The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 6 - Chapter 291

Chapter 291:

A Safe Way of Hunting

WE WALKED THROUGH THE GATE and headed toward the places where we’d set our traps. I took my creatures out of their bag along the way, and they happily frolicked in the snow. Even though it was now noon, last night’s snow hadn’t melted—in fact, it had piled up all the way to our calves. According to Druid, more and more snow would fall in the weeks to come.

“If it keeps snowing like this, we might not be able to go hunting anymore.”

“Why?”

“If the snow gets too deep, you can’t even walk in it.”

That made sense. So I guess snow any deeper than this would be a problem. Maybe we should just give up on our winter hunting plans? That would be a pity, seeing as the monsters we wanted to hunt only came out in the snow.

“Well, if it only snows like it did yesterday, we’ll still be able to set traps for a few more days, so let’s keep at it for now.”

I nodded in reply. “Sora, Ciel, let’s go to our traps!” I called out to my creatures as they merrily buried themselves in the snowdrifts. Ciel, who was still in slime form, didn’t seem to be in an adandara kind of mood today. Flame and Sol were resisting leaving their bag, either due to the cold or because it was too much of a hassle. Knowing them, I was sure it was the latter.

And even though I was being careful, I went and did exactly what I didn’t want to do.

“My hands are throbbing…”

I’d fallen on my face. Because of the snow, I hadn’t noticed a root sticking up in my path, and I’d done an epic face-plant as a result. Arrrgh, my hands hurt.

“How are your wounds? Do they still hurt?”

“They’re fine; I cured them with a potion. My hands are just throbbing a little from the way they hit the ground.”

“I’m sorry… Yeah, potions can’t really do much for that kind of pain.”

I’d shot my hands out to break the fall, which was a good thing, but I’d placed them badly. They landed square on the roots I couldn’t see under the snow. My gloves ripped and I ended up with deep cuts on my palms. I used a potion right away, but the impact was still making my hands throb. I opened and closed them over and over, but the pain wouldn’t go away. One of Sora’s potions might have completely cured me, but I’d taken a normal potion instead, so I was stuck with it.

“Want to drink another potion for good measure?” Druid suggested.

“I’ll be okay. The wounds are all healed.”

“But your hands still hurt, right? Maybe we should take a few of Sora’s potions with us when we go out from now on. They could completely cure you of the throbbing pain from the impact as well, right?”

Even Druid was thinking Sora’s potions would be more effective.

“Mr. Druid, I’m fine, really. Besides, we can’t risk getting caught carrying even a few of Sora’s sparkly potions.”

I looked at him and saw that his eyes were filled with worry as he stared at my hands. I wasn’t sure why, but he had a very guilty aura about him.

“Ivy, we should still take tiny bottles of Sora’s and Flame’s potions with us just in case. I know we would be much safer that way. Okay?”

“Okay… Yeah, you’re right. We’ll take a little bottle of each.”

Druid looked relieved by my answer. He must have really been quite nervous about it. When I fell, he’d probably tried to catch me, but with one arm missing, he didn’t get there in time. He looked a bit stunned by the whole ordeal. It didn’t bother me, really. It was my fault for tripping and falling in the first place, but I’m sure a part of Druid hadn’t sorted his feelings yet.

“Pu! Pu!”

Hm? Sora sounds mad. “What’s wrong?” I picked up the slime, and it swallowed my hands whole.

“Oh, right!” Druid and I gasped in unison.

Of course! I shouldn’t have taken Sora’s potion; I should’ve just let it heal me directly. Druid and I looked at each other and laughed.

“That must’ve been why Sora was circling around you earlier, Ivy. It wanted you to notice.”

That’s right. Sora was moving around me all this time instead of running off to play.

“Pu!” Sora bounced away from my hands…and they no longer hurt.

“Thanks, Sora. And sorry I didn’t notice you sooner.”

“Pu!” Sora sassed me. I apologized again, and it replied with “Pu! Pu, puuu.”

Okay, it forgave me. Thank goodness. I watched Sora as it tumbled away to play with Ciel.

“Are you all right now?”

“Yeah, the throbbing is completely gone.”

Druid gently took my hand, then smiled in relief, which was comforting for me to see. Okay, now that my hands don’t hurt anymore, let’s go check on those traps.

“Mr. Druid, hurry up! I wanna see if we caught anything!”

“Ahh, sure thing.” Druid looked a little surprised to see how eager I was, but he smiled, got his bearings, and we took off.

When we arrived where our traps were, we took a look around. We’d set the traps in places where we’d thought the snow wouldn’t cover them, such as under the trees. Druid had chosen the spots, but unfortunately, they’d all gotten buried under the snow. We decided to check on the traps closest to us first.

“Oh! Is this what we’re looking for?” The first trap I checked had a bright-white monster in it that looked like a wild rabbit. The only differences were the color and the fangs in its mouth.

“Ah, yes. This is a little monster called a shiusa. Watch out for the fangs. They bite.”

“Okay.”

So it’s called a shiusa. But wow, it really does look just like a wild rabbit. It’s got the same long ears and big eyes. Well, wild rabbits don’t have fangs, though. Anyway, I’ll just knock it out and put it in my bag. Gee, I’m a well-seasoned trapper, aren’t I?

We checked all our traps and found we had six shiusa in all. It was a decent catch. Too bad we didn’t get any hatsuri.

“It’s been a while since I’ve hunted with traps like this. It’s fun,” Druid said.

“Why haven’t you done it lately?”

“Well, the last time I hunted with traps was when I first became an adventurer. One of the senior adventurers taught me. So this is probably only my second or third time trapping, I think?”

That’s right, I remember he said adventurers don’t usually hunt with traps. I wonder why that is? It’s a pretty good way of hunting, if you know how to do it.

“Why don’t adventurers set traps, sir?”

“Well…I’m sure they used to in the past, but using a sword to hunt eventually just became common practice.”

“Huh. Well, that’s a shame. Trapping is a safe and effective way to hunt if you’re just starting out as an adventurer.”

“I won’t argue with you there. Oh!” Druid looked at me. “The adventurer who taught me how to trap was around the same age as my mentor. Maybe trapping is something only adventurers in that generation know about? The younger ones can’t teach anyone a skill they don’t have.”

“Oh, okay.”

So I guess nobody’s around to teach trapping. But I really do think it’s a great beginner-level skill for new adventurers. As long as you do a good job setting your traps, your prey does all the work for you. It’d be a shame for the art to die.

“Okay, let’s butcher our monsters and get back to the village.”

“Good idea. Butchering meat in this weather sure is tough.”

It was cold, to put it mildly. I usually rinsed my meat in the river, and that was the hardest part about it. In summer, though, it was a welcome chore.

“Since washing the meat is just about all I’m good for, let me handle that,” Druid said.

“But it’s the hardest part of the job.”

“I’ll be fine.”

We let Ciel guide us to the river, then got to work butchering. All I had to do was cut the meat, so I felt like I had a rather easy job.

“Does this look good?” Druid asked, handing me the thoroughly washed carcasses.

“It’s perfect.” I wrapped the meat in bana leaves and put it in my magic bag. Our tasks for the day were now completed.

“Okay, as much as I’d love to take a break, wanna go to town and sell this meat?”

“Sure.”

Oh, wait! Sol needs to go to the dump to eat. Can we just come back later?

“What’s wrong?”

“I want to go to the dump so Sol can eat, but shouldn’t we go to the butcher first?”

“Huh?! Err, well…”

“Pefu! Pefu!”

I heard a muffled cry from my bag made by somebody who was probably listening in on our conversation. It seemed upset, but it was also so tiny that it sounded adorable. Druid and I found ourselves laughing over it.

“Pefu! Pefu! Pefu!”

Which only made it angrier.

“Sorry, Sol. Is it okay if we sell the meat first, then come back?”

“Ivy, can’t we just go to the dump first?”

Huh? But the meat… Oh, that’s right! We put it in a common magic bag, so it won’t go bad. I still couldn’t shake the conventional but incorrect wisdom I’d heard at the start of my journey that meat could still go bad in common magic bags.

“Sorry, Sol. I let the wrong information about the common magic bag fool me.”

“Pehhh.” It sounded annoyed.

I almost laughed again, but I managed to restrain myself. Druid also had a hand to his mouth and was somehow keeping it together. After we saved ourselves from the brink of a laughing fit, we headed for the dump.

“Common ones sure do make life easier,” I said.

“Hm? Oh, you mean common magic bags?”

“Yeah. All these years, I’d always go straight to the butcher after hunting to keep the meat fresh.”

“That makes sense. Common magic bags are the only kind that stop time.”

Now that our meat worries were over, it was time to go to the dump and feed our slimes. And in the meantime, we would need to figure out how we were going to handle Sol’s meals moving forward.