The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 5 - Chapter 269

Chapter 269:

Rain?

“Whoa, it’s really cold out there. Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

When we set foot out of the inn, we shivered in the cold and instantly regretted it. But Captain Tableau had told us we needed to hurry, and we’d assured him everything would be okay. Flame did its best and managed to regenerate some more magic stones, so we wanted to deliver them to Rose. We knew there was still a great need for them.

“Good thing I’m wearing my winter gloves. You should have bought one for yourself, too, Mr. Druid.”

“I’ll be fine. If we run into trouble and I need to grip a sword, only this type of glove will do.”

I had given him that sword, but I regretted it a little. Still, the weapon Druid had originally carried was also a sword, so I supposed nothing would be different even if I hadn’t given it to him.

“By the way, how’s that sword working for you, sir?”

Sora and Flame had made this sword together. I held it once, and I was astounded by how light it felt compared to other swords I’d known. Druid said it was quite different from any sword he had used before, so I was worried he would have a hard time getting used to it.

“Oh, this sword is great. I gave it a couple of practice swings, and it barely put any pressure on my shoulder. It also molds really well to my hand, so it’s quite easy to handle.”

Looks like my worries were unnecessary. “Well, I’m glad to hear that.”

Truth be told, I wasn’t sure if it was okay to give the sword to Druid, a man with one arm. But to someone like Druid, who had made a living with a sword all his life, not having one was out of the question. So, I gave him the sword with my blessing.

“Hm? Something wrong, Ivy?”

I looked at Druid. The first time I’d seen the sword hanging at his belt, something had felt amiss, but now the look really suited him. It was too bad that the SS or SSS magic stone at the hilt of the sword had to be covered in cloth, though. It was a beautiful stone.

“Oh, no. I was just thinking how much that sword suits you.”

Druid beamed proudly in reply. It really was the right move to give it to him.

“Ugh, none of the shops are open.”

Every store on Main Street was closed. There were no people around, either, and the sky was dim even though it was around noon. An inexplicable eeriness hung in the air.

“Mr. Druid…let’s just go.” I gripped his sleeve and marched ahead quickly.

“Yeah, this town does feel pretty creepy with all the shops shut and the people gone.” 

I nodded. “We still have to go to the forest today, so let’s make this quick.”

“Agreed.”

We were planning on dropping off the magic stones with Rose, then going to the forest so Ciel could feed and we could collect our final potions to last us through the winter. After a short walk, Rose’s shop came into view. It was also closed, but Druid knocked on her door undaunted. We knew she was expecting us since we’d made plans to come today the last time we saw her.

“Ya must be freezin’! Come on in,” she called from inside. We opened the door and let ourselves in. “Druid, Tableau told me all about how he passed out drunk and gave ya a hard time. You too, Ivy.”

Huh? But I don’t remember him doing that to me. “He didn’t give me a hard time, ma’am,” I quickly insisted.

For some reason, Druid gave my head a gentle pat.

“I figured ya’d say that, hon. That’s our Ivy.”

“That’s for sure.”

Huh? Is it just me, or are they both smiling sweetly at me right now? My face was burning with embarrassment. I just know I’m turning red!

“Here’s your magic stones, ma’am,” I said, fumbling in my bag and pulling out the stones Flame had regenerated to shake off my embarrassment.

“Thanks. Are ya sure Flame didn’t work too hard?” Rose asked me and Druid as she examined the magic stones. We told her that Flame was fine, and there were probably more magic stones this time because it had gotten stronger. Very obviously, at that.

There was one thing that concerned me, though: the stain on Flame’s chest. It was getting bigger. I asked Druid about it and he’d also been concerned, but neither Sora nor Ciel had much of a reaction when I asked them, so we assumed everything was okay. Still, it was scary not understanding what was going on. I wished we could figure out what that stain was, sooner than later.

“So, do you happen to have any more spent magic stones, ma’am?”

Now that Flame was regenerating magic stones in bigger batches, we were quickly running out of spent ones and would need to restock soon.

“Wow, it went through that giant pile so fast? Actually, yeah…lookin’ at the big load ya just gave me now, it makes sense. I still got some, but are ya sure ya don’t wanna give Flame some time off, hon?”

I kept telling Flame it should take a break if it wanted to, but it had so much fun regenerating the magic stones that my urgings didn’t have much of an effect. Besides, my creatures were very smart, so I figured they wouldn’t work themselves past their limits.

“If Flame needs some time off, it’ll take some time off,” Druid assured her. “Those kids would never do anything to hurt Ivy, so I don’t think Flame is pushing itself too hard.”

Rose nodded in reply and said, “Wait just a second.” She pulled a box off the bottom shelf of a cabinet and opened the lid. Inside was a large stash of spent magic stones.

“Wow, that’s quite a pile.”

“Ha ha ha! Well, it’s a hassle to go and throw them away, so I got a big collection before I knew it.”

There really were a lot of stones. I picked up one and noticed that it was dusty, despite being stored in a covered box. It looked like it had been used up ages ago. I’d better dust these stones off before I give them to Flame.

We put the spent magic stones into our bag, told Rose we were going to the forest that day, and left the shop. We wanted to be back at the inn by sunset. As we walked out to the forest, it started to drizzle, and we ran to find shelter from the rain.

“What should we do?” I asked.

“It looks like it’s not going to stop. Let’s go tomorrow instead.”

“Okay.”

“Huh…that’s strange.” Druid made a face at the sky. I looked up in the same direction, but I couldn’t see what was so odd.

“Mr. Druid? What’s wrong?”

“It’s really cold today, right?”

“Yeah. It’s colder than yesterday.”

“Then why is it raining instead of snowing?”

Hm? Oh…yeah, if it’s this cold, it ought to be snowing. But it’s raining.

“It isn’t very humid, either, so it definitely should be snowing right now.”

I don’t really understand humidity, but…does this mean something is wrong?

“Oh, it stopped!” Druid said.

I looked up at the sky and saw it was much brighter than before.

“I guess we can go out to the forest now?”

“Yeah. Let’s go before the weather changes again.”

The gatekeeper was surprised and worried to hear we were going to the forest, so we told her what route we planned to take before we headed out. Once we made sure there were no other people around, we opened the bag.

“Pu! Pu, puuu.”

Mrrrow.

The two creatures leapt eagerly out of the bag. Lately, I’d started leaning back away from the bag when I opened it so I wouldn’t get in their way and they could jump out with all their might. When it was time to open their bag, safety always came first. I had to make sure there weren’t any branches nearby they would slam into. One time, Sora rammed a tree branch and knocked an animal off it and onto my head. That was terrifying.

“Flame?”

Flame was asleep in the bag. I’d have to try to wake it again once we got to the dump.

Mrrrow. Ciel, back in adandara form, was stretching. I wondered if being in slime form made it feel confined.

“Be careful out there, okay, Ciel? The only things out there to hunt right now are monsters, so pace yourself.”

Mrrrow.

I knew Ciel would probably be all right, but my most anxious moments in life were when I sent it off on its hunting trips. Have another safe trip, Ciel, I prayed as I watched the creature bound off into the forest.

Then we headed to the dump. It was actually quite close, which meant we would know right away when Ciel came back.

“Okay, potions and swords. And I guess we’ll need more spent magic stones, too?”

Then again, it was hard to tell the difference between spent magic stones and normal rocks. You’d find gray rocks on the ground everywhere. Oh well, I’ll just do my best.

“Oh, Flame? We’re at the dump now. Can you get up?”

“Teryuuu…”

It sounded sleepy. But it seemed to want to get up, so I took it out of its bag. I set it down by my feet and it lazily tumbled over toward Sora.

“Sora, Flame, be careful not to hurt yourselves, okay?”

“Pu! Pu, puuu.”

“Te! Ryu, ryuuu.”

They both sounded so chipper. Even Flame had energy—it was finally awake. I guess it’ll be okay now.