The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 6 - Chapter 295

Chapter 295:

My Current Status?

DRUID AND PRIYA were having a wild time exchanging stories about Druid’s mentor and Priya’s former guild master. Some of their tales were bone-chilling and made me wonder how either of them were still alive, but I supposed adventurers just had to be tough like that. If that were true, then I definitely wasn’t cut out to be an adventurer and grateful that Druid had registered us with the merchant guild instead. As I sat there, petting Sora and Ciel on my lap, tales of their cruel…adventures? trials?…made me do some introspection.

“By the way, did your problem with the merchant guild master get resolved?” Druid asked.

Oh, right, that was a thing. The guild master…stole magic stones from adventurers, or something like that? And lots of his crimes were exposed, too? Huh? Wait, what exactly happened?

“Oh, that’s right, we didn’t make that public yet.”

“It’s not public? Then you don’t need to tell us,” Druid said.

I nodded in agreement. If they had some reason to keep the information secret, there was no need for outsiders like us to know about it.

“Oh, I think it’s all right for me to tell you both.”

Uh, but we really don’t need to know.

“Our suspicions turned out to be true, and he was convicted.”

Oh, okay.

“Well, that’s good to hear. Congratulations,” Druid said.

Yeah, at least that means one of the problems in this village has gone away.

“Actually, that summoning circle you found was an important piece of evidence against him.”

Summoning circle? Does he mean the one in the cave?

“Was that summoning circle there before the merchant guild master was caught?”

“Oh, no. After he was caught, somebody who was trying to take over his gang cast that circle. They had already drawn up a plan, and he was just carrying it out.”

“Oh, interesting. If it’s classified, you don’t need to tell me, but what exactly was that summoning circle supposed to do?”

“It forced those affected by it to obey orders. If our guardian deity had stayed in that circle much longer, I fear it would have become enslaved by those villains. It is truly a blessing that Ciel the Great was there. If our guardian deity had fallen into the hands of criminals, we would have had a crisis on our hands.”

That…isn’t exactly something we should know about? Huh. Poor Druid is so uncomfortable. Er, don’t look at me, Druid, I can’t help you. I think I’ll just avoid eye contact…

“Wow, that’s a lot… Well, I’m glad you got everything under control,” Druid said.

Yikes, look at how tense his face is. Hey, don’t glare at me, Druid. You’re the one who asked him.

“Oh!” Priya gasped.

“What’s wrong?” Druid asked.

“That was…classified information.”

“Yeah, we know,” Druid and I sighed in unison. Priya really was just too easygoing around us.

“Pu! Pu, puuu.”

Mrrrow.

“Hm? Hee hee, oh, I’m okay. Thanks, guys.”

In addition to Ciel and Sora, Flame was awake, staring at me from the bed. Did they notice how exhausted I look? It’s sure sweet of them to worry about me like that.

“Pefu!” Next thing I knew, Sol had woken up from its nap on the table and joined in on the staring.

“Thanks to you, too, Sol.” I gave Sol a few pats, and it jiggled happily and softened its eyes. Huh? Is this the first time Sol has looked happy like that? Behold! A new Sol emotion! I looked up abruptly to see the guild master and Druid staring at me with inscrutable expressions.

“She really is extraordinary.”

“Ha ha ha!”

I just know my face is tense as a board right now.

“Oh dear, would you look at the time? I have to get back to work,” Priya stammered, looking nervously at the clock. It was indeed dinnertime. After thanking us over and over and shaking our hands for some reason, Guild Master Priya finally went on his way.

I sighed heavily, not from physical fatigue but from mental exhaustion.

“Are you tired, Ivy? Are you okay?”

“Finding out he’s my fan out of nowhere made me so nervous. And then he had to go and blab secret intel to us… I’m beat.”

“Ha ha ha!”

“It’s not funny! I was freaked out.”

“Hmm…well, it’s just a hunch, but I’m pretty sure Captain Tableau is a fan of yours, too.”

“What?!”

“Adventurers tend to look up to people who are incredibly strong or who’ve tamed monsters they admire. Most of them don’t become such rabid fans, but some of them do tend to get quite enamored.”

“Like the captain and the guild master?” I was hoping he would say no.

“Yeah, they’re pretty close to that level.”

Arrrgh.

“Well, when you look at all your accomplishments, you’ve done some pretty extraordinary things, Ivy.”

Extraordinary things? I thought about it, but nothing was coming to mind. Even the stuff Priya had been talking about earlier was just a string of good luck on my part. And I owed most of it to Ciel and Sora, anyway. I hadn’t really done anything.

“From your face, it looks like you don’t get it,” Druid said.

“Yeah.”

“Well, this is going to be important for you in the future, so let’s talk about it over dinner.”

“Yes, let’s. I’m starving.”

I really want to have time for a long talk tonight, so I’ll cook a simple rice bowl dish. Maybe I’ll add some braised root vegetables, too.

We got to work cooking, and dinner was done in no time. I’d gotten used to cooking together with Druid by then, even though it had been so clunky at first.

Then we sat down to eat and marveled over how rice bowls worked well with any kind of meat. I’d experimented a lot, and everything was a winner so far. We finished eating and washed the dishes, yet another thing I was now used to doing with a partner.

“Okay, let’s make some tea and take it back to our room,” Druid said.

“Aren’t you drinking wine tonight?”

“I don’t need it every night like I used to. Now I have something else that fills my heart with joy.”

“Hm?” Druid had added something at the end, but I hadn’t heard it. I looked at him and saw he was smiling. I assumed it was nothing I needed to worry about.

“Okay, Ivy, first I’ll talk you through all the things you’ve done.”

It’s weird that he has to tell me about things I did myself for me to understand his point… Am I really that dense?

“When you helped take down that crime organization, Ivy, you cleared the names of Hatow’s former guild master and captain of the watch. And as we learned today, you also helped the kidnapped children get home safe. Your involvement must have given you a huge place in Priya’s and Tableau’s hearts, Ivy.”

“But what about the other heroes who were involved?” I didn’t take down the organization on my own. I mean, all I did was help.

“All the other heroes involved were just that: famous adventurers who were already thought of as heroes. Do you see what I mean, Ivy?”

I nodded in reply. He did have a point.

“So, when you—an unknown person working in secret—joined those heroes, you stood out. And with a little digging, they found out you’re still a child. A child helped save them and theirs. It was kind of a shock to them. And why wouldn’t it be? In one fell swoop, you solved two big problems they couldn’t handle on their own.”

Hearing him say it like that made me start to understand why Hatow’s leaders idolized me.

“Then when they met you in person, you turned out to be even littler than they’d imagined.”

All I could do was stare.

“Ivy, I’d appreciate it if you stopped glaring at me.”

“Sorry.” C’mon, you called me “little”!

“And even though you look little, you talk like a mature adult. What’s more, you happened to give them affordably priced magic stones they could use to solve Hatow’s energy crisis before it started. On top of everything else, you’ve tamed rare monsters they could only dream of—even an adandara, for crying out loud. Furthermore, you found a cave where they could mine the magic stones that power this village, and you rescued their guardian deity. And as the cherry on top, you helped them solve the problem with their corrupt merchant guild master.”

Umm…hm? But Druid was with me when I found the cave and the guardian deity! So I think it would make just as much sense for them to be his fans.

“And no, they wouldn’t be my fans. Sora, Ciel, Flame… You were the one who tamed them, Ivy.”

All I could do was sigh. I understood what he was saying, but a part of me wished I didn’t.

“Now, what I’m about to say is the most important part.”

“There’s more?”

“I’m pretty sure you have fans in the other towns and villages—not as extreme as Tableau and Priya—but you have them. I was a little worried about it before, but after the latest happenings, I’ve decided everything is okay.”

“I…have other fans?”

“Yes. Bolorda and the others you worked with all got huge boosts to their reputations because they helped crush that crime organization. That nobleman who aided you… What was his name again?”

“Lord Foronda?”

“Right. I heard rumors about him. The king has really taken a liking to him and offered to let him court the princess.”

Whoa, now that’s impressive.

“He turned down the offer, apparently; didn’t want to leave town. But the princess really fancies him and is trying to win him over. At least, that’s the rumor.”

Even for a rumor, it’s still impressive.

“Since you share a space with such big names, the heads of towns and villages all over are bound to notice you. The common townsfolk won’t, though, since a lot of this information is classified. We really have to thank that head watchman who kept it under wraps.”

Argh… Can somebody please give me a moment to breathe?