The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 3 - Chapter 162

Chapter 162:

Getting Better, Little by Little

DRUID’S EXPRESSION was tense as we entered the butcher shop. “Hello. It’s been a while.”

Yikes! His voice is so stiff. This’s actually kind of funny.

“Well, hello there, Druid. It really has been ages. I was sorry to hear about your arm. Are you all right?”

I followed Druid into the butcher shop and looked at the man behind the counter, who was obviously Tokihi. Every other butcher I’d met thus far had been quite portly, but this man was rail thin.

“I’m doing fine, thank you.”

“By the way, don’t worry if you can’t be an adventurer anymore. I could find you a job.”

Tokihi seems like a really nice guy.

“I’m all right. Um, there’s someone I’d like you to meet. Ivy, over here,” Druid called to me. There was an edge in his voice, and his cheeks were a little pink. I couldn’t tell if he was worried or embarrassed.

“Oh?! Aha, yes. That kid.”

That kid? Does he…know me? I looked at Druid, whose eyes were saying uh-oh. I guess he realized why the butcher knew me. I’d have to ask him about it later.

“Nice to meet you, sir. My name is Ivy.”

“My, how polite! I’m Tokihi. Nice to meet you.” Tokihi’s hand shot out. I thought it was a little strange, but I gripped his hand firmly.

“Nice to meet you, too, sir.” I bowed a little deeper than usual. When I looked up, Tokihi’s surprised gaze met mine… Did I do something wrong?

“Wow, You’ve got an awfully sturdy head on your shoulders for someone so little.”

Wait a minute… Druid, you look like you’re trying really hard, but I can still see your shoulders quivering. Your mouth is twitching, too.

“Um, sir. I’m Ivy and I’m nine years old. Nice to meet you!” I repeated, emphasizing the “nine years old” part.

“Huh?! Oh, wow… Sorry about that. I thought you were six or seven.”

This guy…there’s probably not a dishonest bone in his body. “It’s all right, sir. Could I sell some meat to you?”

“Meat?”

“Yes, I have wild rabbit meat for sale.”

“Did you get this in the forest? That’s way too dangerous, even if Druid was with you.”

I was a bit startled by how harsh his tone was. Was everyone in this town a worrywart? “I’m quite all right, sir. So, um…” Oops! Now my tone’s gotten all harsh, too. 

With a laugh, Druid stepped between us. “Don’t worry. Whenever we visit the forest, we go in prepared. We’re always ready to run at a moment’s notice.”

We go in prepared? What did he mean by that…? Oh! The shock pouches, maybe?

“Well, good. Make sure you’re ready for anything. Something about those gurbars out there has really been off lately.”

“Yeah. Well, anyway, do you think you can sell our game?”

Huh? I guess Druid relaxed while I wasn’t looking. Too bad. Nervous Druid was pretty entertaining.

“Shouldn’t be a problem. I appreciate it, actually. I know our hands are kind of tied, but it’s just really hard to get game from the forest these days.”

“Glad we can help. We just butchered it a little while ago.” Druid pulled the wild rabbit meat out of our bag. We were selling the meat from thirteen of the rabbits, and we would eat the other two for dinner that night. I planned to make grilled rabbit with herbs.

“Sure, let’s see what you’ve got.” Tokihi looked solemn as he unwrapped the meat from the bana leaves to have a look at it. Once he was done inspecting it all, he nodded silently over and over. “It’s in great condition. It’s fresh, too.”

“Hear that, Ivy? That’s great news.”

“It is, sir. Thank you very much.” Meat really was so much fresher when you cleaned and butchered it right after you caught it.

“Sit tight, I’ll just go get your money.” Tokihi slipped into the back briefly and returned with a little basket. “It’s 130 dal per rabbit, so that makes 1,690 dal in all. Will that do?”

“Whoa, 130 dal?! Isn’t that a bit generous?” Druid gasped in surprise. I was surprised, too. Wild rabbits usually went for 100 to one 110 dal at the most. A price of 130 dal was unheard of.

“Didn’t I tell you? Fresh meat’s hard to come by.”

“I know, but that hard?”

“Not many adventurers will go into the forest now, what with the gurbars and all. And no adventurers means no game. As you can see, my shelves are empty.”

I looked at Tokihi’s shelves, and sure enough, there wasn’t much there.

“Yeah, I see what you mean,” Druid murmured.

I looked up at him. I suddenly realized usually when I went to a butcher shop, the shelves were the first thing I checked—but Druid’s nervous faces were so funny I’d gotten distracted.

“Aren’t they a little too empty, sir? Don’t you raise any livestock?”

“My herd isn’t big enough yet to sustain the entire town. I’m still growing it, increasing my numbers little by little.”

I had no idea what he was talking about.

“Wow, I had no idea. I always assumed you raised enough to supply all of Oll.”

“Not with all these monsters around, you see. I can try to increase my herds all I want, but it’s no good if I don’t have enough hands to protect them from monster attacks.”

“Ah, that does make sense.”

“I was doing well enough until a little while ago. But you know how we had an influx of people moving here from the next village over? That threw off my calculations.”

So is he saying he can’t raise enough livestock to feed the people in this town? Well, I heard that many villages and towns rely on game hunted by adventurers for meat, so I guess that’s not so unusual. But I wonder why so many people migrated here all of a sudden? 

“You’re right, this town did grow an awful lot. And now there’s also the gurbars on top of that.”

“I feel sorry for the top dogs in this town. So, are you okay with the price for the wild rabbits?”

“Yes, I think it’s fine. What about you, Ivy?”

“Yes, sir! Um, it’s fine.” I was right in the middle of a battle with my brain trying to understand what they were talking about, so I was caught off guard by the question.

“What’s wrong, kid? You okay?” Tokihi sounded worried.

“I’m fine, sir. My mind just wandered off a bit, that’s all.”

“I see. You must be exhausted from that scary trip to the forest.”

Scary trip to the forest? Huh?

“Here’s your money.”

“Oh! Thank you, sir.” I took the money and put it safely into the small magic bag I used as a purse.

“So, what’re your plans for the rest of the day?” Tokihi asked.

Druid started, “Well, we’re about to go to the plaza and—” 

“We’re going to go to Mr. Druid’s father’s store to buy some rice!”

“Huh?!”

Wait…what? Why is Druid so shocked? I told him we were… No, wait, I didn’t tell him! I think I forgot to tell Druid where we were going.

“Ryce? That’s a peculiar thing to buy. Well, I guess this time of day, your pops ought to be around. Go see him now!”

A crease formed between Druid’s eyebrows. Oops, I messed up. I blurted out the plan to see Druid’s father without consulting him first. What do I do now?

“Druid, it’s time you had a nice long talk with your pops.”

Druid sighed heavily in reply.

“Um, it’s my shopping trip, Mr. Druid. You don’t need to come.” I did rope him in without asking, after all. That wasn’t fair of me.

“No, I’ll come with you.”

“Oh?! Go, you will?” I was so startled I worded my answer a little weirdly. Well, I’m sure he still understood me.

“Yeah, well…I really shouldn’t keep avoiding my father. Besides, now I’ve got some news for him.”

“You mean it?!” Tokihi sounded stunned.

“Hey, you advised me to do it, Tokihi.”

“Well, yeah, but…I didn’t think you actually would. Wow, that’s great. Why the change of heart?”

Druid smiled awkwardly in response… There was a touch of shyness in his eyes. Tokihi looked surprised for a moment, but then a smile lit up his face.

“Well, I dunno what happened, but I’m happy for you.”

“I actually partly have you to thank for it, Tokihi. Seriously, thank you.”

“I don’t really get it, but no worries.”

Tokihi sure was a good person.

As we were leaving the shop, Druid turned and told Tokihi he wanted to meet and catch up sometime soon. It sounded like things were headed in a good direction.

“Thanks,” Druid told me on our way to our next stop.

“But I didn’t do anything.”

Druid chuckled softly and patted my head. He’d never done that to me before. It surprised me a little, but it made me smile, too. His hand was so warm.

“Phew… I’m even more nervous now than I was at Tokihi’s place.”

I glanced up at Druid. He looked like he was about to throw up. It was painfully obvious just how anxious he was about seeing his father. He’s so silly… No, stop that. Good luck, Druid!