The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 5 - Chapter 243

Chapter 243:

I’m a Little Worried

We followed Ciel far into the forest. I searched our surroundings for auras and picked up on an animal here and there, but none of them were moving.

“It sure gets quiet this deep in the forest,” Druid said.

I nodded in agreement and put my senses on high alert. I had to be prepared for anything.

And boy, was it cold. Since we’d been outdoors longer than expected, the temperature dropped lower than we had prepared for. My fingers and toes were starting to get numb—I’d need a nice, hot bath as soon as we got back. I finally understood why Druid insisted so much on staying at an inn with a bathtub.

“Hm? Are you cold, Ivy?” Druid looked at me with worry. He’d caught me rubbing my fingers together.

“I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?”

I never was comfortable when Druid looked at me with ­worried eyes like that. It made me feel like I was doing something wrong. Well, it was wrong of me to say I was fine when I wasn’t…

“Well, the coat is keeping me warm just fine, except my hands and feet. Don’t worry, I’ll take a nice, long bath when we get back to the inn.” It was starting to sound like I was making excuses.

“Good idea. My hands and feet are cold, too. It makes me long for a nice hot bath.”

“Yeah, really.”

I felt a rustling in my arms and looked down at the black orb. Its little head darted from side to side, looking all around us. Maybe we were getting close to the serpent?

“Pu! Pu, puuu,” Sora suddenly cried out behind Ciel. I looked over to see that Sora was bounding wildly now. My eyes widened as I saw it was headed toward a giant black boulder.

“Wow, that’s a big rock. Wait…are those markings?” I noticed that what I thought was a big black boulder had white markings on it. And those markings looked familiar, too. “Is that Snakey?”

What seemed to be a boulder was actually a creature’s body.

“Which side do you think has the head?” Druid asked.

I compared the left side with the right. They were completely identical.

“Umm…”

It was great that we’d found Snakey, but since only its torso was visible, we would need to figure out where its head was. The torso was curved slightly, making both sides indistinguishable, so we had no idea which way we should go. Snakey really was huge. So huge that it was a marvel that the creature had grown that big in the first place. As we stood there, wondering which direction we should go, I felt a shadow fall over my head. I glanced up to see Snakey’s eyes peering down at me. The moment our eyes met, all worry vanished from my mind. I was just relieved to finally see the serpent.

“So good to see you again. Remember us?” My voice got a little higher as I waved at it. Druid also gave the creature a soft wave. It stared at us for a while, its eyes narrowing slightly. Then it suddenly lowered its head.

“Oh, good. It remembers us. We came here today to return this little one to you. I think it got lost.”

I showed Snakey the little black orb I was holding, and it let out a sigh. The black orb flinched in my arms. Uh-oh, was it in for a stern talking-to later? Good luck, little buddy!

“Here you go. Be careful not to get lost next time, okay?” When I set the little black orb on the ground, it grew tiny feet and scurried over toward the serpent, but it promptly collided with a small rock and started rolling in another direction. Druid rushed after it and picked it up, setting it directly on top of the serpent’s torso this time.

“Sorry, kid. We should have done this from the start.”

Oddly enough, it didn’t fall off the serpent. I took a curious look at the black orb’s legs. They had little claws which dug snugly into the serpent’s skin. Aha, so that’s why they don’t fall off.

While I was busy marveling over the sight, Ciel turned into slime form and jumped on top of Snakey. Sora followed suit. Then the three began to have a little jumping party with the tiny black orb.

“Sorry about Sora and Ciel. Is it okay if they play on you?”

Snakey gave me a glance but made no other reaction. That probably meant it was all right. Those two sure are ridiculous!

“Kk-kk-kk-kk!”

I looked around at the mysterious noise, but aside from us, there were no moving auras. Druid also scanned the area, but he couldn’t find anything, either.

“Kk-kk-kk-kk!” The sound came again from above.

“Wait, Snakey, you can talk?”

“Kk-kk-kk-kk!”

Wait a minute…its mouth isn’t moving. Is it making that noise with its throat? Wow, I didn’t know snakes could talk! And what a cute little voice, too… Not really what you’d imagine for a serpent with a giant body like that, though. As I stared at Snakey, it moved its face closer to mine. And to my surprise, its tongue slid out of its mouth. There was a little black orb on top of it.

“Whoa! Oh, um, no thanks, we’ve got plenty!”

Even though the serpent probably meant it as a thank-you gift, that would be yet another magic stone we would have to keep secret. I gently refused the gift, but it was shoved back in my face. I nervously tried to return it again, but the serpent’s face had already moved far away. Now I’d lost my chance to give it back. Besides, the serpent had looked so pleased with itself that I felt bad turning it down now.

“Thanks…” I sighed.

The serpent narrowed its eyes and nodded at me. Come to think of it, we don’t even know what powers these magic stones have. Would the serpent tell us if we asked?

“Excuse me, Snakey, but what exactly can these magic stones do?”

“Kk-kk-kk! Kk-kk-kk-kk!”

Oh no. I don’t speak Serpentese. I think it’s trying to explain things to me. I looked up at Snakey, and it returned my glance.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t understand what you just said.”

“Kk-kk-kk…” Snakey sounded glum. I guess it must have been trying to explain the magic stones to me.

“Um…oh, I know! Is it true that the magic stones can bring people back from the dead?”

Snakey shook its head from side to side. I guess that means no. So Druid was right. I was relieved to find that out. I didn’t want such terrifying magic.

“Thank you.”

The magic stone felt a little less heavy in my hand. Just a little, though.

“We should head back. It’s starting to get dark.”

I looked around and saw that the light in the forest had indeed grown dimmer. “Okay. Snakey, see you later. Sora! Ciel! We’re going home.”

The two creatures wiggled in reply from atop the serpent.

“We’re leaving you behind!” Druid warned. That made them frantic.

You guys are ridiculous.

When they jumped back to my side, I gave both their heads a gentle pat.

“Kk-kk-kk-kk!” Snakey chirped out a farewell and then began to move away.

“Pu! Pu, puuu.”

Mrrrow.

Ciel and Sora also gave their goodbyes…I think. And the next thing I knew, Ciel was back in adandara form. Ciel’s shapeshifting had become quite smooth, and the creature seemed to enjoy doing it.

“Okay, let’s go.”

On the way back to the village, I noticed that the monster auras were moving again after they’d been still all that time. I searched the auras and found animals among them, too.

“Something wrong?”

“No, I just felt the auras moving again.”

“Maybe they were standing still because of the serpent…”

“Hm?”

“Since that serpent is called a guardian deity, it must be really powerful. They’re probably scared of it.”

They’re scared? But Snakey is so nice. There’s still so much we don’t know about that creature. I wonder if we’ll ever see it again?