The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 1 - Chapter 65

Chapter 65:

Sora’s Reactions

ONCE THE MEAL WAS OVER, I took hot water back to my tent. After shutting the entrance up nice and tight, I fastened it so it couldn’t be opened from the outside.

“Okay, it’s safe now.” I opened Sora’s magic bag and peeked in.

Sora looked up at me and leaped out of the bag. If it could tell that now was a good time, then it really did understand the situation. I’d always known Sora was a reliable little slime.

Speaking of, I wondered how the adandara was doing. I hoped it had distanced itself from the forest around here. I hadn’t heard about anyone seeing it, so it probably hadn’t been found, but I still fretted. 

As usual, Sora was stretching up and down. Lately, I couldn’t really relax unless I saw it do this at least once a day. Maybe it’s just become part of my routine.

While I scrubbed my body, I recalled my discussion with Seizerk. Honestly, I was really frightened. When I’d first learned I was in danger, I was more frustrated than scared. When they’d first come to my tent, I was anxious, sure, but mostly I was just confused. Now…I was terrified.

“Oh, Sora, what do we do? I think someone’s after me.” Saying it out loud only frightened me more. As I shuddered, Sora stopped exercising and rubbed up against my foot. My friend was worried about me. “It’s okay. I’ve got Sword of Flames here to protect me.”

That thought managed to calm me down. Sora bounced around and started quivering. I had to laugh a little—it was normal for Sora to act like this, but it still cheered me up.

“Besides,” I said, “that tamer lady, Ms. Mira, said she’d stay with me, too.”

Maybe I could ask her about slimes—she might be able to teach me something about Sora. I looked at the slime…and saw that it had stopped moving. Just like earlier this evening, it was…staring.

“Huh?”

This wasn’t normal. Was it begging for something? Earlier, I’d said something like…what was it?

I’m glad they’re all good people here. 

Had it reacted to the word “all”? When I’d spoken about Sword of Flames, Sora had a normal reaction.

This time…had it reacted to me mentioning Mira? Did Sora not think Mira was a good person? No way. I mean, she seemed really worried about me! But…Sora had always protected me from danger. Even when I almost touched poison plants by accident, it would alert me with a light headbutt. It had warned me about the tree monster, too. Was it…really Mira?

“Sora, is Sword of Flames good?” I asked.

Sora bounced and bobbed.

“How about the expedition leader, Mr. Bolorda?”

Sora bounced and bobbed again. It bounced a little higher this time, but that probably didn’t mean anything bad.

“What about…Ms. Mira of Verdant Wind?”

Sora froze and stared. 

Did it sense something about Mira? If so, what? Based on the slime’s reaction, it couldn’t be anything good. I clenched my fists tight. I’d thought she was a good person. Was I wrong? But I hadn’t felt any uneasiness around her. Or…wait. Maybe it was someone else.

Wait! Marm. When I saw his smile, I’d felt a little off. I couldn’t put my finger on it at the time, but suddenly I understood exactly how he’d looked at me: His eyes were those of someone sizing up some goods. The same look I’d seen in the eyes of the chief of Ratomi Village, the look of someone measuring the usefulness of someone else. I’d thought I was mistaken, since it was only for an instant, but I was right. I knew I was right.

But what about the rest of Verdant Wind? Were they in on it? Was Mira?

What should I do? Talk about it with Seizerk? How would I even bring it up? What do I say, “Mira might be with the kidnappers?” Without evidence, why would he trust me? I can’t just say it’s Sora’s intuition. I trust Sora after everything we’ve been through, but Sora isn’t evidence…and I can’t risk letting anyone see it. Will anyone trust me? I don’t know.

I felt a weight on my thigh. Sora had climbed up onto my crossed legs as I sat. It stared at me and quivered.

“Thanks, Sora.”

Tomorrow, we had planned for me to meet with Mira’s team. I’d even told Seizerk that I would be fine since I’d be with them. I petted Sora gently.

Should we run away? The ogre hunt isn’t over… If I run into one of those monsters in the woods, it’ll kill me for sure. Besides, this place has people watching out for monsters at all times. I can’t leave without being seen. There are adventurers in the woods during the day, too, and I don’t have the skills to hide from them. I don’t think I can escape without someone finding out…

What could I do, then? Let’s see…the main thing was to play it cool. They couldn’t know that I was suspicious of them, or they might do something. But was it really Mira? Ugh…I’ll have to be careful tomorrow. Can I keep them from thinking I’m suspicious? I have to try…

Hot tears began to well up in my eyes. I swallowed and gritted my teeth. I tried not to cry. Here I was, all happy that they were worried about me and nice to me. Happy I’d met them.

“Don’t you cry!” I hissed to myself. “Never give them the satisfaction of making you cry!”

I still couldn’t be certain that Mira was a member of that organization. Sora might be wrong. But it seemed to explain the way Marm had looked at me back then, and I trusted Sora.

As I took deep breaths, Sora stared up at me from atop my thigh. Right…if anything happened to me, it would affect Sora, too. Survival was my only option. If there was an organization of kidnappers, was kidnapping me their goal right now? All I could do was try to act natural around Mira.

I pulled Sora into a hug. I was scared, but I had to do my best for his sake. It’ll be okay. It has to be.

The clamor of voices and shifting auras woke me up. I must’ve fallen asleep holding Sora. I put it on the blanket and reached my arm out, but my joints were all sore. I’d slept, but I was still really tired. I took a deep breath and refocused myself.

“It’s okay,” I told myself. “It’s okay.”

Sora stared at me.

“It’ll be okay.”

I stroked Sora and gave it some potions. Sounds were coming from the tent right next to mine, so I guessed someone from Sword of Flames had woken up. Once Sora finished eating, it began its usual stretching. I watched it for a bit, then put the slime in its bag.

“Sorry. I’ll be back.” I sighed, centered myself again, unlocked the tent, and stepped outside. It’ll be okay.