The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 2 - Chapter 117

Chapter 117:

Question It

“THANKS FOR YOUR hard work,” I called to the gatekeeper. It was a different man from this morning.

I noticed things were off the moment I entered the town. The usually bustling main street was almost empty. I looked around and saw some shop owners huddled together discussing something. Now I was even more anxious. I went straight to the butcher since I’d chatted with him a little before.

“Excuse me.”

“Hm? Hey, little boy. What’s up?” The butcher shop’s owner looked tired, but he greeted me with a smile.

“I have some wild rabbit and field mouse meat to sell. May I?”

“Yeah, of course. Thank you.”

I stepped inside and placed the bana leaf-wrapped meat atop the counter. I was planning to sell six wild rabbits and four field mice. I’d kept two wild rabbits for our dinner tonight.

“Ooh! You butchered this nice and neat. I appreciate that. It means I won’t have any waste.”

I was confident in my butchering skills, so his praise brought a big smile to my face. “Thank you very much.”

“Not a problem. A hundred dal per field mouse, a hundred dal per wild rabbit. Will that do?”

They’re both 100 dal? Normally, the wild rabbits sell for less. That’s lucky… Oh, right! This must be the bonus he promised. 

“Yes, sir. That will do.”

“One thousand dal altogether. Fine with copper tokens?”

“Yes, sir.” I received ten copper tokens and tucked them away in my small magic bag. These were my first earnings from hunting in a long time…even if the hunting method was a little unorthodox. Still, it totally counted as hunting!

“Here ya go.” He handed me a small pouch full of scraps of dried meat. I accepted it, but…why? “Consider that a little thanks for doing business with me.”

Huh? Is that not why he bought the wild rabbit off me for 100 dal?

“Something wrong?”

“Oh! Thank you. I thought that the bonus you’d mentioned was just offering to buy the wild rabbits for the same price as field mice.”

“Ah ha ha ha! That all? Actually, they both fetch around the same price in these parts.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Like I said before, wild rabbits are popular among the adventurers who go in and out of those caves all day. Beginners especially like them since you can get a lot for cheap. Wish I could convince ’em to hunt me more rabbits, but they can make several times that from spelunking if they know what they’re doing.” So they don’t have time to hunt since they’re trying to get rich from going in the caves? “Anyway, we’re always short on them, so we raised the price of wild rabbits to match field mice.”

“That makes sense.”

While I chatted with the butcher, the shop door opened with a creak. Two men came in, flustered. They were a fair bit younger than the butcher.

“The rumors are true!”

“Count Faltoria was just hauled away by knights led by Lord Foronda himself.”

“There’s no way Count Faltoria’s a traitor! That’s insane!”

The two were speaking so loudly that I could hear every word. It was easy to see they were furious. Since they were blocking the door, I couldn’t leave right now. I’d have to go further into the shop if I wanted to put some distance between us. I’ll just move slowly and quietly so they don’t notice…

“Bite your tongue!” the shopkeeper admonished them. “The knights wouldn’t act unless they had an ironclad case. They’ve got evidence! You must know that.”

They looked at him with clear frustration.

“But…”

“But what? You think this town’s guard force and the GM’s veteran adventurers are all worthless?”

“I…”

“Of course not. You’ve seen them work. Besides, think about it. How did they kidnap so many people without getting caught? If Count Faltoria was aiding them, then it all makes sense, doesn’t it?”

“But Count Faltoria saved my life!” one of them protested.

“And he’s ruined the lives of countless others. I hear the captain’s got enough on him to put him away.”

“…He’s betrayed us, hasn’t he? To think we even worked so hard to help him before!”

“Go home, lads. Don’t use alcohol to escape your problems, either, or you might do something you’ll regret.”

The two looked each other in the eyes and heaved a big sigh.

“Yeah. Guess we shouldn’t drink, huh?”

“Yeah…”

“Seriously, don’t do it,” the butcher repeated. “I’m gonna come and check up on you at home later. If you’re drunk, I’ll knock you right out.”

“Ha ha ha! Okay, okay. Sorry to bother you.”

The two looked glum but also a little relieved. Maybe they felt better now that they’d aired their feelings out in the open. Finally noticing me, they apologized and left.

“Sorry, son,” the butcher said. “You okay there?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Do you know Count Faltoria?”

“Sort of. I spoke with him once.”

“Wow. He’s a popular guy around town, so everyone’s a little unsure how to feel.”

“…I see.”

There was sadness on his face, too. He must’ve trusted Count Faltoria, like so many others. “I know I talked big to them, but it doesn’t feel real to me, either. As much as I trust the guard, part of me doesn’t wanna believe it.”

“Maybe that’s okay?”

“Hm?”

“You can question it until it feels real to you. Skepticism isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”

Right. If something doesn’t feel right to you, you can question it! Figure out whether the guard’s evidence is true until you feel sure-footed.

“You think so?” He perked up slightly.

“I do. Question it and investigate the truth until you’re sure.”

“Yeah…yeah, you’re right.” The butcher looked surprised at first, but then he chuckled. Had I said something funny? “Ha ha ha! You’re an interesting kid, son. Yeah, until I’m sure, right? I still gotta apologize for those two causing such a ruckus in here, though.”

“It’s no problem.”

“If you nab any more game, bring it here. Putting requests through the guild costs real money, so I appreciate your business.”

“Understood. I’ll do my best to bring good meat.”

“Ooh, how reliable!” He grinned at me, his mood already brighter. Our conversation must have cleared up his feelings a little. I’m glad I could help.

“I’ll be back again soon.” I bowed and left.

On my way to the plaza, I got a good look at the town. Sadness and confusion were plain on every face I passed. Some people were drinking at the pub and crying.

“Ah!”

A crowd of people had formed outside a shop along my path. As I got closer, I could see men screaming at each other. I stopped and watched from a safe distance. Seizerk and the others had instructed me to run to a safe place if anything happened. As I watched, the guard rushed over to them. I hope they can keep things peaceful.

“Ivy! Are you okay?” Someone suddenly accosted me from behind—I jumped and trembled. I whipped around…to see a frowning Rickbert. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you, there.”

“Ah, no, I’m fine! What are you doing here?”

“I’m on my way back from running an errand for the GM.” An errand? “Oh, looks like they took care of that trouble.”

I followed Rickbert’s line of sight to the place where the townsfolk had been arguing. The guardsmen had successfully calmed the dispute.

“We’ve hit a small snag, but I don’t think it’s anything you need to worry about,” he added. That was a relief. “The knights have already taken him away.”

Does he mean Count Faltoria?

“Thank you for working so hard.”

“It’s been rough, but I think things will settle down now. There’s light at the end of the tunnel.” He sounded weary, yet relieved. Everyone involved in this incident was probably feeling the same. “All right, back to work!”

“Okay. Do your best.”

“Yeah! By the way, how’d your hunting go?”

“We’ll be having wild rabbit grilled with medicinal plants for dinner tonight.”

“Oh…Gnouga’s gonna hog all of it, isn’t he?”

I giggled at Rickbert’s annoyed expression. It seemed he was used to being a victim of Gnouga’s insatiable appetite.

“I have two rabbits, actually.” One was for Gnouga and Sifar, and the other was for everyone else. It wasn’t much, but it wasn’t all we were eating, so it was fine.

“You’re a sharp kid, Ivy. You know exactly how they think. I’ll look forward to it!”

I told Rickbert to leave it to me, and he smiled. We went our separate ways. Everyone would probably turn up again for dinner tonight. Let’s do our best and make it a feast!