at Rickbert. “Don’t worry about it for a single second.” Sifar and Gnouga, who’d just returned, stared him down as well. Umm, did something happen? 

“Ivy, Rickbert’s using produce as a bribe to get you to let him see Sora.”

Rickbert averted his eyes, all but confirming it.

“Sora… Mr. Sifar, may I ask for your assistance?”

“Roger!”

“Aww, Ivy, c’mon! That’s not necessary!” Rickbert protested.

“As a thanks for the vegetables, you may see Sora. Mr. Sifar will chaperone.”

“You can count on me, Ivy. Better watch yourself, Rickbert!”

Rickbert looked deeply shocked. I felt a little bad, but this was about Sora’s mental health! Rickbert wouldn’t stop until Sora actually got mad, and I wanted to stop that before it started.

Eventually, everyone gathered and we got ready to eat. We made conversation while we sat down with our plates, but soon everyone was so focused on the food that it got real quiet. I was glad that they seemed to like it, but I was worried Gnouga was about to start fighting over the meat… His eyes were getting really intense.

Bolorda was perplexed by my use of the milk. Simmering food in milk is a thing, right? Um… It is…right? Once the meal was done, we kicked back with our tea.

“I was gonna talk about stuff during dinner, but I just couldn’t,” Seizerk remarked.

“Right? Man, that really hit the spot,” Marcreek agreed.

“Thank you very much.” Their compliments put a grin on my face.

“Let’s get down to it then.” I tensed up again. “Rattloore told me everything. Mira and her friends came by. What were their names? Luiseria and Callua?”

“Those two are from other adventure teams,” Marcreek added. “Though I don’t remember them being really good friends with Mira.”

“But why did they come here today…”

“If it’s a trap, it’s sloppy as heck.”

Nobody had answers; we were befuddled. Mira’s actions were inexplicable.

“Inconclusive, then. Anyone else we should discuss?”

We set Mira’s strange behavior aside for now.

“Tort and Marm are off to train in the forest tomorrow, so we’re gonna check up on them,” Seizerk said. He would be going with Marcreek and Lowcreek to investigate them.

Sifar and Gnouga had tailed the merchant today. Tomorrow, they would investigate the person the merchant had met with. As for me and Rattloore, we would join Mira and her friends as planned. Rattloore would try to suss out their intentions. He said I could just act normal, but I was already nervous.