The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 3 - Chapter 163

Chapter 163:

How Old Are You?

“WELCOME TO my sto…oh! Druid…”

The shopkeeper—Druid’s father—was stunned when he looked up to see us entering his store. Druid stiffened up at once. Gee, what am I supposed to do about this? I looked back and forth between Druid and the shopkeeper. They did look a little bit alike.

“Um, ah…been doing well? Wait, you just got maimed, of course you’re not doing well.” The shopkeeper was befuddled, but he was unmistakably concerned about Druid.

“I’m okay…Father. I don’t feel…any pain at all,” Druid quickly answered. His speech was quite stilted, and he sounded like he was speaking to a total stranger. If what I’d seen of Druid before was any indication, he was at peak nervousness right now. If I just stood there and watched on the side, he’d probably never calm down.

“Hello, sir.”

“Hm? Oh, it’s you again.”

“Yes, I was the one who bought the rice from you before. I came here to buy more, actually.”

“So…did you really eat it? Did it give you any problems?”

“No, sir, it was quite all right. Except I didn’t do a very good job steaming it.”

“You steamed it? You can steam ryce?”

“Oh yes, sir, you can. Is something the matter?”

“Oh, well…I did try boiling some ryce a little while ago, but it was a soggy mess and it didn’t taste great either.”

He boiled it? If you boil rice, it becomes like a porridge, I think. Though, according to Past Me’s memories, “soggy” would be a fair word to describe it. But…it “didn’t taste great”?

“I think it would taste pretty nice if you added a little salt and an egg.” I’d never eaten rice that way, but I did think it would have a nice homey flavor. Ooh, now I’m curious. I think I should try cooking that sometime. But wait, people in this world tend to like bold flavors in their food. I have to take that into consideration.

“Salt? Well, I did add some salt…”

“I think it would have a pretty simple flavor, so you might find it a little lacking.”

The shopkeeper tilted his head in thought. He must have been recalling the flavor in his mind. “I guess you’re right, you could call it rustic… But ryce…it’s kind of flavorless, isn’t it?”

Hmm…well, yeah, rice does have a sweetness to it, but it’s very subtle. It might be difficult to notice. Maybe it would be better steamed in dashi and turned into a savory porridge.

“Um, so…do you still have rice for sale?”

According to Tokihi, Oll’s population had experienced a sudden boom. There might be a rice shortage.

“Oh, sure, we’ve got plenty. Do you want the same amount you bought last time?”

“Yes, please.”

I guess that meant people weren’t hoarding rice—maybe because they thought of it as livestock feed instead of people food. The shopkeeper fetched some rice and took it into the back to polish.

“Phew…” I heard a gusty sigh beside me as the shopkeeper disappeared into the back. Druid must have been a nervous wreck—the fatigue on his face was stark.

“Are you okay, sir?”

“Ha ha ha…do I look okay?”

“Nope, not at all.”

“I didn’t think I’d be so nervous.”

What happened between them? I guess that’s not something I can casually ask about.

“How long has it been since you last saw each other?”

“Well…that would be when I moved out, so…over twenty years, I guess.”

Over twenty years?! For two people who lived in the same town, not seeing each other for twenty years was insanely long. They must have at least caught glimpses of each other around town… But now it made sense. That’s why both Druid and his dad acted so awkward with each other. Wait…huh? I never asked Druid how old he was. I always imagined he was in his early forties. I could ask him, Hey, are you about forty years ol—no, don’t ask him that.

“Mr. Druid…how old were you when you left home?”

“I was twelve.”

Hm? Twelve? Which means he’s about thirty-two right now? What?! He’s only thirty-two years old!!!

“Mr. Druid…are you thirty-two?”

“Thirty-three.”

Thirty-three! I stared hard at Druid. “Wow…you must’ve been through hell.”

“Ivy…what’s that supposed to mean? Mind elaborating on that?”

“Urrrm, well…” Oops. I said too much. Agh! His eyes are glazed over! What do I do?

“Ha ha ha!” a voiced boomed.

Huh? I looked up, wondering if I’d imagined that laughter—there was the shopkeeper, holding out my bag of newly polished rice and chuckling. I guess he’d overheard our conversation.

“I’m glad to see you looking so well, Druid,” he said, walking back over to the counter. “I haven’t seen you this happy in ages.”

“Dad…”

Ooh! This is a good atmosphere, and Druid looks much more relaxed now… Hopefully that means he’ll forget the whole how-old-are-you fiasco.

“Did you try the ryce, too?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Too bad. I wanted to hear your opinion.”

He wants to hear Druid’s opinion? In that case… “Um, if you’re free, sir, would you like to come over and try some with us? Druid and I were planning to have dinner together in the plaza.”

Druid’s father seemed interested in rice, so why not offer him some? Even if I messed it up, tasting it would give him a much better understanding of its potential than hearing someone else’s opinion.

“Huh?!” Both men gasped.

Hm? Why’re you both so surprised? I don’t think I said anything weird… “I figured tasting the rice would help you make up your mind about it.”

“Ah, that’s true. It’s true, but…” the shopkeeper trailed off uncomfortably and glanced at Druid.

Oh! Maybe Druid didn’t want me to invite his father. Right. That was a little insensitive of me. “Mr. Druid…um, I’m sorry.”

“Ha ha ha! Don’t worry about it, it’s all right. What do you think, Dad? Ivy’s cooking is a bit unusual, but it tastes great.” All traces of stiffness were gone from Druid’s voice. He was going to be okay. But did he have to describe my cooking as “unusual”? Well…I couldn’t deny that allegation.

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. Fair warning, though, even I don’t know exactly what ryce tastes like, so I can’t guarantee it’ll be any good,” Druid said, throwing me a smirk.

Aha! That’s payback for the age thing. Aww, come on, that wasn’t on purpose, I swear… I’ll ask Ciel to hunt some wild pigeons, and I’ll make some savory rice porridge with the stock! That’ll definitely taste great. Wild pigeon does make excellent stock. I feel a little bad asking Ciel for help…but I wanna eat it!

“Ivy?”

“Oops! Sorry. I was just thinking about what I wanted to cook.”

“Hah! Ivy, if anyone can make a good meal out of ryce, it’s you,” Druid said, giving my hair a rough tousle.

Ahh, now my hair’s all messed up. I reflexively slapped his hand away.

“Ha ha ha! Your head looks like a bramble.”

“Come on…”

Druid chuckled and neatened my hair for me.

“Thank you.”

“Well, I was the one who messed it up. But seriously, I’m not at all worried about how dinner will taste. It just feels a little strange hearing the word ‘ryce’ with dinner.”

Why did everyone have such bad reactions to rice? Was there some bigger reason behind it?

“Is rice really that bad?” It was a bit strange to use the word “bad.” But how else could I have asked?

“It’s not bad…it’s just the image of ‘livestock feed’ runs deep,” Druid’s explained. “It’s strange, picturing yourself eating what animals eat.”

That made sense. It was a prejudice shared by the whole society.

“Yeah, it’s always just been sort of a given not to eat animal feed,” Druid confirmed.

So even Druid had the same bias. I looked at the shelf that held the rice. It was sold in small bags, large bags, and even very large sacks. The butcher had mentioned they were adding more livestock, but did that mean they were also growing more feed? It seemed unlikely, since the shelf next to it labeled “bazmati” had very little on it. Were livestock also picky eaters?

“Umm, Dad? What’ll it be?”

“I’m not sure. I’m curious about this ryce meal, too, but I wouldn’t want to impose.” From the way he said it, it sounded like he was more curious about Druid than the rice.

“Oh, it’s no imposition. And I’ll make a very flavorful rice bowl for you.”

An image of a bowl of rice popped into my head. If I couldn’t steam it properly, the meal would most likely be a disaster…but I decided to have faith in myself. I knew I was inches away from making the perfect steamed rice!

“Rice bowl?” they asked in unison.

What kind of meat should I put on it? Wild rabbit wouldn’t work very well. Oh! I just remembered I have some wild pigeon meat in my magic bag. Too bad I already used up the bones, but I could buy some eggs on the way back. Although I don’t have soy sauce… Does it even exist here? There’s ryce and bazmati, so maybe they do have it. I should see if I can find something similar.

“Ivy?”

“I promise I’ll make something tasty.”

“Ack! Ivy wasn’t listening.”

Huh? To what? I looked at Druid and his father in confusion, and they chuckled back at me.

“Well, I looking forward to it,” the shopkeeper said.

I nodded confidently in response… But gosh, the flavor’ll be completely different if I can’t find any soy sauce.