The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 6 - Chapter 304

Chapter 304:

Closer and Closer to Springtime

“MR. DRUID, look at that!”

I spotted some flower buds on our way to the dump to gather food for Sol. The ground was still covered in snow and the winds were still chilly, but there were clear signs of springtime appearing all around us.

“Wow, how about that? I guess winter is finally coming to an end.”

“Yeah.”

“I could sure do without snow for a while.”

“Me, too.”

It truly was an ordeal. If there were a blizzard, being stranded for only three days was a treat. Sometimes we were stuck at home for seven days straight. The snow would pile higher and higher until it almost covered the second-floor windows. And Sol would get so small! Oh, I panicked whenever that happened. 

I’d pray day after day, “Stupid snow, just go away!” And when the snow finally did stop on the eighth day, we’d go to the dump, trembling at the height of the drifts as we went. I didn’t think I’d ever felt a greater rush of relief than the times when I’d see Sol start eating on those days. I’d truly lived through a harsh winter.

There was so much snow in the village that I heard some houses had been crushed by it. Some people had even died. But there were much fewer deaths than previously forecasted, and Captain Tableau and Guild Master Priya’s reputations were boosted as a result. Yes, fewer deaths was definitely a good thing.

“We’ll have to start getting ready to move on to the next village,” Druid remarked.

“Oh! Yes, that’s right.”

Yeah…when the snow melts, it will be easier for us to travel. The next village… I wonder what it’ll be like.

“Ivy, is there anything in particular you need to do in the next village?”

“Not really. Why do you ask?”

The next village over from Hatow is Hatata, I think. Right, and the next village over from that is Hatada. Since the names were all so similar, I’d memorized them in a chunk.

“In the third village from here, there’s a festival in April called the Festival of Colors where you pray for good health. Do you want to go? People come from all the surrounding villages, so it’s a pretty big event.”

“The third village from here? Festival of Colors?”

What is the third village from here…? Huh, I don’t remember. Maybe I forgot it because Hatata and Hatada stood out so much to me.

“What’s that village called?” I asked.

“Hatahi Village.”

Oh, that’s right! It’s Hatahi. If my map is correct, it’s a big enough village that you could just call it a town. You know, I don’t think I’ve ever been to a festival. Ratomi Village didn’t exactly have them. We all just got together and had a little party when it was spring or fall.

“Do you like festivals, Ivy?”

“I’ve never actually been to one. What’s this Festival of Colors like?”

“People make little cakes of powdered dye and throw them at each other. It’s a really lively event.”

People throw little cakes at each other? Sounds like a painful festival to me.

“Does this festival hurt?”

“What? Does it hurt…? Ohh! No, no, it doesn’t hurt. When the cake hits you, powdered dye explodes out of it and colors your clothes. It doesn’t hurt, but it can get pretty intense, since your clothes get colors all over them.”

I’m not sure why…but I have a feeling I’ve seen a festival like that before. It’s probably one of Past Me’s memories. I can’t quite remember the name of that festival, but…it does sound like I’d enjoy it.

“I think that’d be a lot of fun.”

“Yeah. I’ve been to it twice before, and I was covered in powdered dye all over, even on my face.”

It really did sound like a good time.

“Can anyone come to the festival?”

“Yeah…my only worry is the snow.”

“The snow?”

“Well, we can’t hit the road until it melts a little, and the festival is in April.”

Was Hatahi Village really that far away? From the map, it looked like we could make it there in about two months.

“I think we could leave as late as February and still make it by April,” I said. “Unless the map is wrong?”

“No, we would definitely make it on time for the festival. But I want to make sure we have a place to sleep first; that’s why we need to get there a month before April.”

“A whole month before April? Are there really that many people there?”

I supposed that meant Hatahi got so crowded in April that it was impossible to get an inn.

“Yeah, people travel from all the nearby towns and villages. This festival is more popular than any of the other ones in the area, so it’s heavily attended.”

Yikes…this sure sounds like quite a big festival. Now I really wanna go.

“Ooh, I want to go so bad now!”

“Okay…in that case, we’ll have to think of a way to reach Hatahi by March.”

“Yeah.”

I’m not sure why, but I feel very giddy.

“Oh, look!” Druid said. “The snow we melted yesterday is still gone.”

I followed his gaze and saw the part of the dump we’d melted the previous day. Even though new snow had been piling up every single day thus far, none was there that day. Spring truly was coming, little by little.

“Okay then, how about we make some travel plans while we try for another hunt?” Druid suggested.

“Good idea. It should be safe by now.”

Hunting in the winter just didn’t work. Any traps we set would get buried in the snow and it was impossible to catch any shiusa, so we’d been waiting until the snow let up a little. After I made sure that Sol had started feeding, I went off to find the things I’d need to make traps.

“People sure throw away a lot of useful stuff,” Druid remarked.

“Huh?”

“Well, I always just assumed you had to buy the things you need to make traps.”

You know, I’m sure that’s what most people do. I just got used to going straight to the dump because I never had any money. Come to think of it, we do have money now.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Druid.”

“Hm?”

“For making you pick up trash.”

Druid was a strong adventurer. He would have definitely bought his trap supplies at shops… Wait a minute, he didn’t hunt with traps before he met me anyway.

“No, no, don’t sweat it. It’s actually fun looking for treasures and making our own traps.”

“It is?”

“Uh-huh…since lots of the things here are broken, they’re all unique in their own way, aren’t they?”

“Yeah.”

You didn’t usually find intact goods mixed in with the trash, so you needed quite a bit of ingenuity.

“It’s fun to think up a trap, build it, and then have your prey fall into it,” Druid said as he tested the strength of a broken basket. “I’m having a lot of fun with this, so don’t worry about me.”

“I think you’ve gotten the hang of it, too. You have a better catch rate than me now.”

The first time we set traps, Druid had been so bad at it that I caught more prey than he did. But he must have learned some tricks that first time, because his traps had evolved with each passing hunting trip until he became more successful than I was. In fact, after our third day hunting together, I never beat him once. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was still a little bitter about it.

“It’s because of those books you let me borrow, Ivy. They’re quite impressive.”

“Yeah, the fortune-teller gave them to me.”

Those books were still helping me out after all this time.

“Puuu!” Sora suddenly cried.

My eyes darted in the direction of the voice, and there was Sora, casting its gaze outside the dump. Ciel, who was off hunting, wasn’t there. I searched for auras, but I didn’t sense anything coming toward us.

“Sora, what’s wrong?”

I looked at Druid, but he only shook his head back at me. He didn’t know, either. But his hand was already on his sword, just in case.

I turned to check on Flame and Sol, only to discover they were already by my feet. I was worried that something was wrong, so I quickly put them in their bag. Then I picked up on an aura. It was still distant, but it was approaching us.

“Mr. Druid, it must be a monster! I don’t know what it is, but it’s awfully fast! I don’t think we can outrun it!”

Watching our feet on the treacherous terrain, we monitored the aura as we fled the dump in a hurry. The quickly approaching creature sent shivers down my spine. It was fast—too fast. I hadn’t thought there were any monsters that fast around these parts.

“Sora!” I called the slime over to me and swooped it into the bag. Now we should be a bit safer. In less than a minute, the monster had come very close to us.

“Grrr!”

A low voice rumbled through the trees. We were definitely in danger. Druid stepped in front of me, sword at the ready. Footsteps crunched in the snow. I heard snow falling from the trees, agitated by the monster’s swift approach. The noises were all so new to me that my heart banged in my ears.

“Garrr!”

Then I saw a giant monster running at us from the woods with tremendous speed. My eyes darted around, looking for a tree we could scurry up.

“Ivy, don’t. This monster can climb trees.”

I frowned. There really was nowhere to run, and the monster was closing in on us so quickly that I had no time to think. How could it possibly be so fast? It just wasn’t normal. Spotting us, the creature bared its fangs.

“Ivy…stay back.”

The magic stone in Druid’s sword gleamed white.