The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 3 - Chapter 156

Chapter 156:

Jack-in-the-Box

I TOOK A DEEP BREATH—in and out. The thought of telling him my secret was making my heart race at an astounding speed.

“Mr. Druid, there’s something I need to tell you, too.” My mouth was really dry, so I gulped down the rest of my tea. “So, um, I’m a tamer. But…I don’t have any stars.”

“What?!” he gasped quietly.

“I think that’s how I was able to tame Sora, because it’s a collapsed slime.”

“Oh! Ohh…wait, huh?”

“I didn’t tame Ciel. I don’t have enough magic for that.”

Having no stars meant you had very little magic. Since adandaras store massive amounts of magic, there was no way I could tame one. Hm? What’s up with Druid? He keeps looking back and forth between Sora and Ciel.

“But surely you tamed it? I mean, come on…” he said, pointing at his own forehead. Right, the taming symbol.

Ohh, so that’s why he’s confused. “No, Ciel made that mark, not me. That’s why you won’t sense any of my magic coming from it.”

“Huh?! Is that even possible? What? Um…Ivy…”

“Yes?”

“But I did feel your magic coming from that symbol.”

“Huh?!”

That was impossible. I didn’t tame Ciel—Ciel made that mark on its own. We exchanged confused looks. We both got up and quietly approached the sleeping Ciel, then peered down at its symbol.

How is this even possible?

“See? That’s your magic, Ivy.”

“Yes, it seems like it.”

It was faint, but the energy I felt coming from Ciel’s forehead was identical to my magic. Every person’s magic was different, and there was no way I would mistake my own. Um…huh?

Mrrrow.

“Oops! Sorry, did I wake you?”

Mrrrow.

Not wanting to disturb the sleeping creatures, we tiptoed away. What’s going on? We were talking and… Huh? It’s no use. I’m just so confused.

“Are you okay?” Druid asked with concern.

To be honest, I wasn’t. The shocking truth I’d just learned was phasing me in and out of reality. My brain was a jumbled mess. Okay, Ivy. Just breathe.

“Yes, sir. Um, I’ll just get back to telling my story, then.”

“Wait…there’s more?”

“Hm? Um, uh, yes. You see, I’ve also got memories of my past life.”

Well, this conversation’s gone way off the rails. I’ve never told anybody about this before, right? Was there anything else I forgot to mention?

“Memories of a past life?”

“Yes.”

Huh? Now I’m getting confused about what I’ve revealed and what I haven’t. Let’s see, I don’t have any stars and I have memories from my past life… Those are all the things I needed to tell him, right? As for Ciel…well, I’ll save that for later.

“Wow, Ivy…you’re pretty amazing.”

Amazing? Me? “Really?”

“Yeah, you’re like a jack-in-the-box.”

That’s…not very flattering. “Mr. Druid.”

“Ha ha ha! Sorry. It’s just that I feel a little silly now for preparing myself for the worst.”

Preparing for the worst? Oh, right. Because he told me about the star-stealing.

“I didn’t get a wink of sleep last night because I was planning on spilling my guts today, Ivy.”

He had looked a little off yesterday when we’d said goodbye. Maybe that was when he decided he would tell me everything.

“It’s funny…I’d totally given up on anyone accepting me because of who I am. But when I decided to tell you about my skill, for the first time in a long time, I was terrified of seeing that look all over again.”

That look… He must have meant a look of fear and hatred. I was scared of that look, too.

“I really had to psych myself up to tell you, Ivy… But it turns out you were the bigger jack-in-the-box than me. It’s kind of anticlimactic.”

“I’m really sorry!”

“Pfft!” Druid started laughing…and I soon joined him.

“The truth is, when my brothers said I stole their stars, I had a little idea of what had happened.”

Huh?!

“See, I come from a family of merchants. My father didn’t have a very valuable skill, but he was a hard worker. He built up his business from nothing.”

It sounds like he’s really proud of his dad. I’m a little envious.

“As for my two older brothers, they had good skills and stars in both of them. Because of that, they looked down on our father. When I was a little boy, I remember wishing they would lose their stars so they would appreciate our father more.”

Now I get it. It sounds like Druid’s big brother always had a rotten personality. Well, I kind of got that impression anyway.

“So when I saw them both panicking over their lost stars, I was scared. I thought it was my fault for wishing for it. But at the same time, a part of me was excited. I hoped this would bring my family closer together. Well…that didn’t work out, of course.”

No kidding it didn’t work out. I saw firsthand how that guy wouldn’t shut up about how everything was Druid’s fault.

“Mr. Druid?”

“Hm?”

“I’ve been looking for someone to join me on my travels.”

“Yeah, you said you were planning to buy a slave.”

“Yes, but it doesn’t have to be a slave. I want whoever it is to be someone I can trust and who I like being around. The only reason I wanted them to be a slave was because of the big secret I just told you.”

I thought there was no way I could find anyone who would keep my secrets about Sora, Flame, Ciel, and my lack of stars. That’s why I wanted a slave who could be firmly bound to secrecy. But if I found someone whom I could trust with all my heart…well, I would much rather travel with that person.

“I see. Yeah, your jack-in-the-box is definitely a whopper, Ivy.”

“I know, I have way too many secrets. But—so do you. You’d be in big trouble if people found out about your skill, right?”

“I’m mostly all right there. Most of the village adventurers know about my star-stealing skill. I’ve got nothing to hide.”

Druid looked sad. I guess it was inevitable that the village adventurers would know out about his star-stealing skill by now. He didn’t seem to hide it, after all. But there was still his “+” to consider. That might actually be the bigger problem. Had Druid not made that connection?

“I wasn’t talking about the star-stealing. I was talking about star-adding.”

“Huh?”

“Have you heard any news of people gaining stars?”

“But you can’t gain stars…oh! That’s right, my skill could supposedly give people stars, too…”

It seemed like he finally realized what might happen if people found out his skill could break the rules of our reality.

“Mr. Druid…will you join me on my travels?”

“Huh? Me?”

“Yes. If you’re very attached to Oll, then I get it. But if you’re not, then please join me on my travels.”

I was hoping to ask him in a more serious, well-considered way, but I was being awfully blunt. Then again, that was probably more authentically me.

“But, Ivy, if people find out that my skill can give people stars, I’ll become a huge target. If you want to travel in peace, I’m exactly the companion you don’t want to have.”

Druid was right. If people found out about his skill, things might get pretty crazy. People would probably come after us. But with Sora, Flame, and Ciel as my travel companions, I was a walking target anyway. I didn’t think another secret or two would make much difference.

“Mr. Druid, have you forgotten? Sora is no ordinary slime. It not only eats potions, it heals people, too. And it gave birth to Flame as well. Between your skill and Sora’s powers, I think we’d have a fighting chance.”

I wasn’t sure which power was more extraordinary—if people found out about Sora’s healing, we’d never know peace. That reminds me… Sifar mentioned that Sora had a light skill more powerful than the royal family’s Grandmaster of Magic… Should I keep that part to myself? Yeah, Druid doesn’t need to know that right now. I’m not even totally sure it’s true. I’d better forget about it, too, for my own sanity.

“Oh, right!” said Druid, “Sora’s a pretty special little slime, isn’t it? Ha ha ha! I’m not sure which is more impressive, my skill or Sora’s powers.”

“Sora’s not the only one, you know. Ciel is a high-level adandara, even for a monster. And a creature like that is traveling with a no-star tamer? I’ve gotten used to it, but wouldn’t most people think that’s yet another thing that makes me exceptional?”

“You’re right. You’re traveling with an adandara, a monster of legend. If anyone found out, you would definitely become a target, Ivy. Especially since you’ve tamed it.”

Well, we’re still not technically sure I tamed it. “I’m not happy about it, but I’ve got my fair share of secrets. Adding your secret to my pile is hardly a problem.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“I see. It’s just, I think you’d be targeted more for taming an adandara than I ever would for my skill. You’ve turned everything we know about taming on its head. Up until now, everyone believed you needed a lot of magic to tame powerful monsters.”

He was right—if that got out, it would make me a target. But I felt like Ciel was even more extraordinary than me. It mimicked my taming mark, after all.

“Oh!” I exclaimed, “I just had a thought. Maybe Ciel mimicked my magic and copied it over into the symbol on its forehead.”

“No, Ivy, that’s not possible. Magic like that can’t be mimicked.”

“But it’s the same with taming symbols, right?”

“Oh, now I get it. So you’re saying Ciel saw the symbol you put on Sora and mimicked that. You probably need magic to mimic symbols…but maybe it’s a lot easier to do than we think it is?”

“Um, what? What did you say?” His voice was so quiet just now I couldn’t hear him. 

“Oh, I was just thinking about how powerful Ciel is.”

“That’s for sure!” There’re so many powerful companions in my life that I’ve got my hands full.

“Ha ha! And you love them all, don’t you, Ivy?”

“Yes, I do! They’re family to me.”

“And if I join you on your travels, could I fit in your jack-in-the-box… Would I be family, too?”

“Does this mean you’re coming along?”

Druid looked down at the ground in thought. “I…I don’t know.” His voice was a little weak. He was probably thinking about his own family. The guilt from stealing his brothers’ stars still had a tight hold on him.

“Mr. Druid, I believe it’s up to you how you want to live your life. Even if something unexpected happens along the way and you’re forced to give up on one path, it’s still up to you how you live your life from that point on.”

“Ivy…”

I’d certainly been tempted at times to blame my lack of stars on someone else, but I couldn’t change reality. It was a waste of time sitting on the sidelines, wondering what I should do. I needed to live in a way that was true to myself.

“What do you want to do, Mr. Druid? That’s the most important thing of all.”