The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 1 - Chapter 37

Chapter 37:

They Patrol the Forest, Too?

AFTER I FINISHED CHECKING the things I’d picked up, I felt someone approaching. I hid the satisfied Sora in a bag and turned toward the auras. Three men in the same uniform as the gatekeeper were coming my way.

I panicked for a moment, but it was probably fine. Sora was already in my bag, after all. Some adventurers went straight to throw away their trash when they arrived, so I shouldn’t stand out or anything, but…why were they coming here? Were they going to patrol the dump? I took up my bags and walked toward the men to begin my trip back to the village. They looked at me but didn’t try to stop me as I passed. Thank goodness.

I stopped a little farther down the road and turned around to peek. They looked at the dump for a moment, then proceeded into the forest.

“Are they patrolling the forest or something?” I wondered aloud.

If so, sleeping in the forest might be hard. I could probably do it if I went far enough from the village, but Ratome Village was well maintained. Sleeping somewhere far out and more dangerous could be a bad idea.

What do I do? Should I sleep deeper in the forest? I didn’t know how far out they were patrolling, and the number of adventurers here made me nervous. Their numbers were at least double compared to previous villages. In that case, it was likely that one would stumble across me in the forest, which meant I couldn’t let Sora out. Come to think of it, Sora had been popping in and out of its bag more as I approached the village.

Hmmm…they patrol, and they have way too many adventurers. Were all big villages like this? My next stop would be a full-fledged town, so I’d need to figure this one out soon.

When I reached the village entrance, there was a different gatekeeper there. I thought he’d ask me questions again, but he let me in without a word. Had I been acting suspicious the first time? I thought I was doing a good job not standing out… Yeah, I’d have to be more careful. I looked around the village, but there were a lot of people and patrolling guards, so it’d be too dangerous to let Sora out anywhere.

I stopped by a butcher’s shop as I explored to get some dried meat and see if they were willing to buy from me.

When I went in, an old lady came out of the back and called out, “Welcome!”

I surveyed the shop nervously, looking for dried meat. I found it in both small and large bags, with the large bags slightly discounted. In the end, I paid 300 dal for a large bag.

“Excuse me,” I said. “May I ask you something?”

“Yes, dear?”

“Is this dried meat made from field mice?”

“Field mice and wild rabbits,” she answered. “This here’s the wild rabbit meat. They’re bigger and easier to catch than field mice, so they’re cheaper. We also get pigeon meat, but pigeons are hard to catch, so they fetch a high price.”

So it was true that towns and big villages had different kinds of dried meat. Wild rabbits, though? I thought I’d bought field mouse meat. I looked at the meat, but…since it was all just dried meat, it was impossible to tell the difference.

“If I hunted game, would you buy it from me?” I asked.

“Of course, dear! As long as it’s fresh.”

“Understood.”

“Do you hunt alone?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Goodness. Just so you know, there are nasty animals called boarhogs out there. Watch out for them; those fangs hurt!”

“Thank you.”

Boarhog? I’ve never heard of those. And she said it’s an animal instead of a monster?

When I returned to the plaza, I found that a different guard was manning the entrance. I showed him the permit and headed for my spot. Along the way, I noticed a small tent.

“A tent, huh?” If I had one of those, maybe I could let Sora out of its bag. But how much would a one-person tent cost? I was curious about the weight, too, so I’d have to go see for myself. Walking around the plaza, I noticed a sign advertising a store with “ONLY THE FINEST USED WARES!”

Could I afford a used tent, maybe? Thanks to the information fees, I had the funds. And we had plenty of traveling to do, so a tent would be nice. The sign showed the store’s location. I noted it, headed back to the main street, and veered off onto the side road where the store was supposed to be. When I peeked inside, I saw several adventurers.

“You buying something?” Eep! I managed to stop myself from yelping and turned to face whoever was accosting me. “Whoops. Didn’t mean to startle you.”

Behind me was the gatekeeper I’d met when I first entered the village. Beside him was another unfamiliar man.

“Don’t scare the kid,” his companion admonished. Seeing the other man scold the guard, I took a deep breath to calm my pounding heart.

The gatekeeper laughed. “Yeah, my bad. So, you buying something?”

“Yes. I’m looking for a used one-person tent.”

“A tent? They didn’t give you one when they chased you out of the village? Man, Ratomi Village must be pretty poor, just like they say.” Ratomi was poor? It had never been wealthy, but it had specialty products. It couldn’t have been that bad. “I know!” he exclaimed, “Let me take you to the old man’s shop. He’s real skilled.”

He grabbed my hand and started to drag me off. He was taking me to someone’s shop for some reason? But since his legs were so much longer than mine, he was pulling on my wrist really, really hard…