The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 4 - Chapter 218

Chapter 218:

Ms. Serpent

“Mr. Druid…do you know anything about this giant snake?”

“Hmm…it’s jet-black with a white pattern on its skin, right?”

“Yes. And there’s also some sort of pattern on the top of its head, isn’t there?”

I was too short to get a good look, but I’d caught a glimpse of it the last time the giant snake had moved its head.

“Yeah… The black orbs are covering it too much for me to make it out, but I do see a sort of pattern on its head.”

The giant snake had too many black orbs sitting on its head for the markings to be visible, though.

“Yeah, it’s no use. I can’t see it,” Druid continued. “But I’m more worried because I didn’t hear any rumors about big black snakes on the outskirts of Hatow Village.”

Druid shook his head in defeat. I moved a little to try to get a better look at the markings on the snake’s body and…what?!

“Um…Mr. Druid…Sora is bouncing all over the giant snake’s back.”

“What?!”

Sora was playfully bouncing among the little black orbs and…huh? I rubbed my eyes and took a closer look. Then I looked at the spot where I last saw Ciel… It’s gone.

“Mr. Druid…Ciel has turned into a slime and joined the party.”

“What?! Oh! Yeah…how about that?”

Two slimes were mixed in with the black orbs, and they looked like they were having a grand old time. I looked up at the snake and saw its head twisted around, looking at Sora and Ciel. The sight gave me the chills, but the snake showed no menacing reaction. Then it returned its gaze to us. I guess that means it’s okay with letting Sora and Ciel play on top of it?

“Um, sorry about Sora and Ciel. They’re just having a little fun on top of you. Is that okay?”

Its head bobbed slightly up and down, as if it understood me. And that probably wasn’t just wishful thinking on my part.

“I don’t know much about snakes, but this one has been alive for quite some time.”

“It has?”

“Yes. Snakes grow bigger the longer they live. At this size, this monster is probably a serpent.”

“A serpent?”

“The biggest among the snakes.”

The biggest among the snakes…well, the snake before my very eyes was definitely the biggest I’d ever seen. Then again, I hadn’t seen that many snakes.

“It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen a snake this big, though,” Druid said. “I hunted a serpent once before, but it wasn’t as large as this one.”

“You…hunted it?”

“Yeah. It had slithered out of a cave and was attacking and eating people in a nearby village, so I was tasked to hunt it.”

That made sense… I supposed hunting it would be their only choice. I looked at the giant snake before me, then at all of its little black orbs. Since they were all together now, it was impossible to tell which of them was the one I’d picked up. That was a little disappointing—I wished we could have spent more time together.

But what concerned me even more was what Druid had just told me about the snake attacking villagers. I looked up and saw that this giant snake—or serpent, rather—was still looking at me and Druid. It was staring hard at us…but it wasn’t thinking about an attack, was it?

“Oh, Ms. Serpent…are you going to attack us?” I figured I might as well ask it first.

“What’s the use in asking the snake?” Druid asked, his voice a little tired.

But the snake looked me in the eye and shook its head left to right. And this movement was deliberate and clear, not vague like the ones it had made earlier.

“It’s not going to attack us.”

“Oh…wow, I didn’t think you could actually communicate with that creature… And the fact that you just took its answer like it was the most normal thing ever…it makes you the least normal thing ever, Ivy.”

Druid was saying something to me, but I was so distracted by the thrill of talking to the serpent that I didn’t hear it. Well, it probably wasn’t important anyway.

“Are those little black orbs your babies?”

The serpent nodded once in reply.

“Oh, neat. Were you looking for that little lost baby? Did we bother you by picking it up?”

The serpent shook its head. Oh, good. We didn’t bother it. “You’re incredibly big, Ms. Serpent. Have you lived a really long time?”

I was so overjoyed we could communicate that I just kept asking questions. And I was tickled pink that the serpent was indulging my curiosity.

“Oh, Mr. Druid, it’s been alive over a hundred years! And the slimes say it’s okay!”

“Yeah, I gathered that.” Druid was looking at me with a great deal of admiration, for some reason. I wonder why that is? I gave him a questioning look…but he just laughed.

“I was just thinking that only Sora’s tamer could accomplish this.”

“Hm?”

“Ack! Sora! The serpent’s going to get mad at you for that.”

I followed Druid’s gaze…and there was Sora, bouncing up and down atop Ms. Serpent’s head. I looked at the serpent, fully expecting it to be angry…but when our eyes met, it simply nodded at me. Oh, thank goodness this serpent is so kind.

“I’m so sorry Sora is tumbling around on your head, Ms. Serpent.”

After about five minutes, Ciel and Sora had their fill of playtime and returned to us.

“Pu! Puuu.”

Mrrrow.

“Hi, you two. Now, what do we say to Ms. Serpent?”

The two monsters performed a synchronized jump in front of the serpent. I guess that’s their way of saying “thank you”? The ­serpent nodded deeply in reply. Wow…they understand each other.

“Well, I think it’s time to find a place to camp.”

Oh, that’s right! We were right in the middle of looking for a place to sleep. I completely forgot.

“Good idea. Want to look around here?”

“I guess we’ll have to, yeah.”

“Puuu,” Sora whined. It was upset that we were starting to walk away.

“What’s wrong, Sora?”

It was angry about something. But what? Oh! I think I know… “Sora, please find us a place to sleep.”

“Pu! Pu, puuu.” That seemed to turn its mood right around.

“Sora is on a roll today,” Druid sighed, seeming a little annoyed.

Sora bounced in the air and Ms. Serpent slithered in turn.

“Oh! Looks like it’s leaving.”

“Sure does.”

The serpent disappeared into the trees, slithering so smoothly that you almost forgot it was piled high with all those little black orbs.

“Farewell, friend. Thank you.” Thanks for being so kind to Sora and Ciel. I waved enthusiastically at the serpent, and then it stopped. It stayed still for quite some time.

“Do you think something’s wrong?” I fidgeted, unsure of what to do. Then the serpent turned and looked at me. Our eyes met.

As Druid and I both stood there, thoroughly confused, Ms. Serpent’s head lunged forward. It caught me so off guard that I recoiled a little.

“Whoa, you scared me there. Hm?” I gasped quietly as I saw a little black orb in front of me. It was sitting atop the serpent’s tongue. As I stood there, unsure of what to do, the serpent stretched its tongue out, pushing the orb against me. When I touched it, it was quite cold, completely unlike the way it had felt before. Apparently, this was not its baby.

“Is this for me?”

The serpent’s tongue coiled back into its mouth. It stared at me in silence for a few moments, then returned to the trees.

“Welp. I got a present.”

“Yeah…what is it, anyway?”

“It’s cold, so I don’t think it’s alive.”

Druid took the orb in his hand and raised it to eye level. He gave it a good going-over. “I have no idea what it is.”

“Oh well.”

Boy, that serpent sure was magnificent, though. Black skin with white markings…kind and understanding… Druid and I looked in the direction where it had slithered. It had been a brief yet magical encounter.

After a while, Sora’s voice echoed out from a patch of trees in the distance. Oops. I totally forgot it was looking for a place for us to sleep. I ran off toward Sora…and when I found the slime, its eyes were a lot more slanted than usual.

“Sorry.”

“Buuu.” It was so angry that its “pu” had changed into “bu.”

“Sorry about that,” Druid chimed in, but Sora snubbed him.

“Buuu!”

I wonder how I can put it back in a good mood?