The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 3 - Chapter 139

Chapter 139:

Monster Metamorphosis?

WHEN WE ENTERED the town proper, the entire place was bustling. I looked around, wondering what was going on. Druid explained, “Word got out about our monster attack.”

“So that’s why…”

Whenever anyone was attacked close to town, all sorts of rumors would spread like wildfire. Some were born from worries about the monster attacking town, others from worries about family members traveling outside the gate. And some rumors were different theories about what exactly the attacker might be. 

“That reminds me, you know some pretty powerful people, kid. Oh, wait! You must have met them while you were all taking down that kidnapping organization.”

“Well, yes, that was part of it.” Yeah, I can’t help but stand out, can I? But I wonder why they became my guarantors without telling me.

“Are you trying to get to the imperial capital or one of the surrounding towns?”

“Yes. The plan for now is to go to a town neighboring the capital. How did you know that, sir?”

I’d never told him where I was headed. And I hadn’t told him anything that might have given him a clue…or had I?

“It’s your guarantors.”

“Huh?!”

My guarantors. You mean those entities that multiplied against my will?

“If you want to enter the capital or any of the neighboring towns, you have to undergo a thorough background check. Depending on who you are, well…you sometimes have to go through a lot of trouble.”

What does he mean, a lot of trouble?

“But with all those people vouching for you, you should have no problems. They’ll let you right in.”

A lot of trouble…does he mean, like…false accusations? Do gatekeepers do things like that?

“You seem confused, so let me explain: The closer you get to the capital, the more strict the gatekeepers are.”

“Oh…I don’t like that.”

“Ha ha ha! You’ll be okay, Ivy.”

I’ll be okay? Oh! Because of my guarantors.

“Captain Oght alone is a living legend among adventurers.”

Wow, I didn’t realize he was that amazing.

“And since he brought down the criminal organization, I’m sure Police Captain Barxby has a pretty good relationship with the royal family now.”

Wow, I didn’t know… Oh! Come to think of it, when he saw that ornately decorated letter, he heaved the most disgusted sigh I’d ever heard. Is that a good relationship…? Well, I guess the police captain will be okay.

“And Guild Master Lowgriff has accomplished many great things. A lot of his fellow adventurers really look up to him.”

Wow, I didn’t realize that guild master who blushed whenever he talked about his wife was such a hero.

“Nobody is dumb enough to pick a fight with any of those three. So, yeah…as long as you don’t encounter a gatekeeper with a screw loose, you’ll be okay.”

A screw loose…what a colorful way to explain it. But is that why those men signed off on me? If so, they could have at least told me…and I might have turned them down. I mean, I’d feel really guilty about it. Bolorda and his men sussed out who I really was…but the guild master and police captain might have seen through me, too. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have bothered becoming my guarantors. Next time I see them, I need to give them both some very sincere thank-yous.

Druid jolted me out of my thoughts. “Don’t worry, you’ll be okay,” he assured me. He looked a bit flustered. Maybe I looked concerned? “Most of the gatekeepers are good people.”

“Don’t worry about me. By the way, Mr. Druid, where are you headed now?”

“Oh! That’s right…I have to go to the guild and let them know what happened to me.”

The guild? Didn’t we just pass by it a bit ago?

“I wound up following you without meaning to, Ivy.”

“Huh?! Oh…you must be tired, sir. That’s all.”

“Ha ha ha! Yes, let’s go with that. So, Ivy, are you going to the plaza?”

“Yes, that’s the plan. I’m going to claim myself a spot before I go back to the forest.”

“The forest, eh… I’m sure you’ll be okay, but be careful just the same. The gurbars might still be around.”

That’s right, the gurbars! “Um, what are gurbars like, sir?”

“Oh, you didn’t know?”

“No, I’ve never seen them in my books.”

“Aha. Well, they’ve been getting stronger and more vicious the last couple of years, probably because lots of adventurers don’t know any better.”

So monsters can evolve. I guess I need to learn more about them. I’ll be sure to remember this.

“Gurbars have big horns on their noses. They can’t move all that fast, but they’re strong. When we ran into them, they had us surrounded so there was nowhere to run.”

A giant horn on the nose. And if they surrounded Druid’s party, does this mean they usually travel in packs? Or did the scent of the blessed balm lure many of them in at once?

“Do they travel in packs, sir?”

“Well, since their ecosystem has changed a little, we don’t really know. They didn’t used to move in packs, though.”

“I see. Thank you for the information.”

“Well, at any rate, they’re not as strong as your friend.”

By “your friend,” I guess he means Ciel. Even so, gurbars would be dangerous to encounter if there were a lot of them. And since I have Ciel protecting the Soras right now, it can’t move about freely.

“Understood, sir. But I’m still worried.”

“I understand. Oh! Here, take these,” Druid said, pulling out three tiny pouches from his bag. I took them without thinking. What could they be? 

“These are shock pouches. Have you heard of them?”

“Yes, sir, I do know about shock pouches.” If you throw them at your target’s head, powder comes out—and different types of powder would create different effects. I brought my nose closer to the pouch’s opening.

“Oh, I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Druid warned. “Even the slightest whiff will make your nose hurt.”

I froze. Thank goodness he told me. I was just about to sniff it. I wonder if it hurts like chili powder.

“If you hit your opponent in the head with one of those, that’ll buy you time to escape. Though it doesn’t work if you’re attacked by a bunch at once.”

“Thank you, sir. But are you sure I can keep these?”

“No problem, kid. I can easily make some more.”

I had also made some of my own at one point, but I’d used them up. I resolved to always have a few on hand from now on.

“Okay, thanks for the pouches, sir.”

“Sure thing. Well, see ya later. Be careful out there, kid.”

“I will, sir. And thanks again.” With a final bow goodbye to Druid, I headed to the plaza. I turned around after a few paces to check on him. I was happy to see that he was walking very smoothly now. 

I was worried at first because Druid had lost his right arm, but luckily, he was left-handed. If he’d lost his dominant hand, that would have had a huge impact on his lifestyle. The guild master was also a little relieved about that.

“Okay, I’ll go to the plaza and snag a spot. Then, back to the forest.” I’m a little scared of the gurbars, but I have to check in on Ciel and Sora. Oh right, I have to figure out what’s going on with Sora…and Sora? Maybe I’ll ask them if they want new names. I still can’t believe Sora split in two…

So Sora splits. Is Sora going to keep splitting like that? And wait, are the new Soras also going to split? Ha ha ha, yeah, I’m gonna stop thinking about Sora’s future. It’s too scary.

“Here we are.” Plaza spotted ahead! The plaza in Oll was as big as any I’d encountered. Though I wondered why there were two entrances and exits.

“Something wrong, kid?” a man asked me as I peered inside the plaza from the entrance.

“No, sir, I was just wondering why there were two entrances.”

“We’ve got larger parties of four or more adventurers staying on this side here. That side has smaller parties.”

“Oh, that makes sense. Thank you, sir.”

“Whoa there, son, you can still come in this way if you want.”

“Thank you, sir,” I bowed to the man and headed to the other plaza entrance. Big adventurer parties tended to be rowdy, especially when they got drunk and started singing.

I entered the plaza and looked around. Interesting. Oll doesn’t seem to have supervisors in its plaza. Nobody’s guarding the entrances. Oh! But there’s a little building over there, so I guess there’s a neighborhood watch group? That’s a relief. After my incident with the tent, I do feel much safer having someone like that around.

I strolled around the plaza a little to familiarize myself with the tents and the people around me. I wanted to take Sora out of its bag once I got in my tent—and to take out its twin, too, of course—so I needed to make sure I pitched my tent in a safe place for that. I found two tents with a large gap between them. One had a solo male traveler, the other a solo female traveler. I asked them if I could pitch my tent in the middle and they agreed, so I did just that.

“There. All set.” I got inside and put all my most important items into one bag. Then I moved the shock pouches to somewhere they’d be easy to grab. Let’s just hope I don’t encounter any gurbars.