The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 4 - Chapter 200

Chapter 200:

A Lazy Day

“Erk?!”

That was the response I got from both men when I told them what Flame had just done. Their only answer was their indescribable expressions, which wasn’t what I’d been hoping for.

“Er, so, what you’re saying is…Flame changed some random rocks in the road into magic stones?”

“I think so, sir?” I guess that is what happened? “Um, do you think they might actually have been old magic stones that adventurers used up?”

“That is possible. Could I see the stones?”

“Oh, right! Here they are.” I took out the two magic stones that Flame had produced and showed them to the men.

“Wow…it’s just one miracle after another.”

“Since I’ve never heard of regular rocks being turned into magic stones, do you suppose these really were spent magic stones that got left on the road?” I asked.

Druid took the red stone I was holding out of my hand and held it up to the sky. It was so transparent that you could clearly see the distant scenery through it.

“That’s what I thought at first,” Druid’s mentor said. “But if ya used up a magic stone this big…would ya really throw it away?”

“I wouldn’t,” Druid said. “I’d keep it as a memento.”

“Yeah, me too.” I awkwardly smiled in reply. I guess such a big stone was so rare that you would want to hold on to it.

“Boy, would ya look at that transparency?” Druid’s mentor marveled. “If we took this to the guild for an appraisal, it’d be the talk of the town. And as big as it is, I’m sure the rumors would spread all the way out to other towns and village.”

I guessed that was his way of saying “Don’t—under any circumstances—take this to get appraised.” Not like I was planning on doing that anyway.

“But as for this colorless one…” The old mentor gave the stone a dubious look. “It has to be a magic stone, ’cause I sense magic comin’ from it. But it doesn’t have any color…”

Why is he so perplexed?

“I’ve never heard of a colorless magic stone, either,” Druid agreed. His mentor nodded back.

So I guess this magic stone is connected to an unknown element?

“Should we have Tombas appraise it?”

Tombas—that’s the old mentor’s friend who appraised the ­potion. I’m sure we can trust him.

“Could we ask him to do that, sir?”

“Sure, that guy loves to appraise new stuff. He was thrilled when I gave him that sparklin’ potion of yours. Well…too bad he couldn’t figure it out.”

Did he say, “new stuff”?

“Yes, I remember how he used to be quite annoying during our travels,” Druid said. “Whenever we’d find something he hadn’t seen before on the road, he’d throw the day’s schedule out the window so he could appraise it. I remember you’d often butt heads with him, Master.”

This Tombas fellow sounded like a free spirit.

“Yeah, and all that headbuttin’ was his fault. Whenever a monster he didn’t recognize suddenly popped up out of nowhere, he’d prattle on about needin’ to appraise it while the rest of us fought for our lives.”

Now that’s dedication. But couldn’t he have waited until after the monster was dead?

“Yes, but did you really have to ignore the monsters so you could bicker with him?”

“Eh, it was fine. We managed to kill ’em anyway.”

“Yes, we did. Me, Marual, and the guild master, that is.”

“Okay, technically, you’re right. But I was just so frustrated. It was all Tombas’ damn fault.”

That sounded like a hell of a quest…especially since they had two free spirits, Tombas and their mentor, to deal with. I could just picture the torment in Marual’s eyes.

“Ivy, let’s be sure to help each other out on our travels,” Druid said gravely.

“Of course, sir,” I answered with equal solemnity.

“Aw, I can be helpful when I try,” the old mentor scoffed.

“You just never try,” Druid replied.

“Yep.”

Druid heaved a heavy sigh. And I just had to chuckle.

“Um, why do you think Mr. Tombas insisted on appraising a monster while your party was being attacked?”

“Well, the appraisal will get ya different results when the monster is dead.”

I didn’t know that. I’d always assumed an appraisal would come out the same way no matter what.

“But damn, you’re so mighty! I can’t believe I’m with an adandara up close and personal. I’m literally shakin’.”

Druid’s old mentor had hardly taken his eyes off Ciel the whole conversation. Ciel didn’t seem to mind—it just kept playing with Sora. The slime bounced around and slammed against Ciel’s tummy. Then the adandara would repel it with its front paws, and Sora would rebuff the attack. They just kept doing it over and over… Was Sora truly okay with that? Wasn’t there a better way of playing with the creature than being tossed around? Sora…are you a masochist?

“Wait, what’s a masochist?” I asked.

“Huh? Mass-oh-kist?”

I guess that was Past Me’s knowledge. But the word was just giving me vague feelings instead of specific impressions, which was unusual for me.

“What’s up?” Druid’s mentor asked.

I shook my head in reply. There was no way I could explain it to him when I didn’t even understand it myself.

“It’s nothing, sir.”

“Hey, Ivy…do you think it would be okay if I touched Ciel just a little?”

“Ciel, he says he wants to pet you a little bit. Is that okay?”

Mrrrow.

“Ciel says you can do it. Go ahead, sir.”

The old mentor looked like he envied my rapport with the adandara. “Damn. You are so lucky.”

He kept saying how lucky I was, and I was always at a loss for how to react. Ciel started wagging its tail, so the old mentor stopped staring at me in envy and slowly reached out toward the adandara. Then, just as his hand made contact with Ciel’s neck, he froze.

“Mr. Druid…what happened to your mentor?”

“He’s fine. He’s just awestruck, that’s all.”

He’s awestruck? Well, whatever emotion he was feeling, this was the biggest reaction I’d ever seen from him.

“Yikes…I’m touching an adandara. This adandara.”

Druid’s old mentor was muttering something very softly—too softly for me to make out what he was saying. But from the words I could faintly hear, it was clear just how deeply moved he was.

“Ciel…can I pet ya?” The old man’s voice shook a little. I saw Druid clamp a hand over his mouth out of the corner of my eye. He was trying to stifle a gasp.

Mrrrow.

“Whoa, ya answered me! Thanks, buddy.” As he gently petted the creature, he looked like a little boy—it was so precious. As we watched the scene, a strange sound emitted from Druid’s mouth. He was trying to keep himself from squealing…and failing miserably. Well, I couldn’t blame him. This new side of his mentor was pretty funny to look at.

“Whoa, you’re so amazing! Agggh!”

“Ha ha ha, it’s no use. It’s too funny,” Druid choked, suppressing his laughter beside me.

“You look so precious, Mr. Mentor,” I chimed in.

“Pfft! Ivy…no. He’s not precious!” Druid burst out laughing, shaking his head in protest. A little too much in protest, I thought.

“Really, sir?”

“Yeah, if you think my master is precious, you need to get your eyes checked.”

Isn’t that a bit extreme?

Druid and I sat side by side on the mat and watched Ciel and the old master play. Judging by his nonstop grinning, he must have been satisfied. Sora, tired from playing, was sleeping next to me, and Flame had moved over to snuggle up with it for a nap.

Gee…watching those two slimes together always makes me feel so warm and fuzzy. “I love this.”

“What?”

“Lazy days like this.”

“Yeah. Me, too.”

Ever since I came to this town, life had been so hectic that it was a nice break to have a day like this where I just relaxed and did nothing.