The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 2 - Chapter 78

Chapter 78:

My Job

AS WE WRAPPED UP the meal, the adventurers urged me to taste the jiggly white thing on my plate. I took a bite—it was sweet.

“That’s good. Mm, it’s really good!” The gentle sweetness of the dessert brought a smile to my face. Bolorda saw my happy expression and mussed my hair. Come to think of it, he must have been the one who bought it. “Mr. Bolorda, it was delicious. Thank you.”

“Ha ha ha! Ivy, you’re such a good kid. That’s a sweet called milkpud. It’s made with milk, if you couldn’t tell.”

A dessert made from milk? I took another mouthful. The fluffy sweetness of it made me smile again. Had Past Me eaten many sweets? For some reason, the word brought on a feeling of nostalgia. Even so, it was delicious enough on its own. The future was frightening to contemplate, but this was a small moment of joy.

Gnouga and Lowcreek collected the dirty dishes, so I made tea next to them. Everyone sat down again and leisurely enjoyed their tea.

“I think it’s about time we talk, right?” Marcreek urged. I suddenly felt tense again.

Bolorda nodded in agreement and looked to the four newcomers. “Whether or not you believe what we’ve shared tonight is up to you,” he announced. “I’m not gonna try to convince you. But even if you don’t think it’s true, I still expect you to keep it secret.”

Bolorda slowly looked at each face in our little group. I wondered what conclusions they’d come to.

“I don’t want to believe it…” Lowcreek began, then stopped. “Er, is it okay to speak?”

“We’re using a magical item, so nobody around can hear us.”

“So that’s a yes, then. My heart doesn’t want to believe it, but I trust in what my comrades have seen and experienced, and I trust the decisions they’ve made. I won’t run from the truth. Let’s fight together.”

The other three concurred. It was incredible how they’d made up their minds so quickly. If I were them, I’d be so unsure. Did this decisiveness come from being veterans? Either way, it was inspiring.

“So, what’d the GM say?” Gnouga asked. All eyes fell on Bolorda.

“He might’ve had it figured out already. When I confided in him about Verdant Wind, he wasn’t too surprised. I also filled him in about Ivy and the bait plan. His answer was, ‘Sounds dangerous, but I trust you’ll do it right.’ We can’t meet with the GM again and risk discovery, but once it’s all over, he said he wants to meet Ivy.”

“Ivy, are you sure about this?” Gnouga’s face got a little scarier again. Now that I was getting to know him, I knew this look meant he was worried.

“I’m sure. I’ll be okay.”

I was powerless, so my journey up to this point had all been about running away from trouble. I wanted to flee from the people who came after me, but from everything I’d learned, escaping on my own seemed unlikely. In that case, the only option left was to charge in. I had eight trustworthy people with me here—I’d be just fine.

“What do you mean by bait, though?” Rattloore demanded. “What are we gonna make Ivy do?”

“They know Ivy knows he’s a target, so it would be suspicious to send him out alone,” Seizerk replied. He was right; Mira and her accomplices knew these eight adventurers well, so if I went out alone, they would know something was afoot.

“Right,” Bolorda agreed. “They know the kind of people we are. They’ll know something’s off. For now, we’ll keep an eye on Verdant Wind. If they’re in talks with a merchant, then they might make a move soon. They might even contact other rats. The GM said he’ll take another look at all of the adventurers again.”

The GM thought there were other traitors among the adventurers? I suppose after learning about Verdant Wind, they had to be extra cautious.

“Um, if I do anything, won’t the organization’s informants respond?” I asked. “They may be aiming for a moment when I’m alone, but they’d need to be watching me all the time to know when that is, right?”

“Ivy, are you really nine? Sometimes, you sound a lot more mature.” Marcreek’s question made my heart pound even harder. That must’ve been Past Me’s influence.

What about my remarks sounded mature, though? Would it be strange for a nine-year-old to say that? I didn’t know.

“I’ll stay with you, then!” Rattloore put a hand on my head and smiled. I’d be more tempting bait if I was alone, if he was with me it wouldn’t tip them off.

“Perfect. You’d never leave Ivy alone, anyway,” Seizerk joked. Everyone agreed; after all, Rattloore was a caring person—and a real worrywart!

When all was said and done, we decided I would stick with Rattloore for a few days. During that time, they’d try to catch whoever was watching me. They would then keep an eye on Verdant Wind’s movements, especially Tort and Marm’s. Apparently, those two had a habit of disappearing. In the past, they’d explained it as training or doing special requests together in the forest. Now that they were viewed as traitors, those explanations seemed a lot more fishy.

“Ivy, Rattloore’s a veteran adventurer,” Seizerk added. “He’s strong, but he’s only one man. We’ll do what we can to support you from the shadows, but…”

“Yes?”

“If you do get caught, try not to provoke them. As long as you’re alive, we’ll come and save you.”

“Okay.” I’d already thought a few times about what would happen if the kidnappers succeeded. I trusted that the adventurers would save me, but as long as the organization’s size and reach remained unknown, there were no guarantees. There might be a point where they couldn’t save me even if they wanted to. But…I still trusted them. 

“I’m counting on you,” I declared.

“And I’m counting on you, too!” Rattloore hugged me tight…and quickly let go. “Sorry. You’re nine, right? I can’t get the idea that you’re seven out of my head.”

“No, it’s okay.”

I see. He did that because he thought I was younger? As much as being little helps sometimes, I really am growing so slowly… It sucks.

Suddenly, I heard a pained cry.

“It’s not here!”

I turned toward the voice and saw Rickbert emerging from my tent. Good thing I got Sora out of there!

“Damn it, Rick!” Bolorda roared. “Don’t go in other people’s tents without permission!”

“Good grief,” Seizerk groaned. “Can’t you do something about Rickbert’s disease?”

“Doubt it,” Sifar said with a shrug. “Even the GM’s warnings didn’t fix him!”

“Guys, don’t be so mean. And warnings doesn’t do it justice. He called it ‘training,’ but he put me through hell!”

Did something like this happen before? Rickbert went pale at the mention of the GM. Was it really a disease, though? Now I felt a little bad.

“Ivy, just so you know, Rickbert’s problem isn’t a real illness,” Rattloore said to me.

“Huh? But they just said…”

Sifar shrugged again. “Might as well be. It’s unhealthy how much he loves cute things.”

Unhealthy? I sort of get it, but sort of don’t. Either way, I’ll just interpret that as “Rickbert likes cute things far too much.”

“Ivy, could I see your slime, too?” Naked curiosity was clear on Sifar’s face.

Seizerk hadn’t told the GM about Sora, but he’d still wanted to tell his team about it, so I gave him permission. I didn’t know what exactly he’d told them about my friend.

“I guess so, but…” I glanced at Rickbert. Ever since he’d left the tent, he had been staring straight at me. His eyes…hadn’t moved one bit. It was kind of terrifying.

“Oh, him? Gimme a second.” Sifar put Rickbert in a headlock and dragged him away. Their conversation was quiet, so I couldn’t hear what they were talking about. What was going on over there? Bolorda glanced toward them but quickly looked away again.

Huh? He doesn’t look like he’s doing too hot.

“Mr. Bolorda, are you okay? You look kinda pale.”

“Ha ha ha, well, y’know. Don’t mind me.” He was wincing a little. Was he really okay?

“Thanks for waiting.”

I turned toward the sound of Sifar’s voice and saw him smiling softly while Rickbert next to him looked sick. Maybe I shouldn’t say anything. Yeah, definitely not. Without another word, I turned back to my tent to show Sora to Sifar.

“Oooh, yeah. This is exactly Rickbert’s type,” he mused.

Sora bounced around Sifar excitedly. A few times, it bumped into him and rolled away, like it was playing. Sora seemed to be really taking to Sifar. You don’t just like him because he dealt with Rickbert, do you?