The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 3 - Chapter 150

Chapter 150:

Oh, I Just Hate Gurbars!

“GOOD MORNING, CIEL.”

I was able to make a trip to the forest the next day…though, yes, it did take a little while to get past the gatekeeper. He seemed to be getting tired of hearing the same explanation from me over and over. It’s all the gurbars’ fault!

The previous night, another pack of gurbars had been spotted not too far from the gate. But they seemed to be spooked by something and had quickly retreated into the forest. I wondered what was scaring them. The gatekeepers kept saying there might be another monster even more dangerous than gurbars out there. 

I worried about Ciel as I wandered deep into the forest looking for my friend, but the adandara and I reconnected without a hitch. It was a huge relief.

“Hey, Ciel, I heard there might be monsters around here more dangerous than the gurbars, so be careful, okay?”

…Mrrrow.

Huh? Did I imagine it or was there kind of a long pause before that answer. “Are you okay?”

Mrrrow.

Ciel was saying it was okay, so it was probably okay. But I wonder what that pause was all about? Well, worrying won’t give me any answers.

“Okay! I think I’ll set a bunch of traps. Oh, Ciel, please don’t chase prey into the traps.”

Mew! Ciel protested.

I shouldn’t be surprised… Ciel never likes it when I refuse its help. I think my technique has gotten a bit better, but in Ciel’s eyes, I’m probably still an amateur. When will Ciel finally trust me enough to take care of my own hunting?

“Maybe I’ll look for a new place to set the traps. That’ll turn things around.”

I wandered around the forest, looking for small animal tracks. But as I’d anticipated, the gurbar patrols made finding a likely spot quite difficult.

“Is this a good place?”

The animal tracks were more plentiful here than other parts of the woods, so ordinarily I’d set my traps here without question…but there were also gurbar tracks on the ground. It seemed like gurbars ran all over the place—no matter where I went, there were tracks. If I set traps here today, they might just get smashed.

“There aren’t many smaller animal tracks either. Maybe they’re all hiding.”

But this spot with little animal tracks did have some promise. I had ten traps today, and I set them all a bit apart from each other. Ordinarily, I’d set traps in three different locations, but today I was putting everything I had in one spot. I didn’t exactly have a choice, since this was the only one that looked any good.

“Okay. All done.” I stood up from my crouched position and raised my arms high in a stretch. Oooh, that feels so good. All that bending hurt my back.

“Pu-puuu, pu-puuu.”

“Turyu! Turyuuu.”

Oh! Flame made two chirps this time. But…there’s something I want to know. “Are you going to keep making only those same sounds forever?”

Flame stared back at me. I was worried I might have asked it an extremely difficult question.

“Sorry, forget I asked.”

Sora bounced around me in reply. Flame just jiggled where it was. Did I make it angry?

“Tuchu! Tuchuuu!”

“Pu-pyu-puuu!”

Flame’s noises changed. But they changed in such a way that I wasn’t sure which sounds I liked better. And for some reason, Sora had taken on the challenge, too.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to try so hard. Just make the same sounds you always do.” Yep. You shouldn’t force anything. Natural is the way to go.

“Puushuuu, puryu-ryuuu.”

“Sora, wanna go back to the way you were before? It sounds much cooler.”

“Pu! Pu, puuu.”

“Yep. That’s the best.” And I really did think those were the best sounds for Sora.

I walked a little through the forest with Ciel, Sora, and Flame. Ciel and I were competing to see which of us could forage more edible fruit… Well, I’d just decided by myself that it was a competition. …I was losing, by the way.

“Sora, Flame, I think we should head back to town. Ciel, the forest is dangerous, so be careful, okay?”

Mrrrow.

“If you see any scary monsters, run away, you hear?”

Mrrow.

I stroked Ciel’s head. It really was adorable when it closed its eyes contentedly like that.

“See you tomorrow.”

Meowww. Ciel licked Sora just like before, but this time it also licked Flame goodbye too before it bounded off. Sora still looked a bit nervous, but Flame perked up and jiggled happily.

“Well, let’s head back. I’ll come here tomorrow morning at dawn to check the traps, and then I’ll start dinner around noon.”

Druid had joked that he disliked vegetables, and even now, I still wasn’t sure if he really was joking. Maybe he was letting his subconscious speak, or maybe he really disliked vegetables but said it was a joke because he didn’t want to inconvenience me. Either way, it seemed like he wasn’t that fond of them. When I put the roast in to braise, I’d added extra vegetables. It was partly for nutrition, but also for flavor, so it killed two birds with one stone.

But the real question was, what should I serve for side dishes: greens or root vegetables? Since the meat was hearty, I figured some lighter greens would work well, but I’d seen some people complain that greens were too bitter. Maybe a salad of root vegetables would be easier for him? Oh! If I mash some tubers and mix in a light sauce, that might go down easily. Also, I should probably have some fruit for dessert. Okay, it’s all coming together. Now I really can’t wait for tomorrow.

“Good morning, Ciel. Um…what’s wrong?”

Something looked off about Ciel. Meow.

“Um, are you feeling sick?”

Mewww.

Was I wrong? “Are you feeling well?”

Mrrrow.

I guess that means it’s healthy. Oh, maybe it’s upset? But…why? I should go check on my traps first. I have a time limit today, after all.

“Um, let’s go see about those traps, okay?”

Mewww!

Huh?! That sounded really menacing… Ah. I think I know why Ciel’s upset. I looked down and saw quite a few broken traps. The tracks around them probably belonged to gurbars.

“Don’t worry, Ciel. I knew it was a possibility when I set them here.”

Mewww!

“Um, please don’t be so upset.” Argh, it sounds really mad. Oh, I just hate gurbars! “Next time, Ciel! Next time, I know you’ll protect the traps.”

Telling Ciel to protect the traps might get it a little too excited, but I didn’t know what else to say.

Mrrrow!

Oh dear. Now I’ve really gotten Ciel fired up. But I wasn’t planning on setting any traps today. For that matter, I don’t even have any more traps with me to set!.

“I’ll come back tomorrow with more traps, I promise. I’ll count on you then, okay, Ciel?”

Mrrrow!

Guess I’ll need to make a bunch of traps today. But I’m supposed to cook Druid a thank-you dinner tonight…

“I’m going to be a little busy today…I hope you don’t mind.”

Ciel gave me a curious look. Sora was bouncing around it, and Flame had burrowed its way between Ciel’s front paws and was wiggling. Flame was so carefree…too carefree… It definitely got that part of its personality from Sora. If Sora were to split again… I hope the next slime is a bit more pragmatic.

“Pu-pu, puuu.”

“Turyu! Ryu-ryuuu.”

“Argh…”

Mrrrow. I could have sworn Ciel was saying “Hang in there, kid.” Was it just my imagination?

I collected my broken traps. Boy, were they destroyed. I guess it was a bit reckless of me to set traps when there were big animals traipsing around. But there was no telling when the gurbars would finally settle down. That reminds me, I think the adventurers are supposed to come back right pretty soon. I hope they’ll bring good news.

“Ciel, sorry things didn’t work out today. I have to head back early, okay?”

Mrrrow.

“Thank you!”

I parted ways with Ciel and trudged back to town. Flame still couldn’t move freely on its own, so I picked it up and placed it in its bag. Sora was gleefully jumping all around me. You really are a lively little thing, aren’t you?

I checked the sun’s position through the trees. I was a bit behind schedule, but all I needed to do was warm up the pot roast I’d made and plate it up, so I should have plenty of time. Still, it was hard seeing Ciel looking so agitated. I needed to be more mindful from now on.

The gate was in sight, so I put Sora in its bag. “Stay still, okay?”

I waved to the gatekeeper and hurried toward the plaza. When I got close to my tent, a faint aroma hit my nose. I had been slowly warming up the meat since early this morning. I checked my pot. If it had burned, I probably would’ve cried, but thankfully it was okay. All that remained was to make the salad.

I ducked back into my tent and took Sora and Flame out of their bag. “I probably won’t come back in here until late, so I’ll leave out some potions for you. Eat them when you get hungry, okay?”

I took the potions out of my bag and lined them up in the center of the tent. I moved Flame closer so it could eat the potions if they were knocked over a little.

“There. I’ll come back to check in on you guys later. Be good, okay?”

Sora and Flame jiggled—eagerly and softly. I figured they would be okay. Now, let’s finish dinner!