The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 4 - Chapter 220

Chapter 220:

Proud to Have You as My Friends

“Beautiful, aren’t they?”

“Sure are.”

Before us stood a line of sparkling blue and red potions which the slimes had made while we were getting food for them at the dump. There were five of each color, and there were also red magic stones strewn about Flame’s general vicinity.

“Pu! Puuu.”

“Te! Ryuuu.”

Is it me, or do they look smug?

Mew! For some reason, Ciel seemed a bit upset.

What’s wrong, Ciel? I examined the three creatures with a puzzled look. They were usually such good friends…but were they in the middle of a quarrel?

“Just an idea…but maybe Ciel feels jealous?” Druid suggested.

“Jealous?” Of whom, though?

“Ever since we set off on this journey, Ciel has always been taking the lead, taking care of all sorts of things for us, right? It even found us some treasure in that cave.”

That was true. And thanks to Ciel, our bags were ridiculously valuable right now.

“Maybe Sora and Flame wanted to show us how helpful they were, too. Hence, the loot.” Druid pointed at the collection of sparkling potions, with a very proud pair of slimes sitting beside them.

“To show us how helpful they are…”

But Sora found us great campsites and Flame regenerated magic stones. That was already more than enough help.

“Well, it’s just a theory, but watching the three of them kind of gives me that feeling. And since Ciel is acting a bit jealous this time around…maybe it’ll be the next one to show off?”

I looked at the trio again. Druid’s theory was entirely plausible. “Mr. Druid, what do you think would happen if we showered Sora and Flame with praise right now?”

“Ciel would definitely lead us deep into the forest. It might even personally find us some rarity from the trees.”

That definitely wouldn’t work for us. I didn’t want to increase our collection of rarities any further—my brain already hurt just thinking about it. The treasure that was already in the bag on my shoulder was more than enough, and we’d just added more sparkling potions against our will. I really wished my monsters would take it easy the rest of the trip.

“I guess I’ll have to explain this to them,” I said.

“I guess so.”

Druid and I looked at each other and laughed. Sora and Ciel could both be rather stubborn. Flame wasn’t as obstinate as the other two, though…I hoped. I still hadn’t quite grasped Flame’s personality. But it’ll probably be okay…I hope. I’d like to think it will be.

But what should I tell them? It’s not like they’re misbehaving or anything. Maybe I should just be honest and tell them I don’t want any more stuff? Would that be able to get the trio out of their frenzy? Oh, what a conundrum… I wish I had some good ideas. What do I do now?

Then again, I was certainly lucky to have this “problem.” There I was, saying I didn’t want any more treasures. I looked at the bag on my shoulder. According to Druid, this bag alone would bring us quite a hefty sum…a thought that scared me no matter how many times it hit me. Carrying something so valuable on my shoulder is much too stressful. It’s not good for my mental health. I’ve been so worried that the first thing I do every morning is check my bag! I need to do my best to nip this in the bud.

“Um…thanks for the potions.” After a lot of thought, I decided I needed to thank them first. They really hadn’t done anything wrong—they were just making us things that would help us on our travels. Except…the things they made were way beyond the highest quality. Well, that was the problem, after all…

“Sora…Flame…Ciel… I want to thank you all so much for all the help you’ve been. You’ve made and found so many items that are useful to us on our travels. I truly cannot thank you enough.”

The three creatures each reacted happily in their own way. Oh, good. I think they understood me.

“So anyway, we’ve got enough now.” C’mon, how am I supposed to say it?! Arrrgh, now Ciel is giving me the strangest look. “Erm, see, the bag is already full of plenty of treasures…I don’t need any more. So I don’t need you to find or make anything else for me.” Oh, Flame looks upset! Oh dear, are you a stubborn little one, too? “Um…Mr. Druid?” How can I convince them to listen to me? I haven’t the faintest clue.

“Wondering how you can persuade them? Well, the fact is, we have more than enough money for the trip now. We don’t need more, so we want you to keep treasure-hunting and potion-making to a minimum.”

“Puuu,” Sora whined in disapproval. The other two creatures looked just as upset. Flame’s eyes kept darting between me and the potions, too… I hope it’s not thinking of making more? I really wished it would give up on the idea.

If there was one thing I’d learned from this, it was that both me and Druid were terrible at the art of persuasion. Maybe the best way to get them to understand was just brute honesty.

“Listen, guys…I want to have a nice relaxing trip with all of you, but that means we can’t do anything that will make us stand out. Sora and Flame, you two are rare slimes with incredibly unique powers. If someone discovers either of you, you’ll probably cause a panic. The same goes for you, Ciel. Just being an adandara already makes you very rare. If people find out I’ve tamed you on top of that, you’ll be the talk of the country.”

“Adventurers might come after you,” Druid explained. “The capital might even send an emissary. And if that happens, we won’t be able to have any fun while we travel anymore.”

An emissary from the capital? Huh? What’s that? I shot Druid a look of disbelief.

“Puuu.”

“Teryuuu.”

Mrrrow.

The whimpers of the trio snapped my attention back to them. They looked pitiful, rather than upset. Had I gotten through to them?

“So…will you go easy on the hunting and creating?”

“Pu! Pu, puuu.”

“Te! Ryu, ryuu.”

Mrrrow.

Oh, thank goodness. What a relief.

“Thanks. I promise I’ll sell everything you guys gave me little by little and put the money in our travel fund.”

Sora and Flame wiggled happily in reply. Ciel’s tail was swishing up quite a storm.

“I guess you got through to them.”

“Yes, sir. Wait, so what’s this about an emissary from the capital?”

“If Sora’s powers are discovered, the capital will definitely send someone.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, with a personal letter from the Crown.”

“Well, that wouldn’t be nice.”

“Pu! Puuu.” Sora looked a little worried.

“Don’t worry, Sora. I’ve tamed you. That means we’ll be together forever.”

“Pu! Pu, puuu.”

I looked around and noticed it was getting dark. “Okay, I’d kind of like to find a place to sleep soon. Sora?”

“Pu! Pu, puuu.”

“Ooh, Sora, you’re so helpful! Thanks for helping us find a campsite again.”

Sora bounded eagerly off. Apparently, Druid’s words had really cheered the slime up.

“Teryuuu,” Flame whimpered quietly, staring hard at Sora.

“Flame?”

“Ryuuu,” came its listless reply.

Hmm…is something wrong? I looked back and forth between Sora and Flame. Oh! I think I know…

“Should we go?” Druid asked.

I picked up Flame and chased after Sora. “Flame, Sora’s able to find good campsites, but you can make potions and regenerate magic stones. So please don’t get discouraged comparing yourself to Sora. You have your own gifts, Flame.”

“Ryuuu?” Flame looked up at me.

I gave it a gentle pat. “I am proud to have all of you as my friends. I’m so proud of you that I want to sing your praises to everyone in the whole world.”

“Teryu!”

Aha! It’s cheerful again.

“As much as I’d love to sing their praises…we have to keep them a secret if we want to have a peaceful journey.” Druid sounded disappointed, but he gave Flame’s head a gentle pat in my arms.

“He’s right, Flame. Truth be told, I wish I could brag at the top of my lungs just how proud I am of all my friends.”

This earned me a laugh from Druid, but I meant every word. I really did want to brag to the world. I wanted to forget about everything and just show the world my friends who I was so proud of. I knew I couldn’t…but I still wanted to.

But, wow… They wanted to prove themselves useful to me… Am I behaving the wrong way with them? I should ask Druid about that later.