The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 3 - Chapter 158

Chapter 158:

Druid and the Guild Master

SIDE: DRUID

“HEY THERE! Fancy seeing you here so late.”

Someone tapped me on the back. I looked up from my drinking to find the guild master. I checked the time—sure enough, it was getting close to midnight. I guess I’d been drinking quite a long time.

“There’s nothing to it, really.”

“You sure about that? It looked to me like you were thinking pretty deep there.”

Ah…I guess he’s worried about me. He probably heard about my brother dragging Ivy into our family drama. Well, he is a bit of a worrywart.

“It’s nothing, really.”

After I saw my brother talking to Ivy a couple nights ago, I figured I couldn’t hide my secret from the kid anymore. I’d planned to tell him everything and let him decide what to do about it. And if his decision was to never see me again, then so be it.

But after I settled on telling Ivy, my heart wouldn’t stop racing. For some reason, I was terrified…terrified of Ivy rejecting me. I hadn’t felt that way in a very long time.

I screwed up my courage yesterday and told him everything. Who could have known that I would end up finding out what my skill meant and even learning about Ivy’s secrets on top of that. Hearing about the heavy weight Ivy had been carrying was a real shock. I already knew that Sora, Flame, and Ciel were secrets. They were obviously all rare creatures. But I never imagined that Ivy had no stars. He was just like the cursed child from that myth—abandoned by God. I never thought such a child might actually exist.

“Seriously, what’s wrong?” the guild master pressed.

“Oh. You’re still here.” Whoops. I got wrapped up in my thoughts again. 

“Say, did something happen with Ivy?” The guild master had animal instincts—he could be weirdly perceptive at the strangest moments.

So he did come to ask about what happened with Ivy and my brother. “Ha ha. Nah, it’s fine.” I thought back to the inexplicable conversation—maybe it was more of a non-versation?—that had taken place yesterday and chuckled.

“What?”

“It’s nothing. Ivy’s okay, really.”

“Really?” The guild master craned his neck.

He sure does know me inside and out. He probably already figured out that my brother’s outburst made me decide to tell the kid my secret. Then he thought that would probably cause tension between Ivy and me, so he looked for me and found me just where he expected.

“Fancy seeing you here” was pretty damn contrived.

“As I’m sure you’ve guessed, I told Ivy everything. And it’s all good.”

He looked a bit taken aback at first, but the catlike grin quickly spread across his face. Damn, that smile grinds my gears. My next drink arrived—although, I didn’t remember ordering it.

“This one’s on me,” the guild master said.

“So I could drink away my sorrows?”

“Ha ha ha! Looks like you didn’t need it after all. Boy, that Ivy sure shows a lot of promise!”

Ivy would probably make a face if he heard the guild master say that. After all, the kid referred to him as the “slightly disappointing guild master.”

“You know, you’re really showing your true colors around Ivy, aren’t you?” I said.

The guild master looked a bit uncomfortable. Odd. I don’t usually see him looking like that. Ever since he became the guild master, he’d gotten pretty good at hiding those disappointing traits of his that Ivy had picked up on. Most of the time, people saw him just the way he wanted them to. He showed even me his guild master facade more often than not these days. I stole a glance at him. He noticed and smirked back at me.

“Ivy is a very strange kid,” he said. “He’s very…accepting, you might say? No matter what you do, he won’t reject you. It makes you just want to treat the kid like a king.”

The guild master hit the nail on the head. Ivy was accepting…to a fault.

“Oh, by the way, did Ivy find a slave yet?”

“Huh?! Oh…no, he didn’t mention it. I don’t think he’s looking anymore, though.”

He probably wouldn’t start searching again until he got an answer from me. Travel with Ivy, eh… I have no idea what I should do. All these years, I never once considered leaving town. Whenever I saw Doluka and Dolgas, I felt too guilty to leave them.

“It’s up to me, eh…?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh, nothing.”

“Really? I’m surprised Ivy gave up on looking for a slave, though.” The guild master sounded a bit disappointed, which made me curious.

“Something wrong?”

“Yeah, see, somebody I know just got sold into slavery. I was going to introduce her to Ivy.”

“Who is it?”

“A female adventurer in her twenties.”

“I’m not sure having her meet Ivy would do any good. Ivy’s looking for a male adventurer in his forties.”

“Oh, right! I forgot.”

“Whoa, now. Ivy’s just as busy as you are. Don’t waste everyone’s time.”

Wait, why is he sulking? His lips are all pursed. That’s not even a good look for a jolly old man. It’s creepy, actually.

“Who are you calling creepy?!”

“What? Did I say that out loud?” Odd. I was sure I only thought that.

“You slimy guy, you!”

“Ha ha ha. Say, if I were to…no, never mind.” Why bother asking him? Get your head on straight, Druid. You’ve got to make this decision on your own.

“If you ask me, I think you should do whatever it is that you want to do.”

“Huh?!”

“I don’t know what you’re holding back from telling me, but you should do what you want, Druid.”

“I got…invited to go on a journey,” I said. I left it at that.

“I see. Well, we’ll all sure miss you.” For some reason, it sounded like the guild master had already decided I was going.

“I’m not sure if I’m gonna accept yet…”

“Really? Well, I think acting on your genuine feelings is a good thing.”

“Huh?”

“When you said someone invited you on a journey…you looked happy.”

I looked happy? Really?

“You’ve been through a lot, Druid, and you’ve kept it all stuffed inside, haven’t you? Well, it’s time for you to choose your own path for once!” The guild master downed his entire drink in one gulp.

My own path… Ivy had said something similar.

“Look at the time. I’d better be on my way,” said the guild master. “Don’t want to keep the wife waiting up.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re such lovebirds.”

“Of course we are!” The guild master then lowered his voice and spoke seriously. “Druid.”

My heart jumped. “What?”

“Seeing you with Ivy puts my heart at ease. You smile for real when you’re with that kid.”

Do I? I hadn’t noticed it at all. I watched the guild master walk out of the bar while sipping the drink he’d paid for… He bought me a drink out of pity, but why’d it have to be a sweet liquor? He knows I hate this stuff! Wait, maybe that was on purpose.

“For crying out loud… Well, that’s the guild master for you.” I gave my own cheek a light punch. I smile for real, huh…

I left the bar and headed home. The cool breeze felt good against my flushed cheeks as I slowly walked down the road. When my house came into view, I suddenly stopped in my tracks. Someone was waiting outside my house, and it seemed they noticed me, too. They waved at me. 

“Doluka…”

“Long time no see. How’ve you been?”

“Uh, good… What brings you here today?”

My brother approached me as I stood there, frozen to the pavers. “I’m sorry about how Dolgas behaved.”

My eyes opened wide in surprise. Those words hit me like a ton of bricks. My older brothers hated me. Neither of them would say anything like this…

“Also, I wanted to apologize for how we’ve treated you all these years.”

Is this…the real Doluka?

As I stood there with my jaw hanging, my brother smiled weakly at me, which only surprised me further. The last time he’d smiled at me was before he knew his stars had been stolen. That was a very long time ago.

“The old me was quite an idiot.”

When I saw the sheepish grin on my brother’s face, the muscles in my body finally relaxed.