The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 4 - Chapter 181

Chapter 181:

Battlemania?!

“So, what did you want to talk about? Is it about Gotos’s secret adandara?”

I guessed that meant the guild master hadn’t told him anything. He must have had a really hard time dodging his old mentor’s probing.

“Yes, sir.”

“I see… Well, before ya tell me, Ivy, let me give ya my oath.”

His oath?

“Gotos wouldn’t spill a thing about the secret. That means what you’re about to tell me must be something important—something ya don’t want anyone else knowing. So…”

Um…Mr. Mentor? How exactly did you ask the guild master about it? I hope he didn’t get hurt…

“I promise that no matter what ya tell me, I will not repeat it to anyone else. I won’t use the information for my own benefit, either. I know it’s just a verbal agreement, so you might not be sure about it, but don’t worry. You can trust me.”

He sounded a bit different…and there was a solemn look in his eyes. Seeing him like this made me understand just why Druid and the guild master trusted him so much.

“Thank you very much, sir. I’ll tell you everything now.”

After another bow, we all sat down to talk. First, I told him how I was a tamer with no stars and that I’d tamed an adandara by some unknown means. Then I told him that I’d tamed two failed slimes. To be honest, I didn’t know just how much I should reveal. But he’d looked so serious when he gave me his oath that I decided to trust him. Druid had vouched for the man, too, after all. I was sure he was safe. Besides, Sora’s alarm had never gone off around him, either.

Okay, um…so I told him everything, and now he hasn’t said anything for a very long time. I shot Druid an uncomfortable look.

“It was probably so far outside what he could imagine that he’s having a hard time processing it. Don’t worry, he’ll be himself again in a bit.”

Outside what he could imagine, huh?

“Well, I understand. Sora, Flame, and Ciel are all very extraordinary creatures.”

I’d tamed two slimes who ate both organic and inorganic matter, and an adandara, who was already a rare presence among the most powerful monsters. I never thought we were an unusual group when we were together, but whenever I told other people about my companions and saw their reactions…I was sure hit hard with the reality of just how rare they really were.

“Ya should put yourself in ya list of ‘extraordinary creatures,’ Ivy. Ya tamed ’em. That’s amazing.”

“Huh?!”

I’m extraordinary, too? I highly doubt that.

“Arrrgh,” Druid’s mentor sighed suddenly.

Huh? Did I do something wrong?

“Ha ha ha! Well, no wonder Gotos wouldn’t talk.”

“Oh, wait! I haven’t told the guild master about Sora and Flame.”

“Really?” Druid asked. “Well, I guess the adandara was enough of a shock for him.”

“But, wow. Ya tamed an adandara… Daaaang, never thought I’d hear the likes of that before I died.”

Was it really that shocking? Since it was happening to me, I couldn’t really tell.

“Ivy. Listen to me. Don’t ya dare spread the word about this willy-nilly. Ya have to be very careful about who ya tell.”

Oh! There it is again. Every time I tell somebody about the monsters I tamed, they give me the same warning.

“Yes, sir. I understand.”

“Okay, then. But I really am relieved to know this adandara is absolutely nothing to worry about.”

What does he mean?

“Adandaras love violence so much that people say they’ve got battlemania.”

Hm? Battlemania?

“If your adandara had turned out to be our enemy, we’d all have to abandon this town and evacuate somewhere else, no matter how dangerous that would be.”

Err…

“Battlemania…that’s an adandara in a nutshell.”

Wait, what was it I wanted to ask him again? The shock is just too intense…

“Master, do adandaras actually like violence that much? I’ve never really heard that before.”

“It’s not widely known, but I ain’t wrong. When I was young, there was many an excited party who thought they could tame an adandara. What little we know about the creatures today ­gradually trickled in through ’em. And one of the reports said they were very fond of killin’ things.”

I’d wanted to know more about adandaras, but this wasn’t quite what I was expecting. Besides, Ciel didn’t seem like it particularly loved killing… Actually, on second thought, it did seem very happy when it was killing all those gurbars.

“Did any of those adventurers ever manage to tame one?”

“Nope, adandaras are way too powerful. About ten famous adventurers died trynna to tame ’em. Nobody’s tried ever since. People enjoy stayin’ alive, ya know.”

“What?! Ten people failed?”

If they were well-known adventurers, they had to have been quite powerful. And all ten of them were…killed? Ciel must have been more powerful than I’d imagined.

“Well, ya know that old saying: Only a fool goes after dragons, suhabas, and adandaras. That’s just how dangerous those monsters are. If ya try to tame ’em, you’re just askin’ for it. That’s why I was shocked to hear you’d tamed that adandara, Ivy. And ya really have no idea how ya did it?”

“I don’t, sir. My symbol…er, the mark that appears on a monster’s body after I’ve tamed it…Ciel imitated Sora’s symbol and made its own. At least I thought that’s what happened, but before I knew it, my magic was coming from Ciel’s symbol, too.”

“It imitated your symbol? But that’s impossible… Well, I know you’re not lying, Ivy… So I guess it’s gotta be true.”

Uh-oh. Looks like I confused the old mentor again.

“Okay, now I understand. So, ya said ya also have some failed slimes, right?”

“Yes. Their names are Sora and Flame.” I pointed at the bag on my shoulder, and the old mentor gave it an eager look. “Do you want to see them?”

“C-could I? I’ve seen failed slimes before, but they disappeared so quickly.”

I opened my bag. “Sora, Flame, be quiet, okay? We’re in the guild lodge. Mr. Druid’s old mentor says he wants to meet you both. Is that all right?”

Sora and Flame jiggled agreeably in reply.

“Thanks. Okay, Mr. Mentor, go ahead.”

“Thanks. Mmf! What’s this?” The old mentor froze mid-peek, his eyebrows drawing into a deep crease. Then he made a lopsided frown.

“Master?” Druid said to him.

He finally looked up from the bag. “Are ya sure these are failed slimes? They look awful sturdy.”

Ah, right. They do look quite different from the failed slimes I’ve seen in books. And this old man seems to have seen the real thing.

“They were incredibly frail at first. They looked like they’d dissolve any minute.”

“Really?”

“Yes, sir. But little by little, they transformed into the slimes you see now.”

“Whoa… So failed slimes can mature, eh? They’re not like other slimes, then.”

Wait, it’s not normal for slimes to mature?

“Wow, what pretty colors they both are. Half-transparent slimes, eh? By the way, where’d ya find them?”

“Well, um, I found Sora first. I met it by a lake where there were some very pretty flowers blooming.” Taming Sora was one of my most vivid memories. “And, um, Flame was birthed by Sora.”

“What?! Birthed?”

Oops, that’s not quite right. “Sorry, sir, technically, Sora split into two and that’s how Flame was born.” That was a more ­accurate way of phrasing it.

“A slime…gave birth to another slime?”

“Yes, sir.” Was that also strange? “Um, Mr. Mentor?”

“So I guess you really are unusual,” Druid said, peering into the bag. Sora jiggled happily back at him. “I was right there when Sora split into two, but I was so preoccupied with my own problems that I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing.”

That’s right. I was so confused that I don’t even remember how Druid reacted. I wonder if Sora’s division left a stronger impression on him than losing his own arm did.

“Sorry, Ivy, but if there’s still something ya haven’t told me yet, you’d better tell me now. I need to brace myself for it.”

He “needs to brace himself for it”? Is it really that extreme?

“Um, is there anything I haven’t told him?” I asked Druid.

I think we’re all covered. But did I forget something?