The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 8 - Chapter 393

Chapter 393:

Stealthily...

ZINAL WAVED SILENTLY when he spotted us at the entrance to the inn.

“Good evening,” we whispered, quietly approaching him.

“Hi. Thanks for coming. This way.”

We followed Zinal into the inn called Michelle and quietly tiptoed up to the third floor.

“I feel like I’m committing a crime or something,” I said. We weren’t exactly doing anything wrong, but our stealthy movements made it feel that way.

“You think so?”

“Bah, not at all.”

Between my father’s curious expression and Zinal’s not-even-slightly remorseful attitude, I was a little stunned. Was I looking at this the wrong way?

“It just feels like we’re thieves.”

“Ahh, well, I do this all the time,” Zinal answered.

He does this all the time? Does he mean for work? I don’t really understand what an investigator’s job even is. I looked at my father, and he just smiled back at me.

“It doesn’t bother me, since our mission is to break a spell,” my father said.

This was a relief to hear. If my father had said he “does this all the time,” too, that would raise some serious doubts about the right and wrong of an adventurer’s job.

“We’re here.”

We followed Zinal into the room and immediately spotted Fische and Garitt asleep in their beds. Thinking it unusual that there were only two beds, we looked around the room, but there seemed to be no others.

“Don’t you sleep in this room, Mr. Zinal?”

“I do. Fische normally sleeps in the room next door, but I thought it would be better for them to be in the same room tonight, so I put him to bed in here.”

He was right: Our task would be tricky if they were in separate rooms. We approached the next bed to find Garitt sound asleep. He didn’t even flinch when we approached.

“He’s out cold.” My father gave Zinal a bewildered look. Perhaps he thought that since Garitt was sensitive to auras, he would at least flinch a little even if he was drugged.

“Ahh, well, here’s the thing…” Zinal trailed off, his eyes darting around. I stared at him, sensing I was about to hear something unpleasant.

“What happened, sir?”

“It’s the sleeping medicine, you see. When I was mixing it in their water, a bunch spilled in. I was going to start over, but then they yelled out, ‘Wateeeer, gimme wateeer!’ and before I could stop them, they both gulped it all down… Sorry. They probably won’t wake up until lunchtime tomorrow.”

It was just so ridiculous that my father and I fell silent. Zinal frantically waved his hands. “Hey, I didn’t know they were going to slurp it up like that! I even told them to stop, but those drunkards just gulped everything down… Agh, I’m sorry.”

I stifled my laughter before it could escape. If I laughed, it was sure to reach the next room over.

“Well, we’ll just wait here until they wake up.”

“Thanks, I’d appreciate it.”

I looked at Garitt again. Sleeping so deeply, he surely wouldn’t wake up any time soon. I opened the bag containing my creatures and set Sol next to him, then I scooted a little away from the bed and let Sora, Flame, and Ciel out of the bag.

“Huh? You brought everyone?”

“Yeah, they all said they wanted to come.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks in advance, Sol,” Zinal said.

Sol jiggled at him, then hopped right next to Garitt and swallowed his head whole.

“It’s an amazing sight to see. Looks like he’s being eaten up.”

“He’ll have to stay like that for a while,” I explained with a giggle.

Zinal offered us some seats. Drinks and snacks were set out on the table. “I could only get basic things, but these snacks are really good, so have some.”

“Thank you, sir.” I quietly ate one. The snacks were bite-sized and rather fluffy. Mine was filled with a tangy fruit flavor. They were well balanced and quite nice to eat. “These are delicious. What are they called?”

“They’re called napple. They eat them a lot in the next village over.”

“I like how tangy they are. Nice and balanced.”

“Glad you like them.” Zinal beamed happily back at me.

My father took a good look at Garitt, then sat down and had a napple. “They really do go down easily.”

“Pefu!” Sol chirped quietly from the bed. We looked over and saw it had already let go of Garitt’s head.

“Thanks, Sol. Could you take care of Fische next?” I walked over to Garitt’s bed, picked up Sol, and carried it over to Fische’s bed. It bounced over to Fische’s head and swallowed it whole, just like it had done with Garitt.

“Dang, that’s fast. Was it like that with me?”

“Yeah, I think it took the same amount of time.”

“Huh.”

Sora and Flame were playfully bouncing on top of Garitt.

“Hey! No roughhousing!” I have no sense of authority when I whisper… Well, I never had much authority to begin with.

“It’s okay, let them have their fun.” Zinal seemed amused by the three creatures playing. They showed no signs of stopping. And my father was smiling, yet silent… 

Oh well, I’ll just eat some more snacks.

“They won’t hurt him, so it’s not a problem. Besides, look how much they’re enjoying themselves.”

He was right: A well-muscled adventurer’s body wouldn’t be hurt so easily from a little slime bouncing. But was it really okay to let them play on top of a sleeping person?

“They’re so cute.”

“I know, right?”

I smiled sheepishly at the two men. They were right: My creatures were very cute.

“Pefu!”

I looked over at Fische’s bed to see Sol had let go of the man’s head. It was probably finished.

“Good work, Sol. Are they both free from the spell now?”

“Pefu!”

“Thanks, Sol.” Zinal walked over to Fische’s bed and picked up Sol. He gave the slime a gentle pat, and it stared up at him, its eyes narrowed contentedly. “Ivy, you can go sleep in the room next door. There’s an empty bed you can use.”

Should I? I would like to sleep when it’s my bedtime. Not to mention my father gets worried if I don’t sleep enough. I guess I’ll take him up on the offer.

“I accept your gracious offer, sir.”

“Oh, Ivy, you’re way too stiff. Loosen up around me, will ya?”

I smiled awkwardly. I always put others at a distance, didn’t I?

“Well, I guess it’s too much to ask when we barely know each other. I’ll do what I can to make you feel more comfortable around me. The room is this way.”

When I got up from my chair, my creatures came bounding over to me. “Want to go to bed?” The four of them jiggled in reply.

“That looks like a yes.”

“Yup. What are you going to do, Dad?”

There were still a few hours before daybreak. Would he stay up the whole time?

“Zinal and I have a lot of things to talk over. We need to find a way to get his son under control, for one thing.”

That’s right…we still need to save his son. But I won’t be much help when I’m practically sleepwalking. I should just go to bed and stay out of their way.

“Okay, just take it easy. Good night.”

“I will. Good night, everyone.”

The four slimes at my feet jiggled in reply. I smiled at their cuteness as I put them all into the bag slung over my shoulder.

“Okay, Mr. Zinal, lead the way.”

Zinal escorted me into the next room over. “This is also a double room, so there’s a spare bed. Feel free to use it.”

“I will, sir. Good night.”

“Good night. I’ll lock the door and give the key to Druid.”

“Thanks.”

After Zinal closed the door, I opened the bag and let everyone out. I lay down in bed, and a huge yawn escaped my mouth. The creatures had already settled down at my feet.

“Good night, everyone.”