The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 4 - Chapter 210

Chapter 210:

Shapeshifting

“Are you really going to try it out?”

“Just once, okay? Please, Ivy.”

I glared at the old mentor, but he had begged me. He was determined to test the shapeshifting magic on Ciel.

“What if something bad happens to Ciel? What will you do then?”

“If Ciel doesn’t like it, I’ll stop. In fact, if Ciel doesn’t like it, we’ll all be ripped to shreds in a matter of seconds anyway.”

“Don’t worry, Ivy. I promise Ciel won’t be hurt.”

With a lot of coaxing from Druid and his old mentor, I’d followed them into the forest to look for Ciel. This was all because I’d been secretly thinking how nice it would be if Ciel could shrink down and stay with me all the time.

“You really think it’ll be okay?” I asked.

“Don’t worry, we won’t do anything to Ciel without its permission.”

I wasn’t worried about offending Ciel, I was worried about hurting Ciel, especially since neither of the two men had ever heard of shapeshifting magic. Errm…I shouldn’t have let them come here. Stop it, Ivy, your brain is a jumbled mess again. As I stood there, working myself up into a tizzy, the bag on my shoulder began to jostle around.

“Oh, I’m sorry! I’ll let you out right now.” I took Sora and Flame out of their bag.

“Pu! Pu! Pu! Pu-puuu!”

“Te! Te! Te! Teryuuu!”

What’s going on? They’re happier than I’ve ever seen them.

“Aren’t they in an especially chipper mood?”

“You think so, too, Mr. Druid?”

“Yeah…”

We both gave the slimes a curious stare, and they responded with a synchronized jiggle. It looked like they really were in a chipper mood.

“What’s wrong? Something funny?” the old mentor asked, staring at the two slimes.

“Oh, no, we were just wondering why they were in such a good mood.”

“Ooh, I didn’t know slimes’ moods could change,” the old mentor marveled. “That’s really neat.”

That remark confused me at first, but then I remembered how impressed he’d been when I told him how I could communicate verbally and telepathically with the slimes.

“Um, what are most slimes like, sir?”

“Well, they’re known for having voices only their tamers can hear. Also, they’re expressionless.”

A voice only their tamer can hear? Expressionless? Er…expressionless? Well, let’s just ask about one thing at a time.

“What kind of voice do they have?”

“I can’t say. Never heard it m’self, but tamers can hear a slime’s voice in their head if it’s hungry.”

“They make sounds to tell you they’re hungry?”

I looked at Sora and Flame. I’d never heard a sound like that from either of them.

“You’ve heard it, haven’t ya?”

“No. Not at all.”

“What?!” both men gasped.

I haven’t, right? I searched my thoughts…and found nothing.

“But then how do they let ya know when they’re hungry?”

“Sora will slam against the bag I keep their potions in, and Flame will puff out its cheeks and tumble. It started doing that recently.”

“Wow…that’s quite a way of communicatin’. Just so ya know, that’s not normal.”

“I suppose it’s not, but I didn’t know that until just now. There’s nothing wrong with slimes making noises out loud, is there?”

“It’s unusual, but slimes like that do exist. But—hang on a second—hey, Flame, Sora, speak for me.”

“Pu! Pu, puuu.”

“Te! Ryu, ryuuu.”

“Slimes never have cute voices like that. The ones I’ve heard are much lower.”

Lower voices… Both of my slimes have rather high-pitched voices. Well, I guess except for that, they still pass for normal slimes.

“I think Ciel is here,” I said.

“Te! Ryu, ryuuu. Te! Ryu, ryuuu.”

Huh? What’s up with Flame? It usually didn’t show that much excitement, but it was clearly overjoyed to see Ciel.

Mrrrow.

“Hello, Ciel. Sorry to come see you at this time of day.”

Mrrrow, Ciel purred, rubbing its entire self against me. I wasn’t sure why, but Ciel also seemed to be in a particularly chipper mood. It was stroking me so hard I almost fell over. Druid had to swoop in to hold me up.

“Er, Ciel…could you please tone it down a little?”

Meowww.

Uh-oh! Now it’s a little upset. “It’s really sweet of you to rub against me so much, but I’m sorry. I’m not strong enough for that yet.”

Mewww?

“Hm? Are you worried about me? It’s okay, I’m fine.” Aww, you’re so darn cute. As I petted Ciel’s head, I saw Druid’s old mentor closing in on us out of the corner of my eye. I looked at him…and he had full-on gaga eyes. It was kind of off-putting.

“Master…you’re grossing me out.”

“Ya cheeky little jackass. Wait, Ivy, why’re you scooting away from me?”

“Er, your face, sir, it’s…uh, never mind.”

“See, Master? Even Ivy is grossed out by that sick look on your face.”

“I don’t think he looks that disgusting!” Wait…did I just say the wrong thing?

“You…little…brats!” He huffed an exaggerated sigh.

I’ve been putting my foot in my mouth lately… I need to be more careful.

After getting Ciel’s permission, the old master gave the adandara some pats. Agggh…his face…it’s going all gaga again… Oh!

“Pfft!” Druid spat out his laughter. Ciel’s behavior had become too much for him to handle.

“Ciel, don’t shove his face like that.”

Just when I was thinking about how disturbing the old man’s gaga face was, the adandara had pushed it with its front paws. It was almost like it was saying “I don’t wanna see that!” And yeah…it was definitely a little gross…disgusting…a disappointment, for sure. But that was still no excuse to cover his face with one’s paws.

“Ciel…I thought we had somethin’ special!” the old mentor yelled, through his grinning teeth.

“Leave him. He’s hopeless,” Druid said.

I wanted to ask him exactly what he meant, but I kind of already had an inkling, so I stayed quiet. The old mentor had definitely shattered his heroic image in so many ways. Even Ciel recoiled at the sight of him. To make even powerful monsters shrink back from him…in a way, the old mentor was terrifyingly powerful.

“Now, Ciel. I’ve come here to ask you something. Ivy?”

“Ciel…if you don’t like it, then feel free to jump away, okay?”

I pulled the transparent magic stone out of my bag and stared at it. The magic stone that was free of any impurities… I was still worried about it, but…hm?

“Um, sir?”

“Don’t worry. We won’t force Ciel to do anything.”

“No, it’s not that. Do you, um, know how to use shapeshifting magic?”

Both Druid and his old mentor fell silent. Neither of them seemed to have an answer to my question. Of course they didn’t, since this was an unknown type of magic. How could they know how to use it?

“We overlooked a very important step in the plan, didn’t we?”

“Yes, we did.”

They were both so excited about their idea that they’d completely forgotten that they didn’t know what they were doing. They were way too brash.

Mrrrow.

“Sorry, Ciel. Thanks for coming to see us, but… Oh! Ciel!”

The men looked over when they heard me cry out. Then their eyes opened wide.

“Ciel, don’t… That’s a magic stone! Spit it out!”

I don’t know what Ciel was thinking, but it chomped the magic stone right out of my hand. I gave its back some nervous taps, but it seemed perfectly calm.

“What should we do, Mr. Druid?”

“Stay calm…Ciel wanted to put the stone in its mouth, so it’s probably okay.”

He may be right…but who just swallows a magic stone whole like that?

“Te! Ryu! Ryuu!” Flame was tumbling all around Ciel in a circle.

“Are you okay?”

Mrrrow.

It seemed fine…but I was really starting to regret testing the magic stone. Ciel started to shake all over. I took a few frightened steps back…then its body began to glow.

“Ciel!”

I knew we shouldn’t have done it. Oh no. What do we do now? I shielded my eyes from the harsh light with my arm…until, little by little, the light disappeared. I cautiously lowered my arm and looked at Ciel.

“What?!”

“Whoa!”

“Ahh, so that’s what it does.”

“Pu! Pu! Pu! Pu-puuu.”

“Teryuuu. Te! Teryuuu.”

Where Ciel once stood…there was a slime. And it was shaped like an adandara, too.

“I see…” Druid’s mentor grinned. “So, it didn’t turn Ciel into a smaller version of itself, it shapeshifted Ciel into a slime.”

His words confirmed that my eyes weren’t deceiving me.

Mrrrow.

Even as a slime, Ciel still meowed the same way. It was so funny I was almost moved to tears. But more than that, the tears were because…

“Thank goodness you’re all right!” I sighed, softly petting Ciel. And it began to glow again, although it was not as bright this time.

Mrrrow.

“Whoa!” we all gasped.

Ciel’s slime shape had changed slightly from before.

“You’re so cute…”

This new little slime had adandara ears and a tail. I’d never dreamed a transformation like this was even possible.

“You know…I think the look suits you,” the old mentor said.

All I could do was keep nodding in reply.

“But doesn’t Ciel look a little unusual for a slime?” Druid asked.

Ahh, good point. “Sorry, Ciel, but you’ll have to…”

“No, wait. I’ve read somewhere about slimes with protrusions.”

Protrusions? I looked at Ciel. Its ears and tail…did those count as protrusions?

“Uh, no, Master. I don’t think that’s going to work.”

Ah, too bad. I was hoping it would be okay.

“Aw, don’t worry about it. Besides, even though Ciel’s a slime now, it still can’t just be out in public anyway, can it? That skin pattern is pretty unique.”

Its skin pattern? Yeah, it does have the same skin it did as an adandara. But if it could change its look even more, maybe then I could take it out of its bag when we’re in town?

“Ciel, could you shapeshift the patterns on your skin at all?”

Ciel jiggled itself right and left. Too bad, guess that’s a no. That means I can’t let it roam freely in town, then.

“Guess it won’t work,” the old mentor shrugged. “Well, in that case, the ears and tail won’t be a problem. And ya seem to prefer that Ciel be cute anyway, eh, Ivy?”

He’s right…if I have to keep Ciel hidden anyway, I’d like it to stay looking like this. Ears and a tail! It’s just too cute.