The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 2 - Chapter 97

Chapter 97:

Somebody, Explain!SIDE: CAPTAIN BARXBY

“ANY NEWS?”

Agrop shook his head. We’d been told that there might be organization members watching the base, so I had him look into it. But he hadn’t sensed a thing. If not for everything that had happened so far, I’d be convinced there was nobody to find. But that little boy said he’d sensed them, so they had to be there. What would Mira and her co-conspirators do, though? 

Reducing our security at this base meant moving a lot of guards at once. Had they predicted that, too?

“What’s on your mind, Captain?”

“Just wondering what they’ll do next.”

“Oh, you mean Mira and them. If she’s after the boy…” Deep creases formed on Agrop’s forehead. He disliked including a child in this plan. I understood his discomfort; the kid might’ve been nine, but he looked even younger. “We rely on that child too much,” Agrop finished.

“I know.”

“As long as you’re aware, I won’t say anything more.”

Yeah, we did rely on that kid too much. We were deploying a strategy he’d formulated. Even worse, we were using his vulnerability as a kidnapping target for our own ends—a deplorable decision for any respectable adult. The truth was, we were at our wits’ end. Every time we thought we’d had the organization cornered, they’d escaped. Each time, people had been hurt in the process. Our hearts were wrung out; we’d fallen into resignation before we knew it. We’d push aside our weariness and rally our spirits, but the exhaustion just piled up. We were far beyond what we could endure.

Then Bolorda and Seizerk introduced us to that child, Ivy. Another kid at their mercy—I wanted to make sure we protected him this time. I couldn’t help feeling uneasy. Yet Ivy was so unlike all the children we’d lost before. Bolorda, a man whose despair was palpable every time he spoke of the organization, had smiled.

When I’d heard that the child not only knew the situation he was in but was calculating his next moves, I was shocked. Could such a child truly exist? On top of that, he was determined to take on the kidnappers himself. That had lit a fire under me. What was I, an adult, doing with myself if I couldn’t measure up to a nine-year-old boy?

“Nine years old…” I mused.

Though he looks more like six or seven.

“That’s right.”

Agrop and I chuckled dryly. He knew that I’d been at the end of my rope, and he knew exactly why I felt different now. Just then, we heard the door of the base creak open.

“Sounds like they’re here.”

“Indeed, it does.”

Agrop and I made out way out to the foyer, where we found Marcreek, Gnouga, and Sifar. When I saw that they were alone, I raised an eyebrow, but Sifar met us with a beaming grin. I shivered. I didn’t like the look of that smile.

“Your timing couldn’t be better,” he said. “Captain, we need to form an expedition team to capture a band of murderers. Immediately.”

“Come again?” Agrop and I said at once. Despite our many disagreements, we were in sync on this. What was Sifar on about? An expedition team? Shouldn’t we be holding the fort here? Or had Mira made a move without my knowing?

“Several of the fugitives are dangerous criminals on the wanted list, so we’d best send enough people. Oh right, and as these are very dangerous criminals we’re dealing with, there’s a risk that some of your people might not make it back. Perhaps that will influence who you decide to send.”

Might not make it back? I could see some being wounded, but…ah, I see. That’s what he’s after.

“Vice-Captain, can I trust you to pick the right men for the job?” I asked.

“Yes, sir.”

“About those people Sifar mentioned…”

“Worry not. I won’t let a single man escape. I’d best be off now.” The vice-captain had a new bounce in his step as he left for the guard station.

I was excited to arrest the bad apples in the guard during the expedition, but what happened to yesterday’s strategy? I would appreciate an explanation…

A member of the guard poked his head out of the break room in the back. “Captain, you needed me? Er, where is the vice-captain?” It was Gabojura—someone I’d once thought worthy of being my successor. I still couldn’t believe he’d turned his back on us. Why would a man so popular among the townsfolk be in league with kidnappers? I couldn’t understand his motives.

“Some adventurers found a whole gang of miscreants hiding in the woods. Apparently, there are several wanted criminals among them. We’ll be sending an expedition to round them up immediately. The vice-captain has already gone to the station to gather personnel.”

When I mentioned the hunt, he betrayed a hint of surprise. A rare crack in the facade, though he recovered quickly.

“Criminals? And wanted ones? But…shouldn’t we confirm the report is true before sending out a party?”

“Not to worry. We’ve already confirmed it.” Marcreek smirked at Gabojura. Bolorda and Seizerk’s adventure teams were well respected in this town. You’d need good reason to doubt their appraisal. 

“I see. If that’s so, I apologize for my rudeness. Captain, if we send guards out, how will we protect this base?”

“Good question.” We’d have to relax security around here if we were to send guards to the forest. How would that play into the plan? This is all because nobody tells me anything. If I just throw out something random, will they give me a hint? I answered, “We’ll have to send personnel from the base, too. I think we can get by with minimum security here for now.”

“Captain, I think you should reconsider. This place may still be important to the organization. We should leave a team here. Besides, we transported the vital documents on the organization here from the station just yesterday, did we not?”

That’s not what I heard yesterday! Seriously, can someone explain?

“Think so? Well, you’ve got a point. If something happened while we were gone, we’d have only ourselves to blame. Gabojura, choose some men to stay and protect the base. The rest will go with the expedition.”

“Understood. I’ll start right away, sir.”

I sighed as I watched Gabojura walk back to the break room, then glared at Sifar. “It feels like everything I’m hearing contradicts what I heard yesterday.”

He shrugged. “Sorry. We had to switch up our tactics a little while ago.”

“Huh? Who suggested that?”

“Ivy, of course. He says there’s no point in waiting, so we might as well spring the trap today.”

Ivy, huh? Well, I guess it’s fine.

“Wonder why. That kid’s an oddball.” In the past, there was no strategy that I didn’t worry over. Yet now I felt totally assured, even though I didn’t know what the strategy was. “What’s our next move, then?”

“Ah, right. We’ll use this.” Sifar held up a sphere.

“What…hey, that looks like a sleep orb.”

“I should certainly hope so. It is a sleep orb.”

“And how are we meant to use this?”

“When the organization’s people breach the mansion, engulf the entire base with it right as they enter that room.”

The entire base? Is he joking? It doesn’t feel like a joke…Marcreek and Gnouga are smiling creepily, too. Do they really intend to put everyone in the mansion to sleep?

“We have allies in this base, too,” I reminded them.

“There’s not much we can do about that. We simply don’t have the personnel.”

“I see… Is this another of Ivy’s plans?”

“Ha ha ha! He’s an interesting one, right?”

I grimaced. This is a plan I’d have never come up with myself. How would we explain this to our people after they woke up? That unpleasant task would definitely fall to me.

“Are you sure there’s no other way?” I pleaded.

“I’m gonna set it up right now; there’s no time to lose. Getting the whole building is gonna be tough!”

“Hey!”

He ignored me. And what was with that smile?! Hell’s bells… If it means getting our hands on the organization, maybe this is a small price to pay.

“Captain, here.” Gnouga handed me a net made from the type of tough webbing used to capture monsters.

“What’s this for?” I had a bad feeling about this.

“He says when you go into the forest, you can throw that at the turncoats to slow them down.”

“…Ivy said that?”

“No. Sifar.”

Good. So the kid didn’t come up with that. Sifar’s a real piece of work, though.

I took the net with a sigh. “This net is used for high-level monsters, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. He said that should take care of them all.”

“Ha ha ha! Another measure that catches friend and foe, huh?”

“What you catch will depend on your aim, Captain.” Gnouga smirked.

“What? There’s no way I could only hit the enemy with this!”

“Good luck.”

Dodging responsibility, huh?

“We’ll have to talk later. They’re here.”

I looked toward Gnouga and saw that the guards for the hunting party were assembled. Agrop’s work was impressive: He’d selected a good balance of traitors and people whose skill he was confident in. If I’m using this net, it’ll have to be outside of town. I’ll get them right when we enter the forest.

“Captain, we’ve scrounged up forty-five in total,” Agrop announced. “Will that do?”

“Yeah. We’re only planning to have a few people from the base join in.”

“A few… Understood.”

Now, let’s put our hearts—and our righteous anger—into this.