The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 3 - Chapter 131

Chapter 131:

The Mysteries of Sora

SQUEEE, the animal squeaked, nervously jumping in circles around Sora as the slime enveloped its friend. I wanted to tell it everything would be okay, but I didn’t speak its language. The anguish and worry in its little voice made my heart break a little, but I had to make it wait. Hopefully it would understand once it saw its friend’s wounds had been healed.

Squeee.

Oh, you poor thing. It’s okay. Sora’s almost done…

Squeee.

You can do this, Sora! You’re almost done… Just a bit more… I whispered in my mind as I waited for Sora to finish healing the creature.

“Puuu,” Sora said, hopping away from the animal. It was finished healing.

What a relief.

The healed animal was frozen in place. It must have been so confused about what just happened. The other animal was stiff in shock as well at the sight of its healthy and whole friend. It seemed it really thought its friend was being eaten alive. I don’t blame you, buddy. It definitely looked like your friend was getting dissolved. I thought Sora was eating me that one time, too…

“Pu, puuu,” Sora chirped proudly. Actually, it’s been a while since you’ve healed anyone. Ciel was your last patient. I looked at Sora, who seemed enormously pleased. I hadn’t seen the little slime this happy in a long time.

Could it be…that Sora needs to heal other creatures? Was it cranky earlier because it had nobody to heal? I’m crazy, right?

“If that’s true, we’ve got kind of a big problem.” Would we have to seek out wounded creatures during our travels? What’s more, since humans would talk if they were suddenly healed by a mysterious slime, we’d be limited to healing animals and monsters… The problems just won’t stop coming, will they? Ha ha ha. Then again, it’s not a sure thing that Sora needs to heal others! My tired brain’s just playing tricks on me. That’s got to be it. I need to sleep on this.

Squeee.

Cooo.

The two little friends seemed to finally understand what had happened. They were licking each other for reassurance. I smiled at the sight. It looked like they were going to be okay.

“Good job, Sora.”

Sora bounced happily at my praise.

Huh? It’s still bubbling, even though it’s been a little while since it finished the healing. Come to think of it, there was a stretch of time where Sora would bubble extra-long after meals, too, although it went back to normal at some point. Is this that same thing again?

Squee! I turned to look in the direction of the cute little voice and saw the two animals staring up at me and Sora. We all sat there, gazing at each other for a while…and then with another little squeak, the pair took off running. They were probably looking for a safe place to get some sleep now that the danger had passed. I was so happy for them.

“Bye! Safe travels!”

“Pu, pu, puuu!”

Mrrrow.

It feels like we’re all giving them a big sendoff. Things sure were tense there for a bit…but looking back now, the whole scene was so adorable. I only wish I could have made them understand that everything was going to be okay… Come to think of it, neither Sora nor Ciel could understand me when we first met. Why, when I first met Sora, I remember it couldn’t understand me at all and kept acting so weird.

“Hey, Sora. Can you speak for me?”

Sora gave a curious “Pu?” in reply.

Ciel also seemed to get the gist of what I tried to communicate, but I was pretty sure it couldn’t understand anything really complicated.

“Hey, Ciel, you too. Can you say something short?”

Mew.

Yeah, they both seem to understand me perfectly. I wonder when they learned that? Wait, I remember reading in a book that once you tame a creature, you develop a mutual understanding. But our understanding…is definitely not mutual. I can’t understand what Sora’s saying. I’m not sure why, but I feel like I don’t hold a candle to Sora…

Mrrrow, Ciel trilled, resting its chin on my shoulder and pulling me out of my tangled thoughts. I looked at the adandara in curiosity and found that it was focused on something in the distance. I followed its gaze. The sun is so red. It’s going to set pretty soon… Oh! Right. Camp.

“Thanks, Ciel. Let’s go find a place to camp.”

“Pu, puuu,” Sora replied. Then it dashed off gallantly. You’re doing it again… Well, the last time you acted like this, you found us a place to sleep.

“Let’s follow Sora.”

Ciel and I chased after the slime. Gee, Sora, you seem awfully confident in where you’re going… Are you familiar with this area? Wait, that would be really weird. Collapsed slimes are supposed to disappear within a day. Judging by Sora’s condition when we first met, this has to be its first time here. But its showing no hesitation or confusion at all.

We followed Sora for a while until we came upon a big rocky area. “Wow, I didn’t realize we were so close to a place like this.” 

I looked over to where Sora was sitting and saw the entrance to a den. “Sora, did you know about this place?”

“Puuu.”

Sora’s probably answering me. I just can’t understand it. Yeah, I really don’t hold a candle to Sora… No. Stop that, Ivy. You’ve got to check the den to make sure it’s safe.

I psyched myself up to go in…only to find that Ciel had already started the search without me. It looked back at me, and with a satisfied mrrrow, promptly entered the den. We were in the clear. Sora bounced into the den after Ciel, and I followed. The space wasn’t that big, but there was just enough room for us to sleep. There was no sign of any other animals around, either, so we would be able to use it without worrying.

“Thanks, Ciel. Thanks, Sora.”

Mrrrow.

“Pu, puuu.”

I need to learn to read the sounds and expressions they make. Then I’ll be able to understand what they’re trying to tell me…I hope.

“Okay, let’s all wipe our feet.”

Over the course of the day, we’d all gotten muddy. I pulled a large bucket and the pot Sifar gave me out of my bag. I used the pot to produce water which I poured into the bucket. When the bucket was full, I soaked a cloth in it and used it to wipe the mud off myself. I was pretty filthy, so it was no easy task.

After I somehow got myself clean, I changed the water and started washing Ciel. After two more changes of fresh water, I finally got most of the muck off. Sora was pretty quick to clean, thanks to its slippery body. Slimes were handy that way.

“Puuu!” It seemed like Sora had heard my thoughts and took offense. It’s not like I thought there was anything wrong with having a slippery body.

“Sorry,” I apologized, petting Sora gently. It closed its eyes in contentment. Good. Looks like it’s in a good mood again.

“Okay, let’s eat dinner and go straight to bed. Today was brutal.”

“Puuu,” Sora sang, devouring the potions before I could even finish taking them all out. It must be really hungry. Maybe healing creatures gives it an appetite.

I took out some fruit Ciel liked. It looked so cute as it happily chomped them. I retrieved some dried meat and more fruit from my bag for my own dinner.

I’m just…so tired. Ciel may have given me a ride, but the lack of sleep last night really took its toll. I caught myself yawning mid-bite—if I didn’t hurry up, I would fall asleep in the middle of dinner. By the time I finished, I looked over at Sora and saw it was already sound asleep.

“We should turn in, too. Gosh, I’m so sleepy…”

I spread a blanket over the mat I’d rolled out after our baths and lay down. I could feel Ciel settling down next to me. I reached out and petted its head. It purred back at me.

“Thank you for everything today. We’ve got another long day ahead of us tomorrow.” I need to work on building up my endurance, too. “Good night, Ciel. Good night, Sora.”

Mrrrow.