The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 8 - Chapter 372

Chapter 372:

High-Level? Mid-Level?

WHEN WE GOT CLOSER to the village, the gatekeepers looked a bit relieved to see us.

“What’s this all about?”

“Dunno.”

Zinal and Garitt exchanged confused glances.

“Welcome back, folks.”

“Hi there. Do you know what happened to those wounded adventurers?”

“They were ambushed, apparently. They said they didn’t notice the monsters at all until they were right in front of their noses.”

So we were right.

“Thanks for the information,” Garitt said. “If you hear anything else, give us a yell. We’re staying at the inn Michelle, near the plaza.”

The gatekeepers looked relieved to hear that. Zinal smiled as he stepped through the gate. “I really wish they wouldn’t be so happy to have us here.”

Garitt smirked back at him. “That’s right. This village has its own elite adventurers, and we don’t want to steal their thunder. That’ll only bring a fight our way.”

Wait, don’t they know about the survey team? “Um, I think they’re worried because their elite adventurers are out of town now,” I told them.

The three men gave me strange looks. So I guess they didn’t know.

“They put together a survey team to look into the situation in the forest, and a bunch of elite adventurers are in the mix.”

“Oh, now that makes sense. Wait! Does that mean he went with them?” Zinal looked a bit disappointed.

I gave him a look as if to say, “Who’s he?”

Zinal looked a bit embarrassed and said, “My son recently got promoted to an elite adventurer in this village. That’s why I came here—to celebrate. We went over our schedules and decided to throw him a party in a couple of days…”

Zinal’s son was an elite adventurer! Since he was only in his forties, his son must have reached that rank at an awfully young age. Guess that means they’re a father-son adventurer powerhouse. I’m impressed.

“Wait, does that mean if there’s trouble, we’ll get roped into it? How annoying.” Fische sounded a little upset.

Barely a second later, Zinal sighed and gave his head a whack.

“Ouch! What was that for?”

“Just got a little miffed.”

As I smiled at their banter, Zinal gave me a conflicted look.

“So, where are you both staying?” Garitt asked my father.

“The plaza.”

“That’s not far from here,” Garitt remarked.

“Hey, we never finished talking. What’s the plan?” Zinal asked Garitt.

“We’ll stay here until the survey team gets back. I don’t see what else we can do.”

So they’re going to wait it out here.

“Guess we might as well pay our respects to the guild master,” Garitt said.

“Yeah, we’ll have to help out if something goes wrong. Arrgh, so much for my vacation.” Fische looked utterly annoyed. It was too bad: If he kept his mouth shut, he was a very handsome man—dashing, even. But the things he said and the faces he made ruined everything. A shame, really. He was working with such good ingredients.

“What a waste of a silver fox!”

“Huh?” all the men grunted in unison.

“Uh…never mind.”

Um, Past Me! Why did you have to blurt that out? And what’s a “silver fox” anyway? Uh, you thought Fische was one of them, right? And you said “what a waste”…

“You okay?” my father asked, poking between my eyebrows.

My eyes darted up to see him smiling down at me.

“That’s some wrinkle.”

“Ack!”

I guess that thought spiral gave me a big wrinkle between my brows. I smoothed it out with my finger.

“What did that mean?” my father whispered in my ear.

I shook my head. “It’s a mystery to us all.”

“Oh.” He looked a bit disappointed.

I wanted to explain it to him, but I really had no idea what I’d just said. If Past Me remembered words, I wished she would remember what they meant, too. You know, it’s been a while since that happened. For a second there, I had no idea what was going on.

“You’ve got a nice relationship with your daughter, Mr. Druid. Meanwhile, on my end, things’ve been a little, how should I put it…ahh…” Fische took another look at us and heaved a big sigh.

I wonder what’s weighing on his mind. Is his daughter acting up because he has to be away for work all the time?

“It’s just a little rebel phase. Don’t be so bummed about it.”

Aha. A rebel phase.

“Yeah, I know. And my wife keeps telling me not to be too clingy, but…ahhh.”

Wow, he’s just dripping with melancholy. He must really love his daughter.

“Mr. Druid, want us to tell you if we hear anything about the monsters?”

“Oh, would you?”

“Sure. Where’s your tent, by the way?” Garitt took a look into the plaza from its entrance. My dad pointed, and he nodded. “Okay, the survey team should be back in a day or two. We’ll come around to visit sometime in the evening.”

“Okay. We’ll be in our tent. See you then.”

“Yes, we’ll be there.”

My father bowed lightly, then Garitt and Zinal did the same. And Fische gave me an indescribable stare…the sort a protective father would give his baby.

“Bye, then.” Fische waved.

I smiled and waved back.

Once we were back in the plaza, I noticed the air was a bit tense.

“Guess news of the monster attack spread fast.”

Aha. That’s why everyone seems so nervous here.

Back inside our tent, I opened my bag and my creatures eagerly bounded out of it.

“Hey, Sora. Garitt, Zinal, and Fische…they were all safe people, right?”

I said each of the Zephyr adventurers’ names one by one and checked Sora’s reaction. None of the names got a negative response; Sora just sat and stared at me. In other words, they were no threat to us. I gave Sora a gentle pat, then reached into my bag for some potions…but I stopped myself when I remembered we had just come from a big meal at the dump. Instead, I gave Sora another pat and thanked it.

“What do you want for supper?” my dad asked.

“Are you cooking?”

“Yeah, I’m in the mood.”

“Then I want gyuu-don.”

My father had already taken the ingredients and cooking equipment out of the magic bag. He replied, “Okay. You just sit and relax,” and walked out of the tent.

“I hope he’s not worried about me.”

I did get a little shaken up when I remembered being attacked by those monsters. I’d thought I was okay, but the fear I felt that day was still alive inside of me. Oh, right, I remember my dad always says I should let him take care of me more now that he’s my father.

“Guess it’s time to be taken care of!”

Sora and the other creatures all bounded over to my feet.

“Whoa, that was quick. Oh, did you want me to take care of you?”

The four creatures looked up at me and jiggled. They were cute…too cute. I gave them all a big hug and felt warmth surge through my heart. Huh? Wait a minute, my dad says he’s a mid-level adventurer. Was it really okay for him to say he sensed something in the forest?

ZINAL OF ZEPHYR’S PERSPECTIVE

“GARITT, DOES THE NAME Druid ring a bell?”

“Nope.” Garitt shook his head.

“Wait, neither of you have heard of them?” Fische asked us, sipping his wine.

“No.”

“But he’s an elite adventurer, isn’t he? He’d have to be, to notice the anomaly in the forest.”

Fische was right. To be able to pick up on that, he’d have to be a high-level adventurer. But we had never heard of a man named Druid. We knew the name of every high-ranking adventurer, ­including the new ones this year, yet we hadn’t heard of him. What was going on?

“Maybe he’s good enough to be elite, but they wouldn’t make it official because he’s only got one arm?”

“Would they do that, though?”

Adventurer guilds would promote any adventurer as long as they had the skill. Then there was that incredibly powerful sword of his. He hid it with his belt, but I caught a glimpse of the magic stone embedded in it. Even from a quick glance, I could tell it held extraordinary power.

“Maybe he’s got circumstances,” Garitt said.

“What kind of circumstances?” Fische gave him a look.

Sometimes, being a high-level adventurer meant your life got complicated. What with the temples, the nobility, and a lot of other things, some adventurers hid their true level so they wouldn’t have to get involved with all that. The only problem was that there was a huge gap between high and mid-level adventurers, so hardly anyone took that step. But I could think of one other reason he might want to hide his higher status.

“He’s not a criminal, I hope?” Garitt and I both spoke at once.

That’s right. A criminal would want to hide it. I thought of Ivy. Maybe I should look into this…

“That bloodlust I sensed from him…it really freaked me out,” Fische said.

That reminded me of the death glare Druid shot at us. It had definitely been terrifying.

“But that was because we reminded Ivy of the time she was attacked,” Garitt suggested.

“No, no, that wasn’t our fault, though,” Fische protested.

“Sure, but we probably triggered it.”

Argh…why did we have to get roped into this? I just wanted to have a nice party with my son.

“Let’s keep an eye on them. Even if he is a criminal, we can’t exactly do anything to him as long as Ivy’s in the picture.”

It was obvious just how deeply he cared for her. The moment her face turned pale and she shivered with fear, he shot a furious glare at all of us. I’m sure he did it without realizing, but still…