The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 3 - Chapter 136

Chapter 136:

Blessed Balm

I BROUGHT THE BUCKET over to where Druid was sitting. His face clouded with worry, and he fell heavily down onto his knee when he saw the blessed balm inside. His missing arm probably messed up his sense of balance and caused him to fall when he tried to stand up in surprise.

He looked up at me apologetically. “Sorry about that. I didn’t think I’d actually fall over.”

“Oh, no, sir. Are you okay?” He looked like he’d had a hard time catching himself from his tumble.

“I’ll be okay. I may not look it right now, but I’m pretty strong.”

Is this guy really gonna be okay?

“Really, you don’t need to worry about me. I’ll be fine. Don’t give me those wide eyes.”

I guess my thoughts were clear on my face. “Yes, sir. Please excuse me.”

Druid smirked and nodded at me. Then he turned his attention back to the bucket and frowned. He was probably concerned by the amount of blessed balm in there. 

Blessed balm was made from the fruit of the blessed tree, but you couldn’t just pick the fruit and take it home with you. It was so large that its smell was quite strong. So strong, in fact, that it lured monsters to it without fail. 

If you wanted to transport blessed balm, you’d put a small amount into a magic item box. Magic item boxes were enchanted with a seal that kept smells from escaping. But what we were looking at here was the fruit itself. It had sunk down to the bottom of the bucket and wasn’t emitting a scent anymore, but…it was still worrisome.

“What were they thinking when they packed a thing like this…?”

“I heard it’s safe as long as you submerge it in water. Do you think it’s safe like this?” I asked.

“Yeah, I suppose it’ll be all right for now. But the blessed balm’s smell does leech into the water, so it’ll only keep this way for a day or two.”

“Is that so? How do we dispose of it?”

“Burn it in the forest—that’s the only way I know. You clear an area so flames won’t spread to the trees, light it on fire, and then run like hell. Well, you keep an eye on it from a safe distance. But it’s pretty dangerous since it’s likely to attract monsters to it.”

Wow, that sounds intense. Wait a minute, does this mean blessed trees are always surrounded by monsters? I’ve always wondered about that.

“Um, sir…?”

“Blessed trees themselves are toxic to monsters, so you’ll never find them nearby,” Druid answered with a chuckle before I could voice my question. I was a little taken aback, but maybe he was used to people asking that whenever he explained how blessed balm worked.

But that was a surprise. Blessed trees are toxic to monsters? That’s the first I’ve heard of it. The fruit lures monsters, but the tree itself is toxic to them. What a thoroughly mysterious organism.

A few minutes later, we heard frantic footsteps and human voices in the distance. The people we’d been waiting for had arrived.

“Hellooo? Is anybody there?” It was the rescue party, searching for survivors.

“Over here!” Druid shouted. We heard a low but joyful holler through the trees. I guess they were excited to find that it wasn’t total annihilation…

“Oops, I think we gave them false hope.”

“I think so, too.”

Druid looked sheepish…but what’s done is done.

When the rescue party of adventurers arrived on the scene, their faces froze in shock at the sight of the carnage before them. Yet something about there appearance was odd to me—why weren’t they veteran adventurers? Everyone always told me only veteran adventurers went on rescue missions.

“Hey now, don’t let something like this get you all in a tizzy,” came a thick, gravelly voice from behind the first arrivals. Its owner sounded awfully calm…though it was difficult to tell since his voice was so rough. He was probably a veteran adventurer.

“Hm? That you, Druid?”

“Hello there, Guild Master.”

So this was the guild master. He was a tall man with a sturdy frame, but his most distinguishing feature had to be that gravelly voice of his. You’d recognize it anywhere.

“What a terrible tragedy. And who is this boy?”

“Yes, it was horrible—a gurbar attack. This boy saved my life.”

Is that the story we settled on? Umm… I didn’t want to risk saying the wrong thing, so I just kept quiet and nodded.

“A gurbar? I’m surprised you survived at all.”

“It bit my arm off, and then I suppose I lost consciousness. Ivy here happened to pass by and saved me.”

“It bit your arm off? My…so cleanly, too,” the guild master mused in awe as he looked at the stump on Druid’s lower arm.

“He says he used every single potion he had on me, regardless of type.”

“Every single potion? Any type, too?”

“That’s right.”

“So that’s why your stump looks so immaculate? Our ancestors did say that using potions in certain combinations can produce unexpected results, but this is the first time I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”

Oh, really? I’ve never heard that before. But sorry, sir. The source of his clean stump is a lie, I apologized in my head. The guild master picked up the empty potion bottles on the ground, looked at them, and nodded. Druid had thrown some bottles on the ground to add validity to our story. There were twenty-two of them in all.

The guild master’s brow furrowed as he counted the bottles. “That’s quite a load.” He glanced at me.

I tensed up. “Sorry, I panicked,” I squeaked. You’ll be okay, Ivy. Just don’t freak out…stay calm.

“That so? Well, thanks.”

He believed me? Hmm…I get the sense he has some doubts. Well, I don’t blame him.

“Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Gotos, the Guild Master of Oll.”

“I’m Ivy. Nice to meet you, sir.”

“Ivy…? Did you come here from Otolwa?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Aha, so you’re Ivy. Well…in that case, there’s no problem.”

But there is a problem—a huge problem. Why did you emphasize my name just now? And for a guy with a rough voice, you said it awfully loud. I glanced nervously about, worried his adventurer companions had overheard my name.

“Do you know him, Guild Master?” Druid asked.

“No, but I do know of him. He’s quite famous.”

I’m famous? Why?!

“You know how that kidnapping organization that had royalty and nobles mixed up in it got crushed? Well, someone named Ivy was a key player in taking them down. It’s not verified information, but I did hear that he was just a kid, so I figure it must be you. Am I right?”

Well, he was right about me being a kid. I nodded reluctantly. But…was I a key player? A key player was someone who was at the center of an event and played a very important role in it. Since when did I become so important?! Agh! Druid looks stunned. I’m not sure why, but…I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

“So that’s why you were able to discover this,” Druid said.

Hm? Discover what?

“Here.” He showed the guild master the bucket with the blessed balm fruit.

The guild master’s expression changed in a flash. “What?! Kid, you found this?!”

No, sir, it was Ciel who discovered it! I wanted to tell him that so bad…but I couldn’t. I’d have to clear up the misunderstanding later.

“Who’s the idiot who brought blessed balm along?!” His voice boomed throughout the area, creating a terribly intimidating echo. The adventurers, who were already uneasy in the face of the carnage from the gurbar attack, jumped a little at the sound of it. I flinched, too, but nowhere near as hard as the men.

Was I right? Are they really not veteran adventurers? They were worlds apart from Bolorda’s party of adventurers I knew.

“Guild Master, please stay calm,” said Druid.

“How can I possibly stay calm, man?!” the guild master asked. “What if this cursed object had made it all the way to town?!”

“I understand, but what’s done is done. Shouting about it won’t do any good.”

The guild master glared at the bucket containing the blessed balm and sighed. “Sorry. You’re right.”

“As the guild master, you have every right to be angry,” Druid told him calmly. He’d said he was a mid-level adventurer, but his temperament seemed a lot more like a veteran’s to me.

“Ah…” the guild master sighed. “Well, lucky for us, you survived.”

“Ha ha ha, a minute longer and I wouldn’t have.”

The two men began a discussion of their next moves, so I gave them some space. They probably didn’t want an outsider listening in. Besides, I wanted to reduce my chances of getting caught up in anything.

I glanced around the clearing. The rescue party had begun to take stock of the destruction. I guess my work here is done. I walked back over to one of the fallen trees to sit down. Now that the tense situation was finally over…I felt all my muscles give out as I plunked down in relief.