The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 3 - Chapter 138

Chapter 138:

They’re Multiplying!

“FORGIVE ME. I took way too long,” Druid apologized. We were almost at the town of Oll, but since Druid had to walk slowly, it was taking us much longer to arrive than expected.

“Not a problem, sir!”

Druid’s juniors had met him when they first became adventurers. He taught them everything they needed to know about adventuring, so they really respected him. The juniors insisted on telling me stories of all his heroic exploits during the walk to Oll. 

Druid tried to stop them, but one of the men was a huge chatterbox. His name was Erid, and he talked the whole time. The other men seemed unfazed by it, so it must have been a regular occurrence. Since it was my first time meeting him, though, I was really taken aback by it.

Most of the stories were about Druid at first, but then Erid proceeded to tell me tales of his own victories and failures, one after another. I was impressed that someone could talk for so long and not run out of things to say.

“Erid, we’re almost to town,” said Doro, the leader of the trio.

“Hmm? Ohh, so we are.” Erid fumbled around in his bag to pull something out…though the bag was putting up quite a fight.

“Erid?”

“No, I’m okay. I know I packed it.” Erid stopped in his tracks to rummage through his bag. Doro sighed heavily.

“What’s wrong, sir?” I asked.

“I think he’s looking for his adventurer’s permit. Erid tends to lose things easily,” Druid said.

“Oh dear.”

Adventurers who established home bases in towns received permits from the adventurers’ guild. That must be what Druid meant. Erid was still looking. But wait a minute, if Erid always loses things, then why is he the one carrying it in the first place? Oh! Doro just snatched the bag from him.

“Argh, this is exactly what I was worried would happen. It was my fault for letting you carry it in the first place, but…I can’t believe you actually dropped it.”

“I didn’t drop it! I have it. I just know it!”

Doro was going through each individual item in the bag…but he couldn’t find it. Hm? I can see Oll’s main gate from here…and someone’s standing in front of it waving. Are they trying to get our attention?

“Excuse me, but is somebody over there calling you?”

“Huh?!” All the men turned their eyes toward the gate, and the waving got more intense. So I was right.

“Let’s go to the gate for now,” Druid suggested. Doro, his hands still fumbling in Erid’s bag, began to walk. It looked like he had mostly given up, though. I remember someone telling me you needed to pay more money for a replacement permit.

“He lost it again, didn’t he?”

“Ha ha ha, that’s our Erid!” Druid chuckled. It was clear from the looks on everyone’s faces that this was probably not the first—or the second—time it had happened.

“Are you all right, Druid?” one of the men by the gate asked, walking over. He looks like a bear. Agh! What’s a bear? He looks like a big, black animal, but I’ve never seen such an animal in a book. This must be Past Me’s memories. Argh, thank goodness I didn’t say any of that out loud.

I took another good look at the man. He was massive, with a thick beard. At a glance, he looked quite strong… No, even after a very long stare, he still looks quite strong. His sharp, beady eyes probably scared people.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Druid replied. “What brings you all the way out here?”

“See for yourself,” the man said, showing Doro and his men a green card. Doro’s face darkened the moment he saw it. Is that…a permit?

“Thank you so much. We were just looking for that,” Doro said, reaching out.

The man placed the permit in Doro’s hand. “It was on the ground just outside the gate. How many does that make this year so far?”

Everyone laughed at the tired sarcasm in the man’s voice except Erid, who looked rather bitter. Well, I’d feel bitter, too. What a pretty permit that is, though.

“Oh! Is this the kid?”

“The kid”? He probably means me. Wait, what did the guild master tell them about me?

“Nice to meet you,” I greeted him with a bow. He smiled and bowed back at me. Well, that’s surprising. He gives off a completely different impression when he smiles. He’s totally adorable…er, maybe that’s going too far. He’s just a tiny bit adorable.

“The guild master told me everything. Erid, come over here, and I’ll give you back your permit.”

Yeah, I thought so. I’m kind of worried about what the guild master told him. Is it okay if I ask directly?

“What did the guild master tell you?” Druid asked for me. Thank you, sir.

“Hmm? He told me the kid who saved Druid’s life would be with him, so I shouldn’t scare him.”

Don’t scare me?

“Ah, that makes sense. But Ivy wasn’t even scared when he saw you.”

“I know! That gave me a start.”

Hm? The bear-man scares people? Oh no, Ivy. Don’t slip into your subconscious. You need to be more careful.

“Yeah, you always make the young’uns cry. Well…I mean, look at you.”

Young’uns. As I stood there gloomily, I met Druid’s gaze.

“Oops! Sorry, I mean, um…”

“No, it’s okay, sir.”

As Druid frantically apologized, the man looked back with a curious smile on his face. “What? What’s wrong?”

“Oh, um, nothing’s wrong, sir,” I replied.

“Oh? Well, c’mere then. The guild master did tell me about’cha, but let me see your papers anyway.”

“Yes, sir.”

I followed him into a room near the gate. As we entered, I noticed it was a simple space, with only a table and a shelf. It reminded me of Otolwa. Then again, I suppose any room that’s designed for people to have quick conversations and store some of their belongings would look like that.

He handed me a sheet of paper. It had “Name,” “Hometown,” and “Destination” written on it. Can I just write the same things I put down in Otolwa? I wrote my name and filled in my destination, too. But I left the “Hometown” area blank and took out my white bank plate. The man looked a bit surprised to see it, but after a moment he took some stones off the shelf and brought them close to my plate.

“Good. No problems here… Hm? Wow, your list of guarantors is long.”

My list of guarantors? I was told people couldn’t see the contents of my account, but maybe he can see who my guarantor is? I forgot to ask about that.

“Let’s see… Do you mean Captain Oght of Ratome Village?”

“Hm? He ain’t the only one, kid. There’s also Otolwa’s Guild Master Lowgriff and Police Captain Barxby on the list.”

What in the world were you guys thinking?! Come on, I told you I didn’t want to stand out.

“Wow, that’s quite a list…” Druid, who had come along with me, was also surprised.

“All right, here’s your permit. Make sure you don’t lose it; you’ll need to turn it in when you leave this town.”

“Of course, sir. Thank you very much.”

The man patted my head in reply. He was definitely treating me like a little kid. But for some reason, this behavior didn’t anger me when it came from Mr. Bear. I wondered why. Was it the way he looked?

I took my permit and left with Druid. His three juniors were waiting for us outside.

“Oh, you’re still here? It’s all right, you can go home now.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay, sir? You know, can you take care of yourself?”

“I’ll be fine. Well…I guess my lifestyle will have to change a little, but I can handle it. Your task is done, though, isn’t it? Rest up—now that’s an order.”

“Yes, sir…” his junior sighed. “Let us know if you need anything. We’re here to help.”

“You have my gratitude.”

The trio shot concerned looks at Druid as they walked away. They really thought the world of him. I was so glad this was the man Sora saved.