The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 3 - Chapter 137

Chapter 137:

I’m Not Little!

“ARE YOU OKAY?” 

I looked up to see the gravelly-voiced guild master right in front of me. I guess I’d spaced out a little. With Ciel and the Soras gone, I really needed to pull myself together.

“Yes, sir! I’m okay.” I looked around, assuming the rescue party had wrapped things up, but they were still hard at work. I guess cleaning up after a massacre was something you didn’t want to rush… Oh! That’s right!

“Excuse me, sir?”

“What is it?”

“Just how…widely…have rumors about me spread?” If lots of people knew about me, I’d need to be more careful about a few things.

“Hmm? Ohh, you mean what I was talking about earlier. Uh, you aren’t exactly what I’d call widely known, Ivy.”

“Huh?! But you said I was famous.”

“Sorry, I should’ve been more specific. You’re famous among the guild masters and the people whose villages were affected by that organization. See, the guild masters received intelligence about the criminal organization and a list of the brave souls who worked to crush them. And there was a name on that list I didn’t recognize. What’s more, all the information about you besides your name was completely redacted, so that’s why the rumors spread.”

“Rumors, sir?”

“Well, yeah, it’s unusual for intelligence to be redacted, so we all developed lots of theories about your age and gender and such. And one of the most believable theories was that maybe you were a minor. Sorry about my behavior earlier; I lost my composure a little there.”

What a relief… Looks like I don’t need to take any special precautions after all. But wow, I’m a household name among guild masters? There must have been victims in quite a few towns and villages… And the rumor about me being a child seems to have stuck. Mmmrrrggg. I think it would be naive of me to take this as good news… Wait a minute…

“Mr. Guild Master, how did you know me?—wait, that’s right, you didn’t know me—what made you guess it was me?” Was I really so obvious that he would know who I was by name and age alone?

“I received intel that some veteran adventurers were in cahoots with the kidnappers. I couldn’t believe it, so I went to Otolwa personally to get the story directly from the source. And I happened to catch a glimpse of a little kid standing with a group of veteran adventurers. At the time, I thought you fit the description of the rumored child. I almost asked for your name.”

“Ah, that makes sense.” He had probably seen me with Bolorda and his party. Okay, so that’s how he recognized me. I guess that means he won’t be a problem after all.

The guild master’s solemn eyes met mine. “Ivy, thank you so much for taking down that organization,” he said with a bow. I froze completely in surprise. I couldn’t believe he’d actually bowed to me.

“Ha ha ha, you sure look shocked!”

“Yes, sir…I am.” Oops, that answer was a little more awkward that I’d intended.

“Sorry about that.”

“Oh, no problem, sir. But why did you thank me?”

“Everyone who fell victim to that organization would love to thank you.”

“Oh, really, sir? Well, thank you for telling me.” I guess that means there were a lot of victims. But I was still surprised. As far as I was concerned, that organization was all in the past now.

“You’re a good kid, Ivy,” he said, looking me square in the eye.

I was more embarrassed than I ever thought possible. Oh no…my face is so hot. I’m probably bright red right now.

“Ha ha ha, yeah, you’re definitely still just a little kid.”

I’m a little kid? Hmm, I wonder how old the guild master thinks I am. Come to think of it, if I’m not mistaken, I heard him describe me as a “little kid” earlier, too… I’ve got a really bad feeling.

“Hey, don’t tease the kid,” Druid cut in. I looked over and saw that, though still a little wobbly, he was standing upright on his own two feet. It seemed he was gradually adjusting to his missing arm.

“Sorry, my bad. Yeah, if my wife found out I was teasing a little kid, she’d give me an earful.”

Oh, I didn’t know he was married…wait, no! I was right! He called me “little”!

“Um, sir, I’m nine years old, so while I am a child, I don’t think it’s necessary to call me little!” Yikes! That was a bit too stern. Well, he just kept calling me “little”! That word makes my ears bleed!

“What?! You’re nine?!” Druid and the guild master said in unison.

Not you, too, Druid… “Yes, I may not look it, but I am definitely nine years old.” The fact that I had to say so myself was the most pathetic part about all of this. I’ve been eating more…but I guess growth takes time. Every day, I wonder if my legs have grown longer at all. And I exercise, too… Don’t panic. You’ll be okay. You’ll grow in due time.

“Ack, I’m sorry. But I guess that makes sense. To defeat a big organization like that, you couldn’t have been a really tiny kid!” The guild master looked flustered; I must have had quite the look on my face. I’m so sorry, sir, I’m just a little sensitive about this.

“Sorry, kid,” Druid apologized awkwardly.

“Oh, no, sir, it’s all right.” I’m about to have a growth spurt anyway, I’m sure of it. Maybe I should eat more meat to grow taller?

“Um, excuse me…” Two of the adventurers in the rescue party, their brows furrowed with worry, approached the guild master. They’d probably just finished their work. Surveying the scene of a massacre must have been pretty traumatizing. But even so…why did they look more concerned than you’d expect them to be?

“Hey, there. Good work, men,” the guild master said.

The two men bowed and handed him a piece of paper. He scanned it quickly and nodded a few times. “No problems here. Did you finish retrieving all the dead?”

“Yes, sir. As much as we could, that is.”

Well, yeah, some of them were mutilated pretty badly.

“And the carriages?”

“We’ll have some horses brought back to retrieve them, sir.”

“Good. Anything else?”

“Well, um…” The men looked quite torn. They were definitely not veteran adventurers. Why was that? Seizerk told me that rescue parties were always made up of veteran adventurers. That was because intelligence wasn’t always entirely accurate, or sometimes the situation could worsen by the time the rescue party arrived.

“We have a report for the neighborhood watch, sir.”

“Ahh, right. Well, that can wait. Good work, men. Let’s head on back,” the guild master said.

“Yes, sir!” the men replied, the tension now gone from their faces. Druid and the guild master exchanged chuckles when they saw that. I…don’t know what just happened. Was it some sort of test?

The guild master barked out orders as the adventurers prepared to head back to town. He frowned a little when he saw how Druid was walking.

“We have to go now. Gotta dispose of the mess.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Druid assured him. “I can walk back by myself.”

“Ahh,” the guild master sighed. “Want me to call someone? I could get you a carriage.”

“No, no, I really will be fine walking back. I need to get used to walking like this anyway. It’s only about six hours from here.”

Six hours? I thought we were only a half-day’s walk from town. Maybe I read the map wrong. I need to be more careful.

The guild master, though clearly worried about Druid, left to take care of his work. He had his own challenges, too.

“Mr. Druid, may I travel with you back to town?”

“Well, sure, I don’t mind…but are you okay with it? You don’t have to do it on my account. I’ve got them,” he said, glancing at three adventurers who’d arrived on the scene after the rescue party. The guild master was worried about Druid, so he’d ordered them to escort the injured man back to town.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to keep up with the guild master,” I explained.

“That makes sense. Well then, welcome aboard.”

Druid and I walked toward the adventurers together. When they saw us approaching, they came over to meet us.

“I’m sorry, sir, about your…” It seemed like these adventurers were Druid’s juniors.

“Don’t worry about it,” Druid said. “I’m sorry you guys had to come all the way out here on your day off.”

One of the adventurers spat out, “You’re telling me! Just when I finally had a break… That guild master has become a real pain in the you-know-what now that we’re short on staff! It’s been ages since I’ve been able to get a day off.”

It sounds like Oll has its fair share of problems. Let’s hope I don’t get caught up in them this time! Oh…that’s right! The blessed balm. I get the feeling I’ve already been caught up in something though…

“No, I’m sure I’ll be okay. I hope.”