The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 6 - Chapter 280

Chapter 280:

Differences in Memory

WHEN WE WALKED OUT of the village, the gatekeepers gave us quite the array of bewildered looks. And it was to be expected, when you thought about it. We were just two average travelers, walking chummily into the forest with a guild master and the heads of the village watch. It was a little worrying when a gatekeeper asked me quietly if everything was all right. What could they have possibly imagined that would lead them to ask such a question?

“I think we ought to be okay now that we’re out here.”

“Yeah, I don’t see anybody around. It should be all clear.”

The three men with us listened to our conversation in bewildered confusion. I opened my bag, and three slimes bounded eagerly out of it. But since Pith was right in Flame’s way, it excitedly jumped right back into my arms. It seemed the vice-captain had made a bad impression on the poor slime.

Wow, Flame, you’ve gotten a lot stronger. I felt it for the first time then. I carefully peered into the bag they were all in… There you are. The tiny black slime was sitting completely still in the bag, probably asleep. I was curious about it for a number of reasons, but I quietly closed the lid and let it sleep for the time being.

“It’s okay, Ciel, you can return to normal.”

The three men—especially Vice-Captain Pith—had begged to see Ciel in adandara form, so I’d agreed on the condition that Ciel could veto the idea. At my signal, Ciel’s body became covered in a soft light as it returned to its adandara form. You could feel the excitement and fear from Tableau and Priya. And as for Pith…well, he just stood and stared. I’d imagined he would be the most excited of the three, but maybe I was wrong?

“Um, Vice-Captain Pith?”

“Wow… In my adventurer days, I once caught a glimpse of an adandara from very far away. But that really is an adandara, isn’t it? Right before my very eyes… What a beautiful creature.”

Rather than excitement, he was in awe; I could see it in his eyes. Adandaras truly were rare monsters. I remembered that Druid’s mentor was deeply moved when he met Ciel, too.

“Okay, let’s do what we came here for first,” Captain Tableau said.

Pith sighed heavily in reply. He shook off his reverent emotions and walked through the forest, making marks on his map as he went. Ciel led us deep into the woods. We followed, taking note of the landmarks along the way, until Druid suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“What’s wrong?”

Druid shrugged his shoulders. “I remember the cave being around here somewhere.”

I still didn’t see anything that looked like boulders nearby. I guessed that meant our memories really were warped.

Mewww? Ciel asked, worried.

“Oh, sorry. It’s okay, let’s go,” Druid answered, waving a hand.

We walked for about another hour until we came upon the hill of boulders. Near them was the fallen entrance to the cave, and several meters away was the newly opened entrance. There was no mistaking it: This was the cave in our memories.

“This cave was recorded as being closed to mining about twenty years ago, due to a collapsed entrance,” Priya said.

That felt odd to me. A collapsed entrance could have easily been dug back out, so why didn’t they do that?

“Um, sir, didn’t anyone think to just dig the entrance out again?”

It seemed to me like they could just move the boulders out of the way. Come to think of it, the cave they’d described as recently collapsed when we first arrived in town had showed no signs of human tampering, either.

“This hill has a mysterious energy to it.”

“Energy, sir?”

“Yes. With normal caves, you can dig out a collapsed opening, reinforce the boulders on the sides, and rebuild the entrance. But if you do that with this hill, the magic stones disappear.”

“What?!” Druid and I both gasped.

“We’ve studied this hill for years and still have no answer as to why that happens,” Priya answered. “All we know is that if a human hand tries to make an entrance to the cave, the magic stones disappear. So, we had to just surrender this one to nature.”

Surprised by his answer, I looked at the hill again. It was the kind of hill you’d see anywhere: a brown, rocky mass with plants ranging from yellow to blue mixed in here and there. I didn’t sense anything unusual about it—it was just a normal rocky mound. Wait a minute, Druid said he’s been to this village many times before…

“Mr. Druid, did you know about this hill?”

“No, and I don’t think I even heard rumors about it.”

So I guess he didn’t know about it after all.

“Oh, by the way, this information is a secret among the village leaders, so please don’t tell anyone.”

Guild Master Priya…please don’t be so careless. Well, I’m one to talk. We’ve got our own share of secrets.

“I think you should be a little more careful,” Druid warned the group, pressing a hand to his forehead.

Priya and Tableau shrugged their shoulders, and Pith said, “I just get the sense that we don’t need to hide that information from you two.” Now Pith seemed fully on board with his logic, and he showed no signs of getting off that train.

Uh, please don’t think that way, you guys. Wow, we seem to have earned a lot of trust with these people without even realizing it. But seriously, what exactly did we do to make them so confident about us?

“Well, should we examine the inside? Oh, wait! Be sure to take one of these first.” Captain Tableau stopped on his way to the cave, suddenly remembering something. He pulled five blue magic stones with white lines out of his magic bag. “Hold one of these when you go into the cave.”

What beautiful magic stones… But what are they for?

“Ivy, these stones protect you from summoning circles,” Druid explained. “Hold it tight—don’t ever let it go, okay?”

The seriousness in Druid’s voice prompted me to squeeze the magic stone tight in my fist. I looked up at him and nodded firmly. I promise I’ll never let go.

“You sure have some rare magic stones in your collection, Captain,” Druid said, marveling over the blue stone.

“It was mined from the collapsed cave, actually.” Captain Tableau held his magic stone tight and cast his gaze into the cavern. “I’ll be the vanguard. Ivy, Druid, please follow behind me. Priya and Pith, take up the rear.”

Wait, what about my monsters? I want them to come with us, but we only have five magic stones, and Druid said monsters are also affected by summoning circles. Which means they’ll have to stay outside the cave for a while to be safe.

“Ciel, Sora, Flame, wait out here, okay? I don’t want the summoning circle to hurt you.”

“…Pu! Pu, puuu.”

…Mrrrow.

“…Te! Ryu, ryuuu.”

There was a bit of a pause before their answers, but they all seemed to understand. I waved goodbye to the trio as I entered the cave. Since Captain Tableau was using a magic torch to light our way, I could see quite well.

“Huh?” I grunted.

“What’s wrong?” Druid asked.

“I think I remember we could see just fine without a magic item last time.”

“Hm? Oh…yeah, I don’t remember using a magic torch, but then again, I’m not that confident in my memory right now.”

He was right. Our memories were untrustworthy, so we couldn’t say for sure, but I really didn’t think we used a magic torch.

Captain Tableau guided us deeper into the cave. After a little while, we found ourselves in an open space. The summoning circle ought to come into view very soon.

“This is it!” Captain Tableau cried out from the open area that he had spotted the circle. Vice-Captain Pith and Guild Master Priya snapped to attention and checked it out. And by the looks of it, their prediction was right: Snakey had moved. I couldn’t see any traces of it being on top of the summoning circle like before, but now I was able to clearly see the circle in the wide, empty room.

“This doesn’t look exactly like it did last time, but what a disturbing impression it gives off,” Druid said.

I nodded in reply. The gray magic energy was gone, but the summoning circle was indeed there. 

And it had a vibe that was nothing short of ominous.