The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 3 - Chapter 167

Chapter 167:

White Bread!

DOLGAS’S FACE turned redder and redder before my very eyes. He was probably both furious and embarrassed. I thought about asking him if he was okay, but if he knew I was worried about him, that’d probably just add fuel to the fire. Whenever I spoke to Dolgas, I was always tempted to make quips. Why was that?

“Ha ha ha ha! Oh, Ivy, you’re the best!”

To make matters worse, this person standing next to me was fanning the flames. Ohhh, there he goes again, saying the worst possible thing.

“Guild Master!”

“What’s wrong, Dolgas?” the guild master asked. “Ivy’s uncanny powers of observation make you nervous? Or angry, perhaps?”

Dolgas’s entire body shivered faintly with fury. “What is wrong with you guys? I’m a victim. My stars were stolen.”

Oh, a victim, are you?

The guild master sighed. “Dolgas, how much longer are you going to play the victim card?”

Dolgas looked surprised.

“Yes, Druid technically did steal your stars. But that happened over twenty years ago now.”

“Shut up!” Dolgas barked at the guild master as he turned and ran out of the plaza. He sure was a turbulent fellow.

“Sorry about that. Everything’s okay now, so you can go to bed,” the guild master called out to the tents around the cooking area. Dolgas’s loud accusations had attracted quite the crowd of onlookers, and some people had been woken from their sleep. I apologized, too. There was a bit of a stir in the plaza, but it returned to normal in no time.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, sir, thank you. Sorry you had to help me.”

“Ivy, don’t apologize. You did nothing wrong. It was all the fault of Dolgas and everyone in his life who neglected to kick his ass back on track.”

Kick his… Isn’t there a gentler way of…wait, I don’t know the details of what happened in his life, so I probably shouldn’t stick my nose into it. Besides, the time for giving him gentle advice is long gone by now.

“It sounds like a tough situation.”

“Ha ha ha. Yeah, well… By the way, why was he that angry with you?”

“I don’t know.”

“Hm? You don’t know?” the guild master asked, confused.

My hot water was ready, so I carried it back to my tent. The guild master followed behind. “Ever since he showed up here,” I explained, “he’s been like that. He never said why he was angry, so I’m still not sure.” I did have an idea what it might be, but it was pure speculation, so I could be wrong.

“I see. I really like that proverb you said just now, ‘the weakest man always barks the loudest.’ A pitch-perfect description of Dolgas.”

“I didn’t mean to say that out loud, actually. Is he really a coward, sir?” Oops! Wow, what an extra-rude question I just asked.

“Yes, he probably is.”

Hmmm, the guild master’s a pretty good judge of character, huh? The look in his eyes is a bit different right now.

“Hm? Something wrong?”

Oops, he changed back. The guild master’s gravelly voice really holds him back. If he ditches the goofy look in his eyes, he can look pretty intimidating… I guess he’d have to be, to work his way up the ladder and become guild master.

“Ivy?”

“Er, it’s nothing, sir. Thanks for walking me back to my tent.” There’s more than meets the eye with this guild master.

“Well, I’m just glad nothing came of it. If something happened to you, Druid would’ve given me hell for it.”

Hm? His voice was so quiet that I missed the last part. “What did you say, sir?”

“Oh, nothing. I think that’s the end of it, but I’ll tell everyone to keep their eyes and ears open.”

“Thank you.”

“Sure thing. Well, good night.”

“Good night, sir.”

I saw the guild master off and returned to my tent. Gee, I dunno why, but I’m exhausted. I’ll just wash and get right to bed.

“Good morning, Sora, Flame.”

The two slimes jiggled their morning greeting in unison. Sora was a bit wild, but Flame was kind of…how should I put it…floaty? And slow. Was that another difference in personality?

“Ivy, are you awake?”

Hm? That’s Druid’s voice. “Yes. Just a minute, I’ll be right out.”

“It’s okay, take your time.”

I thought he was going to meet me at the gate. Change of plans? I stepped out of my tent to find Druid looking a bit uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry, the neighborhood watch told me everything. I can’t believe my brother came here last night and yelled at you, Ivy. My apologies.” Druid bowed to me.

I was a bit flustered. “Oh, you don’t need to apologize, Mr. Druid. It doesn’t bother me at all.” I really meant it. Even the worried look on Druid’s face didn’t really make me upset about what happened the night before. I’d mentally dismissed the whole ordeal as insignificant. I mean, mood-wise the whole scene basically felt like a drunk guy ranting in a room. You run into that sort of thing sometimes when you’re an adventurer, so you can’t let it get to you.

“Maybe so, but…” Druid clearly felt responsible for his brother’s rotten personality. That’s why he couldn’t help but worry.

Oh dear, what should I say… Ooh, I know! “If you want to make it up to me, treat me to some white bread and we’ll call it even.” This early in the morning, I bet we can still get our hands on some freshly baked loaves!

“Huh?! Wightbred… Oh! White bread. You’ve got it.”

Oh, good, he feels better. And I get white bread, too! “I’ll have to thank Dolgas later.”

“Thank him? Why?” Druid looked thoroughly perplexed.

“I mean, I’m getting free white bread.”

Druid stared blankly at me for a few seconds…then burst out laughing. “Ha ha ha ha! Ivy…ha ha ha ha!”

“Come on, it’s not that funny…”

“Sorry…pff! Hm hm…hee hee…”

Looks like I gave him the giggles. Guess I’ll wait till he stops. Just please pull yourself together before they sell out of white bread, okay?

After Druid finally stopped laughing, I finished getting ready, and we left the plaza. White! Bread! I was just a little excited.

“Since white bread is expensive, it’s like a special treat to me. So I really do want to thank Dolgas.”

“You’re pretty amazing, Ivy.”

What’s so amazing about me? I gave Druid a curious look, but he just smiled quietly back.

After buying our white bread, we headed into the forest. I was hungry, but I figured it wouldn’t be a great idea to eat the bread while walking. I sure wanted to eat it though…

“By the way, what’s the plan today? Setting more traps?”

“Nope, today I’m going to the dump.” Oh, right, I don’t think I filled him in on the itinerary.

“The dump?”

“Yes, to get food for Sora and Flame.”

“Oh! Right. They’re both slimes. So they’re the heroes of the dump?”

Could you really call them “heroes”? Well, I guess they did do a big service, eating up the trash. Except they were different from normal slimes. I should probably let him know about that.

“Um…I’ll tell you after we leave the forest.”

“Whoa…if it’s anything like what you’ve told me so far, I’m a little scared.”

What I’ve told him so far? “Did something else I said scare you?”

“I guess it’s normal for you, Ivy. That’s partly what’s so shocking about it.”

Hm? Normal for me? Is he talking about Ciel? Well, yeah, Ciel is anything but normal. I tamed it without even realizing. And then on the other hand, Flame was born with my taming symbol.

“Normal… What exactly is normal, anyway?”

“Coming from you, Ivy, that sounds really deep.”

Please, don’t go all sentimental on me…

We gave our regards to the gatekeeper and passed through into the forest. After a short hike, I sensed Ciel’s aura.

“We’re here,” I announced, standing still and waiting for Ciel. Not long after, Ciel made its grand entrance.

“Good morning…oops! I forgot to take Sora out.” I carefully opened the bag… Is Sora a bit bigger than usual?

“Huh? Sora’s gotten bigger?”

“Huh?!” Druid was just as surprised.

Sora stretched itself out of the bag. When it landed on the ground, it was back to its usual size.

“Um? Maybe I was seeing things?” I stared hard at Sora… Yep, that was Sora all right. My mistake. “Sorry it took me so long.” I apologized.

Sora bounced high, landing atop Druid’s head in a single bound. Druid was completely unfazed by it—apparently he was used to it by now. I guess this is what you’d call a dynamic duo.