The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 4 - Chapter 215

Chapter 215:

Druid and the Guild Master

After we collected the blackstones, Ciel showed us where some other precious gems were, so we added those to our collection as well. I mean, this cave…it was ridiculous. And I was scared to look in my bag. Druid kept saying we would definitely become walking targets if we sold all of our loot in the next town we came to.

“Ciel sure is amazing,” Druid marveled as he stared at the clear gemstone he’d just excavated.

I cast Ciel an admiring glance…and saw that it was already trying to guide us to yet another treasure. I nervously put a stop to it. I just couldn’t bear the thought of fearing my bag’s contents more than I already did.

“We already have enough—more than enough. Thank you, Ciel.”

Mew!

It sounded upset, but for my own peace of mind, I couldn’t take any more. Besides, we needed to start looking for a place to sleep.

“Mr. Druid, we have to find a place to sleep, don’t we?”

“We sure do. We should probably head out of this cave soon. Also, you’re calling me ‘Mister’ again,” he said, with a firm pat on my head.

“Huh?!” I’m back to my old habit? Gee, it sure is hard to change old habits. “Sora, found any great places to sleep yet?”

“Pu, pu, puuu,” Sora chirped, bouncing along inside the cave. We chased after it until it veered off the main path and into a hole.

“Looks like that’s the best place to sleep tonight.” I followed Sora into the opening. It was a narrow entrance, but the area inside was spacious. “Is this spot all right, Mr. Druid—oops! I mean, is this okay?”

Druid didn’t answer.

“Mr. Druid?”

“Oh! Right…inside the cave…”

“Yes?”

“No, I’m okay. Sora says it’s safe, after all.”

That was too quiet to hear. I hope he’s going to be okay.

We crawled into the hole Sora took us to and searched for monster tracks. There were some traces of creatures, but everything looked safe. I took the bag off my shoulder so I could set out our sleeping mats. I looked over at Druid and noticed he was talking with Flame about something. Had he learned to communicate with the slime?

“Mr. Druid…let’s get ready for bed?”

“Oh! Sorry. Yeah, I’ll help. We probably shouldn’t build a fire since we’re in a cave and all.”

“Yup.”

I made sure not to light fires in caves since I’d heard other adventurers say it was dangerous. However, I didn’t know why they thought that.

“Why isn’t it safe to build fires in caves, sir?” Oops! I called him “sir” again. Druid saw my expression and laughed. I guess my surprise at myself was clear.

“It stirs up monsters and lures them to you, and there’s no escape route in a cave. Also, you put yourself in danger of asphyxiation.”

That made sense. I had heard stories about somebody’s campfire riling up a monster into attacking. Animals may be scared of fires and keep their distance, but that wasn’t always the case with monsters. I looked around and noticed there was only one entrance to our sleeping area. If a monster stood in front of it, we’d have no way out.

“Still, this is all new to me,” Druid said. “I’ve never spent the night in a cave with a traveling companion.”

“What do you mean?”

Druid sighed. “Well, if we see monsters at a cave entrance, we won’t go in there in the first place.”

“But those monsters aren’t a threat anymore, remember?” They’d prostrated themselves before Ciel and surrendered to its power, so they wouldn’t attack us.

“I’ve never heard of an adventure party including a monster of Ciel’s caliber.”

“Well…you might find one if you look hard enough.”

“No, I definitely would’ve gotten word of a party like that. That’s just how ridiculous it would be.”

Wait a minute… Are we really that different from other adventure parties? “Mr. Druid…is our journey not exactly…”

“There is no right or wrong when it comes to traveling. It’s free, and I like it that way.”

So…are we really that different from the others? I looked over at Druid, and he smiled back at me.

“Wait a minute… Are you and I really that unique?” Um…now I’m feeling a little insecure. I had traveled a little with Rattloore’s party, but all we did was walk along the village road back to town. I had no idea what a normal journey was supposed to look like.

“We’re a little…we’re quite unique, I guess.”

He backpedaled! “Is that so?”

“Yeah… Well, anyway, it’s getting late. Let’s make camp and get dinner ready.”

We made our beds. I even set out a mat for Ciel, who wagged its tail happily at the sight of it. Our dinner was one I hadn’t had in a while: dried meat and fruit. The past few days on the road, we’d still done some cooking—albeit simple—so this was our first time having dried meat. This journey was a lot more luxurious than the ones I’d been on at the beginning.

“So, Mr. Druid, what exactly makes my traveling style unique? How is it different from journeys you’ve had with other adventurers?”

“Hmm…well, I suppose since you’ll probably travel with other people in the future, it’s best you learn a few things now.”

“Yes, please.” It won’t necessarily be just the two of us on this journey forever, and I need to be careful not to do or say the wrong things when other people are around.

“For starters, like I just said, we never sleep in caves with monsters—not unless we don’t want to ever wake up.”

I guess I really do have Ciel to thank for my ability to sleep in caves.

“Second, we’re traveling way too light to go this deep into the forest. You’d never go with a party this small, either. This entire location is a problem, for that matter. You can’t pinpoint it on a map, so we have no idea where we are. And for that matter, I’ve never heard of a slime being the one to pick where you make camp.”

It’s really that different? I guess…I’d better think over his points one by one. Okay, so, we’re traveling too light to go this deep into the forest? I looked around me. There was my magic bag filled with everything I’d need for the journey, and the other one containing food for my slimes. Then there was my magic bag filled with things I’d collected in the forest and the bag to carry my slimes in. Common magic bags sure are efficient. Without them, this would have been a pretty tough journey to make. Wait, I’m getting off track here. Am I really traveling too light?

“When I say we’re traveling too light, I mean that we don’t have any fighting supplies.”

Now it was making sense. None of the things I was just thinking of even touched upon that. Fighting supplies? I cast my eyes toward the sword beside Druid. Its magic stone was shining clearly. That was all we had.

“I guess we are traveling a little light.”

“Yeah, you need a lot of equipment when you travel deep into the forest. You’d never take just one sword, not even by accident.”

Argh… Druid might have had a lot of concerns about our journey. Now I feel awful. So what was his next point… The party size?

“So, what’s a normal size for a party traveling into the forest?”

“Make that deep into the forest. And very deep indeed.”

Druid was absolutely right. Judging by the types of trees and grasses growing here, we’d clearly gone quite far into the forest.

“I’m not sure what the correct answer is, but I’d say eight people at least.”

“Eight people?!” What?! Is that many really necessary?

“Well, the deeper into the forest you go, the greater the number and type of monsters you’ll encounter.”

He was right; there were more monsters here. I couldn’t sense any auras approaching us with a quick search, but I was well aware that there was a large number of monsters around.

“You’d need at least eight people in your party, including whoever’s staying up to keep watch.”

“So, wait… If other adventurers happened upon us here, would they think we were really odd?”

“They absolutely would.”

I was glad I’d always avoided any other adventurers I’d encountered during my travels—that was definitely the right move. Wait…huh? Come to think of it, I feel like other adventurers ran away from me first. Was that because…the sight of me was unsettling?

“Ha ha ha ha.”

“Ivy?”

“There’s probably rumors about me—about that dangerous abomination deep in the forest.”

“Ha ha ha ha! Well, yeah, if anyone sensed a lone human aura in the forest, they’d definitely run for their life. Nobody would want to come near someone like that.”

So I was right! I always did think it was a little strange that I kept sensing auras running away from me.

“Wouldn’t it be funny if a rumor went around that a monster who impersonates human auras was traveling through the forest toward the capital?”

Druid’s offhanded remark made us both fall silent. Then we both laughed.

Well, it doesn’t concern me. It’s just a rumor…a rumor we’re not even sure exists. Not my problem!