Chapter 360:
It’s a Coincidence...Right?
Outside the gate to Hatahi Village were three large horse-drawn carriages accompanied by dozens of muscular guards on horseback.
“What a procession.”
“I know. That explains why he’s famous, even in the capital.”
My dad and I had come to say our goodbyes to Lord Foronda, but the huge size of his convoy stunned us. His carriage was decorated so lavishly that it was the essence of nobility. The number of guards and horses was impressive as well. Once again, we were struck by the fact that our friend was quite an important nobleman.
Noticing us, Lord Foronda stepped down from his carriage and called out. “Ah, thank you for coming to see me off,” he said.
“Lord Foronda, thank you so much for everything.” My dad bowed to him, so I followed suit.
“Come now, don’t fret. I helped because I wanted to. Ivy, I hope you’ll send me more faaxes.”
“I will. Should I send them to Otolwa or the capital?”
Since he said he was going to the capital, should I send them there?
“I’m only stopping by the capital to put in an appearance; I’ll return to Otolwa immediately after, so please send them there.”
“Understood, sir. I’ll send them to Otolwa, then.”
“Good. You have amusing faaxes, Ivy, so I shall look forward to them.”
Amusing? Did I ever write about funny stuff in my faxes? I thought it was rather mundane, personally.
“Master, we’d better be on our way,” one of the bodyguards told him. We were out of time.
“Well, until we meet again.” Lord Foronda gave my head a gentle pat.
I smiled and nodded. “Have a safe trip.”
“I hope you’ll write to me as well, Druid.”
“I will.”
Then the carriage took off for the capital. After a while, the procession was swallowed by the trees of the forest.
“He’s gone,” I said.
“I’m gonna miss him.”
“Me, too, but we’ll see him again someday.”
Maybe it’ll be the next time we go to Otolwa…though I have a feeling he’ll be in the capital when we get there. No, that wouldn’t make sense…
“Okay, what’s the plan now?” Dad asked as we stepped back over the Hatahi border.
“I’m not sure. We don’t really have anything we need to do, right?”
“Not really. Maybe we should start packing for the road.”
We’d sure had a nice, relaxing time in Hatahi, but I was looking forward to seeing the next village.
“Sure, let’s do that.”
We headed for the village watch station. As it came into view, we noticed a crowd of people around its entrance. Had something happened? Dad and I exchanged looks.
“Looks like something happened there,” he suggested.
“Yeah, the vibe definitely doesn’t look normal.”
The crowd was diverse, with people of every age and gender. And every person there looked a little confused and a little angry.
“Let’s keep our distance. I don’t want to get involved.”
“Okay,” I agreed.
We hurried a bit away from the station.
“I didn’t feel much tension in the air, so at the very least, it’s probably not dangerous.”
We discreetly watched from a distance, and sure enough, the air wasn’t tense, but there was still a feeling of entrapment in the area that worried me.
“I don’t think any good would come from us getting involved. Let’s come back another day,” Dad suggested.
“Good idea.”
On our way back to the inn, we got the things we would need for our trip.
“You’ve grown a little more. Do your shoes still fit okay?”
I’ve grown? I looked up at my dad beside me. Huh? I really don’t feel much taller.
“Um…have I really gotten taller?” I asked.
He nodded. I stared hard up at him…and I didn’t get the sense that he was any closer in height than before. And my shoes fit just fine as well.
“I don’t need shoes. Did… Did I really get taller? I don’t get it.”
“Well…just a little.”
Oh, so just a little… I’m surprised my dad even noticed I grew at all.
“How about clothes? It’ll be summer soon, so do you need anything new?”
Summer clothes, huh…?
“Maybe some shirts. All my summer shirts from last year are a little snug now.”
My body had changed a lot over the past year. Especially now that I was eating proper meals all the time, my height had shot up. That meant all the clothes I had picked up and worn last summer were no good anymore.
“Then why don’t we buy some new ones on the way back to the inn?”
“Okay. Do you need anything, Dad?”
“Not really.”
“Miss Ivy! Mr. Druid!”
Just as we were about to step into a clothing shop we saw off Main Street, somebody called out to us. I’d noticed that a familiar aura was coming toward us, but I didn’t think he had any business with us.
“Hello, Mr. Ashley. Long time no see.”
When I turned around to greet him, Ashley looked quite flustered for some reason. I gave him a curious look, and his eyes nervously darted around. Then he said, “We need to talk… Do you have a moment?”
“Sure. Is something wrong?”
“Yes… I’m so sorry, but can we go somewhere else?”
We followed Ashley until a small plaza came into sight. There were some little boys playing there, so I figured it was probably a park. Ashley walked us in and herded us over to a corner.
“Um…it’s about that thing you discussed with me earlier, Miss Ivy.”
That thing I discussed with him earlier? What is he talking about?
“You know, how monsters should decide whether or not to break off their connection with their tamers.”
That’s right, I did say something like that when I was furious about tamers controlling their monsters by force. But did I say monsters should decide?
“What about it?” my dad asked Ashley in a strange tone.
“Well, there’s a tamer in town who’s been causing a lot of problems… And, well, he treats his monsters terribly. We’ve tried talking to him about it, but his slime’s trash-dissolving powers are so strong that nobody’s had the nerve to really put him in his place. Lately, his slime’s powers have been decreasing, and he’s been taking it out on the slime…”
Yeah, I hate this guy.
“Then something happened two days ago. When the tamers with slimes went to the dump to try to clean it up, his slime began to shine, and its taming symbol disappeared…and then the slime itself vanished, too!”
“What?!”
It vanished? Is that even a thing?
“I…don’t know what to say,” I said.
“Yes…we have no idea what happened,” Ashley said.
“He had it coming,” Druid said.
“Huh?” Ashley yelped in shock.
I also turned a surprised face to my dad. “Um…”
He sighed and said, “Monsters have feelings. I don’t know exactly how this tamer was treating his slime, but he was doing it so badly that even the other tamers who control their monsters by force thought it was cruel. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes,” Ashley answered. “I’d also seen how he behaved toward his slime, and it was a bit too much.”
“Then what happened was inevitable.”
I nodded in agreement. The tamer was responsible for it all because he hadn’t forged a relationship with his monster.
“So the other tamers got jittery and stormed into the village watch station…”
Oh, so that’s what that commotion was!
“Hmm…what about your most experienced tamers?” Druid asked. “Were they disturbed or distressed about it?”
“Huh? You mean Mr. Boug?”
So the longest-operating tamer in Hatahi Village is someone named “Boug.”
“He was… Well, I didn’t see him earlier in the crowd,” Ashley answered.
“Okay… Well, how would you describe his relationship with the monsters he’s tamed, Ashley?”
“How would I describe their relationship…? Oh, well, he cherishes his monsters! And his slimes’ waste-disposal powers have not gone down, either.”
“Then I think you already know what you should say to the other tamers.”
A somber look washed over Ashley’s face, and he nodded.
“It’s a shame that Hatahi’s most powerful slime has vanished, but let that be a catalyst for change. Reform the way the other tamers think of their monsters. I know of another town where they’re retraining their tamers.”
He must be talking about Otolwa and what Lord Foronda said.
“Reform their way of thinking… I’ll talk it over with my fellow watchmen. Sorry I acted like this; I panicked.”
I didn’t blame him for that. The very thing I’d warned him about had actually happened. And yet, it’s given Hatahi a perfect opportunity to change. What an incredible coincidence.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. Why don’t you have Boug join you when you talk to them? He’s been a tamer for a long time, and he has a lot of experience working with monsters, so his insight should be a great help to everyone.”
“Yes…I’ll go talk to Boug right now. Thank you so much.”
And with that, Ashley ran off just as frantically as he had come to us.
“What an incredible coincidence, huh?” I remarked.
“Was it a coincidence?”
“Huh?! What do you mean, Dad?”
But he just shook his head and began to walk. If it wasn’t a coincidence, then what was it?
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