The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 6 - Chapter 310

Chapter 310:

A Grateful Realization

“GOOD MORNING.”

“Hm? Oh, hi. Glad you’re here.”

When we set foot into Rose’s shop, she and Delos greeted us with smiles. We were all packed for our trip and scheduled to leave in five days, so we were making the rounds to say goodbye to everyone we’d met in Hatow.

“We’re really gonna miss you, hon. When are ya leaving again?”

“In five days, ma’am,” I answered.

“Oh, how time does fly!” Rose exclaimed with tears in her voice.

Hearing her made me feel melancholic. She’d really helped us out a lot with our magic items.

“Say, I have a little somethin’ for ya. This is the addresses of all the items dealers I know in and around the capital.”

Rose handed us two sheets of paper. On them were written the names of all the shopkeepers she knew, plus the locations and names of their stores.

“If ya ever need anything, go to one of ’em. They all know me. They ain’t perfect, but rest assured, they’ll never sell ya useless items.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Druid bowed. I hastily did the same. We really had made some wonderful connections here.

“That reminds me, I heard Priya asked ya to keep in touch by faax?”

“He asked Ivy specifically,” Druid clarified.

When we were making our rounds thanking everyone and saying goodbye before our departure, Priya shook my hand hard and begged me to write to him. His eagerness made me a little nervous, but luckily we finally got him to calm down.

“Then Tableau complained that she liked Priya better than him.”

“Um…so I’m going to include letters to Captain Tableau in my faxes to Guild Master Priya, so that should be enough.”

I guess I’ll also send letters to Rose and Delos through Priya.

“Oh, by the way, is it okay if I send letters to you and Mr. Delos through the guild master, ma’am?” I asked. If she wanted me to do it a different way, I’d be happy to.

“You wanna write to us, too, hon? Aw, that’s so sweet. It’ll probably ruffle Priya’s feathers, but I don’t mind.”

Ruffle his feathers? But when I ran the idea by him earlier, his feathers didn’t seem that ruffled.

“I think it’ll be okay. When I asked him about it, he said we could.”

Rose and Delos exchanged sly grins when I said that. Why? Did I say something funny? I looked at Druid, but he just smiled gently back at me. No matter what was happening around me, Druid’s smile was always so reassuring.

“Don’t worry, Ivy. It’s nothing you should be concerned about.”

“Okay.”

Still, it was impressive how long my fax list had gotten. I was happy to have more friends. I was a little troubled because none of them were my age, but I couldn’t help that I didn’t meet any other children. I had exchanged a few words with the other kids at the inn, but something always felt a little off to me about it. I’d talked it over with Druid and he said it probably had something to do with Past Me. My manner of thinking implied that I was an adult. And if that were the case, then I just had to let it go. If it weren’t for Past Me, I wouldn’t even be here today. The person I used to be in my past life was another precious member of my family.

“I think we’d better head out,” Druid said.

“Yeah.”

“Where’re y’all headed next?” Rose asked, taking Flame off her lap and setting it on the table. Flame had come to know Rose as the nice person who let it play with magic stones to its heart’s content, so whenever we came to visit, it immediately went over to play with her.

“Thanks… Flame, did you say goodbye?”

“Te! Ryu, ryuuu!”

All that tumbling and jiggling on the table showed Flame was happy. I gave its head a couple of pats before putting it into the bag.

“We’re off to the clothing boutique, Modd. We bought some light coats for spring, so we’re going in for a fitting.”

“Ooh, Modd’s got lots of great clothes. And you’re pretty, Ivy, so you’d better dress up nice.”

“Huh?! Um…thanks, ma’am.”

The coat Druid had picked out for me was incredibly pretty, so I was quite excited to go try it on.

“Looks like ya got a good haul.”

“Huh?” Druid said.

“Didn’t ya notice, hon? Ivy’s got a nice big smile on her face.”

Am I really being that dramatic? I pressed my hands to my cheeks. I looked at Druid and saw that he was smiling earnestly.

“I’m glad you like it,” he said.

Druid’s smile made me smile back. It really was so soothing to my soul.

“Thanks for picking it out for me. Well, I’m going to go fetch Sora and Ciel.”

I looked around Rose’s shop and spotted the two in the corner of the room. I curiously approached them, wondering what they were up to. As I peered at them from behind, I saw them staring at a tiny insect. That was all they were doing: staring. Is it really that fun for them?

“Can you guys wrap things up? We have to head to the next shop.”

They looked at me and promptly jumped back into their bag. Maybe their insect watching wasn’t all that exciting after all.

The day Druid picked out my spring coat, I also selected one spring item for myself. All my life, I’d always had to go without the things I wanted. A family, a warm home, a gentle touch, a cozy atmosphere, relationships, enough food to eat, new clothes, new shoes, safety. These were things that I’d never had, no matter how hard I wished for them. It hurt me badly for years and years.

Then one day…I realized something. I thought I’d stopped wishing for anything. But I hadn’t truly stopped; I’d given up on wishing for things to keep my heart from breaking. As long as I didn’t want anything, then my heart wouldn’t break when I didn’t get it. I wouldn’t get hurt. I convinced myself that I wasn’t going without—I simply didn’t wish for anything in the first place. And I needed that mindset at the time, so I don’t regret having it.

“Besides, it wasn’t until very recently that I even realized I’d given up on wishing.”

I muttered the words quietly, so nobody heard them. But Sora stared up at me from halfway inside the bag. I chuckled and gave its head a pat.

“I’m okay now.”

This winter, I realized that everything I had given up on was now in my grasp. Whenever I tripped and fell on the snowy roads and Druid picked me up, I felt how gentle his touch was. He’d been by my side for so long, but it wasn’t until then that I realized “This is the gentle touch I’ve wished for all my life.” And when those words popped into my head, I understood that I had wanted it all along. It wasn’t that I didn’t need it…I had just given up on it.

But the gentle touch I wished for all my life sometimes took the form of a worried hand squeezing mine. If I squeezed that hand, it squeezed back. At last, I realized that I finally had what I’d given up on. A family…our “warm home” was technically an inn, but still our home…a gentle touch…a cozy atmosphere…relationships…enough food to eat…new clothes…new shoes…safety. Druid gave me everything I ever wished for… No, it wasn’t just him. Everyone I met…they gave me everything I ever wished for, again and again.

“It took me far too long to realize that.”

Druid noticed just how all those years of doing without had warped my mind. Otherwise, someone as considerate as he was, someone who always put my feelings first, would never have chosen clothes for me without letting me give any input. Without knowing it, I probably did something in Baluka’s shop that tipped him off. Or maybe in living with me all those months—or even before then—Druid noticed that tendency of mine.

“I never even thought he could look so happy.”

The day we went shopping for my spring wardrobe, I tried to pick out something pretty for myself. But when I held the blouse in my hand, I felt uncomfortable for some reason even though I thought it was very pretty. So I convinced myself that I didn’t need it and put it back on the shelf. But then…

“Gee, that’s really pretty. I’d love to see you wear it, Ivy.”

Druid handed his things to the shop clerk and came back to my side. I was a little startled. As I stared up blankly at him, he looked down at me in confusion and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Uh, nothing. You just came back sooner than I expected.”

“Yeah, but it’s been ten minutes since you… Never mind. Anyway, that blouse is beautiful. I think you’ll look great in it, Ivy.”

When I saw how happy Druid looked, I took another look at the item I’d put back. Its colors and the embroidery really were beautiful.

“Why don’t you look at yourself with it in the mirror?” Druid asked, taking me by the hand and walking me over to the shop mirror. Then he took the blouse from my hands and held it up to me. I timidly took it back from him and held it up again.

“Yeah. You’ve been becoming a lot more ladylike lately, Ivy, so I know you’ll look lovely in that.”

I looked in the mirror…and a bewildered girl stared back at me.

“Come on, Ivy! Smile! That blouse looks much better with a smile to complement it.”

Druid’s gentle hand softly tousled my hair. I looked at myself in the mirror again…and now I was smiling happily.

“Think I can pull it off?”

“Oh, definitely. I guarantee it.”

I had Druid’s personal guarantee…and it was really pretty. I suddenly felt a desperate need for the blouse, so I decided to buy it. When I handed it to Baluka, Druid gave my hair a rough tousle. I whirled around, trying to resist him, but then I noticed the biggest, happiest smile I’d ever seen on his face. It was such a powerful expression that I felt a little embarrassed…but I caught myself smiling back.

“You know, this is the first time I’ve ever bought any clothes simply because I wanted them.”

I’d always had to make excuses whenever I bought something before. That winter was the first time I’d ever even bought clothes, for a start. I didn’t think it was warm enough to wear my new blouse just yet, but I couldn’t wait to wear it for Druid.