The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 2 - Chapter 116

Chapter 116:

Hunting?

AFTER BREAKFAST, Seizerk and the others left the plaza in a hurry. They had their work cut out for them today. I sent all my good wishes to them and then prepared for my trip into the forest. I was curious about what would happen in town, but I also wanted to see how my traps were doing. For now, I wanted to check those traps, butcher my winnings, and sell them!

“Let’s go, Sora.”

Sora bounced into my arms. Again? I rolled my eyes as I desperately tried to catch it. Phew, thank goodness. Sora quivered in my arms. I felt like this slime was toying with me. Was it always this mischievous? I knew it marched to the beat of its own drum, at least.

“Sora, don’t tease me!” 

Even when I got mad, the slime continued quivering without a care in the world. I sighed and put Sora in its special bag. I slung the bag with my knife and other stuff over one shoulder and hoisted Sora’s bag onto the other. Now I was ready.

I looked around the plaza as I emerged from my tent. I saw veteran adventurers here and there—normally, they’d have left by now. They knew something was going on today. Their faces were grim with anticipation.

I took some deep breaths and left the plaza. As I walked through the town, I could tell the atmosphere was tense. Even if the townspeople didn’t know what was about to happen, they could tell the guard were up to something. I quickened my pace and made for the gate.

“Oh, going out?” a gatekeeper greeted me. He was the one who had stopped Alivus from talking my ears off the other day.

“Yes, sir. I was planning to go into the woods.”

“Got it. Be safe out there.”

“I will. Thank you very much.”

He waved to me, so I bowed before turning toward the forest. If not for him, I might’ve been listening to Alivus’s rants forever. I’d thought of stopping him at the time, but it was hard to get a word in edgewise. Remembering Alivus made me laugh. He looked so fed up.

“Sorry to Alivus, but it was really funny to see someone’s face turn so many colors,” I chuckled.

After a short walk, I felt Ciel’s presence. It was probably watching things from atop a tree again. I strode into the woods and felt no people around. There weren’t many adventurers in the forest today. When I stopped, Ciel jumped down from its perch and landed gracefully.

“Good morning, Ciel.”

Oh! I forgot to take Sora out! I rushed to get the slime out of its bag.

“Pu, pu!” Sora seemed cross with me.

“Sorry.”

When I apologized, Sora stared at me and quivered. It was acting friendly again, so I guess it had forgiven me. I was getting better at noticing minor changes in Sora’s mood, though I still couldn’t read it perfectly.

“Now, let’s go see what we caught!” I told Sora, and it began bouncing deeper into the trees. I ran after it. Huh? Is it this way…? “Sora, were the traps this way?”

The slime stopped as if frozen and stayed perfectly still. Did it actually get it wrong? Ha ha ha…that’s so cute!

“Um, Ciel? Where did we put the traps, again?”

Ciel purred, picked Sora up in its mouth, and started padding in a different direction. Sora didn’t move a muscle as it was carried between its teeth. I had to stop myself from bursting into laughter.

“Oh, here they are. Thanks, Ciel.”

I followed Ciel until we arrived at the clearing where I’d set the traps. I glanced around and was relieved to find no large monster or animal footprints. The traps were all intact, too. Ciel had finally released Sora, so it was happily bouncing around me as if nothing had happened. I wanted to say something, but I felt too bad. Sora would definitely pout if I did.

“Now, have we had any success?” I had set ten traps. How many had caught prey? I checked them one after another. 

“…Why?”

None of the traps had caught anything. That was weird. This area was full of wild rabbit and field mouse tracks, so I should’ve managed at least one. Had I put the traps in the wrong places? I checked the ground again.

“That’s odd. No new tracks… Did something happen?”

Mm, that’s a shame. I don’t have any to sell, let alone cook for dinner.

I sighed. “Why though…Ciel, do you know?”

Ciel was looking back and forth. Had it found something? I tried following its eyes but didn’t see anything. Could it see things I couldn’t?

“Ciel, what’s wrong?” I asked, but it just walked forward carefully. Now I was really curious…

Grr… Hissss!

“Whoa!”

Without warning, Ciel made a threatening sound, scaring me into yelling. The brush exploded with wild rabbits and field mice scampering out in a panic.

“Huh?! What?!”

The animals ran around for a little while before finally going to ground. There were so many…hm? One of the traps caught my eye. When I approached, I saw that it contained two wild rabbits. Wait a second. Could it be? I checked all the traps again. Eight of the ten now held field mice or wild rabbits.

“I get it! Surround and then hunt, right?”

I glanced at Ciel—the adandara looked proud. I was amazed one hiss could produce such a result. It showed just how scared small animals were of the adandara. Their panic was real. Huh? Did they hunker down after I set the traps because they were scared of Ciel’s aura? I guess you would hide and watch if something so much stronger than you was wandering around. When I glanced at Ciel again, it was staring at the trapped wild rabbits, its tail swishing happily back and forth.

“Not that I need to tell you that, I guess.”

Still, if things were too scared to move when Ciel was around, how long would they stay hidden? Would they move after two days? Three? If so, I could just wait longer after setting my traps in the future. If that still wasn’t long enough…well, I’d cross that bridge when I came to it. For now, it was time to clean all this game.

“Ciel, thank you. I’ll get to butchering them!”

Mrrrow.

“Pu, pu pu!”

Wow, if it’s not one new problem, it’s another! I’ll figure it out, though. Hopefully we don’t have to hunt like this every single day.

I collected the traps and went down to the riverside. Once there, I got ready to clean and dress my kills. Knife, check. Bana leaves, check.

“Okay, I gotta get to work. Ciel and Sora, you two can take it easy.”

Ciel lay down in the shade of a tree, and Sora plopped right down against its belly. Their friendship was as cute as ever.

I’d had plenty of experience butchering wild rabbits and field mice by now, so it didn’t take me long to finish. I wiped the blood away and wrapped the meat up in bana leaves. Then, I washed the knife, dried it with a cloth, and I was done. Now we had to book it before the scent of blood drew monsters or animals. Though since Ciel is here, I probably don’t have to rush.

“Thanks for waiting. And sorry, Ciel—now that I’m done, I have to go back to town.”

Mrrrow.

Sora was…fast asleep. I picked up the slime gently, but it showed no signs of waking up. Are you okay, little slime? It worried me a little, but Sora was probably just relaxed since Ciel was nearby. I put the slime in its bag and hung it off my shoulder.

“Thanks again, Ciel. Today…” I didn’t know how things were back in town. I didn’t want to make a promise I couldn’t keep. “Well, I’ll come and see you tomorrow.”

Mrrrow. When I stroked the adandara, it narrowed its eyes in bliss. Too adorable.

“Now, let’s go.”

Once again, Ciel escorted me most of the way back to town. 

It was such a sweet creature. Now, how’re things going in town? I’m a little anxious.