The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 5 - Chapter 264

Chapter 264:

An Unnecessary Skill

I gripped the handle of the basket with my gloved hands. Inside the basket were three onigiri wrapped in bana leaves that we were going to take to Alloui. And in the magic bag on my shoulder were some magic stones that Flame had regenerated.

Three days had passed since we came across Guild Master Priya in the plaza. Right after that, we’d gone to Modd to pick up my gloves. We were supposed to go right back to the inn, but Druid and Baluka got caught up in another lively discussion. It was well into the evening by the time we returned to our room, so we canceled our plans and decided to bring Alloui the onigiri the next day instead.

However.

It rained steadily for the next two days. It showed no signs of stopping, and there was a horrible chill in the air. We didn’t want to leave the inn, so we decided to stay indoors and wait out the storm instead. Then finally, on the morning of the third day, the rains stopped.

“It sure is cold,” I said with a shiver.

“Sure is. It scares me to think how cold it’ll get this winter.”

“Thanks for the gloves, Mr. Druid.” Seriously. Without them, my fingertips would be in danger of freezing right off.

“Seeing you so happy makes me want to buy you another gift.”

“I object!”

“Gee, you don’t have to be so blunt about it…”

There were even embroidered slimes alongside the embroidered flowers on the gloves. The moment I saw them, I was so happy that I threw my arms around Druid and thanked him. I was so surprised that he’d ask for the slimes to be added. Poor Baluka looked a bit conflicted when he saw how happy I was about embroidered monsters, though.

“Can’t I ask them to put Sora and Flame on your coat collar?”

That would be very cute, but since it would cost money, that was a no. “Absolutely not.” Glove embroidery was well within our means. Besides, I could tell from Baluka’s attitude that embroidered monsters would make me stand out too much.

When we turned onto Main Street, we were stunned to see all the shops were closed. None of the stalls were out, either.

“Maybe Alloui’s shop is closed as well,” Druid said.

“Yeah.” I hadn’t thought of that. Well, if it’s closed, it’s closed. We’d just have to go home. After a while on Main Street, their shop came into view. I looked at it with a hint of apprehension, but the sign was up and it was lit up inside. Oh, good. I think they’re open.

“So, they are open.”

“Yeah, and there’s a lot of customers inside, too.”

Just ahead, a relentless stream of customers was coming and going. Was this shop always so popular? When we got closer, we could hear laughter inside.

“Toluca, it’s this one, not that one. No, not that. Right next to it! Yes, that one!”

Through the mingled laughter of Alloui and the customers, we heard somebody say “Turn your brain on, Toluca!” So Toluca really was a doofus. I peered inside the shop to see customers showing him where things were and complaining that he’d ­gotten their orders wrong. Alloui’s butcher shop was also filled with customers. She looked frazzled.

“I think we came at a bad time,” Druid said.

“Yeah.”

The last time we were here, I never thought it could be this full of customers. Maybe we should come back later?

“Oh, hey! Yoo-hoo, little cutie!” Alloui’s voice boomed through the shop just as we were turning to leave. I spun around in surprise to meet her bubbly gaze.

“Oh, I knew it! I knew it was you! I’ve been wanting to talk to ya. My sister in ryce!”

The other customers stared at us curiously. Yup, we definitely came at a bad time! Druid looked just as uncomfortable as I was. He didn’t like attention, either.

“Toluca, you gave me the wrong sauce again.”

“No way! Arrrgh, why do all the sauce bottles have to look the same?” Toluca’s whining voice made the whole store erupt into laughter. It sounded like all the regulars here were good friends.

“Aww, are ya leaving already? Come on, let’s sing ryce’s praises together!”

Uh, no thanks. You have work to do.

“What was it ya promised? Y’know, that thingy you were gonna feed me. Ummm…”

“Onigiri? I brought some.”

“Yeah, that! Oh, so you did bring me some! Thanks!”

“I’ll just leave it on the counter, since you’re busy.”

“What? No, you should stay and hang out!”

Nope. I stand out way too much here. Besides, the customers are starting to look restless, what with you taking so long to cut their meat and all.

“Thanks, but I’ll come back later. That way, I can stay longer.”

“Boo. Oh well, I am really busy today seeing as how the other shops are closed.”

Aha. So that was why there were so many customers.

“Alloui, most of the people here are regulars,” someone in line at the butcher counter told her. The customers around them started to chuckle.

“Oh, really? Ha ha ha…”

So was Alloui a doofus, too?

“About what time should I come here so we can talk more privately?” I asked.

“I’m not sure…” Alloui held her cleaver to her chin and thought.

“The evening should be fine, Miss,” one of the customers (probably an eavesdropper) told me.

I thanked them and told Alloui, “I’ll be back this evening, then.”

“Thanks! Sorry I’m so busy.”

We left the shop as the cheerful voices behind us rang in our ears.

“Those siblings really are a quirky pair.”

“They sure are.”

We wound up going to Rose’s shop earlier than we’d planned. Would it even be open?

“Aha! Looks like things have taken a turn for the better,” Druid said cheerfully when we were on our way to Rose’s shop. He was smiling about something. I followed his gaze to see three men dressed in watchmen’s uniforms.

“Oh, they look happy!”

They were smiling and talking with some villagers. The watchmen had looked so overwhelmed and upset the last time we’d seen them, but all traces of that were gone now. Perhaps the positive energy of the watch had calmed the edginess we’d sensed among the villagers over the past few days.

“Things are looking good,” Druid said.

“Yeah. I’m glad, but wasn’t the change a little sudden?”

“You think so? Well, Captain Tableau must have been recommended for the job because somebody saw he had what it took to lead. He would have studied for years under the former captain of the watch, too. All he needs is a little encouragement to put him on the right track.”

I guess it really was that simple. In any case, the villagers sure did look happy. It was a relief to see.

“Shall we go?” Druid asked.

“Okay. It sure is weird walking on Main Street when there aren’t any stalls on it. I didn’t realize how wide it was.” Without the stalls, the street felt twice as big. It gave me an empty feeling inside.

“Well, nobody wants to be out in this cold.”

The air had gotten frigid after all that rain. Going outside was quite a daunting prospect.

“Oh, look! I don’t see Rose’s sign.”

As soon as Rose’s shop came into view, it was clear that her sign wasn’t out. Apparently, she was closed today.

“Hello?” we called from outside the shop in case she was in there. We waited for a while, but there wasn’t a peep.

“Sounds like nobody’s home,” I said.

“Too bad. We’ll have to come back some other day.”

Just as we turned on our heels to walk away, the door opened behind us and we whirled around to see Rose. She was yawning widely, but she was indeed there.

“So that was your voice, Ivy. Come on in.”

I didn’t sense Rose’s aura just now. Wait a minute…she’s not an adventurer, is she?

“What’s up, hon?”

“Umm…”

“Rose, are you a former adventurer?” Druid asked. He couldn’t sense auras, but maybe there was something else he’d picked up on.

“Hm? Ah, didn’t I have an aura?”

So she had masked her aura. If we couldn’t sense her presence when she was so close, maybe she’d been quite a skilled adventurer in the past?

“Well, I can’t sense auras,” Druid explained, “but the only sound I could hear was the door opening.”

“Wow…the subconscious can sure be a scary thing. Usually I’m okay.” Rose sighed. “I’ve got the shadow skill, which is completely useless.”

The shadow skill? I looked at Druid, but he only shook his head in equal confusion. Maybe it wasn’t a very well-known ability.

“I can hide my aura, move without makin’ a sound, and other things like that, but I got no use for it. Oh, about your question… No, I was never an adventurer. Magic items are my life.”

What an impressive skill. But I guess it was unnecessary if she had nothing to use it for. Still, it was pretty incredible that she could completely mask her aura like that. She could be lurking in the shadows at any time, ready to pounce… Wait a minute, isn’t that a really dangerous skill for someone like me to deal with? I always have to be searching for people’s auras. My creatures might get discovered if I didn’t.