The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 6 - Chapter 296

Chapter 296:

Nothing to Worry About

A CUP OF TEA calmed me right down.

“Are you okay? Your face is kind of green.”

“It’s just, hearing all those unexpected things…it’s put my brain in a whirl.”

“Don’t think too deeply about it, okay? Just understand that there are people out there who worship you. It’s nothing special; there are plenty of adventurers who have fans, so you don’t need to worry about it.”

I saw his point, but still… I felt like the “me” that existed in Priya’s mind was leagues apart from the real me. And the thought that there were other people out there who thought the same way about me was a little unnerving.

“Well, I think your fans tend to be the top dogs of villages and towns, not the other adventurers.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

“Well, most of the intel about you is classified, Ivy. Why would anyone else but the highest brass know about you?”

Ah, right. I forgot.

“So in a way, Ivy, your fans are somewhat extraordinary people themselves.”

“Why’re you saying that? You’re scaring me! But then again, how do we know I have fans other than Captain Tableau and Guild Master Priya anyway?”

“Well…maybe not. Why don’t you ask Otolwa’s guild master?”

“Ask him what?”

“If there are people asking about you. If people want to know about you, that means you’re the talk of the town.”

That made sense. But if I found out I was the talk of the town, that would confirm my worst fear: I had fans. Well, no, I guess not necessarily. All it would mean is that I’m getting people’s attention.

“Guild masters and head watchmen are pretty good at sniffing out fans by the way they act and talk. We might be able to find out from them just how many fans you’ve got.”

Village leaders really are extraordinary people. Imagine being able to notice things like that. I remember the guild master and head watchman of Otolwa did understand me and help me a lot, even when I didn’t say that much to them. I don’t exactly need to find out how many fans I have, though…

“But you know, it really was the right call to include your name on the list of persons of merit. That way, if you ever got caught up in any trouble, the worst-case scenario would never happen to you.”

“What’s the worst-case scenario?”

“Like, if you got into some kind of jam and the blame was placed on you, your investigation would be handled with care, since you’re listed as a person of merit.”

“Oh, is that how it works?” Had my whole position in life really changed that dramatically just because my name was put on a list?

“That’s right. Also, the investigators would want to contact the people on that list to find out what kind of person you are.”

“I wouldn’t want to drag them into it.”

“Actually, I think the people who put their names on that list were specifically thinking that it might come to something like that someday.”

Wait…what does he mean by that? They put down their names knowing something might happen?

“If they get contacted because of you, that would mean you’d gotten into some sort of trouble. That way, even if you were imprisoned, they could come to your rescue. Do you see what I mean?”

“Yeah…but wouldn’t they be too busy working?” I doubt they could just show up to help at a moment’s notice.

“I think if something were to happen to you, they would drop everything and come running. At least, that’s the impression I get from the way you’ve talked about them.”

Is that really true?

“Wouldn’t you do the same for them, Ivy?”

“Huh?!”

“If any of your fellow heroes were in trouble, what would you do?”

What would I do if Druid or Rattloore or any of the other people I’ve met were imprisoned? 

“There wouldn’t be much I could do…but I’d drop everything and go to them.”

“They feel the same way about you.”

Oh… Hee hee, that’s so sweet… Wait, huh? We were talking about fans. How did we end up here?

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, just thinking we got off topic there.”

“Hm? Oh, right…we were talking about fans. Well, they’re harmless, Ivy. Not many of them get as excited as Guild Master Priya.”

He said “not many” rather than “none”… Well, as long as they’re harmless, I guess it’s fine. Okay, I think I’ve calmed down now.

“I guess you’re right. And there’s no point in imagining a bunch of doom and gloom, either.”

“Exactly. Just remember that you probably have some fans out there.”

I was so shocked by the news that I had fans that my bewildered brain thought it was a problem, but it really was nothing to worry about. People like Guild Master Priya were apparently a special case. So even though I might have fans, I decided not to worry about it any further.

“Mr. Druid, are you a fan of anyone?”

“Me? I don’t think I am. Oh, now that you mention it, Captain Oght, that man who signed off as your guarantor, has quite a few fans.”

“What?! He does? I mean, I knew he was a famous adventurer, but still…”

“Yeah, he led the party that successfully defeated the berserk dragon. Younger adventurers became his fans for that.”

“Wooow…wait a minute, I have a truly extraordinary person as my guarantor, don’t I?”

Defeating a berserk dragon, huh? It’s hard to imagine that from the guy who kept running away from his work.

“Ha ha ha. Ivy?”

“Yes?”

“Er, please don’t tell me you haven’t noticed this…”

“Um, haven’t noticed what, sir?”

“Basically, everyone you know has been on a list of persons of merit once or twice. That includes Captain Oght, too.”

Wow. I had no idea. All the people on those persons of merit lists are my friends and acquaintances. And Captain Oght is one of them as well.

“It seems like everyone I touch is extraordinary.”

“You’re blessed with that quality, Ivy.”

None of it feels real to me, though.

“Okay, let’s take our baths and get to bed.”

“Sure. Oh, wait! We were still going to talk about Sol’s problem.”

“Oh, no…it can wait for tomorrow, right?”

“Good idea.”

My brain is just exhausted from all the thinking it had to do today. What’re we doing tomorrow? Oh, that’s right, we’re going to the forest with Priya and showing him where Ciel found the bearth. Then we’re going to the dump to get Sol its food.

I yawned loudly.

“You sound sleepy.”

“Yeah, I’m a little tired.”

“Be careful not to nod off in the bath. You’ll drown.”

And in spite of Druid’s warning, I did nod off a little in the bath. Thank goodness there was someone in there with me to wake me up.

“Good morning!”

“Guild Master Priya…good morning.”

“Morning. Um, we were supposed to meet at the gate, right?”

As soon as we stepped out of our inn’s front door, we came face-to-face with Priya, who we were expecting to find at the village gate, with a huge smile on his face. Druid’s expression, meanwhile, was quite stiff.

“Yes, I’m sorry,” Priya nodded in reply. “I just got so excited thinking about spending time with Ciel the Great!”

It seemed that Vice-Captain Pith wasn’t the only man with a weakness for rarities. As we walked toward the gate, Druid and I exchanged a chuckle over the happy humming noise our companion was making. We greeted the gatekeepers and headed into the forest. As we got closer to our destination, I searched for human auras. Based on the conversations we’d had the previous day, there might be other adventurers nearby.

“I think we’re safe here. The path that leads to the cave is a little out of the way.”

I could sense many adventurer auras on the road to the cave, so I figured we should probably put a little more distance between us and them before taking my creatures out of their bag.

“I think you’re right,” Priya agreed.

“Once we go a little farther, I’ll take out my creatures.”

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea,” Druid agreed.

We walked to a safe spot, scanning for auras as we went.

“And without further ado…”

I opened the lid of my bag, and they sprang out of it. As soon as Ciel emerged, it shapeshifted into its adandara form and began to stretch. Sora was right beside it, doing the same thing. And Flame was, as usual, sound asleep inside the bag. Sol had jumped out and was leaping straight toward Ciel’s head. It landed gracefully and jiggled with glee.

“It really is an extraordinary sight.” Guild Master Priya murmured, staring dreamily at the three creatures.

“It sure is. Well, let’s not stand around here,” Druid said. “Wehave places to go. Lead the way, Ciel.”

Mrrrow.

Ciel meowed happily at Druid and jumped to the helm. Ciel had told me the night before that the spot where it found the bearth was about a three to four hour walk away from the village. But Druid pointed out that it might take longer since there was a lot of snow.

Okay, let’s go see those bearth! I sure would love to see a living one if I could.